Agenda and decisions

To elect Chair for 2025-2026.

To elect Councillor Cai Larsen as Chair for 2025/26.

To elect Vice-chair for 2025-2026.

To elect Councillor Rhys Tudur as Vice-Chair for 2025/26.

To receive any apologies for absence.

To receive any declarations of personal interest.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 10 April 2025 be signed as a true record.

To submit the recommendations of the Task and Finish Group in relation to the wording of the draft policy.

•              To note the output of the work of the Task and Finish Group but there was no consensus on all the recommended modifications;

•             To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to consider the range of comments submitted by the Scrutiny Members when drawing up the final policy.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Education Department.

A lunch break is planned for 12.30pm – 1.30pm

To accept the report and note the comments and to request further action on some of the comments in relation to the following areas:

·       Welsh Language and Language Centres

·       Learning environment for children with specific conditions

·       Type of buildings in terms of geographical locations plus transport costs

·       Child absences and inclusion along with children excluded from education and who are homeschooled

·       Data reliability where the database is small

·       Costs relating to access to education specifically for low-income families and children excluded from school

·       Appointment of Headteachers

·       Timeliness in the delivery of the Education Strategy.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Economy Department.

·       To accept the report and note the comments;

·       That consideration needs to be given to scrutiny of the benefit of the Growth Deal for Gwynedd including the alternative project in Trawsfynydd

·       To ask the Economy and Community Department to provide three-year rolling data on numbers who have received return to work support

·       To ask the Department to make a request to Byw'n Iach Company for user data;

To request that the department seeks funding and wider support for the Caernarfon Food Festival and to show more clearly in the report that there is funding for social enterprises.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Finance Department.

•           To accept the report and to note the observations. 

•           To accept that a Council Tax Premium Exemption Policy needs to be drawn up

•           That consideration needs to be given to whether there is a role for the Scrutiny Committee in the creation of the policy

•           To ask the Finance Department to share data in relation to Council Tax prosecutions with members.

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Corporate and Legal Services Departments.

·       To accept the report and to note the observations.

·       To welcome that a detailed work programme is being drawn up to address the recommendations of the Information Commissioner's Office following an audit of the Council's arrangements in relation to freedom of information requests

·       That the Committee receive an update on the Customer Care Plan as it develops

·       That Heads of Department need to be encouraged to respond to the annual questionnaire from the Legal Service

·       To request that the Scrutiny Committee receive information about prosecutions relating to pupil absences.