Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To elect Chair for 2025-2026.

To elect Councillor Annwen Hughes as Chair of the Committee for the year 2025/26.

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Annwen Hughes as Chair of the Committee for the year 2025/26.

To elect Vice-chair for 2025-2026.

To elect Councillor Delyth Lloyd Griffiths as Vice-chair of the Committee for the year 2025/26.

RESOLVED to elect Councillor Delyth Lloyd Griffiths as Vice-chair of the Committee for the year 2025/26.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Edgar Wyn Owen.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received.

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

None to note.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this Committee, held on 20 March 2025 be signed as a true record. 

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 20 March 2025 as a true record.

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

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.⁠

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for the Environment, the Head of Environment Department and the Assistant Heads of the Environment Department.

It was reported that the Department led on five projects in the Council's Plan 2023-2028, namely 'Management of second homes and short-term holiday accommodation' as part of the Homely Gwynedd priority as well as a 'New Local Development Plan', 'Waste and Recycling', 'Active Travel', and 'Public Transport' as part of the Green Gwynedd priority. It was elaborated that the information presented for this meeting set out the Department's progress against the project milestones for 2024-2025 as well as data on the Department's services' performance measures.

During the debate, the following comments were made by Members:

Waste and Recycling

It was pointed out that the Department did not meet the Welsh Government's national targets of recycling 70% of all waste in the County, stating that the Council's recycling percentage for 2024-25 was 65.3%. It was asked if the Department had considered adapting the frequency of waste collections to meet this target. In response, the Assistant Head confirmed that it was hoped to carry out a consultation to ensure that there was a clear pathway for the Council to recycle 70% of all waste. However, it was emphasised that no decisions had been taken to adapt the frequency of waste collection at this time.

It was asked if any financial fines would be imposed on the Council by the Government for failing to meet this target. The Assistant Head confirmed that a £200 fine was imposed for every tonne of waste below the 70% recycling target. It was explained that the Council was approximately 3,000 tonnes below the target in the year 2024-25. It was explained that the Council was in ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government to demonstrate that action was being taken to meet the target and that this would be reflected when determining the amount of any financial penalty imposed on the Council. 

In response to a further question about starting to recycle soft plastics, the Assistant Head confirmed that this was not happening now because there was no market for it. However, it was emphasised that the Welsh Government was currently piloting this type of collection in south Wales. It was added that there were plans to recycle more goods such as plastic bags and small electronic gadgets in the future. The Assistant Head elaborated that a tax was being imposed on companies on a scale that set out how easy it was to recycle any waste from their products or packaging, in the hope that this would encourage companies to ensure that their products could be recycled and to encourage buyers to do so.

Sickness levels among service staff were referenced and officers were asked how they dealt with these cases. In response, the Assistant Head confirmed that staff were more likely to be off sick as they get older due to the physical nature of the work. It was reported that sickness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

An opportunity for Members to discuss and scrutinise the Departmnet’s improvement priorities and measures.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.⁠

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and YGC, along with the Head and Assistant Head of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

It was reported that the Department was leading on three projects in the Council Plan 2023-2028, namely 'Extending opportunities for play and socialising for the county's children and young people' as part of the Tomorrow's Gwynedd priority as well as 'Acting on Flood Risks' and 'Clean and Tidy Communities' as part of the Green Gwynedd priority. It was elaborated that the information presented for this meeting set out the Department's progress against the projects' milestones for 2024-2025 as well as data on the Department's services' performance measures.

During the debate, the following comments were made by Members:

Highway Maintenance - Condition of Roads

The Department was thanked for submitting data on pothole inspections and were asked for more information on response times to public enquiries about the condition of roads. In response, the Head of Department apologised that this data on response time statistics had not been included in the Report, explaining that this was due to a problem with the software. It was explained that this data would be included when reporting to this Committee in the future. It was explained that inspectors immediately assessed calls concerning the condition of roads and it was noted that work was carried out on a road within two hours if it was assessed to be a critical problem. It was reported that other enquiries were resolved by the end of the following working day in order to be able to schedule and package work effectively. Confidence was expressed by the Department that it was able to meet these timetables.

Some Members expressed frustration that road resurfacing after reporting a pothole did not last in the long term. In response, the Head of Department explained that every effort was made to cut out a larger section of the road in order to be able to better fill the hole and to a high standard, but this was not possible on all occasions, therefore staff resurfaced the road using tar from buckets. It was recognised that this could have an impact on the quality of the road and the Department would consider the comments further. It was elaborated that the Department had received grant funding of £8 million over a two-year period to deal with road condition issues, noting that reporting on response rates to reports of potholes and finding ways to prevent them from appearing was key to the application.

Street Services

It was pointed out that only 23 Fixed Penalty Notices were paid during 2023-24 for cases of dog owners not clearing up after their dog. In response, the Head of Department shared his frustration with this challenge, explaining that these figures were low because enforcement officers had to witness the dog fouling and the owner not clearing it up. He explained that this was very challenging and added that there were not a lot  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.