Agenda, decisions and minutes

To submit the report of the Head of Democracy Services.

Adopt Option 1 – which is to adhere to the current scrutiny committee arrangements and approve the actions to improve efficiency contained in Appendix 2 of the report.

The Head of Democracy Services submitted the report which asked the Council to

adopt Option 1 following the review of Scrutiny arrangements. He reported that he was

submitting the report on behalf of the Governance and Audit Committee, which had

approved this option at its meeting in January, subject to work being done to improve

the efficiency and operations of the Scrutiny Committees.

The members were thanked for their attendance and their contribution at the

workshops held last year and reference was made to the report which summarised the

messages deriving from the workshops before the Scrutiny Forum had met. Councillor

Paul Rowlinson, on behalf of the Scrutiny Forum, was invited to elaborate on the

considerations of the Scrutiny Forum.

Councillor Paul Rowlinson reported that there was no clear consensus at the

workshops or at the Scrutiny Forum, with different members favouring different options.

He also noted that the input of Audit Wales had been positive on the whole; reference

was made to examples where Scrutiny input had improved the Cabinet's decisions.

He expressed that Audit Wales did not suggest changing the current structure or the workload of the Scrutiny Committees. Nevertheless, it was noted that some members had referred to the workload of the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee, noting that it was excessive.  After summarising the comments, a proposal was made on behalf of the Scrutiny Forum to adopt option 1.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions.  The following matters were raised by individual members:-

Reference was made to the last action in the appendix where it referred to reporting back. It was asked whether this would mean that a report was created which showed members how Scrutiny observations relating to wording changes in reports were considered and accepted or refused. The member wished to see a process of reporting on this in existence so that members were informed as to whether observations were accepted or not.

·        In response, the Head of the Democracy Services noted that attention should be drawn to this provision regularly.

One member noted that he had been a member of the Communities Scrutiny Committee for 12 years and of the 13 items that he had submitted, he did not believe that any of the items had been resolved. He questioned whether the Scrutiny Committees were needed at all since they scrutinised the work of the Cabinet members and it was believed that there was no point to that because Plaid Cymru members had the majority of seats on the Scrutiny Committees.

·        In response Councillor Paul Rowlinson noted that the members did not act as a party or specific political group when scrutinising. He noted that it was a statutory requirement on every Council to have a Scrutiny system and that the purpose of Scrutiny was to seek to improve the decisions of the executive. He believed that there were many examples where the decision of the Scrutiny Committee had had a positive effect on the Cabinet's decision. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support.

1.    That the Council approves the proposed timetable and process for holding the consultation on a change to a Single Transfers Vote regime for elections to Cyngor Gwynedd from 2027.

2.    That the Council delegates the preparation and conduct of the consultation to the Head of Legal Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support and Legal and the Head of Corporate Support Department (Head of Democratic Services).

3.    That the consultation document be prepared in consultation with the leaders of the Council's political groups.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Menna Trenholme, submitted the report which provided a concept of the arrangement to commence a process which could lead to the adoption of a single transferable vote system for Cyngor Gwynedd elections. It was reported that there would be a need to approve the consultation process and the decision-making timetable and then after the consultation a meeting of the Full Council would need to be called for this decision alone. 

There were no observations or questions.

To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Finance.

To accept the report and to approve the Capital Strategy for 2024/25

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Ioan Thomas, submitted the report which

addressed the statutory requirement on Councils and provided a long-term context to

capital expenditure and investment decisions by Councils. It was noted that the report

also provided an overview of how the associated risks were managed and the

implications for future financial sustainability.

The Head of Finance added that the report referred to 3 appendices but unfortunately

the appendices had not been included in the Agenda papers. It was noted that these

appendices provided further details but that sufficient information had been included

in the report. 

A table entitled "Approved Investment Counterparties and limitations" was shown to members and it was reported that the table being shown provided the information that was missing in the appendices. Apologies were expressed for the failure to include the appendices and it was added that they had been included in the Agenda papers of the Governance and Audit Committee and that they had been considered there in full.

Please find enclosed a copy of the table. 

The Monitoring Officer gave assurance that the report in the Agenda papers was comprehensive, along with the above table that was shown and that it placed members in a position where they were able to vote and adopt the strategy. 

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions.  The following matters were raised by individual members:-

Members expressed gratitude for the report as well as to Arlingclose for their presentation to Council members back in February.  It was noted that the field was very technical but that Arlingclose had made it easier to understand. Appreciation was expressed that this presentation had been available to every Councillor and not just to members of the Governance and Audit Committee as usually was the case.

It was confirmed that the members were in a position to make a decision since the report was comprehensive.

To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment.

That the Council:-

1.    Approve the final version of the Delivery Agreement – Gwynedd Local Development
Plan (which has incorporated the amendments following the public consultation
period).

2.    Agree to submit the Delivery Agreement to the Welsh Government for their approval.

3.    Delegate the right to the Head of Department to make editorial changes for accuracy as required.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Dafydd Meurig, submitted the report which asked for the Full Council's approval to the Delivery Agreement and an agreement to be submitted to the Welsh Government for approval. It was explained that the report related to the lengthy process of creating a Local Development Plan and that this was the first step in this process, i.e. adopting the Delivery Agreement.

It was noted that the Delivery Agreement could be seen in full in the Agenda papers

as well as the context and reference to the process of creating the contract, as well as

a timetable and steps.

Details were provided of the journey of the Delivery Agreement to date, which included

a public consultation and reference was made to some of the observations received.

It was noted that specific comments had been made about the impact and the

robustness tests and the possibility of amending them to consider the impact on the

Welsh language as a part of the tests. A summary was provided of the robustness

steps relating to the suitability of the Plan, propriety of the Plan and the Plan's ability

to deliver. Reference was made to the response to the comment which was included

on page 169 of the Agenda.

It was noted that the Planning Policy Working Group and the Cabinet had considered the observations from the consultation in full; concern was expressed at the low number of responses. It was reported that the work of creating the Local Development Plan would commence after it was approved by the Government; this could take around four weeks.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions. 

A member commented that no changes had been made to the Plan following the consultation observations and he believed that this tended to happen often after consultations. The explanation from the Cabinet Member for Environment regarding why the comments had not been accepted was appreciated, but it was believed that there was a need to consider the reliability of the Government's assessments when dealing with the impact on the Welsh language.

To submit the report of the Chair of the Strategic Safeguarding Panel.

1.    To accept the report that reports on the work of the Strategic Safeguarding Panel for the year 2022-23.⁠

2.    To note the revised Safeguarding Policy (Appendix 2) together with the revised Terms
of Reference for the Safeguarding Strategic Panel (Appendix 3).

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Menna Trenholme, submitted the Annual Report of the Strategic Safeguarding Panel 2022-23 and noted that the Department had already started to prepare the 2023-34 report. It was noted that the report provided an overview of the work that had taken place by the Strategic Safeguarding Panel. 

Advantage was taken of the opportunity to raise awareness of the amended Safeguarding Policy which had been adopted during the past fortnight. It was noted that the Policy was included in appendix 2 of the report and as a result of the amended Policy, there had also been a change in the Terms of Reference seen in appendix 3.

Reference was made to one major change in the Policy, namely the difference between Protection and Safeguarding, whilst noting that the definitions could be seen in the Policy.

There were no observations or questions.

To submit the report of the Monitoring Officer.

That the Council:-

1.    Adopts the amendments to the Internal Resolution Procedure (Appendix 1 of the report).

2.    Adopts the amendments to Section 7 – Scrutiny (Appendix 2)

3.    Accepts the report on the delegated amendments (Appendix 3).

The Monitoring Officer submitted the report which proposed amendments to the Internal Resolution Procedure and Scrutiny and to report on delegated amendments to the Constitution.  It was reported that three elements to the report included how to deal with low-level complaints between members as a result of the statutory duty which was now on Group Leaders.  It was noted that the second aspect derived from a decision in the Scrutiny review to amend the Constitution which encompassed minor changes and finally changes to the delegation schemes.

There were no observations or questions.

To submit the report of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support.

That the Council approve the holding of community reviews under sections 25 and 31 of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 and the Terms of Reference.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Menna Trenholme, submitted the report which reported on the statutory duty on Cyngor Gwynedd, under the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 to monitor communities in the County, and the electoral arrangements of those communities.

It was reported that there were two types of community surveys that the Council should consider conducting, namely a Review of community boundaries (section 25 of the Act) and a Review of electoral arrangements (section 31 of the Act). It was emphasised that it was not intended to review every community, only those that highlighted a need for change due to specific circumstances.

The four essential steps in the process were reported upon, i.e. Initial publicity, Initial investigation and consultation, Draft proposals and Final recommendations. The Council was asked to approve the outlined process. It was noted that this would allow for the consultation process to be conducted.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions.  The following matters were raised by individual members:-

A comment was made on the date included in the table on page 297 of the pack, which referred to Consultation 2, and the member asked whether the date of January/February 2024 was correct. The Monitoring Officer confirmed that January/February 2025 was the correct date and that the table would be corrected.

It was noted that changes to the boundaries had already occurred where a reduction was seen in the number of Councillors in Gwynedd from 75 to 69. It was asked whether changes would be made to the Community Councils.

The Propriety and Elections Manager confirmed that the County Council operated within the same role as the Boundary Commission did with us as a County Council. This meant that the Council was responsible for the Community Councils. The survey of community boundaries would be carried out to coincide with the Democracy Commission when they would come to look at County boundaries. 

To submit the report of the Head of Democracy Services.

1.    To adopt the allocation of seats as noted below, delegating powers to the Head of Democracy Services to make appointments to the committees on the basis of political balance, and in accordance with the wishes of the political groups.

1.    To nominate Councillor Elwyn Jones (Independent Group) to represent the Council on the Police and Crime Panel for the duration of this Council's term.

The Head of Democracy Services submitted the report which asked the Council to

adopt the new seat allocation after one member changed their political group and

following the recent by-election. He noted that this had led to changes to seat

allocations on Committees, namely the Plaid Cymru group gaining one seat on the

Communities Scrutiny Committee, Care Scrutiny Committee, Democratic Services

Committee, Planning Committee and SACRE. Reference was made to the full details

of the new seat allocations which could be seen in appendix A of the report.

It was added that Councillor Elwyn Jones had now been nominated to represent the

Council on the Police and Crime Panel for the Council term. The Full Council was

asked to approve that nomination, as well as adopt the seat allocation as noted in the

report. It was confirmed that a  single vote would be held on both proposals.

There were no observations or questions.

To submit the report of the Head of Democracy Services.

To adopt the Committees Calendar for 2024/25.

The Head of Democracy Services submitted the report which asked the Council to adopt the Committees Calendar for 2024/25 as a result of detailed work that had taken place in the background to choose dates and avoid clashes with other meetings.

Members of the Democratic Services Committee were thanked for their comments and

detailed work in discussing the Calendar and an agreement had been reached on

improvements following that discussion. Attention was drawn to an extraordinary

meeting of the Full Council that would be held in September.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions. 

A member expressed the desire of the independent group to establish a Shadow Cabinet and asked about how this could be done.  The member elaborated that since the Board had been dissolved, that there was a strong feeling and desire amongst the independent group to establish a Shadow Cabinet to challenge the Cabinet's decisions since no independent group member served on the Cabinet. The member also expressed that many members of the Plaid Cymru group served on the Scrutiny Committees.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that this matter was not a matter to be discussed by the Full Council today. He suggested that the member should discuss with the Democracy Service as a starting point.

A member took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Chair of the Council, praising the way that he had chaired the meeting today.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Gruffydd Williams will propose as follows:-

Given that Cyngor Gwynedd has already passed a notice of motion in September calling on the Welsh Government to re-consider demanding that 10% of agricultural land is given to woodland as part of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, I call on Cyngor Gwynedd:-

To call on the Welsh Government to take a step back and re-consider (in light of the cumulative impact on the agricultural industry), before demanding under the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), that 10% of farming land is given to Cynefin/Biodiversity land together with the changes to the statutory requirements and policies such as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ).  

Submitted - the following notice of motion by Councillor Gruffydd Williams, under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

Given that Cyngor Gwynedd has already passed a notice of motion in September calling on the Welsh Government to re-consider demanding that 10% of agricultural land is given to woodland as part of the Sustainable Farming Scheme, I call on Cyngor Gwynedd:-

To call on the Welsh Government to take a step back and re-consider (in light of the cumulative impact on the agricultural industry), before demanding under the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), that 10% of farming land is given to Cynefin/Biodiversity land together with the changes to the statutory requirements and policies such as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ).

The member set out the context to his motion, noting that:-

·        Significant damage would be caused to the agriculture industry if Welsh Government adopts the SFS and NVZ.

·        That there were associated costs for farmers should they lose 20% of their land from giving 10% to biodiversity and 10% of their land to plant trees; this would lead to an unsustainable farming industry and many farmers would leave the industry.

·        That there was huge expenditure for the agriculture unit in order to comply with the new rules, which would squeeze small farms out of business.

·        The nitrogen going on the land would lead to a reduction in the crops, which would lead to less produce. He added that if there were food shortages for the public, then prices would rise.

·        That there was a need to stand with the farmers or people would leave the countryside and the population diminished.

The proposal hoped to receive support from all members to ensure the prosperity of the agriculture industry and prosperity in the countryside.

Strong support was expressed to the motion by several members on the grounds of:-

·        ⁠That there was a moral duty on us in Gwynedd to support the farmers in our communities, which represented the culture, history and language of our communities.  The slogan, No Farmers, No Food, No Future, was quoted.

·        That the current prices of sheep was proof of the shortages and it was believed that there would be food shortages - growing trees would not resolve this.

·        That agriculture was very important in Pen Llŷn. He asked for the support of all members, emphasising that the Government's plans needed to be stopped.

·        That the problem of planting 10% trees was huge in Pen Llŷn, compared with Meirionnydd. It was believed that insufficient targeting had been undertaken by the Government and instead they had treated every area in the same way.

·        That there was a need to thank both agricultural Unions which had worked hard to support the farmers. It was expressed that the Council needed to support and strengthen their request.

·        It was noted that agriculture was the foundation of the countryside and it was at the core of our culture. It was noted that without agriculture there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Dewi Jones will propose as follows:-

Cyngor Gwynedd declares its support to the agricultural sector and the farmers of Wales.

The Council believes that Welsh farmers make an invaluable contribution to our country's economy, the Welsh language, our culture and heritage, and we need to support this important sector.

The Council calls on the Welsh Government to listen to the views and concerns of farmers - and the farming unions - as they consult on new legislation.  

Submitted - the following notice of motion by Councillor Dewi Jones, under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-

Cyngor Gwynedd declares its support to the agricultural sector and the farmers of Wales.

The Council believes that Welsh farmers make an invaluable contribution to our country's economy, the Welsh language, our culture and heritage, and we need to support this important sector.

The Council calls on the Welsh Government to listen to the views and concerns of farmers - and the farming unions - as they consult on new legislation.  

The member set the context to his proposal, and noted:-

·        That what was happening to the agriculture industry affected everyone. He noted that we were reliant on farmers every day for our milk, bread and meat. He believed that receiving quality food and local food was essential.

·        He referred to the largest ever protest that had reached the Senedd last week, with over 3,000 farmers travelling to Cardiff. He believed that the scheme in its current form was not accessible or sustainable.

·        That the Government needed to reconsider its intention to ask every farmer to give 10% of their land in order to grow trees on it. It was expressed that trees would not promote culture or the language. It was believed that flexibility was needed in the proposal and that Welsh Government needed to redesign the proposal. It was added that there was a need to amend the schemes to reflect the landscape, the weather and the environment in which the farmers worked.

Members expressed strong support to the proposal and noted:-

·        That farmers had been farming for generations, which proved the sustainability of the industry.

·        That the Council had responded to the consultation and called on the Government to co-discuss with the industry and to draw up appropriate plans for Wales and the countryside. The Leader added that he had been involved in the discussions at the Rural Forum, Local Government Association and that they had also responded in the same way. The Leader expressed pride that the Council had already responded robustly.

·        That this was a lesson to the Welsh Government who did not understand the meaning of co-planning and co-production.

·        That farmers were prepared to contribute to the agenda to reduce carbon emissions and prepared to contribute to biodiversity and already did so to a great degree. 

·        That farmers knew their lands better than anyone, and that the farmers had knowledge of what was happening on their own landscape. 

·        That the Senedd had failed to mention the very strong possibility of losing 5,500 jobs in the agriculture industry. 

·        He reminded members of the nightmare encountered during lockdown when some shelves were empty in supermarkets. It was noted that NFU Cymru had recently noted that there was a need to produce 25% more food by 2050.

·        That the agriculture industry had used only a little more land to produce food than what they had used in 1960. It was believed that this showed that farmers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, Councillor Craig ab Iago will propose as follows:-

We call on the Welsh Labour Government to do everything within its powers to demand assurance from its counterparts at the Labour Party’s Headquarters in London that, if they are victorious at the next General Election, they immediately stop the Conservative Government's austerity policies that have been so destructive to communities in Gwynedd and Wales over the past 13 years.

The proposer expressed his desire to withdraw the following proposal submitted under Section 4.19 of the Constitution:-

We call on the Welsh Labour Government to do everything within its powers to demand assurance from its counterparts at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London that if they are victorious at the next General Election that they immediately stop the Conservative Government's austerity policies that have been so destructive to communities in Gwynedd and Wales over the past 13 years.  

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that if the proposer did not propose his motion that the motion fell and it would need to be reintroduced to a meeting in the future if that was the member's wish.

The member confirmed that he would not be proposing his motion.

(1)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Gruffydd Williams’ notice of motion to the 28th September, 2023 Council meeting regarding support for the Welsh family farm and the transformation of agricultural land into forests.

(2)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor John Pughe Roberts’ notice of motion to the 7^th December 2023 Council meeting regarding measures to control TB.

(3)  Letter from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in response to Councillor Elin Hywel’s notice of motion to the 7th December, 2023 Council meeting calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

(4)  Letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elin Hywel’s notice of motion to the 7^th December, 2023 Council meeting calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Submitted, for information -

(a)         A letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Gruffydd Williams's notice of motion to the Council meeting on 28 September 2023 in respect of supporting the Welsh family farm and converting agricultural lands into forests.

(b)         A letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor John Pughe Roberts's notice of motion to the Council meeting on 7 December 2023 regarding their measures to control TB.

(c)         A letter from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in response to a notice of motion from Councillor Elin Hywel at the meeting of the Council on 7 December 2023, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

(d)         A letter from the Welsh Government in response to Councillor Elin Hywel's notice of motion to the Council meeting on 7 December 2023, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.