In accordance with the
Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor
Alwyn Gruffydd will propose as follows:-
“That this Council requests the Council Cabinet
to re-consider the future of the County’s Youth Service with a presumption in
favour of retaining youth clubs and continuing with the financial support given
traditionally to voluntary organisations such as the Urdd
and Federation of Young Farmers.”
Minutes:
(B) Prior to commencing a discussion on this item, Councillor Jason Parry
presented a petition to the Chair. The
Chair thanked the member for the petition, noting that she would pass it on to
the relevant department.
Submitted - the following notice of motion by Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd,
in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-
“That this Council
request that the Council Cabinet re-consider the future of the County’s Youth
Service with a presumption in favour of retaining youth clubs and continuing
with the financial support given traditionally to voluntary organisations such
as the Urdd and Federation of Young Farmers.”
The proposer of the notice of motion further noted:-
·
That he was proposing the motion in light of the
Cabinet's decision to close all Gwynedd youth clubs and to set a new county
arrangement in its place, one which had not been proven to be viable or of any
value.
·
The county club would involve losing the expertise
of experienced youth workers and increase the central full time officers from
the existing five to nearly 20.
·
It appeared that the consultation with young people
was invalid, and possibly illegal, as there had been no mention in it about the
possibility of closing existing clubs.
·
The consultation with community councils had been
insufficient, with some being deprived of any correspondence on the matter.
·
If any policy ever needed to be remitted or
reconsidered, this was it.
·
The Council was willing to keep youth clubs open on
the condition that a contribution was made by community councils toward this,
but he could not see that the new county service had any faith that this would
succeed.
·
There was no record of informal discussions with the
police and agencies involved with lawbreaking when formulating the new county
model.
·
He was concerned that the new system was
discriminatory and created an elite system and went against the ideals of the
founders of the service.
·
The Council took pride in the successes of the
county's young people at the Urdd Eisteddfod and the Young Farmers' Eisteddfod;
therefore, where was the justification in preventing some money from going to
those organisations?
·
The contribution of these organisations to the
viability of the Welsh language in our communities and to the establishment of
the Language Charter had been critical, and it would also be progressive to
extend the Charter to youth clubs.
·
The petition received showed that over 6000 people
were dissatisfied with the changes to the service.
During the discussion, it was noted that:-
·
It was essential that the Cabinet reconsider, as
children and young people built confidence within these organisations.
·
The service fulfilled a crucial function and that
closing youth clubs was an attack on future generations.
·
It was not appropriate to locate these clubs in
schools and that buildings were required for them.
·
Could the 11,000 students in Bangor, who do not
contribute anything towards Council funds, contribute in any way, e.g. by
increasing their rents?
·
Everyone wanted to ensure the best possible service
within the difficult climate.
·
The
new model needed to be tailored to meet the needs of the young people of
Gwynedd and Gwynedd's very diverse communities.
Also, since there were two strands of work in question, a model was
needed that allowed a place for the traditional within the new model and ensured
that all focus was correct. Acknowledging
the concerns, an amendment to the motion was proposed and seconded which went
into more detail than the original motion, but was similar, namely:-
"That this Council also asks that the Council
Cabinet reconsider specific elements of the new model for the Youth Service in
the County because of our concerns on three counts:-
1) change of emphasis from the community to the
welfare of individuals
2) the impact on the most deprived areas of the
county
3) Impact on the Welsh language
We, therefore, ask that the Cabinet hold urgent
discussions, by the end of this month if possible, with all the town,
community, and city councils along with other relevant agencies. The purpose of this is to look at ways of
cooperating in order to fund the continuation of as many youth clubs in the
county as possible, where this is desired, over the transitional period and in
order to offer appropriate support for the voluntary youth organisations that,
until recently, received funding.
We also ask that the Cabinet conduct a language
assessment of the impact of the restructure and an assessment of its community
impact on the most deprived areas of the county."
During the
discussion on the amendment, it was noted:-
·
There
was concern that the amendment was an attempt to weaken the motion and push the
matter to one side in the hope that it would be forgotten.
·
An
appropriate service should be in place for the needs of young people and youth
clubs should give young people the opportunity to come together to socialise
and build connections with a wide range of young people across society and also
an opportunity to protect the language and culture of the community.
·
The
decision to eradicate the service had sneaked in through the back door.
·
Contributions
had been requested from community and town councils after they had set their
precepts for 2018/19 and at a time when their budgets were tight.
·
Youth
clubs were the heart of the Youth Service in Gwynedd.
·
Members
had a role to represent people in their communities, and from speaking to
people locally, it was clear that there was no desire for an after-school club.
·
As
a result of the difficult decision in 2016 to cut £270,000 from the service,
the option was to re-model or close the majority of clubs.
·
The
department had consulted extensively on the proposals and asked young people
what was important to them, and they had responded to it by proposing a
programme of activities.
·
The
new arrangements would be available for young people throughout the year in
every part of the county; and, therefore, it would surpass the current
provision, where most of the young people did not have access to youth clubs in
their villages.
·
A
number of community councils were considering running clubs locally, or had
already decided to do so.
·
It
was believed that the amendment was a reasonable compromise which strengthened,
rather than weakened, the original motion.
·
It
was acknowledged that the Council was in this position due to the failures of
Westminster and Welsh Governments to transfer the grant increase to councils.
·
New
arrangements would mean that traditional clubs would run concurrently with the
new model and give community councils an opportunity to take responsibility for
what was taking place in their own communities.
·
This
was an opportunity for members who were not part of the decision in 2016 to
voice their opinions. There had been no
talk of closing the clubs when members canvassed during the 2017 elections and
it also appeared that some of the youth officers themselves were not aware that
this was in the pipeline. It was also
thought that there had been no mention of closing the clubs at the time of
giving the presentation on the new proposals to area forums in December last
year.
·
Despite
the concern that many of the young people that currently attended youth clubs
in deprived areas were likely to disengage with society in general, since the
club offered them shelter from alcohol, drugs, and in some cases, domestic
violence, ongoing discussions with community councils to ensure a traditional
service, in addition to the model's other principles, were welcomed.
·
It
must be recognised that the existing service would not be sustainable for the
future due to the financial situation that we faced and that it was unsuitable
to meet the needs of young people in every community in the county and young
people of all ages between 11 and 25.
·
Only
14% of the county's young people currently used the service. Having spoken to young people, it was clear
that the existing service did not appeal to them, especially the older young
people in the 16-25 age range, and that they were eager to have access to youth
workers throughout the week, through the school and in their communities on
weekends and during school holidays.
·
Young
people, and not buildings, were the heart of the youth service.
·
It
was not fair to say that the new model would destroy the service.
·
Remaining
with the current system would mean that some clubs would have to close entirely
while the new model would lead to holding activities in every community.
·
Thanks
were paid to the third sector organisations for holding discussions with the
Council and also to the Regeneration Service for their support to the
organisations.
·
The
amendment meant undertaking a fair assessment of the effect the new model would
have on the Welsh language; and by employing more full time workers, the
Council would have more control over activities, and it was trusted that the
Welsh language would be stronger within that which would be offered by the
service.
·
The
current service reached less than 25% of young people and that objectors were
trying to protect the minority. In
contrast, the amendment proposed a new scheme that would reach much more than
25% of young people.
·
Keeping
the clubs open in their own wards was a matter for members.
·
It
was believed that the amendment would do justice with the Urdd and the
Federation of Young Farmers.
·
There
was concern that closing the clubs would lead to bored children and young
people hanging about on street corners and committing minor offences.
·
There
was concern that the Council had failed to contact community councils in a
proper and timely manner to explain what was about to happen, but the amendment
was a way to get back to community councils to discuss further.
·
Young
people received support with personal problems at the clubs.
·
Much
expertise was required these days to work with young people with mental health
problems, and as a result, there was a need for training, professional jobs and
support etc. Young people needed every
support that could be given to them and the new model was an opportunity to do
so.
·
Even
if a financial cut was not required, the Council would have had to address this
field and, in 2007, there was talk of a need to transform the service to meet
the needs of young people in the twenty first century.
·
It
was believed that some existing youth clubs undermined the Council's language
policy and that the new system would reinforce the language policy.
·
With
the new system, the situation should be reviewed regularly, taking into account
any concerns and investigating whether or not there were grounds for those
concerns.
·
There
was no wish to have a situation of confusion and delay and that the amendment
referred to urgent discussions in order to ensure the best for children and
young people.
·
The
service worked to protect the future of the clubs that people wished to keep
open.
·
The
new positive and innovative model had been drawn up by officers who had years
of experience of working in the field.
A registered vote was called on the amendment and over a quarter of
members voted in favour of it.
In accordance with Procedural Rules, the following vote was recorded on
the amendment:-
In favour (39)
Councillors Craig ab Iago, Menna Baines, Dylan Bullard, Steve Collings,
Elwyn Edwards, Alan Jones Evans, Aled Evans, Simon Glyn, Gareth Griffith,
Selwyn Griffiths, Annwen Hughes, Sian Wyn Hughes, Judith Humphreys, Nia
Jeffreys, Peredur Jenkins, Aled Wyn Jones, Berwyn Parry Jones, Charles W.Jones.
Elin Walker Jones, Huw Wyn Jones, Linda A.W.Jones, Cai Larsen, Beth Lawton,
Dafydd Meurig, Linda Morgan, Dafydd Owen, Edgar Wyn Owen, Rheinallt Puw, Gareth
A.Roberts, Mair Rowlands, Paul Rowlinson, Dyfrig Siencyn, Gareth Thomas, Ioan
Thomas, Catrin Wager, Cemlyn Williams, Elfed Williams, Gethin Glyn Williams and
Gruffydd Williams.
Against (30)
Councillors Freya Bentham, Stephen Churchman, R.Glyn Daniels, Anwen
Davies, Dylan Fernley, Peter Garlick, Alwyn Gruffydd, John Brynmor Hughes, Louise
Hughes, R.Medwyn Hughes, Aeron M.Jones, Anne Lloyd Jones, Elwyn Jones, Keith
Jones, Kevin Morris Jones, Sion Wyn Jones, Eryl Jones-Williams, Dilwyn Lloyd,
Dewi Owen, W.Roy Owen, Jason Parry, Dewi Roberts, Elfed Roberts, John Pughe
Roberts, Angela Russell, Mike Stevens, Hefin Underwood, Eirwyn Williams, Gareth
Williams and Owain Williams.
Abstaining (1)
Councillor Annwen Daniels
As the amendment was carried, the Monitoring Officer explained that the motion
had changed and that a further vote needed to be taken with the wording of the
amendment as opposed to the original motion.
The majority voted in favour of the motion.
RESOLVED that this
Council also asks that the Council Cabinet reconsider specific elements of the
new model for the Youth Service in the County because of our concerns on three
counts:-
1) change of emphasis from the community to the
welfare of individuals
2) the impact on the most deprived areas of the
county
3) Impact on the Welsh language
We, therefore, ask that the Cabinet hold urgent
discussions, by the end of this month if possible, with all the town,
community, and city councils along with other relevant agencies. The purpose of this is to look at ways of
cooperating in order to fund the continuation of as many youth clubs in the
county as possible, where this is desired, over the transitional period and in
order to offer appropriate support for the voluntary youth organisations that,
until recently, received funding.
We also ask that the Cabinet conduct a language
assessment of the impact of the restructure and an assessment of its community
impact on the most deprived areas of the county."
The proposer of the original motion noted that his motion simply
requested that the Cabinet reconsider its decision and that this was,
essentially, what the amendment also comprised of. On account of this, he did not object to the
amendment as it was contained within his motion. However, he warned that he would be keeping a
close eye on the situation and would return the matter to the Council if the
Cabinet did not give this serious consideration, prejudicing against the
closure of youth clubs and also prejudicing against providing funding to
voluntary organisations.