Agenda item

To submit the report of the Head of Corporate Support  (attached).

The Deputy Leader presented a report recommending that the Council adopted a specific Strategic Plan for the coming year.

During the discussion the following matters were raised:-

·         Referring to the Digital Gwynedd Project, a request was made to examine whether the broadband in the county’s rural schools could be extended to nearby buildings and residents, so that the wider community could take advantage of the provision.  The Chairman noted that this matter could be examined further. Assurance was requested that the Council would pressurise BT Openreach to ensure that fast broadband would reach all rural areas. The Chairman noted that this matter would receive attention.

·         Referring to the Conducting an Equality Impact Assessment template in Appendix 2, a member noted that she had recently received a complaint that the marriage pack for single sex couples included the words 'bride' and 'groom', crossed out with 'partner 1' and 'partner 2' noted in their place, and also contained the words 'him' and 'her'. She was also under the impression that there was no opportunity to walk the partners down the aisle. She added that this excluded people and requested that the issue be discussed at a scrutiny committee. In response, the Chairman noted that these matters were outside the remit of the Strategic Plan, but were matters that required attention, and that the message would be relayed to the relevant department.

·         The Cabinet and officers were congratulated on the Strategic Plan. It was noted that there was a very clear focus in the document and it was agreed that these were the main strategic areas that the Council should concentrate upon during the forthcoming extremely challenging period.

·         Officers were requested to do everything within their means to ensure that Gwynedd benefitted from a fair share of the £9m Rural Development Programme funding that had been earmarked by the Welsh Government for rural areas and communities. The Chairman noted that this observation would be forwarded to the Cabinet. The Deputy Leader added that the Council needed to ensure that it attracted the maximum amount of funding from European Funds. Gwynedd Council’s record in this field was extremely good, and this work should certainly continue in order to attract the maximum benefit possible to the county's rural economy.

·         It was noted that the Council itself must take steps to strengthen the local economy, but the planning system militated against economic developments, and it was emphasised that the Council should be able to support small businesses in their own localities, rather than sending them to urban industrial estates. The Deputy Leader agreed with the observation, noting that a scrutiny committee working party was examining the situation to look at how to establish a positive planning system that encouraged, rather than impeded, the economy.

·         It was noted that the opening of the new school in Y Groeslon had meant the closure of Carmel school, with over 60 pupils, and had led to a rift in the village as many of Carmel’s children now went to Penygroes. 

·         The report was welcomed, but it was noted that it gave rise to more questions than it answered.  The fact that the Council had targets to aim for was welcomed, but how realistic and practical they were was questioned, e.g. the intention to establish the new school for the Y Gader catchment area as a Welsh medium school. It was noted that the document did not refer either to what would happen in Y Bala.  Also, the statement that Gwynedd was a great distance from the major areas was not accepted in the Poverty, Deprivation, Economy, or Housing departments.  Although Gwynedd was on the periphery of the United Kingdom, it was not far from the populated areas such as Liverpool and Manchester, and it appeared that there was no political will to take advantage of Gwynedd's proximity to these markets. This part of the plan also mentioned that 1,993 people had registered on social housing waiting lists. Assuming that this figure referred to families rather than individuals, and assuming that on average there were 3 people in a family, it appeared that there were approximately 6-7,000 people in need of social housing in Gwynedd.  There was also reference in the plan to a significant increase in the number of the county's businesses that had been awarded contracts from the Council, but what did 'significant' mean?  Reference was made to the fact that a school in Gwynedd served beef from Botswana, and that foreign workers were employed on a project to improve home energy efficiency in the Deiniolen area, and previously in Carmel, and the Council's priority in terms of employing local people was questioned. The fact that there was a specific section on the Welsh language in the plan was welcomed, but it was emphasised that this should be incorporated into all other sections as it was an integral part of the entire plan, and should not stand alone. It had been understood that the Council had lost £500,000 in housing benefit income, but the members had not received any information about this. The Chairman asked the member who raised these points to summarise the questions and ask the Cabinet Member for answers.

·         It was noted that the Strategic Plan tried to identify areas where the Council had influence, and where it could make a difference with the resources and powers to hand.  The days when the public sector and the local council bore the burden for everything had long gone, and the councillors needed to undertake their role as local members in trying to harness the remaining resources.

·         It was emphasised that the Council had no powers to prevent foreign workers from entering, and that this was a matter covered by European laws.

·         It was noted that the Strategic Plan, as it stood, could not deal with the constant pattern and trend of rural poverty that had become embedded for far too long, but that the plan should be commended as it was a move in the right direction.

In conclusion, the Deputy Leader noted that he appreciated the observations on the Strategic Plan, which was a live plan, and he confirmed that consideration would be given to incorporating those observations, or to implement them on a daily basis.

RESOLVED to adopt the Strategic Plan.