Agenda item

It was resolved to approve the Gwynedd Council Plan 2018/23 - 2020/21 Review to be submitted to the Council on 5 March 2020, subject to the following:

¾     Adding clauses to the Housing Department section to note the Council's actions and priorities for the forthcoming year in relation to the provision problem which is being created as a result of the number of holiday homes in the county.

¾     Revisions to the order of the Education Department's information in the plan.

The report was presented by Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn 

DECISION

It was resolved to approve the Gwynedd Council Plan 2018/23 - 2020/21 Review to be submitted to the Council on 5 March 2020, subject to the following:

¾     Adding clauses to the Housing Department section to note the Council's actions and priorities for the forthcoming year in relation to the provision problem which is being created as a result of the number of holiday homes in the county.

¾     Revisions to the order of the Education Department's information in the Plan.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted and it was noted that the Council Plan had been originally adopted by the Full Council in 2018. It was added that the Plan would be reviewed annually. It was stated that the Council was attempting to make the Plan coherent for residents and outlined the main projects of the Council for the forthcoming year.

Attention was drawn to two new items that had been added to the Plan - Work of the Climate Change Scheme and the Housing and Property Service. It was stated that these fields addressed responsibilities in the climate change field and showed the substantial prioritisation done by the Council in the Housing Field.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾     The addition from the Housing and Property department was welcomed and it was emphasised that the field was challenging as a high number of houses in the county were holiday homes. It was reiterated that a clause needed to be added to the section noting their priorities for the coming year in terms of the problem being created in terms of supply in light of the number of holiday homes in the county.

¾     Pride was expressed that climate change could be seen in the Plan and challenges faced by Gwynedd Consultancy to protect communities were highlighted. It was emphasised that the Highways Department was also maximising recycling, reducing the amount of litter sent to landfill and attempting to reduce the creation of waste through different schemes. It was added that the Climate Change Group covered all departments and explored ways to move forward.

¾     The information of the Education Department in the report was discussed. It was noted that if you looked at it as a citizen that the information did not mention much about the work of the schools themselves, starting with the schools improvement service. In order to ensure clarity, it was emphasised that the Education Department's plan needed to be amended.

¾     Attention was drawn to Priority 8 - Businesses Receiving Support to Prosper, and it was enquired whether this work was undertaken on a daily basis. It was stated that supporting businesses was day to day work but that it had been maximised as the future was uncertain as a result of Brexit.

¾     It was emphasised that the report provided a clear picture of the Council’s work and highlighted a clear direction.

¾     It was highlighted that the document was ultimately being created for residents and while it clearly highlighted what we did to serve Gwynedd residents, it did not clearly highlight how good we were at delivering this as this appeared in our Performance Report. It was also noted that the wording of the document needed to be examined in future to ensure clear Welsh. It was added there was hope that it would be possible to combine the Council Plan and the Performance Report next year so that it was possible to ensure that we had a plan noting what we do for Gwynedd residents and how good we do it - namely, matters that will be of interest to residents.

¾     The incorporation of the Well-being of Future Generations Act in the document was welcomed.

¾     Staff of the Council's Business Support Service were thanked for their work in creating the Council Plan.