Agenda item

·         To approve the draft response to the Consultation

·         To delegate the right to the Leader, in consultation with the Chief Executive and the Head of Legal Services, to complete and submit a report on behalf of the Council. 

The report was presented by Iwan Evans. 

DECISION

·         To approve the draft response to the Consultation

·         To delegate the right to the Leader, in consultation with the Chief Executive and the Head of Legal Services, to complete and submit a report on behalf of the Council. 

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted and it was noted that discussions regarding this matter had taken place over a number of months. It was noted that the consultation was an example of Welsh Government ignoring the voice of Local Government, claiming that it promoted democracy but instead pushing democracy further from the hands of residents. It was emphasised that there was a place for collaboration of this kind, but that it must be voluntary; currently it was forced upon us and highlighted the Government's lack of faith in Local Government.

The Monitoring Officer noted that the Local Governments and Elections (Wales) Act had been passed in the Senedd. It was expressed that this gave the Minister the power to establish the Corporate Joint Committees, which would be operational across the six northern counties. It was emphasised that the act comprised four elements, with the Minister able to enforce in areas including Transportation, Strategic Planning, Education Organisation and Economic Development.  It was noted that the consultation looked at forming Corporate Joint Committees for elements of three of these fields.

Some matters raised in the consultation were highlighted, the first of these being establishing a Joint Committee, specifically regarding the requirement in terms of resources and staff expertise. It was noted that there was no clarity in terms of who would lead the establishment. It was noted that the consultation did not highlight the relationship between the Joint Committees and Councils. Attention was drawn to the financial challenges, as it was possible that the Joint Committees would place financial requirements on the Councils, and there was no clear timetable.

The situation in terms of the Welsh language was expanded upon, noting that there were currently collaborative arrangements based on the Joint Committee's consensus. It was expressed that as this was a separate body, it would be necessary for the language standards and framework to be put in place soon to ensure linguistic assurance.  

Observations arising from the discussion

¾  It was expressed that Councils were being forced into this, that it was completely destructive to democracy, and there was no mention of an equality assessment. 

¾  It was emphasised that Gwynedd Council had a strong hold of financial matters, and that it was unfair that they could ask for a financial contribution without any time to prepare.

¾  It was expressed that this body was not dissimilar to the Fire Authority, where it was possible for them to ask for funds, noting how it was to be spent. It was emphasised that it was not democratic as the majority would take the vote, and as a result the residents of any county could be tied to a matter with which they disagreed.  It was noted that this took the decision further away from the people. The need was emphasised to note, at the start of the consultation, that the Council was opposed to the enforcement of establishing these Joint Committees.

¾  It was noted that there was a need for the Government to give powers to Local Government to make the decisions, rather than to regional joint committees. 

¾    Complete opposition to the Joint Committees and serious concerns regarding their establishment were noted