In accordance with
the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution,
Councillor Siân Gwenllian will
propose as follows:-
“This
Council expresses its fierce opposition to the Treasury’s monetary policies
because they hit the most needy, destroy public services and force us like
every Council to make dire cuts which will also have a significant impact on
the local economy. The cuts are not Gwynedd Council cuts, they are the Tories’
cuts; we oppose the ideology that drives the cuts, but we are trying to act as
fairly and transparently as possible under atrocious circumstances. Despite
this, we remain ambitious for the county and eager to generate future success.”
Minutes:
(b) The following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor
Siân Gwenllian, in accordance
with Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded.
“This Council expresses its fierce opposition to the Treasury's
financial policies because they hit the most needy, destroy public services and
force us like every Council to make dire cuts which will also have a
significant impact on the local economy. These cuts are not Gwynedd Council's
cuts but they are the Tories' cuts; we oppose the ideology that drives the
cuts, but we are trying to act as fairly and as transparently as possible under
atrocious circumstances. Despite this, we remain ambitious for the county and
eager to generate future successes."
The motion was supported.
During the discussion:-
·
The Cabinet Member for Resources referred
to the Minister's announcement
the previous day regarding the 2016/17 settlement,
emphasising that there was no room
to delight in the situation as the Council faced a 2% cut in its 2016/17 budget, and therefore
continued to be in a situation of having to find around £7m of cuts in the next
year.
·
To the contrary, it was noted that
the Minister had stated, despite the horrific cuts by the Westminster
Government, that the settlement for councils would not be as bad as predicted
and it was largely hoped that
Education, Social Services and other departments
across the Council would not be facing as much of a cut.
·
It was suggested that
the previous day's figure was not the important one, rather the cumulative figure, and that
local government had received a 16% cut to its budget in 2009.
·
It was noted, as well as cuts, that
the Council was facing big changes, such as
the arrival of Inclusive
Credit.
An amendment to add to the motion was proposed and seconded, stating
that the Council also condemned the U.K. Government for being able to find
funding for bombs and aircraft
for warfare while arguing that
there was no funding available for public services.
The proposer of the original motion agreed to amend the proposal on the lines noted
with the consent of the Council and the seconder.
During the discussion:-
·
It was noted that the discussion had become very broad
and it would
have been better if the entire
matter of the impact of the
settlement had been raised as an
urgent matter under item 6 of the agenda.
·
It was expressed that
the addition to the proposal
clouded the whole issue and that
it was not possible to couple both things
together in one proposal.
·
It was suggested that
the addition was valid as it was simply
a statement in principle, which condemned arming and spending on
weapons of war.
A vote was taken on the amended motion, and it
was carried.
RESOLVED to accept the original motion, adjusted as follows:-
“This Council expresses its fierce opposition to the Treasury's financial
policies because they hit the most needy, destroy public services and force us
like every Council to make dire cuts which will also have a significant impact
on the local economy. These cuts are not Gwynedd Council's cuts but hey are the
Tories' cuts; we oppose the ideology that drives the cuts, but we are trying to
act as fairly and as transparently as possible under atrocious circumstances.
Despite this, we remain ambitious for the county and eager to generate future
successes.
This Council also condemns
the U.K. Government for being able to find
funding for bombs and aircraft
for warfare while arguing that
there is no funding available for public services."