To receive any Chair’s announcements.
Minutes:
Councillor Selwyn
Griffiths paid tribute to the late Maldwyn Lewis, Porthmadog – a former member
of this Council and the previous Gwynedd County Council.
The Chairman noted with
sadness that they had also heard about the sudden death of former Councillor
Dewi Llewelyn, who had been very active in representing local people and his
community in Bangor. The Council's sincerest condolences were
expressed to his family and friends.
It was also noted that the
Council wished to sympathise with everyone within the county’s communities who
had recently lost loved ones.
The Council stood in silence as a mark of respect
and remembrance.
The Leader was invited to
say a few words about the recent Senedd Elections. He noted:-
·
This was the last Annual
Meeting of the Council before the members faced elections in May of next year,
and he took the opportunity to thank every member for their valuable
contribution to the Council's work. He also noted that it had been a pleasure
and privilege to be Leader over the past four years, and that he would do his
best for the remaining year of the current Council's term.
·
He wished to congratulate
Siân Gwenllian and Mabon ap Gwynfor on being elected
to represent Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd in the recent Senedd Elections. He
expressed his hope that both of them, as former county councillors, would
remember local government in their work, and support every effort to empower
and protect local government, and to ensure that we received sufficient funding
to perform our duties.
·
He wished to state his
appreciation of those members of the Council who had stood in the Senedd
Elections, and thanked them for participating in the democratic process.
·
He wished Lord Dafydd
Elis-Thomas well in his retirement from the Senedd after a lifetime of service
to Wales, especially to Meirionnydd. He
noted that his work as the Presiding Officer of the Assembly had been key in
laying firm foundations and giving status to the body, and he thanked him for
all his work, and for representing us for all this time.
·
The people of Wales had put
a vote of confidence in the Labour Party, and much of the thanks for that was
down to the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, for the measured and honest way in
which he had guided us through an extremely difficult time. The last year had shown that Wales could work
more effectively, and more sensibly, than the Westminster Government, and it
had also shown very clearly the need for far more powers for Wales. There was a challenge for the Labour Party to
demonstrate that they were ready to stand firm for Wales, insisting on more
powers, and to establish themselves as a Welsh independent party, breaking free
from their peers in England. As Leader of the Council for the next year, he
would take advantage of every opportunity to express this challenge to them.
·
He wished to welcome Dafydd
Gibbard to his first meeting of the full Council as Chief Executive. He wished
him every success in the job, and noted that he looked forward to working
alongside him over the next year.
Andy Dunbobbin was congratulated
on being elected as North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.
The Chair expressed his appreciation of Councillor
Edgar Owen's work as Chair over the past two years. He had truly walked the
second mile, and his term as Chair was greatly respected.
He added that the last year had been incredibly challenging, and that
Councillor Edgar Owen had been very successful in handling the chairing of the
Council meetings virtually for the first time in the Council's history.
Dafydd Gibbard was welcomed to his first meeting of
the full Council as Chief Executive, and Dilwyn Williams, former Chief
Executive, was thanked for his work over the past seven years, and was wished a
long and happy retirement.
It
was also pleasing to note that the Council had retained its Gold Level status
by a Corporate Health Standard assessor (Welsh Government) following a
presentation and discussion on what the Council had done to support mental and
physical health during the past 12 months.