To consider any
questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.19
of the Constitution.
Minutes:
(The Cabinet Members'
written responses to the questions had been distributed to the members in
advance).
(1) Question from Councillor
Owain Williams
"What
response will Gwynedd Council give to the presumptuous statement from the
Westminster Government, and the Conservative Party in particular, namely their
order to drape the 'Union Jack' flag on the side of the buildings of the
'Empire', namely the UK, here in Wales?"
Response from the
Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys
"These are not orders, but guidelines and
encouragement to raise the Union Jack flag on buildings in British nations. The
Council is responsible for raising banners on its own buildings, and we already
have a policy for this. I have forwarded the details of this policy to members
for information."
Supplementary
Question from Councillor Owain Williams
"I ask this Council to contact the UK Prime
Minister's Office and ask for an explanation and an apology for insulting and
belittling our nation."
Response from the
Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys
"I
also agree that the attitude is presumptuous and insulting. I believe we are doing everything within our
ability within this Council. For example, British Ministers recently wanted to
hold a 'UK Day' and wanted children to sing a particular song in schools about
the union and the strength of the United Kingdom. I am very grateful to the Football Association
of Wales for having the idea that children in Welsh schools could sing the
national anthem on the same day, and I was very proud to see on the news and
social media, following guidance from the Head of Education Department in
Gwynedd, that children across Gwynedd schools did this. Therefore, as a Council I believe we do
everything within our ability to promote our Welsh culture and identity."
(2) A question from Councillor
Alwyn Gruffydd
"Bearing
in mind that the 'Housing Action Plan' labels the Help-to-Buy Scheme as a
"very popular" one and that the money invested in the scheme can be
"recycled", and considering the cost associated with the construction
of new housing, and that we cannot build ourselves out of this crisis in any
case, is it necessary for the Council to promote a much broader use of
equity provision schemes such as the 'Homebuy Wales' scheme, which is much more
cost efficient and an alternative method to help people to live in their local
areas?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago
"We
are in the middle of a real housing crisis and each one of us have stories or
examples in our wards of unfairness and house prices that are too high, or
buildings being lost to people from outside Wales who wish to make a quick
profit. The situation is becoming more
desperate every day. We heard recently that our house prices had increased the
most in Britain. These are things that we are all concerned about and I would
say that this is the highest priority for us all in terms of the things we need
to resolve. And this is the Housing Action Plan - a way of responding to this
from the housing aspect, and the plan has been produced for one purpose, namely
to home local people. This is the ethos behind everything in the plan. It is
totally innovative and we are leading on this throughout Britain as the plan
exists wholly for that. However, we have built flexibility to the system. We
are attempting to trial as many things as we can and we are going to undertake
the work over the years. The plan mentioned by Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd is
included in it. But of course, our
response there is not going to resolve the problem until we tackle the planning
aspect, and there is only one way to tackle this, and for some reason, it is
clear to me that Welsh Government has no intention of doing so. You would
expect this from the Westminster Government as they are not concerned about us
at all, but you would not expect a lack of reply from Welsh Government! It is very difficult to understand why our
Government would want to see our communities die, as is currently the case, and
not responding at all. However, this is
the situation we are now facing. The only thing we can do is continue to put
pressure on them, and discuss this and keep it in the news as we have already
done. Should they give us more funding on the housing side to invest in this,
we would do so, as this is what we want to do. There is no lack of desire here
to resolve the problem and to do more of what we are seeking to do, only a lack
of resources at present."
A
Supplementary Question from Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd
"Is it not time for this Council to start
offering mortgages to local people?
Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago
"We
have been discussing in the Department now for approximately eighteen months.
There is more we can do, and we are also learning. We are not saying that everything is in the
Housing Action Plan. We need to add more to it but, of course, there is a lack of
funding, a lack of resources and a lack of time. But definitely, it is
something that we have been discussing. There is no simple answer to this. We
need to do so many different things as we can, but the answer is to resolve the
planning aspect."
(3) Question from Councillor
Beca Brown
"I would like an update on matters arising
from the climate change emergency - what has happened so far, and what are the
Council's plans following this?"
Response by the
Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn
"This
is the most important subject we can discuss these days, and as it is a
corporate, cross-departmental matter, it is appropriate for me to answer the
question.
You may remember that you received a report on the
matter for a Council meeting on 19 December 2019, where we reported that the
Cabinet had established a task-force to consider what needed to be done further
in the field. The intention was also noted to draw up a whole-council Climate
Change Action Plan.
It
must be recognised that the work has lost momentum as a result of the Covid-19
crisis. The work undertaken by Council departments in the relevant fields
(recycling, de-carbonisation, responding to flooding, biodiversity) etc. has
obviously continued, but although officers have been working on a draft
version, the timetable to publish the action plan has slipped.
However, we are aware of the importance of
revisiting this field of work with urgency, and at its meeting in January 2021,
the Cabinet resolved to establish a Climate Change Board to steer the
work. It was also resolved to fund a
project manager for a 12-month period initially in order to meet the basic
element of coordinating all the work. An officer has been appointed to the post
of the Climate Change Programme Manager and she has commenced in post this
week.
The Climate Change Board will meet over the coming
weeks in order to restart the work. The priority will be to draw up a work
programme for the next six months, and this will include holding workshops with
you as members in order to consider whether there are gaps in our draft action
plan, and to update the plan for it to be published in its final form before
the end of 2021."
A supplementary
question by Councillor Beca Brown
"Will the public be able to provide an input
as well?"
Response by the
Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn
"This
is important and we are aware that citizens are eager to participate in this
discussion. As part of our regeneration strategy, we are about to commence an
engagement plan or a conversation with our communities in the 13 well-being
areas on a variety of subjects, and will ask them how they view their area in
2035, and ask them what are their priorities and concerns. We have not got all
the answers and we are eager to receive feedback from local residents, and if
there are ideas for operational plans, then we should be producing those plans
on a joint basis. This is the first step on the journey, which is a
comprehensive piece of work, and we have 10 officers who will start the work of
visiting the well-being areas, and we are giving priority to this. If more
resources will need to be provided, then we will deliver this. The first part
of the process will involve speaking to our local councillors as they have a
store of very valuable information about their communities and who within their
communities are leading, or can contribute towards the discussion. This will
start soon and I have a request here for all members, especially with a subject
such as climate change, to consider what is taking place in our areas, and we
are eager to hear your ideas in order to be able to collaborate with our
communities."
(4) Question from Councillor
Gruffydd Williams
"Given that there are three times more holiday
homes than holiday units here in Gwynedd, and that the highest number of
holiday homes in Wales are to be found here in Gwynedd, does the Leader not
think that putting pressure on Welsh Government to pursue the three-point plan
is a weak strategy?"
Response from the
Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn
"No. Members are aware that the report by Dr Simon
Brooks, "Second Homes: Developing Policies in Wales", is based to a
great degree on very thorough research work by the Planning Department of this
Council. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the planning officers
who continue to work and research into these fields. The report of Dr Simon
Brooks made 12 recommendations and at its meeting on 15 June, the Council
Cabinet resolved to call on Welsh Government to take urgent action and to adopt
all those 12 recommendations. The Government was also asked to strengthen the
recommendation that sought to respond to the current situation where it is
possible for a second home owner to avoid paying Council tax.
The
Cabinet also called on the Government to prioritise the recommendations that
would make the biggest difference, identifying the three that should be
implemented with urgency.
Following
the Cabinet's decision, I wrote to the First Minister calling on him to take
action without delay. A copy of this letter is included as part of item 14(b)
in the agenda of this Council.
We have received a response this morning by the
Minister for Climate Change, Julie James MS. It is a lengthy and technical
response, which essentially states that we must follow the existing guidelines
and legislation, but we will share that response with all members as soon as we
can."
Supplementary
question from Councillor Gruffydd Williams
"Bearing in mind that the Government has now
promised to address 2 of the 3 points he is calling for, does the Leader agree
that it is now obvious that there is a need to address the broader and much
more important matters, namely the issue of holiday homes?"
Response by
the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn
"We
are disappointed to a large extent that the Government is not taking clear
action, but we are pleased that they will hold the discussion with us, and I
have already expressed my desire to be part of that conversation. I will refer
to those matters we think are going to have the greatest impact on holiday
homes, second homes, etc. and I can assure you that I will give this priority,
and set our viewpoint as a Council very clearly. At a meeting yesterday with
the Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans MS, the matter of
rural housing was raised and she said that this was a priority for the
Government. This is some kind of comfort for us and she will commence a virtual
tour around the councils at the end of the month. I believe that a meeting has been arranged
between her and me at the end of this month with the Chief Executive.
Therefore, I will take every opportunity to press and ask the Government to
take action as soon as possible, and I hope I can influence them."