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) A question from
Councillor Aeron Maldwyn Jones
“When does this Council anticipate that staff will be back at their
desks?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for
Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys
"Thank you to all Council staff for their
work during the crisis. The question
asks when will staff be back at their desks.
Of course, all Council staff have continued to work for the benefit of
the people of Gwynedd, despite the fact that the desk may sometimes be located
in an attic or at the kitchen table.
The way the staff have adapted at short-notice has been incredible, and
I am very grateful to them. A lot of
work has gone into this, and I have had the opportunity to report to the
Cabinet, and a report has gone to the Audit and Governance Committee, but I am
glad to have the opportunity today to repeat this to the Full Council.
Considerable talk and attention has been given
to "the working world of the future" at an all Wales level over the
past year, with Welsh Government declaring an aim of enabling 30% of the
country's workforce to be able to work close to, or from their homes.
Gwynedd Council is no
different from any other organisation in its planning in this regard. An "Offices Group" has been
established since early 2021, which coordinates the preparation work in the
local area, with the Chief Executive, the Director, the Head of Corporate
Support and human resources officers, health and safety officers, information
technology officers and property officers all serving on that Group.
The vision for future
working within the Council has been approved by the Cabinet in February and the
Audit and Governance Committee had scrutinised the content prior to that. That vision is the output of the efforts of
the Offices Group, but it is also based on a consultation with various cohorts
of Council staff, as well as local trade union representatives.
The aim of the vision
is that the Council provides the best possible service for the people of
Gwynedd, whilst also showing the Council to be a good place to work, and thus
attract and retain quality staff.
With the most recent statements from Welsh
Government, and the likelihood of the further easing of restrictions in the
near future, the time to implement the vision is getting ever closer and the
Chief Executive has shared an outline of an action plan with staff, which is a
plan that is looking to be implemented gradually, in three phases, over the
coming weeks and months, namely:-
·
To
allow all those employees who must, or wish to work from their work centres all
the time, to do so from 7 March,
·
To confirm the arrangements
for those employees who will mainly work from home, with a view to complete
this step before the Easter holidays.
·
To
reach a final agreement with every individual who has noted a wish to work
partly from home and partly from the office, on the work arrangements for both
locations. This phase is likely to be
introduced over a period of time, formally commencing after Easter this
year."
(2) A question from
Councillor Kevin Morris Jones
"Re: Dolbadarn Hotel, Llanberis
I would like to know what the Council's intentions are for dealing with
the problems that exist with the change of use of this building. The former popular hotel is now in the
ownership of a businessman from Birmingham (he also has a similar site in
Pwllheli). The hotel is being used for
homeless people. Although the residents
of Llanberis are happy to help each other and the people from the surrounding
area, it is obvious that this site - Dolbadarn - is being used to house people
who have a vast number of problems in their lives and this creates more
problems in the village of Llanberis.
Unfortunately, incidents of anti-social behaviour occur within and
outside the hotel, which has meant that police and ambulance service presence
have been required there often.
I and the residents of the area understand that we need such sites in
society, but this site is too big in the centre of a small village like
Llanberis. The site is creating more
problems and has a negative impact on a village that relies on tourism almost
throughout the year.
I have contacted Council officers on this matter in the past but I have
not received a clear response or a response that is acceptable to the people of
Llanberis."
Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing,
Councillor Craig ab Iago
"We are all aware of the housing crisis we
are currently facing, and homelessness is a very major aspect of this
problem. There are fewer houses
available to us to act quickly to house everyone. Pre-Covid, we as a Department had introduced
a Homelessness Plan, which is a part of our Housing Action Plan, and in that
respect, we were going to be dealing with the situation as it was at the time,
and make sure that the plan had followed the procedure, or principle, of
housing our people in our communities.
What was happening with homelessness at the time was ad hoc, and in my
opinion, was unsuitable, and without sufficient support, but this is what the
Homelessness Plan itself did - it brought an order to everything, and made sure
that there was plenty of safety and support, and it ensured that we support
those people.
Unfortunately, Covid
kicked in, and this has made the situation even worse, much worse than it
was. Currently, we are talking about
over 700 people who have been registered homeless in the county, and many more
who have not registered because they are too proud to do so. Of those people, 270 people were in bed and
breakfast and hotels, such as the one in Llanberis, which is far from ideal,
for us or the residents or the homeless people themselves, but as a Council, I
am of the opinion that we have a broader duty to look after them, both legally
and morally. But, what matters to us is
that we make sure, wherever we house people, that the situation is safe, and
that the lives of the residents of the area does not deteriorate because of the
presence of those people.
Consequently, I was shocked from seeing this
question. We challenge performance in
this field every month, so I would have expected to hear about this before
now. Therefore, I asked the Department
to look into this, and make sure that we have not missed anything. I wish to state this clearly, in case any
residents are watching, and I wish to make sure that the members understand the
situation in this hotel. In March, we
began using the hotel to house homeless people.
We are not talking here about the sex offenders that people are
referring to, or about paedophiles that people are referring to, or about
prison leavers. We are not talking
about those people at all. We are
talking about people we know- people who have possibly lost their jobs or their
houses, and who need help, or who have separated from their partner.
In June last year, we heard from the members
that issues were arising, and that the community was not happy with what was
happening there. Therefore, the
Department took immediate action to ensure that 2 security guards were present
at the hotel between 5pm and 6am every day, and this has been happening since
June in order to ensure that no issues arise.
People can inform the Department if any problems arise, and we have not
experienced any problems since then. The
Police have been there once and the Ambulance Service have been there
twice. In the two cases when an
ambulance had to be called, residents had been injured or had to be taken to
hospital. This had nothing at all to do
with their behaviour. Also, the Police
had to go there on one occasion as there were protesters outside the building
and were causing trouble and talking about sex offenders, but of course, there
were no sex offenders in the location.
Intensive support is provided to the people who are there. We are talking about a 35-bedroom hotel, and
at present, we are using 15 of those rooms.
Seven of the residents are women, there are no sex offenders or prison
leavers, and no paedophiles.
There is another element here - do we
communicate well enough with the community, with the member? Something that is raised very often these
days, in the Covid-era, is that Council officers do not respond quickly enough
to the members. It is imperative that
they do so because we act as the bridge between the community and the Council,
and we need to know that the arrangements are good enough to ease any issues
that could arise. I have asked the
Department to look into the communication with the member, and it seems to me
that we have responded immediately. We
respond to the problems in writing, and if any problems do arise, we
respond. Most of the responses I have
seen on black and white from the member are ones thanking the officers very
much for their quick response, and so I am happy with what the Council is doing
to help our people and to manage the situations. I am happy with what the Department is doing
in terms of communication with members, is good enough.
Of course, what matters is - we are talking
about a problem that really frightens me, and it completely immoral that this
is happening in Wales in the twenty-first century. It is not the Council that is causing
homelessness. All we do is try to manage
the situation, and it is a situation that gets worse by the day. If we want to point a finger at anyone, we
should point a finger at the people in Westminster who punish us for not being
rich. They say that there is no magic
money tree to help our people, but of course, the magic money tree does exist
when it comes to giving grants to their mates who went to the same schools as
they did. They recently wrote off £9bn
as 'fraud' on their mates' part, and it is important to remember where the
problem derives from, and it does not derive from the Council. I want you all to feel like I am
feeling. We have stood to be members
because we wish to look after and protect our people - not because of the
money. We do the work because of our wish
to help our people, and I want to make sure that you feel like the Housing
Department and Homelessness Unit feel, because we are here to look after our
people. If the member has any further
problems, and feels unhappy about the way the Department is dealing with
anything, I ask him to contact me directly."
Supplementary Question from Councillor Kevin
Morris Jones
"Has Gwynedd
Council been placing former-prisoners in this hotel temporarily?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for Housing,
Councillor Craig ab Iago
"No, and neither has it placed any
paedophiles or sex offender there, and we do not place people who can be
dangerous in the middle of communities.
We are talking here about our people, the people of Gwynedd, people who
just happen to have hit a difficult time in their lives, and need support. That is why we are here, to help the people
of Gwynedd to live in their communities."
(3) A question from
Councillor Annwen Hughes
"Could the Leader give us an update on
the Llanbedr Bypass scheme?"
Response from the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn
"As you all
know, this is a matter that is very close to the heart of the member, but it is
also very close to my heart. You will
recall that the substantial road scheme in the Llanbedr area was overturned by
Welsh Government in November last year, as a result of an independent roads
review, which suggested that there were many environmental and economic
weaknesses in the plan.
There were two elements to the road
scheme:-
·
A
bypass for the village of Llanbedr, which is very narrow, with a very narrow
bridge in the village, and which suffers very substantial congestion on a
regular basis.
·
Improving
the access to the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre site, which is essential to
realise the full potential of the site, and to create quality jobs in the
innovative space and aeroplane field.
Gwynedd Council has strongly opposed the
decision made by the roads review panel, and has detailed a long-list of
shortcomings in their final report.
Letters have been sent to ministers, including the First Minister, and
meetings were held with Welsh Government officers in the field of
transportation and the economy, and I also attended two public meetings in the
village of Llanbedr. Unfortunately, we
are now in a position where, although Welsh Government cannot explain the
shortcomings in the work of the review panel, they are also not prepared to
revisit the work. Welsh Government's
decision not to support the bypass scheme is likely to stand, and this is
saddening and a true injustice for the people of Llanbedr.
We must bear in mind that the scheme continues
to have planning permission, but that Welsh Government's decision not to
provide financial support has led to the loss of all surplus funding that was
required to implement the scheme, including £7.5m in European funding, and
these monies are completely lost to the whole of Wales - they have just
gone. This is because of the withdrawal
from previous vows made regarding transportation funding and economic funding
(due to the Enterprise Zone status of the Aerospace Centre).
In moving forward, we will collaborate with Welsh Government to look at how the access to the Airport
can be improved, and they are very eager to do so. The Site is essential in the
Space Strategy that has just been published by Welsh Government. Therefore, it is obvious that they continue
to support the development of the Site, and improving the access is at the core
of the successful implementation of a number of the recommendations in the
report. As a part of the work of re-considering
improving the access road, we intend to ensure that all types of transport are
considered, so that it is possible to improve walking and cycling links for the
future."
Supplementary Question by Councillor Annwen
Hughes
"Following the
news that there is a new plan to launch the space sector, will other plans be
put into practice to improve the access to Llanbedr airport?"
Response by the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn
"It is encouraging that the Minister for
the Economy, Vaughan Gething, has published his Space Strategy, which places
major emphasis on the possibilities in Llanbedr, and those possibilities are
very important to us, not just in Llanbedr itself, but in Meirionnydd and
beyond. There are opportunities for high
quality jobs here. It is strange,
because one minister has refused the plan.
The Independent Panel, by the way, has alleged that this site and this
type of development is unsuitable for rural areas, and I have drawn attention
on numerous occasions to the threat to economic developments in rural area,
where we genuinely need these jobs. This
does give me some solace, and gives me a glimmer of hope to be honest. The Government's left hand is refusing; and
the right hand wants to do something, and I, very soon, will be arranging a
meeting with the Minister for the Economy and his team, most probably, to
discuss how he intends to proceed with his plans without any sort of road
scheme. Meanwhile, our officers are collaborating
with officers from Transport for Wales and Welsh Government to proceed with the
necessary studies to see whether any type of different solution to the road is
available here. You and I all know this
area very well, and we know that there is no other option apart from this
scheme. But there we are - unfortunately
we must press on and collaborate and see where we will reach. But I will be holding further discussions
with the ministers in the meantime. It
is also disappointing that they have not been able to answer our questions, which
were specific questions, but we have met with officers, and unfortunately, we
have only heard civil service speak - answers that are not really
answers."
(4) A question from
Councillor Sion Jones
“Welsh Government gave Gwynedd Council £550,000
last year to develop a cycle route from Bethel to Caernarfon. Section 1 of this route from Bethel to Tyddyn
Hen was completed recently, with thanks to the Transport Department for
ensuring work of a high standard. Welsh
Government has awarded a further sum of £200,000 to plan and develop ‘Section
2’ of the route, from Tyddyn Hen, Bethel to Caernarfon. Can the Cabinet Member assure me that the
Transport Department will prioritise the completion of this scheme within the
next year?”
Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Gareth Griffith
"The Department
has prepared a comprehensive answer to the question. It has slipped somewhat as the member is
aware, and I also know that the member has been in contact with the Department. There are processes to follow with land
purchases, etc., which take time This
has slipped somewhat, but the answer today also refers to other schemes that
the Department has for similar paths across the county. Although it has slipped somewhat, we hope
that it will be completed within the period that the member refers to."
Supplementary Question from Councillor Sion
Jones
"Is there a specific officer who deals with
active travel in Gwynedd?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Gareth Griffith
"This falls within different departments,
not just within Environment. It is a
good point, and something that arises often.
There may be a demand for something of this sort, and I will raise this
with the Department."
(5) A question from Councillor
Judith Humphreys
"As a part of this Council's work and efforts to ensure equality
between women and men and the commitment to work towards tackling violence
against women, would the Council consider taking steps towards gaining the
White Ribbon accreditation? This would be a clear statement of the Council's
commitment."
Response from the Cabinet Member for
Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys
"Thank you to
the member for her work in promoting the "White Ribbon" scheme and
for everything she does to promote women's rights at every opportunity. The "White Ribbon" is a charitable
organisation that attempts to bring an end to the violence of men against
women. Its aim is for every man to
achieve the White Ribbon pledge, which is to never be violent against women and
to not excuse or keep silent about violence against women.
The charity attempts to be a catalyst, by
encouraging people, specifically boys and men, to change their behaviour where
needed, with an emphasis on taking proactive steps and promoting equality and
respect.
Every organisation in
Britain can be accredited by the "White Ribbon". According to the
charity, securing the accreditation helps an organisation to:-
·
Make
a difference in your communities in order to bring an end to violence against
women;
·
Increase
staff knowledge and skills to address violence against women;
·
Be
an employer of choice
It is important to
note that a lot of good work is already achieved within the Council in this
context, with the terms of employment for staff including a domestic violence
policy (which notes the support that is available in such situations), whilst
officers in the Community Safety Partnership within the Adults, Health and
Well-being Department are doing a lot to raise awareness and bring attention to
the issue.
Officers from the Human Resources Service have
already been in contact with the charity to express an interest in submitting
an application for accreditation, as a part of the work identified as a corporate
priority in the Council Plan, which is "Ensuring Fairness for All".
The intention is to submit a formal application
for accreditation during the next weeks and if approved, to work with the
charity to establish a work plan based on four specific criteria, namely;
·
Strategic
Direction
·
Working
with men and boys
·
Change
of culture
·
Raising
Awareness
Securing
accreditation initially and then establishing a specific work plan, in
collaboration with the charity, will show clearly and strongly our commitment
as a Council to make a difference in our efforts to bring an end to violence
against women."
(6) A question from
Councillor Angela Russell
"Recently, the
Report of the Royal College of Surgeons was published into the VASCULAR
services of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board.
The vascular service
was lost from Ysbyty Gwynedd in 2019 and the entire service was moved to Ysbyty
Glan Clwyd. A service that was globally
renowned for its success was lost from Ysbyty Gwynedd, and also lost was a
well-known, successful and popular surgeon, Professor Dean Williams.
The Royal College's
Report provides a frightening account of the quality of the new service at Glan
Clwyd - it reports a high number of deaths (the highest in Britain in many
fields), and stories of unnecessary amputations. When reading the Royal
College's report, it sounds like a third world service, not a service in one of
the wealthiest countries in the world.
Between 2019, when the service was centralised
in Glan Clwyd, and 2021, I wrote a series of letters, as the Leader of the
Independent Group in Gwynedd, to the Chair and Chief Executive of the Health
Board, to express concern. I also
contacted the Coroner and Public Health Wales on more than one occasion, and I
wrote numerous letters to the Daily Post to draw attention to the matter.
It has taken over THREE YEARS for the Health
Board to acknowledge that there are huge shortcomings in the service and that
patients have suffered unnecessarily. The service is now so horrendous,
Liverpool Hospital will now supervise the work of the surgeons.
Almost £3m was
invested in a new vascular theatre at Glan Clwyd and it was announced that we
in North Wales had a "state of the art theatre".
The truth about it is that shiny, new toys do
not always mean that the service will be better. PEOPLE make a good service, people like
Professor Dean Williams, who had the experience, the skills and expertise with
patients. A huge loss is felt after his
departure.
Does the Council agree that we should all work
together ACROSS THE POLITICAL PARTIES in this County Council to support and
secure local services in Ysbyty Gwynedd?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for Adults,
Health and Well-being, Councillor Dafydd Meurig:
"Of course, I agree 100% with the
member. The decision made by Betsi
Cadwaladr University Health Board back in 2017, I believe, is
unpardonable. The report we have
received about the service at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd is damning to say the least,
and I am certainly very prepared to continue working across political
boundaries with the member, and others, to get this sorted. Many people have been working diligently over
the years to attempt to draw attention to this, and I most definitely agree
with the member, and I am prepared to collaborate."
(7) A Question from
Councillor John Brynmor Hughes
"Does the Leader of Plaid Cymru agree with a councillor who
represents a rural area that all farmers do is reap the rewards of public money
throughout their lives?".
Response by the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn
"One correction
to the question before I begin, to avoid any misconception - I am not the
Leader of Plaid Cymru - I am the Leader of Gwynedd Council, and I am proud of
that. This question lies very close to
my heart and the answer is simple. I could
have answered it in one word - No. I do
not agree with the statement and it is unfounded. I seriously believe that the suggestion made
is offensive to a sector that is currently under threat across the whole of
Wales. I know this from personal experience,
having worked in the agricultural field throughout my life. Farmers make a key contribution to the
protection and maintenance of our environment, economy, culture and language of
our communities. This contribution is invaluable; and justifies the value of
public investment. But the changes
facing the sector and the rural economy are significant and we must be alert to
the risks that can transform the fabric of our rural communities. The UK Government does not provide all the money due
to fund the direct payments to farmers or the rural development plans following
Brexit. There is a shortfall of £137 million in the current financial year from
what the UK Government sends to the Welsh Government to support agriculture and
rural development. This creates concern as it does not appear that the Welsh
Government's new Rural Development Plan for the future will fund the type of
activity to support the local economy seen under the Rural Development Plan for
Wales within the EU and will focus from now on, on supporting environmental
schemes. There is also concern that the
new scheme being developed by the Welsh Government – The Sustainable Farming
Scheme – which replaces the Basic Payment Scheme from 2024/25 onwards, will
focus too much on supporting farmers to be involved in environmental schemes
and plant trees rather than produce food.
We may see a situation under this policy where it will not be viable for
farmers to continue to farm and our farms will be bought, as already witnessed,
by organisations from outside Wales as an investment and the impact on our
rural communities could be very far-reaching.
It is key that our future policies enable us to respond to the threat
positively."
(8) A question from
Councillor Elwyn Jones
(The
question was asked by the Chair in the absence of Councillor Elwyn Jones)
"Over the years, many have campaigned,
particularly in the south of the County, to do away with the transport charge
for Pupils/Students over 16 years old to attend School or College. £260k has been allocated in the 2022-23
budget for this. At the beginning of
2021 adverts were posted by Gwynedd for bids for the Arfon schools school bus
contracts DEMANDING the requirement for eligible PSVA (Public Service Vehicle
Access Regulation) buses.
One of the reasons
for this was that in Arfon Year 12 and 13 pupils pay for School transport -
i.e. paying passengers on a bus service.
Due to the lack of
such buses the Department of Transport in London delayed the act two or three
times - and this is how matters currently stand.
However, the Transport Department in Gwynedd
demanded this (and I know that a local company have had significant expenditure
to change 5 buses). Due to the
significant expenditure of course there was an increase in contract costs =
higher costs for Gwynedd. Therefore for
5 years, Gwynedd sought to justify this by saying that this was a requirement
for the disabled.
I agree a 100% of
course that we have to have equality, but how many of these pupils wanted to
travel on a school bus, while a taxi or family arrangement existed.
May I therefore ask
what was the increase in the cost of the Arfon school buses contracts as a
result of demanding that the buses conform to PSVAR regulations compared to the
former contracts?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Gareth Griffith
"The member has contacted the Department
about this prior to today, and has received a response. I have spoken to one of his electors who has
been affected by this. The situation as
it stands is that the Westminster Government introduced a set of rules, which
includes the type of buses we must have in Britain, and subsequently, this
Authority has had to ask companies to tender, and for those companies to have
the appropriate buses. I know that this
has been expensive to local companies, but we have no choice in the
matter. The Westminster Government has
postponed the decision to start implementing the rules on many occasions,
although I know understand that this will now commence in June. I understand the member's concerns, and I
have spoken to at least two local companies about the difficulties they have
experienced, but the root of this matter has lied in the Westminster Government
from the beginning."
(9) A question from
Councillor Gwynfor Owen
"Speeding is a concern to many
communities, and my Ward, Harlech and Talsarnau, suffers gravely from this
problem. The Council has conducted a
survey of the situation in Harlech and in Talsarnau. They acknowledge that a problem exists and
that something needs to be done about the problem, yet nothing has been
done. Therefore, I ask what the Council
intends to do about this problem in communities where the Council's surveys
themselves prove that a problem does exist?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Gareth Griffith
"The Department has sent a written
response, and as this notes, the Department is seeking to work with partners to
deal with such problems, and is in the progress of rolling out, over the coming
year, rules that Welsh Government will enforce on us with the county's roads,
where the speed limit will be 20mph.
Considerable work is being done on this, and this is how things
currently stand."
A supplementary question by Councillor
Gwynfor Owen
"After a lot of whining, I got an officer
to agree to visit the sites in September, and gauges were installed and the
results were released in October. Again,
at a meeting with the officer last month, I was told that the Council was considering
consulting with the community around June.
I am certain that the Cabinet Member would agree with me that a delay
like this is unacceptable, but what can the Department do to speed up the
process?"
Response from the Cabinet Member for the
Environment, Councillor Gareth Griffith