Agenda item

It was agreed to:

1.    End the trial of operating with only one director and proceed with the usual recruitment process.

2.    Abolish the post of Head of Gwynedd Consultancy on the retirement of the current Head of Service and merge the Highways and Municipal Department and Gwynedd Consultancy as one new department.

3.    Transfer the Waste and Recycling units from the Highways and Municipal Department to the Environment Department and move one Assistant Head / Senior Manager post. 

4.    Restart our Supporting People programme by transferring the relevant Assistant Head of Service post to the Leadership Team, for a period of two years initially.

5.    Confirm that relocating elements of the Early Years and Youth Service from the Children and Families Department to the Education Department will be implemented by the Chief Executive.

6.    To delegate the power to the Head of Legal Services to modify the Council's Delegation Scheme to reflect the changes as they become operational.

7.    To note that the above changes will achieve an annual net revenue saving of
approximately £81,000 which will sit within the Leadership Team for the time being until required.

The report was submitted by Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn.

DECISION

It was agreed to:

1.    End the trial of operating with only one director and proceed with the usual recruitment process.

2.    Abolish the post of Head of Gwynedd Consultancy on the retirement of the current Head of Service and merge the Highways and Municipal Department and Gwynedd Consultancy as one new department.

3.    Transfer the Waste and Recycling units from the Highways and Municipal Department to
the Environment Department and move one Assistant Head / Senior Manager post. 

4.    Restart our Supporting People programme by locating the relevant Assistant Head of Service as part of the Leadership Team, for a period of two years initially.

5.    Confirm that relocating elements of the Early Years and Youth Service from the Children and Families Department to the Education Department will be implemented by the Chief Executive.

6.    To delegate the power to the Head of Legal Services to modify the Council's Delegation Scheme to reflect the changes as they become operational.

7.    To note that the above changes will achieve an annual net revenue saving of
approximately £81,000 which will sit within the Leadership Team for the time being until required.

DISCUSSION

The report was presented, noting that the Council was now adapting back after the pandemic period and that it was a good time to revisit and alter the Council's internal arrangements. It was explained that empty posts needed to be filled in the roles of Corporate Directors and for Gwynedd Consultancy to be moved into the Highways and Municipal Department. It was noted that in order to be able to cope with the added pressure, that the Waste section would be moved to the Environment Department.

It was expressed that these alterations were being made in the right places and secured a saving of £81,000 per year to the Council.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾     Support was expressed for the Chief Executive's plans to alter the Council's internal arrangements, highlighting that there was a long list of schemes that the Council wished to deliver and it would assist towards the efforts made to realise the schemes.

¾     It was expressed that it was a good time to make changes and that they made sense. It was noted that the alterations should be carried out seamlessly in order to have the least impact possible on services and to create units prior to the transfer, and specifically regarding the Waste Service.

¾     The need to highlight the alterations to all Councillors and the public so that they were aware was emphasised, since there was often some confusion regarding what fields of work were in the Environment Department and Highways and Municipal Department.

¾     The existing Corporate Director was thanked for her exceptional work over the years and it was noted that she was a role model for women.

¾     The exciting plans that were to be seen in the Council's priority list were highlighted, and the need to work across departments to ensure that the plans were actioned was highlighted.