Agenda item

To provide an opportunity for members of the Committee to scrutinise the content of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Draft Well-being Plan and submit any observations.

(i)         To accept the report.

(ii)        To ask the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board to ensure protection for the Welsh language in the Well-being Plan.

(iii)       That the Committee supports the well-being objective 'We will work together to alleviate the effect of poverty on our communities' well-being' as it is essential.

(iv)      That we need to ensure that our children and young people are given every fairness.

The report was submitted by the Council Leader and the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal points: 

-      It was explained that the Well-being Plan would be published in May, with the consultation being held until 6 March 2023.

-      It was elaborated that the work to carry out the draft Well-being Plan had been developed over the past 18 months. Workshops had been held over the summer with board members in order to learn lessons from the previous well-being plan and set criteria in order to agree on new objectives. It was noted that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board was eager to ensure that they added value by working together without duplicating work that would be carried out in any case.

-      It was confirmed that the Public Services Board had drawn up three Well-being Objectives for the 2023-2028 period. These were fields where the Board believed that it was possible for the members to collaborate better to ensure the best possible outcomes for the people of Gwynedd and Anglesey. The draft objectives were:

o   We want to work together to mitigate the impact of poverty on the well-being of our communities.

o   We want to work together to prioritise the well-being and success of our children and young people.

o   We want to work together to support our communities to shift towards Zero Net Carbon.

-      It was emphasised that the Welsh language was a golden thread that would be promoted in every field in the Board's plan.

-      It was explained that the Board was continuing to consult by sharing the Draft Well-being Plan with town and community councils, the third sector, older people forums, looked after children and students at colleges and sixth forms.

-      It was confirmed that the Board would adapt the draft well-being plan after a consultation period if needed before it would be submitted to the Full Council and published in May.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. Members were reminded that the Committee was a statutory consultee. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

Concern was shared about protecting the Welsh language in the Plan, particularly following the results of the recent Census. It was noted that although the report noted that the language was a golden thread, it had not been included as a specific objective in the new Plan. It was asked whether the Board was considering changing one of the objectives to include the Welsh language or adding an additional objective.

In response to the above comments: 

-      the Programme Manager - Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board ensured that the language was embedded in all of the Board's work. The language had not been noted as an objective since all members of the Board were operating through the medium of Welsh already and therefore it was not a new target. It was noted that the Board would consider amending the plan in order to highlight the status of Welsh within the Plan.

-      the Council Leader noted that the language sub-group was also working hard to ensure that the Welsh language was used by all members of the Board.

It was considered how the objectives would be funded and how likely it was that residents would succeed to follow them during the cost-of-living crisis.

-      In response to these observations, the Council Leader confirmed that funding projects such as the Well-being Plan was very challenging. Since the UK Government was managing a lot of the funding, it would affect this. Nevertheless, the Board was seeking to come together to resolve the problems of the impacts of poverty in order to recover the situation.

Reference was made to well-being objective 2 and it was asked how partners were identified. In response, the Programme Manager - Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board noted that discussions had been held with the Youth Service and consideration was given to amending the Board's membership after adopting the well-being objectives.

It was asked how the Board was hoping to aim towards carbon net zero, and the impact that this would have within the rural areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey.

In response to the query:   

-      the Council Leader noted that it was very important to attempt to reach carbon net zero. He emphasised that every local authority had a responsibility to reach for this goal. It was hoped that every partner within the Board would commit to reduce their carbon footprint and promote and facilitate the aspiration of reaching carbon net zero. It was not possible to share specific plans at present until the Board was able to share ideas in terms of what could work and what systems did not work as effectively.

-      The Programme Manager - Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board confirmed that it was possible to assess whether the partners were managing to commit to reaching carbon net zero by setting measures. She explained that the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board was collaborating with similar boards nationally in an attempt to identify an effective method of measuring this.

RESOLVED

(i)         To accept the report.

(ii)       To ask the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board to ensure protection for the Welsh language in the Well-being Plan.

(iii)      That the Committee supports the well-being objective 'We will work together to alleviate the effect of poverty on our communities' well-being' as it is essential.

(iv)      That we need to ensure that our children and young people are given every fairness.