Minutes:
The Chair noted
that it was with a heavy heart that the difficult decisions regarding the cuts
were made, but during a period of national cuts the Council had to make these
difficult decisions. Thanks were expressed for the councillors' thorough work
and he referred to the enthusiasm of Gwynedd's residents during the Gwynedd
Challenge consultation and their lobbying work during the past weeks and months
that had been essential to come to a conclusion on the cuts.
He referred to a petition
that had been submitted before the meeting. The Cabinet Member for Economy
expanded that she had received a petition regarding the arts, 'Don't cut the
arts in Gwynedd,' with 1,225 names.
In response to a question regarding the costs of upgrading the Council
offices’ secure access doors, the Head of Finance noted that a bid for £60,000
had been submitted by the Regulatory Department to improve the security of the
offices access arrangements as a result of incidents. It was noted that the
work was funded equally by the Regulatory Department and the bid funding.
The Cabinet Member
for Resources proposed the Cabinet's recommendations on the 2016/17 budget and
the Council Tax. He emphasised that the Council had to set a balanced and
viable budget. He guided the members through the report, noting that the
strategy aimed to safeguard the services provided by the Council for the people
of Gwynedd and to keep the increase in Council Tax to the minimum. The proposal
was seconded.
The
Chair reminded the members of the note that he had distributed detailing the
procedure for dealing with this matter. Members were invited to propose
amendments to the Cabinet's recommendation by referencing the number of the
plan in question and bearing in mind that any amendment had to note how it
would ensure a balanced budget.
In response to a member’s question
regarding the procedure of establishing a budget and setting the Council Tax,
the Monitoring Officer noted, in accordance with the statutory procedure, that
the Cabinet recommended a budget and Council Tax to the Full Council.
A member noted that the Cabinet
Members had received more information than the other members in order to come
to a decision. In response, the Chief Executive noted that the Cabinet had received
comprehensive information so that they could draw up a list of possible cuts
before releasing the list to consult with the public. He accepted that only a
summary had been given to the members when they were consulted the previous
summer in order to avoid overloading the members and striking a balance in
terms of the information that was required.
He noted that the additional information was available to other members
if they so wished.
During the subsequent discussion, the following main points were noted:-
·
An appreciation of the
work of officers and the public as part of the Gwynedd Challenge consultation.
·
Given that the Strategic Plan had noted that
approximately 6.9 million tourists had visited Gwynedd in 2014, creating £975
million in revenue, had consideration been given to relocating the tourist
information centres?
·
A Scrutiny Working Group had recommended charging a
fee for using the County's toilets, had considered either transferring them to
others or opening some seasonally but this had not been implemented.
·
The Lloyd George Museum was an important resource
in terms of education and tourism with on-line petitions and calls from
Assembly Members to keep this resource of national importance. Had
consideration been given to contacting Welsh Government and asking it to adopt
it as part of the National Museum?
·
Two or three line manager posts should be cut from
the Council staffing structure rather than cutting tourist information centres
which were extremely important for tourism. If it was decided to close the
tourist information centres, the centre located in Neuadd Dwyfor
should be saved.
·
Only approximately 2% of
the people of Gwynedd had taken part in the Gwynedd Challenge consultation.
·
Concern regarding the
order of the meeting.
·
Welsh Government's Public
Health White Paper recommended that the Council provided a sufficient number of
public toilets. Therefore, why were the Council going to close 50 out of 73
public toilets in the County?
·
Several individuals had not completed the on-line
questionnaire as part of the Gwynedd Challenge consultation because it had been
too complicated and that the number of responses received was low given this
expensive exercise.
In response to the members’ observations, the Chief Executive noted the
following:-
·
In terms of the public toilets, it was only
economically possible to charge a fee by installing payment machines for some
of the toilets, and should there be a wish to remove plan number 51 (Close 50
out of 73 of the County's public toilets) from the cuts then another plan would
need to be added to the cuts or the Council Tax would have to be increased.
There was work to be done in terms of which public toilets would be closed and
how to realise the cuts and perhaps the Scrutiny Committee should be part of
the process.
·
It was acknowledged that there would be an impact
on tourism by including some plans in the list of cuts but should a plan be
removed from the list then another plan would have to be added or the Council
Tax would have to be increased.
·
Discussions had not been
held with Welsh Government regarding the Lloyd George Museum but it was
recommended to postpone acting on the cut until 1 April 2017, in order to give
the Service an opportunity to hold discussions with anybody that wished to take
responsibility for the museum.
·
Further work was to be undertaken on some of the
plans included in the list of cuts before they could be implemented.
An amendment was
proposed to remove plan number 12 (reduce 50% of the grants given to voluntary
organisations for specific projects) and plan number 26 (delete the Canolfan Noddfa grant) from the
list of cuts and increase the Council Tax by 4.03%.
The Head of the
Finance Department noted that removing both plans from the list of cuts would
mean raising the Council Tax by 4.09% in order to set a balanced budget. The
proposer accepted the adjustment.
The amendment was seconded.
In response to enquiries by members relating to declaring an interest,
the Monitoring Officer noted that he had made a request for members to ask for
guidance in advance. He added that the members had received training on the
Code of Conduct and it was a matter for the individual Councillor to decide in
terms of declaring an interest.
In accordance with Procedural Rules, the following vote was recorded on
the amendment:-
In favour: (8) Councillors Gwynfor Edwards, Aled Evans, Gwen
Griffith, Aled Wyn Jones,
Sion Wyn Jones, Dilwyn
Morgan, Mike Stevens and Glyn Thomas.
Against: (49) Councillors Craig ab Iago, Stephen Churchman, Annwen
Daniels, Lesley Day, Dyfed Edwards, Elwyn Edwards,
Trevor Edwards, Thomas Ellis, Alan Jones Evans, Jean Forsyth, Gweno Glyn, Simon Glyn, Selwyn Griffiths, Alwyn Gruffydd, Siân Gwenllian, Annwen Hughes, John Brynmor
Hughes, Louise Hughes, Sian Wyn Hughes, Peredur Jenkins, Anne Lloyd Jones, Charles W. Jones, Dyfrig Jones, Elin Walker Jones, John Wynn Jones, Beth
Lawton, Dilwyn Lloyd, Dafydd
Meurig, Linda Morgan, Dewi
Owen, Michael Sol Owen, Caerwyn Roberts, Gareth A.
Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, W. Gareth Roberts, Mair Rowlands, Angela Russell, Dyfrig
Siencyn, Gareth Thomas, Ioan
Thomas, Eirwyn Williams, Elfed
Williams, Gethin Glyn Williams, Hefin
Williams, John Wyn Williams, Owain
Williams, R. H. Wyn Williams, Mandy Williams-Davies
and Eurig Wyn.
Abstentions: (7) Councillors Chris Hughes, Aeron M. Jones, Brian Jones, Eric Merfyn Jones, Eryl
Jones-Williams, June Marshall, Hefin Underwood.
During the subsequent discussion on the original proposal, the following
main points were noted:-
·
The Council's decision
not to supply salt bins could mean an increase in Community Council precepts.
·
The Council had consulted on a larger scale than
other councils in Wales and had weighed up the evidence to safeguard public
services as the people of Gwynedd were dependent on them.
·
It was acknowledged that
it would have been beneficial to receive a higher number of responses to the
consultation.
·
The cuts were inevitable
because of Westminster Government's policy.
·
If there would be difficulties in terms of
realising the cuts following further work, that the Cabinet would receive a
report.
·
Could a note be made of the Council's intention to
charge a premium on long-term empty properties and second homes from the
2017/18 financial year onwards without designating a percentage?
·
In order to safeguard vulnerable people, the
Cabinet recommended not including plan number 34 (Cut 10% on the Support
Service given to Children from Derwen) because it
would have a detrimental impact on the Derwen
service, which was already implementing efficiency savings.
·
There was still work to
be done on several plans before the cuts could be realised and everyone who had
taken part in the Gwynedd Challenge consultation was encouraged to continue
with the work of discovering alternative delivery methods.
·
There had been a composite inflation increase of
67% on the Council Tax since 2005 compared with the general composite inflation
increase of 37% in the same period, it was recognised that the situation was
difficult and that the Council's movement towards the living wage would be
welcomed but there had been insufficient scrutiny on the possible cuts.
Therefore, a member wished to increase the Council Tax by 3.5% and asked the
Scrutiny Committee to consider the information during the next three months and
recommend the way forward to the Cabinet.
·
Support keeping the
tourist information centres and public toilets but it would mean a further
increase in the Council Tax. The details of some of the plans were not known
and therefore the member would abstain.
·
There was a need for work to be carried out to
reconcile what the communities and the Council were undertaking.
·
A high number of the
responses to the consultation were from organisations and services but the
response level was low in terms of plans that would affect children and
vulnerable adults and the member was therefore happy that the Council was going
to take care of them.
·
Could an explanation be
provided as to why some names in the additional information provided to members
had been deleted?
In response to the members’ observations, the officers noted:-
·
In terms of charging a premium on long-term empty
properties and second homes, a clear warning would need to be provided
regarding the premium if it was going to be implemented from the 2017/18
financial year onwards. The Holiday Homes and Taxes Scrutiny Investigation was
being carried out at present and it was recommended to wait for the result of
the investigation and then assess the situation with all the information before
coming to a decision.
·
In terms of the
aspiration to increase the Council Tax by 3.5% and to ask the Scrutiny
Committees to consider the information during the next three months and
recommend the way forward to the Cabinet, it was not an appropriate amendment
as it was a legal requirement to set a balanced budget as noted at the
beginning, it would have to note specifically how it intended to address the
financial deficit.
·
It was acknowledged that
there was inconsistency in terms of funding from the Council and the Community
Councils. Meetings with Community Councils were currently being held and work
would be undertaken in the near future to examine the situation while searching
for further efficiency savings and perhaps the Scrutiny Committees could take part
in the process.
·
Data in the additional information such as personal
e-mail addresses had been hidden in order to comply with data protection rules
as they were public documents.
In accordance with Procedural Rules, the following vote was recorded on
the motion:-
In favour: (58) Councillors Craig ab Iago, Annwen Daniels,
Lesley Day, Gwynfor Edwards, Dyfed Edwards, Elwyn
Edwards, Trevor Edwards, Alan Jones Evans, Aled
Evans, Jean Forsyth, Gweno Glyn, Simon Glyn, Gwen
Griffith, Selwyn Griffiths, Siân Gwenllian, Annwen Hughes, Chris Hughes, John Brynmor
Hughes, Sian Wyn Hughes, Peredur
Jenkins, Aled Wyn Jones,
Anne Lloyd Jones, Brian Jones, Charles W. Jones, Dyfrig
Jones, Elin Walker Jones, Eric Merfyn Jones, John
Wynn Jones, Beth Lawton, June Marshall, Dafydd Meurig, Dilwyn Morgan, Linda
Morgan, Dewi Owen, Michael Sol Owen, W. Roy Owen, W.
Tudor Owen, Caerwyn Roberts, Gareth A. Roberts, John Pughe Roberts, W. Gareth Roberts, Mair
Rowlands, Angela Russell, Dyfrig Siencyn,
Mike Stevens, Gareth Thomas, Ioan Thomas, Hefin Underwood, Ann Williams, Eirwyn
Williams, Elfed Williams, Gethin
Glyn Williams, Gruffydd Williams, Hefin
Williams, John Wyn Williams, R. H. Wyn Williams, Mandy Williams-Davies and Eurig
Wyn.
Against: (9) Councillors Stephen Churchman, Thomas Ellis, Alwyn Gruffydd,
Louise Hughes, Jason Humphreys, Aeron M. Jones, Sion Wyn
Jones, Dilwyn Lloyd and Owain
Williams.
Abstentions: (2) Councillors Eryl Jones-Williams and Glyn Thomas.
RESOLVED:
1.
To approve the
recommendations submitted by the Cabinet, as noted in the report, which will
result in an increase of 3.97% in Council Tax for 2016/17.
2.
To note that the
Cabinet Member for Resources, in a decision notice dated 6 November 2015,
approved the calculation of the following amounts for 2016/2017 in accordance
with the Regulations made under Section 33 (5) of the Local Government Finance
Act 1992 (“The Act”):-
(a)
49,932.37 being the
amount calculated as Gwynedd's Tax Base in accordance with the Local
Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Wales) Regulations 1995 as
amended, as its Council Tax base for the year.
(b)
Part of the
Council’s Area - Community Tax Base -
Aberdaron |
526.68 |
|
Llanddeiniolen |
1,809.82 |
Aberdyfi |
925.62 |
|
Llandderfel |
489.47 |
Abergwyngregyn |
116.15 |
|
Llanegryn |
153.55 |
Abermaw (Barmouth) |
1,085.90 |
|
Llanelltyd |
272.58 |
Arthog |
607.53 |
|
Llanengan |
1,958.38 |
Y Bala |
760.10 |
|
Llanfair |
305.07 |
Bangor |
3,640.77 |
|
Llanfihangel y Pennant |
204.16 |
Beddgelert |
306.95 |
|
Llanfrothen |
209.90 |
Betws Garmon |
130.77 |
|
Llangelynnin |
390.27 |
Bethesda |
1,641.55 |
|
Llangywer |
133.74 |
Bontnewydd |
439.05 |
|
Llanllechid |
336.18 |
Botwnnog |
436.07 |
|
Llanllyfni |
1,376.49 |
Brithdir a Llanfachreth |
397.62 |
|
Llannor |
891.25 |
Bryncrug |
331.06 |
|
Llanrug |
1,122.86 |
Buan |
225.99 |
|
Llanuwchllyn |
300.51 |
Caernarfon |
3,449.47 |
|
Llanwnda |
771.51 |
Clynnog Fawr |
432.03 |
|
Llanycil |
195.06 |
Corris |
293.73 |
|
Llanystumdwy |
861.68 |
Criccieth |
911.69 |
|
Maentwrog |
273.75 |
Dolbenmaen |
582.77 |
|
Mawddwy |
331.44 |
Dolgellau |
1,183.41 |
|
Nefyn |
1,382.45 |
Dyffryn Ardudwy |
788.20 |
|
Pennal |
219.60 |
Y Felinheli |
1,105.05 |
|
Penrhyndeudraeth |
749.49 |
Ffestiniog |
1,675.41 |
|
Pentir |
1,022.55 |
Y Ganllwyd |
80.70 |
|
Pistyll |
239.92 |
Harlech |
745.00 |
|
Porthmadog |
1,934.14 |
Llanaelhaearn |
430.45 |
|
Pwllheli |
1,700.31 |
Llanbedr |
307.34 |
|
Talsarnau |
305.16 |
Llanbedrog |
678.35 |
|
Trawsfynydd |
500.78 |
Llanberis |
766.49 |
|
Tudweiliog |
440.50 |
Llandwrog |
989.69 |
|
Tywyn |
1,554.84 |
Llandygai |
958.16 |
|
Waunfawr |
545.21 |
being the amounts calculated as the Council Tax
Base amounts for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one
or more specific items relate.
3. That the following amounts are now
calculated by the Council for the 2016/2017 year in accordance with Sections 32
to 36 of the Act:-
(a) £340,323,810 |
The aggregate of the amounts which the Council
estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (2) (a) to (e) of the Act
(gross expenditure). |
(b) £111,524,200 |
The aggregate of the amounts which the Council
estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (2) (a) to (e) of the Act
(income). |
(c) £228,799,610 |
The sum that corresponds to the difference between
the above aggregate 3 (a) and the above aggregate 3 (b) calculated by the
Council, in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Act, as its budgetary
requirements for the year (net budget). |
(ch) £166,696,539 |
The aggregate of the sums which the Council
estimates will be payable for the year into its fund in respect of
redistributed National Non-domestic Rates and the Revenue Support Grant, less
the estimated cost to the Council of discretionary non-domestic rate relief
granted. |
(d) £1,243.74 |
The amount in 3 (c) above, less the sum in 3 (ch) above, all divided by the sum noted in 2 (a) above,
calculated by the Council in accordance with 33(1) of the Act, being the
basic amount of Council Tax for the year (Gwynedd Council tax and the average
community council tax). |
(dd) £1,826,710 |
The aggregate amount of all special items
referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act (community council precepts). |
(e) £1,207.16 |
The sum in 3 (d) above, less the result of
dividing the amount in 3(dd) above divided by the
amount in 2(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section
34 (2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for
dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates (Band D
for Gwynedd Council Tax only). |
(f) For parts of the Council’s area -
1,224.25 |
|
Llanddeiniolen |
1,215.45 |
|
Aberdyfi |
1,232.62 |
|
Llandderfel |
1,225.34 |
Abergwyngregyn |
1,224.38 |
|
Llanegryn |
1,233.21 |
Abermaw (Barmouth) |
1,255.05 |
|
Llanelltyd |
1,231.01 |
Arthog |
1,221.15 |
|
Llanengan |
1,232.69 |
Y Bala |
1,232.16 |
|
Llanfair |
1,230.11 |
Bangor |
1,298.22 |
|
Llanfihangel y Pennant |
1,235.35 |
Beddgelert |
1,234.85 |
|
Llanfrothen |
1,232.41 |
Betws Garmon |
1,217.10 |
|
Llangelynnin |
1,227.15 |
Bethesda |
1,241.72 |
|
Llangywer |
1,237.07 |
Bontnewydd |
1,242.46 |
|
Llanllechid |
1,229.47 |
Botwnnog |
1,218.63 |
|
Llanllyfni |
1,235.09 |
Brithdir a Llanfachreth |
1,222.25 |
|
Llannor |
1,224.17 |
Bryncrug |
1,231.96 |
|
Llanrug |
1,229.42 |
Buan |
1,223.75 |
|
Llanuwchllyn |
1,240.44 |
Caernarfon |
1,264.70 |
|
Llanwnda |
1,230.75 |
Clynnog Fawr |
1,225.68 |
|
Llanycil |
1,224.08 |
Corris |
1,227.53 |
|
Llanystumdwy |
1,224.57 |
Criccieth |
1,244.45 |
|
Maentwrog |
1,227.80 |
Dolbenmaen |
1,224.32 |
|
Mawddwy |
1,223.75 |
Dolgellau |
1,249.41 |
|
Nefyn |
1,243.31 |
Dyffryn Ardudwy |
1,232.53 |
|
Pennal |
1,234.48 |
Y Felinheli |
1,238.83 |
|
Penrhyndeudraeth |
1,252.52 |
Ffestiniog |
1,290.72 |
|
Pentir |
1,236.37 |
Y Ganllwyd |
1,245.57 |
|
Pistyll |
1,230.08 |
Harlech |
1,229.98 |
|
Porthmadog |
1,234.56 |
Llanaelhaearn |
1,265.24 |
|
Pwllheli |
1,248.62 |
Llanbedr |
1,242.95 |
|
Talsarnau |
1,239.93 |
Llanbedrog |
1,232.22 |
|
Trawsfynydd |
1,233.12 |
Llanberis |
1,233.25 |
|
Tudweiliog |
1,220.78 |
Llandwrog |
1,246.06 |
|
Tywyn |
1,255.40 |
Llandygai |
1,228.24 |
|
Waunfawr |
1,229.17 |
the amounts given
by adding the amounts of the item or specific items relating to dwellings in
those parts of the Council’s area mentioned above, to the sum given in 3(e)
above, divided in each case by the amount of 2(b) above, calculated by the
Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of
its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which
one or more special items relate.
(ff) For parts of the Council’s area, the figures noted in
Appendix 1, being the amounts given
by multiplying the sums specified in 3(f) above by the number which, in the
proportions set out in Section 5 (1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed
in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion
is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the
Council, in accordance with Section 36 (1) of the Act, as the amounts to be
taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in
different valuation bands.
4.
To note that for
the 2016/2017 year the Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales has stated the
following amounts in a precept issued to the Council, in accordance with Section
40 of the Act, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:
|
Band A |
Band B |
Band C |
Band D |
Band E |
Band F |
Band G |
Band H |
Band I |
|
160.08 |
186.76 |
213.44 |
240.12 |
293.48 |
346.84 |
400.20 |
480.24 |
560.28 |
Having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3 (ff) and 4 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Act, hereby sets the amounts noted in Appendix 2 as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2016/2017 for each of the categories of dwellings shown in the Appendix.