Agenda item

To review the Annual Report of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board 2022-23.

1.    To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

2.    The Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager to circulate the minutes of recent Board meetings to Committee members as soon as possible.

The report was submitted by the Deputy 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 this report had been presented to the Committee as Gwynedd and Anglesey Scrutiny Committees had a duty to monitor progress efforts of the Board when implementing the Well-being plan, in accordance with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

It was explained that 2022-2023 was the last year of the well-being plan adopted in 2018. It was noted that the Board had held thorough consultations by consulting with groups of stake-holders in order to develop a Well-being Plan for 2023-2028. It was noted that this plan would be launched at the Eisteddfod held in Boduan in August 2023.

It was noted that the new well-being plan reflected the lessons learnt by the Board when implementing the latest Well-being Plan in order to incorporate new procedures to become more successful.

It was reminded that members of the Board were specialists in their individual fields and were collaborating with stake-holders in order to ensure they can add worth to the objectives of the Board within the Well-being Plan.  Some examples were shared where this arrangement had been successful such as the Active Travel Charter, guiding Welsh Government Members around areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey in order to emphasise the importance of social enterprises within communities and to coordinate changes to the health and care field.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

In response to an observation on ensuring that residents were aware of the meaning of carbon zero net and how to reach it, the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager confirmed that workshops were currently being held in order to find the best way of introducing this Objective.

In response to a question from a member regarding the Welsh Language, the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager assured that the Welsh language was a permanent priority for the Board and that it would not be changed every 5 years as the Well-being Objectives of the Board and it was noted that the Sub-group had been permanently formed to discuss language matters.  It was elaborated that the Welsh Language Commissioner met with the Chair of the Board on a quarterly basis and was happy with their work. It was emphasised that the wording of the final plan had been amended in order to highlight the importance of the language to the Board.

The member noted that he acknowledged the work completed by the Board in terms of the Welsh Language but that he was of the opinion that not including a specific Well-being Objective in the new Well-being Plan was a mistake. It was elaborated that if a specific Well-being Objective was included then it would have made a strong statement that the Language was at the centre of the Board's work and above all else.

It was noted that the minutes of the Board's recent meetings had not been uploaded on their website and, therefore, it was proposed to defer the discussion until the information had been shared publicly in order to ensure that the matter was scrutinised fully with all relevant information to hand. The proposal was seconded.

·       In response to this proposal, the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager explained that this was an administrative problem and that work was being undertaken to ensure that the problems with the website were resolved. It was elaborated that a regional website was being developed.

·       The Corporate Director noted that the minutes of the Board meetings would not usually be included as part of the annual review. It was recognised however that these minutes should be available on the website for anyone to read if they wished to do so.

A vote was taken on the proposal to defer the discussion. The proposal fell and the discussion continued.

In response to an enquiry on the decision of the Board to shift the focus from climate change to carbon Zero net, the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager confirmed that this change in terminology had not affected the important work of the Board to help with flood prevention. It was also explained that this change had been made in order to allow more partnerships to have an input on this work. It was noted that the Board was collaborating with the Climate Change and Nature Board on these matters.

Gratitude was expressed for the report.

RESOLVED:

1.     To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.

2.     The Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board Programme Manager to circulate the minutes of recent Board meetings to Committee members as soon as possible.