Agenda item

To submit the report of the Council Leader.

To approve and adopt Cyngor Gwynedd's Annual Performance Report and Self-Assessment 2022-23.

Submitted - the report of the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, asking the Council to approve and adopt the Annual Performance Report and Self-assessment 2022/23.

The Leader thanked the Council's Supporting Business Service Manager and the Team for their work in preparing the report. He then referred to the very difficult financial situation facing the Council, noting:-

·         It did not bode well for the councils’ settlement across Wales for the coming year, and although Cyngor Gwynedd was in a strong financial situation, and that we had taken pride over the years in the fact that we were effective in dealing with Council money, this Council would also have to make some very difficult decisions this time.

·         That most of the Council's money was spent on education, adults and children, namely those fields that nurtured the future of our children and care for the most vulnerable in our society, and if they wished to protect those services, where would the additional cuts come from?

All of the members were encouraged to attend one of the three savings workshops arranged for October.

The Leader then referred to some specific matters, noting:-

·         The reduction of 4,500 in Gwynedd's population, with 1,400 fewer households in the County (according to the figures of the last Census) was a cause for concern for him as this was having a direct impact on the £1.6m settlement. More-so, there were very significant economic considerations to a lower population, which placed greater importance on our work in seeking to develop the economy, attracting high quality jobs to the area and attracting young people back to Gwynedd.

·         The education system in Gwynedd was innovative and set the standard across the whole of Wales, e.g. the new immersion system, and he did not agree with the public criticism there had been of Gwynedd's education system.

·         The Article 4 Direction was one of the interventions the Council had in housing to seek to gain control of the influx of second homes and short-term lets that were damaging our communities and contributing to the depopulation seen in the Census.  Nevertheless, it was not believed that Article 4 would have as much of an impact as people believed, neither was it believed that it would be that effective in gaining control of second homes. It is acknowledged there is concern regarding Article 4, and the Council would look very carefully at those concerns when analysing the responses to the public consultation, seeking additional legal advice, if required, to ensure that we were going in the right direction. The work of analysing the outcomes of the consultation would take place from now to the end of the year, with a report submitted to the Community Scrutiny Committee early in the New Year.

·         There was a significant problem in terms of the intensive care provision across the county, and that the development in Penrhos was one of the excellent innovative schemes the Council had, jointly with the Health Board and the Clwyd Alyn Housing Association, to address this.

·         As a significant number of members were concerned whether the Common Housing Policy truly prioritised local people, he had instructed the Service to arrange a meeting to understand exactly what the current housing policy had to offer. He added that he would encourage any members who were concerned to attend the meeting, as this would be the opportunity to understand what is happening, and possibly to be able to bend policies.

·         There was also concern about the problems seen in our communities in terms of the recycling arrangements, and that the Council was holding discussions at the highest possible level to go to the root of the problem and to seek a quick resolution to the situation.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions. The following matters were raised by individual members:

·         The Leader was asked whether he supported the proposal to increase the number of Senedd members in Cardiff to 96, at an estimated cost of £17.8m a year. In response, the Leader noted that he supported it 100%, because if we were serious about governing our own country, we needed plenty of people to do the work, and the Government, jointly with Plaid Cymru, had identified the need for these additional members to do the work of scrutinising the Welsh Government. He also noted that the Westminster Tory Government's 'Levelling Up' money did not level anything up; Wales did not receive the money that was owed to it from HS2 and the 'Shared Prosperity Fund' did not involve sharing wealth at all. This was Wales' money, money that came from Europe, but Westminster Government was paying Wales less than it had pledged. He also noted that Labour in England was no better, and that it was also intent on undermining Wales’s rights.

·         Referring to Improvement Priority 4 - Access to suitable homes, it was asked where the 173 social housing units that had been constructed across Gwynedd since the start of the Housing Action Plan had been built. In response, the Chief Executive noted that the houses had been constructed through the Social Housing Grant over a period of 2, or possibly 3 years now, and he would be happy to share detailed information about the 173 units with the member.

·         It was noted that the number of referrals under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards procedures were increasing again, and it was asked why the Council had to bring in people from outside to help them with assessments, as it was understood that we had trained internal staff to do the work.  In response, the Chief Executive noted that there were internal staff doing the assessments, but because of a backlog of work, that there was further training taking place, and possibly there would be a need to bring in more people to deal with this work also. He noted that he would be happy to discuss the matter further with the member.

·         It was asked whether it had been considered what would happen in Pen Llŷn, where there would be, possibly, fewer buses running as a result of the 20mph speed limit.  It was noted that the area did not have a cycle path network either, yet the residents had to face the 20mph speed limit. Concern was expressed about the carers and it was noted there was a shortage of taxis in Pen Llŷn to take people home after socialising. It was noted that the Leader had already referred to the reduction in Gwynedd's population, but people were leaving the countryside as there was nothing left there for them. Services were being cut and were getting farther away from the rural population, and rather than having more Senedd members in Cardiff, it would be better for those who were already there to make things better. Cyngor Gwynedd had been weakened by having to reduce from 75 to 69 members, with the 10 cabinet members making the decisions. In response, it was noted that should the 20mya speed limit save only one life, it would have been worth introducing the legislation.

·         Concern was expressed that the police did not enforce the 20mph limit in some areas, particularly in the west of the county and outside schools, and it was asked whether the Council could apply pressure in relation to this. In response, the Chief Executive noted that the policy of the Police and the Government across the country at the moment in terms of new speed limits was there would be a period of educating first, before moving to enforcement. They wished to see the police seeking to prioritise more scarce resources for this field.  There were conversations taking place about this and the Chief Executive confirmed that he would pass the message on at the next conversation also.

·         In response to a question about Welsh place names under 'The Welsh language and Public Services' section of the report, it was confirmed that the Council's policy was to use on the Welsh language every time.

·         It was expressed that the Council did not give enough attention to young people.  Reference was made to an example of a local young couple who had submitted a planning application for a three-bedroom house, but who received permission to construct a two bedroom house only and were advised to come back with an application for an extension to the house later on to get the third bedroom.

·         A member expressed her concern that she had not received a paper copy of the agenda for this meeting noting that it was not possible for her to work on-line due to a lack of signal in her home.  In response, it was explained that a decision had been made recently to move towards a paper-free Council in terms of the information that was shared with the members, but that an exception had been made in the case in question for the reasons noted. It had been given to understand that this had already been communicated with the member, and she would receive paper copies of meeting agendas from now on.

·         The overview of the year at the beginning of the report was welcomed as it provided a snapshot of some of the Council's main achievements. It was noted that the five Tidying-up Teams were doing excellent work, and the 2 teams who were working hard in Llŷn were thanked for their excellent work in tidying up the streets and villages. It was also noted that it was pleasing to reach the milestone where all the street lamps had been exchanged for LED technology. Nevertheless, it was suggested that the overview was slightly misleading at times, e.g. it was noted that 104 empty houses had been brought back to use, but that was a three-year figure.

·         The fact that the report underlined the successes without hiding the weaknesses was welcomed as it provided a fair an honest picture of the performance during the year.

RESOLVED to approve and adopt Cyngor Gwynedd's Annual Performance Report and Self-assessment 2022-23.