Agenda item

To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.18 of the Constitution.

 

 

(1)       Question by Councillor Angela Russell

 

Given that Wales' climate is getting wetter year on year, I would like to ask, what steps are Cyngor Gwynedd taking to upgrade the A499 road between Pwllheli and Llanbedrog. This would save the residents of Llanbedrog, Abersoch, Botwnnog, Sarn and Aberdaron from having to use narrow lanes past Cefn Llanfair and Rhydyclafdy etc. which means congestion as lorries and buses come face to face on these narrow lanes.

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy, Councillor Berwyn Parry Jones

 

As you can see from the written reply before you, Natural Resources Wales is the body that leads on the Flooding Management Project in the Pwllheli area. You will see that work on the A499 is an additional option that is being considered, but further work is required before an enhancement scheme can be drawn up for this road. However, I can assure you that we as a Council will press to have a road enhancement scheme as part of the project, and of course, we will update you as matters move forward.  

 

(2)       Question by Councillor Huw Rowlands

 

What use does Cyngor Gwynedd's Highways, Engineering and YGC Department make of external contractors, and what monitoring takes place to ensure quality, value for money and compliance with their contracts?

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy, Councillor Berwyn Parry Jones

 

It is true to say that the Department uses a number of contractors for the different work areas we undertake, this means a considerable amount of monitoring work by officers.   Moving forward, we are trying to internalise some of these contracts to try and ensure better accountability and consistency, and also to develop the internal workforce's skills and keep the benefit local. In addition to this, for example, there are many grass cutting contracts that are ending and there will be a need to re-tender. The hope is that it may be possible to create smaller packages that will mean that more local contractors can cope with the work, in the hope that all of this will improve the service to Gwynedd residents.

 

Supplementary Question from Councillor Huw Rowlands

 

Can the Department report back once they have had an opportunity to re-consider how matters will be implemented? 

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy, Councillor Berwyn Parry Jones

 

Certainly, we will report back following this. Also for information, the grass contracts will go out to tender hopefully at the beginning of the year so that there will be new contractors in place by spring.

 

(3)       Question by Councillor Rhys Tudur

 

Considering the comments from the Officers and Cabinet Member of this Council that the procedure for active travel grant applications puts rural areas at a disadvantage, what means has this Council used to press on the Welsh Government to change the procedure, and to what extent has the pressure been effective?

 

Reply - From the Deputy Leader, Councillor Nia Jeffreys (in the absence of the Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Dafydd Meurig)

 

A written response had been provided. Unfortunately, I think and also to be honest, the important sentence is that there has been no significant change in the criteria of the Active Travel Programme from the Welsh Government, and this despite the great pressure that this Council had placed on them. There were attached documents to the written response. There was a letter dated 9 February from the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn to Dr Dafydd Trystan Davies, Chair of the Active Travel Board.  Another example was the response to the consultation on the National Transport Delivery Plan in October 2022, and the presentation by this Council's officers to the Welsh Local Government Association's Rural Forum. Therefore, these were examples of the pressure we had placed.

 

However, the situation was not all negative and I think that it is worthwhile to read aloud the list of what is happening in Gwynedd in this field.  Already completed were:-

 

·       Ffordd Penrhos, Bangor - Part 1

·       Lôn Las Ogwen

·       Bike Shelters at Ysgol Cymerau, Pwllheli

·       Ysgol Godre’r Berwyn, Bala

 

Work was underway to develop the following schemes:-

 

·       Llanrug to Caernarfon

·       Chwilog to Afonwen

·       Tywyn to Aberdyfi

 

The list went on to mention that the following schemes had been approved for further development, i.e.: -

 

·      Bike Shelters in Schools

·      Development of the Active Travel Bethel to Caernarfon scheme

·      Development of the Chwilog to Afonwen scheme

·      Improvements to the current Ysgol Llanllechid path

·      Development of the Ffôr to Pwllheli scheme

·      Contribution to the Active Travel provision for Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth

·      Development of the Ysgol Maenofferen and Ffordd Glyndŵr scheme

·      Development of the Llanrug to Caernarfon Active Travel scheme.

 

£900,000 had also been secured to realise the second phase of the Ffordd Penrhos, Bangor Active Travel Scheme and over £400,000 to introduce improvements outside Ysgol Treferthyr, Cricieth as well as Ysgol Rhostryfan.

 

Supplementary Question by Councillor Rhys Tudur

 

Given that the Council, according to the examples, have brought pressure to bear regarding the expected means, i.e., via consultations with rural forums, and considering, as the Cabinet Member said, that the system has not changed,  and rural areas continue to be under a disadvantage in the grants system, what new means will this Council use to bring pressure to bear on the Government to deliver and get more fairness to rural areas? 

 

Reply - From the Deputy Leader, Councillor Nia Jeffreys (in the absence of the Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Dafydd Meurig)

 

As a fellow-member in the Eifionydd area, I often preach for the need to ensure fairness across the county, especially for rural areas. May I also thank the Member for his work as a Local Member. I've had the privilege of visiting the Ward and going for a walk along Lôn Goed, and have also walked on the road from Afonwen to Chwilog. Therefore, I fully understand the frustration and the importance of this subject. I will take every opportunity, every consultation, every meeting with the Minister, every meeting of the Welsh Local Government Association, to press the matter forward, as every other Cabinet Member and officer in this Council will I'm sure also do. As the majority in this Chamber, I will also certainly press for and strive and campaign for a Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff in 2026, because this is how we can have a real understanding of rural needs across this county and across the whole of Wales. In my opinion that is the actual answer - a real change down in Cardiff Bay.

 

(4)       Question by Councillor Jina Gwyrfai

 

Rented social housing in Gwynedd is distributed through the Council's Housing Options list in collaboration with the housing agencies, Adra, Cynefin etc. What are the arrangements to ensure equal rights and opportunities for tenants, specifically in contractual matters?

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago

 

I cannot add much to the written response. It comes down to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.  One thing I would add - I recall at one point everyone said that this Act would be one of the most innovative acts in Europe.  In the end, it wasn't, but it was a further step forward from the situation that previously existed.

 

⁠⁠Supplementary Question from Councillor Jina Gwyrfai

 

As I strive to help a family that is facing decanting it came to my attention that the policies and procedures of housing agencies are not uniform by any means. There are obvious differences between them, which is a matter of concern. Shouldn't the Council ensure that policies and procedures i.e. the paperwork for our tenants are uniform for all Gwynedd tenants to ensure fairness for all?

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago

 

To be honest I thought that they were already uniform, therefore I will ask the Department to look into this, but I would say that we as a sector in Gwynedd collaborate very closely. I chair the Gwynedd Housing Partnership. Our officers frequently meet with officers from every housing association. The housing associations meet very frequently.  We are trying to ensure that residents get the best experience. I would say that we succeed to do this, and the Government has recently praised us in Gwynedd, and said that we are the best in Wales in terms of our relationship with housing associations. Therefore, perhaps everything is not perfect, but we are definitely moving in the right direction.

 

(5)       Question from Councillor Gruffydd Williams

 

In light of the Welsh Government's white paper proposals to make local connection less of a consideration for social housing, and given that there are constant complaints on the ground that speaking Welsh or having roots in a community is not a sufficient consideration in relation to having priority for a social house here in Gwynedd, which is a stronghold of the language, what exactly are the efforts being made by Cabinet to try to change this extremely damaging prioritisation system?

 

Reply - Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago

 

I was appointed as Cabinet Member for Housing in 2017, and one of the first things we did was to re-draft the Housing Allocation Policy.  Prior to this change there were other housing needs that trumped the local element, therefore one of the matters that the new Housing Allocation Policy did was to place much more emphasis on the local element. I believe that we have succeeded. By now 97% of our social housing go to local people, which in my opinion is excellent. The white paper the member refers to talks about undermining this.  We agree with many matters in the white paper, but there are also matters that we do not agree with.  In order to do something about this, we are doing everything we can - I cannot think of anything else we can do.  We have participated in a consultation. The Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, has written to the Minister outlining our concerns. Officers from the Housing Department have met with the Government's housing officers. I have been to several meetings with the Welsh Local Government Association, with other cabinet housing members across Wales and have spoken to Julie James AM, the former Housing minister, and I cannot think of anything else we can do.  We do not like what is happening, but again, until we vote for Plaid Cymru as the Welsh Government, there is nothing we can do about this.

 

Supplementary Question from Councillor Gruffydd Williams

 

⁠Given that there is already a policy on a housing estate in Powys with the aim of protecting and promoting the Welsh language, which gives priority to ⁠"applicants with a connection to the Machynlleth town Council area for at least 10 years, who are Welsh speakers and in housing need".  My question is, now that the AONB Joint Committee and 12 town and community councils in Llŷn and Eifionydd call on Cyngor Gwynedd to act on the recommendations of the Welsh Speaking Communities Commission to protect and promote the Welsh language, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner had confirmed that Cyngor Gwynedd had failed to comply with the Welsh Language standards, when will Cyngor Gwynedd follow the lead of Powys County Council and establish housing allocation policies with the aim of protecting and promoting the Welsh language?

Reply - Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Craig ab Iago

 

Every person in the Cabinet gives priority to the Welsh language. I would say that the one thing that unifies all of us is the Welsh language. This is true about the group on this side of the Chamber, and all the Council's officers. We are all trying to protect and promote the Welsh language. I'm not sure to what the member is referring to. We are not discussing when we will copy Powys County Council, therefore I'm not sure how I can give a fuller response to what I've already said.  

 

(6)       Question by Councillor Richard Glyn Roberts

 

Considering that:

 

·           all decisions made, and all policies introduced by this Council are required to be  subject to a Welsh language impact assessment

·           and that it then follows that the measures to manage holiday homes and the social housing allocation policy have both been subject to such assessment

·           and that (i) information is not gathered about the language of applicants on the social housing waiting list and (ii) that we are still awaiting data on the linguistic impact of the premium in the context of movements from holiday homes to primary residences

·           and that the impact cannot be assessed or monitored without this information,

·           and that there are legitimate concerns on the ground regarding the impact of either policy on communities in Llŷn and Eifionydd (and Gwynedd more widely, no doubt)

 

What intention is there to remedy this situation so that resources are not wasted producing impact assessments in these fields that are so lacking as to give the impression that they are merely sophisticated exercises to distort and conceal the true and potential impacts, of the policies and decisions in question?

 

Reply – Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Menna Trenholme

 

Cyngor Gwynedd does all it can to promote the Welsh language in our communities and gives this due consideration when creating policies.  We take pride in the fact that we have reviewed our impact assessment arrangements including Welsh language impact assessments to ensure that we comply with the relevant legislations and address the equality, Welsh language and socio-economic disadvantage characteristics. The current arrangements were developed with the co-operation of the offices of the relevant commissioners.  We will soon move to using a new electronic version and arrange further training for staff.

 

The Council is required, under the Welsh Language Standards (Section 44 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011), to consider the impact that any change in policy or procedure (or creating a new policy or procedure), will have on opportunities for people to use the Welsh language and to ensure that the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than English. It is also required (under the Equality Act 2010) to consider the impact that changes in any policy or procedures (or the creation of a new policy or procedure) will have on people with protected equality characteristics, to ensure fairness and build good relationships and since April 2021 pay due attention to addressing socio-economic disadvantage in strategic decisions.  All assessments are made based on the available data. The allegation that they are exercises to distort and hide the real, and potential, effects of the policies and decisions involved is incorrect.

 

We will continue to undertake assessments in accordance with the legal requirement and consider whether there are opportunities to develop and improve this in future. ⁠

 

Supplementary Question from Councillor Richard Glyn Roberts

 

Given that this is a question that originally derives from a notice of motion that did not reach the agenda for specific reasons and considering that I understand that the notice of motion, if it was turned into a question, had received a full reply, this answer is disappointing to say the least, and is insufficient. The question goes after fairly specific points regarding gathering data and organisational and policy matters.  I think that it has been set out fairly logically according to the points. It is a question that calls for observations from at least three departments, the Housing Department, the Finance Department and the Legal Department, to have a full answer. Given all of this, was it possible to know who drafted this deficient, incomplete and insufficient reply, and in consultation with whom?

 

Reply - The Chief Executive

 

To start off, I would like to say that I do not agree that the reply is deficient or incomplete.   It is a combination of information from several different departments and from different officers. If you wish to have further information or further discussion regarding this subject, I am very happy to have this discussion with you and to go after the individual departments to provide further information.