Agenda item

To report to the Scrutiny Committee on the performance of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

 

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

 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and YGC, along with the Head and Assistant Head of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

 

All were reminded that the Department is responsible for three of the Council's 2023-28 Plan schemes and that this report was an update on their development up to the end of September 2025.

 

It was confirmed that the Department has received support from the Welsh Government Play Opportunities grant to improve the quality and accessibility of playgrounds. It was explained that this development was a major development in the project 'Extending play and socialising opportunities for the County's children and young people' within the Council's Plan. It was elaborated that effective collaboration had been underway with Bangor City Council as the process of handing over the Maes Tryfan playground to them continued.

 

An update on the 'Action on flood risks' project was provided noting that the Local Flood Strategy had been adopted and was operational.

 

It was reported that a cleaning circuit optimisation system had been introduced in the Arfon area as part of the 'Clean and Tidy Communities' project. It was explained that this system was part of a pilot scheme in the Arfon area and noted that it was hoped that the arrangements will be extended to Pwllheli and Porthmadog in spring 2026. It was elaborated that the purpose of the system was to reduce the service current overspend by ensuring that an effective working order is implemented.

 

Attention was drawn to 29 performance measures that are operational within the Department, such as 'Corporate/departmental measures', 'Highway maintenance', 'Street lighting', 'Street Scene', 'Public Toilets' and 'Gwynedd Consultancy' and there was pride that 62.1% of these measures were in green. It was explained that this was confirmation of the service's positive work and the effective performance of services. However, it was noted that 37.9% of the measures were recorded in amber, ensuring that these measures received further attention as part of the performance challenge process. Pride was expressed that no measure had been recorded in red.

 

Reference was made to the Department's 2025-26 Savings schemes, which amounted to £533,500. It was confirmed that the department was on track to deliver £212,500 of these Savings schemes, recognising that there was a possibility that £321,000 will not be realised. It was also highlighted that some budgets were affected by the weather as an additional budget needs to be secured to address any unpredictable severe weather.

 

It was updated that the numbers of the workforce that had undertaken mandatory training had increased, and that 77.4% of staff had completed the core 'Abuse' training, 72.4% had completed the 'Safeguarding' title, and pride was expressed that over 67% of the department's staff had completed all mandatory training titles. It was acknowledged that there was room for improvement to increase these numbers in the future, but challenges had emerged as there are not many frontline staff members with access to the modules as they do not have electronic equipment. However, it was confirmed that the Department was working with the Information Technology service to come to employment centres to support staff members to complete the training during the working day.

 

It was recognised that the Department's staff sickness numbers were high, with the average sick days per person (Full Time Equivalent) being 4.62 days. It was detailed that several staff members are off work in the long term but that the actual sickness situation was now improving, with the hope that this will continue and there will be an improvement when the department submits a similar performance challenge report in 2026.

 

During the discussion, the following observations were made by the Members: -

 

Fleet Management

In response to an enquiry on the number of green vehicles and the increase in fuel costs, the Head of Department confirmed that 88 electric vehicles and vans are part of the fleet, with arrangements in place to introduce more vehicles as the need arises. It was acknowledged that the confidence of the workforce to use electric cars has been low as they are not used to charging cars. It was reported that electric vehicle technology was continuously evolving but there was currently no effective support for the purchase and effective charging of heavy electric vehicles. Because of this, it was confirmed that fuel costs can increase from time to time if the need arises for the use of more heavy vehicles, but it was stressed that the average figure for fuel charges decreases annually. It had been ensured that future reports from the Department to this Committee will show data over a period of years for Members to compare developments in this area.

 

In response to an enquiry as to whether not renewing fuel vehicles for electric ones would result in financial savings for the Council, the Head of Department confirmed that not renewing the fleet was not a consideration at this time as a depreciation plan was underway and options for the future best course of action were in place. It was elaborated that it would not be possible to buy vehicles with high carbon emissions in the near future and therefore the Council must investigate the best approaches to developing the fleet – be it hydrogen, electric or otherwise.

 

Lighting Services

In response to an enquiry about the observed increase in energy use of street lamps, the Head of Department explained that this derived from the fact that the Department had adopted more street lights in recent years. It was elaborated that there are around 18,000 street lights across the County and that this had increased recently following the development of the Caernarfon bypass as well as the new Dyfi bridge near Machynlleth, and the need to illuminate those roads.

 

Public Toilets

A request was made to receive more information about the accessibility of the public toilets to demonstrate to the public that the quality of the service was improving. In response, the Head of Department thanked the members for the comments stating that this information would be developed by the time the matter is next scrutinised by this Committee.

 

Sickness Rates

In response to an enquiry as to whether staff members' illness was due to workload, stress or another source, with a further enquiry on what measures are in place to ensure staff well-being, the Head of Department confirmed that they are working closely with the Human Resources service. It was explained that return-to-work panels will be held to ensure the health of staff members and receive guidance on how best to support staff on their return. It was emphasised that the levels of illness in the workforce were comparable to those of other local authorities nationally.

 

Water and Environment

In response to comments that a delay in the work of partners working with the Council to address flood prevention, was leading to a further delay in the Council's arrangements, the Head of Department confirmed that regular discussions were taking place with all partners. However, it was noted that the responsibilities of Natural Resources Wales and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water were significant and that there was a permanent risk of delays to arrangements and strategies. The Assistant Head of the Department gave an assurance that this risk of delay was one that was on the Department's official risk register.

 

Measures

Several of the Department's performance challenge measures were considered to be amber, noting that it would be useful for Members of this scrutiny Committee to receive information on the actions and a realistic timetable to improve performance. It also considered how the Department would proceed to measure whether the performance measures report as red, amber or green. In response to the comments, the Head of Department confirmed that consideration would be given to developing a method of scoring performance measures to receive confirmation if they report in red, amber or green. However, it was noted that the decisions on how measures currently report are based on evidence and discussions with officers. It was also noted that consideration will be given to adding a programme of work to improve the performance in the report in the future.

 

It was pointed out that approximately one-third of all the Department's performance challenge measures reported amber, asking whether this was acceptable and whether the Department would be able to highlight and demonstrate in future submissions to this Committee. In response to the comments, it was noted that they would look at how trends in the report could be highlighted and illustrated in the future. The Head of Department acknowledged that there was room for improvement. However, it was noted that managers and officers can be strict in reporting on measurements stating that the actual situation was better than what was reported. An example of this was shared where the numbers of highway maintenance defects were reporting amber, due to the time to resolve the defects. It had been reported that defects are resolved very quickly but that the accompanying background administrative work slowed down the process resulting in an amber colour when reporting on the measures.

 

Financial Savings Schemes

Concern was expressed that the Department was failing to realise around 40% of their financial savings plans this year, and it was asked how the Department was coping with its overall full budget. In response to the comments, the Head of Department noted that every effort was being made to ensure that the financial savings targets are addressed. It was confirmed that if the Department fails to address them, alternative future savings plans will need to be submitted for delivery in the next financial year. It was explained that some unforeseeable situations affect the department's budget, such as additional funding for the winter maintenance service. It was emphasised that every effort was being made to accommodate the savings plans, but it was also noted that thorough consideration was being given to ensure that quality services were delivered to the residents of Gwynedd.

 

Condition of Roads

It was noted that 13.1% of the County's class C roads were rated red which means that their condition is poor, and that proposed maintenance works would likely be required soon. In response to the comment, the Head of Department confirmed that all Class A-C roads are scanned for their condition, but this cannot be done for unclassified roads. It was reported that the Council had received a grant of £8,000,000 to invest in the condition of roads over the next two years. However, it was noted that statistics may remain similar the next time the Department reports to this Committee, as there are several tasks that need to be completed before addressing new defects that are identified by the scanner. It was noted that the Department was working with other Local Authorities to compare road conditions and work together on county boundary roads.  The Head of Department elaborated that work was being carried out to ascertain whether artificial intelligence software could be used to collect data on the condition of unclassified roads in the County, but it was trusted that their condition was similar to that reported for Class C. The Department was thanked for keeping the County's roads to a high standard.

 

In response to a comment that there was a delay in resolving road defects, before the road's white lines were repainted, the Head of Department confirmed that this was due to pressure on the Department's budgets. It was elaborated that the white line laying works for the Council were carried out by an external company and that pressure was placed on them to act in a timely manner and the quality of that work was assessed by the Department. It was reported that the Council was investigating the possibility of carrying out this work in-house, recognising that it would be a significant investment in machinery, staff and resources. It was confirmed that the Department will submit a financial bid to address this issue as it would also be beneficial to other Council departments.

 

It was pointed out that statistics presented in the Report indicated that there are more critical road defects in the Dwyfor area than in the Meirionnydd and Arfon areas in general. In response to an enquiry as to why this was the case and if the Department manages to resolve it within their target time of two hours, the Head of Department acknowledged that responding to critical road defects in Gwynedd was a challenge. However, it was confirmed that the Department was able to access and secure the site while carrying out initial work. It was explained that in some cases officers need to come back to complete follow-up work.

 

The Department was thanked for ensuring that any trees that fall across roads are cleared as quickly as possible. The Department was asked to investigate methods of being able to see which trees are likely to fall so as  to ensure public safety.

 

Ardal Ni Tidying-up Team

In response to an enquiry which indicated that the Tidying-up Team was delivering work more slowly than the target 7-day schedule, the Assistant Head of Department stated that this was due to staffing challenges in recent months. It was confirmed that these issues have now been resolved as staff turnover has stabilised and sickness numbers have decreased indicating that the service will return to the expected standard.

 

In response to a further query as to whether the number of requests to the Tidying-up Team had recently decreased, the Assistant Head of Department stressed that this was not the situation. It was explained that the method of recording work applications has recently changed so that the same work is not entered more than once. An assurance was given that the Team was just as busy as they have been, but the numbers of requests are less as they are not repeated.

 

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

 

          RESOLVED

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