Agenda item

Vera Jones, Democracy and Language Services Manager to present report.

To accept the report on the condition that a clause to encourage community councils to take their payment is added.

The report was presented by the Democracy and Language Service Manager. It was explained that this was the first report by the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru which was now responsible for setting the level of financial remuneration for Wales's Councillors. The main issues in the report were highlighted, noting that several new principles by the Commission were included in the report. An overview of the Commission's main priorities for the future was given, setting out the work that was underway and what was being considered.

The recommendations for the 2026-27 financial year were outlined and it was explained that there was an opportunity to respond to the recommendations of the draft report by 18 November 2025. It was confirmed that there would be major changes to the framework once every electoral term, with smaller changes occurring annually. It was noted that the report focused on the fees for the year 2026-27, stating that there would be a 6.4% increase in Members' pay, bringing the basic annual salary of each councillor to £21,044.00. It was reported that the Commission intended to look at the relationship between Councillors' salaries and the annual survey of hours and earnings in Wales, and to consider whether this was the right basis for decision-making in the future.

It was confirmed that Council Members were paid on a scale of working hours equivalent to three days a week. Some Members expressed concern about Members's attendance at Council committees and meetings. In response to this, it was confirmed that there was a rule stating that Councillors had to attend meetings every six months. Members were reminded that Councillors’ attendance at meetings and committees was public information on the Council's website. It was suggested that this Committee should address the issue by identifying and contacting those Members with a low level of attendance to offer support and to remind Members of the expectations of being a member of the Committees. The Democracy Services Manager confirmed that she would be adding a reminder indicating the basis equivalent of 3 working days when reporting on a final decision on the Members' pay scale for 2026/27. 

Further concerns were expressed that some vacancies on committees had remained for some time. A Member mentioned that the responsibilities and personal situations of all Members needed to be recognised and taken into account, noting that this was vitally important if the Council was committed to having a diversity of Members. Members were encouraged to fill the vacancies in order to ensure full participation in democracy matters in Cyngor Gwynedd. A member asked if it was possible that the vacant seats of a political group could be offered to another group if the group was struggling to fill the seats. It was noted that this would affect the political balance but would be possible by taking the decision through the Full Council if the committee wished to make the change. It was confirmed that the democracy services team would once again correspond with the group leaders after the by-election in the Felinheli and Bethel wards. 

In response to a comment regarding the accessibility of Gwynedd Councillors' contact details, it was confirmed that Councillors' e-mail addresses had been published on the Council's website. It was confirmed that general e-mail addresses were also available for the public to make contact if necessary. It was also reminded that contact could be made via Galw Gwynedd if a member of the public needed to contact a particular member. It was noted that it was hoped that the Council would provide several ways of contacting Members, in accordance with the relevant regulations and security measures. A Member noted that as part of Operation Ford training, Councillors had been clearly instructed by the Police to consider their situation seriously before publishing their personal contact details.

The recommendations  in the report for Co-opted Members and Lay Members were explained in detail. The first was to ask the commission to emphasise the need to use the hourly rate to demonstrate that County Councils were financially prudent and paid fairly for the work being carried out. It was also recommended that the commission looked at the rates of payments to lay and co-opted Members, noting that financial remuneration for these Members should also increase annually as it was difficult to attract lay Members to carry out extremely important work. It was noted that there was a recommendation that the commission made it clear what action should be taken if a member did not wish to receive payment for their work. In response to an enquiry regarding the payment of lay and co-opted Members, it was confirmed that Members were paid by the hour including hours of preparation.

Gratitude was expressed for the report and there was agreement with the report's recommendations. It was noted that Community Councillors should be encouraged to claim the pay they are owed for their work in the community. It was expressed that there were many hidden costs for Community Councillors so their work should not be taken for granted. It was noted that it was important to ensure that there was a financial incentive attached to the role to encourage new Members to take up the role when Community Councillors retired. It was mentioned that Community Councillors were very valuable and vital to the future prosperity of Gwynedd's communities. It was agreed that a clause would be added to the recommendation to promote the financial remuneration of Community Councillors and encourage them to claim it. It was confirmed that Members were happy to accept the report and support the recommendations.

Decision:

To accept the report on the condition that a clause to encourage community councils to take their payment was added.