Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services.

(a)  A report was submitted by the Senior Manager - Democracy and Delivery and the Democratic Services Manager updating Members on the requirements to publish and report on attendance and allowances.

(b)  It was noted that it was necessary for the Council to publish information about the salaries proposed to be paid to Members for 2015/16 together with information about salaries and expenses paid to them during 2014/15. This year it was proposed to publish the information on the Council’s website as well as in ‘Newyddion Gwynedd’.

(c)  During the ensuing discussion the following points were highlighted:

(i)            In terms of care allowance, that clarification should be included on members’ rights to care allowance be that child care or a dependent as members had been criticised for receiving this in the past.

 (ii)      It should be noted that the Chair / Vice-chair of this Committee do not receive an  allowance for the office, in order to give the public the full picture.  

(iii)      That some Members had the role of a Champion for special areas which entailed a great deal of additional travelling and in order to give a full picture that there should be an explanation to explain the miles travelled for the additional work  compared to other members.

(ii)              That various Members served on the Council’s behalf on other external bodies such as the National Park, Fire Service, Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd and they attended many meetings that meant a great deal of travelling hours.

(iii)              That the sample diary of a Member’s work published last year was very interesting and useful to the public where their duties were noted and how many committees they attended.  

(iv)             In terms of the attendance of Members at meetings, some discontent was expressed that some Members did not attend regularly and this was an insult to the Council and their electors and they did not undertake their duties to the utmost.

(v)               Following on from the above, it was expressed that some Members did not feel that there was any value to attend committees as they could not make resolutions.

(vi)             Percentages were not a fair reflection of attendance for those who serve on fewer committees.

(vii)            In the context of attending courses/training, that is would be useful if the provision could be offered in the evening or on-line in order to facilitate this for those who work from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

 (x)      It was suggested that it may be beneficial to produce an hours sheet for Members to complete to justify the hours spent in meetings/local work etc. 

          (ch)        The officers responded to the above comments as follows:

(a)  that an explanation could be presented regarding the additional responsibilities of  Members who have to travel a great deal more miles compared with other Members, this would be different to last year

(b)  in terms of the sample diary, it was suggested that it may be possible to submit an article to ‘Newyddion Gwynedd’ based on questions and answers to address issues such as allowances, travelling, care allowances and attendance at meetings.

(c)  obviously Members were anxious to change the regulations regarding attendance at meetings and it was suggested further that attendance percentages for every quarter could be published in ‘Rhaeadr’.

          Resolved:                     (a)        To accept and note the contents of the report.

                                                (b)       To request that the Democratic Services Manager

(i)            to submit information to ‘Newyddion Gwynedd’:

·         based on a question and answer article to ensure clarity regarding the duties of Members as outlined in (a) and (b) above.

·         To address if a Member had produced an Annual Report in the form of  ü / x

(ii)          To publish the attendance percentages of Members at committees in ‘Rhaeadr’

(iii)         To note the possibility of specifying a minimum attendance level and send an e-mail to Members who fall below the specified level, for further consideration.