To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which
have been given under Section
4.19 of the Constitution.
Minutes:
(1)
Question from Councillor Sian Wyn Hughes -
“Recently, I attended an excellent course for councillors on the new
Well-being Act. The course was
outstanding, but it was disappointing to see so few members present.
I would like to ask the Cabinet
Member, on average, how many councillors attend courses that are arranged for
us on days that are in the meetings calendar; and, has any consideration been
given to making some courses mandatory, for example, those involving important
legislation, in order to ensure Members' attendance?"
Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn, Deputy Leader, responded
(The Cabinet Member's written response was distributed to the members in
advance).
"A written response has been prepared, and we
have received figures via email showing the percentages for two types of
training the Council offers members.
Those figures show that, in some circumstances, it is a very low
percentage of councillors who take advantage of training. I was present at the training Sian refers to
and it was quite special, and each member who came out of that meeting had been
inspired, and the standard of the presentations were very high indeed. And there are elements of this kind of
training that provide councillors with vital information for making informed
decisions, and, as such, councillors are encouraged to attend these
sessions. The only thing I would add, as
one who worked full time up until some time ago at the far end of this county,
is that I sympathise with those who cannot attend training meetings. In fact, I had a rule, if training was held
further afield than Porthmadog, I would not attend. But, fair play, the Council
does also offer training in Penrhyndeudraeth in order to make the training more
accessible to members. I also believe
that there is room for us to look at the way in which we provide training. It is possible for us to do much more on the
Internet and we can follow and track that work and I believe that we will have
to develop this further. I also believe, as I've said many times in the past,
that there is room for us to consider holding training sessions at our area
fora - small half hour, yet relevant, tidbits perhaps, and we would, therefore,
have the opportunity to hold other discussions at the same time."
Supplementary question
from Councillor Sian Wyn Hughes -
"Would the Cabinet Member agree that these
percentages are very disappointing and would he be willing to ask the
Democratic Services Committee look at ways to increase Members' attendance at
training sessions, including making some courses mandatory and publish a record
of members' attendance at training courses on the Council website?"
Councillor Dyfrig
Siencyn, Deputy Leader, responded
"I fully agree, and I believe that it is an issue
to which the Democratic Services Committee must give serious
consideration. The difficulty with the
word 'mandatory' is how do you punish
a member if he/she does not attend that training? That is rather difficult, but I certainly
believe that introducing training in different ways should be considered, so
that it is available to members anywhere, and that they can record whether
they've undergone that training online.
But, certainly, I'm very willing for the Democratic Services Committee
to thoroughly consider the issue once again."
(2)
Question from Councillor Sion Jones
"Is it possible for the cabinet member for
Regeneration to explain the future of Cist Gwynedd?"
Councillor Mandy
Williams-Davies, Cabinet Member for Economy and Community responded
(The Cabinet Member's written response was distributed to the members in
advance).
"Cist Gwynedd is a range of grants which are
delivered by the Economy and Community Department. It is a very valuable
package which supports community work.
The answer has been circulated, explaining that the sum of money comes
from various directions - from the Council, from Welsh Government, from private
companies and renewable energy and also, increasingly, from community benefit
clauses that are submitted. So, it is funded
through a number of sources. One of the
most popular funds is the Voluntary Development Fund and, this year, £80,000 of
capital and £46,000 of revenue funds are available for distribution. This capital is an annual bidding procedure,
so it is perhaps difficult to warrant its continuation in future other than
with regard to the sum that's currently available. The revenue fund, however,
will continue in 2017/18 as it currently stands."
A supplementary
question by Councillor Sion Jones
"Is it possible for the member to confirm that
there will be an increase in the Cist Gwynedd expenditure next year and could
she perhaps sit with me to discuss the importance of this funding for the
communities of Gwynedd?"
Councillor Mandy
Williams-Davies, Cabinet Member for Economy and Community responded
"As has been explained in the answer, Cist
Gwynedd is not subject to Her Gwynedd 2017/18 savings or cuts and I would also
like to remind the member that we all attended the meeting to decide the very
painful cuts and had a choice of what we would be prioritising at the
workshops. We as a Council approved the
package. One part of the Cist's fund was
halved and this was approved because I remember the member voicing his concern
at that time. But, perhaps we all understand that there was a choice
subsequently: if we made savings in one place, then something else would come
back and the member did not suggest bringing anything else back, if I remember
righly. Nevertheless, half the revenue
is still available and we have to remember that savings have been made to the
regeneration support officers who help attract more grants for communities with
the aid of this fund."
(3)
Question by Councillor Louise Hughes
"Is it possible to have an update on the current
situation regarding the future of public toilets in Gwynedd?"
Response from
Councillor John Wynn Jones, Cabinet Member for the Environment
(The Cabinet Member's written response was distributed to the members in
advance).
"The question is a little premature. You are aware that we are looking at a cut
involving the closure of 50 out of 73 toilets but that, after the decision
taken in March, we have come up with an alternative plan and that plan delivers
a saving of almost £250,000. We took
this to the scrutiny committee before it was taken to Cabinet and the Cabinet
approved our pursuit of this alternative plan.
The alternative plan requires that community councils contribute to
their local toilets and we have been out talking to community councils and we
shall continue to do so. They were
required to come to a decision by the end of September as to whether they
intended to contribute or not. If they
said that they did not, they would then have to consider whether those toilets
would close. It is premature for us to
come to a decision as the end of September was only last week and, as such,
work is just starting. We have also had requests to exped the date so that
councils can meet and come to a decision.
I'm glad to say that some have been added to those we had at the end of
the month. We intend to discuss with
these councils who are willing to move forward, to seek to take over the
service and we will also look into the community toilets - of which there are
36 in the county at present, but the answer that was distributed is
comprehensive."
Supplementary
question by Councillor Louise Hughes
"Can you confirm whether the activities of
Gwynedd Council are fully legal and whether other local authorities in Wales
are doing the same?"
Response from
Councillor John Wynn Jones, Cabinet Member for the Environment
"I can confirm that this is entirely legal and
that many other authorities are acting in much the same way as we are."