To consider
any questions the appropriate notice for which have
been given under Section 4.19 of the Constitution.
Minutes:
Question from
Councillor R. H. Wyn Williams
"What profits / grants has Gwynedd Council received over the past 10
years through the European Union together with other grants received through
partnerships / business in Gwynedd during the 10 year period?"
Councillor Mandy
Williams-Davies, Cabinet Member for Economy and Community responded
(The Cabinet Member's written response to the original question was
distributed to the members in advance).
"Since 2007, Gwynedd Council has received £48.5m
in funding from European Union Funds which has enabled a total investment of
£89.6m in the county. Other bodies in Gwynedd, such as Bangor University, as
you can see, receive substantial funding. The question refers to the money,
however, I believe, when approaching my daily work over the past two years,
what I wish to draw attention to is what this money has enabled, namely
supporting jobs and supporting ideas, and this, I believe, is the important
thing to measure in respect of the money."
Supplementary
question from Councillor R. H. Wyn Williams
"How does the Council envisage the loss of so
much assistance in the future and where and what are the future patterns?"
Councillor Mandy
Williams-Davies, Cabinet Member for Economy and Community responded
"This is quite a question and I can only answer
by drawing on my experiences from the discussions I have held in light of my
post as Cabinet Member. I envisage changes from many directions, that there
will be collaboration between the six counties across the North, which is a
good thing, but to be party to that money, I believe that the direction of the
Westminster Government will be to spend on specific infrastructure and
industries. We must be included in those discussions. It is important to be
part of the infrastructure to electrify the Railway in the North, etc. However,
there is a draw for this collaboration to extend across the urban areas, the
Northern Powerhouse, and the south is working with Bristol. And there is also a draw that concerns me
somewhat. The projects you see on the list are specific projects for a specific
purpose and they are easy to measure and have a good influence, I believe. We
have already listed projects that have been successful in Gwynedd. There is a
risk that we will lose these small projects at the detriment of being a part of
the major infrastructure discussions, and this is my concern. Further on in the
agenda, we will be discussing local government reorganisation and I believe
that this is where our contribution as a Council will lie, i.e. that we ensure
that any reorganisation and regional collaboration ensures that our voice is
heard regarding those small things that make an actual difference to people's
lives and opportunities, as well as infrastructure. Therefore, a lot of work is facing us.
Possibly, money will return to Wales as match funding, however, we must ensure
that we reap the economic benefits, that it is not a benefit to the urban
regions, but a benefit to the lives of real people. This is why we need a strong economy, in
order to maintain communities, and we must ensure that the cake is shared
fairly across Wales, and not just to the areas on the urban fringes. Therefore,
there is considerable work to be done, but that is where I believe the
challenge lies."