Decisions

To accept the report.

Given the language shift seen in Gwynedd from census to census, this Council welcomes the Welsh Government's response to the recommendations of the Commission for Welsh speaking Communities and calls upon the Government to urgently introduce measures giving local authorities the powers and funding to counteract the language shift.

1.     To accept the report.

2.     Establish an 8th field of core training for Elected Members, being “Violence
against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence”, in accordance with the recommendation of the Democratic Services Committee.

Given that

a)    Agriculture is one of Wales' main industries, and that a high percentage of Gwynedd's economy is linked to agriculture

b)    the stability of the family farm is a vital and invaluable contribution to the preservation of the Welsh language in our Welsh-speaking communities

c)    the agricultural industry in Wales is currently able to make a valuable contribution to the food stock of the 'United Kingdom' in an age of increasing uncertainty, although the stock is low

This Council notes with regret that the Inheritance Tax Act poses a threat to the traditional farming unit, to the economy of the country and to the Welsh countryside, especially to the Welsh speaking areas.  (At least two farmers are known to have committed suicide since the announcement of the Act and families and related local workers and businesses face collapse if the Act comes into effect in 2026.)

I therefore call on Cyngor Gwynedd to bring pressure to bear on the Welsh Government to take the following actions:-

i)                     pressurise the Westminster Government to recognise that the farming industry is crucial to the UK's security strategy, and to
exclude family farms that produce food from the new tax when it comes into force.

 make a plea to the Welsh Government to commission research to assess the impact of the Act on the Welsh economy and Welsh-speaking communities; also to implement adequate mitigation measures to protect the agricultural industry which is so crucial to the future of our country's rural communities.

Following the revelation that improvements to the Oxford to Cambridge railway line have been changed from an England only scheme to an England and Wales scheme, and also in the wake of the paltry sum announced in the Westminster Government's spending review of £450m over 10 years, Cyngor Gwynedd is calling on the Welsh Government to demand that the entire Wales Rail Network is devolved to Wales as a matter of urgency. This Council is of the view that Gwynedd and Wales are missing out significantly on investment due to being tied to England on these issues.  We believe that Wales should have the same rights as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

To appoint Dr Peter Barnes, Mr Dewi Lewis a Mr Paul Millar-Mills as Lay Members of the Governance and Audit Committee for the next five years, subject to receiving acceptable references.

1.    Note the Wales Pension Partnership Fit for the Future Business Case (Appendix 3, Appendix 4 and section 4 of the report) 

2.    Approve the formation of a corporate entity wholly owned by the WPP Administering Authorities (AAs) to be the WPP Investment Management Company (IMCo.) and all other actions necessary to submit an application to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the authorisation of the company including but not limited to the selection and recruitment of Senior Management Function (SMF) roles as required by the FCA and the preparation and submission of the application to the FCA.  (Section 5 of the report)

3.    Approve the revised WPP Business Plan & budget 2025/28 which includes design/enabling costs for Project yr Wyddfa (Appendix 5 and Section 6 of the report)

4.    Delegate the S151 Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Pensions Committee to progress Project yr Wyddfa alongside WPP Administering Authorities (AAs) in line with the Government timetable within the approved budget. 

5.    Delegate the final approval of the final formal documentation required for IMCo. to be operational, described as “Go Live Work” as outlined in Section 7, to The Pension Fund Committee to give effect to The WPP Fit for the Future Business Case.  

To approve the North Wales Regional Transport Plan and supporting documentation for submission by the Corporate Joint Committee to the Welsh Government for approval and publication by the Minister in September 2025.

To elect Councillor David Bithell as Vice-chair of the Sub-committee for 2025-26.

To elect Councillor Goronwy Edwards as Chair of the Sub-committee for 2025-26.

To elect Councillor Rhys Tudur as Vice-Chair for 2025/26.

To elect Councillor Cai Larsen as Chair for 2025/26.

•              To note the output of the work of the Task and Finish Group but there was no consensus on all the recommended modifications;

•             To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to consider the range of comments submitted by the Scrutiny Members when drawing up the final policy.

·       To accept the report and to note the observations.

·       To welcome that a detailed work programme is being drawn up to address the recommendations of the Information Commissioner's Office following an audit of the Council's arrangements in relation to freedom of information requests

·       That the Committee receive an update on the Customer Care Plan as it develops

·       That Heads of Department need to be encouraged to respond to the annual questionnaire from the Legal Service

·       To request that the Scrutiny Committee receive information about prosecutions relating to pupil absences.

•           To accept the report and to note the observations. 

•           To accept that a Council Tax Premium Exemption Policy needs to be drawn up

•           That consideration needs to be given to whether there is a role for the Scrutiny Committee in the creation of the policy

•           To ask the Finance Department to share data in relation to Council Tax prosecutions with members.

·       To accept the report and note the comments;

·       That consideration needs to be given to scrutiny of the benefit of the Growth Deal for Gwynedd including the alternative project in Trawsfynydd

·       To ask the Economy and Community Department to provide three-year rolling data on numbers who have received return to work support

·       To ask the Department to make a request to Byw'n Iach Company for user data;

To request that the department seeks funding and wider support for the Caernarfon Food Festival and to show more clearly in the report that there is funding for social enterprises.

To accept the report and note the comments and to request further action on some of the comments in relation to the following areas:

·       Welsh Language and Language Centres

·       Learning environment for children with specific conditions

·       Type of buildings in terms of geographical locations plus transport costs

·       Child absences and inclusion along with children excluded from education and who are homeschooled

·       Data reliability where the database is small

·       Costs relating to access to education specifically for low-income families and children excluded from school

·       Appointment of Headteachers

·       Timeliness in the delivery of the Education Strategy.

1.     To accept the report, noting the observations received during the meeting.

2.     To recommend to the Cabinet Member for Corporate and Legal Services and for the Welsh Language, to publish the report by 30 June 2025.

To accept the report, noting the observations received during the meeting.

To elect Councillor Meryl Roberts as Vice-chair of the Committee for the year 2025-26.

To elect Councillor Menna Baines as Chair of the Committee for the year 2025-26.