Agenda and minutes
Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig - Council Offices
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
Media
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Craig ab Iago,
Stephen Churchman, Anwen Davies, Eddie Dogan, Aled Evans, Christopher Hughes,
Llywarch Bowen Jones, Sion Jones, Linda Morgan and John Wyn Williams. |
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The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the Annual meeting of the Council
held on 14 May, 2015 be signed as a true record. (attached) Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the Council’s Annual Meeting held on 14 May 2015, as a true record. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: No declarations of personal
interest were received from any members present. |
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THE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive any Chairman’s announcements. Additional documents: Minutes: (1) Condolences It was noted
that the Council wished to express condolences to everyone within the county’s
communities who had lost loved ones recently. The Council
stood in silence as a mark of respect. (2) Best wishes Best wishes
were extended to Councillor Eddie Dogan following his recent ill-health, and to
Councillor Linda Morgan who was currently receiving treatment. (3) Congratulations The following
were congratulated: ·
All the children and young people from Gwynedd who had
competed at the Urdd Eisteddfod held in Caerphilly. ·
Ysgol Glanaethwy on their success in coming third in the
‘Britain’s Got Talent’ competition. ·
Ysgol Abererch on winning the Healthy Eating Initiative Award
with the SMŴ-FI project. These were national awards, and over 2,500
schools had competed. ·
Ysgol O M Edwards, Llanuwchllyn for their effort and success in gaining the
Platinum Eco-Schools Award, the first school in Gwynedd to receive this award. ·
Ysgol Edern on winning the Devine company’s Fair Trade Award. ·
Councillor Dewi Owen on his election to the North
Wales Board of the Farmers’ Union of Wales. It was also
noted that Ysgol Craig y Deryn,
Llanegryn, had been shortlisted for the Architecture
Gold Medal at the National Eisteddfod to be held in Meifod,
and had also won the Royal Town Planning Institute British Award, following
winning the Welsh Award in 2014. |
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CORRESPONDENCE, COMMUNICATIONS OR OTHER BUSINESS To receive any correspondence,
communications or other business brought forward at the request of the Chairman. Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet
Member for Resources thanked everyone, both members and officers, who had
participated in the Cuts Scrutiny Workshops, noting that the main observations
from the sessions had been incorporated into the recommendations to the Cabinet
on 30 July. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items which are
urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they
may be considered. Additional documents: |
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QUESTIONS To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which
have been given under Section
4.19 of the Constitution. Additional documents: |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-17 PDF 52 KB To submit
the report of the Head of Corporate Support
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy
Leader presented a report recommending that the Council adopted a specific
Strategic Plan for the coming year. During the
discussion the following matters were raised:- ·
Referring to the Digital Gwynedd Project, a request
was made to examine whether the broadband in the county’s rural schools could
be extended to nearby buildings and residents, so that the wider community
could take advantage of the provision.
The Chairman noted that this matter could be examined further. Assurance
was requested that the Council would pressurise BT Openreach
to ensure that fast broadband would reach all rural areas. The Chairman noted
that this matter would receive attention. ·
Referring to the Conducting an Equality Impact
Assessment template in Appendix 2, a member noted that she had recently
received a complaint that the marriage pack for single sex couples included the
words 'bride' and 'groom', crossed out with 'partner 1' and 'partner 2' noted
in their place, and also contained the words 'him' and 'her'. She was also
under the impression that there was no opportunity to walk the partners down
the aisle. She added that this excluded people and requested that the issue be
discussed at a scrutiny committee. In response, the Chairman noted that these
matters were outside the remit of the Strategic Plan, but were matters that
required attention, and that the message would be relayed to the relevant
department. ·
The Cabinet and officers were congratulated on the
Strategic Plan. It was noted that
there was a very clear focus in the document and it was agreed that these were
the main strategic areas that the Council should concentrate upon during the
forthcoming extremely challenging period. ·
Officers were requested to do everything within their
means to ensure that Gwynedd benefitted from a fair share of the £9m Rural
Development Programme funding that had been earmarked by the Welsh Government
for rural areas and communities. The Chairman noted that this observation would
be forwarded to the Cabinet. The Deputy Leader added that the Council needed to
ensure that it attracted the maximum amount of funding from European Funds.
Gwynedd Council’s record in this field was extremely good, and this work should
certainly continue in order to attract the maximum benefit possible to the
county's rural economy. ·
It was noted that the Council itself must take steps
to strengthen the local economy, but the planning system militated against
economic developments, and it was emphasised that the Council should be able to
support small businesses in their own localities, rather than sending them to
urban industrial estates. The Deputy Leader agreed with the observation, noting
that a scrutiny committee working party was examining the situation to look at
how to establish a positive planning system that encouraged, rather than
impeded, the economy. · It was noted that the opening of the new school in Y Groeslon had meant the closure of Carmel school, with over 60 pupils, and had led to a rift in the village as many of Carmel’s children now went to ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATUTORY DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES 2014/15 PDF 199 KB To submit
the report of the Statutory Director and Corporate Director (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted – The
Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services for 2014/15. In her
presentation, the Director outlined the performance of Gwynedd’s social
services over the past year, reporting on both good performance and areas for
improvement, within the context of the need for transformation and change in
order to respond to legislative and financial requirements. She also expanded upon the issues facing the Social Services over
the forthcoming period, and the extent to which this performance placed Gwynedd
on a firm footing. Also, she took
the opportunity to thank both the staff from the departments and the care
workers throughout Gwynedd, both internal and external, for their hard work and
total commitment to this important work. She specifically thanked Cabinet
Members, Councillors Gareth Roberts and Mair Rowlands for their support and the
former Cabinet member, Councillor Wyn Williams for his work during the year.
She also thanked Aled Davies for stepping in as Head of the Adults, Health and
Wellbeing Department, and wished Gwenan Parry a speedy recovery. Following the
presentation, the Director responded to a series of questions / comments from
members in relation to:- ·
The need for three Care Champions - one each for Arfon, Dwyfor and
Meirionnydd. It was noted, with the
major changes on the horizon, that it would be difficult for the current Care
Champion to continue to act for the whole of Gwynedd, and as there was a close
link with the Community Health Council's role and work, it was suggested that
the members who represented Arfon and Dwyfor on that body could undertake some of the work of the
Care Champions in those areas. The Chairman noted that this observation would
be forwarded to the service for consideration. ·
Disappointment that the Council had abolished the post
of Disabilities Officer following the retirement of the former post-holder, and
a request to re-establish the post. The Chairman noted that this observation
would be forwarded to the service for consideration. ·
Collaboration with the health service in light of the
current difficulties of Betsi Cadwaladr
University Health Board. ·
Success of the Alltwen
Project. ·
Staff morale and how to monitor it. ·
The opportunity to promote different ways of working
and innovation in moving the transformation agenda forward. ·
The Edge of Care Team’s success, in the transformation
of the children’s service. ·
The challenge of retaining the current staff and
attracting new staff from the local schools, universities and colleges in the
forthcoming financial climate. ·
Who, and what were responsible for the high cost of
the service, given that many people never access the service? The Director
and her staff were thanked for all their work during the year. |
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THE COUNCIL'S POLITICAL BALANCE PDF 223 KB To submit
the report of the Leader (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The report which reviewed the
Council’s political balance was submitted by the Deputy Leader. RESOLVED to approve the allocation of seats on the Council’s committees
in accordance with the table below:- SCRUTINY COMMITTEES
OTHER COMMITTEES
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NON-ATTENDANCE OF A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL PDF 212 KB To submit
the report of the Head of Democratic Services
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: The Leader
submitted a report recommending that the Council approved the absence of Councillor
Linda Morgan from meetings of the Council because she was receiving treatment
at the moment that would be likely to affect her ability to attend formal
meetings of the authority for a while. The Councillor
was wished well and it was noted that her fellow Councillors would offer every
service that could be of assistance to her in her area. RESOLVED to approve the absence of
Councillor Linda Morgan from meetings of the Council because of personal
circumstances in accordance with Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972,
enabling her to continue to be a member of Gwynedd Council. |
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(A) In accordance with the Notice of Motion
received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor R.H.Wyn
Williams will propose as follows:- “We
call upon the Westminster
Government to devolve the powers of the Crown Commission to Welsh Government in
order for Wales to take advantage of income generated from the lands and
coastline of Wales. This will mean that Wales will be more prosperous as it
will own the rights in relation to fishing, mining, searching for gas and oil,
tidal and wave power and wind farms, gold and silver, and all the energy and
resources within the designated waters and territorial boundaries of Wales. We
also call upon other Local Authorities in Wales to support the request.” (B) To
submit, for information, a letter from Mark Thomas, Editor of the Daily Post, in
response to Councillor Sian Gwenllian’s Notice of
Motion to the last meeting regarding Trinity Mirror’s decision to close the
Herald Office in Caernarfon. (attached). Additional documents: Minutes: (a) The following notice of
motion was submitted by Councillor R. H. Wyn Williams, in accordance with
Section 4.20 of the Constitution and it was seconded. “We
call upon the Westminster Government to devolve the powers of the Crown
Commission to the Welsh Government in order for Wales to take advantage of
income generated from the lands and coastline of Wales. This will mean that Wales will be more
prosperous as it will own the rights in relation to fishing, mining, searching
for gas and oil, tidal and wave power and wind farms, gold and silver and all
the energy and resources within the designated waters and territorial
boundaries of Wales. We also call upon other Local Authorities in Wales to
support the request.” During the ensuing discussion it was noted:- ·
Although the principle behind the motion was welcomed,
this was not as simple as it sounded as Wales would have to be an independent country
in order to receive these rights. ·
This would happen in Scotland. ·
The motion was supported and should this be achieved
and the funding came to Wales, it should go to those areas from whence the
money came and not to Cardiff. The
motion was supported. RESOLVED to accept the motion. (b) Submitted, for
information, a letter from Mark Thomas, Editor of the Daily Post, in response
to Councillor Sian Gwenllian’s Notice of Motion to
the last meeting regarding Trinity Mirror’s decision to close the Herald Office
in Caernarfon. RESOLVED to note the letter. |