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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Siambr Dafydd Orwig, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH

Contact: Eirian Roberts  01286 679018

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

To receive any apologies for absence

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillors Craig ab Iago, Dylan Bullard, Gareth Griffith, Alwyn Gruffydd, John Brynmor Hughes, Nia Jeffreys, Peredur Jenkins, Anne Lloyd Jones, Berwyn Parry Jones, Elin Walker Jones, Keith Jones, Beth Lawton, Dafydd Meurig, Linda Morgan, W. Roy Owen, Nigel Pickavance, Peter Read, W. Gareth Roberts, Ioan Thomas, Hefin Underwood and Gruffydd Williams.

 

2.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 174 KB

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 18th July, 2019 be signed as a true record. (attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council held on 18 July 2019 as a true record.

 

3.

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.

 

4.

THE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

To receive any Chairman’s announcements.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Condolences were expressed to the family of the former Councillor and Chairman of this Council, William Arthur Evans, who died in August.

 

Condolences were also expressed to the family of Elain Heledd, headteacher of Ysgol Llanegryn, who had passed away recently.

 

It was also noted that the Council wished to sympathise with everyone within the county’s communities who had recently lost loved ones.

 

The Council stood as a mark of respect.

 

The following were congratulated:-

 

·         Guto Dafydd on winning the Chair and the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize at this year's Conwy County National Eisteddfod. 

·         Everyone else from Gwynedd who had been successful, or who had been honoured at the Eisteddfod, including the former Chief Executive, Geraint R. Jones, who became a Fellow of the Eisteddfod.

 

Paula Sky Tunnandine, a member of staff at the Pavilion Centre, Harlech, was wished well on her forthcoming trip to Hawaii to compete in an Ironman competition, having recently won the Welsh Ironman competition.

 

5.

CORRESPONDENCE, COMMUNICATIONS OR OTHER BUSINESS

To receive any correspondence, communications or other business brought forward at the request of the Chairman.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None to note.

6.

URGENT ITEMS

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they may be considered.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

None to note.

7.

QUESTIONS

To consider any questions the appropriate notice for which have been given under Section 4.19 of the Constitution.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(The Cabinet Members' written responses to the questions had been distributed to the members in advance).

 

(1)       Question from Councillor Dylan Fernley

 

“What steps does this Council propose to take to promote use of public transport by employees?  Should we incentivise bus use and punish car use for those who live on bus routes.  Surely, paying people to drive a car when there is adequate public transport is wrong.”

 

Response from the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, in the absence of the Cabinet Member for the Environment)

 

“We welcome this question, and there is certainly scope to reduce officer journeys and consider more cost effective and sustainable transport to travel around our County

 

As a first step, we are currently reviewing the public transport network across Gwynedd and will be highlighting opportunities to travel between Council area offices.

 

At the same time the Welsh Government is reviewing the Trawscymru service with a view to increasing frequency between Aberystwyth and Bangor.  A fast service is planned between Dolgellau and Bangor at peak times, i.e. the bus will not stop in villages which will make this more attractive to workers.

 

The Council and Arriva have been working together to offer a cheaper ticket for Gwynedd Council staff which encourages employees to travel by bus in the Bangor, Caernarfon and Bethesda areas where the company operates.”

 

Supplementary Question from Councillor Dylan Fernley

 

"What are we going to do about this situation?"

 

Response from the Leader, Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, in the absence of the Cabinet Member for the Environment)

 

"Thank you for challenging us as a Council to examine the matter. It is a valid question - why can't we devise arrangements that encourage, both workers and councillors, to use buses instead of cars, and I believe that there is scope for us to look at this.  One significant problem, of course, as somebody who lives in a very rural area, is that public transport is often not fit for purpose when trying to reach meetings on time, etc., and it possible that we should examine our bus timetables and arrange our meetings to suit those timetables. I believe that there is scope for us to work on that. But, ultimately, there is a need for significant investment in a public transport system that is sustainable and carbon-neutral if possible. This means that significant investment is needed, and I would support this." 

 

(2)     Question from Councillor Paul Rowlinson

 

“It is now five years since the Council passed the motion below (09.10.2014):

 

“Following the latest attacks by the Israeli State on the territory of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, this Council calls for a trade embargo with Israel and condemns the over-reaction and savageness used.

 

Furthermore, we confirm and underline this Council’s decision to stop investing in Israel or in that country’s establishments.

 

We believe that if Gwynedd leads the way there is hope that other councils in Wales and beyond will follow our example.”

 

During the discussion:-

 

• The proposal was supported and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

GWYNEDD COUNCIL ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT REPORT 2018-19 pdf icon PDF 61 KB

To submit the report of the Council Leader  (attached).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following officers from the Wales Audit Office were welcomed to the meeting to give a brief presentation and then answer members' questions.

 

·         Alan Hughes (Local Government Performance Audit Leader)

·         Jeremy Evans (Local Government Performance Audit Manager)

 

Following the presentation, members were given an opportunity to ask questions on the report.

 

In response to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 Examinations (page 27 of the agenda), that detailed to which extent the Council had acted in accordance with the sustainable development principle when establishing the new Youth Service, concern was raised by a number of members about the Audit Office's conclusion that more work was needed by the Council to fully establish the five ways of working.  The Auditors' observations that the service provision had been mostly driven by financial constraints rather than an understanding of long-term service demand, was questioned. 

 

The former Cabinet member who had been responsible for instigating the process of re-organising the Youth Service emphasised that the purpose of the re-modelling was to establish a longer-term view, to consider how to modernise the service, making it sustainable and more suited to the needs of young people today and in future. She was also of the opinion that consideration had been given to the five ways of working and the well-being objectives, and she referred to the consultation with young people and collaboration with other local organisations involved with young people as examples of this.

 

The former Cabinet member and others' observations were echoed by the Leader, who emphasised the strong feeling among members that the Audit Office's conclusions were totally wrong.  He argued that it could be stated that all the changes made by the Council over recent years had been motivated by financial cuts. In spite of this, the Council had found new ways of working that addressed the requirements of the Well-being Act, and the Youth Service was a classic example of this, and had been praised as being effective and innovative, and an example to be followed by other councils.  He added that what the members had heard undermined their trust in the Audit Office's ability to reach correct conclusions, and he called for a dialogue between the Council and the Audit Office on this specific point in order to move forward in future.

 

In response, the Local Government Performance Audit Manager noted that the Audit Office's viewpoint differed to the Council's opinion on this specific matter.  He explained that discussions had been held with various officers within the Council as part of the process, and that the Audit Office's evidence was based on these interviews. He was also satisfied with the thoroughness of the work delivered during the year. However, he acknowledged that revisiting the situation could lead to a different opinion, and that consideration could be given to conducting a follow-up review on this issue in future. This work could include fuller discussions with officers, service users and the former Cabinet member.

 

Reference was made to the review of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.