Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Annes Siôn 01286 679729
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APOLOGIES Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies had been received from Councillor Mair Rowlands, Morwena Edwards
(Corporate Director) and Iwan Trefor Jones (Corporate Director) |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST Additional documents: Minutes: There were
no declarations of personal interest. |
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URGENT ITEMS Additional documents: Minutes: There were no urgent
items. |
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MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY Additional documents: Minutes: There were no
matters arising from overview and scrutiny. |
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON PDF 179 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting
held on 14 February, 2017, as a true record. |
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FEES FOR INDEPENDENT CARE HOMES 2017-18 PDF 376 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr W Gareth Roberts Additional documents: Decision:
Minutes: The item was
presented by Cllr Gareth Roberts RESOLVED To approve the following
fees for 2017-18
* It does not include Health's contribution DISCUSSION Independent
care home fees needed to be reviewed on an annual basis. It had been noted under section 35 of the
Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, that the Council has a duty to
meet the care and assistance needs of adults who usually resided in the area.
It was noted that many discussions had been held with providers, and the North
Wales Care Home Fees Group had carried out much collective research. It was
emphasised that there were various categories in the field, and this had
highlighted that nursing care was a challenge in Gwynedd, and consequently, the
fees reflected the additional pressures on nursing. It was expressed that the fees varied from
county to county but that the range was low and was approximately £20. The fees had been submitted to the Providers Forum in
draft form and it was noted that the response had been positive. Matters
arising from the discussion: - Enquiries were made regarding point 7 in the report which was a Court Case Ruling.
It was noted that a Court Case
would appear in the High Court
in April, and that it
was an argument as to whether the Local Authority or the Health Board
was responsible for paying a small amount of money. This case could affect
these fees - however, the situation would need to be considered further after the decision had be received. Awdur: Aled Davies |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Gareth Thomas Additional documents:
Decision: Change the
wording of clause 4.8 of the Scheme for Financing Schools to read as follows: 4.8 Balances
of closing and replacement schools When a
school closes any balance (whether surplus or deficit) reverts to the LEA; it
cannot be transferred as a balance to any other school, apart from when that
other school has been established as a result of the closure. In such a situation the balance will
transfer to the new school under the provisions of the School Funding (Wales)
Regulations 2010. Minutes: The item was
presented by Cllr Gareth Thomas RESOLVED To
change the wording of clause 4.8 of the Scheme for Financing Schools
to read as follows: 4.8 Balances of closing and replacement schools When a school
closes any balance (whether surplus or deficit)
reverts to the Authority; it cannot be transferred
as a balance to any other school,
apart from when that other
school has been established as a result of the closure. In such
a situation the balance would transfer to the new school under
the provisions of the School
Funding (Wales) Regulations
2010. DISCUSSION It was noted
that the wording currently read as follows: 4.8 Balances of closing and replacement schools When a school
closes any balance (whether surplus or deficit)
reverts to the Authority; it cannot be transferred
as a balance to any other school,
even where the school is a successor to the closing school. Currently, if schools closed, the balances reverted to the authority. It was noted that the department felt that it would be more sensible, if there was a successor to the closing school, that the balances were transferred to the new school. It was emphasised that the matter had been discussed at the School Funding Forum which recommended the change, and discussions had been held with the schools. Awdur: Owen Owens |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Mandy Williams-Davies Additional documents:
Decision: To approve the following: ·
To
confirm the decision for Gwynedd Council to lead on the Regional Plan on behalf
of the four counties. ·
On
the condition of WEFO approval, the cabinet member in consultation with the
Head of Finance and the Head of Economy to accept a grant offer of up to
£1,461,000. ·
Confirm that Gwynedd Council will contribute up to
£150,000 of Match Funding for the project. Minutes:
Awdur: Catrin Thomas |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Mair Rowlands Additional documents:
Decision: ·
Give approval to the Head of Economy and Community
Department to accept the offer of grant to the value of £1,203,437, following
Welsh European Funding Office approval, to deliver the Ad-TRAC Project in
Gwynedd. ·
Commit match funding of £492,095 towards the
project by means of the method noted in the report. Minutes: The report was
presented by Cllr Mandy Williams-Davies. RESOLVED ·
Give approval to the Head of Economy and Community
Department to accept the
offer of grant to the value of £1,203,437, following Welsh European Funding Office approval, to deliver the Ad-TRAC Project in
Gwynedd. ·
Commit match funding of up to £492,095 towards the
project by means of the method noted in
the report. DISCUSSION This was a
joint project with North Wales Local Authorities, Grŵp
Llandrillo-Menai and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to work with young people
aged 16-24 years who were not in education, employment or training by providing
them with intense support to enable them to move closer to education,
employment or training. It was emphasised that the most vulnerable young people
in society would be a part of this project. It was noted
that this was a project worth £1.2 million. It was noted that there was an
update to the published report, namely that WEFO had confirmed that the
Business Plan was acceptable and that a confirmation letter was about to be
received. It would note that the partners of the scheme could track their
expenditure and claim the funding from 1 March. Comments arising
from the discussion: -
It was noted that this
type of project ensured that vulnerable young people could
stand on their own two feet,
and that European funding could deliver and
change people's lives. -
It was asked whether the scheme's targets were challenging enough - namely to make a difference to the lives of over half
the total of 450 young people that the scheme would attempt
to reach? It was noted that the Council sometimes needed to be daring to start on a new
way of working and be prepared to fail. The aim of the scheme would be to make a difference to the lives of the total of 450. It was emphasised that the cost per head in Gwynedd was higher than the other North Wales
counties due to the geography and dispersed
nature of the county. Consequently, transport costs to enable the individuals to reach the provision and for the workers
was higher. It was noted
that this grant paid for preventative work. Research had shown that the long-term cost to public services could be as much
as £140,000 for each individual, and therefore that
spending between
£3,000-£11,000 per head over
2-3 years was cost effective.
It was noted that Trac and Ad-Trac worked within the National Engagement Framework - and after the three
years of grant intervention,
the good practice from this work
would be embedded into the Engagement Framework. Awdur: Catrin Thomas |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Mandy Williams - Davies Additional documents:
Decision: I.
To endorse the preferred regional governance model
of a statutory joint committee for further development. II.
To instruct officers to work with colleagues in
partner councils to develop a detailed constitution and inter-authority
agreement for the proposed Joint Committee and bring it back for consideration
of the Council entering into a statutory joint committee model with the five
partner councils, within the first three months of the new Council term.
III.
Note that this Council also expects assurance in
terms of establishing the Project Office and obtain an understanding of the
structure and method of funding that Office when approving any constitution /
agreement. Minutes: The report was
presented by Cllr Mandy Williams-Davies RESOLVED I.
To
endorse the preferred regional governance model of a statutory joint committee
for further development. II.
To
instruct officers to work with colleagues in partner councils to develop a
detailed constitution and inter-authority agreement for the proposed Joint
Committee, and bring it back for consideration of the Council committing to a
statutory joint committee model with the five partner councils, within the
first three months of the new Council term.
III.
To note
that this Council also expects assurance in terms of establishing the
Project/Programme Office in order to understand the accountability of the
structure and method of funding that Office when approving any constitution /
agreement. DISCUSSION In September 2016, the Cabinet
approved the Growth Vision for the Economy of North Wales. It was noted that
this was the next step, namely the creation of a Statutory Joint Committee in
order to govern and look into how to proceed with the work. It was emphasised
that the intention was to submit the plan before the new Full Council within
three months. Matters arising from the discussion: - It
was noted that it was an opportunity to protect and develop unique areas that
maintain the economy in a different way and to maintain unique communities in
Gwynedd. - From
accepting the governance model, enquiries were made about sufficient Resources
for support the work, e.g. Project/Programme Office, and that clarity was
needed on the financial Resources and Human Resources to support that. The
need for a leader to be accountable for the project as a whole was noted. Awdur: Iwan Trefor Jones |
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SAVINGS STRATEGY 2015/16 - 2017/18 PDF 137 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Peredur Jenkins Additional documents:
Decision: A. To note the encouraging progress
towards realising the 2015/16 - 17/18 savings schemes. B. To formally accept that two historical schemes
will fall short of the savings target namely:
C.
In
order to achieve the target of £81,566 "Cross-departmental Savings to be
found" in 2016/17, approve the use of savings that the Finance Department
has realised early. Minutes: The item was presented by Cllr Peredur Jenkins RESOLVED A.
. To note the encouraging progress towards realising the 2015/16 -
17/18 savings schemes. B. To formally accept that two
historical schemes would fall short
of the savings target namely:
C. In order to achieve the target of £81,566
"Cross-departmental Savings
to be found" in
2016/17, to approve the use
of savings that the Finance
Department has realised early. DISCUSSION It was noted that
the progress report was an overview of what had been achieved over the past two
years. It was emphasised that it was the responsibility of relevant Cabinet
members to realise the savings, with the Cabinet Member for Resources keeping
an overview of the savings in their entirety. In the
2016/17 Financial Strategy, £9,201,411 of savings had been planned, namely 141
plans. Of the 141 departmental plans, 128 had been realised in full or in
part. It was anticipated that 94% of the
2016/17 savings had been realised on time.
It was noted
that the deficit of £150,684 needed to be removed from two historical schemes -
"Enablement" and “North Wales Regional Hub". Both schemes had
been developed as part of the aim to identify £5m of Cross-departmental savings,
but they had achieved fewer saving than had been anticipated. Matters
arising from the discussion:
Continue to monitor the situation of the following financial year. Awdur: Dafydd Edwards |
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WATER SUPPLIES FOR SMALLHOLDINGS PDF 392 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dafydd Meurig Additional documents: Decision: Carry out the work to upgrade the private water supplies in
smallholdings at a cost of up to £400,000 and decide on which funding solution
should be used, from the two available, when agreeing the Council's new Asset
Management Plan. Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Dafydd Meurig.
RESOLVED To carry out the work
to upgrade the private water supplies in smallholdings at a cost of up to £400,000 and decide on which
funding solution should be used, from the two available
options, when agreeing the Council's new Asset Management Plan. DISCUSSION Of the 42 smallholdings owned by the
Council, 16 were located in remote areas several miles from public water
supplies. The Private Water Supply
(Wales) Regulations 2009 set out the expected hygiene standards. In order to achieve these standards, it was
necessary to progress with the work of upgrading. It was noted that no finance was currently available by the Property
Service to do this unavoidable work. The
financing options were considered as follows:
Matters arising from the discussion: It was noted that the sum for delivering the work was not completely clear thus far, and it was considered reasonable to make an exception this time to subscribe(?) to one of the above options rather than identify a specific source in order to be able to progress with the work. Awdur: Dafydd Gibbard |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dafydd Meurig Additional documents:
Decision: To approve
the proposal to continue the arrangement of providing the Joint Planning Policy
Service for Gwynedd Council and Isle of Anglesey County Council for a further
five years. To
authorise the Head of Regulatory Department and the Head of Legal Services to
review and agree on a new collaboration agreement to extend the collaboration
period to include: ·
Review and agree on arrangements for the
administration, implementation and management of the Joint Planning Policy Unit ·
Review
and agree on the role of the Joint Planning Policy Committee as a
cross-boundary decision-making body before reporting back to the Cabinet for
approval. Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Dafydd Meurig.
RESOLVED To approve the proposal to continue the arrangement of providing the Joint Planning Policy Service for Gwynedd Council and Isle
of Anglesey County Council for a further five
years. To authorise the Head of the Regulatory Department and the Head of Legal Services to review and agree
on a new collaboration agreement to extend the collaboration period to include: ·
Review and agree on
arrangements for the administration, implementation and management of the Joint Planning Policy Unit ·
Review and agree on
the role of the Joint Planning Policy Committee as a cross-boundary decision-making body before reporting
back to the Cabinet for approval. DISCUSSION Gwynedd and Anglesey had been collaborating on providing a Joint Planning
Policy Service for five years but the original agreement was ending at the end
of the year, or after the plan had been adopted by both authorities - whichever
came earliest. Necessary work would
continue following the plan's adoption in order to monitor and review it etc. A review had been undertaken of the work and it was noted that the
collaboration model had broken new ground in the planning policy field and the
model had been acknowledged by Welsh Government as an example that other
Planning Authorities should consider. It
was also noted that the project had made a saving of £600,000 between both
Authorities. Matters arising from the discussion: Enquiries were made regarding the reduction in staffing numbers, and it was explained that the staffing profile complied with the profile of the work that was to be completed by the Unit. Awdur: Dafydd Wyn Williams |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR ADULT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING PDF 245 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr W Gareth Roberts Additional documents:
Decision: a) To accept and note the information
in the report. b)
Approve
the re-profiling of four of the savings schemes as follows:
Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Gareth Thomas.
RESOLVED a)
To accept and note the information
in the report. b)
To approve the re-profiling of four of the savings schemes as follows:
DISCUSSION It was noted that the department was developing, changes were becoming
embedded and that the impact of the changes were being gradually felt. The Cabinet Member drew attention to a few projects, including integrated
working and the Llys Cadfan
project. The Llys
Cadfan project was an exciting project that worked
outside the box. The purpose of the
project was to provide more local support for people in the south of the
County. Attention was drawn to performance measures and specifically to
"people who note that they can do what is important to them" - it was
a new measure for the department and 57% felt that they were able to do what
was important to them. It was noted that the overspend had reduced from £168,000 to
approximately £88,000. Matters arising from the discussion: -
In response to an enquiry, it was noted that a
report was expected on the findings and the recommendations by the CSSIW within
the next few weeks. Attention was drawn to Measure 5.7 - "the rate of delayed
transfers of care for social care reasons" - it was noted that discussions
were ongoing at the moment in order to attempt to improve the situation. Awdur: Morwena Edwards |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND LEISURE CABINET MEMBER PDF 210 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Mair Rowlands Additional documents:
Decision: To accept and note the information in the report. Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Dyfed Edwards
in the absence of Cllr Mair Rowlands RESOLVED To accept and note the information
in the report. DISCUSSION It was noted that the report was comprehensive and noted the projects in
the strategic plan. It was emphasised that work was continuing with sections of
the youth and leisure service to transform and develop for the future. Observations arising from the discussion -
A further report was requested for the next meeting to explain whether a
difference had occurred in the lives of the young people that had received
accreditations from the youth service, and in which way had these
accreditations made a difference. -
An
explanation was requested on the difference in the figures for the
accreditations from the youth service as there was no full clarity. -
An increase had been seen in the number of looked after children -
confirmation was received that work was being done on this and that a report
would be submitted to the Leadership Team. Awdur: Morwena Edwards |
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PERFORMANCE REPORT OF THE CABINET MEMBER FOR RESOURCES PDF 344 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Peredur Jenkins Additional documents:
Decision: The report was accepted and approval was given to re-profile the Stop
Paying the Fee to pay Council Tax in post offices to 2018/19 rather than
2017/18 as originally intended. Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Peredur
Jenkins. DECISION The report was accepted and approval
was given to re-profile the
Stop Paying a Fee Scheme to pay Council
Tax in Post Offices to 2018/19 rather than 2017/18 as
originally intended. DISCUSSION It was noted that 12 service reviews had been completed, as well as the
programme to promote Ffordd Gwynedd principles
amongst managers. Further internal training sessions for Managers would be
conducted from April onwards, and it was suggested that it would be beneficial
for the new Cabinet Members to attend these sessions. It was noted that delivering cut scheme number
13 (Stop paying a fee to pay Council Tax in Post Offices) was a challenge and,
as a result, further research would be needed on this project, and therefore
there was a need to re-profile the saving to be realised in 2018/19. Matters arising from the discussion: -
Enquiries were made about the electronic filing system (EDRMS) - it was
explained that it was a new system for filing electronically, which reduced the
number of files that were kept, attempting to ensure saving the essential files
only. -
It was noted that the % of sickness days had increased (although
comparatively low on a Wales level) and it was noted that many of these were
cases of long-term illness. Awdur: Dilwyn Williams |
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Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Ioan Thomas Additional documents:
Decision: In order to ensure effective and transparent
performance management, Cabinet Members are required to report periodically on
the performance of the field for which they are responsible to the Cabinet. Minutes: The report was presented by Cllr Ioan Thomas DECISION To accept and note the information
in the report. DISCUSSION It was noted
that the Affordable Housing project was progressing in collaboration with Grŵp Cynefin. Work was being carried out
in Penygroes, Waunfawr, Llanuwchllyn and Bethesda. It was noted
that an increase
had been seen in the number of referrals to the Homelessness
Unit, and there had been deterioration in the performance measures. However, work was being done in an
attempt to respond to the demand. It was noted
that the Council had agreed to accept 40 refugees between 2016-20. It was hoped that
twenty refugees would have been
accepted to the county and accommodated in the north of the County by April
this year. Matters arising
from the discussion: - Amendment to note regarding the % of deaths registered within five days - needed
to be corrected from 5% to
95%. Awdur: Morwena Edwards |
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FORWARD WORK PROGRAM PDF 270 KB Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr Dyfed Edwards Additional documents: Decision: Approve the Forward Work Programme included with the meeting papers,
with the following amendments: Presentation from Ffion Johnstone - Gareth Roberts * * Gareth Thomas was named in the draft.
Minutes: The report was presented by Dyfed Edwards RESOLVED The Forward Work
Programme that was included with the meeting papers was approved, subject to
the following amendments: -
Cllr Gareth Thomas - Change the name of the Cabinet
Member in the Introduction item by Ffion Johnstone |