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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH

Contact: Annes Siôn  01286 679490

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet Members and Officers were welcomed to the meeting.

No apologies were received.

2.

DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of personal interest.

 

3.

URGENT ITEMS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

4.

MATTERS ARISING FROM OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from overview and scrutiny.

 

5.

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 27 NOVEMBER pdf icon PDF 96 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair signed the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 27 November, as a true record.

 

6.

STRATEGIC SAFEGUARDING PANEL'S ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Dilwyn Morgan

Additional documents:

Decision:

To accept the report on the work of the Strategic Safeguarding Children and Adults Panel, and accept the amendments to the Panel's Terms of Reference.

Minutes:

The report was submitted by Cllr Dilwyn Morgan.

 

RESOLVED

 

To accept the report on the work of the Strategic Safeguarding Children and Adults Panel, and accept the amendments to the Panel's Terms of Reference.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was submitted, noting that it was an update on what the Safeguarding Strategic Panel had achieved in 2017/18. It was added that the report summarised the work accurately and fairly, noting that it was essential for Cabinet members to be aware of the Panel’s work and be able to feel satisfied that the Panel had undertaken the required work in a thorough and conscientious manner.

 

It was expressed that the Gwynedd Safeguarding Performance was very good, and this was emphasised in an external report recently received about the Children and Supporting Families Department recently. It was added that the Panel had recently extended its focus to include broader Safeguarding matters such as Domestic Violence and counter terrorism. Consequently, it was noted that the Panel's Terms of Reference needed to be modified in order to reflect the adjustments. It was noted that the Terms of Reference also highlighted the Panel's responsibility to monitor and challenge performance that related to Safeguarding.

 

The members of the Safeguarding Executive Panel were thanked for their work of ensuring day-to-day safeguarding.

 

Observations arising from the discussion

-        Modern Slavery was discussed, noting that there had been three cases in Gwynedd, and an example of the type of cases that had arisen was requested. An example was noted of a worker at a work location who did not want to be there and was not paid for his labour. It was added that it was a field that changed frequently and that the Council needed to be aware of what was going on. It was expressed that the greatest challenge was to keep focussed and be pro-active.

-        It was expressed that good work was being done in terms of safeguarding children, and the terms of reference enabled staff to be aware of which signs to keep an eye out for.

Attention was drawn to the training on Violence against Women, domestic abuse and Sexual Violence, noting that only 50% of the training had been completed by the end of 2017. It was added that this was due to the fact that the standard of the Welsh language in the learning materials provided by Welsh Government was inadequate. It was expressed that the Government needed to give priority to the Welsh language, especially in training for such important subjects. It was added that Gwynedd Council was working with the Government in an attempt to overcome the barriers

Awdur: Morwena Edwards

7.

PRINCIPLES OF AN EDUCATION SYSTEM WHICH ARE FIT FOR PURPOSE pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Gareth Thomas

Additional documents:

Decision:

To approve the following education principles that would form the basis for fulfilling the Education Department's vision and develop the system to ensure a high quality of education for the children and young people of Gwynedd for the twenty first century, namely:

-        A system of viable secondary schools

-        No more than two age ranges within the same class in the primary sector

-        Approximately 80% of non-contact time for the Headteacher to concentrate on leadership issues in the primary sector.

 

Minutes:

The item was submitted by Cllr Gareth Thomas

 

RESOLVED

 

To approve the following principles of a fit for purpose education system that would form the basis for fulfilling the Education Department's vision, and for developing the system to ensure a high quality education for the children and young people of Gwynedd for the twenty first century, namely:

-        A system of viable secondary schools

-        No more than two age ranges within the same class in the primary sector

-        Approximately 80% non-contact time for the Headteacher to concentrate on leadership issues in the primary sector.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was submitted, noting that it acknowledged that a good basis for children’s education was strong leadership. It was added that following the Primary Federation's report, which included Primary School Headteachers, and which raised many matters, the Education Department revisited the education conditions.

 

It was noted that a report had been submitted to Cabinet in July 2016, which gave permission for the Education Department to consult with school Governors and wider stakeholders on the suitability of the principles. It was expressed during the consultation that matters had arisen regarding the Leadership conditions below:

·           that many of our secondary and primary schools were too small to be able to offer enough time for Headteachers, senior managers and middle managers to lead effectively;

·           the requirements were incompatible for many primary Headteachers, in that they had a substantial commitment to teach classes alongside their management and leadership roles;

·           difficulties in terms of recruiting senior leadership managers and middle managers at secondary schools;

·           difficulties in recruiting Headteachers for primary schools;

·           a lack of applicants from outside the local authority area.

 

Consequently, principles that supported the fit for purpose system were developed and submitted to Cabinet. It was expressed that it was difficult to make extensive changes immediately as a result of budgets, but the principles would be the basis for future changes. 

 

 

Observations arising from the discussion

-        The importance of consultation was noted, and that the principles had derived from Headteachers. It was emphasised that it was difficult in the Primary and Secondary sectors to recruit Headteachers as they were required at some schools to teach 4.5 days and, consequently, they did not have the time to carry out the work of leading the school.

-        It was expressed that establishing the principles was an important step for the future that would improve conditions, which in turn would improve children's education.

 

 

Awdur: Garem Jackson

8.

DEALING WITH THE FUNDING GAP pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Cyflwynwyd gan: Cyng / Cllr. Peredur Jenkins

Additional documents:

Decision:

To adopt the Schemes in appendices 1 to 6, subject to the results of the consultation, as the ones which the Council will have to deliver to ensure a balanced budget in 2019/20, with a consultation on the schemes in appendices 3 to 6 to be held in January.

 

Minutes:

The item was submitted by Cllr Peredur Jenkins

 

RESOLVED

 

To adopt the Schemes in appendices 1 to 6, subject to the results of the consultation, as the ones which the Council would have to deliver to ensure a balanced budget in 2019/20, with a consultation on the schemes in appendices 3 to 6 to be held in January.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The report was submitted, noting that there was an annual requirement to balance the Council's budget. It was added that this year, the Council anticipated a significant financial deficit for 2019/20.

 

Since the beginning of the summer, it was expressed that the Cabinet Members, the Directors and the Heads of Departments had been considering what would need to be done in order to address the financial deficit. Every department noted how it would find 20% from its budget if there was a need to do so. It was expressed that this process had been difficult but thorough, and that it had forced every Department to dig deep for possible savings. In addition to this, it was noted that the Council had been in consultation with Gwynedd residents, to ask of the things the Council did which were most important to them.

 

The financial context was provided, noting that the Head of Finance Department was continuing to attempt to establish a balanced budget for 2019/20 and four workshops were held for elected members to provide an understanding of their situation now. It was explained that the Council had received another disappointing settlement from Welsh Government where the grant given to Local Government remained the same. It was added that despite this, the Council was facing enormous pressure in the fields of Education and Care and that there was a significant inflation to salaries and matters such as energy. Consequently, it was explained that this meant that the Council would be facing a funding deficit that was likely to be around £12.9m. The steps that could be taken in order to reduce the gap were explained, and it was noted that in doing so, the latest estimation brought the deficit down to approximately £6.8m.

 

The Chief Executive added that filling the remaining financial deficit was a mathematical process.  The only other thing to do was to find more savings or increase Council Tax. It was noted, as part of the process of looking at possibilities during the period since the end of the summer, that Departments had identified further efficiency savings and that these could be seen in appendices 1 and 2 of the report. It was expressed that the efficiency savings proposed here would be savings where there would be very little change to the service to Gwynedd residents, and that a percentage of them would be back office savings. Appendices 3 to 6 then outlined the savings that were likely to have a greater impact on Gwynedd residents, but not to the same degree as many other plans that were considered.

 

He added that these savings would come to £2.5 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Awdur: Dilwyn Williams