Agenda and minutes
Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Sion Owen 01286 679665
No. | Item |
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ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a
Vice-Chairman for this committee for 2018-19. Minutes: Resolved: To elect Councillor Dylan Bullard
as Vice-chairman of this Committee |
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APOLOGIES To
receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillors Linda Ann Jones |
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DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL INTEREST Receive and
declaration of Personal Interest Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
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URGENT MATTERS To note any items
that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the last meeting of this committee held on 12 April 2018, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 12 April, 2018 as a true record. |
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ISSUES PDF 61 KB An update
on the provision for O365 for Elected Members. Minutes: The Senior Information
Technology Service Manager gave a presentation updating the Committee since
members of this Committee had migrated to Office 365 on their Surface devices.
He stated that the Information Technology Service had responded to problems as
they had arisen, and had used the information to improve the provision. He also
noted that it had become apparent that more training and support was needed for
Members. He added that collaboration between Members and the services that
supported them was vital so that a provision could be created that addressed
their needs. Observations arising from
the discussion: - Time was needed to become familiar with the new provision and this was more
difficult for members who were less confident using Information Technology. - It was reiterated that Members needed to be provided with more IT training. - Being able to view e-mails on mobile phones and other devices was very
useful. In response, the
Democratic Services Manager stated that she would call Members for further
training. Resolved: 1 - Share the Office 365 with the rest of the Council Members 2 - Further training sessions would be arranged to facilitate use of the new provision among Members. |
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Report by
the Cllr. Catrin Wager on the lessons learnt from a Conference Promoting the Role
of Women in Democracy. Minutes: The report of the Democratic
Services Manager was presented by Councillor Catrin Wager who reported on the
lessons learnt from attending a conference to promote the role of women in
democracy. She stated that the conference introduced the outcomes of research
carried out by the Fawcett Society. The main message was the need to promote
policies to help women in democracy, calling for cultural and constitutional
changes. There was also a need to talk to women to find out about the problems
they faced, and encourage women who were active in community groups to consider
standing for election. The Democratic Services
Manager also added that the Committee had been working to encourage diversity
in democracy before the 2017 Election, and she welcomed the additional
information shared by the Councillor. The Corporate Policy
Officer stated that discussions had been held on providing training on
unconscious bias following Councillor Catrin Wager's experience at the
conference. Discussions were held with the Learning and Development Service and
the Democratic Service about piloting a training session. Observations arising
from the discussion: - Whilst the Community Council was one obvious route for individuals who
wished to become councillors, it did not tend to be the best route for women.
Since meetings tended to convened at times that did not fit in around family
life, it was more probable that likely candidates would be found in other
community groups. - Contact should be made with community groups in order to encourage active
members to take part in the democratic process. - Much progress had been made in the field of diversity, despite political
culture making it difficult for women to participate. - The work of the Diversity in Democracy sub-group had helped In response, the
Democratic Services Manager noted that a number of factors influenced
individuals' decision to stand for election. She added that the Assembly was
also conducting research into the field. RESOLVED: 1 - To reconvene the Diversity in Democracy sub group in order to determine
the way forward. 2 - To hold a pilot training session on unconscious bias for Committee Members. |
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PERSONAL SAFETY OF ELECTED MEMBERS PDF 25 KB Raise the Elected
Members awareness of the resources available to advise Members about their
personal safety. Minutes: The Democratic Services
Manager presented her report and stated that the public nature of the role of
Elected Members meant that they were open to contact with the community at any
given time. Whilst that contact could be positive, it could also be negative.
She also noted that there had been no specific cases relating to Members'
safety but that awareness needed to be raised among Members. Observations arising from the discussion - Negative attention was an unavoidable part of the work of Elected Members,
and the possible impact of this on individuals needed to be acknowledged. - It was important for Members to be aware of what was acceptable and
unacceptable with regard to negative attention. - It was important for people to feel as though their voice was being heard
and expressed, and that this was an important part of gaining respect in the
community. - The ongoing balancing act between being a public figure and a private
citizen, that brought with it a duty to deal with difficult people, and also a
duty to take advice and take sensible steps to remain safe where appropriate. - It was important for relevant information to be available for applicants as
well as Elected Members. In response, the
Democratic Services Manager stated that she acknowledged that Members would,
from time to time, find themselves in difficult situations, and that there was
often a fine line between what was acceptable and unacceptable. RESOLVED: 1 - That the personal safety of members be proposed
as an item for the Area Forums for the purpose of raising awareness. 2 - That the guidelines on personal safety be uploaded onto the Members Portal. |
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GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS PDF 42 KB Raise awareness
of the requirements of the new regulations along with the training available for
Elected Members. Minutes: The report of the Statutory Data Protection Officer was presented in which it noted that the General Data Protection Legislation would come into force on 25 May 2018. It was part of the Members' role to protect the data in their possession in accordance with the requirements of the Act and the Council had registered them with the Information Commissioner as data controllers. She added that training had been arranged to assist Members in fulfilling their responsibility to protect and handle data in accordance with the rules. She encouraged Elected Members to attend the training that directly related to their responsibility as Elected Members rather than training that dealt with the field in general. |