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Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for
absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Trevor Edwards
and Hefin Underwood. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Gethin Glyn
Williams declared a personal
interest in item 7 on the agenda - Council Tax Premium on Long-Term Empty Homes and Second Homes, as close members of his family owned holiday
homes. The member was of
the opinion that this was a prejudicial interest, and he withdrew from the meeting during the discussion on the item. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are
a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: None. |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 16th June, 2016 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 16 June 2016, as a true record. |
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OVERVIEW OF GWYNEDD COUNCIL'S PERFORMANCE 2015/16 PDF 329 KB To consider
the report of the Council Leader
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the Leader's report which provided
an overview of the Council's performance thus far in 2015/16 in the fields of Effective and Efficient Council and Financial Planning, as well as the Keeping the Benefits Local Project. The
three relevant Cabinet Members were invited
to expand individually on the different projects that were
part of their portfolios, and they also responded to questions / observations from the members. The
Chair summarised the main conclusions of the discussion as follows:- ·
More information should be received from the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Leisure regarding what took place
in terms of engaging with children
and young people (if at all). ·
It was recommended that the Engagement Team considered using different engagement methods rather than constantly using the same people. ·
The scrutinisers looked forward to the pilot with the new scrutiny performance
arrangements. ·
It was suggested that perhaps a progress report on EDRMS should be requested, i.e. in terms of whether
more information was being shared, more space released to avoid duplication and more financial savings realised. |
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REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE KEEPING THE BENEFITS LOCAL STRATEGIC PLAN PDF 395 KB To consider
the report of the Corporate Procurement Manager
(attached). Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Corporate Procurement Manager on the progress of the Keeping the Benefits Local Strategic Plan following a request from this
committee to receive an update on
the progress of implementing
new arrangements for procurement. The
Cabinet Member was invited
to say a few words at the start before the committee considered the report per sub-heading, namely:- A. Category Management - People Category B. Category Management across the Council C. Keeping the Benefits Local The Cabinet Member
and officers expanded on the written responses in the report, and also responded to further questions / observations from the members. During the discussion:- ·
It was noted that there was room to raise awareness
with other agencies of the work that was being undertaken in terms
of direct payments so that they
could assist (e.g. Age Cymru). ·
It was noted that scrutinisers supported and recommended that the University's observations should be built upon in order
to maintain and build relationships with companies that had not been successful with tenders so
that they could learn lessons
and prepare better for the future. ·
Work undertaken with 'major companies'
to identify the possibilities
of 'sub-contracting' to smaller
companies locally was appreciated as this was a way of employing locally with major companies
taking the financial risk. The
Chair summarised the main conclusions of the discussion as follows:- ·
Although responsibilities had been shared across the Council in the field of category management and that everyone had 'bought into' this principle,
further scrutiny would be required within about 6-9 months to ascertain whether serious responsibility was taken at the implementation stage. ·
It was questioned whether local companies
sufficiently prepared in advance, and whether local companies
had enough time to prepare. In light of this,
there was a need to monitor
the situation to see whether a live contracts programme was being maintained, updated and shared. Again, this would be reviewed
within 6-9 months of establishing the new category management teams. ·
It was appreciated that category management
would improve the quality of upcoming work and that this
would be bound into future contracts
as there was more expertise in writing
contracts within the Council. However, there was a need to keep an
eye on what
was really taking place with this
in order to see whether quality
existed at grass roots' level. Specifically, it should be enquired
within a reasonable time whether a reduction was seen in the number of contracts which had problems that needed
to be resolved as tendering arrangements were weak. |
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COUNCIL TAX PREMIUM ON LONG TERM EMPTY HOMES AND SECOND HOMES PDF 503 KB To consider
the report of the Head of Finance
(attached). Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Head of Finance Department giving the committee an opportunity to consider the benefits and risks of raising a Council Tax premium
on long-terms empty homes and second homes. As the public consultation
would remain open until 4 November,
it was explained that it was therefore
very difficult to fully scrutinise the matter at this meeting. Due to this, it
was arranged to scrutinise
the matter further on 21 November, whether it would
be in the form of a Scrutiny Workshop or a special meeting
of the committee. Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer their observations. During the discussion:- ·
It was recommended that the Cabinet needed to consider how best
to use the additional funding that would
be collected if the premium was raised. It was accepted that the new Council's hands
should not be tied and that the democratic process needed to happen with the new Council, especially
in light of the fact that we did not know what the Council's
financial position would be by 2017/18, but consideration should be given to earmarking some of the money to:- o
Assist the owners of empty houses to repair property so that they
could bring them back into
use as residences. o
Consider investing in posts
in order to ensure income tax
for the Council by strengthening the Council's inspection arrangements to verify the validity of statements from owners of properties that were not second homes or empty
any more. ·
It was noted that raising the premium on a gradual
basis every year should be considered (e.g. 25% in year 1, 50% in year 2, etc. and that it was not too much of a 'shock' and so that
a smaller number considered transferring to the business rates. ·
The opinion was expressed that the percentage should not be too high, in
case too many would be forced
to transfer to the business
rates system, and so that there would
be an opportunity during the first year / years to see what impact
it had in other authorities that had already introduced a premium, and to adapt as we proceeded. ·
To the contrary, it was suggested that a higher premium
should be raised from the start as there would
be 'compensation' if some would move
to the non-domestic rates
system. RESOLVED to reconvene
the Holiday Homes and Taxes Scrutiny
Investigation Group on the morning of 21 November to fully scrutinise the matter following receipt of the results of the public consultation and to submit recommendations to the
Cabinet on 22 November. |