Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda - Council Offices
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for
absence. Minutes: Councillors:
Lesley Day, Trevor Edwards, June Marshall, Michael Sol Owen, Gethin Glyn
Williams and R.H.Wyn Williams. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received
from any members present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are
a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: None |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 3 December, 2105 be signed as a true
record (attached). Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 3 December
2015 as a true record. |
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DRAFT LOCAL GOVERNMENT (WALES) BILL PDF 365 KB To consider
the report of the Leader (attached). 2.30pm – 3.30pm Minutes: Submitted -
the report of the Leader inviting the committee to prior scrutinise the
Council's likely response to the draft Local Government Bill before it would be
formally approved at the Cabinet on 16 February. The Leader set the context and the committee
considered the first draft and the comments included as part of the report. The following observations were submitted:- Part 1 ·
It was recommended that the Cabinet demanded
evidence from Welsh Government on the financial savings that were to derive
from the merger, i.e. the Council needed a business case for the merger. In
addition, it should be challenged and assurance should be sought regarding who
was to fund the "re-organisation costs" during this period of
financial unrest. ·
The Corporate Scrutiny Committee wished to recommend 3 Councils for
North Wales. This opinion was based on considering linguistic matters, economic
needs, as well as administrative / geographical arrangements. It was also stated that the (internal)
language policy had strengthened the broader language policy within the county,
and there would be implications for this with the merger. Part 2 ·
Local Government arrangements needed to be looked at jointly, as well as
looking at broader arrangements (in terms of local Government, the Assembly
Government and the British Government) to ensure a sensible merger. ·
The Corporate Scrutiny Committee wished to note that it agreed with the
general principle of "general competence", but there was a need for a
culture-change between Welsh Government and local Government - not
micro-managing, but rather concentrating on the outcomes. Parts 3-7 ·
Agreed with the draft observations in the report General ·
The Scrutiny Committee also wished to note that it was of the opinion
that the opportunity should be taken to note a general message that it opposed
the principle that the local authority had a responsibility for other bodies,
e.g. community councils training etc. The Leader and the officers were thanked for the discussion. |
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GWYNEDD STRATEGIC EQUALITY PLAN 2016-20 PDF 227 KB To consider the report of the Cabinet Member - Housing, Customer
Care and Libraries, Deprivation and Equality (attached). 3.30pm – 4.00pm Additional documents: Minutes: The
committee was invited to scrutinise the Strategic Equality Plan before it would
be finally submitted to the Cabinet on 15 March 2016 for adoption. Submitted -
the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Customer Care and Libraries,
Deprivation and Equality which set the context and responded to questions
provided beforehand in relation to:- ·
The basis of the four objectives chosen. ·
Resources' adequacy to deliver the projects. ·
Arrangements to raise officers' awareness of the plan and its content,
and the duties of each officer. ·
Plans to raise awareness amongst elected members of the plan and the
role of members in the equality field. ·
The procedure for ensuring equality training for members and officers
and the number of members who had attended equality training thus far. ·
What would be different within a year of adopting this plan. The Cabinet Member and the Strategic Planning and Performance Manager
responded to further questions/observations from members. The Chairman
summarised the main message of the discussion as follows:- ·
Acknowledged the good work regarding forming the plan. ·
The need to monitor progress against project outcomes. The Cabinet Member and
the Strategic Planning and Performance Manager were thanked for the discussion. |
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To receive
a presentation on the IT Strategy (draft strategy attached). 4.00pm – 4.30pm Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - the draft IT Strategy and a presentation was given by the
Senior Information Technology and Transformation Manager on the content of the
strategy, detailing:- ·
The process of reviewing the strategy ·
The considerations of the new IT Strategy ·
What was not included in the new Strategy ·
What was in the new Strategy ·
Themes ·
Principles The Senior Information Technology and Transformation Manager responded
to questions/observations from the members. The Head of
Finance Department distributed a paper noting that a report which had been
prepared by KMPG on the "administrative" costs of Welsh councils
explained that the cost of IT in Gwynedd remained lower than the Welsh average
and that this Council had moved from the 13th position to the 14th position throughout
Wales. He noted that customer
satisfaction figures were quite good, but that it was necessary to look at all
aspects to ensure value for money and efficiency. The Chairman
summarised the main messages of the discussion as follows:- ·
It was recommended that clarity should be ensured on the success of the
previous strategy and that that should be explained, using it as a basis for
the new strategy. This would allow us to
measure progress. It was recommended
that there was a need for the service to identify and assess where the Council
had reached, what lessons had been learned thus far, by incorporating the
information as a basis to the new strategy. ·
The IT Strategy needed to be flexible to respond to the customer's
requirements (when that was clear) and to be as flexible as possible within
security restrictions. ·
Ffordd Gwynedd intervention to the IT Service should be considered
soon. The intervention could release
resources which could be used in the fields discussed in the Strategy. The Cabinet
Member and the officers were thanked for the discussion. |