Agenda item

To submit the report of the Council Leader  (attached).

Submitted - the Leader's report inviting the Council to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2017/23.

The officers were thanked for all their work in preparing the report.  An apology was expressed that the Corporate Support Department's plan had been left out of the Department's Plan due to an oversight. The members had received a separate copy and the document would be incorporated in the final version of the Council Plan that would be published. Some minor editorial errors would also need to be amended, in addition to adding a paragraph stating that all matters in the plan complied with the Council's Financial Strategy, although it could be impossible to realise all priorities due to the financial context.

During the discussion the following matters were raised:

·         It was noted that parents had received a text message from a primary school Headteacher after 9am on two occasions recently, saying that the school was closing as they had no gas, and asking them to return to fetch their children. It was asked why the parents were not being informed of situations like this earlier, as the school knew about the gas problem before 9am. The Leader responded that this was a matter for the Governors.

·         It was asked whether the Derwen Team had plans to extend their criteria to ensure that every child with disabilities in Gwynedd could take advantage of the specialist service that they were offering. The Leader noted that he would forward the question to the Team and the member would receive the answer directly.

·         It was asked how much pressure the Council was putting on ensuring an adequate supply of rented housing. The Leader responded that the housing matter was a fundamental priority for him and that discussions had already taken place with housing associations to move this on further. In identifying where there was a need and what the need was, it would be possible to research how the Council could assist the housing associations and he was eager to see buildings up and let. 

·         In response to an enquiry, the Leader noted that this plan was not only a wish list, and that there were many more details available on the individual plans than what was included in the document. It was an action plan and there was development on details.  It would be developed regularly and would possibly change direction.

·         It was asked whether the Planning Department had been contacted regarding Improvement Priority 4 - Ensure a greater supply of suitable housing available to our residents. The Leader responded that the planning policy had been discussed as a completely separate matter. Planning matters impacted matters such as these, but the Council had no choice but to act within its policies. The planning question had arisen in the discussions on economic growth and planning touched upon everything. If the Council's planning policies were too stringent, there was room to also review this and the Joint Planning Policy Committee could look at them.

·         Concern was expressed that local planning policies were often restricted by national policies which was reflected in the decisions of the Planning Inspectorate.

·         The 'Children First' pilot scheme in the Maesgeirchen, Bangor area was welcomed, and a desire was expressed to see the scheme being rolled out to other deprived areas in Bangor such as the Maestryfan Estate, Station Houses and Coed Mawr. The Leader responded that he assumed that this plan was funded by the Government and was therefore dependent on additional funding from Welsh Government, but that he accepted the observation.

·         Disappointment was expressed that only 86 of the 245 houses approved in Penrhosgarnedd were affordable housing.

·         It was noted that the plan referred to what the individual departments had achieved and a desire was expressed to see more of an emphasis on collaboration between the departments. 

·         In response to an enquiry, the Leader confirmed that he had complete faith that remodelling the Youth Service would give a better provision to meet the needs of young people of the county, but it would be required to keep an eye on how it would be implemented and what the outcome of the new arrangements would be.

·         In response to an enquiry, the Leader explained that he could not guarantee that the Lloyd George Museum, Llanystumdwy would be open forever, but he truly hoped that it would continue.  It was more of a national responsibility than this Council's responsibility only, and if the Council could offer any support to ensure the future of the museum, it would do so. It was asked what progress had been made in terms of seeking funding towards establishing the building as a national museum. The Leader responded that he could come back with more details on any steps that would be taken.

·         It was asked how taking money away from the Young Farmers would improve support to children and young people in the countryside. The Leader responded that the new system would target more young people than were previously included. He added that the Council had already extended their support for a year and would extend it for a further nine months, and had also offered the Regeneration Service's support to attempt to aid them with facing the cut.

RESOLVED to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2018-2023.