To submit
the report of the Leader (attached).
Minutes:
Submitted - the
Leader's report inviting the Council to adopt the Gwynedd Council Plan 2018-23
(2019/20 Review).
During the discussion the following matters were raised by individual
members:
·
The plan was welcomed, and
it was noted that it appeared that the Council was attempting to deliver for
the people of Gwynedd, during a period of financial austerity.
·
In response to a question
regarding setting a new direction for the tackling poverty field, the Leader
explained that it was intended to create a People's Well-being Board, including
representation from the children, youth services, etc. to look at the field of
poverty and supporting families across all Council work. It was hoped that this
would set a new direction and emphasis for the Council in this important field,
especially in a place that suffered from poverty that was not being
acknowledged nationally.
·
It was noted that approximately
38% of the Council's funding was spent outside the county, and it was asked
what work was in the pipeline to attempt to maximise the percentage spent
locally. In response, the Leader noted that this was one of the Council's main
priorities, and he believed that Gwynedd was at the forefront in terms of
procurement locally.
·
In response to a question
regarding the Leader's vision for post-16 education, details were given on the
collaboration between this Council, Anglesey Council and Grŵp Llandrillo
Menai, with the aim of bringing various options forward in due course.
·
In response to a question
regarding how to attract more women to become Council members, the Leader noted
that he was fully aware of the problem, as well as the problem of attracting
young people, employed people, people from ethnic minorities and people from
other backgrounds onto the Council. He
had voiced his opinion to the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, that
was also very aware of the problem. He
added that the workload of Councillors, especially Cabinet Members and Scrutiny
Chairs, had increased significantly over the years, so that it was now more or
less a full-time job, and it was very difficult for members to maintain a
career and fulfil the role of a Councillor at the same time. He believed that the solution partly involved
the job terms, but he did not anticipate any major change in that direction
without merging councils and significantly reducing Councillor numbers. He emphasised
that it was important that members with care responsibilities took advantage of
the support available to them in order to strengthen the democratic
representation. He also noted that there
would be a campaign at the time of every election to attempt to attract people
of all backgrounds to stand for election.
·
In response to a question,
the Leader confirmed that the Council had committed to the apprenticeships
scheme and that there were very good opportunities in each service. Although the Council had lost £70m (25%) of its
budget over the past 10 years, there were excellent examples of young people
kick-starting their careers with the Council as apprentices, and progressing to
high level posts.
·
In response to an
observation regarding empty shops and bushiness closing in the towns, the Leader
noted that he was very aware of the pressure on the rural economy, and the
pressure that he would face in the near future if the UK left the European
Union. He emphasised that the economy
was a high priority for him personally, and that he was working with the
leaders of other northern counties on the North Wales Economic Ambition Board.
He was also a co-Chair of the Welsh Local Government Association Rural Forum,
that pressed on Welsh Government to address specific problems in rural areas
when developing the economy. He
confirmed that he would fight hard to secure high quality jobs for people in
rural Gwynedd.
·
The funding for Bangor was
welcomed, and having an excellent regional centre in the city was an exciting
prospect.
·
It was noted that there was
no reference in the plan to the autistic population of Gwynedd, and it was
asked what provision the Council had for people with autism. In response, the
Leader noted that this should be part of the Council's day-to-day work, but if
there were any projects within the autism field that should be escalated this
could be looked at for when the plan was next reviewed.
·
The purpose of the plan if
there was no funding available to realise the objectives was queried. For
example, under the Gwynedd People Housing Strategy, would it not be more
realistic to state that the Council 'wished'
or was 'seeking methods' of
finding suitable homes for the people of Gwynedd, rather than saying that it
would 'ensure' this? In response, the Leader noted that the report
identified the housing field as a field that needed to be addressed. It was intended to submit the Housing
Strategy to the Cabinet soon, and the Council was in discussions with the
housing associations regarding the best way to meet the existing need. He added that, despite the restrictions, it
was important to prioritise these matters by using the available funding to its
full potential to address some of the need.
RESOLVED to adopt
the Council Plan 2019-23 (2019/20 Review)
Supporting documents: