In accordance
with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of the Constitution, Councillor Owain
Williams will propose as follows:-
“That
the Council asks Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet to consider reviewing its policy
regarding the allocation of contracts to food suppliers in our schools and the
priority it gives to small local companies.
The
logic behind this is the fact that it alleges that it gives priority to small
local companies rather than large companies. This is crucially important as some companies
supply imported food, especially meat. The importance of being able to trace
the source of every type of meat cannot be over-emphasised, given the
difficulties and dangers for children and adults of eating contaminated meat
e.g. mad cow disease. Arguing that the
price of meat supplied by large companies is cheaper is futile and cynical;
what price the safety and health of our children?"
Minutes:
(a) Submitted - the following notice of motion by
Councillor Owain Williams, in accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution
and it was seconded.
"That the Council asks Gwynedd Council's Cabinet to consider reviewing
its policy regarding the allocation of contracts to food suppliers in our
schools and the priority it gives to small local companies.
The logic behind
this is the fact that they allege that they give priority to small local
companies rather than large companies. This is crucially important as some
companies supply imported food, especially meat. The importance of being able
to trace the source of every type of meat cannot be over-emphasised, given the
difficulties and dangers for children and adults of eating contaminated meat
e.g. mad cow disease. Arguing that the
price of meat supplied by large companies is cheaper is futile and cynical,
therefore what price is placed on the safety and health of our children."
A member called on the proposer to delete the second
paragraph of his proposal, on the grounds that:-
·
Its content was
factually inaccurate as there was clear information about the source of all
meat on the labels these days.
·
Making an allegation
that it was possible for the Council to bypass all the strict regulations
regarding the sale of meat was completely unreasonable.
The proposer noted that he
was unwilling to delete the second paragraph.
An amendment was proposed
and seconded to delete the second paragraph and to amend the first paragraph as
follows:-
"That the Council asks
Gwynedd Council's Cabinet to increase their efforts to keep the benefit local
and to collaborate with and empower small local companies to compete for
tenders."
During the discussion on the
amendment, the Cabinet Member for the Economy noted:-
·
This was not a matter of choice, but a legal business process and
although it would have been an easy option for Gwynedd to purchase on a north
Wales level, the Council had succeeded in their business case to move away from
that as the arrangement did not suit the smaller scale businesses in the
county.
·
Furthermore, the county was divided into smaller sections to provide an
opportunity for businesses to tender and there had been sessions to meet the
buyer etc., to raise awareness and considerable work had been undertaken by
officers of this Council to empower the businesses.
·
It was not legally possible for the Council to include in a contract that
the company received the work because it was a local company but it was
possible to deviate from the arrangements by giving them favourable conditions.
·
The second paragraph of the original proposal was unjustified and raised
concerns amongst parents of children in the schools.
·
Although some small companies had lost contracts, there was a local
company in Gwynedd which had also been awarded the contract and this type of
statement in public documents by the Council was an insult to their
professionalism and their opportunity to grow within this county.
Some points were raised by
other members also, such as:-
·
It was possible to trace the source of all meat in this country and
encouragement and support should be provided to local businesses to enable them
to tender successfully for local business.
·
It was possible for the Council to give more points to local businesses
but there no strong commitment had been given that the produce used would be
locally sourced.
·
There was a need to retain and support small businesses by prioritising
the support which they needed.
·
There was a need to examine which contracts had been awarded to companies
outside the county and to ensure that in future suppliers within the county
will have the capacity and commitment to the work.
·
The Council should
not give the work out to any suppliers without seeing the appropriate
passports.
·
There was a need to support small companies and would it not be fairer to
share the cake rather than award the contract in its entirety to one company.
·
The Council had a duty to operate pro-actively and to ensure that we
purchased locally.
·
The principle of supporting local businesses should be continued as far
as possible and to ensure also that the foods which reached the schools were
safe for the children.
·
Food regulations in this country meant that the food was of a very high
quality.
·
This Council was amongst the best in Wales in terms of purchasing locally
and was eager to ensure an even better performance.
A vote was taken on the
amendment and it was carried.
The proposer proposed an
amendment to the original notice of motion to add to the proposal that the
Cabinet looked into the source of meats and monitored that source.
The amendment was seconded.
In response, members noted
that detailed arrangements were already in place to monitor the source of
meats.
A vote was taken on the
amendment and it fell.
A vote was taken on the
original proposal and it was carried.
RESOLVED that the Council asks Gwynedd Council's
Cabinet to increase their efforts to keep the benefit local and to collaborate
with and empower small local companies to be able to compete for tenders.