The Dog Ate My Homework - Gwynedd Council.

Cyngor Gwynedd council held a Communities Scrutiny Committee meeting on the 18th April, 2024. First up on the agenda was the ‘Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board delivery arrangements’ report authored by the council leader, Dyfrig Siencyn.

The committee will remember last years annual report being presented. It was ridiculed for its lack of detail and concerns were also raised that documents were missing from the Board’s website. Councillors asked how there could be proper scrutiny without them. One councillor compared the plans to a ‘slow motion car crash whilst laughing along the way.’ A proposal to defer the report was voted down and bizarrely the committee passed the report in spite of their concerns.

Just as last year, Cllr Siencyn did not turn up for this meeting either and his report had to be presented by Geraint Owen, the council’s executive officer. Councillors again criticised this report for its lack of detail and no ‘meat on the bones’. Geraint Owen, who explained that he now sits on the Board agreed with some of the criticism. For councillors who were present at the July meeing it must have been a case of deja vu.

Just as last year, a councillor proposed that the report be deferred until more detail was provided. The chair, who had herself been very vocal in her criticism of the report asked that the conversation be completed first. 

But Elin Hywel did not deal with the request for deferral and went straight on to make her own recommendations one being to accept the report. Once again, a Gwynedd scrutiny committee passed a report in spite of their serious concerns and what many consider to be wholly inadequate.A mere tick box exercise to cover for officers badly produced homework..?

This is NOT scrutiny. For far too long, it would appear that Gwynedd councillors have followed the party line and supported senior officers to avoid reputational damage. The leader and executive officers have warned that the culture within the council must change – not fully grasping that they themselves are responsible for the culture that exists.This culture exists because of the failure of scrutiny members to hold officers to account also.

The report, for what its worth, can be found here – https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=40660 Cllr Siencyn’s report is notable more for what the Board is NOT doing…

The webcast of the meeting can be found here – press the english tab for the translated feed.https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/875173

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council…