Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any declaration of interest from any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

No declaration of interest was received.

No urgent matters at the time of dispatch of this agenda.

The Chief Executive provided an update on the position with regard to the proposed closure of the 2 Sisters poultry plant in Llangefni and confirmed that the consultation with the factory’s staff is ongoing and is not due to end until the beginning of March. In the meantime, the Council is in contact with the site owners as well as the 2 Sisters Food Group and is working closely with the UK and Welsh Governments along with the Trade Unions. A temporary Job Centre could be set up in the Council’s Business Centre to give staff easy access to advice and support and it is also the intention to provide all staff with a handbook containing the necessary information and contact details with regard to employment and social and welfare support. The Council also held a drop-in session in its reception last week in its role as a large-scale local employer. While it is difficult to make any definite plans until the company confirms its intentions for the plant, it is encouraging to report that some of the workforce have secured employment with companies elsewhere within the sub region which testifies to the value of the skills acquired at the Llangefni site. The Chief Executive said that the situation will become clearer when the consultation with staff has concluded. 

To submit for confirmation, the draft minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 24 January 2023.

The minutes of the previous meeting of the Executive held on 24 January 2023 were presented for confirmation.

It was resolved that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Executive held on 24 January 2023 be approved as correct.

To submit a report by the Head of Democracy. 

The report of the Head of Democracy incorporating the Executive’s Forward Work Programme for the period from March to October 2023 was presented for confirmation.

The Head of Democracy updated the Executive with regard to new items on the Work Programme which were item 6 (Changes to the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy) and item 13 (Council Plan 2023-28) to be considered at the 2 March, 2023 meeting of the Executive and item 18 (Schools Modernisation – Changing the Implementation date of the Statutory Notice for Ysgol y Graig and Ysgol Talwrn) to be considered at the 21 March, 2023 meeting of the Executive.

It was resolved to confirm the Executive’s updated Forward Work Programme for the period March to October 2023 with the changes outlined at the meeting.

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer incorporating the David Hughes Charitable Estate and Anglesey Further Education Trust Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22 was presented for the Executive’s consideration. The report provided an overview of the background of the Anglesey Further Education Trust along with a summary of the Trust’s financial performance in 2021/22. The report also included an update on the progress made to distribute more of the Trust’s finds to meet the charitable purposes of the Trust.

Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report saying that the David Hughes Endowment dates back to 1608 and consists of several plots of smallholding land and cottages and other investments. The fund collects rents from its investment property and dividends and interest on its investment Fund investments, and after the management, financial and administration costs of the estate are deducted from the rents received the net income for the year can be distributed as outlined in the report. In 2019 the Executive approved a programme of work that would enable the Trust funds to be distributed more effectively to a greater number of beneficiaries in Anglesey’s secondary schools and further/higher education. Councillor Robin Williams said that further work needs to be done to promote utilisation of the Trust funds among Anglesey’s secondary schools and this matter will be raised at a meeting on 15 February between the schools, the Section 151 Officer, and the Portfolio Members for Finance and Education. In addition, he believed the Trust should be reviewed with the aim of bringing it up to date and making it more relevant to current educational conditions and requirements. The wording of the Trust’s scheme of operation and documentation are antiquated and need to be amended and modernised. He could not guarantee that changes would be made as that would depend on the legal advice received but he thought that a review was timely and is needed. He therefore proposed that that intention be formalised by a resolution by the Executive.

Councillor Gary Pritchard, Portfolio Member for Children (Social Services) and Youth Services welcomed the proposed review of the Trust if that means more young people in education on Anglesey could potentially benefit from it especially as times are difficult and likely to remain so for a while yet.

It was resolved –

·      To approve the draft Annual Report and Accounts for the Anglesey Further Education Trust for the year 2021/22.

·      To delegate to the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer the authority to sign the final Annual Report and Accounts and file with the Charity Commission upon satisfactory completion of the audit.

·      To instigate a review of the Anglesey Education Trust with the aim of updating and modernising the Trust in order to maximise the educational benefits to the young people of Anglesey deriving from it.

To submit a report by the Head of Adults’ Services.

The report of the Head of Adults’ Services which sought the Executive’s approval to set the level of independent sector care home fees for 2023/24 in line with national policy was presented.

Councillor Alun Roberts, Portfolio Member for Adults’ Services confirmed that the Authority will continue to use the Regional Fee Methodology for Standard Residential and Standard Nursing fees but proposes to apply a higher rate fee for Residential EMI and Nursing EMI provision. The Authority will consider individual submissions from providers regarding fees and if it can be shown that the fee set is not sufficient in any individual case, the Authority will consider exceptions to the fee rates in accordance with the process proposed in the report.

The Head of Adults’ Services advised that due to the nature of the demand for EMI beds on the Island and to encourage further provision the service is recommending that the EMI fees remain higher than the North Wales Methodology rate. The Authority undertook a mid-year review of fees in July 2022 whereby the revised fees for Residential EMI and Nursing EMI for 2022/23 were increased further and it is proposed that those changes be maintained.

It was resolved –

·                To acknowledge the North Wales Fee Methodology as implemented hitherto by the authorities in North Wales as a basis for setting fees in Ynys Môn during 2023/24 (as per Table 1 of the report).

·                To approve the recommendation to increase the fee levels as follows:

·    Residential Care (Adults) - £711.83

·    Residential (EMI) - £796.46

·    Nursing Care (Social Care element) - £774.54 + Local Authority FNC element (TBC)

·    Nursing (EMI) (Social Care element) - £915.37 + Local Authority FNC element (TBC)

·                To authorise Social Services and the Finance Service to respond to any requests from individual homes to explore their specific accounts and to utilise the exercise as a basis to consider any exceptions to the agreed fees. Any exceptions to be agreed with the Portfolio Holder, the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer and the Head of Adults’ Services from within current budgets.

To submit a report by the Head of Regulation and Economic Development.

The report of the Head of Regulation and Economic Development setting out proposed governance arrangements for the planning policy work of the Isle of Anglesey County Council was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Nicola Roberts, Portfolio Member for Planning, Public Protection and Climate Change presented the report and said that the decision by the Isle of Anglesey County Council and Cyngor Gwynedd to terminate the collaboration agreement on planning policy issues on 31 March, 2023 means that the existing Joint Planning Policy Committee will have to be dissolved and new arrangements made by the respective authorities to contribute to the creation of a new Local Development Plan and associated planning policy work. The report therefore proposes that a new Planning Policy Committee be created for the Isle of Anglesey County Council and it sets out what will be the functions of the committee and the arrangements by which it will be governed.

The Chair highlighted that the decision to end the joint working arrangement between the two councils was made in July 2022 and the rationale for taking that course was explained at the time; this report is part of the process of disengagement and establishing a new separate planning policy service for Anglesey. However, the working relationship between the councils in terms of sharing information and monitoring the current Joint Local Development Plan will continue.

It was resolved to recommend to the Full Council –

·      That a new Planning Policy Committee be established for Anglesey County Council.

·      That the Constitution be amended to dissolve the Joint Planning Policy Committee and powers be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to implement these changes.