Agenda, decisions and minutes

As noted above.

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

Councillor Euryn Morris declared a personal interest in respect of Item 5 – Gwynedd and Ynys Môn Public Services Board as he is employed by Gwynedd Council.

To submit, for confirmation, the following minutes of the previous meetings :-

·       Minutes of the meeting held on 13 November, 2025;

·       Minutes of the meeting held on 26 November, 2025;

·       Minutes of the special meeting held on 10 December, 2025.

The minutes of the following meetings were confirmed as correct:-

·             Minutes of the meeting held on 13 November, 2026.

·             Minutes of the meeting held on 26 November, 2026, subject to the inclusion of the name of Councillor Sonia Williams to the list of apologies.

Action points arising from the meeting held on 26 November, 2026:-

·       ACTION 1 – The data as to the number of calls the Ambulance Service in North West Wales receives with regard to Mental Health emergencies.

Data was afforded by the Welsh Ambulance Service to Members of the Committee by email before the Christmas period.

·       ACTION 2 – Discussions to be undertaken between the Welsh Ambulance Service and the Chief Officer of North Wales Fire & Rescue Service, together with the Joint Emergency Services Group, to reassess and reconsider the assistance of the Fire & Rescue Service as regards to falls.

Assurance was given that the Welsh Ambulance Service have  contacted the Chief Officer of North Wales Fire & Rescue Service and initial discussions have been undertaken.  The matter will also be raised at the next meeting of the Joint Emergency Services Group.

·     ACTION 3 – Matters raised as to what measures will be taken for therapy and assessment for children with additional learning needs on Anglesey and what provision is in place to reduce waiting times. 

·     ACTION 4 – Matters raised as to the work undertaken by the Health Board and other agencies to tackle the rise in ketamine use. 

Members of the Committee received details by email to both Action 3 and Action 4 above.

·             Minutes of the special meeting held on 10 December, 2026.

To submit a report by the Director of Social Services.

The report of the Director of Social Services was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Children, Young People and Families said that Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility across all services in the Council together with staff, contractors, volunteers and Elected Members have a role to play in protecting children and vulnerable adults from harm whether be inside or outside the home.   He noted that one of the key actions undertaken from the scrutiny meeting held in January 2025 was to revise the Terms of Reference for both the Corporate Safeguarding Delivery Board and the Corporate Safeguarding Board.  This work has now been completed, and the revised Terms of Reference have been formally approved by the Corporate Safeguarding Board.  These revisions strengthen governance arrangements, clarify accountability and ensure that safeguarding responsibilities are embedded consistently across the Council.  The Corporate Safeguarding Delivery Board has expanded its membership over the last year, and this has strengthened cross-departmental engagement and created positive momentum in driving forward safeguarding responsibilities across the Council.  He further said that Safeguarding continues to be identified as the third highest risk to the Council.  Since the publication of ‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’, the Council, particularly Social Service and the Education Service, have been working closely with the North Wales Safeguarding Board to demonstrate how the Authority has responded to the recommendations in this Child Practice Review.  This work was explored in detail during discussions within the joint meeting of the Education Scrutiny Panel and Social Service Scrutiny Panel in December 2025.  The Corporate Safeguarding Delivery Board is currently scrutinizing the procurement processes relating to the transportation of children to and from school as is noted within the report and this work forms part of a wider focus on strengthening safe commissioning across the Council. 

The Portfolio Member welcomed that it has not been necessary for the Authority to refer any cases to the North Wales Safeguarding Board for a Single Unified Safeguarding Review in the last 12 months.   He referred to the workforce development and training as was noted in the report and refers to further areas of development that are required.  The key priority for the coming year includes launching the five-year Corporate Safeguarding Board Strategy in April 2026; strengthening contractor safeguarding requirements; continuing to embed safeguarding across all directorates; enhancing multi-agency collaboration and community engagement; implementing a quarterly safeguarding newsletter and developing and delivering the new safeguarding communication plan.  He said that the work undertaken over the last 12 months demonstrates strong process in strengthening safeguarding arrangements across the Council.  The Corporate Safeguarding Delivery Board will continue to drive forward improvements, ensure compliance with statutory duties, and promote a culture where safeguarding is recognized as everyone’s responsibility.  The issues in relation to the recording of training records for schools will be escalated to the Corporate Safeguarding Board in February. 

In considering the report, the Committee discussed the following main matters: -

·         Questions were raised as to reasons for the low percentage of school staff who have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

·       Annual Report 2024/2025

·       Governance arrangements/scrutiny of delivery of the Wellbeing Plan

The Annual Report 2024/2025 incorporating the governance arrangements/scrutiny of delivery of the Wellbeing Plan was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience said that the Public Services Board is in year 3 of the current 5-year Wellbeing Plan, and most of the objectives have either been completed or there is a workplan in place with a proposed timescale for completion.

The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board reported that the Board has evolved over the years and meetings are focused more on decision making and prioritizing action as opposed to being an information sharing forum and has also developed to have an operational perspective with many examples of partners jointly collaborating, sharing good practice, learning lessons and moving forward together.  The Sub-Groups have been established with Officers working in collaboration which have been recognized as good practice across Wales.  A workshop on Trauma Informed was held for all Board Members, delivered by Ynys Môn County Council experts.  The Language Sub-Group has completed the Good Recruitment Practices Project and is working with partners on the ’Busting the Myths About Working in Welsh Project’ which is to be launched at the Urdd Eisteddfod on Anglesey in May.  The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, has proposed piloting specific sessions for Public Services Board partners on the UN Children’s Rights Charter.  This is a unique opportunity for the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board to lead the way in North Wales in collaborating with the Children’s Commissioner to deliver this workshop. 

In considering the report, the Committee discussed the following main matters: -

·     Reference was made to the Boards engagement in the ‘Voice of the Learner’ and discussions have undertaken with Coleg Llandrillo Menai and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor as regards to transport issues for students to attend the colleges.  Questions were raised as to how the Board deals with this matter and whether it will extend to primary and secondary schools.  The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board responded that the matter was raised at the September 2025 meeting of the Public Services Board, and the Futures Generations Commissioner for Wales attended this meeting.  She noted that the Futures Generations Commissioner for Wales challenged the Board to ensure that the voice of young people needed to be heard and how their voice will be reflected in the work undertaken by the Board. Coleg Llandrillo Menai invited representatives from the Board to speak to the students at the college.  She further said that Gwynedd Council will be consulting on transport issues and will be reporting back to the Board in due course.  The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience said that it was important that the Board members were informed of the challenges that Coleg Llandrillo Menai students were facing with bus routes and transport links. He noted that the sharing of the link to warn  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To submit a report by the Scrutiny Officer.

The report of the Scrutiny Officer setting out the Partnership and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee’s indicative Forward Work Programme for 2025/2026 was presented for consideration.

It was RESOLVED to :-

·       Agree the current version of the Forward Work Programme for 2025/2026;

·       Note progress thus far in implementing the Forward Work Programme.