A wnaiff Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet ddarparu dadansoddiad o'r cyllid sydd wedi'i neilltuo i'r agenda ar gyfer gweithredu ar gynghorau cymuned, ac amlinellu camau penodol y mae wedi'u cymryd neu y bydd yn eu cymryd i godi ymwybyddiaeth ac annog cyfranogiad yn eu hetholiadau?
The ‘agenda for action’ supports capacity and capability building within the community and town council sector.
In 2017-18, £46,500 was set aside for the following actions:
|
Agenda of action item |
Budget allocated |
|
Support for community councils to raise awareness and encourage participation in community council elections and to increase diversity, with initial focus on the elections in 2017 |
£6,000 |
|
Facilitating the creation of clusters of smaller community councils through funding to support the initial setting up of joint arrangements |
£20,000 |
|
Production of a “toolkit” to support community councils in working through what is required in taking on new, or managing existing, services and assets |
£10,000 |
|
Bursaries to incentivise the take up of training by councillors and clerks |
£4,500 |
|
Conference to re-energise ties between community councils and local authorities and provide a platform to share the good examples across Wales, focussing on strengthening these key relationships |
£6,000 |
|
Updated Local Democracy and Boundary Commission guidance on the conduct of community reviews by principal councils to secure / support greater consistency in the manner in which community reviews are conducted |
No additional funding required
|
|
Commitments to press ahead with legislating eligibility for the General Power of Competence; placing obligation on councils to consider and plan for their training needs; and ensuring people have the right to make representations on any business conducted at a council meeting. |
No additional funding required
|
The specific actions undertaken to support community councils in raising awareness of, and encouraging participation in, their elections are:
- Publication of an information booklet: 'Being a Local Councillor 2017', to support community councils to raise awareness and encourage participation in community council elections, and to increase diversity, ahead of the elections in May
- Production of a video on ‘Standing for Election to Community Councils’, which was distributed by One Voice Wales and is available on the Welsh Government website
- Distribution of One Voice Wales guidance document on youth representation at the Welsh Government stand at the National Eisteddfod in August 2017
In addition to the “agenda for action”, engaging with local communities and encouraging participation are themes being explored through the Independent Review of Community and Town Councils. The Review Panel are in the process of gathering evidence and examples of good practice to help inform their recommendations.