Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A M Cook, S E Crouch, J P Curtice, D J Lewis, G Owens, G J Tanner, P M Meara and Mr D Anderson-Thomas and Mrs S Joiner.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interests were declared:

Councillor J P Curtice – Minute No. 42 – Scrutiny Work Programe 2015-2015 – Personal - Ward Runs alongside proposed new Gorseinon Primary School.

Councillor D W Cole – Minute No. 42 - Scrutiny Work Programe 2015-2015 – Personal - Proposed new Gorseinon Primary School.

In accordance with the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, no declarations of Whipped Votes or Party Whips were declared.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 10 August, 2015.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 10 August, 2015, be agreed as a correct record.

(Councillor Fiona Gordon attending).

Councillor F M Gordon, the Convenor of the Schools Scrutiny Performance Panel presented her update to the Scrutiny Programme Committee.

She advised that the Panel currently meets on a monthly basis and the work completed since the last update in March included:

i.         In March a session dedicated to looking at the Education Funding Formula with the Chief Education Officer

ii.        In April the panel carried out an evaluation of the year and starting plan for the year ahead.

iii.      In May looked at the Education Improvement Grant, EMLAS and revisited the issue of elective home education.

iv.      In June the panel spoke to the Managing Director of ERW looking particularly at the Regional Business Plan.

v.       In August the panel received an update from the Chief Education Officer on Additional Learning Needs Reform.

vi.      Over this period the Panel has also kept up to date with individual school Estyn Inspections publications and any advisory/practice documents including for example: relevant Estyn Inspection outcomes for Swansea, Estyn and other guidance information.

With regard to Achievements/Impact, Councillor F M Gordon referred to the convener’s letters to the Cabinet Member which had raised some of the points below of which cabinet member responses have been received.  As an example:

·       Elective Home Education: the panel continued to have concerns around safeguarding in relation children who are home educated, given that there is legislation is currently very loose in this area.  The Cabinet Member for Services for Children and Young People replied to the Panel explaining that Welsh Government Legislation does not allow local authorities to challenge parents who choose to home education their children.  However, it is hoped that a protocol can be drawn up to ensure that Child and Family Services, the Education Department and school staff can work more closely together, within the confines of legislation, to improve the support for children being home educated.  When the Swansea model has been drafted, it is intended to share the protocol with other local authorities in the ERW region through the ERW Safeguarding Group.

·       The Panel at its meeting in May highlighted the importance of upskilling Schools/teachers in teaching EMLAS pupils and were interested in finding out plans around this for the future.  The Cabinet member for Education informed the Panel in her letter that an EMLAS capacity-building model is operating in schools in tandem with targeted direct support for learners from ethnic minority background at greatest risk of underachievement.  Although they were informed that some schools have fully embraced the EMLAS capacity building approach a small number have rejected this strategy seeing direct support for learners as a higher priority.

Councillor F M Gordon advised that in September the Panel will meet twice to look at performance and support for Looked After Children and for Gypsy Traveller Children and will also review the work of the School Improvement Service.  In October the Panel will meet with the Challenge Advisor, Headteacher and the Chair of Governors of a Primary School.

Members’ discussed:

·       Sharing best practice with the top performing schools in Swansea;

·       The importance of receiving regular updates in relation to Estyn Inspections; and

·       The recent positive feedback regarding the recent move of the Gypsy Traveller Education provision into Poverty and Prevention

The Chair thanked the Councillor F M Gordon for the update and the Panel for its work.

RESOLVED that the updated be NOTED.

(Councillor Mark Child attending).

The Chair advised that the public question detailed in 5.1 of the report regarding Info-Nation had been withdrawn.

The Committee took the opportunity to question Councillor M C Child,  Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Healthy City.

Members noted the short report on ‘headlines’ in relation to portfolio objectives which assisted the Committee in focusing on priorities, actions, achievements and impact.

The Cabinet Member detailed work undertaken in relation to:

·       Local Area Co-ordination;

·       Best Start in Life;

·       Smoking;

·       Park Lives;

·       Open Space Strategy;

·       Commissioning Review; and

·       Finance.

Members asked questions of the Cabinet Member in relation to:

·       Progress with Underhill Park;

·       The role of Area Co-ordinators;

·       Provisions to adequately control Japanese Knotweed;

·       Feedback from a trial undertaken in Killay to control Japanese Knotweed;

·       The control of and education in respect of fast food outlets;

·       Actions taken as a result of the findings of the working group who examined allotments and community garden provision;

·       Provision of adequate cycle lanes in the Kingsway; and

·       Devising preventative measures to encourage parents to stop dropping children at the school gates.

·       who responded accordingly.

The Cabinet Member responded to the above and stated that he would provide written responses in relation to the adequately controlling Japanese Knotweed and provide details of the Japanese Knotweed trial in Killay.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for attending.

RESOLVED that the Chair of Scrutiny Programme Committee write to the Cabinet Member reflecting the discussion and sharing the views of the Committee.

Jane Whitemore, Partnership, Performance and Commissioning Manager, assisted by the Councillor C Richards, Cabinet Member for Services to Children and Young People proposed an approach to enable Scrutiny Councillors to act as champions for children’s rights when assessing the work of the Council.

The Partnership, Performance and Commissioning Manager referred to the questioning strategies used by scrutiny and the proposal to amend them so that if any scrutiny activity is deemed to have a direct or indirect impact on children and young people (aged 0-18 years), scrutiny councillors could both champion children’s rights and scrutinise how due regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) had been paid.

Questions could be developed following a training session based on the guiding principles of the UNCRC.  This would ensure that childen’s rights are scrutinised in a way that mirrors the children’s rights impact assessment already used within the City and County of Swansea, ensuring consistency of approach.  The four guiding principles of the UNCRC were:

·       Best Interests (Article 3);

·       Non-Discrimination (Article 2);

·       Survival and Development (Article 6); and

·       Participation (Article 12).

An awareness raising training session would be held to develop scrutiny councillor’s understanding of children’s rights and the policy context within which they sit in Swansea.

The session would enable members to feel comfortable and supported to both champion children’s rights and apply them in their scrutiny role.

The session would cover:

·       An overview of the UNCRC including its history and context internationally, nationally and locally and a more indepth consideration of the four guiding principles.

·       An overview of the CYP Rights Scheme and its implementation in policy and practice since its launch including how the guiding principles had provided a framework for assessment; and

·       Tailored approach to scrutiny of this work to familiarise committee members with the process in order for them to feel comfortable using it to ensure it is fit for purpose.

The Chair thanked the Partnership, Performance and Commissioning Manager for attending.

RESOLVED that:

1)    A training session is delivered to the Scrutiny Programme Committee and other scrutiny councillors to develop their understanding of children’s rights in order to champion them and apply them in their role. A session has been provisionally arranged to take place on 29 October 2015;

2)    Scrutiny questioning strategies (where relevant) incorporate the guiding principles of the UNCRC as a means of impact assessing children’s rights; and

3)    The Scrutiny Programme Committee test the new approach using the Children and Young People’s Rights Scheme Annual Report which is being presented to the committee meeting on 9 November 2015.

The Chair invited discussion and sought agreement in respect of the agreed scrutiny improvement outcomes for 2015/16.

She advised that the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2014/15 recently presented to Council identified six improvement outcomes that would provide a focus for scrutiny in the year ahead:

·       We need to talk more to cabinet members so that we can plan better and ensure that our work is making a difference

·       We need to align the work of scrutiny more closely to the five corporate priorities so that we can focus and impact on the things that matter.

·       We need more briefings and development sessions so that we have the knowledge and skills we need

·       We need more coverage in the media so that the public are more aware of our work

·       We need more members of the public contributing to scrutiny meetings so that we can reflect their views in our work

·       We need closer links with regulators and inspectors so that we can provide a more coordinated and effective challenge

The Chair stated that over the next 12 months the Committee should work on practical ways to achieve these outcomes and improve scrutiny in Swansea. These are to be subject to wider discussion by scrutiny members which means that both the committee and panels should consider implications for their work and how they can contribute to the outcomes in their own work plans.

The committee discussed:

·       What are we (as a committee) doing now for each of the outcomes?

·       What more do we (as a committee) need to do?

The Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinator referred to the ‘Scrutiny Despatches’ publication and his attempts to make the document more news worthy.  He also referred to the Committee working in a better way and the need to identify key action to help achieve this aim.  He stated that he would submit a report to the October meeting.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The report of the Chair reviewed current work and invited the committee to consider new scrutiny activities, taking into account feedback from the recent Scrutiny Work Planning Conference.

The report provided the committee with:

·       The current scrutiny work programme

·       A plan for future committee meetings

·       A progress report on the various existing Panels and Working Groups

·       Proposals for new work

·       Cabinet forward plan for opportunities for pre-decision scrutiny

The Chair referred to a request from the secretary of a residents group (the Parc Y Wernin Committee regarding concerns about the appropriation of land at Parc Y Wernin, Gorseinon for a new build of Gorseinon Primary School.  She stated that the Committee was scheduled to meet with Councillor J Raynor, Cabinet Member for Education, on 12 October, 2015 and the residents group had been invited to suggest any questions that should be put by the Committee to the Cabinet Member.

A discussion ensued regarding potential Tree Preservation Orders (TPO’s) as a new scrutiny topic.

RESOLVED that:

a.     the committee work plan be accepted;

b.     TPO’s be added the work plan;

b.     proposals for new activities for the Scrutiny Work Programme be agreed in the order of priority indicated above; and

c.   expressions of interest from all scrutiny councillors be invited for the next  pieces of work.

The Chair presented a report which advised of changes to the membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups.

RESOLVED that:

1)    in respect of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services inquiry:

a.     Mr D Anderson-Thomas and Mrs S Joiner be added to the group;

b.     the revised membership be noted.

2)    In respect of the School Governance Inquiry:

a.     Councillor L Tyler-Lloyd be added; and

b.     The revised membership be noted.

3)    In respect of the Child and Family Performance Panel:

a.     Councillor T J Hennegan be added; and

b.     The revised membership be noted.

4)    The membership be noted in respect of the following new inquiries:

a.     Building Sustainable Communities – Councillor T J Hennegan be agreed as Convenor;

b.     Tackling Poverty – Councillor S E Crouch be agreed as Convenor;

c.     Civic Events – Councillor A C S Colburn be agreed as Convenor; and

d.     Welsh Quality Housing Standard – Councillor T J Hennegan be agreed as Convenor.

The Chair reported the Scrutiny Letters Log and referred to recent correspondence between Scrutiny and Cabinet Members.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Letters Log be NOTED.

The Chair stated that there had been no recent Scrutiny events to report on.

The Chair stated that there were no upcoming Scrutiny events.

The Chair stated that work plans should also be shared between the Service Improvement & Finance Performance Panel and Audit Committee.

RESOLVED that the Audit Committee Work Plan be NOTED.

The date and time of future Committee Meetings for the 2015/16 Municipal Year was noted.

The date and time of upcoming Panel/Working Group meetings were provided for information to help increase the visibility of this work and encourage participation.