Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J P Curtice, C R Doyle, F M Gordon, Y V Jardine and H M Morris.

 

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared.

 

To approve the Minutes of the Minutes of the Engagement and Inclusion Cabinet Advisory Committee held on 1 April and 19 May 2015.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Engagement and Inclusion Cabinet Advisory Committee held on 1 April and 19 May 2015 be approved as correct records.

The Engagement and Inclusion Cabinet Advisory Committee Terms of Reference were provided for information.

Councillor J E Burtonshaw, Armed Forces Champion provided the Committee with a detailed and informative update in relation to her role as Councillor Champion. 

 

It was outlined that serving members of the Armed Forces and Veterans were not looking for special treatment, just fair treatment, and in partnership ways of making it easier for them to access the services and support were being developed.  There were many men and women from this area who are risking their lives for the country in a wide range of roles.  Swansea has a proud tradition of supporting them, veterans and their families. 

 

In December 2012 Swansea formed an Armed Forces Community Covenant Signatories Panel which has reinforced our relationship.  The purpose of the Community Covenant is to encourage local communities to support the Armed Forces community in their area and nurture understanding and awareness amongst the public of the issues affecting them.  It is important to recognise and remember the sacrifices made by members of our Armed Forces, particularly those who had given the most.  This includes in-Service and ex-service personnel whether Regular or Reserve, their partners, families and widows or widowers.

 

For the City & County of Swansea and partner organisations, the Community Covenant presented an opportunity to bring their knowledge, experience and expertise to bear on the provision of help and advice to members of the Armed Forces Community. It also presents an opportunity to build upon existing good work on other initiatives such as the Welfare Pathway.

 

The City and County of Swansea Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between the civilian community and its local Armed Forces Community, building upon the existing good work and partnership that exists whilst offering support, help and advice to members of the Armed Forces community. 

 

It was hoped that such practical and emotional community support will encourage the integration of service personnel into civilian life and encourage the Armed Forces community to help and get involve in their local community.

 

Those organisations that have already signed the Community covenant include, City & County of Swansea, Army, SSAFA, Probation Service, Prison Service, South Wales Police, Swansea Bay Regional Equality Council (SBREC), Army, Welsh Air Ambulance, Ospreys Rugby, Job Centre Plus, ABMU (NHS), Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, SCVS, Royal British Legion – Swansea Branch, Swansea Metropolitan University, Gower Colleges Swansea, Swansea University, Remploy Swansea, Clydach War Memorial Partnership, Citizen Advice Bureau and  Age Cymru Swansea Bay.  They invite all businesses and voluntary organisations, whatever the size or type of service offered, to join them in pledging support for the Covenant and the members of the Armed Forces families in our community.

 

 

Meetings of the Covenant, which were chaired by the Councillor Champion, were held every three months.  This provided an opportunity to learn about the good work being done by organisations in Swansea and share experiences and knowledge. 

 

In addition, a Community Covenant Grant Scheme delivered financial support to projects at the local level, to strengthen the ties or the mutual understanding between members of the Armed Forces Community and the wider community in which they live.  The Councillor Champion is Chair of the Community Covenant Grant Sub-Committee and a number of organisations had received support from this scheme.  At the present the scheme was being amended by the Ministry of Defence.

 

She also highlighted other ways in which Armed Forces personnel, their families and veterans had been helped.  The Ministry of Defence has launched a new Defence Discount Service, as part of the Armed Forces Covenant, in recognition of service in the Armed Forces.  The Defence Discount Service is open to members of the Armed Forces community, including serving and Reserves personnel, Armed Forces veterans, spouses/partners of Service personnel, and bereaved spouses/partners. It is also open to Ministry of Defence civil servants, members of the Cadet Forces and NATO personnel serving in UK-based posts.  Many high profile companies were engaged with the Defence Discount Service: Vodafone, KFC, Vue Cinemas and a number of major supermarkets, clothing stores and technology companies. They are offering discounts on cars, laptops, supermarket shopping, holidays and mobile phones. The list is growing and it was anticipated that many more companies will now come forward to add their support to those already committed to helping make life a little easier for the Armed Forces Community.

 

Furthermore, the Council Armed Forces Service Library listed organisations nationally and locally who can assist and provide advice on such topics as education, benefits, care support, careers, financial support, pensions, loans and general welfare.  The Council had also made provision for employees who wished to combine their Council role with one in the forces.  In January, the Council won a Silver award for actively demonstrating support for the country's defence services, including signing up to an Armed Forces Covenant and working in partnership to support those serving as well as veterans and their families. The award was part of the nationwide Wales Employer Recognition Scheme and the awards are organised by 160th Infantry Brigade, Headquarters Wales and SaBRE.  The ambition was to win the Gold award next year.

 

The Councillor Champion also provided details of the visits and events attended during the previous year.  She added that she was privileged to be the Armed Forces Champion for the City and County of Swansea and had met many brave and wonderful people in the role. 

 

The Chair thanked the Armed Forces Councillor Champion for providing a very detailed report.

 

 

RESOLVED that: -

 

1)    the contents of the report be noted;

2)    the report be circulated to the Cabinet Advisory Committee.

The Health Promotion Co-ordinator provided a detailed and informative presentation to the Committee regarding Smoking Prevalence, the Issues for Swansea.  Details provided included:

 

·         Smoking is the biggest avoidable cause of disease and early deaths in Wales: causes 5,650 deaths each year.

·         Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a major risk factor.

·         Major cost to NHS in Wales/leading cause of health inequalities.

·         Where are we now?

·         How are others making progress?

·         ABN Area Initiatives 2014/15 onwards.

·         Smoking Free Swansea Action Plan 2014-2017.

·         What has been achieved in Swansea?

·         Changes to Tobacco Regulations 2015/16.

·         Key challenges for Swansea.

·         Current work.

 

The Committee asked a number of questions of the officer who responded accordingly.  Discussions centred around the following:

 

·         The need for additional resources in order to police smoke free zones.

 

·         The importance of not alienating individuals who will never give up smoking.

 

·         The need to use the correct terminology and approach in literature surrounding this issue.

 

·         The School Gates Scheme is very good and it concerns getting those individuals who do smoke on the side of any campaigns. 

 

·         Non-smokers having to walk through a cloud of smoke when entering buildings and the poor provision of litter bins at entrances which causes additional litter.

 

·         A possible introduction of smoke free beaches.

 

·         Introducing a policy that focuses on being family friendly and stopping smoking is down to the individual.

           

The Chair thanked the Health Promotion Co-ordinator for the presentation. 

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(1)       the contents of the presentation be noted;

 

(2)       the presentation be circulated to the Cabinet Advisory Committee for information;

 

(3)       the Swansea Smoking Free Action Plan 2014-2017 be circulated to the Cabinet Advisory Committee for information;

 

(4)       the Health Promotion Co-ordinator provide an update report to a future meeting.

 

The Chair presented an updated Work Programme 2015-2016. 

 

The Committee discussed a number of possible topics for investigation.

 

RESOLVED that:

 

(1)       the contents of the report be noted;

 

(2)       the Head of Human Resources provides an update report regarding staff engagement to the next scheduled meeting;

 

(3)       a presentation regarding Helping Hands be provided to the next scheduled meeting.