Agenda and minutes

www.swansea.gov.uk/disclosuresofinterests

No declarations were made.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record.

Resolved that the Minutes of the Swansea Public Services Board held on 11 February 2021 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Adam Hill, Swansea Council provided an update on the actions arising from the previous meeting.

Whilst the action had not been completed, things had moved on and he would update further as part of Minute 37 “Local Well-being Assessment (Regional) Update / Timeline”.

Agreed that the updated be noted.

Questions must be submitted in writing, no later than noon on the working day prior to the meeting.  Questions must relate to items on the agenda. Questions will be dealt with in a 10 minute period.

There were no public questions.

Martin Nicholls, Swansea Council

Swansea Council Climate Change Presentation

-              Sign up to charter

-              Action plan preparation

-              Awareness raising

Martin Nicholls, Director of Place, Swansea Council provided a presentation on the Green / Climate Change Agenda entitled “A Net Zero Swansea”.

He outlined:

Ø    The Climate milestones to date;

Ø    The journey so far (A net zero Swansea Council by 2030);

Ø    The objectives;

Ø    Swansea Charter Climate Action and how it linked in with other relevant legislation and polices;

Ø    Key actions for Net Zero Swansea Council;

Ø    Swansea Council Charter on Climate Action;

Ø    A pledge for a Net Zero Swansea by 2050;

Ø    Engagement;

Ø    First Steps;

He concluded by asking whether:

•                     There was potential scope for a PSB led collaborative approach?

•                     Were the PSB committed to similar principles?

•                     Were there any specific areas the PSB would see value in working together?

The following issues were discussed:

Impact of grass fires and damage to forestry;

Joint procurement of electric vehicles;

Sustainable travel (including travelling to work);

Increased cycling during “lock down”;

Use of estates and the possibility of sharing offices with partners more effectively (community hubs);

The Director of Place stated that the Council would be happy to share learning & their experiences to avoid partners making the same mistakes.  He requested that partners:

1)           Sign up to the Climate Change Charter;

2)           Sign up to their own individual organisational action plan.

Action:

1)           Partners provide contact details to Leanne Ahern/Martin Nicholls of a representative in each organisation in order that initial discussions could commence;

2)           An update on priority areas and feedback on the way forward be provided by Martin Nicholls, Swansea Council at a future PSB Joint Committee.

Paul Thomas, Swansea Council

Paul Thomas, Swansea Council provided an update on the County Lines, Substance Misuse, Anti-Social Behaviour – Safer Swansea Partnership High Street as follows:

Ø    Planning consent had been agreed and contractors were on site at the refurbishment of empty premises at the top of High Street;

Ø    Engagement work with the community had continued regarding the intended use of the 3 empty business units;

Ø    County Lines – whilst a number of county lines operated in Swansea, all young people involved were treated as victims.  Several drug warrants had been carried out at the top of High Street / Matthew Street.  Stop and search and intelligence gathering had continued.   Posters had been placed in Matthew Street and High Street indicating that undercover Police work was ongoing. This outlined the excellent joint working that was continuing between South Wales Police, Housing, Neighbourhood Support Unit (NSU) and the High Street Ranger in signposting issues and risks in and around the area. It had resulted in significant vulnerabilities being identified.

Ø    Substance misuse – outreach work in High Street had continued during the pandemic.  The Support, Wellbeing, Advocacy, Enablement project (SWAN) led by Women’s Aid appear on High Street four nights a week working on the van.  It was hoped that an empty property at the top of high street would be utilised as an alternative facility, resulting in a warmer and more welcoming environment.  Between 10-20 sex workers could be seen per night.  A needle exchange facility and sexual health nurse was also available on the van and blood borne virus testing was carried out once a month.  Six sex workers had engaged in the Rapid Access Proscription Service (RAPS) process run by Dyfodol. This was an excellent example of integrated approach working on a small scale although consideration for broader service provision was required. Engagement / harm reduction advice at Pharmacies could be improved.  Ongoing work with Violence against women, domestic and sexual violence (VAWDASV) & Sex worker Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) in relation to sexual health and domestic abuse advice together with additional support services.  Police Objective; scanning; analysis; response; assessment (OSARA) problem solving action plan now involved all partners being able to input into the OSARA action plan process for High Street.

Ø    Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) consultation had now closed, however funding had previously been secured to improve the lighting and general look and feel of the upper high street, street furniture and public realm in the area, regardless of the outcome of the PSPO.

Adam Hill stated that the PSB would continue to receive regular updates from the Community Safety Partnership via Paul Thomas & his team. In addition the Integrated Approach to tackling Substance Misuse for the region would link with the existing work currently being undertaken.

Action: That the update be noted.

Mydrian Harries, Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service

Mydrian Harries, Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Services provided a presentation on Operation Dawns Glaw 2021 which was a multi-agency task force established in 2016 following a significant amount of grass fires in 2015.

He outlined:

·                    Deliberate Fires in Wales – Long Term Trends;

·                    Annual Grass Fire figures;

·                    A view from above……;

·                    What does the data tell us;

·                    What is Operation Dawns Glaw?;

·                    What does Operation Dawns Glaw do?;

·                    How can the Public Services Board assist?;

The partners discussed problem areas, including Kilvey Hill, which was thought to be the largest urban Forest in Wales and suggested liaising with Paul Thomas to ensure any community safety issues could be promoted and tackled collaboratively by partners.  It was hoped that Natural Resources Wales would be able to continue to provide the grant funding, but this would depend on sufficient budget resources.

The Chair and partners thanked Mydrian Harries for the informative presentation.

Agreed: That the presentation be noted.

Chair

The Chair stated that she had attended the meeting with the Minister, together with Adam Hill and Roger Thomas.  One of the key messages highlighted at the meeting was that PSB’s would continue and voluntary mergers would be welcomed.  However, it was clear that individual Local Authorities would wish to maintain their individuality in any merger.

Mergers could be a positive outcome in order to reduce the amount of meetings and concentrate effort in order to add value.  It was suggested that topics such as Community Safety and Climate Change shared commonality for a merged Swansea Neath Port Talbot PSB.  However, it was clear that any Wellbeing Assessment would need to focus on local issues.

A response had been drafted to the Minister, however it was agreed that further discussions should take place at the next meeting.

Action: Further discussions to take place at the next Swansea PSB Joint Committee.

Steve King, Swansea Council

Steve King, Swansea Council presented a report to set out recent developments in preparing for the next Assessment of Local Well-being 2022.

He stated that things had progressed slightly since the last meeting.  The Chair of Neath Port Talbot PSB had written to the Chair of Swansea PSB to suggest that they work on a common approach in respect of Local Well-being Assessments with a meeting of the Co-ordination Board scheduled for 16 April 2021.

In addition, Welsh Government and Future Generations Commissioner’s expectations had been received and were attached at Appendix C.

As the regional dimension was still finding its way, it was proposed that a shadow assessment editorial group be set up to begin looking at various tasks, however it should be noted that this would be a fluid process.  A draft timetable was outlined in paragraph 2.7 of the report.

Partners discussed the issue in great detail agreed that a local shadow assessment editorial group commence in order to obtain the relevant data and that local working/editorial groups could merge at a later date in order to co-produce to meet the requirements of the Act.

Agreed that:

1)           The Joint Committee note the report.

2)           The Committee note the emerging guidance from Welsh Government and Future Generations Commissioner.

3)           Pending developments at a regional level, including the proposed regional Co-ordination Board, a ‘shadow’ Swansea Assessment Editorial Group be established to initially progress the Assessment of Local Well-being.

Adam Hill, Swansea Council

For information - not discussed.

Adam Hill, Swansea Council

Adam Hill, Swansea Council referred to the Natural Resources Wales Grant.  He stated that final information for a share of the £25k was required by next week.  Successful bids would be reported on in due course.

17 June 2021

1.            Guest Speaker (Natural Resources Wales)

2.            Reporting and Monitoring of Action plans

3.            Performance Management Review

4.            Socio-Economic Duty

5.            Wellbeing Assessment

6.            PSB Board Members Development Session

7.            Partnership Forum Meeting Topics and Conference

12 August 201 - Cancelled

1.            Reporting and Monitoring of Action plans

2.            Human Rights City Status

3.            Partnership Forum Arrangements and Agenda

21 October 2021

1.            Guest Speaker (Health)

2.            6 Month Review of Action Plans

The Chair reported on the future Work Programme.

Agreed: that the “Board Members Development Session” and “Socio Economic Duty” agenda items be delayed to a future meeting.