Venue: Committee Room 3A, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services - 01792 636923
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Apologies for Absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor P M Meara. |
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Disclosures of Personal & Prejudicial Interest. PDF 51 KB Minutes: In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, no interests were declared. |
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Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips. Minutes: In accordance with the Local
Government (Wales) Measure 2011, no declarations of Whipped Votes or Party
Whips were declared. |
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To approve and sign as a
correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 12 October, 2015 be agreed as a correct record. |
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Cabinet Member Question Session: Cabinet Member for Transformation & Performance. PDF 80 KB (Councillor Clive Lloyd). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee took the opportunity to question Councillor C
Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Transformation & Performance. Members noted his short report on ‘headlines’ in relation to
portfolio objectives which assisted the Committee in focusing on priorities,
actions, achievements and impact. Discussion during the question and answer session focused
on: · Sustainable Swansea · Innovation Programme · Performance Improvement · Customer Contact · Commercial Approach · ICT Although Councillor Lloyd was happy to talk about this work
it was noted commercialism was now in the Next Generation Services cabinet
portfolio. 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. |
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Children & Young People's Rights Scheme - Progress Report. PDF 59 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Chris Sivers, Director – People, and Jane Whitmore (Poverty
& Prevention), presented the committee with a report on the progress of the
implementation of the Children & Young People’s Rights Scheme in Swansea.
The report detailed progress since: · Council agreed in September 2013 to embed the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) within the
Council’s policy framework; and · the launch of a Children & Young People’s
Rights Scheme by Cabinet in November 2014 which provided an overview of the
arrangements in place to demonstrate ‘due regard’ to the UNCRC and consider the
rights of the child in decision making processes. This report included details of: · how the Children & Young People’s Rights Scheme was developed and is
being implemented ·
how
knowledge and understanding of the UNCRC has been promoted through training and
awareness raising sessions ·
How a
whole Council approach to embedding Child Rights has been taken ·
The
participation of Children & Young People in decisions that affect them
(Article 12) ·
Accountability
·
Case studies
giving practical examples throughout the report ·
Next
steps looking ahead The Chair praised the recent awareness raising training session for scrutiny councillors which
helped to develop understanding of children’s rights and the policy
context within which they sit in Swansea. The session also covered the role of scrutiny and questioning in relation
to championing children’s rights and monitoring the council’s implementation of
a Children’s Rights Scheme. The committee
noted the four guiding principle articles of the UNCRC which could be used as
the foundation for monitoring by scrutiny. These guiding principles represent
the underlying requirements for all the rights on the convention to be realised
by children and young people: ·
Non-Discrimination
(Article 2) ·
Best
Interests (Article 3) · Survival and Development (Article 6) · Participation (Article 12) The discussion focussed on: · The training and awareness work with staff
and councillors. · The work in schools to become ‘Rights Respecting’.
It was noted that the majority of schools have now engaged in this, although it
has been more of a challenge to get Secondary Schools involved. · The need to focus on engaging children
educated other than at school in this work · How children and young people have been
listened to and involved e.g. the Big Conversation · Outcomes and impact · Future work and challenges. It was noted that Swansea has been the first Local Authority
to voluntarily make a public commitment to Children’s Rights, embed the UNCRC
and adopt a Rights Scheme, therefore this was
effectively ground breaking work. The committee welcomed the report and congratulated the good
work and progress detailed. A number of suggestions were made by the committee: · a session on ‘Children’s Rights’ should be
part of the councillor induction programme and recommended that officers liaise
with the Head of Democratic Services on this. · more clarity in the mapping of schools in the
report which showed the level of engagement with the Rights Respecting School
initiative. · close working with Governors (which include
councillors) in encouraging those schools not already engaged in the Rights
Respecting School Initiative, as well as supporting the rights of children and
young people generally. · more use of social media to develop the
involvement and participation of children and young people. It also suggested
promotion of the City & County of Swansea as ‘rights respecting’ in
corporate branding. The chair highlighted the need for scrutiny councillors to
champion children’s rights and scrutinise how due regard to the UNCRC has been
paid by asking pertinent questions. RESOLVED that the views of the committee noted above be considered by the Lead Cabinet Member and Lead Director. |
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Scrutiny Performance Panel Progress Report - Service Improvement & Finance. PDF 68 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Convener of the Service Improvement & Finance
Scrutiny Performance Panel, Councillor Chris Holley, presented an update on the
work of the Panel. He highlighted key activities over the last three months
which has involved meeting with 3 Cabinet Members to either discuss the
implementation and impact of budget decisions within their portfolios or
discuss issues from performance monitoring. In respect of future work he stated that the Panel would be
discussing performance on selected issues with external organisations in order
to hear different perspectives to help test and challenge reported levels of
performance. He also referred to issues with the format of corporate monitoring
reports and ease of understanding (particularly for the public) which the Panel
has been discussing with relevant officers. The Panel is also planning its
involvement in scrutiny of the forthcoming budget. RESOLVED that the report be NOTED. |
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Scrutiny Work Programme 2015-16. PDF 90 KB (including update from Director - Corporate Services on council priorities, strategic challenges, key decisions). Additional documents:
Minutes: The report of the Chair reviewed the scrutiny work programme. 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 · Cabinet forward plan for opportunities for pre-decision scrutiny
The chair referred to the recently published CSSIW Performance Evaluation Report 2014/15. She stated that it was a very positive report about Swansea social services and it was very pleasing to read within the inspectors report praise for scrutiny, specifically the work of the Child & Family Services and Transformation of Adult Social Services Scrutiny Panels. Amongst the positive comments noted were: · Clear work programmes · Close working with officers · Robust challenge provided by councillors · Improved information about scrutiny activities Overall the report cited ‘effective and well managed scrutiny arrangements’ as an area of progress. The chair congratulated the two Panels and their conveners for their work and recognition. Dean Taylor,
Director – Corporate Services, had been invited to attend and gave advice on
council priorities and main strategic challenges, following on from his
contributions to the Scrutiny Work Planning Conference in May. His report
provided information on the Corporate Plan, Sustainable Swansea programme,
Medium Term Financial Plan, Whole Council Objectives, External Inspection
Reports and Recommendation, and Current Directorate Priority Areas. This was
intended to help the committee reflect on the work programme and the alignment
of major activities with corporate priorities to ensure scrutiny can contribute
to the big issues facing the council. It was confirmed to
the committee that a number of topics have been identified for potential
inquiries, and these, including the issue of Sustainability – Food Security,
will be looked at in order of agreed priority. RESOLVED that:
1. the committee work plan be accepted; and 2. a request for pre-decision scrutiny be made in respect of the proposed cabinet report on ‘City Centre Development Sites – Selection of Preferred Developer(s)’, scheduled for 17 December Cabinet meeting. |
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Membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. PDF 59 KB Minutes: The Chair presented a report which advised of changes to the
membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. RESOLVED that the following changes be made: 1.
Child & Family Services
Performance Panel – Councillor Uta Clay be removed and Councillor Ceri Evans be
added; and 2.
Transformation of Adult Social
Services Panel – Councillor Bob Clay (convener) be
removed and Councillor Uta Clay be appointed convener. 3. the membership of the
Tethered Horses Scrutiny Working Group be agreed as follows:
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Additional documents: Minutes: 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. |
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Feedback from Recent Scrutiny Events. Minutes: The Chair referred to the recent meeting of the National Assembly for Wales Committee for the Scrutiny of the First Minister, held in Swansea. It was agreed that observations about the meeting and learning points be circulated to committee members. |
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Upcoming Scrutiny Events. Minutes: The Chair referred a joint Welsh Government / WLGA seminar on Welsh Local Government Finance taking place on 19 November, focusing on the challenges and opportunities for local service delivery in Wales. It was noted that the convener of the Service Improvement & Finance Scrutiny Performance Panel would be attending. |
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Audit Committee Work Plan and Annual Report. PDF 56 KB (Chair of Audit Committee, Alan Thomas, attending). Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chair of the
Audit Committee, Alan Thomas, attended in support of developing the
relationship between the scrutiny and the Audit Committee. He provided the
committee with the Audit Committee’s work plan and the annual report in order
to share information about the work and focus of the Committee. He highlighted
that the work of the Audit Committee is concerned with looking at and gaining
assurance about the Council’s financial affairs, risk management, internal
control and governance arrangements, as well as overseeing the Council’s
internal and external audit arrangements. It also reviews the Council’s
financial statements. The purpose of the
discussion was to ensure mutual awareness and understanding of respective work,
and raise any issues regarding coordination / duplication or gaps, or raise any
matters that may need to be referred. Mr Thomas was
pleased with the relationship between the two committees, coordination, and
mechanisms for dialogue and raising issues. He was also pleased at being able
to participate in the Annual Scrutiny Work Planning Conference. He did not feel
there were any concerns about duplication in work plans. He also remarked at
the significant amount of scrutiny being undertaken and work completed, and
praised the commitment of those scrutiny councillors involved and management of
the overall work programme. He
acknowledged that it was not possible to look at everything therefore the
challenge remains to focus on the big issues and prioritise. The chair of the
Scrutiny Programme Committee echoed the view of the Mr Thomas. It was noted she
was scheduled to attend the Audit Committee on 15 December. The Chair thanked Mr Thomas for his attendance. |
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Date and Time of Future Committee Meetings for 2015/16 Municipal Year (all at 4.30 p.m. except where noted): Minutes: The date and time of future Committee Meetings for the
2015/16 Municipal Year was noted. |
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Date and Time of Upcoming Panel / Working Group Meetings: Minutes: 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. |