Venue: Committee Room 3A, Guildhall, Swansea. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services - Tel (01792) 636923
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Disclosures of Personal & Prejudicial Interest. 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 the
Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record. Additional documents: Minutes: Resolved that the Minutes of the Special Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 17 October 2017 and the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 13 November 2017 be approved and signed as a correct record. |
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Public Question Time. Questions must relate to matters on the open part of the Agenda of the meeting and will be dealt within a 10 minute period Minutes: There were no public questions. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Will Evans, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, provided a verbal address further to the written report circulated. Questions and Discussions with the Cabinet Member focussed on the following: - ·
Relationship with the Third Sector (Voluntary
Sector) and their contribution to supporting portfolio priorities ·
Presentations provided by the Citizens Advice
Bureau on Universal Credit ·
Response and publicity of the ‘Together at
Christmas’ event being held in the Brangwyn Hall ·
The end of Communities First and Transition ·
Communities First Legacy Fund – What performance
indicators would be in place to measure the objectives / outcomes ·
Funding, sustainability and continuation of work
delivered by the Faith in Families organisation ·
Introduction of Communities for Work Plus
Programme ·
Programmes such as Workways Plus and CAMNESA
that work towards increasing employability ·
Identification of positive aspects of
Communities First for continuation under the new programme ·
Presentation on Swansea Working Approach ·
Allotments and Food Access & Growing
projects ·
Creation of the Food Enterprise (Community
Interest Company) ·
Advice for local councillors on support for drug
/ alcohol issues Resolved that the
Chair of the Scrutiny Programme writes to the Cabinet Member, reflecting the
discussion and sharing the views of the Committee, including a request for a
response on: - 1)
how the outcomes / effectiveness of the work
carried out as a result of the Legacy Fund will be measured; 2)
how much Legacy Funding would be allocated to
Faith in Families and the areas where the money would be used; 3)
Whether closure / evaluation reports on
Communities First will be available to the public, and; 4)
facilities / support
available for drug / alcohol problems within wards. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Leader, Interim Director of Resources, Director of Place and the Sustainable Swansea Programme Manager were present for the Committee’s consideration of the Report on ‘Sustainable Swansea Programme – Commissioning Reviews : Service Areas – Post Implementation Reviews’. The Deputy Leader and Sustainable Swansea Programme Manager
provided a verbal address further to the report provided, which highlighted the
purpose of commissioning reviews within the overall Programme, governance
arrangements in place to monitor implementation and impact made, achievements,
lessons learned, and the importance of providing assurance to scrutiny about
progress and delivery on transformation activities. Questions and discussions with the Deputy Leader and Officers focussed on the following: - ·
Ensuring that the Commissioning Reviews provide
/ demonstrate value for money · The need for Commissioning Reviews to show consideration of public views / perception about service delivery and possible changes during the review process · Potential Scrutiny of the future decisions in respect of Culture and Leisure services · Success of the Waste Management Commissioning Review · Parks and Cleansing Commissioning Review – extent to which this involved consideration of ‘friends of’ community groups · Work going on in exploring Partnership Working regarding the Botanical Gardens · Decisions taken on the Archive Service as part of the Culture and Leisure review and future service delivery options · Wales Audit Office Review of Governance · Lessons Learnt from the Process · Savings Achieved to Date and Projected for 2018/19 – it was noted that more detail on financial savings can be provided in future reports · Next Steps – Reviews outstanding Resolved that the feedback from the committee be noted and further regular updates (six-monthly) be provided to the committee on implementation of actions and achievements in relation to Commissioning Reviews. |
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Scrutiny Performance Panel Progress Reports. PDF 107 KB a) Service
Improvement & Finance (Councillor Chris Holley, Convener). Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Chris Holley presented a report on the progress
of the Service Improvement and Finance Performance Panel. He highlighted the
work undertaken by the Panel as well as achievements / impact of the Panel. He highlighted
the Panel’s budget and performance monitoring activities as well as carrying
out pre-decision scrutiny of Commissioning Reviews. He highlighted that the
Public Protection Commissioning Review was an excellent example of an effective
Commissioning Review. The Future Work Programme was also noted, which will include looking at the Highways and Transportation Commissioning Review and Charges in relation to Highways and Waste. A discussion ensued on the Welsh Language Standards, which the Panel looked at in October, surrounding public perception about performance as well as the capacity and most efficient way to meet the Standards e.g. utilising technology to support and develop translation. Resolved that the update be noted.
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Membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. PDF 102 KB Minutes: The Chair presented a report on Scrutiny Panel / Working Group membership. Councillor Peter Jones provided an address on the proposed
inquiry that will focus on Swansea’s Natural Environment. He specifically
highlighted the need to explore how well the Council has managed its natural
environment and biodiversity under previous legislation, together with what will be needed to meet its new statutory
responsibilities. Resolved: - 1)
Councillors Mike Durke, Oliver James, Peter
Jones, Sam Pritchard and Brigitte Rowlands be added to the reconvened Tethered
Horses Working Group; and 2)
The new inquiry on Swansea’s
Natural Environment be convened by Councillor Peter Jones with the
remaining proposed membership to be reported at the next Scrutiny Programme Committee.
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Scrutiny Work Programme 2017/18. PDF 135 KB Discussion on: a) Committee
Work Plan. b) Opportunities
for Pre-Decision Scrutiny. c) Progress with Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chair updated the Committee on the Scrutiny Work
Programme 2017/18. It was highlighted that the Leader
would be attending the next Scrutiny Programme Committee for the Question and
Answer Session, and committee members were asked to think about questions. A working group was proposed on the Archive Service, which
the chair stated will be considered at the next
meeting for inclusion in the work programme. A tentative date had been set for a Special Scrutiny Programme
Committee on 26 March 2018 for Crime and Disorder Scrutiny. The Scrutiny Team Leader advised the Committee that the
Wales Audit Office (WAO) would be looking at the Scrutiny arrangements in
Swansea. Wales Audit Office would be observing at least one committee meeting
as well as a number of panel meetings. They would likely be undertaking field work in February, which would involve interviews with
some Officers and Members. A report would be produced
by WAO at the end of the review as well as a shared learning Seminar. Resolved that: - 1)
the update be noted; and 2)
a new Working Group on
Archive Service be considered at the next meeting. |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chair presented a report on Scrutiny Letters. The Chair
outlined the key points from correspondence with cabinet members, highlighted
at paragraph 3.3 of the report. Resolved that the
request made by the Community Cohesion & Hate Crime Working Group for a
further meeting to focus on community cohesion be agreed.
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Audit Committee Work Plan. PDF 79 KB Minutes: The Audit Committee Workplan was noted. |
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Date and Time of Upcoming Panel / Working Group Meetings. a) 11
December at 11.00am - Development & Regeneration Performance Panel (Committee Room 3A,
Guildhall) b) 12 December at 9.00am - Service
Improvement & Finance Performance
Panel (Committee Room 5, Guildhall) c) 12 December
at 4.00pm – Schools Performance Panel (Committee
Room 3A) d) 13 December
at 10.00am – Public Services Board Performance Panel
(Committee Room 5) e) 18 December
at 4.00pm - Child & Family Services Performance Panel
(Committee Room 5, Guildhall) f) 19 December at 3.30pm – Adult Services Performance Panel (Committee Room 5, Guildhall) Minutes: The dates and times of upcoming Panel / Working Group meetings were noted. |
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