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Disclosures of Personal & Prejudicial Interest. Decision: In accordance with the Code
of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interest
was declared: Councillor Clive Lloyd –
Minute No. 109 – Councillor Clive Lloyd declared a personal and prejudicial interest
and withdrew from the meeting for the item. Minutes: In accordance with the Code
of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interest
was declared: Councillor Clive Lloyd –
Minute No. 109 – Councillor Clive Lloyd declared a personal and prejudicial interest
and withdrew from the meeting for the item. |
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Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips. Decision: None. 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. Decision: Approved. Minutes: Resolved that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 15 February 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record. |
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Public Question Time. Questions must be submitted in
writing to Democratic Services democracy@swansea.gov.uk 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. Decision: None. Minutes: There were no public questions. |
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Complaints Annual Report 2020/21. PDF 271 KB Additional documents:
Decision: Resolved that the Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee write to the Cabinet Members, reflecting the discussions and sharing the views of the Committee. Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Children Services, the Cabinet Member
for Adult Social Care & Community Health Services, the Director of Social
Services and the Head of Digital & Customer Services were present for the Complaints
Annual Report 2020/21. The Head of Digital & Customer Services presented the
report and highlighted the following: ·
Comparison of 2020/21 with previous years should
be taken in context of the pandemic ·
Changes in relation to reporting, as a result of
the new Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, which now also
includes a report to Governance & Audit Committee to provide assurance
around the Council’s complaints handling processes ·
Despite the pandemic good progress was reported
on advancing changes and new initiatives – reviewed and updated all complaints
policies and the Complaints Team had received virtual training directly from
the Public Services Ombudsman Wales ·
All actions from the Ombudsman’s Annual Letter
to the Council had been completed ·
Changes to handling Welsh Language Complaints in
line with Welsh Language legislation ·
Stage 1 and Stage 2 Complaints as well as
comments and compliments both corporate and social services – and the impact of
the pandemic on the numbers: Corporate Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints reduced
for 2020/21, although Requests for Service had understandably increased; for
Adult Social Services Stage 1 complaints decreased, Stage 2 complaints
increased slightly; and for Child and Family Services Stage 1 complaints
increased slightly, Stage 2 complaints remained the same. Numbers were higher
in some case due to multiple complaints received about the same case ·
Use of comments, complaints and compliments to
learn and develop services ·
Those Ombudsman cases which were upheld and
those that didn’t continue ·
Complaints were increasingly becoming more
complex often involving multiple agencies ·
New IT system was being developed in-house and
was hoping to be live for corporate complaints initially in the first quarter
of the new financial year – this would allow some complaints to be automated
and should make the process easier for the public and more efficient for staff
with improved reporting functionality. ·
It was reported that overall, there were no
trends of concern arising from the data, compared to previous year(s) ·
The good work undertaken by the staff,
particularly the Complaints Team, was specifically noted during a very
challenging year Questions and discussions focused on: - ·
The Council’s response to the Ombudsman’s Annual
Letter and action taken ·
Understanding why complaints were becoming more
complex, and whether this was an issue around systems in place – noted that it
was not about systems, more about the nature of services, complex needs and
individual circumstances, and multi-agency involvement ·
Extent to which the strain on Social Services
was reflected in complaints – and why the numbers had gone down. Noted that
complaints had generally gone down and that it was hard to say exactly why that
was, but the offer provided was so different during the pandemic it was
difficult to make comparisons. It is possible that people’s expectations and
understanding of reality during the pandemic may have changed, along with
increased resilience. The important thing was the number of complaints that
were justified, as opposed to overall numbers. Any complaints made and upheld
would feed into the recovery work to learn lessons for the health and care
system. It was noted that compliments had risen in Adult and Child Social
Services ·
Importance of people asserting their rights and
being able to raise complaints ·
Recovery of Social Services – heard that there
is still a significant back log and challenges to overcome that will take
several months to work through, including around residential care / domiciliary
care – and there has been an uptick in community transmission of Covid in the
area adding to the challenge. The full impact of Covid is yet to be seen, as it
continues ·
Domiciliary care was still an issue – and the
Council is improving conditions to help recruit and retain staff ·
Whether the Council is seeing a rise in the
proportion of complaints being made coming via legal firms, acting on behalf of
residents, given the proliferation of companies advertising ‘no win, no fee’.
The Head of Service undertook to look into this and respond. It was noted that
in some areas of service, e.g., within Social Services, the Council does
receive legal challenges, not necessarily via the Corporate Complaints process,
as appropriate to the issue ·
Social Services Common Access Point (CAP) – one
complaint had been upheld and addressed.
It was not due to any systemic failure of the CAP, but an individual
issue The Chair thanked the Cabinet Members and Officers for the
report and answering questions.
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Procurement Scrutiny Inquiry - Final Report. PDF 161 KB Additional documents:
Decision: Resolved that the Procurement Scrutiny Inquiry – Final Report proceed to Cabinet. Minutes: Councillor Chris Holley, Convenor of the Procurement
Scrutiny Inquiry, presented the ‘Procurement Scrutiny Inquiry – Final Report’.
The Committee was asked to agree that the Panel’s report can be submitted to
Cabinet for decision. The Convenor provided a brief outline of the process of the
inquiry and the range of evidence that had been gathered. There was an
understanding that procurement was about more than just buying something of the
shelf but was about obtaining what you need at the right quality and quantity.
The report, which contained many positive findings, outlined 9 Conclusions and
14 recommendations for Cabinet. Questions and discussions focussed on the following: ·
Recommendation on finalising The Schools’ Guide
for Procurement to assist schools in understanding the procurement rules,
regulations and best practice should Cabinet accept the recommendation, and
expectations around timescale for implementation. The Convener was confident
that this would be agreeable and was noted in the report, following
consultation with the Head of Commercial Services, as a medium-term goal. The
delivery of guidance was firmly welcomed by the Committee ·
Timescale for the establishment of a working
group to look at Education Procurement to help improve consistency in adherence
to policy, ways of working and identifying gaps and finding common solutions,
should Cabinet accept the recommendation – this was noted as a ‘quick win’ as
it was expected that arrangements could easily be put into place to bring
together representatives from schools (e.g. premises managers) and the
Council’s Procurement Team ·
One of the issues identified, relating to
procurement within schools, was regarding the cost of the Council’s Building
Services and perception – the report highlighted difficulties in comparing
quotes with external contractors, and the need to ensure ‘like for like’
comparisons are being made, with consideration of safety / quality or works and
materials. The suggested working group would help improve understanding around
this and other relevant matters regarding procurement rules and help support
schools. It was noted that issues around Landlord’s Consent Forms, which was
outside the scope of the Inquiry, also needed to be addressed ·
Leasing, which is a major part of the current
procurement system ·
Council’s responsibilities and commitment to
climate change – report includes potentially radical recommendations, changing
current policy / practice, e.g., consideration of carbon footprint and
nature-based solutions in its procurement – noted as longer term challenges and
ones which could potentially save costs ·
The importance of greater involvement and
opportunities for local companies to bid for work, and use of local skills The Convenor thanked all those involved in the inquiry
including members, partners, officers, and to the Scrutiny Officers for their
support and research carried out including looking at procurement practice
elsewhere. The Chair thanked the Panel for its work and commended the
report and difference it will hopefully make. It was noted that the report
would be presented to the earliest available Cabinet meeting after the Council
elections in May. It was also noted that the Panel asked the Committee to
consider how procurement fits into the scrutiny work programme overall and
whether there is scope in the future to discuss this subject and relevant
issues on an annual basis. The inquiry would, in any case, be followed up by
the Panel in the next year or so (after cabinet decision) so the topic will
remain in the work programme. After the follow up process is concluded the
Committee could then consider how best to keep an eye on future Procurement
issues and performance. Resolved that the Procurement Scrutiny Inquiry – Final Report proceed to Cabinet. |
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Scrutiny Dispatches - Impact Report. PDF 236 KB Additional documents:
Decision: Resolved that the Scrutiny Dispatches – Impact Report proceed to Council. Minutes: The Chair presented the Scrutiny Dispatches – Impact Report.
Resolved that the
Scrutiny Dispatches – Impact Report proceed to Council.
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Additional documents:
Decision: Noted. Minutes: The Chair presented a report on ‘Scrutiny Letters’ for information. Resolved that the Scrutiny Letters be noted. |
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Annual Work Programme Review. PDF 327 KB Additional documents:
Decision: Noted. Minutes: The Chair presented the ‘Annual Work Programme Review’ and
invited Committee members to reflect on the year’s work / work programme and
scrutiny experience, specifically considering, for example, how well the
Committee has worked? had Scrutiny focussed on the
right things? what lessons had been learnt? The following were raised: - ·
The importance of Scrutiny to good governance ·
Current scrutiny arrangements are
well-established ·
Having to prioritise activity because of limited
time and resources, which can be frustrating ·
The need to ensure that the structure of
Scrutiny and activities under the Scrutiny Programme Committee align well with
Council / Cabinet priorities with good level of scrutiny across all Cabinet
Portfolios, and is focussed on cabinet decision-making ·
The Committee has done well in plugging any gaps
in the work programme and held Cabinet members to account for specific
portfolio responsibilities and issues, rather than a ‘broad brush’ approach
looking at overall responsibilities ·
The Committee’s co-option of Performance Panel
Conveners is good ·
Consideration whether the Committee could hold
at least 2 sessions per year on Crime & Disorder / Safer Swansea
Partnership performance, rather than an annual session ·
Ensuring scrutiny takes in a range of
perspectives on issues ·
Balancing local scrutiny with regional / joint
scrutiny and ensuring scrutiny is effectively co-ordinated and complements
well, including the challenge of scrutinizing the newly established Corporate
Joint Committee ·
Encouraging more people to participate in
scrutiny and councillors actively participating in questioning ·
The need for a training programme which will
include helping scrutiny councillors to improve how they question and do
scrutiny better ·
The relationship between Scrutiny and Policy
Development Committees – remembering that scrutiny councillors can also inform
and influence the development and revision of policy through their work ·
Future scrutiny in the new municipal year could
include looking at the new Welsh Government Housing Legislation and
implications on the Council ·
The importance of holding a Work Planning
Conference The Chair advised that feedback will considered by the
Committee when it meets again after the election, and will help inform the
development of a new scrutiny work programme. The Chair thanked everyone that had made a contribution to
Scrutiny, members, scrutiny officers, officers who had attended Scrutiny
Programme Committee and any Panels, Working Groups and Inquiries. The Chair
also thanked Co-opted members David Anderson-Thomas and Alexander Roberts for
their contributions. Resolved that the
Annual Work Programme Review be noted. |