COUNCIL SUMMONS

You are hereby summoned to attend a Meeting of the COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Swansea on Thursday, 31st March 2011 at 4.00 p.m.

The following business is proposed to be transacted:

1. To receive any Apologies for Absence.

2. To receive Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interest.

3. To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the following Council meetings: a) Ordinary Meeting held on 3rd February 2011. 4-18 b) Extraordinary Meeting held on 28th February 2011. 19-35 c) Extraordinary Meeting held on 7th March 2011. 36-39 d) Extraordinary Meeting held on 17th March 2011. 40-42

4. Announcements of the Chair of Council.

5. Announcements of the Leader of the Council.

6. Public Questions Questions must relate to matters on the open part of the Agenda of the meeting and will be dealt within a 10 minute period.

7. Public Presentation: – a) Citizens Advice Bureau.

8. To receive the following Presentation:- (1) Women4Resources – Councillor E T Kirchner.

9. Report of the Leader (1) Agreement of Friendship Between City and County of Swansea and 43-47 Municipal Council of Vihiga, Kenya.

10. Report of the Community Leadership & Democracy Cabinet Member (1) Membership of Committees. 48

11. Report of the Community Regeneration Cabinet Member (1) Approval of the Safer Swansea Strategy 2011-14. 49-83

12. Report of the Chief Executive (1) Proposed Draft Charter between the City and County of Swansea and 84-90 the Community / Town Councils within its Boundaries.

13. Reports of the Social Services Cabinet Member (1) The Production and Implementation of the Health, Social Care and 91-166 Well Being Strategy 2011-2014. (2) Wales Interim Policy & Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable 167-171 Adults from Abuse.

14. Report of the Corporate Director (Social Services) (1) Child & Family Services. 172-183

15. Joint Reports of the Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group and Acting Monitoring Officer (1) Amendments to the Council Constitution. 184-187 (2) Council Meeting Structure and Councillor Allowances 2011 / 2012. 188-199 (3) Council Diary - Remainder of Dates and Times of the Various Other 200-214 Council / Committees / Boards / Groups 2011 / 2012. (4) Councillors Allowances Handbook. 215-243

16. Reports of the Overview & Scrutiny (1) Care to Help? A Review of the Role of Councillors as Corporate 244-297 Parents’. (2) Review of the Development of Medium Term Financial Planning. 298-332 (3) Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme. 333-340

17. Report of the Chief Executive, Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer (1) Designation of Section 151 Officer for the Council. 341-342

18. To receive for Information Written Responses to Questions asked 343-352 at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council.

19. Councillors’ Questions under Council Procedure Rule 15. 353-359

20. To authorise the affixing of the Common Seal to any document necessary to carry into effect any resolution passed or confirmed at this meeting.

Roderic Jones Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement Civic Centre Swansea 24th March 2011 To: All Members of the Council Item No. 2

Disclosures of Personal Interest from Members

To receive Disclosures of Personal Interest from Members in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea. You must disclose orally to the meeting the existence and nature of that interest.

NOTE: You are requested to identify the Agenda Item / Minute No. / Planning Application No. and Subject Matter to which that interest relates and to enter all declared interests on the sheet provided for that purpose at the meeting.

1. If you have a Personal Interest as set out in Paragraph 10 of the Code, you MAY STAY, SPEAK AND VOTE unless it is also a Prejudicial Interest.

2. If you have a Personal Interest which is also a Prejudicial Interest as set out in Paragraph 12 of the Code, then subject to point 3 below, you MUST WITHDRAW from the meeting (unless you have obtained a dispensation from the Authority’s Standards Committee)

3. Where you have a Prejudicial Interest you may attend the meeting but only for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the business, provided that the public are also allowed to attend the meeting for the same purpose, whether under a statutory right or otherwise. In such a case, you must withdraw from the meeting immediately after the period for making representations, answering questions, or giving evidence relating to the business has ended, and in any event before further consideration of the business begins, whether or not the public are allowed to remain in attendance for such consideration (Paragraph 14 of the Code).

4. Where you have agreement from the Monitoring Officer that the information relating to your Personal Interest is sensitive information, as set out in Paragraph 16 of the Code of Conduct, your obligation to disclose such information is replaced with an obligation to disclose the existence of a personal interest and to confirm that the Monitoring Officer has agreed that the nature of such personal interest is sensitive information.

5. If you are relying on a grant of a dispensation by the Standards Committee, you must, before the matter is under consideration: (i) disclose orally both the interest concerned and the existence of the dispensation; and (ii) before or immediately after the close of the meeting give written notification to the Authority containing -

- details of the prejudicial interest; - details of the business to which the prejudicial interest relates; - details of, and the date on which, the dispensation was granted; and - your signature

Z:\Committees\A Agenda Pack\Council\2008-09\08 June 26\02 - Disclosures of Personal Interest.doc Item No. 3 a)

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

HELD AT CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA ON THURSDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 2010 AT 4.00 P.M.

PRESENT: Councillor T H Rees (Chair of Council) presided

Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s):

V N Abbott D H James D Phillips V A Bates-Hughes D I E Jones G Phillips P M Black J W Jones C L Philpott N S Bradley M H Jones D Price J E Burtonshaw M R Jones S J Rice M C Child S M Jones I M Richard A R A Clement W E A Jones J C Richards A C S Colburn A Jopling D A Robinson W J F Davies J B Kelleher G Seabourne A M Day R H Kinzett M Smith C R Doyle E T Kirchner P B Smith J Evans R D Lewis R L Smith W Evans A Lloyd R Speht E W Fitzgerald R J Lloyd R J Stanton R Francis-Davies K E Marsh R C Stewart M E Gibbs P M Matthews D G Sullivan M J Hedges P N May C M R W D Thomas C A Holley P M Meara D W W Thomas N A Holley J T Miles J M Thomas P R Hood-Williams W K Morgan L G Thomas D H Hopkins H M Morris N J Tregoning D T Howells J Newbury D P Tucker B J Hynes B G Owen

152. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J B Hague, C Thomas and J Woodman.

153. DISCLOSURES OF PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTEREST

In accordance with the provisions of the Councillor’s Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea Council the following interests were declared:

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

1) Councillor P M Black declared a personal interest in Minute 160 “Welsh Language Scheme and Action Plan 2010 – 2013” and stated that he had a dispensation from the Standards Committee to remain to speak but not vote on general employment matters and would leave for those directly affecting the employment of his wife;

2) Councillor D A Robinson declared a personal interest in Minute 163 “Child and Family Services” and stated that he had a dispensation from the Standards Committee to remain and speak but not vote on general employment matters but leave for those directly affecting Daughter;

3) Councillors A R A Clement and V A Bates-Hughes declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Minute 168 “Wales Audit Office Report - Review of Planning Committee Arrangements” and withdrew from the meeting during its consideration;

4) Councillors J W Jones and W K Morgan declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Minute 169 “Application to Extend a Scheme of Allowances in respect of Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA’s) for the 2 Chairs of the Appeals and Awards Committees” and withdrew from the meeting during its consideration;

5) Councillors S M Jones and C L Philpott declared a personal interest in Minute 174 “Councillors Questions – Question 7”;

6) Councillor C A Holley declared a personal interest in Minute 174 “Councillors Questions – Question 11”;

7) Councillors P M Black, J E Burtonshaw, W J F Davies, C R Doyle, E W Fitzgerald, R Francis-Davies, M J Hedges, N A Holley, P R Hood-Williams, D T Howells, J W Jones, M H Jones, R D Lewis, K E Marsh, P M Matthews, P N May, J T Miles, H M Morris, B G Owen, T H Rees, I M Richard, J C Richards, G Seabourne, P B Smith, R C Stewart, J M Thomas and L G Thomas declared a personal interest in Minute 174 “Councillors Questions – Question 12”;

8) Councillor L G Thomas declared a personal interest in Minute 174 “Councillors Questions – Question 15”.

154. MINUTES OF COUNCIL

RESOLVED that:

1) The Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 9 December 2011 be approved and signed as a correct record; Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

2) The Minutes of the Adjourned Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 16 December 2011 be approved and signed as a correct record.

155. CHAIR OF COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

1) Bereavements of Former Councillors

The Chair of Council referred with sadness to the recent deaths of:

a) Former Swansea City Councillor and Lord Mayor Charles Birss who represented the Sketty Electoral Division for many years;

b) Former Swansea City Councillor Dr Alan Thomas who represented Electoral Division, husband of former Councillor Susan Waller Thomas.

The Chair of Council asked that all stand as a mark of sympathy and respect

2) New Year Honours 2011

The Chair of Council congratulated the following citizens of the City and County of Swansea who had received awards in the New Year Honours 2011. He stated that the Lord Mayor would be writing to each of the citizens congratulating them on their awards.

a) Citizen of the British Empire (CBE)

Professor Julian Hopkins CBE from Llanrhidian for services to the School of Medicine at Swansea University.

b) Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick OBE from Swansea for services to the Disabled.

c) Member of the British Empire (MBE)

Mair Hughes MBE from Morriston for services to charity and the community.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

3) Amendments / Corrections to the Council Summons

The Chair of Council stated that an amendment / correction sheet to the Council Summons has been circulated to all Councillors and copies had also been placed in the public gallery. The amendments / corrections being as follows:

a) Item 13 (2) “Council Diary 2011 / 2012” – Pages 151 163

The dates of Council and Cabinet set out in the report are incorrect. They should be deleted and replaced with the following:

Council – Commences at 4.00pm

9 June 2011 24 November 2011 4 August 2011 19 January 2012 29 September 2011 15 March 2012

The Annual Meeting of Council 2012 / 2013 will be held on 24 May 2012.

Cabinet – Commences at 2.00pm

2 June 2011 17 November 2011 30 June 2011 15 December 2011 28 July 2011 12 January 2012 25 August 2011 9 February 2012 22 September 2011 8 March 2012 20 October 2011 5 April 2012

b) Item 18 “Councillors Questions” – Question 1 – Page 255

The response to Question 1 is shown as being from ”the Cabinet Member for Finance”. This should be amended to read “the Cabinet Member for Education.”

c) Item 19 “Notice of Motion Submitted by Councillors D Phillips, M J Hedges, J E Burtonshaw, J T Miles, C Thomas, R J Lloyd, M C Child, J C Richards, R C Stewart, R Francis-Davies and E T Kirchner” – Page 2

In the opening sentence, delete the words “Welfare Rights” and replace with “Social Inclusion”.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

156. LEADER OF COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS

1) Hafod Primary School – UNICEF Award – Rights of Children

The Leader of the Council congratulated Hafod Primary School for being awarded the UNICEF Level 2 Rights Respecting Schools award.

2) African Community Centre – Tackling Poverty

The Leader of the Council congratulated the African Community Centre; a local charity based in Swansea for being voted runner up in a national Tackling Poverty award for its work in tackling poverty in the area.

3) Inclement Weather and Council Staff

The Leader of the Council thanked staff for their excellent work during the inclement weather prior to Christmas. He stated that the staff had worked tirelessly to keep the city and county moving and showed a great endeavour to continue to provide critical services.

157. PUBLIC QUESTIONS

A number of questions were asked by members of the public. The relevant Cabinet Member responded accordingly. Those questions requiring a written response are listed below:

1) Uta Clay asked the Education Cabinet Member a question in relation to Minute 154 2) “Minutes of the Adjourned Council of 16 December 2010”:

“At the Council meeting in December I asked you if the Social Inclusion Unit was consulted over the proposal to close Daniel James School. You answered that issues of social inclusion had been part of the overall considerations. Can you explain what that meant? Did you or did you not consult them? Can you give me the following details:

1) The dates of when you approached them? 2) Was it formally and in writing? 3) The name of who you communicated with either in writing or at a minuted meeting? 4) What was the advice was that you were given?”

The Education Cabinet Member indicated that he would provide a written response. Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

158. PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS

Vivienne Buckley (Artistic Director) of the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company gave a presentation to Council on the work of the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre.

The Education Cabinet Member thanked Vivienne Buckley for the presentation.

RESOLVED that the presentation be noted.

159. PRESENTATION – ANNUAL IMPROVEMENT REPORT

Rod Alcott (Wales Audit Office) and Lynn Hines (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) presented a summary of the Auditor General’s Annual Improvement Report. They stated that this report was the first of its kind, following new legislation in April 2010. The new legislation required Councils to make arrangements to improve their services.

Following the presentation, Councillors asked questions on the content of the Annual Improvement Report, all of which were responded to including the questions asked by members of the public during Public Question Time.

Note: Councillor M C Child asked the following question of Mr Alcott:

“In paragraphs 40 & 53 (of the Annual Improvement Report) you initially asked that the structure for decision making in ICT be made clearer, and then report that it had now been made clearer. As you make no other reference to this are you saying that now it has been made clearer you are satisfied with the decision making process?. If that is so, can you tell me what it is please?”

Rod Alcott (Wales Audit Office) stated that he would provide a written response to the question.

160. WELSH LANGUAGE SCHEME AND ACTION PLAN 2010 - 2013

The Business Improvement and Efficiency Cabinet Member presented a report which sought approval for the reviewed Welsh Language Scheme and Action Plan 2010 - 2013.

RESOLVED that:

1) The Welsh Language Scheme and Action Plan 2010 – 2013 be adopted;

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

2) The adopted Scheme and Action Plan 2010 – 2013 be forwarded to the Welsh Language Board for approval.

161. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES

The Community Leadership and Democracy Cabinet Member reported that he had not made any changes to representatives on Outside Bodies.

He also referred to a number of proposed changes to representatives on Council Bodies as listed in the amended draft report which had been circulated prior to the commencement of the Meeting.

RESOLVED that:

1) The nominations / amendments to the membership of the Council Bodies listed below be approved:

a) Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership Group

Remove Councillor K E Marsh. Add Councillor R D Lewis.

162. SEX ESTABLISHMENT LICENSING – PROPOSAL TO ADOPT THE AMENDED PROVISIONS OF SCHEDULE 3, LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1982

The Leader of the Council presented a report which considered the adoption of the amended provisions to Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 which had been introduced by Section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009. The amended provisions reclassify lap dancing clubs and other similar venues and introduce a third category of sex establishments called “Sexual Entertainment Venues”.

He stated that the amendment gives Local Authorities powers to regulate such venues under Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. However, as the legislation is adoptive Local Authorities are required to pass a resolution adopting the amendments so that they apply to the Authority’s area together with a date from which they come into force.

RESOLVED that:

1) The amended provisions of Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, introduced by Section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 be adopted so that they apply to the City and County of Swansea;

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

2) The date that the provisions come into force to allow the existing policy relating to the Licensing of Sex Establishments to be amended, consulted on and adopted by, be set as 29 September 2011.

Note: The Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group sought clarity on the apparent confusions / contradictions in the section 6 of the report relating to “Transitional Provisions”.

The Leader of the Council stated that he would provide a written response to the question.

163. CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES

The Corporate Director (Social Services) provided an update about Child and Family Services. He outlined the position regarding the overview and activity across Child and Family Services and stated that detailed analysis and discussion would continue to be addressed via the Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board.

164. ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING – COMFORT BREAK

The Meeting stood adjourned for 10 minutes in order to facilitate a comfort break.

165. COUNCILLORS ICT WORKING GROUP – TERMS OF REFERENCE - AMENDMENTS TO THE COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

The Chair of Council, Acting Monitoring Officer and Constitution Working Group jointly submitted a report seeking to amend the terms of reference of the Councillors ICT Working Group so that it would become the Councillors Steering Group for all Council ICT issues.

They stated that the report had originally been presented to Council on 9 December 2010. However Council resolved to refer the matter back to the Constitution Working Group. The Constitution Working Group considered the matter further on 17 January 2011 but failed to reach a consensus. As such the report was referred back to Council for consideration.

RESOLVED that the report be deferred in order to allow further dialogue between the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

166. COUNCIL DIARY 2011 / 2012

The Chair of Council, Acting Monitoring Officer and Constitution Working Group jointly submitted a report seeking to approve the Council Diary 2011 / 2012. They stated that Council remained on an 8 week cycle and Cabinet remained on a 4 week cycle. They stated that the dates that Council were being asked to approve were shown in Minute 155 3) a) “Chair of Council Announcements” above.

They stated that it was anticipated that a further report would be submitted to Council on 31 March 2011 seeking approval for the Council Diary 2011 / 2012 for the remaining Council bodies.

RESOLVED that the amended Council Diary 2011 / 2012 be approved.

167. NOMINATION OF LORD MAYOR ELECT AND DEPUTY LORD MAYOR ELECT 2011 / 2012

The Chair of Council, Acting Monitoring Officer and Constitution Working Group jointly submitted a report which nominated the Lord Mayor Elect and Deputy Lord Mayor Elect 2011 / 2012 in accordance with the Election of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor Protocol.

RESOLVED that:

1) Councillor I M Richard be nominated as Lord Mayor Elect for 2011 / 2012;

2) Councillor D H James be nominated as Deputy Lord Mayor Elect for 2011 / 2012.

168. WALES AUDIT OFFICE REPORT – “REVIEW OF PLANNING COMMITTEE ARRANGEMENTS”

The Chair of Council, Acting Monitoring Officer and Constitution Working Group jointly submitted an interim report. The report outlined the findings of the Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Board, Planning Services Task Group and the initial recommendations of the Constitution Working Group in respect of the Wales Audit Office’s report entitled “Review of Planning Committee Arrangements – November 2010”.

The Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group proposed an amendment to the report.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21 “Voting” a recorded vote was requested. The voting on the amendment was recorded as follows:

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

For (30) Councillors) N S Bradley M J Hedges P M Matthews J E Burtonshaw P R Hood-Williams B G Owen M C Child B J Hynes D Phillips A C S Colburn D H James J C Richards W J F Davies D I E Jones M Smith C R Doyle W E A Jones P B Smith J Evans R H Kinzett R L Smith W Evans E T Kirchner R C Stewart R Francis-Davies A Lloyd D W W Thomas M E Gibbs R J Lloyd C M R W D Thomas

Against (22 Councillors) P M Black K E Marsh S J Rice A M Day P N May I M Richard C A Holley P M Meara D A Robinson N A Holley K E Morgan R J Stanton J W Jones J Newbury L G Thomas M H Jones C L Philpott J M Thomas A Jopling T H Rees N J Tregoning J B Kelleher

Abstention (5 Councillors) E W Fitzgerald R D Lewis D G Sullivan S M Jones D Price

Withdrawn from meeting due to declarable interest (2 Councillors) V A Bates-Hughes A R A Clement -

The amendment was successful and as such became the substantive motion.

RESOLVED that:

1) The following take effect following the Extraordinary Meeting of Council on 28 February 2011:

a) The 4 Area Planning Committees be replaced with 2 Area Development Control Committees based on the 2009 / 2010 model (i.e. combining North and Central and East Area Planning Committees and West and South West Area Planning Committees);

b) The Planning and Petitions Committee be Chaired on a rota basis between the Chairs of Area 1 and Area 2 Development Control Committees thereby reducing the need for a Special Responsibility Allowance for the Chair of the Planning and Petitions Committee which therefore will no longer be paid; Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

c) The 2 new Area Development Control Committees to meet on a 4 weekly cycle on a Tuesday afternoon;

d) Speaking Rights at planning committee meetings continue pending a full review;

2) The Planning Services Task Group be charged with reviewing the Wales Audit Office report in accordance with its work programme;

3) The Wales Audit Office be informed of the interim response by the Council to its report.

4) The original recommendation (shown below) relating to site visits be referred back to the Constitution Working Group in order to obtain further clarity:

“The Area Development Control Committee Chairs be delegated powers to authorise Committee site visits prior to the publication of a Committee agenda, so as to enable the visit to be held prior to the Committee meeting and thus expedite business. This is in addition to the current procedure for site visits being called at Committee.”

Note:

1) Councillor E W Fitzgerald stated that she would renounce her entitlement to the Special Responsibility Allowance. She had been entitled to one by virtue of her being the Chair of the Planning and Petitions Committee;

2) Councillors V A Bates-Hughes and A R A Clement, having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this matter withdrew from the meeting during its consideration.

169. APPLICATION TO EXTEND A SCHEME OF ALLOWANCES IN RESPECT OF SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY ALLOWANCES (SRAs) FOR THE 2 CHAIRS OF THE APPEALS AND AWARDS COMMITTEES

The Leader of the Council presented a report which sought Council’s permission to apply to the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Wales in order to apply to extend the scheme of allowances in respect of the Special Responsibility Allowances.

The Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group proposed an amendment to the report.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21 “Voting” a recorded vote was requested. The voting on the amendment was recorded as follows:

For (33) Councillors) P M Black N A Holley B G Owen N S Bradley P R Hood-Williams D Phillips J E Burtonshaw B J Hynes C L Philpott M C Child D H James D Price A C S Colburn D I E Jones J C Richards W J F Davies W E A Jones M Smith C R Doyle R H Kinzett P B Smith W Evans E T Kirchner R L Smith R Francis-Davies A Lloyd R C Stewart M E Gibbs R J Lloyd D W W Thomas M J Hedges P M Matthews C M R W D Thomas

Against (1 Councillor) P M Meara

Abstention (20 Councillors) V N Abbott J B Kelleher D A Robinson A M Day K E Marsh R J Stanton E W Fitzgerald P N May D G Sullivan C A Holley J Newbury L G Thomas M H Jones T H Rees J M Thomas S M Jones S J Rice D P Tucker A Jopling I M Richard

Withdrawn from meeting due to declarable interest (2 Councillors) J W Jones W K Morgan -

The amendment was successful and as such became the substantive motion.

RESOLVED that:

1) One of the Appeals and Awards Committees be deleted from the Council Bodies structure following the Extraordinary Meeting of Council on 28 February 2011;

2) An application be submitted to the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Wales to extend the scheme of allowances in respect of Special Responsibility Allowances for the Chair of the Appeals and Awards Committee.

3) The detailed applications to the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Wales as outlined in Appendices A and B to the report be approved following any necessary amendments. Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

Note: Councillors J W Jones and W K Morgan, having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this matter withdrew from the meeting during its consideration;

170. COUNCILLORS ALLOWANCES AND EXPENSES 2009 / 2010

The Chief Executive stated that this report had been deferred from Council on 9 December 2010 in order to allow the Councillors ICT “Opt In” costs to be added to the table. The amended report was presented as part of the Council Summons.

As such he presented for information the amounts paid to each Councillor in respect of allowances and expenses during the last financial year in respect of the Councillors Allowances Scheme (Part 6 of the Council Constitution) in order to comply with the legal requirement to publish the amounts.

171. REVIEW OF THE NEW OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY ARRANGEMENTS

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Business Committee presented a report which reviewed the new overview and scrutiny arrangements that were introduced in May 2010.

RESOLVED that the report be referred back to Overview and Scrutiny Business Committee for further consideration in order to allow all Councillors to be consulted on the report.

172. OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY STRATEGIC WORK PROGRAMME

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Business Committee presented an information report outlining the Overview and Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme for 2010 / 2011.

173. WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED AT THE LAST ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL

The Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement presented an information report setting out the written responses to questions asked at the last Ordinary Meeting of Council.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

174. COUNCILLORS QUESTIONS

1) Part A “Supplementary Questions”

Eleven (11) Part A “Supplementary Questions” were submitted. The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by way of written answers contained within the Council Summons.

Further supplementary questions were asked and the relevant Cabinet Member responded. Those questions requiring a written response are listed below.

a) Question 1. Councillor N S Bradley asked the Education Cabinet Member the following question:

"How much money is being potentially removed due to the cessation of the Lifelong Learning Service?"

The Education Cabinet Member stated that he would provide a written response.

b) Question 6. Councillor M J Hedges asked the Leader of the Council the following question:

“How many fixed penalty notices for dog fouling have been issued by this Authority over the last 12 months?”

The Leader of the Council stated that he would provide a written response.

b) Question 8. Councillor J C Richards asked the Education Cabinet Member the following question(s):

i) “What is the consultation process used when disposing of Education land?

ii) What Education land has been identified as being possible land for disposal?”

The Education Cabinet Member stated that he would provide a written response.

2) Part B “Questions Not Requiring Supplementary Questions” Five (5) Part B “Questions Not Requiring Supplementary Questions” were submitted. The relevant Cabinet Member(s) responded by way of written answers contained within the Council Summons.

Minutes of the Meeting of Council of the City and County of Swansea (03.02.2011) Cont’d

175. NOTICE OF MOTION FROM COUNCILLORS D PHILLIPS, M J HEDGES, J E BURTONSHAW, J T MILES, C THOMAS, R J LLOYD, M C CHILD, J C RICHARDS, R C STEWART, R FRANCIS-DAVIES AND E T KIRCHNER

“The Welfare Rights Unit is one of the unsung heroes of this Council. Its work in identifying and recovering unclaimed benefits and other financial support has made a significant improvement not only to the lives of some of the poorest and most deprived people in the city but to the local economy. Cabinet is now proposing to reduce the staffing numbers in this unit as a cost saving measure.

This Council considers that to do so is ill-judged in that the Unit is not only extremely cost effective (i.e. it brings in more money to individuals and the truly local economy than it costs, by a significant factor) but also a self-defeating and worrying gamble with the futures of some of the most deprived people in the city. Council calls upon Cabinet not to proceed with this cut.”

RESOLVED that the Motion be referred to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Board to consider as a matter of urgency.

176. NOTICE OF MOTION SUBMITTED BY COUNCILLORS C A HOLLEY, D PHILLIPS, R H KINZETT AND D PRICE

“Council supports full law-making powers within the devolved areas for the Welsh Assembly. Council believes that this will speed up the democratic process in Wales and do away with the cumbersome and costly processes we currently have. For the benefit of the people of Swansea, Council urges the electorate to vote yes on 3rd March 2011.”

RESOLVED that the Motion be approved.

177. COMMON SEAL

RESOLVED that the Common Seal be affixed to any necessary documents to bring into affect any resolution passed or confirmed at this meeting.

The meeting ended at 9.35 p.m.

CHAIR OF COUNCIL Item No. 3 b)

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

HELD AT THE CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA ON MONDAY, 28TH FEBRUARY 2011 AT 4.00 P.M.

PRESENT: Councillor T H Rees (Chair of Council) presided

Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s):

V N Abbott D I E Jones G Phillips V A Bates-Hughes J W Jones C L Philpott P M Black M H Jones D Price N S Bradley M R Jones S J Rice A R A Clement S M Jones I M Richard A C S Colburn W E A Jones J C Richards W J F Davies A Jopling D A Robinson A M Day J B Kelleher G Seabourne C R Doyle R H Kinzett M Smith J Evans E T Kirchner P B Smith W Evans R D Lewis R L Smith E W Fitzgerald R J Lloyd R Speht R Francis-Davies K E Marsh R C Stewart M E Gibbs P M Matthews D G Sullivan J B Hague P N May C Thomas M J Hedges P M Meara C M R W D Thomas C A Holley J T Miles D W W Thomas N A Holley W K Morgan J M Thomas P R Hood-Williams H M Morris L G Thomas D H Hopkins J Newbury N J Tregoning D T Howells B G Owen D P Tucker B J Hynes D Phillips J Woodman

178. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J E Burtonshaw, D H James, A Lloyd and R J Stanton.

179. DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

The Acting Monitoring Officer advised that the Budget was an overarching document, there was no need to declare en bloc, but declarations need only be made on specific issues. He further advised that it was a matter for each Member to decide whether they had an interest in any specific item. Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

In accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interests were declared:

Councillor P M Black - Personal - Budget Reports - wife works for Authority in Welsh Language Translation Unit - dispensation granted from Standards Committee.

Councillor E W Fitzgerald - Personal - Minute Nos. 181 and 182 - Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15, and Revenue Budget 2011/12 - personal - Director of Swansea City Waste Disposal Company.

Councillor M E Gibbs - Personal - Budget Reports - 4 family members work with Council - 2 in Education, 1 Highways and 1 Legal.

Councillor J B Hague - Personal - Minute Nos. 180, 181 and 182 - Medium Term Financial Plan 2012/12-2014/15, Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15, and Revenue Budget 2011/12 - personal - member of LAWDC.

Councillor M J Hedges - Personal - Budget Reports - wife works for Social Services - dispensation granted by Standards Committee.

Councillor C A Holley - Personal - Minute No. 182 - Revenue Budget 2011/12 - personal - daughter works for Council.

Councillor J W Jones - Personal - Minute Nos. 181 and 184 - Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15, and Housing Revenue Account - Revenue Budget 2011/12 and Capital Budget 2011/12- 2013/14 - personal - daughter employed by Authority and Governor of Olchfa School.

Councillor M H Jones - Personal - Minute Nos. 180, 181, 182 and 184 - Medium Term Financial Plan 2012/13-2014/15, Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15 - Revenue Budget 2011/12, and Housing Revenue Account - Revenue Budget 2011/12 and Capital Budget 2011/12-2013/14 - personal - daughter works for Authority - dispensation granted from Standards Committee - Governor of Olchfa and Hendrefoilan.

Councillor J B Kelleher - not Personal or Prejudicial - Minute Nos. 180, 181 and 182 - Medium Term Financial Plan 2012/13-2014/15, Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15, and Revenue Budget 2011/12 - shareholder representative of LAWDC.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Councillor J Newbury - Personal - Minute No. 181 - Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15 - personal and prejudicial and left during disclosure thereof - son-in-law works as an Architectural Assistant for Powell Dobson and was the Commissioning Engineer for the new Swansea Bus Station.

Councillor B G Owen - Personal - Budget Reports - 2 family members work for Council - Cave Street and Treasurers.

Councillor T H Rees - Personal - Budget Reports - Governor at YGG Llwynderw and Olchfa.

Councillor D A Robinson - Personal - Budget Reports - daughter is a foster carer - dispensation granted from Standards Committee.

Councillor D G Sullivan - Personal - Minute No. 182 - Revenue Budget 2011/12 - personal - my son and daughter-in-law are employees of the Authority.

Councillor C Thomas - Personal - Minute No. 181 - Capital Budget and Programme 2011/12-2014/15 - Governor Daniel James Community School.

Councillor D P Tucker - Personal - Minute Nos. 184 and 185 - Member of family works for Council.

180. MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN 2012/13-2014/15

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which detailed an overview of the revenue and capital budget, a service and financial overview, a spending and resources forecast, potential savings options, strategies and plans for achieving future savings and the risks and uncertainties arising in the medium term.

Questions were asked in relation to regional and joint working, details of actual expenditure on Cap Gemini, together with regional procurement.

RESOLVED that the Medium Term Financial Plan 2012/13-2014/15 be approved as a basis for future service and financial planning.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

181. CAPITAL BUDGET AND PROGRAMME 2011/12-2014/15

The Section 151 Officer submitted the proposed Capital Budget and Programme for 2011/12-2014/15.

It was noted the spending in the current year would be £54.866M, an increase of £17.418M over the original estimate of £37.448M. The summary of capital expenditure and financing 2010/11-2014/15 were detailed in Appendix A to the report. Details of the material changes to the original 2010/11 programme were outlined in Appendix B of the report.

A detailed breakdown of the Capital Budget Programme was provided in Appendix C to the report.

It was outlined that there were significant risks which may require a future revision of the four year Capital Budget. These included a further reduction in Assembly funding from 2012/13 onwards, additional capital costs arising from future waste disposal arrangements, urgent capital maintenance requirements, unforeseen costs and a failure to achieve the general capital receipts and education land sale targets.

Details of the grant and infrastructure costs were requested together with the percentage of land covered by car sharing.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21 “Voting” a recorded vote was requested.

The voting was recorded as follows:

For (36 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): V N Abbott M H Jones D Price V A Bates-Hughes M R Jones T H Rees P M Black S M Jones S J Rice A R A Clement A Jopling I M Richard A M Day J B Kelleher D A Robinson J Evans R D Lewis R Speht E W Fitzgerald K E Marsh D G Sullivan J B Hague P N May L G Thomas C A Holley P M Meara J M Thomas N A Holley W K Morgan N J Tregoning D T Howells J Newbury D P Tucker J W Jones C L Philpott J Woodman Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Against (24 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): N S Bradley B J Hynes B G Owen W J F Davies D I E Jones D Phillips C R Doyle W E A Jones G Phillips W Evans E T Kirchner J C Richards R Francis-Davies R J Lloyd P B Smith M E Gibbs P M Matthews R C Stewart M J Hedges J T Miles C Thomas D H Hopkins H M Morris D W W Thomas

Abstention (7 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): A C S Colburn G Seabourne R L Smith P R Hood-Williams M Smith C M R W D Thomas R H Kinzett

Withdrawn from meeting due to declarable interest (0 Councillors) Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): - - -

RESOLVED that the revised budget for 2010/11 and budget 2011/12- 2014/15 be approved.

182. REVENUE BUDGET 2011/12

The Section 151 Officer submitted the proposed Revenue Budget and Council Tax levy for 2011/12.

He advised of a forecast overspending of service budgets of £5,501,000 in 2010/11. This was mainly due to a £4,944,000 overspend in the Social Services Budget. The overspend would be financed on a one-off basis by the use of contingency fund and several offsetting savings. He outlined the need to provide additional funding for Child and Family Services on a time limited basis and reference was made to the Child and Family Improvement Plan and a linked Financial Recovery Plan.

The report detailed the financial monitoring in 2010/11, the Local Government Finance Settlement 2011/12, Budget Proposals 2011/12, risks and uncertainties, reserves and contingency requirements, the overall budget requirement and Council Tax 2011/12.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Assurance was given by the Cabinet Member for Finance that the consequences of the closure of the cash office in be managed. The Cabinet Member for Education stated that a letter would be circulated to all Members from the School Budget Forum. Members queried the timetable for the planned road maintenance. The Leader referred to the reduction of two Licensing Committees to one.

The undermentioned amendment was moved by Councillor R H Kinzett and seconded by Councillor P R Hood-Williams:

(1) Increase Highways Maintenance by £1.451m.

(2) Eliminate the proposed 3.4% Council Tax increase (cost £2.847m).

(3) Reduce the 2010/11 Council Tax by 0.5% (cost £0.419m).

The total cost of the above (£4.717 m) to be financed by:

(4) Reduce the LC subsidy by a further £400,000.

(5) Reduce the proposed Contingency Fund from £14.317m to £10m.

The amendment was lost. The substantive motion was then put.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 21 “Voting” a recorded vote was requested. The voting was recorded as follows:

For (36 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): V N Abbott M H Jones D Price V A Bates-Hughes M R Jones T H Rees P M Black S M Jones S J Rice A R A Clement A Jopling I M Richard A M Day J B Kelleher D A Robinson J Evans R D Lewis R Speht E W Fitzgerald K E Marsh D G Sullivan J B Hague P N May L G Thomas C A Holley P M Meara J M Thomas N A Holley W K Morgan N J Tregoning D T Howells J Newbury D P Tucker J W Jones C L Philpott J Woodman

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Against (24 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): N S Bradley B J Hynes B G Owen W J F Davies D I E Jones D Phillips C R Doyle W E A Jones J C Richards W Evans E T Kirchner M Smith R Francis-Davies R J Lloyd P Smith M E Gibbs P M Matthews R C Stewart M J Hedges J T Miles C Thomas D H Hopkins H M Morris D W W Thomas

Abstention (4 Councillors): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): A C S Colburn R L Smith C M R W D Thomas P Hood-Williams

Withdrawn from meeting due to declarable interest (0 Councillors) Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s): - - -

RESOLVED that the following budget proposals be approved:

(1) a Revenue Budget for 2011/12;

(2) a Budget Requirement and Council Tax levy for 2011/12.

183. TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, PRUDENTIAL INDICATORS, INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND MINIMUM REVENUE PROVISION POLICY STATEMENT 2011/12

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report which recommended the Treasury Management Strategy, Prudential Indicators, Investment Strategy and Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement for 2011/12.

He advised that the Strategy Statement had been prepared in accordance with the revised CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice adopted by the Council in 2010. The Council’s Treasury Management Strategy would be approved annually by Council and there would be a mid year report providing an interim update. In addition, monitoring reports would be provided to the Cabinet Member for Finance. The aim of these reporting arrangements was to ensure that those with ultimate responsibility for the scrutiny of the Treasury Management function appreciated fully the implications of Treasury

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Management policies and activities and that those implementing policies and executing transactions had properly fulfilled their responsibilities with regard to delegation and reporting.

RESOLVED that the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators (Sections 2-7 of the report), Investment Strategy (Section 8 of the report) and Minimum Revenue Statement (Section 9 of the report) be approved.

184. HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT - REVENUE BUDGET 2011/12 AND CAPITAL BUDGET 2011/12-2013/14

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report jointly with the Corporate Director (Regeneration and Housing) which proposed a Revenue Budget 2011/12, a Capital Budget 2011/12-2013/14 and a rent increase for properties within the Housing Revenue Account. It also detailed the projected Revenue Outturn 2010/11, fees, charges and allowances, projected HRA Capital Outturn 2010/11 and HRA Capital Programme 2011/12-2013/14.

RESOLVED that the following be approved:

(1) rents be increased in line with the Wales Assembly Government Guidelines as detailed in Section 2 of the report;

(2) the increase for fees, charges and allowances as outlined in section 3 of the report;

(3) the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme as detailed in sections 2 and 5 and the appendix of the report.

185. STATUTORY RESOLUTION - RESOLUTIONS TO BE MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REGULATIONS IN THE SETTING OF COUNCIL TAX 2011/12

RESOLVED that:

(1) the Council noted and adopted the statutory resolutions set out below;

(2) it be noted that at its meeting on 9th December 2010 the Council calculated the following amounts for the year 2011/12 in accordance with Regulations made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992: Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

(a) £87,363 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (Wales) Regulations 1995, as amended, as its Council Tax Base for the year.

(b) parts of the Council’s area:

Bishopston 1,916 2,496 Gorseinon 2,960 Gowerton 1,946 403 311 Killay 2,071 Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton 482 Llangyfelach 942 2,260 305 lwchwr 3,138 729 9,491 Penllergaer 1,148 Pennard 1,452 Penrice 421 Pontarddulais 2,162 966 398 287 188 Upper Killay 567

being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its Council Tax Base for dwellings in those parts of its area to which special items relate.

(3) the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2011/2012 in accordance with Section 32-36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

(a) £635,370,481 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimated for the items set out in Sections 32(2)(a) to (d) of the Act. Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

(b) £249,974,450 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimated for the items set out in Sections 32(3)(a), 32(3)(c) and 32(3a) of the Act.

(c) £385,396,031 being the amount by which the aggregate at (3)(a) above exceeded the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Act, as its budget requirement for the year.

(d) £298,006,327 being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimated will be payable for the year into its Council Fund in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates, and revenue support grant less discretionary Non Domestic Rate relief.

(e) £1,000.31 being the amount at (3)(c) above less the amount at (3)(d) above, all divided by the amount at (2)(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year.

(f) £820,834 being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.

(g) £990.91 being the amount at (3)(e) above less the result given by dividing the amount at (3)(f) above by the amount at (2)(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special items relate.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

(h) Parts of the Council’s area:

Bishopston 1,006.92 Clydach 1,014.95 Gorseinon 1,017.68 Gowerton 1,008.71 Grovesend & Waungron 1,003.32 Ilston 999.91 Killay 1,003.08 Llangennith, Llanmadoc 1,005.54 & Cheriton Llangyfelach 1,010.02 Llanrhidian Higher 1,033.15 Llanrhidian Lower 1,000.75 1,014.34 Mawr 1,035.85 Mumbles 1,003.96 Penllergaer 1,022.27 Pennard 1,016.74 Penrice 1,014.66 Pontarddulais 1,027.45 Pontlliw 1,025.36 Port Eynon 1,004.73 Reynoldston 1,018.78 Rhossili 1,003.55 Upper Killay 1,022.66

(i) part of the Council’s area:

Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band A B C D E F G H I £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

Bishopston 671.28 783.16 895.04 1,006.92 1,230.68 1,454.44 1,678.20 2,013.84 2,349.48 Clydach 676.64 789.41 902.18 1,014.95 1,240.49 1,466.03 1,691.59 2,029.90 2,368.21 Gorseinon 678.46 791.53 904.61 1,017.68 1,243.83 1,469.98 1,696.14 2,035.36 2,374.58 Gowerton 672.48 784.55 896.63 1,008.71 1,232.87 1,457.02 1,681.19 2,017.42 2,353.65 Grovesend & Waungron 668.88 780.36 891.84 1,003.32 1,226.28 1,449.24 1,672.20 2,006.64 2,341.08 Ilston 666.61 777.71 888.81 999.91 1,222.11 1,444.31 1,666.52 1,999.82 2,333.12 Killay 668.72 780.18 891.63 1,003.08 1,225.98 1,448.89 1,671.80 2,006.16 2,340.52 Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton 670.36 782.09 893.81 1,005.54 1,228.99 1,452.44 1,675.90 2,011.08 2,346.26 Llangyfelach 673.35 785.57 897.80 1,010.02 1,234.47 1,458.91 1,683.37 2,020.04 2,356.71 Llanrhidian Higher 688.77 803.56 918.36 1,033.15 1,262.74 1,492.32 1,721.92 2,066.30 2,410.68 Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Llanrhidian Lower 667.17 778.36 889.56 1,000.75 1,223.14 1,445.52 1,667.92 2,001.50 2,335.08 Llwchwr 676.23 788.93 901.64 1,014.34 1,239.75 1,465.15 1,690.57 2,028.68 2,366.79 Mawr 690.57 805.66 920.76 1,035.85 1,266.04 1,496.22 1,726.42 2,071.70 2,416.98 Mumbles 669.31 780.86 892.41 1,003.96 1,227.06 1,450.16 1,673.27 2,007.92 2,342.57 Penllergaer 681.52 795.10 908.69 1,022.27 1,249.44 1,476.61 1,703.79 2,044.54 2,385.29 Pennard 677.83 790.80 903.77 1,016.74 1,242.68 1,468.62 1,694.57 2,033.48 2,372.39 Penrice 676.44 789.18 901.92 1,014.66 1,240.14 1,465.62 1,691.10 2,029.32 2,367.54 Pontarddulais 684.97 799.13 913.29 1,027.45 1,255.77 1,484.09 1,712.42 2,054.90 2,397.38 Pontlliw 683.58 797.50 911.43 1,025.36 1,253.22 1,481.07 1,708.94 2,050.72 2,392.50 Port Eynon 669.82 781.46 893.09 1,004.73 1,228.00 1,451.27 1,674.55 2,009.46 2,344.37 Reynoldston 679.19 792.39 905.58 1,018.78 1,245.17 1,471.57 1,697.97 2,037.56 2,377.15 Rhossili 669.04 780.54 892.05 1,003.55 1,226.56 1,449.57 1,672.59 2,007.10 2,341.61 Upper Killay 681.78 795.40 909.03 1,022.66 1,249.92 1,477.17 1,704.44 2,045.32 2,386.20

All other parts of the Council area 660.61 770.71 880.81 990.91 1,211.11 1,431.31 1,651.52 1,981.82 2,312.12

being the amounts given my multiplying the amounts at (3)(g) and (3)(h) above by the number which, in the population set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in the particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of the categories of dwellings listed in a different valuation band.

(4) it be noted that for the year 2011/2012 the South Wales Police Authority had stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band A B C D E F G H I £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

South Wales Police Authority 107.57 125.49 143.42 161.35 197.21 233.06 268.92 322.70 376.48

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

(5) having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (3)(i) and (4) above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2011/2012 for each of the categories of dwelling shown below:

Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band Band A B C D E F G H I £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £

Bishopston 778.85 908.65 1038.46 1168.27 1427.89 1687.50 1947.12 2336.54 2725.96 Clydach 784.21 914.90 1045.60 1176.30 1437.70 1699.09 1960.51 2352.60 2744.69 Gorseinon 786.03 917.02 1048.03 1179.03 1441.04 1703.04 1965.06 2358.06 2751.06 Gowerton 780.05 910.04 1040.05 1170.06 1430.08 1690.08 1950.11 2340.12 2730.13 Grovesend & Waungron 776.45 905.851035.26 1164.67 1423.49 1682.30 1941.12 2329.342717.56 Ilston 774.18 903.20 1032.23 1161.26 1419.32 1677.37 1935.44 2322.52 2709.60 Killay 776.29 905.67 1035.05 1164.43 1423.19 1681.95 1940.72 2328.86 2717.00 Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton 777.93 907.58 1037.23 1166.89 1426.20 1685.50 1944.82 2333.78 2722.74 Llangyfelach 780.92 911.06 1041.22 1171.37 1431.68 1691.97 1952.29 2342.74 2733.19 Llanrhidian Higher 796.34 929.05 1061.78 1194.50 1459.95 1725.38 1990.84 2389.00 2787.16 Llanrhidian Lower 774.74 903.85 1032.98 1162.10 1420.35 1678.58 1936.84 2324.20 2711.56 Llwchwr 783.80 914.42 1045.06 1175.69 1436.96 1698.21 1959.49 2351.38 2743.27 Mawr 798.14 931.15 1064.18 1197.20 1463.25 1729.28 1995.34 2394.40 2793.46 Mumbles 776.88 906.35 1035.83 1165.31 1424.27 1683.22 1942.19 2330.62 2719.05 Penllergaer 789.09 920.59 1052.11 1183.62 1446.65 1709.67 1972.71 2367.24 2761.77 Pennard 785.40 916.29 1047.19 1178.09 1439.89 1701.68 1963.49 2356.18 2748.87 Penrice 784.01 914.67 1045.34 1176.01 1437.35 1698.68 1960.02 2352.02 2744.02 Pontarddulais 792.54 924.62 1056.71 1188.80 1452.98 1717.15 1981.34 2377.60 2773.86 Pontlliw 791.15 922.99 1054.85 1186.71 1450.43 1714.13 1977.86 2373.42 2768.98 Port Eynon 777.39 906.95 1036.51 1166.08 1425.21 1684.33 1943.47 2332.16 2720.85 Reynoldston 786.76 917.88 1049.00 1180.13 1442.38 1704.63 1966.89 2360.26 2753.63 Rhossili 776.61 906.03 1035.47 1164.90 1423.77 1682.63 1941.51 2329.80 2718.09 Upper Killay 789.35 920.89 1052.45 1184.01 1447.13 1710.23 1973.36 2368.02 2762.68

All other parts of 768.18 896.20 1024.23 1152.26 1408.32 1664.37 1920.44 2304.52 2688.60 the Council area

186. REVIEW OF AREA PLANNING AND APPEALS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE ARRANGEMENTS AND AMENDMENTS TO MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES

The Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group and Acting Monitoring Officer submitted a joint report to confirm the new arrangements for Area 1 and Area 2 Development Control Committees and the Appeals and Awards Committee. Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

It was outlined that Council on the 3rd February 2011 resolved to amend the arrangements for the operation of both the Area Planning and Appeals and Awards Committees as from the 28th February 2011. This meant deleting the current four Area Planning Committees and replacing them with two Area Development Control Committees and also deleting the Appeals and Awards 1 and 2 Committees and replacing them with one Appeals and Awards Committee.

The revised Terms of Reference for the new bodies were provided at Appendix A and B of the report. In addition, the proposed list of dates for the remainder of the Municipal Year were provided.

Membership details for the three new committees were provided for approval as follows:

APPEALS AND AWARDS (7)

Councillors Swansea Administration Councillors: 4

Viv N Abbott David Thomas Howells E Wendy Fitzgerald Jeff W Jones

Labour Councillors: 3

June E Burtonshaw William Evans W John F Davies

AREA 1 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL (35)

Councillors Swansea Administration Councillors: 18

Viv N Abbott Peter N May Peter M Black Stuart J Rice Audrey R A Clement Ioan M Richard June Evans D Alan Robinson John B Hague Rob Speht Chris A Holley D Gareth Sullivan David Thomas Howells Janet M Thomas Mary H Jones L Graham Thomas Mervyn Rees Jones Jayne Woodman

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Labour Councillors: 13

David H Hopkins John T Miles Barbara J Hynes Hazel M Morris W (Billy) E A Jones David Phillips Robert Francis-Davies Byron G Owen Dennis H James Paulette B Smith Erika T Kirchner Rob C Stewart Alan Lloyd

Conservative Councillors: 2

Paxton R Hood-Williams Rene H Kinzett

Communities of Swansea Councillors: 2

Mair E Gibbs Roger L Smith

AREA 2 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE (37)

Councillors Swansea Administration Councillors: 19

Veronyca Anne Bates-Hughes Paul M Meara Audrey R A Clement W Keith Morgan A Mike Day John Newbury E Wendy Fitzgerald Cheryl L Philpott Susan M Jones Darren Price Mary H Jones T Huw Rees Alan Jopling R June Stanton James Bernard Kelleher Nick J Tregoning Richard D Lewis D Paul Tucker Keith E Marsh

Labour Councillors: 14

Nicholas Stuart Bradley Erika T Kirchner June E Burtonshaw Penny Matthews Mark C Child John T Miles William Evans Byron G Owen Robert Francis-Davies J Christine Richards David I E Jones Paulette B Smith W (Billy) E A Jones Des W W Thomas

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

Conservative Councillors: 3

Anthony C S Colburn C Miles R W D Thomas Margaret Smith

Communities of Swansea Councillors: 1

Glyn Seabourne

As a result of the amended proportionality figures, the following amendments to Council listed below were required:

Swansea Administration Group

West Glamorgan Archives Committee - add Councillor K E Marsh. Admissions Panel - add Councillor V N Abbott.

Labour Group

No changes.

Conservative Group

Rights of Way Sub-Committee - remove Councillor CMRWD Thomas. West Glamorgan Archives Committee - remove Councillor M Smith.

Communities of Swansea Group

Admissions Panel - remove Councillor R L Smith. West Glamorgan Archives Committee - add Councillor R L Smith. Rights of Way Sub-Committee - add Councillor M Gibbs.

RESOLVED that:

(1) the dates for the meetings of the Area 1 and 2 Development Control Committees and Site Visits as outlined in paragraph 1.3 to the report be approved;

(2) the dates for the meetings of the Appeals and Awards Committee as outlined in paragraph 1.5 to the report be approved;

(3) the revised Terms of Reference for the Area 1 and 2 Development Control Committees and Appeals and Awards Committee as outlined in the appendices to the report be approved; Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (28.02.2011) Cont’d

(4) the amendments to the membership of the bodies listed in paragraph 2.1 to the report and the membership lists for the Area 1 and 2 Development Control Committees and Appeals and Awards as outlined in Appendix C to the report be approved.

187. CHAIR OF COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENT

The Chairman announced that there would be an Extraordinary Council Meeting next Monday 7th March 2011 at 4.00 p.m.

188. COMMON SEAL

RESOLVED that the Common Seal be affixed to any documents necessary to carry into effect any resolutions passed or confirmed at this meeting.

The meeting ended at 9.52 p.m.

CHAIR OF COUNCIL

S: Extraordinary Council - 28 February 2011 (JEP/JT/EJF) 25th February 2011 Item No. 3 c)

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

HELD AT THE CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA ON MONDAY, 7 MARCH 2011 AT 4.00 P.M.

PRESENT: Councillor T H Rees (Chair of Council) presided

Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s):

V A Bates-Hughes D I E Jones C L Philpott N S Bradley M H Jones D Price J E Burtonshaw M R Jones I M Richard A R A Clement S M Jones J C Richards A C S Colburn W E A Jones D A Robinson W J F Davies R H Kinzett M Smith J Evans E T Kirchner R Speht W Evans K E Marsh R C Stewart E W Fitzgerald P M Matthews D G Sullivan R Francis-Davies P N May C Thomas J B Hague P M Meara C M R W D Thomas M J Hedges J T Miles D W W Thomas C A Holley W K Morgan J M Thomas N A Holley H M Morris N J Tregoning P R Hood-Williams B G Owen D P Tucker B J Hynes D Phillips J Woodman

189. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors V N Abbott, P M Black, A M Day, C R Doyle, M E Gibbs, D T Howells, D H James, J W Jones, A Jopling, R D Lewis, A Lloyd, R J Lloyd, J Newbury, G Phillips, S J Rice, G Seabourne, P B Smith, R L Smith and R J Stanton.

190. DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

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

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (07.03.2011) Cont’d

191. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

Council was requested to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of a category of exempt information as set out in Paragraph 12, 14 and 15 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

The Proper Officer (the Monitoring Officer) had determined that in respect of Minute 192 “Corporate Management Team Restructure” that the following Paragraphs apply:

Paragraph 12 - (Information relating to a particular individual) – Public Interest Test Applies;

Public Interest Test for Paragraph 12

His view was that to make this information public would disclose personal data relating to an individual in contravention of the principles of the Data Protection Act.

On that basis, he felt that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Paragraph 14 - (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information) - Public Interest Test Applies;

Public Interest Test for Paragraph 14

His view is that whilst he was mindful of the need to ensure the transparency and accountability of a public authority for decisions taken by them in relation to the spending of public money, the right of a third party to the privacy of their financial/business affairs outweighed the need for that information to be made public. This information is not affected by any other statutory provision which requires the information to be publicly registered.

On that basis, he felt that the Public Interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Paragraph 15 – (Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the Authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the Authority) - Public Interest Test Applies.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (07.03.2011) Cont’d

Public Interest Test for Paragraph 15

His view is that whilst he was mindful of the need to ensure the transparency and accountability of a public authority for decisions taken by them he was satisfied that in this case disclosure of the information would prejudice the discussion in relation to labour relations to the disadvantage of the authority.

On that basis, he felt that the Public Interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Councillors were asked to consider these factors when determining the public interest test, which they must decide when considering excluding the public from this part of the meeting.

RESOLVED that the public be excluded.

192. CORPORATE MANAGEMENT TEAM RESTRUCTURE

The Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association (Steve Thomas, CBE) presented a report which identified and recommended the first step in changes to the Corporate Management Team structure of the Authority.

RESOLVED that:

1) The current Chief Executive, Paul Smith, be allowed to take early retirement on the grounds of efficiency with immediate effect on the basis of no actuarial reduction;

2) The Council appoint a Chief Executive from one of the Corporate Directors on a fixed term contract to end on the 30 September 2012 or on the appointment or commencement of a permanent Chief Executive, whichever is the later;

3) The post should be subject to an internal advertisement and an appointment process. The Appointments Committee and the Extraordinary Meeting of Council shall take place on 17 March 2011;

4) A review of the Corporate Management Team takes place by 30 September 2012 with a view that the permanent staffing of the Corporate Management Team (CMT) be reduced from six to five;

5) The post of the successful candidate should remain on the establishment, unoccupied, until the review of Corporate Management Team is implemented;

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (07.03.2011) Cont’d

6) Any realignment of duties arising from the appointment shall be incorporated in the current overall WLGA Review and funded from within existing budgets.

193. COMMON SEAL

RESOLVED that the Common Seal be affixed to any documents necessary to carry into effect any resolutions passed or confirmed at this meeting.

The meeting ended at 5.27 p.m.

CHAIR OF COUNCIL Item No. 3 d)

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA

HELD AT THE CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA ON MONDAY, 17 MARCH 2011 AT 4.00 P.M.

PRESENT: Councillor T H Rees (Chair of Council) presided

Councillor(s): Councillor(s): Councillor(s):

V N Abbott D I E Jones D Price V A Bates-Hughes M H Jones S J Rice P M Black S M Jones I M Richard N S Bradley W E A Jones J C Richards A R A Clement J B Kelleher G Seabourne A C S Colburn R J Lloyd M Smith W J F Davies K E Marsh P B Smith A M Day P M Matthews R L Smith C R Doyle P N May R Speht J Evans P M Meara R C Stewart W Evans J T Miles D G Sullivan E W Fitzgerald W K Morgan C Thomas J B Hague H M Morris D W W Thomas M J Hedges J Newbury J M Thomas C A Holley B G Owen L G Thomas N A Holley D Phillips D P Tucker P R Hood-Williams C L Philpott J Woodman D T Howells

194. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J E Burtonshaw, M E Gibbs, D H Hopkins, B J Hynes, D H James, J W Jones, M R Jones, R H Kinzett, E T Kirchner, A Lloyd, G Phillips, D A Robinson, R J Stanton, C M R W D Thomas and N J Tregoning.

195. DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

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

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (17.03.2011) Cont’d

196. EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

Council was requested to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of a category of exempt information as set out in Paragraph 12 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007.

The Proper Officer (the Monitoring Officer) had determined that in respect of Minute 197 “Appointment of the Chief Executive” that the following Paragraphs apply:

Paragraph 12 - (Information relating to a particular individual) – Public Interest Test Applies;

Public Interest Test for Paragraph 12

His view was that to make this information public would disclose personal data relating to an individual in contravention of the principles of the Data Protection Act.

On that basis, he felt that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Councillors were asked to consider these factors when determining the public interest test, which they must decide when considering excluding the public from this part of the meeting.

RESOLVED that the public be excluded.

197. APPOINTMENT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The Chair of the Appointments Committee reported that the Appointments Committee had met earlier that day and following a presentation and an interview had unanimously agreed to recommend to Council that Jack Straw was a suitable candidate to appoint as Chief Executive of the City and County of Swansea Council.

RESOLVED that:

1) Jack Straw be appointed as Chief Executive of the City and County of Swansea Council.

2) Jack Straw commences in the role on 1 April 2011 on a fixed term contract to end on 30th September 2012 or on the appointment or commencement of a permanent Chief Executive, whichever is the later.

Minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of the City and County of Swansea (17.03.2011) Cont’d

198. COMMON SEAL

RESOLVED that the Common Seal be affixed to any documents necessary to carry into effect any resolutions passed or confirmed at this meeting.

The meeting ended at 4.07 p.m.

CHAIR OF COUNCIL Item No. 9 (1)

Report of the Leader

Council – 31st March 2011

AGREEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA AND MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF VIHIGA, KENYA

Summary

Purpose: To enter into an agreement of friendship between the City & County of Swansea and Municipal Council of Vihiga, Kenya following a visit by Women4Resources.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To formalise the friendship between the City & County of Swansea and Municipal Council of Vihiga, Kenya.

Consultation: Legal and Finance

1. Introduction

1.1 Councillors will recall Councillor Erika Kirchner, visited Vihiga, Kenya as part of the Women4Resources delegation. Council were fully supportive of the visit and their role in gender equality by supporting grass root projects in Western Africa.

1.2 Women4Resources supports initiatives designed, run and managed by women who are working on UN, Millennium Development Goal 3, gender equality and women's empowerment.

1.3 This partnership between women in Wales and Kenya benefits people from both countries and is part of the Welsh Assembly Government Gold Star Partnership initiative.

2. Areas of Common Interest

2.1 Following the success of the visit, a request has been received to enter into an agreement of friendship.

2.2 Whilst both the City & County of Swansea and the Municipal Council of Vihiga, Kenya have their own core values, both have the following areas of common interest to sign a memorandum of understanding for friendship:

 Promoting, where appropriate, information exchange and sharing of best practices  Promotion of ecotourism  Encouraging cultural sporting exchange programmes  Encouraging schools exchange programmes between schools in Swansea and Vihiga  Raising awareness of, and promoting where possible, viable enterprises to empower women economically  Raising awareness of, and campaigning against, repugnant cultural practices and violence against women  Awareness and behaviour change campaigns against HIV/AIDS.  Promotion of ecological conservation programmes.

2.3 The proposed agreement of friendship is shown at Appendix A.

3 Financial Implications

The proposed Agreement of Friendship will not in itself lead to additional costs. Any potential future financial implications will be subject to specific agreement and will need to be contained within existing budgets.

4. Legal Implications

Council is able to enter into friendship agreements/memoranda of understanding pursuant to Article 11.2 of the Council’s Constitution which states:

The Cabinet, in order to promote the economic, social or environmental well being of its area, may:

a) enter into arrangements or agreements with any person or body; b) co-operate with, or facilitate or co-ordinate the activities of, any person or body; and c) exercise on behalf of that person or body any functions of that person or body.

5. Recommendations:

5.1 Council enters an agreement of friendship with the Municipal Council of Vihiga, Kenya.

5.2 Council authorise the Chief Executive to agree the final version of the Agreement of Friendship following consultation with his counterparts in Vihiga, Kenya.

Background papers: None Contact: Jo-anne Cutler  01792 637553 Legal Officer: Rod Jones

APPENDIX A

AGREEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP

Between the

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA (Wales, United Kingdom)

and the

MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF VIHIGA (Maragoli, Kenya)

AGREEMENT OF FRIENDSHIP

Background

The City and County of Swansea and the Municipal Council of Vihiga have initially agreed to enter into an Agreement of Friendship (hereinafter referred to as 'Agreement') that will create friendship between both parties.

The City & County of Swansea, which is located in Wales, UK, whose mandate includes amongst others education, social care, housing, environmental health, highways, transport, waste management, regeneration, culture, tourism and leisure;

AND

The Municipal Council of Vihiga which is located in the County of Vihiga, Kenya whose mandate includes amongst others provision of social amenities, health services, provision of trading centers, game reserves, environmental preservation and management, support for schools, rehabilitation of destitute and management of orphanages, street lighting and fire brigades, solid waste management and ecotourism.

The core values of City & County of Swansea are:

1. Working with others in partnership to deliver services. 2. Valuing customers. 3. Driving services forward through innovation in approach to service delivery. 4. Recognizing diversity, respecting difference and valuing culture. 5. Positively engaging and involving communities in decision making. 6. Understanding that people have different needs and providing services accordingly.

The core values of the Municipal Council of Vihiga are to:

1. Provide adequate infrastructure. 2. Ensure a clean and healthy environment. 3. Provide quality social services. 4. Gender mainstreaming with a bias towards empowerment of women. 5. Protect child rights and welfare. 6. Zero tolerance to corrupt practices. 7. Participative decision making process that is grass-root based.

Whereas both parties have several areas of common interest, they have agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding for friendship in the following areas:

1. Promoting, where appropriate, information exchange and sharing of best practices. 2. Promotion of ecotourism. 3. Encouraging cultural sporting exchange programmes. 4. Encouraging schools exchange programmes between schools in Swansea and Vihiga. 5. Raising awareness of, and promoting where possible, viable enterprises to empower women economically. 6. Raising awareness of, and campaigning against, repugnant cultural practices and violence against women. 7. Awareness and behaviour change campaigns against HIV/AIDS. 8. Promotion of ecological conservation programmes.

This agreement is not intended to create legally binding obligations between the parties.

This agreement may be terminated by either party without notice.

Signed for and on behalf of the City & County of Swansea on

Cllr Christopher Holley Leader of the Council

Paul Smith Chief Executive

Signed for and on behalf of the Municipal Council of Vihiga on

Cllr Eliot Kihusa His Worship the Mayor

Julius Otiende Town Clerk

Item No. 10 (1)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Democracy

Council – 31st March 2011

MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES

Summary

Purpose: That Council approves the nominations / amendments to the Bodies listed below.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To agree nominations for Committee Membership.

Consultation: Political Groups.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Annual Meeting of Council on 17th May 2010, agreed membership of the various Committees / Boards as reflected in the lists submitted by the Political Groups.

2. Changes to Council Body Membership

2.1 The Political Groups have since submitted changes which are outlined below: a) Swansea Administration Group i) Area 2 Development Control Committee – Remove Councillor A Jopling and appoint Councillor J W Jones.

3. Recommendation. It is recommended that:

3.1 Council approves the amendments to the membership of the Council Bodies as listed in paragraph 2 above.

Background papers: Local Government & Housing Act 1989, the Local Government (Committees & Political Groups) Regulations 1990.

Contact Officer: Gareth Borsden  01792 636824 – 22nd March 2011 Item No. 11 (1)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Community Regeneration

Council – 31st March 2011

APPROVAL OF THE SAFER SWANSEA STRATEGY 2011-14

Summary

Purpose: To seek Corporate approval of the finalised Safer Swansea Strategy 2011-14.

Policy Framework: Safer Swansea Strategy

Reason for Decision: For approval of the finalised strategy that Safer Swansea Partnership will work to over the next three years (2011-2014) in compliance with statutory duty under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Consultation: Legal and Finance.

1. Introduction

1.1 The new Safer Swansea Partnership Strategy (2011-2014) has been finalised and requires formal adoption by Council.

1.2 The three-year strategy intends to continue and improve on the work of the previous strategy priorities: Alcohol and Drugs; Anti- social Behaviour; Children and Young People; Community Cohesion; Protecting the Public and Working Together.

1.3 There has been one priority change from Volume Crime to Violent Crime, in particular City Centre Violent Crime. This was identified through analysis of crime trends and supported by stakeholders and the public through consultation. Volume Crime is core business whereas violence requires stronger Partnership working.

1.4 The finalised strategy document is attached in Appendix 1.

1.5 The Council will need to have adopted a new Safer Swansea Strategy by the 1st April, 2011.

2. Consultation

2.1 Consultation on the Strategy has been carried out with statutory partners, key stakeholders, practitioners and the public. This has taken the form of presentations, workshops, and coverage of the strategy by the local newspaper, which then invited public comments. These comments and contributions have been incorporated into the revised strategy document. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires that once adopted, this strategy be published and publicly available.

3. Financial Implications

3.1 Whilst there are no immediate financial implications arising from this report, acceptance of this strategy could result in additional expenditure at a future time. Acceptance of the strategy does not mean that additional resources will be made available and it should be assumed that future spending needs will need to be contained within existing budget provision.

3.2 The proposals in the new Strategy will reflect the level of funding to be made available to the Safer Swansea Partnership.

4. Legal Implications

4.1 There are no specific legal implications at this stage.

5. Recommendations

5.1 It is recommended that Council adopts the Safer Swansea Strategy 2011-14.

Background Papers: Safer Swansea Strategy 2008-11.

Contact Officer: Martin Saville  01792 635602

Legal Officer: Nigel Havard  01792 636699

Appendix 1

Safer Swansea Strategy 2011-2014

Foreword From Safer Swansea’s Joint Chairs – Director of Environment Reena Owen and Chief Supt. Mark Mathias.

Swansea is celebrating a 37% reduction in recorded crime over the last seven years. We are pleased to announce this positive news on behalf of the Safer Swansea Partnership.

The Partnership is well-established in Swansea. We have learned and achieved a lot over the years and this process continues.

Successes have been achieved through commitment to Partnership working. From experience we know that no single person or organisation can solve a community safety issue. By channelling our diverse expertise, knowledge and shared determination, we are building safer communities – a strong foundation for future regeneration and economic investment. This continued work is contributing to Swansea’s 2020 vision of becoming a distinctive European city that compares with the best, as outlined in Swansea’s Community Plan, ‘Ambition is Critical’.

Through consultation it has become clear that Safer Swansea is no longer concerned with purely crime and disorder. We have to take a more holistic approach to tackle wider issues by focussing more of our efforts on prevention. Safer Swansea will take a leading role in addressing some issues and a more supportive role in others.

We will continue to work to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by focussing resources on our identified priority areas, including vulnerable groups in society. To help people feel safer we will continue to develop our reassurance communication methods and deliver the positive news of our achievements regularly to members of the public.

As well as fresh challenges locally, the Partnership has considered and adopted changes in the national framework.

This document celebrates Safer Swansea’s successes and clearly outlines how we intend to improve the way we work together to find long-term solutions to community safety issues, which will result in thriving communities for all that look, feel and most importantly are safer.

Contents Page No.

Safer Swansea Partnership Vision 4

Executive Summary 5-7

Chapter 1 8-14 Community Safety – a new definition 8 The Safer Swansea Partnership 8-9 The story so far 10-13 The role of this strategy 14

Chapter 2 15-30 Overall Priorities 15 Safer Swansea priorities 16-17 Working Together 18-19 Children and Young People 20-21 Alcohol and Drugs 22-23 Anti-Social Behaviour 24-26 Protecting the Public 27-28 Community Cohesion 29 City Centre Violent Crime 30

Chapter 3 Funding and decision-making 31 Implementation, monitoring and control 31

Appendices Appendix 1 – Jargon Buster 32 Appendix 2 – Influencing strategies to follow

Useful contacts 33

Our Vision Over the next three years the Safer Swansea Partnership will continue to make Wales’s second largest city a safer place to live, work and visit, where there is reduced crime and anti-social behaviour and where we embrace diversity and develop thriving communities through increased and strengthened community engagement. We share a vision for a city that is safer and where people feel safer.

Executive summary

A successful Partnership The Safer Swansea Partnership is a group of organisations and individuals all committed to working together to build a safer city. Key statutory partners are the council, police, fire and rescue, health and probation services. They are strongly supported by other interested organisations from the business and voluntary communities.

Partnership services and projects address many issues and include graffiti removal, 24/7 CCTV coverage, an Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) referral system, changing our streets to design out crime, tackling substance misuse, working with young people through their school, arson reduction, protecting the vulnerable and so much more.

The Safer Swansea Partnership has been united in its fight against crime and disorder for many years and with great success. Wales’s second largest city is celebrating a reduction in overall crime of 37% (comparing 2009-10 to 2002- 03). It has seen significant reductions in most crime categories, including violence, vehicle crime and youth crime.

A new definition and fresh challenges Safer Swansea has embraced a new definition for community safety, which is no longer restricted to reducing crime and disorder. It is ultimately about quality of life, which requires partners to address a much broader range of issues. Work to prevent community safety issues from occurring is paramount.

In developing this strategy, Safer Swansea has taken into account targets and priorities set nationally by Central Government, the Home Office and the Welsh Assembly Government. Furthermore, this strategy is designed to achieve success in making communities safer - a priority for the city as outlined in Swansea’s Community Plan, Ambition is Critical.

Decisions and Progress The Partnership faces considerable financial challenges over the next three years and must take a smarter approach to decision-making. Resources will be allocated to projects and services that will effectively and efficiently tackle the priority areas outlined in this strategy. Working groups will ensure annual action plans for each priority area are taken forward. Progress will be regularly monitored by the Delivery Group and reported back to the Steering Group, which oversees implementation of the strategy. Progress will be reported back to the public.

Our priorities A distinct advantage from national policy (Cutting Crime 2008-2011) has been the opportunity to develop local priorities according to local need. A new Home Office strategy is to be launched soon but had not been at the time of the development of this document.This, combined with local consultation, has led to the identification of three over-arching themes and seven priority areas. They build on existing work and set challenges for the Partnership in new arenas.

Over-arching themes of the strategy are: to provide reassurance to the public to help reduce the fear of crime and improve public confidence in our services; to engage with our communities more and to carefully monitor our most Priority and Prolific Offenders (PPO) in an attempt to reduce crime further.

Safer Swansea has identified seven strategic priorities for 2011-2014.

Working Together The way key partners work together and communicate needs to be improved. Significant changes have been made to the structure of the Partnership to encourage improvements in the way we work together: membership of the Steering Group has been revised; a Delivery Group has been set up to provide a link between the strategic and operational work of the Partnership and new Action Groups have been established to reflect the key priorities of Safer Swansea. Furthermore, a new Safer Swansea Partnership joint-office has been opened to help improve the way colleagues work together by placing key staff under one roof. To progress this work further, information-sharing processes will be established. This will lead to more efficient allocation of resources, sharing of expert knowledge and improved community safety.

Children and Young People Safer Swansea will support the Children and Young People’s Partnership and take a leading role where appropriate, to ensure our under-25 population is protected from crime, prevented from committing crime and feels safe. Community safety funding allows the Partnership to support 18-year-olds and under, however Safer Swansea will also work with partners in supporting over-18s.

Alcohol and Drugs There is a reported rise in substance misuse nationally and locally and a concerning number of drug-related deaths in Swansea. The Safer Swansea sub-group responsible for dealing with this priority area, the Substance Misuse Action Team (SMAT), will develop a strategy aimed at reducing the harm caused by alcohol and drugs and the effect this can have on crime.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) This is any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons, not of the same household. Safer Swansea uses a four-step process to reduce ASB, with impressive results. This system is coordinated by the ASB Reduction Team, which will continue to work closely with partners. There will be more emphasis on the ASB of adults and of the environment including fly tipping, littering and dog fouling.

Protecting the Public Safer Swansea will protect the public - particularly vulnerable groups such as children, elderly and disabled – from serious crimes and hazards and carefully manage serious offenders to protect society. The work of a number of multi- agency groups will continue and there will need to be improved information sharing to support these developments.

Community Cohesion – every citizen in Swansea deserves a good quality of life. Safer Swansea will encourage community cohesion by engaging with all communities and supporting those who become victims of crime due to their race, gender, age, ability, sexual preference, faith or culture.

City Centre Violent Crime This new priority has been picked from the previously named Volume Crime area. Consultation revealed that volume crime – theft, burglary, vehicle crime – is perceived as core Partnership business and no longer a priority work area for Safer Swansea. It was felt there needed to be more focus on preventing and reducing violence in the city centre, which means working closely with night- time economy premises and engaging effectively with night-time visitors to the city centre.

Chapter 1

Community safety – a new definition Community safety is no longer restricted to crime and disorder. It is ultimately a quality of life issue which requires input and commitment from a wide range of partners.

Safer Swansea has a duty to ensure people are sufficiently protected from a range of real and perceived dangers. This includes crime, anti-social behaviour, avoidable accidents on the road, fire accidents at home and providing support and protection for people who are affected by such issues.

The work of Safer Swansea over the next three years will focus more on preventing people from committing crime and preventing people from becoming victims of crime or fire and road accidents.

Refer to Appendix 1 (page 32) for our Jargon Buster

The Safer Swansea Partnership The Safer Swansea Partnership is a group of organisations and individuals all committed to working together to create a safer city.

The Partnership was formed as a result of The Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which placed a statutory duty on the council and police to work as equal partners to tackle and prevent crime and disorder.

The remit and membership of the Partnership has evolved considerably since then. There are more statutory partners – council, police, fire and rescue service, and the Local Health Board. All play a valuable role in providing innovative and holistic resolutions to community safety issues. As well as statutory members, Safer Swansea has a large number of organisations and groups from the business and voluntary sectors who are heavily involved in improving our city and county. Their contribution and added expertise is highly valued and Safer Swansea encourages any group or individual with a real interest in improving community safety to take part.

Partnership work is controlled by the Safer Swansea Steering Group, which consists of decision-makers from each of the statutory organisations, plus appropriate invited representatives who can help achieve strategic objectives. Membership of this group has been revised to ensure better representation from key sectors and groups within Swansea.

An intermediary group has been introduced to provide a link between the strategic and operational work of Safer Swansea. The Delivery Group meets once a month to carry out this responsibility. Group membership consists of all Action Group chairs and key Partnership staff whose work requires a birds eye view of all Partnership work for analytical, communication and financial purposes.

There are Action Groups and Lead Officers for each strategic priority. They provide forums for the most appropriate Partnership staff to develop and implement operational plans on how best to achieve improvements in their area of expertise.

Safer Swansea Partnership structure

The story so far

Overall crime Recorded crime has fallen by 37% in Swansea over seven years. Significant reductions have been achieved in most crime categories. 2009-10 saw a 15% reduction in recorded crime when compared to 2008- 2009 crime figures. That equates to 3,251 less crimes.

Vehicle crime  Vehicle crime has been dramatically reduced  Theft of Motor vehicles is down 27% (2008-09 compared to 2009-10)  Theft from Motor Vehicles is down 35% (2008-09 compared to 2009- 10)

Work continues in collection of abandoned vehicles, arson reduction and providing safe car parks for vehicle owners. Swansea currently has 12 Park Mark (Secure by Design) car parks.

Burglary Burglary has been reduced but remains a concern.

 Burglary dwelling is down 27% (2008-09 compared to 2009-10)  Many of these crimes are committed to fund drug addiction.  A third of homes being burgled are insecure at the time of the offence.

Violence Alcohol-related violent crime is still a focus for the Partnership, particularly in the city centre.  Violence has been reduced by 12% in 2009-10 when compared to the previous year.  City Centre violence against the person has been reduced by 29% (2008- 09 compared to 2009-10).

Domestic abuse Despite an increase in the number of reports received, there is still concern that Domestic Abuse is under-reported.  In 2008-9 there were 4,000 reports of domestic abuse to the police Domestic Abuse Unit.  In 2008-09 the Black Association of Women Step Out (BAWSO) helped 88 women.  In 2008-09 Women’s Aid received 903 calls from women wanting support or advice. 38 women used the refuge, 18 a safe house and 178 women received outreach help.

The Domestic Abuse Forum is responsible for producing and implementing Safer Swansea’s Domestic Avuse Strategy 2009-2013.

Some successes to date include:  Fortnightly Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) to assess the needs of women suffering domestic abuse considered high risk.  Twice weekly Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs)

 A Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)  A growing network of safe houses and refuge spaces in Swansea. In particular Black Association of Women Step Out’s (BAWSO) refuge established for Black and Minority Ethnic women and their children.  Specialist BME refuge and outreach provision provided by BAWSO

Hate crime Hate incidents are any incident which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate. This can be due to race, sexuality, faith, or ability.

There is real concern that there is still under-reporting of such incidents.  In 2008-09 there were 514 reported Hate incidents. This increased to 571 incidents in 2009-10. The increase is positive as it indicates increased confidence in people to report incidents and police are recognising Hate-related incidents more efficiently.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) Around a third of all calls to police (up to 80 a day) are complaints of ASB, with peaks in October and early November due to Halloween and Guy Fawkes Day.

Safer Swansea has an ASB Reduction Team. This is led by the Partnership Coordinator, who is supported by a Project Worker and Case Management Officer from the Youth Offending Team (YOT) and a Police Officer.

They strive to moderate behaviour and operate a successful four-step referral system (more detail on page 25) which solves most ASB cases in the earliest stages possible.

This table highlights the number of referrals and how these are successfully solved in the earliest stages for the majority of cases.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 No. of referrals 667 1347 2121 1,433 1,346 941 1,001 2377

No. of first warning letters 584 1180 1281 1,387 731 626 565 553 No. of second warning letters 59 215 282 158 120 112 95 117

No. of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) 10 10 1 0 1 1 3 6 No. of Anti Social Behaviour orders (ASBOS) 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 YPs, 1 adult No. of CRASBOs 1 4 1* 7 (2 4 0 2 young people) Group letters n/a n/a n/a n/a 173 204 335 193

Victims and witness of ASB are now also being offered formal support from Safer Swansea. Since its inception in April 2010 to December 2010, 24 people have received support which has taken many forms from emotional to practical assistance.

Youth crime Swansea’s Youth Offending Service (YOS) was established in 1998 to tackle the rise in youth crime, in line with the rest of England and Wales. Swansea’s YOS is achieving massive reductions in youth-related crime. Evidence shows the key to success is early intervention with identified young people.  Youth crime has been reduced by 43% (300 offenders in 2009-10 compared to 532 in 2008-09)  In three years the number of persistent young offenders (aged 10-18) has fallen from 60 to 23.  First time entrants to the Criminal Justice System have been reduced from 222 to 157 during the same period.

Arson Arson was once a major problem in Swansea. A Welsh Assembly funded multi-agency Arson Reduction Team was established in December 2004 to tackle the issue. A number of innovative projects have been developed to tackle particular pockets of arson including Safety Squads at schools and securing unoccupied buildings.  Swansea has achieved a 58% reduction in vehicle arson.  Fires at derelict buildings have been reduced by 49%  There has been an 18.5% reduction in small fires, which includes grass and bin fires.

Alcohol and Drugs  There were 156 drug trafficking offences in 2009/10 compared to 145 in 2007/2008.  200 test purchases have been carried out in 2009/10.  While it is difficult to evaluate the collective progress of service users, it is estimated that around 3,000 people receive treatment for drug and alcohol misuse in Swansea per year.

Measuring the overall effectiveness of drug treatment services is a complicated business because of the effects of the different substances involved and each client being unique with different personalities and socio- economic backgrounds. This is something the Welsh Assembly Government, local commissioners and service providers will be addressing in the future. The increase in drug trafficking offences, arrests and prosecutions is regarded as positive news by the Partnership as it indicates the public are placing trust in the police by reporting drug-related information. The Substance Misuse Action Team (SMAT), a multi-agency sub-group of Safer Swansea, continues to work to find long-term solutions to alcohol, drug and other substance issues including fatal overdoses, treatment and early education.

Perception of crime Despite a significant reduction in overall crime, there is still a high level of fear of crime – the fear that residents will become a victim of crime. This is a national issue and Safer Swansea is taking positive steps to address this locally.

This perception-based issue has been highlighted through the Home Office British Crime Survey. (awaiting update) A City and County of Swansea survey was conducted in August 2006 with a carefully selected panel of city citizens known as Swansea Voices. They were asked a series of community safety questions. Results show that 35% of respondents believed crime in Swansea had increased in the last three years. (Waiting for more recent figures).

Police and its partners are also being monitored for changes in Public Confidence in the services they provide.

Influencing fear of crime and public confidence is addressed using communications and community engagement. Safer Swansea has a Reassurance Communication Strategy which sets out how the Partnership should use a mix of tried and tested communication methods (local media, leaflets) and more innovative approaches (on-line media).

Work with the local media includes sending a steady stream of positive news stories about the work of Safer Swansea to the local media to re-dress the balance of negative crime reporting, which increases the fear of crime.

Community engagement has become more of a focus for the Partnership on the understanding that face to face communication is the most powerful form of communication.

A programme of community engagement events are carried out in communities throughout the city and county to promote PACT, give people crime prevention information to empower them and to promote the work of the Partnership.

The Safer Swansea Partnership Community Engagement Vehicle (CEV) has visited 41 communities between April and December 2010 including day events at Bonymaen, Townhill, Sandfields and St Thomas.

The role of this strategy In Autumn 2010 Safer Swansea embarked on the process of developing its new strategy. This document is the end result which will guide the work of Safer Swansea partners.

It is designed to support and complement the valuable work of other Partnerships and organisations within Swansea, who are all working towards the same overriding 2020 vision for Swansea, as well as national and regional aims.

The remainder of this document outlines Safer Swansea’s new priorities examining what we are already doing to tackle these issues and what we will do to achieve new targets, as agreed by the Partnership and the Welsh Assembly.

Consultation Key Partnership members were invited to a Safer Swansea consultation event. Opinion, facts, figures and information from key partners, front-line staff, heads of organisations and elected councillors were sought and channelled into shaping this strategy. Support for the seven existing priority areas was gained, with the one change of Volume Crime becoming City Centre Violent Crime.

Further consultation with the public has taken place in the form of a survey carried out by PCSOs and encouraging the public to have their say via local media. There was resounding support for the suggested priorities.

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Overall Priorities

This Safer Swansea Strategy is linked with a wide range of other national and local strategies and plans.

Cutting Crime 2008-2011 The Home Office has a three-year strategy for reducing crime across the UK. This identifies national priority areas, which include strengthening Partnership working, tackling anti-social behaviour, maintain reductions in volume crime, giving more focus to serious crime, addressing organised crime and terrorism, more early interventions with young people, prevention of opportunities for crime, law enforcement and reducing re-offending. The strategy also gives more power to Partnerships to decide on priorities locally.

NB: A new Home Office strategy is being produced but was not available at the time of this strategy being published.

Assessments of Policing and Community Safety (APACS) The Home Office is consulting on proposals for the APACS framework at the time this strategy went to print. The framework is expected to be introduced in April 2008 and will act as a national performance management system for the police, working alone and in Partnership. It is intended to encourage closer Partnership working and feedback to communities. It is envisaged that APACS will include five areas for measurement: confidence and satisfaction; promoting safety; tackling crime; serious crime and protection and organisational management. This will slot in with the development of Local Service Boards.

Local Service Boards Wales’s new model for engaging the public service in a new way of working by defining shared outcomes, integrating services, and responding more effectively to citizens’ needs through priority actions known as Local Service Agreements. The Safer Swansea Partnership’s role in this model needs to be agreed and clearly set out to ensure that priorities, resources and approaches are aligned.

Swansea’s Community Plan, Ambition is Critical This is Swansea’s over-arching community plan, which is managed by the Better Swansea Partnership. Community Safety is one of the key themes laid out in the plan and integral to achieving Swansea’s 2020 vision of becoming a distinctive European city that compares with the best - a city that invests in the future, a city where everyone matters and a city that values its culture and heritage. Safer Swansea is answerable to the Better Swansea Partnership.

Safer Swansea priorities The seven strategic priorities agreed through consultation for Safer Swansea are:  Working Together  Children and Young People  Alcohol and Drug Abuse  Anti-social Behaviour  Protecting the Public  Community Cohesion  City Centre Violent Crime

Each will be looked at in more detail later in this chapter.

The identified priorities, however, do not stand alone and can not be addressed in isolation. There are overlaps which the Partnership is aware of and will be overcome through effective information sharing between action groups.

For example, a lot of the work the Partnership does with Children and Young People will include alcohol and drug work, looking at Anti-social Behaviour and an element of Protecting the Public.

Over-arching Themes The Partnership has also identified three over-arching themes that will be addressed and measured in the work of all priority areas. Progress will be monitored by the Safer Swansea Steering Group.

1. Priority and Prolific Offenders (PPO) Swansea is required to implement a PPO strategy to effectively target offenders who are committing a high volume of crime. This strategy consists of three strands – prevent and deter, catch and convict and resettle and rehabilitate. Safer Swansea is currently working with 53 identified PPOs. Those with substance misuse issues are being offered treatment to remove the need to commit crime to feed a drug habit. Continuation and further development of this work will assist Safer Swansea in meeting targets of reducing all crime and reassuring the public.

2. Reassurance Reassurance plays an important role in the successful implementation of action plans for each priority area. Effective reassurance can help change perceptions of crime, reduce fear of crime, promote positive outcomes of Safer Swansea and effectively market the importance of the work of the Partnership internally and externally. Reassurance is largely a communications issue and not the role of one person, but every Partnership member. Reassurance has been written into the Terms of Reference of each action group to ensure it is always considered. A one-year Reassurance and Marketing Plan will be produced to be implemented alongside the Safer Swansea annual action plan.

3. Community Engagement Community engagement is integral to our every day work. Safer Swansea must improve the way partners engage with residents to build relationships based on trust and respect.

Important in this process over the next three years will be improvements in the Partnership and Communities Together (PACT) process, where residents are invited to help Safer Swansea prioritise the issues to work on resolving that month. Safer Swansea will aim to encourage greater participation at these meetings.

The Partnership will also improve on existing community engagement projects, including Community Engagement Roadshows whereby officers specialising in community engagement take the Safer Swansea Community Engagement Vehicle (CEV) out to different communities to produce greater and more meaningful interactions with the public. Face to face communication is powerful and must be used more frequently and effectively in the work of the Partnership.

Working Together

Description The Safer Swansea Partnership has a legal responsibility to ‘work together’ to improve community safety.

Home Office guidelines state that to work together effectively a Partnership must have: effective leadership; intelligence-led business processes; clear accountability; structures in place to deliver our goals; engagement with communities; accountability and employees must have the appropriate skills and knowledge.

We are fortunate in Swansea that partners regard community safety work as more than a legal responsibility. There is real commitment to the cause and we have a vast range of subject experts to assist in achieving our goals.

Main Objective The Safer Swansea Partnership will work towards:  Improving the way key agencies work together and communicate

The current picture The way the Partnership works together has been developed over the last strategy period:  Steering group membership has been revised to include more key decision-makers and influential figures from other appropriate organisations and voluntary groups.  A Delivery Group has been established to provide a link between the strategic and operational work of the Partnership. The group meets every month and coordinates Partnership activity outlined in the Strategic Assessment.  Action Groups and / or subject expert leads for each priority area have been established pulling together the most appropriate individuals from all agencies to most effectively use specialist skills to develop and implement one-year action plans.  A new Safer Swansea joint office was set up at Police Station from April 2010. It allows key Partnership staff to work in closer proximity and is predicted to encourage more effective partnership working through improved sharing of resources and skills.  More voluntary agencies are carrying out excellent work in our communities supporting the aims of the Partnership, such as Street Pastors and police Specials.

Looking ahead Data sharing protocols and improved data collection will be encouraged.

Safer Swansea will aim to work more closely with appropriate colleagues, such as Communities First Partnership. Such Partnerships already have strong links with their communities and forging closer relationships will be of mutual benefit.

Improving Partnership working in Neighbourhood Management will also be a priority. Neighbourhood Management, or the Neighbourhood Policing Programme, has been rolled out in Swansea and bases itself on the principles of long-term problem solving in communities through Partnership working. There is much work to be done here to improve Partnership links and to boost the profile of Neighbourhood Management as a Partnership issue internally and externally.

Safer Swansea will continue to place strong emphasis on local data to identify hotspot areas using a problem-oriented policing approach.

Children and Young People

Description Children and young people (CYP) are anyone aged 25 years or below. Safer Swansea has funding to support under 18s and will work with partners in supporting 18-25 year olds.

Swansea’s Children and Young People’s Partnership has overall responsibility for preparing a plan to ensure children and young people are given the best possible start in life.

Safer Swansea has responsibility for the community safety element of this plan.

Main Objectives Safer Swansea will work towards:  Protecting CYP from crime, as they are more often victims of crime than perpetrators  Preventing CYP from committing crime  Ensuring CYP feel safe by giving them the information and support they need to make the right decisions and feel safe.  Working with partners to enable CYP to develop into positive and contributing members of society.  Providing opportunity for CYP to influence the Safer Swansea strategy.

The Current Picture There is already a lot of innovative and successful work occurring in Swansea involving close Partnership working between council, police and fire and rescue departments, as well as voluntary and private sector organisations.

It is vital that Safer Swansea continues to ensure that adults with the right skills have access to training and have undergone vetting procedures to work with our CYP.

The range of issues addressed by partners for CYP is vast:  Anti-social behaviour – tackling youth nuisance and the misconception that ASB is committed only by CYP.  Youth crime – Swansea Youth Offending Team (YOT) has a principle duty to prevent offending by CYP.  Alcohol, drug and other substance issue  Domestic abuse and the effect on children and young people  Protection from danger – including internet safety and sexual health  Support for CYP from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities  Providing information, listening and support services  Working within the ‘Extending Entitlement’ agenda (2002) for young people  Improving community based provision and access to local facilities for CYP including parks and outdoor provision  Ensuring CYP have somewhere safe to stay through the city’s Homelessness strategy.  Promoting positive images of CYP and tackling adult intolerance towards CYP.

 Continuing strong link with the city’s student population to raise awareness of community safety issues within this group.

A wide and varied programme of activities relevant to age, ability and interests is on-going in Swansea.  The SOTODO early-intervention project is up and running in five comprehensive schools and is soon to extended to two primary schools. It involves many partners - in particular education and massive input from headteachers – to share information on identified CYP in schools and to encourage youths to attend a variety of activities organised by the project.  A Youth Offending Bureau is up and running in Swansea to concentrate on restorative justice responses to offending.  Intergenerational work bringing together older people and CYP to encourage mutual understanding and respect.  Key professionals – council, police, fire and rescue service and Swansea HMP – are involving CYP in aspects of their work. For example, the fire and rescue service runs a Young Fire-fighters Club.  Partners are working with CYP to enforce the law. The council’s trading standards section recruit CYP to take part in Test Purchase Operations, where under 18s attempt to buy alcohol. Enforcement action is taken against shopkeepers that break the law.  There is a wide range of provision for CYP, including youth clubs, after school clubs, activities during summer holidays promoted through the council’s Splat and Skool’s Out programme.  CYP can embark on accreditations such as Duke of Edinburgh, Children and Youth University, Open College Network (OCN), Youth Achievement Awards and more. They offer life and social skills and recognise CYP’s achievements and contributions.  Outdoor activities are used to encourage CYP participation in physical activity and to make use of green and outdoor spaces.  Detached youth workers are building relationships with ‘hard to reach’ young people (those not involved in youth clubs or school activities).  Targeted work supports ‘need’ groups including CYP in Black Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, those at risk of offending and CYPs who leave the care system or those who become homeless.

Looking ahead Safer Swansea proposes work with CYP that is based on engagement, learning, participation and empowerment but when necessary enforcement and control.

Prevention and early intervention will be the Partnership’s main focus as it is more difficult to engage with CYP once they have entered the Criminal Justice System (CJS). This will require sustained high quality engagement and a balance of open access and targeted work with CYP. There must be closer working between partners, in particular with existing community Partnerships.

Safer Swansea will work closely with the Children and Young People’s Partnership and continue to develop and support new initiatives that will help to achieve the objectives.

Alcohol and Drugs Description Alcohol and drug, or substance misuse, is a complex and growing issue, which has an effect on individuals, families and communities. It is a theme that touches on every other priority area identified in this strategy.

Main objectives The Safer Swansea Partnership will work towards:  Reducing the harm caused by alcohol, drugs and other substances by supporting the Substance Misuse Action Team (SMAT) in the development and implementation of a strategy to tackle the issue.  Improving treatment services and support processes to reduce the number of people in Swansea with drug or alcohol dependencies, including reducing the number of fatal overdoses.  Enforcing against those bringing drugs into the city and those committing crime due to alcohol or drug consumption.

The current picture Substance misuse is increasing in all age groups and Swansea is far from unique in this respect. This is having an impact on crime. It is an increasingly worrying issue among children and young people, whether directly or suffering the consequences of a parent’s or relative’s misuse.

The SMAT is a sub-group of the Safer Swansea Partnership, which commissions drug and alcohol treatment services and projects from the health and voluntary sectors.

The team consists of 25 statutory and independent agencies. SMAT has responsibility for delivering a multi-agency holistic approach to tackling substance misuse in line with the Welsh Assembly Government’s National Substance Misuse Strategy.

The Commissioning Board is supported by two multi-agency 'thematic' action groups for:  Children, Young People and Families  Treatment and Care Management.

 SMAT also works closely with Swansea’s Criminal Justice Intervention Team (CJIT), which delivers services to ex-offenders who have drug or alcohol problems.  Abertawe Alcohol and Drug Assessment Service (AADAS) now provides a single assessment point for all adults over the age of 18 referred to SMAT.  A dedicated single point of assessment and treatment for children and young people (under 18), called The Place, has opened. The Mansel Street facility is Wales’s first and only specialist service for young people affected by substance misuse. The service has grown out of the need expressed by young people dealing with substance misuse, their families and those who work with them.  Offenders of acquisitive crime are automatically drug-tested under the Tough Choices project. If results are positive, they are given the ‘tough choice’ of taking a prison sentence or take support to become drug free. In 2009-10 1,000 people were tested. Some have taken support,

been re-housed and done voluntary work. However, others continue to offend.

Other projects currently in development include:  Developing a service for parents to help them reduce the harm caused by their alcohol or substance misuse on their children.  Working with maternity services to reduce the use of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy  Developing education packages for use in schools and the community to improve knowledge and understanding of the effects of alcohol and drugs on the body, society and the economy.  Developing a single assessment model for service providers to improve the way people with chronic issues can access treatment and support.  Improving information collection by investing in PARIS-SMAT, the first case management and information-sharing service in Europe dedicated to substance misuse. This uses state of the art technology and business systems to strengthen joint working, accuracy of data and generally improve the effectiveness of service delivery.

Drug-related deaths SMAT is carrying out and will continue with work to reduce the number of drug-related deaths in Swansea.

A special SMAT task group, led by local specialist treatment agencies, has targeted individuals at greatest risk of repeat drug overdoses. The results so far have proven successful and the work is recognised by WAG as good practice. Naloxone has also been distributed in Swansea to drug users, and appropriate Partnership agencies. It is a drug that can be injected to someone who has over-dosed to reverse the effects and potentially save lives.

Looking ahead SMAT is in the process of reforming its current strategy to tackle substance misuse issues in Swansea. It is vital that the strategy keeps up to date with changing trends in misuse, as well as more effectively targeting priority groups like substance misusing parents. The strategy, however, will continue to have prevention, education, treatment and enforcement elements to ensure a range of actions are taken to address problems in the short and long-term.

Critical strategic reforms include an increased commitment to reducing and eliminating the effects of substance misuse on children and young people, prioritising other groups associated with the misuse of alcohol and drugs e.g. those affected by domestic abuse, crime and anti-social behaviour.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Definition Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons, not of the same household. There is no doubt that ASB has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of others or the environment, which will not be tolerated in Swansea. However, there is wide and varied belief of what ASB actually is.

Three distinct types of ASB have been identified:

Behavioural ASB Usually directed towards people as individuals or groups. This may be partly combined with environmental ASB. Eg. Groups congregating, verbal abuse, noisy neighbours, drug use and drug dealing in public and illegal off-road biking.

Environmental ASB The appearance of an area or property is changed by damaging, defacing or visually impacting. This is usually seen by many people, therefore directed at the community rather than people. Eg. fly tipping and littering, graffiti, deliberate damage, arson.

Alcohol-related ASB Where alcohol consumption may have influenced the ASB incident. Behavioural or environmental ASB can be classified as alcohol related when alcohol is the principal factor in such ASB. Eg. Verbal abuse and intimidation from on-street drinkers, under-age drinking in parks.

Main objectives The Safer Swansea Partnership will work towards:-  Reducing ASB in our communities  Co-ordinating information more effectively to improve the way Safer Swansea tackles ASB  Tackling the misconceptions of what anti-social behaviour actually is  Facilitating action to deal with ASB.

The current picture Safer Swansea aims to tackle ASB in an holistic way using positive engagement and diversionary activity. An effective multi-agency process for solving cases has been implemented and is continually monitored.

A range of partners have different statutory responsibilities and powers to deal with the prevention, intervention and enforcement of ASB. Many other partners have roles in reassuring or engaging the public to prevent ASB and to challenge perceptions of ASB. For example, council tenants are supported by the Neighbourhood Support Unit, neighbour disputes through mediation and parents through parent mentoring. The fire and rescue service also allocates 40% of an officer’s time to assist in behavioural change programmes in cases of arson of fire-related crimes.

These agencies attend regular Information Sharing Targeted Action Meetings (ISTAMs) where vulnerable and repeat victims are a focus. The meetings allow data exchange and development of ideas to address certain issues between housing, police, education, residential groups, Neighbourhood Watch, youth leaders, councillors and more.

There is now more focus on supporting the victims of ASB, ensuring they have someone to regularly talk to and to help resolve issues with the most appropriate course of action working with all appropriate agencies.

Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction Team The multi-agency ASB Reduction Team is integral to the handling of ASB in Swansea. The team is led by a Partnership Coordinator and supported by Project Worker and Case Management Officer from the Youth Offending Service, (YOS) and a Police Officer.

The team works on a moderation of behaviour approach, aiming to make people aware of the effects of their behaviour and stop it before it reaches criminal stages. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) are used as a last resort when all other possible interventions have had no impact. The team gathers intelligence, accept referrals from partners and develop a tailor-made programme of services according to the needs of that person.

A four-step referral process effectively manages cases.

The four-step process explained:

The Coordinator is responsible for evaluating and grading each referral received. In some instances, no further action is taken. Others are entered on to a database for appropriate warning letters to be sent.

STEP 1: A first referral will lead to a warning letter, which is sent to the person behaving anti-socially, or their parents or guardians, highlighting what could happen if their behaviour continues. Most cases are resolved here. STEP 2: Where the behaviour continues, a second warning letter is sent and a member of the ASB Reduction Team pays a home visit to that person. The visit aims to identify the root causes of the ASB in order to develop a bespoke support programme for the individual. STEP 3: If there is still no improvement, a multi-agency case conference is called where police, education, housing and other relevant agencies meet to discuss the best possible action route. This could mean encouraging the person to sign up to an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) or using activities and training as ways of attempting to improve that person’s behaviour. STEP 4: In extreme cases where the behaviour is not improving or likely to change, the team approaches the magistrate’s court for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO). These orders are legally binding and if the rules laid out are not followed, it can lead to prison.

Looking ahead Over the next three years, Safer Swansea will work to improve information gathering and sharing systems to ensure the team has the necessary information, resources and support to effectively use the ASB powers

available to them. This will need to include Partnership staff training to ensure all staff are fully aware of the ASB Reduction Team’s purpose.

There will be more focus on supporting witnesses and victims of ASB to ensure they feel safe and are satisfied with the outcome of their complaint. Furthermore, this support should give others the confidence to report ASB.

Safer Swansea is keen to utilise community knowledge by linking closely with Neighbourhood Management through the Partnership and Communities Together (PACT) process.

To tackle adult ASB a consistent approach must be developed. This will be obtained through effective information sharing and improving links with the Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPO) strategy.

Protecting the Public

Description The public must be protected from crimes, offenders and hazards that pose a serious threat to their safety and feelings of safety. Protecting the public includes terrorism, serious violent and sex offenders, road casualties, protecting our vulnerable people, monitoring dangerous offenders, improving road safety and designing out crime from architectural plans submitted to the council’s Planning Department. The Home Office Cutting Crime Strategy (2008-2011) puts a stronger focus on dealing with more serious offences appropriately. It is important that action is taken at all levels, starting with local neighbourhoods and addressing the international level where appropriate. The public must be confident that where crimes are committed, the perpetrators will be brought to justice and the needs of victims and witnesses will be a priority.

Main objectives The Safer Swansea Partnership will work towards:-  Protecting citizens from serious crimes, offenders and hazards  Our vulnerable people – children, elderly or disabled – must be given the protection they need and deserve from abuse  Carefully managing offenders to protect society  Making our local communities safer and reducing the risk to the UK from international terrorism.

The Current Picture There are multi-agency groups in existence in Swansea that are tackling Public Protection issues:

Protection of Vulnerable Adults The multi-agency Area Adult Protection Committee has been working since 2002. It manages individual cases according to risk levels in order to protect Swansea’s vulnerable adults. Representatives include Swansea NHS, Age Concern, social services and Carers Wales.

Domestic Abuse The Domestic Abuse Strategy ‘Laying the Foundations’ is currently being implemented by the Safer Swansea Domestic Abuse Forum and the Strategy Monitoring Group. Key successes include the use of Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) to assess high risk cases and the introduction of Domestic Violence Courts.

Safeguarding Children The Swansea Safeguarding Children Board was established in September 2007 as a consequence of the Children Act 2002 (Section 32). The main partners with the local authority are the Police, Health Services and Probation The board coordinates the work of all organisations and individuals in the area to safeguard children from harm and promote their welfare.

Managing Dangerous Offenders

Safer Swansea is an active member of the South Wales Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Strategic Management Board. This Board aims to protect the public by: reducing the number of victims of serious sexual and violent crime; working to minimise the risk posed by sexual and potentially dangerous offenders; developing public confidence in MAPPA and reducing the fear of serious sexual and violent crime through reassurance.

Terrorism The Police Service has a legal responsibility to protect the public from threats of terrorism and breaches of National Security. Swansea Special Branch Unit continues to work closely with the Security Service and all partner agencies to gather intelligence on terrorism suspects, their sponsors and supporters. When necessary, they take action to prevent or disrupt any developing terrorist activity. A number of long term counter-terrorism operations are continuing to be conducted to protect the residents of Swansea. The Prevent Board has been established to ‘prevent’ extremism, radicalisation and ultimately terrorism in Swansea.

Road Safety The Safer Swansea Partnership will support Swansea Road Safety Partnership in its efforts to secure an environment where people can use the roads of Swansea with confidence, free from injury, damage or fear. Much focus will continue to be targeted towards those groups of people such as children and the elderly who are particularly at risk.

Hate crime Hate incidents are any incident which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate. This can be due to race, sexuality, faith, or ability.

Safer Swansea believes there is under-reporting of such incidents from victims who fear further victimisation. To reassure and protect affected communities, the police have two Hate Crime officers. Police response officers, PCSOs and contact management staff have received specialist training to ensure Hate incidents are accurately reported and recorded. Work is on-going to increase public confidence and promote self-reporting of incidents.

Looking ahead To achieve the outlined objectives, Safer Swansea will continue supporting the multi-agency groups responsible for protecting people in our city. This will need to include improving information sharing between partners, continuing to implement and monitor existing strategies and addressing issues to more effectively protect people, in particular vulnerable groups.

Community Cohesion

Description Community Cohesion lies at the heart of a strong, vibrant and safe community. Every citizen in Swansea - regardless of race, gender, age, ability, sexual preference, faith or culture - deserves a good quality of life where people respect one another, feel they belong and have opportunities to develop. To achieve Community Cohesion a broad range of issues need addressing, including building stronger links between different communities, education and employment, poverty and social inequalities, diversity, and even access to communication and information technology.

Main Objectives The Safer Swansea Partnership will work towards:  Improved awareness of community cohesion throughout Swansea  Improved community cohesion in areas identified for project work.

The current picture To achieve Community Cohesion in Swansea there must be on-going processes in place, which requires long-term commitment. A series of projects aimed at improving Community Cohesion in particular areas of Swansea have been identified and funded by the Community Cohesion Fund. This work is being overseen by the Safer Swansea Community Cohesion Coordinator and a Community Cohesion working group.

Looking ahead Work will continue to strengthen links between Safer Swansea Partnership, Communities First Partnerships and third sector organisations in the city and county. All will work together to seek to improve Community Cohesion. Particular work will also be carried out with the gypsy and traveller community.

City Centre Violent Crime

Description This has replaced the Volume Crime group, which looked at all acquisitive crime (burglary, car crime, theft and criminal damage). This was deemed core business and therefore the Partnership has agreed to focus on the more significant and specific issue of city centre violence.

Main Objectives To reduce city centre violence by:  Reducing opportunities to commit violent crime  Increasing the number of violent offenders brought to justice  Improving Partnership working to address alcohol-related violence

The current picture Safer Swansea targets areas where violence is known to occur taking a multi- agency approach to make a real difference. The city centre at night is a key area. The Call Time on Violent Crime operation has been run over the Christmas period for the last four years and achieved significant reductions in violence at that time. It uses innovations such as polycarbonate glasses, taxi marshals, police patrols and CCTV monitoring to prevent violence. However, efforts need to be made to make this work all year round, rather than certain times of the year.

Partnership activity is now being carried out regularly in the city centre and with positive effect.  Regular multi-agency operations involving police, taxi licensing, night- time venue managers, door supervisors and CCTV operators have been carried out to address city centre issues.  The Night-time Economy Coordinator role has helped with the development in information sharing and Partnership working activities.  Street Pastors continue to volunteer their time to support Partnership staff on Friday nights in . They offer an informal support service to visitors to the city centre at night who look like they need assistance.  Information sharing has greatly improved here. The Ambulance Service now provides regular data to the Partnership analyst in relation to city centre injuries.

Looking ahead Safer Swansea will continue and improve its multi-agency efforts to reduce violence in the city centre, in particular alcohol-related violence. There is real scope for partners to pull together, share resources appropriately and work together to have maximum impact on city centre visitors and businesses in communicating the message that violence will not be tolerated in Swansea city centre. This will become evident through communications activity and through the Partnership’s on-going action in the city centre.

Funding Safer Swansea has control of eight funding budgets, with money allocated to the city from the Home Office (HO) and Welsh Assembly Government (WAG).

The Partnership faces some tough decisions during a difficult financial time, with budget cuts within partner organisations and from Partnership budgets themselves.

When making decisions on whether to fund a project, proposals must fit strict criteria and demonstrate how supporting the project would be an efficient, effective and economic way of using part of the budget.

Each proposal, even those that have been supported for many years, will come under scrutiny to ascertain whether the project is achieving expected objectives and is best use of limited funds.

All funding decisions will be made jointly by the Safer Swansea Steering Group and only proposals that will help achieve targets set out in our key priority areas will be considered.

Fund name Purpose Provider Building Safer To assist the Partnership devise a problem-solving HO Communities approach to local problems. Drug Testing on To enable local treatment services to offer rapid access to HO Charge treatment for criminal justice clients. Safer Communities To assist prevention among children and young people by WAG providing alternatives, such as displacement activities. Substance Misuse To provide treatment and support services for substance WAG Action Plan misusers. Domestic Abuse To fund the employment of a Domestic Abuse Coordinator WAG to deliver the All Wales Domestic Abuse Strategy. Respect Programme To assist in tackling and reducing anti-social behaviour WAG Tackling Violent To reduce violent crime. HO Crime Programme

Implementation and control This strategy will be subject to an annual review. Consideration will be given to progress on meeting targets and projects will be subject to evaluation.

The action plan is a living document and maps out what Safer Swansea will do to tackle each priority area. It sets out the action, who is responsible for its implementation, when it is up for review and how its success will be measured.

To measure success Safer Swansea will draw qualitative and quantitative data from a number of sources, including Iquanta – information which compares Swansea to other similar areas in the UK, Partnership facts and figures, evaluation of projects and customer feedback. The annual review will be promoted to the public.

Glossary of terms (jargon buster)

ASB – Anti-social Behaviour ASBO – Anti Social Behaviour Order ABC – Acceptable Behaviour Contract BAWSO – Black and Asian Women Step Out CJS – Criminal Justice System CJIT – Criminal Justice Intervention Team CSP – Community Safety Partnership CYP – Children and Young People EYST – Ethnic Youth Support Team HO – Home Office HYPE – a peer led drugs education project in schools LHB – Local Health Board MEWN – Minority Ethnic Women’s Network NHS – National Health Service PPO – Priority and Prolific Offender SMAT – Substance Misuse Action Team SSP – Safer Swansea Partnership WAG – Welsh Assembly Government

USEFUL CONTACTS

Is litter an issue in your area? Call (freephone) 0800 838638 Are the street lights faulty in your area? Call (freephone) 0800 317990 Do you need pest control? Call Environmental Health on 01792 635600 Abandoned or untaxed vehicles in your area? Call 01792 637250 Safer Swansea Graffiti Removal Service Call 01792 476370 or 635669 If the streets in your area need cleansing call The Clean Team on 01792 635600 Are you a victim of crime? Call Victim Support on 01792 543653 Are you an older person in need of support? Call Age Concern on 01792 641164 Neighbourhood Watch – 01792 562851 Have a FREE Home Fire Safety Check Call 0800 169 1234 for a Home Fire Safety Audit from the fire and rescue service Are you or someone you know a victim of domestic abuse? For advice and support call the Domestic Abuse Unit on 01792 543653 or the All Wales Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0800 80 10 800

Item No. 12 (1)

Report of the Chief Executive

Council – 31st March 2011

PROPOSED DRAFT CHARTER BETWEEN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA AND THE COMMUNITY / TOWN COUNCILS WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES

Summary

Purpose: To consider the adoption of a Charter between the City and County of Swansea Council and the Community / Town Councils within its Boundaries.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To agree a Charter based on information, communication, consultation, Local Governance, Regular monitoring and Review.

Consultation: Legal, Finance, Corporate Directors, Heads of Service and the Community / Town Councils Forum.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Welsh Assembly Government and One Voice Wales have jointly led a campaign aimed at encouraged formal agreements between Local Authorities and Community / Town Councils within its Boundaries.

1.2 As a result of this the Community / Town Councils Forum established a Community / Town Councils Task and Finish Group tasked with creating such a Charter.

1.3 A draft Charter was produced by the Task and Finish Group. This was followed by a consultation period with the Corporate Directors, Heads of Service and the Community / Town Councils Forum.

1.4 The Forum accepted the draft Charter at its meeting on 8 March 2011.

2. What is the Charter

2.1 The Charter is an agreement between this Authority and any of the Community / Town Councils within the Authorities area wishing to become a partner to it.

2.2 The Charter is attached as Appendix A. The exact detail as to the purpose may be viewed there. The Charter is broken down into 4 areas:

 Information and Communication;  Consultation;  Local Governance;  Monitoring and Review.

2.3 The Charter is a living document which will need to be reviewed in order to ensure that it remains a worthwhile document for each of the partners involved. As such the Task and Finish Task Group will continue to meet as required to ensure that relevant changes can be considered.

3. Next Stages for the Adoption of the Charter

3.1 Council is asked to approve the Charter. If approved and adopted by Council, then a letter will be sent to each Community / Town Council asking them to become partners to the Charter.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 None.

5. Legal Implications

5.1 None.

6. Recommendations. It is recommended that:

6.1 The Charter as outlined in Appendix A to the report be approved and adopted;

6.2 Letters be sent to each Community / Town Council within the Boundaries of the City and County of Swansea asking them to become partners to the Charter.

Background Papers: None

Contact Officer: Huw G Evans – Democratic Services & Complaints Manager  01792 63 7347

Legal Officer: Rod Jones – Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement Appendix A

DRAFT Charter between the City & County of Swansea Council & the Community / Town Councils within its Boundaries as at 9 March 2011

City and County of Swansea Representatives:

Cllr Mary H Jones Business Improvement & Efficiency Cabinet Member Paul Smith Chief Executive Huw G Evans Democratic Services & Complaints Manager

Community / Town Council Representatives:

Town Cllr Victor Bruno Gorseinon Town Council Comm Cllr Anthony Colburn Mumbles Community Council David Jenkins (Clerk) Llangyfelach Community Council Lyn Llewellyn One Voice Wales

1. Introduction

1.1 The City and County of Swansea Council and the Community / Town Councils within its boundaries have agreed to enter into a Charter which sets out how they aim to work together for the benefit of local communities whilst recognising their respective responsibilities as statutory bodies.

1.2 The Charter is designed to build on and embrace the shared principles of openness, respect for each other’s opinions, honesty and our common priority of putting citizens at the centre. This charter is based on equality of partnership.

1.3 Potential Partners to the Charter

 City and County of Swansea Council

 Bishopston Community Council  Clydach Community Council  Gorseinon Town Council  Gowerton Community Council  Grovesend Community Council  Ilston Community Council  Killay Community Council  Llangennith, Llanmadoc & Cheriton Community Council  Llangyfelach Community Council

 Llanrhidian Higher Community Council  Llanrhidian Lower Community Council  Llwchwr Town Council  Mawr Community Council  Mumbles Community Council  Penllergaer Community Council  Pennard Community Council  Penrice Community Council  Pontarddulais Community Council  Pontlliw & Tircoed Community Council  Port Eynon Community Council  Reynoldston Community Council  Rhossili Community Council  Upper Killay Community Council

2. The Charter

2.1 The Charter is broken down into the following key areas:

 Information and Communication;  Consultation;  Local Governance;  Monitoring and Review.

2.2 Further extensions of this Charter will be discussed as required by the Community / Town Councils Task and Finish Group and forwarded to the appropriate bodies for consideration.

3. Information and Communication

3.1 The need for timely, clear relevant information and communication in fostering good relationships and better joint working for the benefit of local people.

City & County of Swansea Community / Town Councils Council (CCS) 1) Will provide a contact point(s) The Clerk of the Community / within each Directorate for the Town Council shall be the Clerk of the Community / Town contact point with CCS. Councils to liaise with. 2) Prefers to be communicated with Acknowledges that CCS prefers via e-mail by the Clerk; however to be communicated with via e- will accept any written mail by the Clerk; however notes communication from the Clerk. that CCS will accept any written communication from the Clerk.

3) Will reply to communication from Will reply to communication from Clerks within 10 working days in CCS within 20 working days. line with the CCS “Customer Service” booklet. 3a) No acknowledgement letter will No acknowledgement letter will be provided if a response can be be provided if a response can be provided within 10 working days. provided within 10 working days. 3b) If this is not possible, an If this is not possible, an acknowledgment will be sent acknowledgment will be sent within 5 working days. An within 5 working days. An acknowledgement will tend to be acknowledgement will tend to be via e-mail although it may be a via e-mail although it may be a written letter. written letter. 4) Will inform the Clerk of non Will inform the CCS contact routine matters affecting their point(s) of any non routine locality providing it impacts on matters affecting their locality the wider community. Will also providing it impacts on the wider consider any requests from a community. The CCS contact Clerk seeking specific point(s) would then draw it to the information on general Council attention of the relevant matters. Directorate.

4. Consultation

4.1 Recognise the importance of meaningful consultation and set out a genuine commitment among all parties to consult on matters of mutual concern. Clear, specific and time limited procedures and processes for consultation will be agreed between the parties hereto.

4.2 The City and County of Swansea Council is part of a Consultation Partnership which has established consultation principles. The Swansea Consultation Partnership Principles may be viewed at http://www.swanseasays.org.uk

City & County of Swansea Community / Town Councils Council (CCS) 1) The Community / Town Councils CCS Councillors and Officers will Forum would be the main be given an opportunity to speak consultative body for consultation at Community / Town Council between CCS and the meetings on matters of mutually Community / Town Councils. agreed interest. On occasion parties may wish to discuss matters of common interest outside of this Forum. Each request shall be considered on merit.

2) Only in exceptional Acknowledgement that in some circumstances will appropriate circumstances the time scales consultation not take place in set for receipt of comments on which case a written explanation consultation documents are will be given. imposed externally and are occasionally very short. It may be that to meet deadlines, especially on major issues, it will be necessary for Community / Town Councils to hold a special meeting.

5. Local Governance

5.1 The Community / Town Council Forum shall meet 2 monthly and will be Chaired by the Cabinet Member that has Community / Town Councils within his/her Cabinet Portfolio. The Forum will be supported by the Democratic Services (Committees) Team.

5.2 The overarching purpose of the Forum is to discuss local government matters of mutual concern. The Forum provides comments and seeks to make recommendations to the appropriate decision making body.

City & County of Swansea Community / Town Councils Council (CCS) 1) Will facilitate the Community / Will contribute towards the Town Councils Forum on a 2 agenda of Forum meetings and monthly basis. Meetings will be contribute proactively to the held in the Civic Centre or attendance and discussion. Guildhall. 2) Will ensure that copies of Will ensure that copies of presentations will be circulated presentations will be circulated with the agenda. with the agenda.

6. Representatives on the Community / Town Councils Forum

6.1 City and County of Swansea Council Representatives

All Cabinet Members are members of the Forum. The Authority will also be represented by the Chief Executive (or a representative acting on his behalf) and other Officer(s) of the Authority as required.

6.2 Community / Town Council Representatives

Two representatives from each Community / Town Council within the City and County of Swansea. Community / Town Council shall nominate their own representatives.

7. Monitoring and Review

7.1 The Charter will be reviewed annually or more often if required. The Community / Town Councils Forum shall conduct this review.

City & County of Swansea Community / Town Councils Council (CCS) 1) Will arrange for the Charter to be Will actively contribute to the review reviewed annually (January or of the Charter. February) by the Community / Town Councils Task and Finish Group.

8. Conclusion

8.1 The undersigned Community Town Councils and unitary authority are committed to the principles and statements with the charter, for the benefit of local people.

Appendices (Not Created Yet):

Appendix A (City & County of Swansea Council - Contact Details) Appendix B (Community / Town Councils - Contact Details)

Item No. 13 (1)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Social Services

Council – 31st March 2011

THE PRODUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE AND WELL-BEING STRATEGY 2011-2014

Summary

Purpose: To describe and provide information in respect of:

 The outcome of the consultation on the Draft Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy for the period 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2014  The proposed final version of the Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy 2011-14.

Policy Framework: Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy.

Reason for Decision: To meet the statutory duty, under Section 40 of the National Health Service Wales Act 2006, requiring the Local Authority to prepare a Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy for each local authority area, in conjunction with the Local Health Board.

Consultation: Legal and Finance.

1. Introduction

1.1 There is a requirement for a new Health, Social Care and Well-being (HSCWB) Strategy to be produced jointly by the Local Authority and the ABMU Health Board for the period 1st April 2011 – 31st March 2014.

1.2 A draft HSCWB Strategy was drawn up in the autumn and was approved by Cabinet as the basis for consultation on 21st October 2010.

1.3 The draft HSCWB document has been made available to the public and comments have invited. The consultation took place between 1st November 2010 and 24th January 2011.

1.4 Following the consultation, the draft HSCWB Strategy has been revised, and has been agreed through the Swansea Health, Social Care and Well Being Partnership Board on 14th February 2011.

2. Health Social Care and Well Being Strategy Guidance 2010

2.1 The HSCWB Strategy has been drawn up in line with the draft guidance issued by the Welsh Assembly Government to help Local Authorities and Local Health Boards meet their statutory duty under Section 40 of the National Health Service Wales Act 2006 to prepare a Health Social Care and Well-being Strategy for each Local Authority area.

2.2 This will be the third iteration of the HSCWB Strategy; the first covered the period 2004/5 to 2007/8, and the second strategy runs from 2007/8 to 2010/11.

2.3 The HSCWB Strategies span a wide remit for action on improving health and reducing the risk of ill health, through to improving health and care services provided by the Local Authority, the NHS, the voluntary sector and the private sector.

2.4 A key message in the guidance from Welsh Assembly Government is that the new Strategy should have a narrower focus than previous Strategies and concentrate on two main aims:  Improving health and well being and reducing inequities, that is inequalities in health that are unfair and avoidable  Improving the provision, quality, integration, and sustainability of ‘overlapping services’, that is services provided by the NHS, local government and their partners to certain specified groups.

2.5 By regulation, the Strategy is required to address:  The state of health and well being of the local population  The health and well being needs of the local population  The existing provision of health and well being services to the local population  Factors including the health and well being of the local population including: social economic and environmental factors, health promotion and education, protection and nutrition  The safety of food, community development and regeneration and sustainable development  Inequalities in health and well being – including a new amendment to include the equality agenda  The access of the local population to health and well being services and inequalities in access to such services  The availability and access to public and community transport, education, training and employment and the standard of housing.

2.6 The Regulations impose a duty of cooperation with named bodies on the Local Authority and the LHB, and they will work with other organisations, bodies and groups who have a valuable contribution to make. Locally, these include:

. ABM Community Health Council (CHC) . Swansea Council for Voluntary Services (SCVS) . Swansea University . South Wales Police . National Public Health Service . A number of private, business, voluntary or other organisations with an interest in the provision of health and well being services.

2.6.1 The HSCWB Strategy has been developed with the understanding that the improvement of health and well being is dependent on many factors which lie beyond the remit of health and social care services. It has been developed within the overall context of the Community Plan for Swansea which in turn recognises health and well-being as a key priority.

2.6.2 The WAG guidance emphasised the importance of aligning the HSCWB Strategy with the Children and Young People Plan. Joint work has taken place with the Children and Young People Partnership to align the two strategies.

3 There are a number of key stages in the development and implementation of the Strategy:

. Development of a comprehensive HSCWB needs assessment of the local population to inform strategy development

. The preparation and publication of a draft Strategy, drawn up in response to locally identified needs and taking account of national policies

. A period of consultation on the draft Strategy

. The preparation of a final Strategy for the period April 2011 – March 2014, to be formally adopted by the LHB and the full Council of the Local Authority

. Monitoring and reviewing progress on the implementation of the Strategy, and reporting annually to the Welsh Assembly Government.

4 The HSCWB Strategies should link to the five year Quality, Service, Workforce and Financial Frameworks which the LHBs have produced, and meet the requirements of the national strategy for Social Services, Fulfilled Lives, Supportive Communities.

3. Consultation and Development of the HSCWB Strategy

3.1 Consultation on the draft HSCWB Strategy took place over the 12 week period between 1st November and 24th January, as required by the HSCWB Strategy statutory regulations.

3.2 The Health Challenge Swansea Partnership Board, now known as the Swansea Health, social care and Well Being Board, agreed that there would be a more modest consultation on the Strategy than in previous years. The reasons for this decision include the current financial operating climate and recent specific engagement exercises on service changes for the statutory partner organisations.

3.3 An Involvement and Consultation action plan for the consultation was agreed by the Partnership Board which outlined the groups and individuals whose feedback would be actively sought.

3.4 The consultation included: the publication of the draft strategy on the Health Challenge Swansea website, where questionnaires on the Strategy have been available; notification by mail to a wide range of organisations and each partner’s contacts; a press release published in the Swansea Leader, delivered to each household in Swansea; hard copies of the draft Strategy were distributed to a number of key locations including libraries, the Council front desk, Health Board offices, where they have been available for review by the public etc. Presentations were made to a number of different audiences, including the Health, Social Care and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Board, the Regional Third Sector HSCWB Network, and the Older People 50+ Network. A number of written responses and questionnaires have been received.

3.5 Useful and quality information was gathered from the exercise concerning the direction of the strategy, specific concerns and interests, and feedback on the development of Swansea as a Healthy City. A number of the consultation responses have been taken into consideration in the production of the final version of the HSCWB Strategy.

3.6 Since the draft version of the HSCWB Strategy was issued, a number of alterations have been made:

. General updating throughout the Strategy to reflect changes that have taken place since the draft Strategy was prepared e.g. the achievement of Healthy City status, the updated financial position.

. Strengthening of the priority areas within Chapter 4 in response to the consultation exercise and the emerging Healthy City work programme.

. General updating and improvement to the needs assessment in Chapter 3, including strengthening of the physical disability section in response to the consultation.

. The inclusion of a statement in relation to Equality and Diversity.

4. The Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy 2011-14

4.1 The Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy describes the key issues affecting health and well-being in Swansea, the challenges in addressing these issues and the priorities for action that the Local Authority and the Local Health Board intend to progress with their partners. The full Strategy is provided in the appendix.

4.2 The Strategy covers the following:

. Chapter One provides an introduction and overview of the Strategy.

. Chapter Two describes how the HSCWB Strategy has been developed.

. Chapter Three describes the local area, highlighting key findings about issues affecting health and well-being in Swansea.

. Chapter Four describes the key priority areas for action:

. Chapter Five covers the next steps in the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy.

4.3 The key priorities of the Strategy are:

o Key Priority Area 1: Making Swansea a healthier City and County

Swansea has recently been designated by the World Health Organisation as a member of the European Healthy City network. In order to address the core themes of the World Health organisation three particular areas have been identified for particular attention:

1a - Tackling the growing problem of substance misuse

1b - Improving the nutrition and physical activity levels of the population

1c - A joined-up approach with the Council’s Local Development Plan

o Key Priority Area 2: To improve the delivery of our Health and Social Care Services

It is recognised that there is a need to improve the way that services are organised and delivered by taking radical and urgent steps to meet a number of key challenges within the financial resources available. Three areas of activity are identified as priorities for action:

2a - Transformation of Adult Social Services

2b - Transformation of Children’s Services

2c - Development of Primary and Community Services and Networks

5. Next Steps

5.1 Following adoption by the two Statutory partners, a number of further actions will be taken:

. Provision of copies of the Strategy at Local Authority and Health Board offices, public libraries and on the internet

. Consultation with the local race equality council on the need for translation of the document into languages other than Welsh and English

. Consultation with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the types of media which will make the Strategy document reasonably accessible to persons with a disability.

6. Financial Implication

6.1 There are no financial implications associated with this report.

7. Legal Implications

7.1 There is a statutory duty under Section 40 of the National Health Service Wales Act 2006 for Local Authorities and Local Health Boards to prepare a Health Social Care and Well-being Strategy for each Local Authority area.

8. Recommendation

8.1 That Council adopts the Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy 2011-2014.

Background Papers

Health Social Care and Well-being Strategy Guidance 2010 – Draft guidance http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dhss/consultation/100720h&scandwbguidanceen.doc

The ABMU Health Board’s Quality, Service, Workforce and Financial Framework 2010-2015 http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/863/page/48802

The City and County of Swansea Adult Services Strategic Delivery Plan http://staffnet/media/pdf/t/2/swansea-adult-services-report-2009-2010-delivery- plan-2010-11.pdf

The City and County of Swansea Children’s Services Strategic Delivery Plan http://staffnet/media/pdf/b/t/cf-strategic-action-plan-2010-2011.pdf

Contact Officer: Richard Leggett Senior Principal Officer - Commissioning and Partnership  01792 636947 cm12055/sd

Legal Officer: Janet Hooper

Contents

Chapter One Introduction and Overview 1

Chapter Two How we developed the Health, Social Care and Well Being Strategy 2011 - 2014 8

Chapter Three About our Local Area 14

Chapter Four Key Priority Areas for Action 2011 - 2014 35

Chapter Five Next Steps in developing and implementing the HSC&WB Strategy 51

Appendix 1 World Health Organisation European Healthy Cities Network Phase V 54

Glossary 59

If you would like a summary of this document in a different format or language please contact us on the details below:

Sharon Miller Health, Social Care and Well-being Strategy Co-ordinator ABMU Health Board, Swansea Locality Floor 12, Oldways Centre Orchard St. Swansea SA1 5AW

01792 601800 [email protected]

CHAPTER ONE

Chapter One

Introduction and Overview

Welcome to the Health, Social Care and Well Being (HSC&WB) Strategy for Swansea.

Swansea is a vibrant place with some of the most beautiful natural surroundings in the country. Our ultimate aim is that the 229,100 people who live in Swansea will be supported to live longer, healthier lives. This plan sets out how partners will seek to work together and with communities to improve health and well being over the next three years. Our understanding of Health is based on the following definition:

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (World Health Organisation) 7 April 1948.

This is the third HSC&WB plan that has been developed by partners in Swansea and it has been drafted at a very challenging time.

Major challenges include; the unprecedented economic climate which will result in less money being available to provide public services, increasing demand through an ageing population, increasing numbers of vulnerable children that need safeguarding, technological advances, and increasing public expectations. Public sector expenditure and services will therefore be put under increasingly significant pressure.

These challenges mean difficult decisions will have to be taken along with more radical and urgent steps to ensure that our health and social care services are delivered in the most effective and efficient way. This will involve shifting the balance to a more sustainable model of care with less reliance on institutional settings. We will also need to ensure that individuals and communities are encouraged to play their part, taking more responsibility for protecting their own health and well being.

Another major challenge is the current inequality in the level of health and well being experienced by different parts of the population in Swansea. This is often due to factors associated with deprivation. Chapter Three outlines some of these inequalities in more detail. Both life expectancy and levels of ill health are different across parts of Swansea and this is set to continue into the next generation unless current trends are reversed. For example, information suggests there could be a 13 year difference in longevity between the East and West parts of Swansea. This means that during these difficult and challenging times we have to double our efforts to protect the most vulnerable, ill and disadvantaged.

There may also be further political and policy changes which affect the way in which services are delivered. For example a White paper which will set out the way in which Social Services will be provided is expected during 2011.

An exciting development that will help to address these challenges, is that Swansea has recently been designated by the World Health Organisation as a member of the European Healthy City network. This means Swansea has joined eighty other European Countries, including 13 in the UK, who have successfully demonstrated a real commitment that all partners will work together to promote health and health equity in all of our policies and actions. In turn, by being a member of the network, Swansea will benefit from worldwide learning, expertise and support in helping us to make Swansea a Healthier City and County. Our application for this status informed and influenced our thinking in developing this strategy. More information on the overall goals and themes of Healthy City are included in Appendix One.

Our commitment to achieving Health City Status demonstrates a clear understanding that improving health and well being lies beyond the remit of just health and social care services. There are many factors that affect health and well being which are often referred to as ‘Determinants of Health and Well Being. These are shown in the diagram below.

Figure 1: Determinants of Health and Well-being

Source: Dhalgren and Whitehead, (cited in An Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report, Sir Donald Acheson)

Our Vision and Long Term Strategic Aims

Our vision is that by 2020 Swansea will become a Healthier City for All and will be a place where:-

 Everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve the best level of health and well being possible, living longer healthier lives.  Appropriate high quality care is jointly delivered in the best location at the right time by a range of organisations working together.  Communities and individuals are well informed and take responsibility for their own health and well being.

To assist us in achieving our vision a number of long term strategic aims have been identified to:-

 Promote healthy lifestyles and personal responsibility.  Reduce inequalities in health and well being.  Increase people’s independence.  Deliver high quality, safe and accessible services.  Improve the protection and safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children.

This plan concentrates on the next three years and has a narrower focus than previous plans. It sets out the priority areas that partners will work on jointly to progress towards our vision and long term strategic aims. We will concentrate on:-

 Working towards making Swansea a Healthier City, focusing on promoting health in all our policies and achieving a more equal standard of health across the population.

 Ensuring our health and social care services are organised and delivered more efficiently, effectively and jointly.

The partners in Swansea that work together to produce this plan include the City and County Of Swansea, ABMU Local Health Board, the National Public Health Service for Wales, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Community Health Council, Swansea Council for Voluntary Services and Swansea University. This partnership is currently known as Health Challenge Swansea.

Partners recognise that only by working with a range of other people and organisations will we achieve our vision and aims for the future. This includes recognising the crucial role of individuals, communities, service users, carers and the voluntary sector as well as other agencies and partnerships in Swansea.

National and Local Policy Context

This plan has been influenced by both the national and local policy context. The key national policies and frameworks include:-

 One Wales - which sets out the ambition to transform Wales into a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and society, which is fair to all.

 Our Healthy Future - the strategic framework for public health in Wales. It sets the overall context and direction for action to improve and protect health in Wales. The aims are to improve the quality and length of life and achieve fairer outcomes for all.

 Designed for Life - a 10 year strategy for the health service that sets out a vision and plan to make NHS Wales a world class service.

 Setting the Direction – The Primary and Community Services Framework - a strategic framework for developing primary and community services that sets out a vision that all people will receive high quality integrated health and social care services tailored to their individual needs and where possible delivered close to home within their communities. The framework identifies a preventative primary and community led NHS as being the fundamental approach in driving improvements in health and social care.

 National Five-Year Service Workforce and Financial Strategic Framework for NHS Wales – a framework for integration and transformation aiming for better for health for all and services as good as any in the world.

 Fulfilled Lives, Supportive Communities – a 10 year strategy for social services which sets out key themes and the future direction of social services.

 National Service Frameworks and Service Development and Commissioning Directives – long term strategies for improving specific areas of care. They set national standards, identify key actions and put in place agreed timescales for implementation.

 Health Gain targets – targets and indicators that aim to improve health and reduce health inequalities in Wales by 2012.

The overarching local policy context is provided by the Swansea Community Plan. This Health Social Care and Well Being plan is strongly based within the ten year community plan framework, working along side other key partnerships to deliver seven key ambitions for Swansea to:-

 Improve the health, social care and well being of everyone in Swansea.  Improve Swansea’s environment for everyone.  Make a better Swansea for all children and young people.  Ensure excellent education opportunities for everyone in Swansea.  Make Swansea safer for everyone.  Make Swansea a more prosperous for everyone.  Make better use of our resources.

Whilst working towards these ambitions partners have agreed to address four cross cutting challenges, sustainable development, equality and diversity, social inclusion and community regeneration.

Improving health and well being plays a key part in achieving these ambitions. In turn education, the environment, economic prosperity and community safety can all have a significant effect on an individual’s health and well being. These links are explored more fully in chapter three. Working successfully with and playing a key part within the partnerships that lead these areas will be key to making Swansea a Healthier City. These key partnerships include:-

Figure 2: Key strategic partnerships delivering the Swansea Community Plan

The local policy context is also set out in:-

The ABMU Health Board’s Quality, Service, Workforce and Financial Framework 2010-2015 Changing for the Better. This five year plan sets out an ambitious programme of action to enable a high quality, responsive and sustainable NHS across the Health Board area. It clearly states that patient safety will be afforded number one priority status. More detail on the programme of work is included in Chapter Four. A copy of the plan can be found at: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/863/page/48802.

The City and County of Swansea Adult Services Strategic Delivery Plan – which sets out the strategy for the transformation of Adult Services. Promoting the core values of social work and social care and setting out an ambitious transformation programme to achieve five strategic outcomes which are to support people with social care needs to achieve health, well-being, social inclusion, independence and personal responsibility. A copy of the plan can be found at www.swansea.gov.uk.

The City and County of Swansea Child and Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan – which sets out how social services for children will be developed and improved to support the aim of ensuring that children and young people who may be disadvantaged by their needs or circumstances are supported to enjoy a happy, healthy and productive childhood. Having the opportunities they need to reach their potential. A copy of the plan can be found at www.swansea.gov.uk.

Importantly the links with the Children and Young People partnership and plan are also key. The start that children and young people have in life and the choices they make can influence their health outcomes for their whole life. For example, there is growing recognition of the effects of child poverty on the likely health of children and also the significant effects of housing, educational attainment and lifestyle behaviour and choices including attitudes towards sexual relationships, alcohol and drugs. The vision partners have set out in the Children & Young People Plan is that we want all children and young people in Swansea to develop their full potential. This includes having a flying start in life, being healthy, safe in the home, in school and in the wider community, be educated, enjoy life, have a voice and make a positive contribution to help improve Swansea.

We are working in Swansea with the Children and Young People partnership to develop jointly owned priorities that both partnerships will progress. Initial areas that have been identified as particularly important to both partnerships are improving safeguarding, tackling inequalities,

reducing substance misuse and increasing the number of young people with a healthy lifestyle.

CHAPTER TWO

Chapter Two

How we developed the HSC&WB Strategy

Improving the health, social care and well being of the population is a long term aim that we expect will take many years. This is the third plan that has been produced by partners aimed at improving health and well being. We are therefore building on the foundations of the joint work undertaken over previous years. To develop this plan partners have:-

 Undertaken a review of the progress made over the previous five years.  Updated information on the current health and social care needs of the population.  Considered the key priority areas needed to improve health and well being.  Developed proposals for and engaged on a number of service changes.  Undertaken a twelve week public consultation exercise on a draft HSC&WB plan.

Further detail on these is included below.

Review of progress made over previous years

The review showed that partners have made steady progress by working together over the last few years. Improving health and well being is a long term goal, it is hoped that the resources and efforts already invested in the last five years will pay dividends in years to come. Some of the particular achievements are:-

Working to prevent ill health and reduce inequalities

The partnership has achieved an enhanced focus on prevention of ill health and the reduction of inequalities which has remained a key priority area throughout previous years. Key achievements include:-

o Implementation of a multi agency action programme to improve healthy eating in schools. o Development and implementation of the ‘Climbing Higher Strategy’; some early successes are a 31% increase in adult physical activity usage, an increase of 1000 Active Swansea monthly members, and a 17% increase in junior usage. o Implementation of the Positive Steps programme that has supported nearly one thousand people through a sixteen week exercise programme. o The continued success of the Healthy Schools Scheme, with 88 primary and 10 secondary schools participating in Swansea. o The targeting of actions with primary care has resulted in an increase in the levels of childhood vaccinations (MMR) of 10%. o Implementation of smoking cessation programmes have supported over 600 people

to quit smoking, together with robust enforcement of the no smoking ban. o Facilitation of National Healthy Living Week in Swansea, with over 1500 people participating in activities and over 800 health checks carried out. o Tackling of health inequalities at a geographical level, through working with Communities First partnerships. o Reduction of workplace (3 day) injuries, through working in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive. o Undertaking of a comprehensive programme of involvement and consultation that has supported the strategy process and encouraged people to take responsibility for their own health and well being. Includes the development of a Health Challenge Swansea Website, receiving up to c. 7,500 hits per month, work to expand and publicise a self help directory of services with NHS direct – now contains over 250 organisations.

Health and Social Care Service Change

The approach to service improvement and change in Swansea has been two-fold; four high level change programmes have been identified along with a range of priority areas for particular population groups or service areas. Good progress has been made in laying solid foundations for the continued redesign and improvement of services in future years. Many service improvements have already been made over the last five years many of which have been taken forward jointly by health and social services. Most of these have a clear focus on early intervention, the promotion of independence, and the reduction of pressure on acute services and address key issues identified through the needs assessment. Some key achievements are:- o Developing and agreeing an overall model of care for acute and community services in Swansea. o Development of a range of strategic and outline business cases to provide new and improved healthcare facilities including significant upgrades to Morriston hospital that will facilitate the redesign of hospital services across Swansea, and eight interrelated mental health projects. o Agreeing common boundaries within Swansea which enabled community nursing, the chronic disease management team and social services teams to be co – terminous with groupings of GP practices. o Significant progress in the re-engineering of mental health services combining plans for upgraded facilities with fundamental service redesign (see below for service changes made). o The establishment of a chronic disease management nursing service and its evaluation and rollout across general practices in Swansea. o The establishment of a GP led minor injuries unit. o The establishment of a crisis resolution/home treatment team in mental health. o The establishment of an assertive outreach service in mental health. o Reshaping of the older people’s social services teams into extended assessment teams. o Significant work on the development of care pathways across primary and secondary care for COPD, Stroke and Diabetes. o The expansion of supported accommodation for mental health service users in the community (10 additional units). o The enhancement to local mental health services to enable 26 patients to be ‘repatriated’ to receive services more closely to home.

o The substantial reduction in hospital waiting times over the period of the strategies. o Establishment of a telecare service and exploring the use of telemedicine in Swansea (850 telecare installations to date). o The merging of three separate intermediate care services into a single team. o Piloting implementation of the person centred approach to dementia care in partnership. o The introduction of primary mental health care liaison service across practices in Swansea. o The development of supported accommodation for those with a physical disability to allow more independent living in the community. o Reshaping of the joint equipment store, including the new Morgannwg Integrated Community Equipment store in Morriston hospital. o Substantial reduction in waiting times for CAMHS services.

Development of Joint Strategies and Action Plans

A number of strategies and action plans have been developed by partners during recent years. In particular:- o The first Carers Strategy and action plan for Swansea. o The first joint statement of principles in relation to those with a physical disability/ sensory impairment. o The development and implementation of the local mental health action plan in response to the revised mental health national service framework o Self assessment for both the Children and Young People and the Older People’s National Service Framework and associated action plans. o The development of a Healthy Weight Strategy for Swansea. o A mental health promotion plan. o A revised implementation framework for those with a learning disability.

Links to other Strategies and Partnerships

There has been a robust start to developing links between other key partnerships and with the community strategy partnership. The community plan as outlined above recognises improved health, social care and well being as one of seven key ambitions for Swansea.

Links with other partnerships include:- o Joint working with the Children and Young People partnership to align the two strategies (specifically recognised and commended by the Welsh Assembly Government). o Inclusion of Older People’s Strategy within the second HSC&WB plan. o Exploring the links between Health and Well Being and the Environment through a joint workshop which is now part of an ongoing programme of work. o Linking in with the ‘Beyond Bricks and Mortar’ economic regeneration project and joint working with the City Centre Framework partnership and the Strategic Regeneration Programme identifying joint opportunities for meeting common goals. o Perhaps one of the strongest links has been forged with the Communities First Programme, which the Health Challenge Partnership is now working in three geographical areas in Swansea to design and deliver a programme of activities aimed at tackling some of the most significant inequalities in health in Swansea.

o The current Swansea Unitary Development Plan 2001-2016 reflects issues identified in the first HSC& WB strategy including the development of sustainable communities, reducing inequalities in service provision and encouraging healthier lifestyles

These links will be comprehensively strengthened as the Community Planning Partnership steer the drive for Swansea to become a Healthier City.

The achievements outlined above have been facilitated by senior level partnership arrangements and performance management processes which have been established and maintained throughout the strategy period.

Updated the Health Social Care and Well Being Needs Assessment

To inform the development of this third plan partners also produced a comprehensive health social care and well being needs assessment. This gathers information on a wide range of topics and provides us with a picture of the current state of health and well being in Swansea. The needs assessment assists us in identifying the key areas on which we need to concentrate on if we want to improve health and well being and reduce inequalities. The results of the needs assessment are set out in Chapter Three and have directly informed the identification of our priority areas.

Reviewed the existing vision and aims and priority areas for action

To develop the plan partners also reviewed the existing vision and aims in light of the national and local policy context. It was agreed that the vision and aims still reflect what partners want to achieve. However a stronger emphasis has been included on achieving equal opportunity for all, ensuring or services are safe and of a high quality, and ensuring that we increase our efforts to safeguard the most vulnerable adults and children in society.

Informed by the results of the needs assessment and the renewed local and national policy context partners have identified a small number of priority areas set out in Chapter Four that will form the basis of our joint action over the coming years.

Developed proposals for and engaged on a number of service changes

Partners have previously extensively consulted on both the first and second HSC&WB plans which have laid out our intentions to redesign services.

Many of the service changes involve improvement and transformation that will be part of an ongoing process and some will take years to fully complete. In addition to the previous consultations partners have continued to engage with a range of stakeholders on the following areas to influence the way in which service change is implemented. This has included engagement on the provision of children’s disability services, the Health Board five year plan and the Transformation of Adult Services with a particular focus on citizen directed support.

Partners have also undertaken a twelve week consultation on a draft version of this third HSC&WB plan. The results have been used to finalise this plan and will also be fed back into the relevant planning groups dealing with specific client groups or areas.

CHAPTER THREE

Chapter Three

About our Local Area – Swansea

Swansea is a Unitary Authority located at the Western End of the former industrial region of South Wales and is the regional centre of South West Wales. It covers 378 square kilometres and is a mixture of coastal landscapes, open moor land, rural villages and a university city. Over 80% of Swansea is some form of green space. Swansea has a population of 229,100. The population has been gradually increasing since 2001, averaging increases of just over 800 people per annum.

For the third time a comprehensive needs assessment has been undertaken on the health and well being needs of Swansea. Reflecting the understanding that health outcomes are affected as described above by a wide range of issues, the needs assessment covers a broad range of topics that affect health and well being.

The determinants of health include:-

 Genetics  Impact of the natural environment  Behavioural factors  Social and economic circumstances and  Cultural and political priorities

The social determinants of health refer to the full set of social conditions in which people live and work. The following framework further explores the underlying mechanisms that contribute to differential health outcomes like the influence of power, wealth and risks. Power and wealth influence social status that in turn influences differential exposure to health damaging conditions and differential vulnerability to deal with them.

For example, an episode of illness like having a stroke, is likely to have different consequences to the life of someone at the lower end of the socio economic scale than for someone higher up the scale who has easier access to material resources and support options (Detels, Beaglehole et al 2009 in the Oxford Textbook of Public Health 2009).

Figure 2: Determinants of Health and Well-being

Taken from: Fig 2.21 Framework for understanding social determinants of health and health inequities. Source: WHO Department of Equity, Poverty and Social Determinants of health (Solar and Irwin 2007 in the Oxford Textbook of Public Health 2009)

Health inequities are health differences which are socially produced, systematic in their distribution across the population and unfair (Dahlgren and Whitehead 2006 in the Oxford Textbook of Public Health 2009)

The needs assessment has therefore taken a broad view of the factors that affect health and health outcomes. As a result a wealth of information has been collated on Swansea. In order to identify the key issues that need to be addressed filters were used to analyse the information. These filters were used to identify:-

 Where Swansea is significantly different compared to Wales, the UK or Europe  Where there are inequalities within Swansea  What the evidence tells us we can do something about  Where we believe there is harm, variation or duplication  Where the situation in Swansea may be getting worse

In this chapter a high level summary has been provided of the emerging themes and key findings from the needs assessment. In addition an executive summary of the needs assessment has been produced which provides a more comprehensive overview of the key findings. This can be found at www.healthchallengeswansea.org.uk.

Emerging themes from the 2010 Health Social Care and Well Being Needs Assessment

The emerging themes are:-

 The inequalities in health experienced across Swansea both geographically due to socio economic deprivation and by different population groups persist.  Evidence says that more can be done to prevent ill health through addressing the factors that perpetuate health inequalities by integrating policies across all sectors that ensure health equity is in all policies.  There is a particular risk that the immediate economic climate and expected public sector cuts over the next few years could disproportionately affect Swansea.  Risk to health experienced by children and young people remains, including risks from poverty and deprivation, substance misuse, communicable diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, dental caries and obesity.  The impact on individuals and communities and health and social care services of alcohol and substance misuse and a dependant ageing population also remain.  Over reliance on secondary care services, duplication, waste and variation in the service sector persist.  More should be done to utilise the assets within communities and to build capacity so communities can influence policy design and implementation.

Summary of key findings

General Socio Economic, Cultural and Environmental Conditions

Economic Prosperity, Social Inclusion and Poverty Importance: Income and socio economic factors are perhaps the most important determinants of health in the United Kingdom. Poor health (perceived or diagnosed) is closely linked to socio economic deprivation. Research suggests that unemployment or poor working conditions is generally damaging for health, Children who are born into poverty are more likely to be unhealthy, have poor education and limited employment prospects. Fuel poverty is a significant health issues often experienced by people over the age of 60 or living alone. It can contribute to excess winter deaths.

Key findings:  Unemployment rates doubled from 2.3% April 2007 to 4% Nov 2009.  Unemployment rates are almost twice the Swansea average in Townhill and electoral divisions.  Working age economic activity and employment rates are below the Wales and UK average  Swansea has the highest proportion of children in Wales who live in a workless household 24.8% compared to 18% for the Wales average.  Swansea has a higher % claiming sickness incapacity benefits/severe disablement allowance at 11% compared to 10.5% for Wales and 7.1% for UK.  Almost a third of people living in some wards in Swansea have long term limiting illness.  Higher levels of households exist in fuel poverty are in Castle, Landore, St Thomas and Uplands.  Swansea contains the third highest percentage of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in Wales which fall into the most deprived ten percent for overall deprivation: Townhill 1, 2 , 3, 5, 6, Castle 1,2, & 8, Penderry 1,2,3,4,5 7, Mynyddbach 1, Bonymaen 1, Morriston 5 & 7, Sketty 4.  Swansea has two of the top three ranked Swansea’s LSOAs in Wales for overall childhood poverty (both in Townhill). 18 LSOA’s in Swansea fall into the top 10% most deprived areas in Wales for the Child Multiple Deprivation Index 2008.

Housing Importance: Each year housing conditions are implicated in up to 50,000 deaths and around 0.5 million illnesses requiring medical attention, across the UK. Although short term housing refurbishment can be disruptive and intrusive, in the longer term, improvements have been reported in both physical and mental health. Social renters are more likely to require funding if they need residential or nursing care later in life. Key Findings:  Poor housing conditions are suffered disproportionately by low income households and older persons.  Housing of poor quality is linked to physical and mental ill health like increased winter deaths, respiratory problems, accidents linked to poor repair, overcrowding.  Swansea has 13.1% of dwellings rented in the social sector compared to 9.9% for all Wales with implications for future social care provision in terms of funding for residential or nursing care. Almost a third of households have self assessed support needs.  Swansea has a higher average number of households who have self assessed support needs – approximately 30.5%, and an ageing population occupying disproportionately poor housing that may need adapting/improving to meet occupants’ needs.

Environment Importance: There are close links between the environment and people’s health. Environmental

problems such a pollution and flooding can pose significant risks to our health if not properly assessed or managed. Air quality has been shown to be linked to heart disease and stroke as-well as respiratory problems. Conversely, access to and enjoyment of a high quality natural and built environment can improve our health and our quality of life. Key Findings:  Poor air quality in Swansea is primarily due to vehicle emissions and is getting worse in some areas as car use and congestion continues to increase.  Poorer sectors of the community tend to use free standing LPG heaters which exposes them to far higher nitrogen oxides than would normally be the case.  Swansea may be unusual in that road traffic pollution does not appear to match socio-economic status.  Heavy rainfall can cause problems when untreated sewage overflows into rivers and coastal waters and it is anticipated that this may increase in the future as a result of climate change.  Climate change has the potential to widen existing social inequalities, as the poorest sectors of society are not only more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change but are also likely to find it harder to recover when incidents occur.  Fossil fuel supplies will become more limited and expensive, having greatest impact on the poorest sooner and to a greater extent.  In certain western parts of Swansea, 10–20% of the buildings are believed to have a problem with radon.

Education and Lifelong Learning Importance: Health outcomes are affected by the quality and quantity of early education. Educational attainment offers the greatest potential for improved social and economic circumstances and is a key element in reducing poverty, deprivation and exclusion and thus reducing health inequalities. Key Findings:  30.5% of the adult population in Swansea have no formal qualifications, compared to England 28.9%.  One in 5 adults are estimated to have literacy skills below level 1.  The WIMD for Child Deprivation 2008 shows that a number of LSOAs in Townhill and Penderry constitute Swansea’s 5 LSOA’s which rank in the top 20 worst LSOA’s across Wales for deprivation in the Education1  Key Stage 4 (achieving 5 GCSEs ( a*- c) boys in Swansea 10.2 % lower than girls.

Social and Community Networks

Transport Importance: Transport problems can be a significant barrier to social inclusion, including access

1 The indicators used were: Key Stage 2, 3, and 4 average point scores, Primary and Secondary School all absence rate, Proportion of people not entering Higher Education aged 18-19, and Proportion of adults aged 25 – 59/ 64 with no qualifications.

to work, education, health care, food and cultural activities. Key Findings:  28.5% of Swansea households had no car compared to the Welsh average of 25.9%  There are significant inequalities in access to transport via car, with the most deprived areas having almost twice as many people (over 50%) with no car compared to the Swansea average from Census figures.

Crime and Safety Importance: Crime or fear of crime can affect a persons well being. Street lighting has crime reduction effects and reduces fear of crime in both targeted and untargeted areas. Key Findings  Ward level crime statistics for Swansea show that wards with the highest levels of deprivation also feature amongst those wards with the highest level of crime rates.  Community based surveys in Swansea have consistently shown Crime or Fear of Crime as one of the top three things affecting health and well being.  From 2002- 2010 overall recorded crime in Swansea has fallen by 37%.

Domestic Abuse Importance: Domestic abuse has devastating consequences for the people who experience and witness it. Domestic violence is associated with psychiatric illness, including depression, suicide, anxiety, alcohol and drug misuse and post traumatic stress disorder. Domestic abuse can be hidden due to under reporting, so that the real extent of the problem is not known. Key Findings:  Women who experience domestic abuse are up to 15 times more likely to misuse alcohol and 9 times more likely to misuse drugs than women generally.  40% of Asian women who sought treatment for alcohol misuse were experiencing domestic abuse.  The risk to children increases considerably when problem drinking or drug use co-exist with domestic violence.  The reported prevalence of domestic abuse is higher in deprived areas.

Individual Lifestyle Factors

Weight, diet and exercise Importance: Many chronic and disabling conditions experienced by the population in Swansea such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease are linked by common preventable risk factors. An unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and smoking are risk factors for these conditions. Many of the above conditions are preventable and by eating healthily and being physically active, the risk of developing many chronic conditions can be dramatically reduced. Key Findings:  Swansea is in the bottom 3 of LA areas in Wales for physical inactivity at 73% of the adult population not undertaking the 5x30 minutes moderate activity to

reduce risk from chronic diseases like heart disease and improving mental health.  From the latest Welsh Health Survey compared to the 2007 Needs Assessment: the % of the Swansea adult population that is overweight or obese has gone up 5% from 52% to 57%.  Lower income families have less variety in their diet, eat fewer essential nutrients but eat more fat and sugar.  In Swansea, 25.7% of boys and 33.6% of girls in Year 4 were reported as overweight or obese  Only 36% of adults in Swansea are eating the recommended daily quantity of fruit and vegetables.

Substance Misuse – Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco Importance: People who misuse drugs, alcohol or other substances cause considerable harm to themselves and society. This includes harm to their own physical and mental health and well being, and possibly to their ability to support themselves. They may harm their families lives and also there may be harm to the communities in which they live through the crime, disorder and anti social behaviour associated with substance misuse.

Alcohol is a depressant and many heavy drinkers have mental health problems. Alcohol often contributes to problems with family, relationships, work, finances and crime. Binge drinking is associated with accidents, violence and crime as well as a hangover, headaches, vomiting and indigestion. Heavy regular drinking increases the risk of stomach ulcers, liver cirrhosis, heart disease, strokes and some cancers. Research suggests that heavy regular drinking is associated with 40% of domestic violence and 20% of child abuse.

Much drug use is known to start at an early age. The total economic and social cost of Class A drug use in Wales has been estimated to be around £780 million and drug related crime accounts for 90% of this.

Smoking is the single biggest avoidable cause of early death and disease in Wales. It is also identified as the primary reason for the gap in healthy life expectancy between the rich and the poor. Smoking cessation has shown to be effective with local quit rates at 70% after 4 weeks. Key Findings:  Hospital admission rates for adults due to alcohol and drugs is statistically significantly worse compared to the rest of Wales.  26% of over 6,000 young people surveyed in Swansea had been seriously drunk at some stage and 47% had drunk alcohol at least once in the last 4 weeks. (A recent Communities that Care survey 2008).  According to the 2009 WHS, nearly half of all adults in Swansea drunk alcohol above recommended guidelines on at least one day in the past week. 2% points higher than the Wales average and the joint second highest in Wales.  Over a third of adults reported binge drinking on at least one day in the past week. This is above the Welsh Average of 28% and the third highest in Wales.  Positive testing for heroin and cocaine in individuals arrested for trigger offences is consistently the highest in the UK.

 Child centred targeted approaches have been shown to be effective as is a single point of access for young people to substance misuse services.  In 2009 Swansea had the highest number of drug implicated deaths in Wales (22) and the highest rates of drug implicated deaths in 2008 and 2009 (9 and 12 deaths per 100,000 population respectively).  Between 2006 and 2008, 100 adults died of alcohol related causes with the rates of alcohol-related mortality being highest in the city centre and surrounding area (Upper Super Output Area 007).  Improvements in collecting and reporting data are urgently required as reports into HSW are still far from reliable due to lack of consistency and accuracy of information.  The majority of hepatitis C virus infection in Wales is found amongst current and injecting drug users (IDU) – evidence of infection was seen in 43% of Swansea and Neath IDU (highest in South Wales).  Approximately 30-50% of people misusing drugs have mental health problems.  In one study half of alcohol dependant adults said they had a mental health problem.  Although smoking prevalence has decreased Swansea’s ranking in Wales has remained the same – 12th highest out of the 22 local authorities in Wales.  In Wales, results from the 2009 WHS would suggest that difference in smoking prevalence between higher managerial and professional groups and those who have never worked or are long-term unemployed has increased to 29 percentage points.  There is a definite social gradient, with smoking levels much higher in the more deprived areas and certain client groups.  A recent Communities that Care survey (2008) of over 6,000 children aged 11- 16 showed that: -5% regularly smoke  -Some areas were significantly more likely compared to the Swansea average to show that children smoked regularly (Penlan 12%, Mayhill and Townhill 9% and BlaenyMaes, Portmead, Penplas 8%).  Nearly a quarter of adults (23%) in Swansea still smoke (WHS 2009).

Oral Health Importance: Emerging evidence suggests a possible ink between cavities and gum disease and serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and premature and low weight babies. Dental caries is not inevitable, it can be prevented by targeting multi sectoral community and school based initiatives. Smoking, tobacco and drinking alcohol have been identified as the major determinants of oral cancer risk. Key Findings:  Up to 63% (Welsh average is 53%) of 5 year olds in Llansamlet, Bonymaen, St Thomas, Mynyddbach, Cwmbwrla, Castle and Landore have tooth decay which on average is 3 or more decayed missing or filled teeth.  Child dental decay is closely correlated to social deprivation.  Steady decline in tooth loss within the middle age bands in particular, which is leading to more people retaining teeth into later life so when the population is both expanding and ageing, there will be a substantial increase in the pool of teeth at risk. With more adults retaining more teeth for longer, there will inevitably be increasing demands for more complex restorative treatment

services. This is likely to be an added pressure on access to NHS dental services.  The use of alcohol and tobacco together increase substantially the risk of oral cancer.  Oral cancer (cancer of lip, oral cavity and pharynx) is largely preventable but there has been no improvement in the incidence of these death rates in Wales over last decade.

Sexual Health Importance: Early age sex is associated with non consensual and regretted sex, lack of protection and a higher number of sexual partners. Health Development Agency recommends school based interventions linked to contraceptive services to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. Effective ways to reduce sexually transmitted diseases are through unambiguous messages and behavioural skills training. Youth development programmes have also been shown to be effective. Key Findings:  The percentage of under 18 conceptions which lead to abortion is 41.6% in Wales, Swansea is higher at 45.8%. In 2009 in Swansea 20% of abortions to women aged under 25 were repeat abortions, Wales (20%) and slightly higher in England 24.7%.  Swansea is statistically significantly better compared to Wales for under 16s teenage conception rate. Swansea’s under 16 and under 18 conception rates masks inequalities across the county. There were 496 under 18 conceptions in Swansea during 2005 -2007. Swansea wards with more than 20 conceptions during 2005-2007 are Townhill (65), Penderry (62), Morriston (54), Llansamlet (32), Clydach (26), Penyrheol (25), Castle (24), Cockett (24), and Mynyddbach (23).  Steady increase in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections in Swansea and the UK. The burden of sexually transmitted infection are borne by young people, who account for more than 50% of STI diagnoses but only 12% of the population.  Regular alcohol consumption is associated with both an early onset of sexual activity and multiple sexual partners, while alcohol use at first sex is associated with lower levels of condom use at first intercourse.  The additional cost of providing Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) is more than offset by the costs of unplanned pregnancies (reduced terminations or reduced births): Estimated savings of over £200, 000 per 100, 000 population.

Screening Importance: The aim of screening is to reduce the incidence of morbidity and mortality form invasive cervical/breast cancer. Almost all abnormalities detected by screening are successfully treated.

Key Findings:  Swansea is still the 4th lowest LA area for cervical screening in last 5 years (73.5% vs. 75.5% Wales average).  Swansea has the highest ‘Did Not Attend’ rate at 19.2% compared Bridgend(16.7%) and NPT (16.1%) for diabetic retinopathy screening.

Variation in screening uptake with more deprived areas having the worst uptake; Patients of primary care practices covering the City Centre, Townhill and Fforestfach were the poorest attendees for diabetic retinopathy screening.  Since 2006/7 breast cancer screening rates have dropped by nearly 9% to 68% and are lower than the Wales average of 73.7%, as well as the 4th lowest LA area in Wales.

Health and Well Being Profile

Mortality, Morbidity and Chronic Conditions Importance: Mortality is a measure of a rate of death from a disease within a given population, location or other grouping. Morbidity is a state of being ill or disabled. It is the occurrence of a disease or condition that alters health and quality of life.

Chronic conditions are those which in most cases cannot be cured, only controlled, and are often life-long and limiting in terms of quality of life. Many chronic conditions can be prevented or delayed if risk factors such as unhealthy lifestyles are tackled. The impact of chronic conditions on people’s lives and services in Wales is of growing concern. Wales has the highest rates of long-term limiting illness in the UK accounting for a large proportion of unnecessary emergency admissions to hospital. Chronic diseases have a large impact on the health and social care budget.

Living with chronic condition can have a significant impact on a persons quality of life and on their family. The incidence of diseases increases with age. Many older people are living with more than one chronic condition and this means they face particular challenges.

Managed care programmes that share knowledge and involve patients in decision making are good practice in chronic disease management. People with chronic illnesses like cancer, neurological and renal disease and chronic pain are at a greater risk of suicide than the general population. Key Findings:  Leading causes of death (all ages) are circulatory, respiratory and cancer.  Life Expectancy for males and females (2006-8) in Swansea is 77 years and 81.1 years respectively, this is line with the Wales levels of 76.9 and 81.2.  Rates of adults reporting Long Term Limiting Illness are 28%, with some wards in particular showing rates of 29% (Castle, Penderry, Townhill, Gorseinon, West Cross and Mynyddbach).  Rates of emergency hospital admissions are statistically significantly high in 18 of the 31 small areas in Swansea.  Many health outcomes are statistically significantly worse than Wales as a whole in areas of high deprivation like Bonymaen, Penderry, Castle and Townhill.  There is an estimated 13 year age difference in experience of longevity between the east and west parts of Swansea.  Rates of premature mortality from circulatory disease are more than 4 times higher in the Castle area than in the Gower and Pennard areas

The diagram below shows MSOA’s in the ABM area with high rates of death from circulatory disease for under 75’s, with the areas in Swansea in the worst fifth being in: Landore (13), St Thomas (11), Castle (14), Pontardulais (8), Penderry (10), Townhill (12).

Communicable Disease Importance: Significant advances have been made in the control of communicable disease during the last one hundred and fifty years, largely through improvements in sanitation, housing, nutrition and other social advances, but infectious diseases remain a public health challenge. Multi-agency collaborative working arrangements are required to prevent the spread of communicable disease and so minimise their impact on the health of the local population. Improvements in immunisation rates can be achieved by national/local guidance through targeted immunisation campaigns to high risk groups. Key findings:  For MMR 2 by age 5 years, Swansea was in the bottom 4 of LA areas in Wales in 2008/9 (COVER report) with an annual uptake at 79%.  There were 83 measles and 130 mumps notifications in 2009 in Swansea from outbreaks as 95% coverage is required to prevent wild virus circulation and protect population health.  Seasonal influenza rate in 2008/9 season in those less than 65 years with one or

more clinical risks was 38% - in the lowest 6 of LA areas in Wales.  MMR at 2 years has increased by 8.7% but coverage remains below the target of 95%.

Injuries Importance: Injuries and their consequences produce a heavy burden in terms of short and long term disability, mortality, economic loss and health care costs. Child resistant packaging has been shown to be effective at reducing child poisoning/overdose, area wide traffic management and urban safety schemes like pedestrian priority walking routes and male driver education can all help to reduce traffic accidents and reduce health inequalities. Key Findings:  Road traffic injuries in 2008 are 7% less than the average for 1994-2008 (R&I Unit, C& Swansea), though this masks an increase in 2008 of the number of killed and seriously injured. There has also been a 28% reduction in the number of child injuries for the same period.  Twice as many children are pedestrian casualties from deprived areas, and up to 4 times as many from deprived areas are admitted to hospital as a result of their injuries.

Mental Health Importance: One quarter of the population is expected to suffer mental health issues at some time in their lives. That is one in four individuals in Swansea at any one time. While mental health issues can be classed s mild, moderate or severe the impact for most sufferers and their families can be devastating, and may lead to loss of jobs, relationships, homes and identity. Evidence shows that many mental health problems are preventable/treatable and that their impact can be reduced through appropriate care and support. There will be increased demand for specialist services particularly for people with cognitive impairment as dementia cannot be prevented only delayed. There is emerging evidence of effective interventions that can have a positive impact on suicide rates. Key Findings:  The mental health score in Swansea is 49.7, below the mean score for Wales of 49.9 (Welsh Health Survey 2008-9). A higher score means better self reported mental health.  The average suicide rate for Swansea is 14.6 per 100,000 of the population which is higher than the national average for Wales.  There is a strong social gradient in mental health illness in relation to income and education.  Almost three quarters of sentenced prisoners have two or more mental health disorders; 14 times the level of males in the general population and 35 times the level of females.  Studies have consistently shown that between 30 and 50 % of rough sleepers have mental health problems.  About 50% of people who experience common mental health problems recover within 18 months but of those still affected there is a higher

proportion of lower socio economic status individuals.  There is need for better liaison between mental health services and learning disability services, substance misuse services and physical disability services in order to provide more effective and co-ordinated care  A recent review has identified that the increasing demand for advice and interventions within the primary care setting means existing resources are wholly insufficient to address need.  There are issues both in the rates of mental health issues and barriers in service provision in relation to various BME groups.

Specific Population Groups

Children and Young People Importance: The foundations of good health are laid during pregnancy and infancy and built upon in the school-age years. A range of risk factors, such as maternal smloking and poor nutrition in pregnancy, poverty in childhood, poor educational attainment, and neglect and rejection by families, have been associated with negative health and wellbeing outomes both in the short term and over the lifespan. Conversely, positive outcomes have been linked to a number of protective factors, such as a supportive family environment. Tackling risk factors for lifelong health and wellbeing in the early years and building children’s resilience to adversity will therefore be central in improving health outcomes. Intervening in the early years has also been shown to be a good investment, as it provides a greater rate of return than that for later intervention. Key Findings:  There is a significant geographical bias in terms of deprivation rankings to be found in Swansea in relation to children; Townhill, Penderry and Castle feature in 9 of the top 10 LSOA’s in Swansea in the overall index of multiple deprivation for children.  Swansea has two of the top three ranked LSOA’s in Wales for overall childhood poverty, according to the index; Townhill 1 and Townhill 3.  In Penderry and Townhill the % of children on benefits is twice the national average and over 20% of households are lone parent with dependent children compared to Swansea average of 11%.  Swansea has the fifth highest rate per 10,000 in Wales of children in need.  26 % of secondary school pupils surveyed in Swansea had been seriously drunk at some stage and 47% had drunk alcohol at least once in the last 4 weeks.  51% of 16-18 year olds who are not in education, employment or training live in SA1 and SA5.  Between 2005 and 2009 the number of looked after children in Swansea increased by 19% compared to an increase of 7% across Wales (All Wales Data Unit).  Risk factors such as family conflict, family history of problem behaviour, community disorganisation and neglect have been seen to be worse in certain areas.  Characteristics of children with a mental disorder compared to other children are that they are more likely to be boys, live in a lower income threshold, or live in social sector housing with a lone parent. (ONS 2000).

 There are a number of resilience factors including at least one good parent child relationship, schooling with strong academic and non academic opportunities and positive behaviour policies, joint working between health and social care for those with needs, and clearly defined care pathways.  Local specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services only see children up to their 16th birthday. Comprehensive services are not in place.  There is a higher rate of live births in certain areas (Townhill, Penderry, Cockett) of Swansea – this can have an influence on demand for services, education provision and workforce.

LAC Population by Year

570

520

470

420

370

320 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

2010 Health Needs Assessment, Children in Need and Children and Young People

Older People Importance: Currently nearly one in five people are over 65 years in Swansea. The population is expected to age further as life expectancy increases. Many older people remain healthy, active and independent with little or no reliance on health and social care services. However increasing age is generally associated with increasing disability and loss of independance and functional impairments such as loss of mobility, sight and hearing, meaning that there are growing demands for health services and social care support. Key Findings:  A rise in the older population, 75 yrs and over, from 9% to 13% (29,000) of the total population is estimated by 2031 for Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.  An increase in chronic conditions such as circulatory, respiratory diseases, cancers and in the economically and care dependent populations is therefore likely.  Over one third of households in Swansea contain at least one older person with 26% of households being occupied solely by older residents – this will undoubtedly have implications for future caring and service provision requirements.  Admissions for pedestrian injuries in 70-89 year old remain higher in those from the most compared to the least deprived areas as the gap remains unchanged.

 The crude hip fracture admissions rate in Swansea residents over 75 years has remained largely unchanged over the last decade with women being roughly double the rate of men.  There are differing rates of hospital utilisation in Swansea in residents aged under 75, with statistically significiantly high emergency admission in 18 of Swansea’s 31 areas, but with a small proportion of areas with high rates of elective admission.

BME Groups Importance: These groups suffer inequalities in health and well-being and need services and information tailored to their needs. Key Findings:  Higher levels of specific conditions amongst certain minorities include coronary heart disease, some cancers, haemoglobinopathies, mental illness and diabetes.  Asian populations have a higher proportion of body fat in comparison to people of the same age, gender and BMI in the general UK population, and thus have an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.  Swansea has a slightly higher proportion of people from BME backgrounds compared to Wales, with a particularly high proportion of people of Bangladeshi origin compared to other ethnic groups.  Swansea is one of the four main areas in Wales, designed to receive asylum seekers. Updated estimates of population (ONS) since 2001 indicate that non- white ethnic groups in Swansea may have increased by more than 1%.

Physical and Sensory Impairment Importance: Physically disabled people experience inequalities in health and well being and services need to be person centred and tailored to meet individual needs. Statutory partners have a responsibility to meet the obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and the new Equality Act 2010. Key Findings:  Access to dentists is a fundamental issue of concern for disabled people  There are not only problems with physical barriers but information, transport, language and the barrier of staff attitudes to disability.

Learning Disability Importance: People with a learning disability from birth or early childhood have an impairment of intellectual functioning that significantly affects their development and leads to difficulties in understanding and using information, learning new skills and managing to live independently. They are more likely to require support and services to lead an ordinary life. Person centred community based services have been shown to promote independence and social inclusion and a focus has been directed towards the improvement of access and experience within the health care system. Key Findings:  Dementia is higher among older adults with a learning disability compared to the general population (21.6% compared to 5.7%)  Early onset dementia, epilepsy, mental health problems, obesity and sensory impairment and poorer dental health are more common amongst people with a

learning disability  Mild to moderate learning disability has a link to poverty and rates are higher in deprived urban areas.  Studies show that people with a learning disability suffer with poorer health than the general population. Research shows people with a learning disability have an increased risk of early death. The risk of dying before age 50 is 58 times higher than the general population. The risk of early death increases with the severity of disability  The rates of people with a severe learning disability are projected to rise by 15- 25%. This will have an impact on the type and range of services required.  Research would indicate that there will be a 41% increase in people aged 60 -79 by 2011 and a 50% in people aged over 80. The increasing numbers living into old age will have implications for service provision.  Lack of suitable provision for younger people who need something in between fully staffed accommodation and independent living.  There is a need for general secondary care services to have a better understanding of the needs of people with a learning disability when people are admitted to hospital.  Many people with a learning disability are overlooked when it comes to diagnosis of dementia. The consequence tends to be late diagnosis and decreasing benefits from existing treatments more effective in the early stages.  People with a learning disability suffer from higher levels of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.  Disabled or ill respondents reported domestic violence twice as often and clinical negligence four times as often as others.  Access is a fundamental issue of prime concern to disabled people and affects all aspects of life on a daily basis. Access encompasses both the physical environment and information, transport and language.  An increase is being reported in the number of economically active disabled people who are unemployed: 18.5% (from 7.3% in 2006).  Research indicates that in Wales as a whole only 20% of people with complex needs who would be eligible for a social service actually receive it

Carers Importance: Carers make a significant contribution to the support and care of people with health and disability problems enabling them to continue to live in their own homes. Studies suggest that caring is likely to be associated with inequalities in mental and emotional health including fatigue and physical health problems, which can result in social exclusion. Support needs to be directed to carers to enable them to continue with this valuable work. Key Findings:  As a proportion of the total population Swansea has the highest number of reported Carers in Wales.  Almost 10% more children in Swansea are Carers compared to Wales with 17.7 per 1,000 children.  The proportion of children who provide 20 hours and more care per week is over 20% higher than in Wales.  Young Carers are a particularly vulnerable group.  Carers have difficulty making and keeping appointments as they find it difficult to leave the person being cared for and thereby tend to neglect their own health.

 Services providing support improve quality of life and reduce /delay the need for institutional care.

Prisoners Importance: The prison population is unlike the rest of the general population, it is a transient population with rapid turnover poor general health and a high prevalence of serious and resource intensive conditions such as mental health and substance misuse. Key findings:  Education attainment is lower than the average.  From a survey of inmate medical records in 2008: nearly 80% smoke, 65% report having used drugs in the month prior to imprisonment and almost a third had self harmed during their life time.

Homelessness Importance: Being homeless can have a significant affect on health and well being. Inequalities exist around mental and physical health for this client group and there can be high rates of attendance at A&E departments. Access to health services is poorer for homeless people than the local population. Mediation schemes for people asked to leave accommodation have proved effective, housing market affordability issues. The major causes of homelessness are parents not willing to accommodate , domestic abuse and loss of rented accommodation. Key findings:  Difficulty in finding permanent housing solutions for certain groups – including young people under 18.  Substance misuse including drugs, alcohol and tobacco is a key health issue amongst this population group.  Depression and anxiety are common.  Physical and mental health and access to a range of health services is poorer than the local population.  Life expectancy of a rough sleeper is 42 years.  Hepatitis C diagnoses are high.  Discharge from hospital for people who are homeless is problematic  The lack of a fixed address can affect access to and continuity of care.  A lack of accommodation options for people with substance misuse issues is likely to have a negative impact of the success of treatment.  Homelessness applications are at their highest level since 2004/05 when the prevention agenda was adopted. It is assumed part of this increase is attributable to the current economic climate.

Asylum Seekers Importance: Asylum seekers are a particularly vulnerable group who may have had haphazard access to healthcare. Specific health issues include communicable diseases, mental health problems relating to past experiences, and poor dental health.  At the end of May 2009 Swansea had 562 asylum seekers (nearly a quarter of the Wales total). A high proportion of refugees live in Communities First areas . Over the previous 6 years, 88% of these were housed in Townhill, Bonymaen, Morriston and Penderry wards. There are unknown numbers of failed asylum seekers.

 Asylum seekers report experiencing housing problems, difficulties in accessing and understanding services, and high unemployment.  There are an increasing number of births (projected 100% increase to 09/10 ) placing added pressures on midwifery and health visiting services.

Migrant Workers Key findings:  Migrant workers can face problems of language barriers, lack of accessible information and difficulties in registering for healthcare provision (Equality of Opportunity Committee 2008).  Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to housing that could be damaging to their health and well being ( Equality of Opportunity Committee, British Red Cross Swansea).  Difficulties in understanding the healthcare system and how and when it should be used leads to inappropriate use of Accident and Emergency.

Gypsy Travellers Key findings:  Compared to the settled population infant mortality and maternal death rates are higher and life expectancy significantly lower.  Gypsy Travellers have a higher incidence of heart disease, strokes, accidents and mental ill health.  There are higher rates of accidents amongst Gypsy Traveller children partly because they are very physically active and partly because they often live and play in unsafe areas.  Take up of immunisations is reported to be lower than in the settled community.  Provision of health services to this client group relies too much on individual very dedicated health workers.

Students

 The student population of Swansea University is significant (14,680), and with a largely transient population between terms, is assumed to have a varying impact on health services.  There are specific identified health issues such as an ongoing mumps outbreak, related to inadequate uptake of 2 doses of the MMR2 vaccine.  Over one quarter of students were from a household with an income level low enough to qualify for the maximum Assembly Learning Grant/Maintenance Grant.

People Living in Rural Areas Importance: People living in rural areas experience some differing health needs than the general population. Swansea’s rural wards cover 60% of the land area surrounding a core urban area. Key Findings:  Penclawdd 2 has the 17th worst score on the health domain (WIMD) out of the 147 areas in Swansea  In the Access to services domain (WIMD) Gower 1and 2, Bishopston 2 and Mawr are in the top ten most deprived in Swansea

 There are high numbers of people with no qualifications in Pontardulais 31% and Mawr 30% compared to Swansea average 18%.  The population of older people within the traditional rural areas is projected to increase by an average of 33% by 2020 compared to 28% in urban areas

Health and Social Care Services Importance: Substantial resources are spent on providing health and social care services for the residents in Swansea. Services face greater demands due to increasing number of people needing safeguarding, an ageing population, technological advances and increasing public and patient expectations. There is a need to ensure that these resources are used as effectively as possible to maximise health outcomes for individuals and communities. Key Findings: Primary, Voluntary, Social Services Service Provision  Many practices are unable to support both the range of services needed and the levels of activity they generate, with inequalities in the provision of services.  There are differences in the capacity and services provided by different dental surgeries.  There are a number of GP and Dental practice premises which are no longer fit for purpose.  Access to dentists is a fundamental issue of concern for disabled people.  There are not only access issues with physical barriers but information, transport and language.  There is an unequal uptake by general practices in the range of enhanced services being provided to their patients in particular services to care homes, diabetes, and extended access hours. There are five practices in Swansea that do not provide near patient testing or shared care.  Lack of integrated pathways between primary, secondary and social care  National evidence suggests there is fragmented and disorganized out of hospital care making navigation difficult for the citizen and professional alike.  Inaccessible records resulting in limited exchange of information between different parts of the system.  Significant pressures relating to the provision of equipment including the occupational therapy service and the equipment store itself.  Third sector: short term funding makes it difficult to sustain the service and meet peoples expectations, competition in funding can breakdown partnership working.  Poor communications between the third sector and the statutory sector.  Views from voluntary organisations are that the statutory sector are not recognizing the importance of the third sector, lack of understanding about their role. Inequalities  National evidence suggests the current system means service quality and availability is highly dependant on location of residence. Funding  The average package of care provided by the in house social care service in recent years has been steadily increasing.  Ending of the joint special working grant and the promoting independence and well being grant that supports a number of key services

 The most immediate pressure in the delivery of social care is to meet statutory obligations and take forward priorities within a new financial climate of reduced budgets at a time of growing demands (effects of any ageing population, more children with complex needs, changes in proportion between the number of people in work and the number of retired people, number of people, not in employment living in poverty, an increase in the number of children coming into care. Prevalence and Population  Swansea has the fifth lowest rate of outpatient referrals per 1,000 population from GPs out of 22 areas in Wales (2008- 2009).  GP data would suggest that there is a large variation in the recording of prevalence of patients over 16 who are obese from just over 12% down to 6% in some practice populations.  According to practice data there is variation in the percentage of patients with depression who have had a severity assessment at the outset of treatment using a tool validated for use in primary care from 18% to almost 0%.

Secondary Care Services  Hospital admission rates for adults due to alcohol and drugs are statistically significantly worse compared to the rest of Wales.  Swansea emergency hospital admissions rate in those aged under 75 years is above the Wales average and highest in ABMU HB.  Falls in patients – highest reported incident.  Transport for patients remains an issue for accessing key services.  Health system still gravitates services to hospitals  Variations in patient discharge persist and closer working with social services needed  30% of A/E attendances resulted in very short lengths of stay and majority of this care could have been provided in the community and primary care.  DNA rates remain high and need to reduce unnecessary outpatient appointments  Chronic conditions pathway to reduce lengths of stay needs to be progressed.  Medical recruitment issues persist.  Reduce duplication of services and increase consistency on the 3 hospital sites.  Alternatives to hospital attendance needs signposting

CHAPTER FOUR

Chapter Four

Key Priority Areas

This chapter sets out the key priority areas of action that partners will concentrate on over the coming three years. It also provides information on a range of other work that will be ongoing and will also contribute to better service provision and improved health and well being.

This is the third HSC&WB Plan produced by partners. There is already a solid foundation of understanding on the main areas that need to be progressed in order to achieve our vision and long term aims. This has been widely and extensively consulted upon with a wide range of stakeholders during previous rounds. Over the next three years partners will continue to work together to target health improvement and a reduction in health inequalities and to deliver high quality, streamlined and safe health and social care services.

This plan will have a narrower focus than in previous rounds as partners concentrate on a fewer number of key areas that it is considered will best enable us to protect and improve core services and tackle health inequalities during these challenging times. Both the review of progress carried out by partners last year and the key findings from the needs assessment have informed the identification of these areas.

There are two main areas of action that partners intend to progress. These are both interlinked and complementary.

Key Priority Area 1: Making Swansea a Healthier City and County

We are pleased that Swansea has recently been designated by the World Health Organisation as a member of the European Healthy City network. To achieve this we have had to successfully demonstrate a real commitment that all partners will work together to promote and include health and health equity in all policies. Building a programme of work that will progress towards this and make Swansea a fairer and better place for all will be a key priority area over the next three years and beyond.

We will aim to join up policies and resources across agencies to tackle the inequalities that exist and to improve health for all. Central to this will be a newly invigorated approach to engaging with individuals and communities to jointly identify and implement actions that will improve health and well being and prevent ill health. Crucial as-well will be the links that we can further build upon with other key partnerships in Swansea.

The core themes set out by the World Health Organisation that we will work towards are:-

 Creating caring and supportive environments – A Healthy City should be a city for all its citizens, inclusive, supportive, sensitive and responsive to their diverse needs and expectations.

 Healthy living – A Healthy City provides conditions and opportunities that support healthy lifestyles.

 Healthy urban environment and design – A Healthy City offers a physical and built environment that supports health, recreation and well-being, safety and social interaction, easy mobility, a sense of pride and cultural identity and that is accessible to the needs of all its citizens.

Taken from – World Health Organisation European Healthy Cities Network Phase V (2009 – 2013)

To address these key themes we have identified three particular areas that we will concentrate on over the next three years:-

Key Priority Area 1a  Tackling the growing problem of substance misuse (including drugs, alcohol and tobacco) that leads to harm and destruction in so many lives, including those affected by the substance misuse of others.

In relation to drugs and alcohol this will be a key area of joint work with three other key partnerships who are responsible for Community Safety, Children and Young People, and Local Safeguarding. It will be steered by the overarching Better Swansea Partnership to maximise the identification of a wide range of action that partnerships and individual agencies can be take to ensure a more comprehensive and joined up approach. A key part of this work programme will be to improve the information and understanding of the current position of substance misuse in Swansea amongst partners, and to agree a resulting action plan to tackle the key issues. A dedicated multi agency project board has been established to oversee and progress this agenda.

In relation to reducing the levels of smoking local action will include supporting the targeted implementation of national and regional programmes to prevent children and young people starting to smoke, to encourage people to stop smoking and to enforce the smoke free legislation.

Key Priority Area 1b  Improving the nutrition and physical activity levels of the population to tackle the current trend towards obesity and sedentary lifestyles that result in so much ill health and chronic conditions such as circulatory disease (including coronary heart disease and strokes) cancers and respiratory disease. There will be a particular focus on children and young people. This will a key area of joint work with the Climbing Higher partnership who are responsible for the development of physical activity in Swansea. This will reinforce the benefits of good nutrition and taking regular exercise, and ensure we use our joint resources more effectively.

Key Priority Area 1c  A joined up approach with the Council’s Local Development Plan (a plan for land use over a ten year period) to ensure that the plan is based on a clear understanding of community needs to ensure that our local social and physical environments encourage and support good health and well being. This will be a key area of joint work with the Local Planning Authority who are responsible for the production of the Local Development plan. Currently it is envisaged that the plan will be developed over the next three years. This programme of work will include ensuring the Local Development Plan is developed based on the best possible information on health needs in Swansea. A key feature will also be to agree how the health impact of the Local Development Plan will be assessed and carry out these assessments utilising the Health Impact Assessment methodology during the development of the plan.

The areas outlined above can be significant in terms of improved health, research has shown that by taking regular exercise, eating a healthy balanced diet, not smoking and drinking below the recommended limits potentially 14 years can be added to life.

Action in these three areas will be complemented by a programme of geographically based work that continues to target the prevention of ill health. This will build on the range of work that has been undertaken during previous years and will ensure that the prevention of ill health continues to be afforded a high priority.

The central focus for the next three years will be to engage with local communities (both geographical and specific population groups) where the needs assessment informs us that the health inequalities are greatest. This will include developing strong links with schools in those areas to provide a particular focus on children and young people. We know that to have an impact on reducing health inequalities we need to address children’s access to positive early experiences, later interventions are

much less effective. It will also include strengthening links to primary and community services to promote an enhanced focus on prevention of ill health.

Again, the initial focus will be on substance misuse, nutrition and fitness and the local environment to contribute to the drive towards making Swansea a healthier city. By concentrating on a fewer number of areas, engaging more comprehensively with local communities and extending the range of agencies involved, partners hope to make a real difference over the coming years. There will be flexibility however to encompass those areas where local communities identify priority areas that need to be tackled to assist in improving health and reducing inequalities. Some of the key areas that have been identified nationally that could make a significant contribution to preventing ill health are reducing teenage pregnancy, reducing accident and injury rates, improving mental well being, improving health at work, and increasing vaccination and immunisation rates to target levels.

Key Priority Area 2: To improve the delivery of our Health and Social Care Services

In line with the findings of the needs assessment and national work we understand that our services are not always currently organised or delivered in the best way. Some of the key challenges include

 increasing demand and expectations in relation to both an ageing population with more complex needs and the numbers of children requiring safeguarding that make the current service models unsustainable.  a lack of co-ordination so that services do not seamlessly deal with people’s needs.  too much reliance on hospitals (the most expensive part of the system) with more which could be done to prevent hospital admissions or reduce the length of stay, caring or supporting people to be treated in the community.  creating opportunities to reduce waste, harm and variation.  unequal access for some particularly vulnerable groups in the population.  significant workforce challenges, including particularly a UK wide shortage of hospital middle grade and junior doctor vacancies across many specialities.

We have made progress over recent years in joining up to deliver our services more effectively and to shift the focus onto prevention, early intervention and the delivery of services within a community setting. Many examples were highlighted in chapter two.

However, living within our financial resources is already a challenge for both the Health Board and the Local Authority and we expect this will become significantly more challenging as we are given less resources with which to provide services. We therefore realise that over the next few years more radical and urgent steps are required that will accelerate the pace of change.

The key priority areas that we intend to concentrate on are outlined below:-

Key Priority Area 2a Transformation of Adult Social Services

We understand that the current service model is no longer sustainable in light of the challenges outlined above. We have therefore embarked on a transformation agenda that will radically change the way we conduct our business. We aim to create meaningful and fulfilled lives for all, through supportive relationships within sustainable communities. We will do this by providing, arranging or facilitating the right support at the right time and place, implementing plans to maintain independence and achieve agreed outcomes.

Over the next three years we will concentrate on:-

Reshaping and remodeling services: both internally and externally to become more personalised and relationship centred. Services will be flexible, innovative, effective and better value for money. They will be outcome focused and the emphasis will be on what service users can contribute as well as what they need.

Redesigning our operating model: (Assessment and Care Management process) to one of assisted self assessment and support planning, where a resource allocation system and indicative budget are the vehicles that will give service users and carers more choice and control and where the emphasis is on outcomes and achievements and not needs and requirements.

Refocusing on communities: to ensure that we are linking citizens into local resources and networks, forming strong links with other community organisations and introducing a local area coordination approach to lower level intervention. We will work with key stakeholders to develop mutual support systems and will test out a number of concepts around time banking, cooperatives and mutual societies.

To ensure we are developing a sustainable model for Adult Social Services we will combine this work with a number of other strategic developments, including:-

 The transformation of older people’s project. This project aims to transform services for intermediate care, older people’s mental health, day opportunities, locality planning, assessment and care management, re-ablement, and respite care, care at home and the older people’s accommodation framework  The review of how directly provided services are managed across adult services.  The reshaping of local health services.  Regional collaboration initiatives.

Key Priority Area 2b Transformation of Children’s services

This is an area that was identified as a key priority in the last Health, Social Care and Well Being Plan and is part of an ongoing work programme to improve social service provision in relation to children. The CSSIW inspection of Swansea’s Child and Family Services in April 2007 identified serious concerns about the quality of these services judging them to be inconsistent and with uncertain prospects. Following a re-inspection in December 2008, the Deputy Minister decided to formally intervene to support and oversee improvements in services. A further inspection in January 2010 identified significant changes in Child and Family Services which had consolidated and built on the improvements identified previously, but further improvements were required by the inspectors. Following additional monitoring by the CSSIW the Deputy Minister withdrew the formal intervention in October 2010. The drive of the past few years will continue to shape the changes and improvements to achieve Children’s Services which protect and safeguard the welfare of children in need robustly and which are sustainable and capable of continuing to improve.

The challenge of improving Child and Family Services has to be achieved against a context of considerable growth in the demands on them. There have been increasing numbers of referrals and a large rise in the numbers of Looked After Children that have been experienced in Swansea, in line with the national trends, following the reporting on the death of Baby Peter in Haringey. There has been a growing consensus about the need to develop partnership working to support the reshaping of services to ensure more effective responses and better outcomes for children.

Over the next three years we will continue to build on the changes made concentrating on:-

 Embedding locality focused work  Improving access to services and improving assessments  Strengthening of assessment and case management

 Improving the outcomes for Looked After Children

Key Priority Area 2c Development of Primary and Community Services – Primary and Community Networks

A national review of the delivery of primary and community services has been undertaken. This, together with findings from our local needs assessment has shown that for people living in Wales the current healthcare system is confusing, complex and often fails to meet their needs. Current service models are often overly focused on medical interventions in hospital settings. There is a need to rebalance the whole system with a strong primary and community based approach and less reliance on institutional forms of care.

Over the next three years we will be establishing a new and simplified model of care that integrates primary and community services for adults and older people. This will involve:-

 Establishing a range of primary and community services networks working together across agencies and professions, providing a range of services that help promote and maintain the health of their local population – such services could include, district nursing, school nursing, primary care, the third sector, therapies, public health and social care. It is envisaged Swansea will have five community networks established. Functions could include providing care – co-ordination and case management for people with complex needs, providing a range of services from single interventions to continuing health care, providing a clear interface with the hospital system to ‘pull’ patients through in a safe and organised way.

 To complement this with the development of a specialist community resource team that will provide intensive intervention to assist in avoiding admission to hospital and to facilitate discharge. It is envisaged there will be one specialist resource team for Swansea.

 Establishing a single point of access (communications hub) to services for both staff and service users which informs and co- ordinates care and focuses delivery at individual service user level. It is envisaged that there would be three aspects – a library of services care co-ordination for individuals and directing the care pathway in acute and urgent situations.

These priority areas will link to and be progressed in tandem with the implementation of the Health Board’s Five Year Plan, Changing for the Better. The plan sets out an ambitious programme of action and includes

key strategic developments such as redesigning the role of the local acute (including Singleton and Morriston) and community hospitals. The proposals are that Morriston Hospital will become the specialist centre for all emergency and complex care, including tertiary services such as Burns and Plastics and Cardiac care, serving the wider ABM area and beyond. Singleton Hospital will develop as a specialist rehabilitation hospital with general inpatient care and a centre for excellence in cancer, oncology and radiotherapy services, along with specialist obstetric-led maternity care (including a Level 3 Neonatal Unit). Even though the two acute Hospitals will develop individual roles that will complement each other, a wide range of core services will remain on both sites such as specialist outpatients, critical care and diagnostic testing.

As part of the development of primary and community networks (explained above), patients will increasingly be cared for closer to or in their own homes. This significantly reduces the pressure on community hospitals, where this type of care would normally be provided. As a result the Five Year Plan proposes that some of the community hospitals will change and some may no longer be needed. For example, recent capital investment has seen Gorseinon Hospital take on more of a role with regards services that do not need to be provided on an acute hospital site, such as specialist physiotherapy and general inpatient care. The proposals are that some community hospitals will therefore continue to play a vital role but set in the new context of community-based care.

This will build on specific developments already being progressed in relation to acute hospital sites and community settings in Swansea for example:-

The Health Vision Swansea – a multi million pound capital investment programme aimed at improving hospital and community facilities in Swansea. Major infrastructure improvements have already been completed at Morriston Hospital, such as a new multi- storey car park. Construction work has now commenced on a the new main entrance to the hospital, which will include retail provision, an Integrated Education Centre, Patient Services Hub and Endoscopy suites. Designs have also been finalised regarding the second phase of the development, which will see, among other clinical services, a new Outpatients Department.

A review of the current location of health and social care provision in the City Centre that will seek to establish a clear way forward for co-locating where appropriate primary, community and social care services in the City centre.

Further information on the Health Board’s five year plan can be found at www.abm.wales.nhs.uk.

What other key areas will be progressed to impact upon health, social care and well being?

The priority areas set out above represent the key areas that partners have agreed to have a specific focus on over the next three years. This will affect a range of client groups that receive services from health or social care in particular, children, older people, those with a learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment and carers. There will however be a wide range of additional action that partners will individually or collectively be involved in delivering over the next three years that will also contribute to improved service health or social care provision. This will often underpin and link closely with the priority areas described above. Some of the other significant areas partners will work on include:-

 Introducing the new Carers Measure which will require partners to work jointly, consulting with Carers to prepare, publish and implement a joint strategy for Carers.

 Implementing a range of action to improve the health and access to services for the homeless, asylum seekers, and refugees, gypsy travellers and migrants.

 Responding to the new responsibilities to tackle Child Poverty contained in the Child Poverty Measure. Supporting the implementation of the Swansea Family Poverty Strategy.

 Continuing work to improve access, and information to health and social care services for those who have a physical disability or sensory impairment and to further expand the range of independent living options available.

 Supporting the implementation with partners of the Childrens Disability Strategy for Swansea.

 Implementing the requirements of the National Service Frameworks and Service Development and Commissioning Directives for Older People, Children and Maternity Services, Renal, Coronary Heart Disease, Mental Health, Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Conditions, Respiratory Conditions, Epilepsy and Other Neurological Conditions, Non Malignant Pain.

 Progressing an implementation framework between partners that improves services for those with a learning disability.

 Continue our work to improve mental health services – a priority in previous rounds which will include; Completing plans to provide a

range of upgraded facilities for people with a mental health problem. Introducing the new mental health measure which aims to provide services at an earlier stage, extend advocacy, reduce the risk of further decline in mental health and ensure prompt access to services when mental health may be deteriorating.

 Developing the first joint Dementia Action Plan for Swansea that will set out a revised model of care and aim to improve services for those sufferers of dementia and their carers.

 Continuing a programme of work to meet the Health Care Standards Doing Well, Doing Better which provides a framework of standards to support the provision of effective, timely and quality services across all health care settings.

 Participating in the national Saving 1,000 Lives Plus campaign – a two year patient safety campaign which focuses on the reduction of harm, waste and variation.

 Implementing a range of action to strengthen our joint working with the voluntary sector, that further improves recognition and understanding of the valuable role the voluntary sector can play in:-

o Service planning. o Supporting self care and independence. o Improving access to services for specific communities. o Promoting and improving health and well being. o Providing volunteering for health and social care. o Reducing hospital admissions and improving discharge.

 Improving our unscheduled care services, developing our 24 hour/ seven days week capacity to facilitate a significant shift in unscheduled care activity from hospital to community and primary care settings, and improving our timeliness of care and our handover times from ambulance services.

 Building on our success in establishing chronic conditions management, improving services for people with, or at risk of developing long term conditions. Focusing on supporting self care and the maintenance of high quality services.

 Reshaping our continuing care services, strengthening the joint approach between the Health Board and the Local Authority, aiming to deliver high quality care wherever possible as close to or in the individuals home.

 Improving our medicines management, extending the role of pharmacists in prevention, enhancing patient involvement in the management of their medicines, and reducing where appropriate unnecessary spending

To achieve our aims, partners recognise the importance of reinforcing our supporting infrastructure. We will therefore continue to improve our workforce planning, informatics, procurement, research development and training. Partners will actively seek opportunities to do this jointly where possible.

The Financial Overview

Several references have been made throughout the plan to the challenging economic climate. More detail is now provided below on the current outlook for the Local Authority and The ABMU Health Board.

Local Authority Financial Outlook

Local authorities have a duty both to set an annual budget and to adopt a Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) normally covering three forward years. In normal circumstances this requires a degree of horizon scanning and forecasting in terms of both service pressures and the economic outlook.

At this time the prospects for local government finances, and indeed the whole public sector, are inextricably linked with the bleak national outlook arising from the banking crisis and recession. This overview sets the Council’s forecast financial position in this broader context and highlights the likely local impacts. The overview is intended to contextualise the detailed budget proposals.

A number of publications have highlighted the pressures on public finances and Local Government Finance in the period 2010-2014. The document ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ published by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) in July 2009 is particularly relevant.

The key pressures on local government arise from:

 The indirect consequences of the banking crisis and recession. In particular, the need for the UK government to repay the resulting national debt will reduce the level of revenue and capital funding available to local government for many years to come.  Greater demand for Council services as a result of recessionary impacts (e.g. free school meals, lifelong learning, community support etc.) and demographic changes.

All commentators irrespective of political persuasion predict:

 real reductions in both revenue and capital funding over the next three to four years.  the need to offset some of the impact by a continued drive for efficiency.  the size of the challenge being greater than efficiency savings alone can meet. Radical choices and tough decisions are required in relation to which services are to be provided.  the need for re-prioritisation at national, devolved and local level.

The Welsh Local Government Association document defined the national priorities as:

 Waste management, sustainability and climate change  Social Care  Lifelong learning  Strategic Housing  Building strong healthy communities  Transport and highways

The starting point for setting the 2011/12 budget and reviewing the MTFP has to be the national outlook outlined above together with the pressures currently presenting themselves. At the three quarter year the projected overspend for 2010/11 stood at £5.5m and in broad terms the key issues are:

Additional Service Demands

 Child and Family Social Care. Increased referrals, higher numbers of court cases and the costs associated with providing additional workforce capacity.  Adult Social Care. The impact of an ageing population leading to increased demand.  Waste Management. Significant costs associated with the development of the national waste management strategy, landfill tax, recycling costs etc.  Special Education Needs. The additional costs of increased client numbers and complexity of cases.

Recessionary Impacts

The increased demand for services has been accompanied by financial consequences deemed to be direct recessionary impacts.

 Loss of income due to higher level of vacant property  A reduction in interest on balances (partly offset by reduced borrowing costs)  Impacts on fees and charges including car park charges, Planning and Building Control fees.

Capital spending requirement

The Council also faces significant challenges in terms of capital expenditure notably:

 Continued high levels of backlog maintenance  A difficult outlook for disposals to create resources  The need to facilitate developments, for example QED.

The Council’s capital allocation has been reduced by 20% for 2011/12 and with potential further reductions in later years, impacting on current property and highways maintenance programmes and the Disabled Facilities Grants’ provision.

Financial Outlook 2011-14 In summary therefore, the Council must plan against a backdrop of:

 A real terms reduction in future revenue settlements year on year.  A 20% reduction in Assembly support for capital spending in 20011/12 with the potential for further reductions in later years  A need to make efficiency gains  A need to prioritise  A need to cut some service provision and make radical choices on what and how services are provided in future.

Other factors that will also need to be taken into account include:

 The probability of a return to positive inflation in the planning period the impact of which is unlikely to be funded.  The potential need, subject to actuarial valuation, to significantly increase contributions to the Local Authority Pensions Fund.

The Health Board Financial Outlook

The financial outlook for health mirrors that of local government. It is likely that a period of reductions in budgets will have to be managed by the NHS. National work has identified that there is likely to be no cash uplift for several years. Given that NHS inflation, demand and cost pressures can lie in the range of between +4% and +8%, it is evident that a prolonged period of very substantial annual savings requirement is

highly likely to be required over the next 5 years or so. The Health Board have therefore adopted a 5% savings scenario that forms the basis of the forward Financial Plan and against which the service response captured in the 5 Year Quality and Service Framework needs to be considered.

Providing quality services that are appropriately delivered, in the right setting by the right people, is at the centre of the approach taken by the Health Board in planning and delivering services. This approach needs to be developed and applied in the context of the financial resources that are forecast as being available to the Health Board. It is important that the forward Plan realises the opportunities, available to the Health Board in being a new, fully integrated healthcare organisation, that were not available in the previous NHS management arrangements in Wales.

Given the likely economic context, the Health Board’s 5 Year Quality and Service Framework will need to develop plans that contain action in the following areas:-

• Strategic Service Changes • Improving Service Cost Efficiency • Reducing Waste and Harm • Transforming the Delivery of Services • Workforce Strategy and Controls • Rigorous Cost Containment.

It is evident that the actions that will flow from the above will need to be planned, implemented and sustained over the whole 5-year planning period. It is imperative for robust service and financial planning that each activity is outlined, not only in its in-year contribution, but also in its recurring contribution.

It is also critical that measures are taken forward with focus and strong co-ordination of managerial and clinical resources. It is important to commence the preparation of planning for, and stakeholder management of, service changes, even though their full impact may fall in future years. Partnership working with the Local Authority to plan and deliver integrated service provision should underpin service planning. Additionally, close working with the third sector to maintain and improve services for clients will continue to be a key part of plans.

The Health Board faces a major service redesign, transformation and value for money agenda, arising from the challenging Public Finance environment ahead. This will require the Health Board to significantly enhance the initial work done to date to shape the Quality, Service, Workforce and Financial Framework 2010 – 2015 that covers a medium term period of up to five years.

Equality and Diversity

Ensuring that equality and diversity issues are embedded in service delivery is a cross cutting principle of this strategy. This is to ensure that excellent customer service is at the heart of the strategy, that all service areas area aware of the duties relating to equality issues and comply with equality and diversity legislation.

It is our intention that individuals will receive the highest standards of care and support irrespective of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, faith or age.

CHAPTER FIVE

Chapter Five

Next Steps

This third HSC&WB plan is being prepared at a unsettled and challenging time. Partners are aware of the very real challenges to improve the health of the population of Swansea to the best level possible and the need to reduce the current inequalities that exist. However, it is likely that public sector services will see significant cuts in the amount of resources that are available to deliver core services that will mean a sustained focus on delivering services in the most effective and joined up way.

The key challenge for the next few years will be to continue to engage with communities and individuals to improve their health and well being and prevent ill health and protect our core services, including those provided to the most vulnerable during these difficult and challenging financial times.

There is some additional key information and developments awaited that partners know will have an impact on the implementation of the final plan. These include:

 An expected White Paper on the Future of Social Services  How any future political changes will affect national policy  Finalisation of national targets and performance indicators for 2011/12 onwards  More detailed resource allocations and financial plans across the health sector and local government (for years two and three)  Further guidance on the development of joint commissioning plans/ strategies

Further changes in the way in which the Welsh Assembly Government wishes to see primary, community and secondary health care services provided may also mean that the strategy will need to be updated.

Therefore, taking all of the above into account , it has been decided that a flexible approach will be adopted to the further development and implementation of this plan recognising that it will need to change and be adapted to meet differing future circumstances. To achieve this it is intended that the plan will be subjected to a full review after one year. This will allow us to check on progress and to amend plans depending on new information. Subsequent interim reviews will be undertaken on an annual basis.

Implementation and monitoring

Overseeing progress against this plan will be the responsibility of the HSC&WB partnership board, made up of senior officers from the partnership agencies. A procedure of co-operation has been developed which sets out the principles and processes that partners will use to support the implementation of this plan.

Partner organisations will reflect the aims and priorities of this HSC&WB plan in their respective strategies and plans. The implementation of this HSC&WB plan will be supported by sector /service specific operational or business plans which set out the detail of how the strategy will be delivered. These will include, but not be restricted to, the Adult Services Strategic Delivery Plan, the Child and Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan, the Annual Quality, Finance, Service and Workforce Plan, client group focused strategies and plans and commissioning plans.

Progress will be reported to the Community Planning Partnership and through partner agencies to the Welsh Assembly Government.

Progress will also be formally reported through the production of an annual report which will be made publicly available on the Health Challenge Swansea website: www.healthchallengeswansea.co.uk

APPENDIX 1 – WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) EUROPEAN HEALTHY CITIES NETWORK PHASE V (2009 – 2013)

Overall goals of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network

The WHO European Healthy Cities Network has six strategic goals:

• to promote policies and action for health and sustainable development at the local level and across the WHO European Region, with an emphasis on the determinants of health, people living in poverty and the needs of vulnerable groups;

• to strengthen the national standing of Healthy Cities in the context of policies for health development, public health and urban regeneration with emphasis on national-local cooperation;

• to generate policy and practice expertise, good evidence, knowledge and methods that can be used to promote health in all cities in the Region;

• to promote solidarity, cooperation and working links between European cities and networks and with cities and networks participating in the Healthy Cities movement;

• to play an active role in advocating for health at the European and global levels through partnerships with other agencies concerned with urban issues and networks of local authorities; and

• to increase the accessibility of the WHO European Network to all Member States in the European Region.

Themes in Phase V of the WHO European Network

The overarching theme for Phase V is health and health equity in all local policies. Health in all policies is based on a recognition that population health is not merely a product of health sector activities but largely determined by policies and actions beyond the health sector. Health and well-being are increasingly becoming shared values across societal sectors. Solid evidence shows that the actions of other sectors beyond the boundaries of the health sector significantly influence the risk factors of major diseases and the determinants of health. Health in all policies addresses all policies such as those influencing transport, housing and urban development, the environment, education, agriculture, fiscal policies, tax policies and economic policies.

Further, health in all policies is not confined to the public health community or to the national level. It is relevant and has a tremendous potential for positive health outcomes at the local level, strengthening the public health leadership role of municipal governments. Health in all policies is a horizontal approach that seeks to engage all sectors of society in integrating health and well-being considerations as central values in their strategies and plans. Addressing the determinants of health would not be comprehensive without an explicit commitment to tackling inequality in health.

In addition to the overarching theme of health and health equity in all policies, Phase V will focus on three core themes. These core themes represent entry points to addressing important aspects of the urban environment. All Phase V themes are interrelated, interdependent and mutually supportive. Within these themes, cities will be able to identify priority issues that are of particular concern to them. The scope for strategic work and action of each of the core themes is very broad. Several important issues are listed under each of the three core themes. The list is not meant to be exhaustive or prescriptive. The issues listed, however, represent aspects that cities should consider seriously when deciding how to approach each of the themes and how to assign priority.

Phase V offers cities the possibility to work both at the macro strategic and policy level, encouraging and steering the city as a whole to actively embrace health as a core value, but also at the action and operational level on a wide range of public health issues. Cities will have the opportunity to address old and new public health priorities systematically and through approaches that are anchored in the most advanced public health concepts. All cities in the WHO European Network, working individually and collectively, will address the overarching theme and the core themes.

Core theme 1

Caring and supportive environments. A healthy city should be above all a city for all its citizens, inclusive, supportive, sensitive and responsive to their diverse needs and expectations.

Important issues

• Better outcomes for all children. Providing early childhood services and support to all young citizens and aiming to systematically improve the lives of children. Investing in early childhood development is one of the best ways to reduce inequality in health.

• Age-friendly cities. Introducing policies and holistic action plans addressing the health needs of older people that emphasize participation, empowerment, independent living, supportive and secure physical and social environments and accessible services and support.

• Migrants and social inclusion. Systematically addressing the health and social needs of migrants, promoting integration, tolerance and cultural understanding.

• Active citizenship. Providing an effective infrastructure for community participation and empowerment, utilizing community development techniques as the catalyst for action and promoting social networking opportunities.

• Health and social services. Advocating and supporting the development of health and social services that are responsive, high quality and accessible to all, based on systematic needs assessment of the population and particularly for vulnerable groups.

• Health literacy. Developing and implementing programmes aiming to strengthen the health literacy skills of the population. Health literacy means the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services provided by complex health systems needed to make appropriate decisions to maintain and promote their health.

Core theme 2

Healthy living. A healthy city provides conditions and opportunities that support healthy lifestyles.

Important issues • Preventing noncommunicable diseases. Scaling up efforts and strengthening local partnerships to tackle the epidemic of noncommunicable and chronic diseases through population-based integrated approaches addressing the risk factors and social determinants of these diseases.

• Local health systems. Strengthening the capacity of local health systems, including public health services and primary health care services, to prevent, control and manage cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and alcohol-related disease. Phase V (2009–2013) of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network: goals and requirements page 5

• Tobacco-free cities. Implementing and enforcing city-wide smoke-free policies in public and working spaces.

• Alcohol and drugs. Developing intersectoral plans of action to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.

• Active living. Making active living, physical activity and pedestrian mobility a core part of city development policies and plans.

• Healthy food and diet. Increasing equitable access to healthy food and broadening the understanding of healthy eating habits.

• Violence and injuries. Introducing policies and plans to deal with all aspects of violence and injuries in cities, including violence involving women, children and older people, road crashes and home accidents.

• Healthy settings. Supporting programmes on healthy living and mental wellbeing that would be implemented through the settings of people’s everyday lives, such as neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces.

• Well-being and happiness. Broadening the understanding of and exploring and promoting the factors and conditions that support well- being and happiness, reduce stress and enhance the resilience of communities.

Core theme 3

Healthy urban environment and design. A healthy city offers a physical and built environment that supports health, recreation and well- being, safety, social interaction, easy mobility, a sense of pride and cultural identity and that is accessible to the needs of all its citizens.

Important issues • Healthy urban planning. Integrating health considerations into urban planning processes, programmes and projects and establishing the necessary capacity and political and institutional commitment to achieve this goal. Especially emphasizing master planning, transport accessibility and neighbourhood planning.

• Housing and regeneration. Increasing access through planning and design to integrated transport systems, better housing for all, health- enhancing regeneration schemes and to green and open spaces for recreation and physical activity.

• Healthy transport. Promoting accessibility, by facilitating the ability for everyone, including very young people and people with limited mobility, to reach their required destination without having to use a car.

• Climate change and public health emergencies. Tackling the health

implications of climate change in cities and being vigilant about global changes such as the impact of globalized economies, the free movement of people and preparedness for and response to public health emergencies.

• Safety and security. Ensuring that the planning and design of cities and neighbourhoods allows social interaction, increases a sense of safety and security and supports easy mobility for everyone, especially young and older people.

• Exposure to noise and pollution. Promoting and adopting practices that protect people, especially children, from toxic and health-damaging exposure, including indoor and outdoor air pollution, tobacco smoke in workplaces and public places and noise.

• Healthy urban design. Creating socially supportive environments and an environment that encourages walking and cycling. Enhancing cities’ distinctive and multifaceted cultural assets in urban design and promoting urban designs that meet all citizens’ expectations for safety, accessibility, comfort and active living.

• Creativity and liveability. Promoting policies and cultural activities that encourage creativity and contribute to thriving communities by developing human and social capital, improving social cohesion and activating social change.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

A

Air quality The composition of air with respect to quantities of pollution. It is routinely compared with "standards" of maximum acceptable pollutant concentrations.

C

Cancer Any malignant growth or tumour caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, it may spread to other parts of the body.

Care Pathways An integrated care pathway (ICP) is a multidisciplinary outline of anticipated care, placed in an appropriate timeframe, to help a patient with a specific condition or set of symptoms move progressively through a clinical experience to positive outcomes.

Carers A carer is a friend or relative who looks after an ill, disabled or older person on an informal, voluntary and long term basis.

Carers Strategy It is a local plan produced in 2007 which draws on the national strategy for Carers for Wales, and implemented through a series of annual action plans.

Chronic Respiratory Disease Chronic respiratory diseases are chronic diseases of the airways and other structures of the lung.

Climbing Higher Strategy This strategy is to maximise the contribution that sport, active recreation and physical activity can make to well-being in Wales across its many dimensions: health, prosperity, inclusion, access to opportunity, culture, community and confidence.

Community First Status Communities First is Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship programme to improve the “living conditions and prospects for people” in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales. Building on the initial 142 Communities’ First areas in Wales (comprising the 100 most deprived

wards in Wales (as identified by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000), 32 smaller areas, “pockets of deprivation” and 10 sectoral initiatives), a further 46 areas have been identified, bringing the total to 188. Every county and county borough in Wales has at least one Communities First area and many have several. Communities First is now moving forward into a new phase which will include a greater focus on outcomes and on addressing the causes and effects of poverty.

Community Services Services provided to citizens by a local government and a NHS Health Board, (see page 63).

Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Service Crisis Resolution/Home Treatment refers to a system for the rapid response and assessment of mental health crisis in the community with the possibility of offering comprehensive acute psychiatric care at home until the crisis is resolved, and usually without hospital admission. Acute care is delivered by a specialist team so as to provide an alternative to hospital admission for individuals with serious mental illness who are experiencing acute difficulties.

D

Dementia Deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain.

Deprivation The state of being deprived.

Determinants of Health Determinants of health include the range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors which determine the health status of individuals or populations.

Diabetes A disease in which the body does not properly control the amount of sugar in the blood.

Disability The condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness, reading disability, hearing impairment.

Disability Discrimination Act 2005 The Disability Discrimination Amendment Act (DDA) 2005 amends the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It widens the definition of disability

and introduces a general duty to promote disability equality for public sector bodies.

E

Economic Activity Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Economic Prosperity A period of sustained growth that often lasts for a decade or two.

Equality Act The act provides a new framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.

F

Fossil Fuel Supplies Fossil fuels such as coal and oil are fuels formed by natural resources such as buried dead organisms.

Fuel Poverty Where a combination of poor housing conditions and low income mean that the household cannot afford sufficient warmth for health and comfort and which needs to spend more than 10% of its income (including housing benefit) on fuel used to heat its home to adequate standards of warmth. Severe fuel poverty refers to spending more than 15% of total household income on fuel.

H

Health Gain Targets Health gain is a way to express improved health outcomes. It can be used to reflect the relative advantage of one form of health intervention over another in producing the greatest health gain.

Health Inequalities This is the term commonly used in Europe to indicate the virtually universal phenomenon of variation of health by socioeconomic status.

Health Inequities

Health inequities are health differences which are socially produced, systematic in their distribution across the population and unfair.

Health Outcomes The effect on health status from performance (or non-performance) of one or more processes or activities carried out by healthcare providers. Health outcomes include morbidity and mortality, physical, social, and mental functioning, nutritional status and quality of life.

Healthy Weight Strategy This strategy provides a high level overview of current issues around healthy weight and has a focus on what will follow to achieve sustainable change.

Heart Disease A structural or functional abnormality of the heart or of the blood vessels supplying the heart that impairs its normal.

I

Inequalities The condition of being unequal, an instance of being unequal.

Integrated Pathways Integrated care pathways are one means for improving the delivery of care to patients. Increasingly, members are becoming involved in their use.

Intermediate Care Services Intermediate Care services enable people to improve their independence and aim to provide a range of enabling, rehabilitative and treatment services in community settings.

J

Joint Equipment Store Generic term for an activity of two or more people usually (but not necessarily) for profit which may include partnership, joint venture, or any business in which more than one person invests, works, has equal management control and/or is otherwise involved for an agreed upon goal or purpose.

L

Longevity long life, great span of life.

M

Mental Health Action Plan A plan detailing the strategies and activities that will be implemented to realise the vision and achieve the objectives of a mental health policy.

Model of Care The way care is delivered.

Morbidity State of being ill or diseased.

Mortality The number of deaths occurring during a specific time period.

N

National Service Frameworks National service frameworks (NSFs) are long term strategies for improving specific areas of care. They set measurable goals within set time frames.

Needs Assessment Health needs assessment (HNA) is a systematic method for reviewing the health issues facing a population, leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation that will improve health and reduce inequalities.

Neurological Disease A physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning.

Nursing Care Care by a skilled nurse.

O

Outline Business Case A detailed document providing the information needed to bid for capital investment within the NHS. P

Physical Disability Incapacity to function normally caused by a bodily defect or injury.

Practitioners

A physician whose practice is not oriented to a specific medical specialty but instead covers a variety of medical problems in patients of all ages. Also called family doctor.

R

Renal Disease Refers to damage to or disease of the kidney.

Residential Care The provision of room, board and custodial care. Residential care falls between the nursing care delivered in skilled or intermediate care facilities and the assistance provided through social services.

Respiratory Problems A sudden condition in which breathing is difficult and the oxygen levels in the blood abruptly drop lower than normal.

Retinopathy Screening A disease of the retina of the eye that can result in loss of vision.

S

Safeguarding To make safe.

Secondary Care Services Specialist services, usually provided in an acute hospital setting, following referral from a primary or community healthcare professional.

Smoking Cessation Smoking cessation (colloquially ‘quitting’) is the process of discontinuing the practice of inhaling a smoked substance.

Social Care Services The term 'social care' covers a wide range of services, which are provided by local authorities and the independent sector.

Socio economic Deprivation Involving social and economic factors of extreme poverty.

Statutory Sector Local government – councils - works with local government and councils in a variety of ways to help them more effectively work with charities.

Stroke The sudden death of some brain cells due to a lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain.

Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Community Health Council A statutory organisation, the independent voice of the public and the consumers of health services in the Swansea, Neath and Bridgend area.

Swansea Council for Voluntary Services SCVS is the umbrella organisation for voluntary activity throughout the City & County of Swansea, supporting, developing and representing voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities.

T

Telecare Service Telecare is the continuous, automatic and remote monitoring of real time emergencies and lifestyle changes over time in order to manage the risks associated with independent living.'

Third Sector The voluntary sector or community sector (also non-profit sector) is the sphere of social activity undertaken by organisations that are for non- profit and non-governmental. This sector is also called the third sector.

U

Unitary Authority A territorial authority that exercises the functions, duties and powers of both a regional council and a city or district council.

V

Voluntary Sector Organisations, often registered as charities, which operate on a non profit-making basis, to provide help and support to the group of people they exist to serve. They may be local or national, and they may employ staff, or depend entirely on volunteers.

W

White Paper A white paper (or "whitepaper") is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them.

WHO Network of European Healthy Cities The Healthy Cities approach was initiated by the World Health Organisation. The Healthy Cities approach is based on the concept that the social, economic and physical environment is the key to the health of city dwellers.

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS

ABMU HB - Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board A & E - Accident and Emergency BME - Black Minority Ethnics CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services COPD - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease CSSIW - Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid GP - General Practitioner HSC&WB - Health, Social Care and Well-being LA - Local Authority LARC - Long Acting Reversible Contraception LSB - Local Service Board LSOA - Lower level Super Output Area MMR - Measles, Mumps and Rubella NHS - National Health Service NSF - National Service Framework STI - Sexually Transmitted Infection WHS - World Health Survey WIMD - Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation

Item No. 13 (2)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Social Services

Council – 31st March 2011

WALES INTERIM POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE ADULTS FROM ABUSE

Summary

Purpose: This report outlines the work that has been undertaken in respect of policy development and describes the content for the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults.

Policy Framework: Inter-Agency Policy and Procedures for Responding to Alleged Abuse and Inappropriate Care of Vulnerable Adults 2005.

Consultation: Legal & Finance.

Reasons for Decision: To replace the current policy framework with an updated arrangement that reflects the change in legislation and practice.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In September 2000 the National Assembly for Wales issued a guidance document ‘In Safe Hands’. This guidance required the implementation of multi-agency policies and procedures to protect and support vulnerable adults. The guidance provided was issued under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970.

1.2 Given the need to establish multi-agency policies and procedures it was extremely important to ensure that all relevant organisations were involved. To progress matters it was agreed by the appropriate organisations to develop work on a South Wales basis, i.e. from to Swansea. As a result the South Wales Adult Protection Forum (SWAP Forum) was established. This was an approach adopted across Wales with Policies and Procedures being developed in line with the boundaries of the Police force across Wales. Hence four Adult Protection forums were developed, each with its own inter-agency policies and procedures.

1.3 Following many months of work the Inter-Agency Policy and Procedures for Responding to Alleged Abuse and Inappropriate Care of Vulnerable Adults in South Wales was produced. Council endorsed the Policy and Procedures in November 2001. As a result of considerable changes having taken place both in terms of some organisational arrangements within Wales and also practice issues it was important that the existing Policy and Procedures were reviewed. This was completed and the Policy and Procedures were approved by Council in January 2005.

1.4 In 2010 it was agreed by the four Adult Protection Forums across Wales to develop a Wales Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse. This has resulted in an Interim policy being produced with an implementation date of 1st April, 2011. The rational behind its Interim status is to receive the outcome of the Welsh Assembly Governments review of its document of 2000 “In Safe Hands” which will then result in amendments to the Wales Policy in line with changes resulting from the review.

2. POLICY AND PROCEDURES

2.1 The detail of the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse is contained in an exhaustive document and consists of more than two hundred and fifty pages which includes suggested documentation to use and practice documents in respect of thresholds, risk assessments, non criminal investigations and serious case reviews. The document is meant to be accessed online to enable access to the various hyperlinks contained within the document. Copies of the document are available in the Members Library and Political Group rooms. A copy of the document is also available on the Members microsite.

2.2 The Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse seeks to provide information about a comprehensive range of matters which can then be applied consistently across Wales. The following areas are included in the Policy:

1. Document Status 2. Introduction 3. Notes to reader 4. Principles, Values and the Legal Context 5. Vulnerable Adults and Adult Abuse 6. Roles and Responsibilities 7. Preventing Abuse 8. Education and Training 9. Support for Victims, Families and Alleged Perpetrators in the Adult Protection Process. 10. Complaints about the Adult Protection Process 11. Procedures 12. Managing risk 13. The 10 Stages within the Adult Protection Process 14. Suggested Documentation

Appendices. Appendix 1 - Glossary of Terms Appendix 2 - Wales Guidance for Conduction Inter-Agency Serious Case Reviews

2.3 A key issue relates to the definition of a vulnerable adult and this is identified as follows:

‘A person who is 18 years of age or over, and who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is or may be unable to take care of himself / herself, or unable to protect himself / herself against significant harm or serious exploitation’

(Welsh Assembly Guidance, In Safe Hands 2000)

2.4 Adult protection is, in itself, a community care service. Vulnerable adults who are referred for adult protection and are not previously known (for example to Social Services) should have the benefit of adult protection services

2.5 Many elements of the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse are similar to the previous policy. There are however some significant changes as detailed below:

a. This is the first Adult Protection Policy which covers the whole of Wales and is aimed at bringing consistency of application and practice across the country.

b. An interactive policy with hyperlinks to key agencies or policies that are relevant to Safeguarding Adults.

c. Further developments in respect of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 have been included, such as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

d. The legal context has been updated to take account of changes in legislation, e.g. Independent Safeguards Authority.

e. The development of a Risk Assessment format and guidance to enable risk management to be evidenced.

f. A clearer focus on the centrality of service users and their carers/families in the Adult Protection process.

g. An agreed Adult Protection referral form to be used across Wales.

h. In the light of ongoing practice both the Threshold Document and the Non Criminal Guidance have been revised.

i. Greater accountability for the Designated Lead Manager in taking responsibility in ensuring that all the stages within the Adult Protection process are adhered to.

j. Greater accountability for the Designated Lead Manager supporting investigators undertaking non criminal investigations.

k. Expectation that all who undertake non criminal investigations have received training in this area.

l. An expectation that the police will be involved in discussing every referral received with a member of the Adult Protection Team.

m. A referral will not be accepted as a referral even if received on a VA1 referral form until the Threshold test will have been applied and the referral met the thresholds.

n. It strengthens the interface between child protection and adult protection.

o. It also clarifies the situation in relation to the role of Adult Protection in such areas as Domestic Abuse, Forced Marriages, and Sex Trafficking.

2.6 Considerable progress has already been achieved given the dedicated resources that now exist, the existence of the Swansea Safeguarding Adults Board (previously the Adult Protection Committee), an established training programme and, of course, most importantly responses to alleged abuse of vulnerable adults. However, to ensure that this continues to be the case, as referrals have continued to rise year on year and the work has become more complex in nature, it will be important to ensure that there is a clear focus on the work that needs to be addressed.

3. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 There are no new financial commitments created as a consequence of the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures. Existing finance will need to be prioritised to ensure that matters such as awareness raising and training are addressed.

4. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

4.1 The Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse has ensured that recent changes in legislation have been addressed. Its current interim status is as a result of waiting for the outcome of the Welsh Assembly Governments review of “In safe hands”.

5. RECOMMENDATION

5.1 That Council adopts the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults from Abuse.

Background Papers

The following papers were used in the preparation of this report:

National Assembly for Wales - In Safe Hands Implementing Adult Protection Procedures in Wales, September 2000.

Protection of Vulnerable Adults - Report of the Social Services Cabinet Member to Council, November 2001.

Inter-Agency Policy and Procedures for Responding to Alleged Abuse and Inappropriate Care of Vulnerable Adults in South Wales 2001 and revised policy of 2004.

Contact Name: Chris Maggs Corporate Director (Social Services) Extension: 6245 cm12038/sd

Legal Officer: Janet Hooper

Item No. 14 (1)

Report of the Corporate Director (Social Services)

Council – 31st March 2011

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES

Summary

Purpose: To provide an update about Child and Family Services.

Policy Framework: Children and Young People Plan Health, Social Care and Well Being Strategy and the Corporate Plan.

Reason for Decision: No decision is required. For information only.

Consultation: Legal and Finance.

1. Introduction

1.1 This report consists of two sections and these are as follows:

. The Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board.

. Progress with regard to the Child and Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan.

2. Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board

2.1 Following the most recent meetings the following letters have been produced.

a. Letters by the Chair of the Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board

1. Letter of the 7th February, 2011 Appendix 1

2. Letter of the 28th February, 2011 Appendix 2

b. Letters by the Cabinet Member for Social Services

1. Letter of the 15th February, 2011 Appendix 3.

3. Child and Family Services - Strategic Delivery Plan

3.1 The latest monthly report available produced for the Strategic Programme Board has identified the following:

a. Performance Project Outcome: System in place to support continuous improvement of services to children, young people and their families.

Overview of progress for the Performance Project The reduction in the Performance Management Development Fund (PMDF) has been confirmed. There is some £108,000 less for 2011/12 than in 2010/11. The full implications are still being addressed but the work in respect of Paris for Child and Family Services remains a key priority.

b. Workforce Project Outcome: Child and Family Services has a stable workforce that are supported to deliver their best to children and their families.

Overview of progress of the Workforce Project There has been a period of stability for the social work teams and this project will become ‘business as usual’ with the restructure reviews moving to the Resource Management Project. An exit plan was agreed by the Child and Family Services Senior Management Team Programme Board on the 8th February, 2011 and the project was closed.

c. Permanence and Placement Project Outcome: Children and young people have a secure, safe and permanent environment within which they can live and thrive.

Overview of progress of the Permanence and Placement Project: The Permanence and Placement Project contains a number of workstreams which refocus services to keep children and young people who have been placed out of county. This contributes towards making better use of scarce resources and managing ‘hotspot’ budgets. The introduction of a Permanence Unit will take this work further in co-ordinating the work of gate keeping panels, providing more detailed information on the LAC population and improving permanency for children and young people.

d. Resource Management Project Outcome: Establish robust systems to manage the Child and Family Services budget.

Overview of progress for the Resource Management Project This is a key area of work and it is recognised that there must be a concerted effort to address the total resource situation for Child and Family Services. A fundamental cost pressure relates to the Looked After Children population. A review of placements and expectations in terms of longer term need of those children and young people who are accommodated has been undertaken.

The final recovery plan for Child and Family Services will form the basis for the work of this project.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 There are no additional financial implications associated with this report.

5. Legal Implications

5.1 There are no specific legal implications associated with this report.

6. For Information

6.1 This report is for information only. Detailed analysis and discussion will continue to be addressed via the Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Background Papers

Child and Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan 2010/11.

Contact Officer: Chris Maggs Corporate Director (Social Services) cm13006/sd Extension: 6245

Legal Officer: Alex Fletcher

APPENDIX 1.

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Councillor Tregoning Please ask for: Overview & Scrutiny Gofynnwch am: Cabinet Member for Social Services Direct Line: 01792 637257 Room 2.1.13 Llinell Uniongyrochol:

Civic Centre e-Mail [email protected] e-Bost: Oystermouth Road SWANSEA Our Ref CF/09 Ein Cyf: SA1 3SN Your Ref Eich Cyf:

Date 7th February 2011 Dyddiad:

Dear Councillor Tregoning,

Child and Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board – 19th January 2011

The main focus of our meeting was to discuss Child & Family Services performance. The latest performance report provided to the Board was for November 2010. However, the Corporate Director (Social Services) was able to provide us with the emerging picture of performance during December.

The Board was pleased to hear that this report will show performance improvements across many key areas such as referrals, core assessments and case management of looked after children, though it may be too early to fully evaluate the impact achieved through the restructuring of teams. The Director also attributed a reduction in the number of referrals and repeat referrals to more effective partnership working. However if the percentage of repeat referrals that do not require further action was still fairly high it suggested there was much more work to do with partners to prevent such referrals.

It is encouraging that new staff members were settling well, but concern remained about the number of agency workers. The Director was, however, confident that there would be no agency workers employed by the end of March, and explained that any future use would have to be within existing staff budgets. The Board was aware that agency workers were still being used (including non social work staff) in respect of contact centres, and this needed to be reviewed.

OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY / TROSOLWG A CHRAFFU

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA / DINAS A SIR ABERTAWE CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA, SA1 3SN / CANOLFAN DDINESIG, ABERTAWE, SA1 3SN

www.swansea.gov.uk

The Board also welcomed news that a new children’s home was being developed in Swansea, and the fact that any places taken up by Swansea Council should result in significant budget savings. You will know from our work on accommodation services that we felt that an increase in local provision should be encouraged.

The Board has asked the Corporate Director for information on the number of repeat referrals that involved children with a disability. In addition the Board felt that improvements to the performance report were necessary. The Board felt that clearer explanation needed to be given in the section ‘Reason Child Not Seen By A Qualified Worker’ in future reports. It would also be helpful for the analysis of looked after children to include age and gender, similar to the way this information is provided in respect of those on the child protection register. The Board was pleased to see that the performance report now included a placement costs comparison. However, it was missing some data and very difficult to conclude too much from the figures. The Board felt that this information needed to be presented in a clearer way.

Finally, the Board has also agreed to set up a Task & Finish Group (chaired by Councillor Paxton Hood-Williams) to carry out a review which will focus on exploring what is the best way to support care leavers in Swansea. The Group will no doubt want to hear from you as part of this review. The Group will be developing a plan and timetable for this work shortly.

Recommendations

From the meeting the Board recommends that you: a) consider how partners can be encouraged to review practices in order to address the number of referrals and repeat referrals that are requiring no further action; b) advise the Board of what work is being undertaken to review the use of agency staff in respect of contact centres; c) ensure that information is provided to the Board on the number of repeat referrals that involved children with a disability; d) ensure that future performance reports are amended as requested;

I look forward to your reply to our comments and response to issues raised and recommendations made.

Yours sincerely,

COUNCILLOR MARK CHILD Chairman, Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board [email protected] cc: Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board Members Cabinet Members Corporate Management Team Steve Walker – Head of Child & Family Services APPENDIX 2.

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Councillor Nick Tregoning (Cabinet Please ask for: Overview & Scrutiny Gofynnwch am: Member for Social Services); and Direct Line: 01792 637257 Councillor Mary Jones (Lead Llinell Uniongyrochol:

Member for Children & Young e-Mail [email protected] e-Bost: People) Civic Centre Our Ref CF/10 Ein Cyf: Oystermouth Road Your Ref SWANSEA Eich Cyf:

SA1 3SN Date 28th February 2011 Dyddiad:

Dear Councillor Tregoning and Councillor Jones,

Child and Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board – 16th February 2011

Draft Strategic Plan for Children & Young People 2011-14

The Board discussed the draft Plan in order to check links with Child & Family Services (CFS). The Board fed back some specific comments about the content directly to the Lead Director for Children & Young People and the Interim Children & Young People Strategy Manager.

More generally, the Board found that the draft Plan was a very readable and focussed plan. We were pleased with the emphasis on prevention and early intervention, which should have a significant impact on CFS by reducing the numbers needing social services intervention. We were also pleased to hear that CFS was a key partner in the development of the plan and integral part of discussions.

However, the Board felt it was important that:

 the Plan is able to relate to the wider Swansea population of children & young people;  financial pressures will need to be considered as they may affect the delivery of the Plan and success;  resources are balanced between areas of greatest need and universal services, to give the most equitable outcomes for children across Swansea  success factors are identified for outcomes relating to substance misuse and children in need;

OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY / TROSOLWG A CHRAFFU

CITY AND COUNTY OF SWANSEA / DINAS A SIR ABERTAWE CIVIC CENTRE, SWANSEA, SA1 3SN / CANOLFAN DDINESIG, ABERTAWE, SA1 3SN

www.swansea.gov.uk

 there is input from across all services that come into contact with children & young people and evidence of a corporate responsibility;  the Plan is embedded internally and externally and that staff at all levels understand the core aims and priorities, and their own contribution.

Child & Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan 2010/11 – Progress Report on First Three Quarters

The Board considered progress against the Plan and achievements. The progress report provided both headlines against the areas of improvement identified in the CSSIW report from January 2010 and the detailed action plan. We drew out achievements over the last year as well as the difficulties and challenges.

The Board recognised the completion of the vast majority of actions and congratulated staff and management on the progress made. However, there were two areas where we hoped for more progress - family support services and child disability services. The Board noted that timescales for completion had been revised.

Of course there was still the issue of a high number of looked after children and consequent budget pressure. However, we did feel that this was being addressed intelligently. The Board looked forward to seeing the new Plan for 2011/12 and expected to see significant reference within to the financial management of the service.

Follow Up on Board Recommendations – Progress Report: Accommodation Services (from Cabinet Decision 1/4/10)

The Board considered progress against our recommendations which were agreed by Cabinet. Your report updated on progress and indicated whether and how recommendations have been implemented.

The Board accepted progress with implementation recognising that there were a number of areas where work was ongoing. It was likely, however, that the Board would revisit progress in relation to the arrangements for Foster Swansea and MAST (Multi-Agency Support Team) in the coming year.

Please note that no formal response is required to this letter.

Yours sincerely,

COUNCILLOR MARK CHILD Chairman, Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board [email protected] cc: Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board Members Cabinet Members Corporate Management Team Steve Walker – Head of Child & Family Services APPENDIX 3.

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Please ask for: Gofynnwch am: Cllr Nick Tregoning Councillor Mark Child Direct Line: 01792 637426 Chairman, Child & Family Services Llinell Uniongyrochol: Overview & Scrutiny Board [email protected] E-Mail / E-Bost:

Our Ref / Ein Cyf: NT/RB Your Ref / Eich Cyf: CF/09 Date / Dyddiad: 15th February 2011

Dear Councillor Child

Re: Child and Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board – 19th January 2011

Thank you for your letter of the 7th February. I have been heartened by the performance data for December 1010 as a whole, but was particularly pleased to see the downturn in numbers of looked-after children, which continues the downward trajectory in this indicator that we have seen over the last quarter. It would appear that the changes that have been put in place are beginning to have an effect. However, it remains crucially important that we and our partners continue to maintain focus in this area.

I should reiterate for the avoidance of any doubt that it remains my view that the only way we will see a continued downward trend is if we maintain our partnership approach at the point of referral as epitomised by the Thorpe/Regan ‘Four-site’ work and at the same time continue to examine the LAC cases we presently hold to see if the LAC designation remains appropriate for the individual concerned.

In this context, the Board will have noted the ‘Re-modelling the Front Door’ seminars for all partners that are to take place on 16th February. I will be attending part of the afternoon seminar.

COUNCILLOR/Y CYNGHORYDD NICK TREGONING CABINET MEMBER / AELOD CABINET

CABINET OFFICE, CIVIC CENTRE, OYSTERMOUTH ROAD, SWANSEA SA1 3SN SWYDDFA’R CABINET, CANOLFAN DDINESIG, HEOL YSTUMLLWYNARTH, ABERTAWE SA1 3SN

(01792) 637441 (01792) 636196 [email protected] www.swansea.gov.uk

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I do not expect that the progression will be so smooth as to show a continuous month on month reduction given the challenging operating environment in which this work is carried out. Moreover, both the Director and I are committed to ensuring the protection of vulnerable children in Swansea so far as it lies within our power. Accordingly, if a child or young person requires the protection of LAC status from this authority then they shall have it whatever the effect upon the performance figures might be.

I also monitor the figures for re-referrals, and while I am satisfied with the December figures in this respect, as with the matters I cover above, improvement can only be achieved sustainably through a partnership approach.

I am satisfied with the impact of locality-based teams to date. It is a strategy I have supported throughout my time as Cabinet Member, and which I continue to support in other roles including that of being the present political lead for Healthy Cities.

It is clear that the expected dip in performance that normally takes place when new working practices are introduced has been very limited indeed. As this method of working continues to bed down, and as partners continue to co-locate with us either physically or by designation, I would expect quantitative performance to improve, and for qualitative performance to grow also. Quality is, and will be, a major focus for me for so long as I continue in this role, and for the Directorate for the rest of this Council term.

Turning to your recommendations, I foresee no problem with (c) and (d), and will ask that the changes are facilitated. As to (a), there is no ‘magic bullet’ to be had. Instead, it will be as partners can see the achievement of our shared objectives and those of their own organisations in swifter and more appropriate actions to meet the needs of the vulnerable that we will see sustainable benefit being achieved. Joint events such as the one I alluded to above will help to ensure that we move in the right direction at an appropriate pace.

The position regarding supervised contact has been reviewed. There has been a very significant increase in number of direct contact hours that are required. During the

COUNCILLOR/Y CYNGHORYDD NICK TREGONING CABINET MEMBER / AELOD CABINET

CABINET OFFICE, CIVIC CENTRE, OYSTERMOUTH ROAD, SWANSEA SA1 3SN SWYDDFA’R CABINET, CANOLFAN DDINESIG, HEOL YSTUMLLWYNARTH, ABERTAWE SA1 3SN

(01792) 637441 (01792) 636196 [email protected] www.swansea.gov.uk

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last eighteen months the increase has been in excess of 150%. Whilst it is necessary to ensure adequate staffing this can be achieved by establishing additional temporary posts rather than using agency staff. Action will be taken to appoint to temporary posts and the overall position will be regularly reviewed.

Yours sincerely

COUNCILLOR NICK TREGONING CABINET MEMBER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES

cc: Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board Members Cabinet Members Corporate Management Team Steve Walker – Head of Child & Family Services

COUNCILLOR/Y CYNGHORYDD NICK TREGONING CABINET MEMBER / AELOD CABINET

CABINET OFFICE, CIVIC CENTRE, OYSTERMOUTH ROAD, SWANSEA SA1 3SN SWYDDFA’R CABINET, CANOLFAN DDINESIG, HEOL YSTUMLLWYNARTH, ABERTAWE SA1 3SN

(01792) 637441 (01792) 636196 [email protected] www.swansea.gov.uk

Item No. 15 (1)

Joint Report of the Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group and Acting Monitoring Officer

Council – 31st March 2011

AMENDMENTS TO THE COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

Summary

Purpose: To make amendments to the Council Constitution following a Call In and the calling of a Challenge Panel in respect of the Glamorgan Hotel, Swansea, and to report on other amendments to the Council Constitution.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To provide clarification of several “grey areas” identified in the current Council Constitution.

Consultation: Constitution Working Group, Legal and Finance.

1. Introduction

1.1 A Call in request was received on 2 June 2010 in relation to the decision of Cabinet of 27 May 2010 regarding the Glamorgan Hotel, Swansea. The Chair of Council accepted the Call in as valid and it was subsequently considered by the Challenge Panel.

1.2 In considering the call in, issues arose in relation to wording contained in pages 238 to 242 of the Council Constitution (Annexe A - Acquisition or Disposal of Land Procedure Rules). These rules need to be amended in three areas as set out in Paragraph 2 below.

1.3 Amendments to the Call In procedure were also identified and a revised protocol was subsequently approved by Council on 9th December 2010. The revised protocol is set out under Cabinet Procedure Rules, at pages 198 to 201 of the Council Constitution.

2. Issues regarding the Council Constitution (For Decision)

2.1 Acquisition or Disposal of Land Procedure Rules

2.2 The rules are contained in pages 238 to 242 of the Constitution. The three areas identified are considered separately below.

2.3 Paragraph 2.3 (page 239).

The paragraph as drafted appears to be incomplete. It currently reads as follows:

“2.3 There will be no disposal of Land by private treaty or where an offer has been received from only one person except where it is determined by the Head of Corporate Building & Property Services that there is only one party who could acquire the interest because, for example:

a) the physical, or other characteristics of the land so dictate, or

b) there is only one response following reasonable marketing of the land;

c) prudent and appropriate to sell by private treaty.”

The current paragraph does not make sense. It is therefore suggested that the following amendments are made:

1) In paragraph a) add the word “legal” after “physical”.

2) After the end of (b) delete ‘c)’ and. amend to have a sentence reading “and it is prudent and appropriate to sell by private treaty”. The amendment here is to clarify that the words concerning whether it is prudent and appropriate to sell by private treaty are in addition to some other substantial reason for doing so.

3) Add a new sentence to paragraph 2.3 to read:

“Where the Head of Corporate Property and Building Services does make a determination not to market any land or to dispose of land by private treaty or to accept an offer from only one person he/she shall record the reasons for his/her decision in writing and shall report those reasons to Cabinet if a decision is required to be made by Cabinet”

The Challenge Panel felt that in any case where the normal approach is not to be followed the reasons for not doing so should be clearly stated to enable a proper decision to be made.

2.4 Paragraph 2.6 (page 239 of the Council Constitution).

The paragraph states that the confidentiality of offerors will be maintained until an offer has been accepted. The current approach is that offerors are named in exempt reports which go before Cabinet. There may be reasons to name the offerors in these reports but the report authors did not suggest there was a need to name offerors. It is therefore suggested that the following amendments are made:

An additional sentence should be added at the end of Paragraph 2.6 to state “Offerors should not be named in Cabinet reports.”

2.5 The Council Constitution does not contain a requirement for consultation with Electoral Division Members by the Head of Corporate Property and Building Services when disposals are planned in their Electoral Divisions.

The Panel recognised that it should not be necessary to have consultation in every case where there is a dealing with Council land. However, where land is being disposed of and the use of the land or building proposed will require a change of planning consent then the Panel feel that consultation should take place. Consultation should also take place on the more significant dealings with land. It is suggested that the following amendment is made on page 238 of the Constitution by adding a new paragraph 1.7:

“1.7 – In any disposals or acquisitions of land which do not fall within the delegated authority of responsible officers and have to be reported to Cabinet, the responsible officers shall consult with the relevant Electoral Division Members and any responses received from Electoral Divisions Members shall be reported to Cabinet. On any proposed disposals or acquisitions falling within the delegated authority of the responsible officers, the officers shall consult with Electoral Division Members where the proposal under consideration would involve a change of use in the land requiring planning consent. Any consultation required to be carried out under this paragraph shall be in writing (letter, e-mail or fax) and any Members consulted shall be given 7 working days in which to respond. If there is no response within this timescale it shall be assumed that the member has no comments to make. Responsible officers shall take any consultation responses received into account in making their decision”.

3. Amendments the Council Constitution (For Information)

The Acting Monitoring Officer has authority to amend the constitution to reflect administrative changes. Changes made include the following areas:- Page 34 - 9.5 – added as No.11 to Community Council Sub Committee Terms of Reference on page 102

Page 163 - 3.3 Annual Meeting of Council add Councillors Allowances Handbook as q) and renumber current q) to r)

Pages 186,187,226 & 239 - Amended County Hall to Civic Centre.

Page 186 – 4 & 5 added word “working” before the word days.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 None.

5. Legal Implications

5.1 None.

6. Recommendations. It is recommended that:

6.1 Council agree the changes to the Council Constitution as set out in paragraph 2 of the report be made to the Council Constitution following the closure of this meeting.

6.2 The amendments to the Council Constitution made by the Acting Monitoring Officer as detailed in paragraph 3 be noted

Background Papers: None

Contact Officer: Huw G Evans – Democratic Services & Complaints Manager  01792 63 7347

Legal Officer: Rod Jones – Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement

Item No. 15 (2)

Report of the Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group & Acting Monitoring Officer

Council – 31st March 2011

COUNCIL MEETING STRUCTURE AND COUNCILLOR ALLOWANCES 2011 / 2012

Summary

Purpose: To seek Council’s approval to alter the Committee / Board Structure and Level of Councillor Allowances within the Authority in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 3.3.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To comply with Council Procedure Rule 3.3.

Consultation: Finance, Legal and Constitution Working Group.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Leader of the Council has asked that the Council Meeting Structure and Councillor Allowances be reviewed.

1.2 Appendix A lists the Council’s current structure (as of 1 March 2011) and also the proposals following the review together with the current frequency and proposed frequency of Council, Cabinet and other Council Bodies. No changes are proposed.

2. Council Meeting Structure Proposed Changes

2.1 All of the proposed changes listed below would take effect following the Annual Meeting of Council scheduled for Monday, 16 May 2011.

2.2 Licensing Committee

2.2.1 It is proposed that the General Licensing Committee and the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Committee be merged into one Licensing Committee.

2.2.2 It is proposed to simply merge the current terms of reference into one document and to make the following minor amendments. The proposed and amended terms of reference are shown in Appendix B.

a) Amendment to the Licensing Committee

i) Delete the following sentence:

“All Licensing matters other than those relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005 will be considered by the full Licensing Committee exercising plenary powers meeting on such specific occasions as necessary.

Replace with:

“All Licensing matters other than those relating to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005 will be considered by the Licensing Committee exercising plenary powers meeting on such specific occasions as necessary.”

b) Amendment to the Licensing Sub Committee

i) Delete the following sentence:

“To determine all regulated by the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005 matters in accordance with the provision of and the scheme of delegation set out in the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy”.

Replace with:

“To determine all Licensing matters in accordance with the provision of and the scheme of delegation set out in the Council’s Statements of Licensing Policy and the Council’s Constitution.”

3. Basic Allowance

3.1 The rate set by the Authority as a Basic Allowance for its Councillors is based on the rate set by Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) for Wales in 2007 / 2008. This is currently £1,150 below the maximum allowed to be paid.

3.2 Following discussions and general agreement from all of the Political Group Leaders, it is proposed that the Basic Allowance be raised by £140 per Councillor. This rate would be £1,010 below the maximum amount allowed to be paid. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

4. Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs)

4.1 The rate set by the Authority as a SRA for the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members is based on 80% of the rate set by the IRP in 2007 / 2008. As the IRP have not amended this rate, there is no proposal to alter the level of the allowance. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

4.2 The rate set by the Authority as a SRA for the Chairs of Scrutiny / Planning, Licensing, Audit and the Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group is based on the rate set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011. As the IRP have not amended this rate, there is no proposal to alter the level of the allowance. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

4.3 The rate set by the Authority as an SRA for Leaders of other Political Groups (provided their Political Groups constitute no less than 10% of the Council membership) is based on the rate set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011. As the IRP have not amended this rate, there is no proposal to alter the level of the allowance. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

4.4 24 of the 72 Councillors are currently in receipt of a Special Responsibility Allowances. The amounts payable are shown in Appendix C.

4. Care Allowance

4.1 The rate set by the Authority for Care Allowances is based on the rate set by the IRP in 2007 / 2008. However, it is proposed that this Allowance be raised to reflect the maximum rate set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011. The proposed actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

5. Co-optees Allowances

5.1 The rate set by the Authority for Co-optees Allowances is based on the rate set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011. As the IRP have not amended this rate, there is no proposal to alter the level of the allowance. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

6. Travel and Subsistence Allowances

6.1 The rate set by the Authority for Travel and Subsistence Allowances is based on the rates set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011. As the IRP have not amended these rates, there is no proposal to alter the level of the allowance. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

6.2 It is proposed that the City and County of Swansea Councillors be not allowed to claim for any “in county” subsistence expenses.

7. Chair and Vice Chair of Council

7.1 The Local Government Act 1972 allows Council’s to pay an allowance to the Chair and Vice Chair of Council in order for them to meet the expenses of their Office. The allowance is to be at an appropriate level determined by Council.

7.2 In line with the recent Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales Annual Report – December 2009, Council on 8 April 2010 resolved to remunerate the Chair of Council in line with that prescribed for Chairs and the Leader of the Largest Opposition Group. Council further resolved to remunerate the Vice Chair of Council in line with that prescribed for Leaders of other Political Groups. There is no proposal to alter that rationale. The amounts payable are shown in Appendix C.

8. ICT Allowance (Opt Out Councillors)

8.1 The ICT Allowance (Opt Out Councillors) payable to Councillors is index linked to September’s Retail Price Index (RPI). As such it will automatically be amended as of 1 April each year. The actual amount is shown in Appendix C.

9. Financial Implications

9.1 The change in the Allowances will be met in its entirety from within the existing Councillors budget.

9.2 The proposed change in Care Allowances to the rate set by the IRP in 2010 / 2011 could potentially lead to an additional burden on the Authority. However any increases in claims will be met in their entirety from within existing budget due to savings made by Council on 3 February 2011 in relation to a reduction in SRA payments.

10. Legal Implications

10.1 None.

11. Recommended that:

11.1 The new Council Meeting Structure 2011 / 2012 and frequency of meetings as outlined in Appendix A be approved;

11.2 The Terms of reference of the Licensing Committee and Licensing Sub Committee as detailed in Appendix B be approved and take effect following the Annual Meeting of Council on 16th May 2011;

11.3 The amounts proposed for Councillors Allowances as detailed in Appendix C be approved and take effect as follows:

i) Basic allowance from 1st April 2011; ii) The remainder following Annual Council on 16th May 2011.

11.4 Councillors within the City and County of Swansea shall not be allowed to claim any subsistence allowance for duties within the Authority’s boundary.

Background papers: None Contact: Huw G Evans  01792 637347 09 March 2011

Legal Officer: Rod Jones

Appendix A

Current Council Body 2010 / 2011 AS AT 28 February 2011 Current Proposed Council Body 2011 / 2012 Proposed Frequency Frequency (Weekly)

Council 8 No Change 8 Cabinet 4 No Change 4 Corporate Briefing 4 No Change 4

Appeals & Awards Committee 2 No Change 2 Appointments Committee - No Change - Area 1 Development Control Committee 4 No Change 4 Area 2 Development Control Committee 4 No Change 4 Chief Executives Appraisal & Remuneration Committee - No Change - Chief Officers Disciplinary Committee - No Change - Chief Officers Disciplinary Appeals Committee - No Change - Community / Town Councils Standards Sub Committee - No Change - Joint Consultative Committee 8 No Change 8 General Licensing Committee 8 Licensing Committee 4 Hackney Carriage and Public Hire Licensing Committee 4 Overview & Scrutiny Business Committee 8 No Change 8 Partnership Overview & Scrutiny Committee 8 No Change 8 Planning and Petitions Committee 8 No Change 8 Rights of Way and Commons Sub Committee - No Change - Standards Committee 6 No Change 6 SWWITCH Joint Committee 12 No Change 12 West Glamorgan Archives Committee 12 No Change 12

Appendix A

Current Council Body 2010 / 2011 AS AT 28 February 2011 Current Proposed Council Body 2011 / 2012 Proposed Frequency Frequency (Weekly)

Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board 4 No Change 4 Children, Young People & Learning Overview & Scrutiny 4 No Change 4 Board Environment & Communities Overview & Scrutiny Board 4 No Change 4

Performance & Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board 4 No Change 4

Health, Social Care & Well Being Overview & Scrutiny 4 No Change 4 Board

Admissions Panel - No Change - Challenge Panel - No Change - Fostering Panel - No Change - LEA Governor Panel - No Change - Pension Fund Panel - No Change - Standards Committee Vacancy Panel - No Change - Sustainable Development Fund Panel - No Change - Trustees Panel - No Change - West Wales Valuation Tribunal Joint Appointments Panel - No Change -

Cemetery Liaison Forum - No Change - Community / Town Councils Forum 12 No Change 12 Corporate Parenting Forum - No Change - Gower Countryside Forum 4 No Change 4 Gypsy Traveller Liaison Forum - No Change - Student Liaison Forum - No Change - Taxi Consultative Forum - No Change -

Appendix A

Current Council Body 2010 / 2011 AS AT 28 February 2011 Current Proposed Council Body 2011 / 2012 Proposed Frequency Frequency (Weekly)

Constitution Working Group 4 No Change 4 Councillors ICT Working Group 4 No Change 4 Local Development Plan Advisory Group - No Change - Member Support & Development Working Group 4 No Change 4 Planning Task & Finish Group - No Change - Social Services Rota Visits Group - No Change -

Appendix B

Proposed Terms of Reference

Licensing Committee

1. To determine all matters regulated by the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005 in accordance with the provisions of and the Scheme of Delegation set out in the Council’s Statements of Licensing Policies

2. To determine all other licensing matters, including those relating to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensing, animal boarding establishments , Dangerous Wild Animals, Street Trading, Sex Establishments, Charitable Collections, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and any other matters of a licensing nature.

3. All Licensing matters will be considered by the Licensing Committee or Sub Committee as deemed necessary, exercising plenary powers meeting on such specific occasions as necessary.

4. The Licensing Committee shall be empowered to adopt or modify any such rules of procedure as may be required in order to facilitate the determination of any matters considered by them.

5. To review and update conditions attached to existing licences / permits / consents and to agree new conditions required due to changes in legislation and or changes in trends or practices.

6. To consider appeals against an officer decision to refuse an application for approval to work as a driver or passenger assistant in vehicles for school transport purposes.

Note: All members of this Committee must have been trained by the Authority prior to them being permitted to take part in the meeting.

Appendix B

Proposed Terms of Reference

Licensing Sub Committee

1. To determine all Licensing matters in accordance with the provision of and the scheme of delegation set out in the Council’s Statements of Licensing Policy and the Council’s Constitution.

2. The Licensing Sub Committee shall be empowered to adopt or modify any such rules of procedure as may be required in order to facilitate the determination of any matters considered by them.

Note: All members of this Committee must have been trained by the Authority prior to them being permitted to take part in the meeting.

Appendix C

Councillors Allowances

1. Basic Allowance

No. Allowance Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 72 Basic £12,718 £13,868 £12,858 Total - - £925,776

2. Special Responsibility Allowances (As of 28 February 2011)

No. Allowance Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 1 Leader of the Council £32,418 £43,917 £32,418 1 Deputy Leader of the Council £17,830 £26,582 £17,830 8 Cabinet Member £16,209 £20,803 £16,209 1 Chair of Appeals and Awards £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Committee 1 Chair of Audit Committee £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 1 Chair of Partnership Overview and £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Scrutiny Committee 0 Chair of Planning and Petitions - £9,708 - Committee Note 1 1 Chair of Overview and Scrutiny £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Business Committee 5 Chair of Overview and Scrutiny £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Board 2 Chair of Area 1 and Area 2 £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Development Control Committee 1 Chair of Licensing Committee £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 1 Leader of the Main Opposition £9,708 £9,708 £9,708 Political Group 0 Leader of all other Political Groups - £4,161 - Note 2 23 Total - - £306,124

Note: 1. Council on 3 February 2011 resolved that the Planning and Petitions Committee be chaired on rotation between the Chairs of the Area 1 and Area 2 Development Control Committees (Minute 168 refers); 2. Leaders of all other Political Groups will not automatically receive a Special Responsibility Allowance as the statutory provision requires the Political Group to have at least 10% of the Council seats to be eligible.

3. Care Allowances

No. Allowance Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 ? Care Allowance £307 £403 £403 Per month Per month Per month (Receipted) (Receipted) (Receipted)

4. Co-optees Allowances

No. Allowance Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 1 Chair of Standards Committee £2,230 £2,230 £2,230 1 Chair of Community / Town £1,400 £1,400 £1,400 Councils Committee 6 Co-opted Members (Standards £1,200 £1,200 £1,200 Committee & Education Scrutiny) Total - - £10,830

5. Travel and Subsistence Allowances

Subsistence Allowances Current IRP Proposed (Outside of the Authority’s 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 Boundary) Day Allowance £28 £28 £28 per day per day per day Overnight £150 £150 £150 Cardiff Overnight £120 £120 £120 Elsewhere £95 £95 £95 Overnight Staying with Friends / Family £25 £25 £25

Travel Allowances Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 Rate per Mile (up to 10,000 Miles) 40p 40p 40p Rate per Mile (over 10,000 Miles) 25p 25p 25p Passenger Supplement per Mile 5p 5p 5p Motor Cycles per Mile 24p 24p 24p Bicycles 20p 20p 20p

6. Chair and Vice Chair of Council Allowances

No. Allowance Current IRP Proposed 2010 / 2011 Maximum 2011 / 2012 1 Chair of Council £9,708 - £9,708 1 Vice Chair of Council £4,161 - £4,161 Total - - £13,869

7. ICT Allowance (Opt Out Councillors)

7.1 The ICT Allowance (Opt Out Councillors) payable is index linked to September’s Retail Price Index (RPI). It will be £402 from 1 April 2011.

Item No. 15 (3)

Report of the Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group & Acting Monitoring Officer

Council – 31st March 2011

COUNCIL DIARY - REMAINDER OF DATES & TIMES OF THE VARIOUS OTHER COUNCIL / COMMITTEES / BOARDS / GROUPS 2011 / 2012

Summary

Purpose: To seek Council’s approval of the Council Diary 2011 / 2012.

Policy Framework: None.

Reason for Decision: To set the Council Diary 2011 / 2012.

Consultation: Finance, Legal and Constitution Working Group.

1. Introduction

1.1 Attached as Appendix A is a draft copy of the remainder of the Council Diary for 2011 / 2012.

1.2 Council at its meeting on 3 February 2011 approved the times an dates of the meetings for Council and Cabinet (Minute 166 refers).

2. Financial Implications

2.1 None.

3. Legal Implications

3.1 None.

4. Recommendations

4.1 That the draft Council Diary 2011 / 2012 as detailed in Appendix A be approved.

Background papers: None Contact: Huw G Evans  01792 637347 09 March 2011

Legal Officer: Rod Jones

Item No. 15 (4)

Report of the Chair of Council, Constitution Working Group & Acting Monitoring Officer

Council – 31st March 2011

COUNCILLORS ALLOWANCES HANDBOOK

Summary

Purpose: To update the Councillors Allowances Handbook following guidance from the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales.

Policy Framework: Councillors Allowances Scheme.

Reason for Decision: To comply with the guidance set by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales and to improve guidance for Councillors on allowances.

Consultation: Finance, Legal and Constitution Working Group.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Councillors Allowances Handbook provides administrative guidance on the application of the Councillors Allowances Scheme. Following new regulations from the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales and a need to clarify and update some issues, the handbook has been revised.

1.2 Constitution Working Group are asked to consider the Handbook and make recommendations to Council for approval.

2. Proposed Amendments

2.1 Attached as Appendix 1 to this report is the draft copy of the amended Councillors Allowances Handbook. The draft has had a number of minor amendments made to it in order to reflect inaccuracies or changes of responsibility. These changes are not highlighted in the report.

2.2 The draft Handbook highlights key areas that have been identified as needing clarification and / or to reflect the recommendations from the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales. The rationale for these amendments are listed below (the paragraphs refer to the actual paragraph within the Councillor Allowances Handbook).

2.3 Paragraph 2.2.3 Council mobile phones will be provided for Cabinet Members, Chair of Council and the Main Opposition Political Group Leader.

2.3.1 As these mobile phones are provided for Council related work issues, any personal calls & data tariff usage must be paid for by the relevant Councillor. To ensure that personal calls / data usage are paid for within a timely manner, we have included that this be done within 3 months of receipt of a bill. Failure to do so may result in the removal of the mobile phone and possibly a breach of the Members Code of Conduct.

2.4 Paragraphs 2.7.1 – 2.7.3 Newspapers have been added to outline that daily newspapers that are provided for Councillors in order to assist them with their duties.

2.5 Two additional bullet points have been included in paragraphs 3.3.2 and 6.8.1 of the Handbook has been amended in relation to Approved Duties. Invitations to functions and governors meetings do not constitute an approved duty and cannot be claimed for.

2.6 Paragraph 3.6.9 Incidental costs – VAT receipts have to be provided, therefore the following wording has been removed – “If a VAT receipt for fuel is not attached then the payment will only be paid on an exceptional basis and with the written authorisation of the Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement.”

2.7 Paragraphs 3.12, 3.12.1 & 3.12.2 Car Parking Permits have been included to reflect the recent scheme introduced by Cabinet in January 2011.

2.8 Paragraph 4.1.1 Subsistence – the blanket payment of £140 for subsistence allowance within the Authority area has been removed as a result of the IRP’s determination on subsistence claims.

2.8.1 Subsistence outside the Authority’s area (paragraph 4.1.2) will only be paid for food and beverages and only one alcoholic drink with dinner will be reclaimable. Claims for “incidentals items” will not be allowed. The maximum daily allowance as prescribed by the IRP is set out in Appendix A.

2.9 5.4 Payment. Currently the handbook states that cash advances of £50 or over must be approved in advance by the Head of Finance.

2.9.1 It is proposed to increase the amount for a cash advance from £50 to £56. This will be in line with the IRP’s maximum day allowance for two days.

2.9.2 Should a Councillor be provided with a cash advance, then any element of that cash advance not spent by the Councillor cannot be repaid to the Authority. The total amount of the cash advance will be deducted in its entirety from a Councillors salary.

2.9.3 It is proposed that cash advances less than £56 will not be allowed.

2.10 Paragraph 9.1 National Insurance Contributions has been amended following advice from the Payroll Manager.

2.11 Appendix A has been amended. The figures quoted in the Appendix are those proposed to be adopted by Council as part of the “Council Meeting Structure and Councillor Allowances 2011 / 2012”.

2.12 Appendix H Reclaiming of Councillors Car Parking Permit Charges Proforma has been included for use by Councillors.

3. Financial Implications

3.1 The amendments outlined in this report will have little impact on the overall expenditure for Councillors allowances which will consequently remain fully funded from within existing resources.

4. Legal Implications

4.1 A Councillors Allowance Scheme is required under “The Local Authorities (Allowances for Members of County and County Borough Councils and National Park Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2007”. The Councillors Allowances Handbook provides administrative guidance on the application of the Scheme.

5. Recommendations

5.1 That the revised Councillor Allowance Handbook be adopted;

Background papers: Councillors Allowance Scheme Contact: Huw G Evans  01792 637347 09 March 2011

Legal Officer: Rod Jones APPENDIX 1

COUNCILLORS ALLOWANCES HANDBOOK

CONTENTS

SECTION

1. Introduction

2. Councillor Allowances

3. Travel Expenses

4. Subsistence

5. Payment

6. Claim Form & Claiming

7. Interests, Gifts and Hospitality of Councillors

8. Income Tax

9. National Insurance Contributions

10. Social Security Benefits

11. Insurance

12. Further Information Contact List

APPENDICES

A Rates of Allowances

B Overseas Allowances

C Interests, Gifts and Hospitality

D Sample Claim Form

E Confirmation of Councillor Attendance (with Officer) Form

F Confirmation of Councillor Attendance (Outside Body) Form

G Guidelines on Approved Duties

H Car Parking Permit Reclaim form 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The remuneration of elected Councillors is determined on the basis of a Scheme approved by the Council in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. In addition to this, the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRP) also gives determinations / recommendations / guidance. The elected Councillors of the Council are not employees, although the treatment of their remuneration for most purposes is the same as if they were employees.

1.2 This guidance provides Councillors with practical information relating to Councillors Allowances and any queries in the first instance should be directed to the Member Support Unit (MSU).

2. COUNCILLOR ALLOWANCES

2.1 The Council Constitution sets out the executive, scrutiny and regulatory arrangements which the Council has adopted. It contains the Members Allowances Scheme which sets out the entitlement to the different types of Allowances (and expenses) and the roles and responsibilities associated with them. The categories of Allowance are shown below:

 Basic Allowance;  ICT Allowance (Opt Out Councillors only);  Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA);  Care Allowance;

2.2 Basic Allowance

2.2.1 Basic Allowance is payable from the date in which a Councillor signs the “Declaration of Acceptance of Office” following election and ceases either on the fourth day after the election (LG Act 1972 S35 (1)) or on the date that the Councillor resigns from Office. It is payable at the same rate to all Councillors to recognise their responsibilities in undertaking the role of a Councillor. The payments are made through the Payroll system on monthly basis.

2.2.2 Councillors are to meet their home and personal mobile telephone bills themselves. However, should a Councillor prefer then sufficient telephone provision is available within the Civic Centre.

2.2.3 Council Mobile phones will be provided and Council related usage shall be paid for by the Authority for Cabinet Members, the Chair of Council and the Main Opposition Political Group Leader. When a Councillor ceases to become a Cabinet Member, Chair of Council or Main Political Group Leader, their mobile phones MUST be returned to the Cabinet Office or the Members Support Unit.

2.2.4 Councillors entitled to a Council mobile phone MUST reimburse the Council via the Cabinet Office or Member Support Unit for their personal mobile phone / data tariff usage within 3 months of receipt of the bill. Failure to do so may result in the removal of the mobile phone and possibly a breach of the Members Code of Conduct.

2.2.5 Mobile Phone Tariffs. Officers within the Cabinet Office and Members Support Unit will consult with the relevant ICT Officer in order to establish the most appropriate tariff for the Councillor. Tariffs should be reviewed on a quarterly basis on receipt of the bill.

2.3 Information Communication & Technology (ICT) Allowance

2.3.1 The Council adopted arrangements for the provision of ICT to Councillors in 2006. In essence Councillors can either be provided with Council laptops or they are able to choose to purchase their own equipment. (Councillors should familiarise themselves with the ‘ICT provision to Councillors’ policy.)

2.3.2 If a Councillor wishes to purchase their own ICT equipment they must comply with the current Council requirements set out in the ‘ICT provision to Councillors’ policy. The ICT Allowance will be paid to the Councillor concerned. Councillors will need to comply with the administrative procedures in order to receive the ICT Allowance.

2.3.3 Where a Council laptop computer is provided for a Councillor the ICT Allowance will not be paid. The Council laptops supplied are in effect being funded from ICT Allowance.

2.3.4 Should a Councillor choose to return the Council’s laptop and purchase their own ICT equipment then payment of the ICT Allowance would not commence until the Council’s laptop had been returned to the Member Support Unit.

2.3.5 Where a Councillor has chosen not to take a Council laptop or purchase their own ICT equipment the ICT Allowance will be not be paid.

2.3.6 The Council will provide, on request, broadband connections for all Councillors at their home address. The cost of the broadband connection and the standard monthly package (agreed as part of the ICT arrangements - currently via NP10) will be met by the Council.

2.3.7 Where a Councillor uses their own privately provided Broadband connection they will receive a payment towards their Broadband costs. The amount is set out in Appendix A.

2.3.8 Evidence of privately arranged Broadband provision (in the form of a bill) will be required to be submitted on an annual basis (end of March or within 2 months of being elected) to Members Support prior to any Broadband allowance being paid.

2.4 Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA)

2.4.1 In addition to the Basic Allowance and ICT Allowance, a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) can be paid. The roles and definitions attached to each of the positions for which an SRA is payable, and the current amounts payable, is set out in Part 6 “Members Allowances” of the Council Constitution. (www.swansea.gov.uk/constitution).

2.5 Care Allowance

2.5.1 Councillors are able to claim a monthly “Care Allowance”. The amount which can be claimed is outlined in Appendix A.

2.5.2 The scheme allows payment to a Councillor of the authority an Allowance in respect of such expenses of arranging for the care of children or dependants as are necessarily incurred in the carrying out of that Councillor’s duties as a Councillor, providing that no payment is made in respect of:

 A Care Allowance in respect of any child over the age of fifteen years or dependant unless the Councillor satisfies the authority that the child or dependant required supervision which has caused the Councillor to incur expenses that were necessary in respect of the care of that child or dependant in the carrying out of that Councillors duties as a Councillor;  A Care Allowance to more than one Councillor of the authority in relation to the care of the same child or dependant; or  More than one Care Allowance to any Councillor of the authority who is unable to demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction for the care of different children or dependants.

2.5.3 The Care Allowance shall only be reimbursed upon the production of receipts from formal and informal carers for actual expenses incurred.

2.6 Foregoing Of Allowances

2.6.1 Councillors may elect to forego any part of their entitlement to an Allowance by giving written notice to the Monitoring Officer / Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement who will liaise with the Head of Finance and then inform payroll.

2.6.2 However, Social Security rules take into account any income that is available to Councillors even if they choose not to take advantage of it. Thus, even though Councillors may elect to forego their Allowances, the Benefits Agency or the Council’s Housing Benefits Section can treat Councillors as if they had been paid and reduce their benefits accordingly.

NOTE: See additional Guidance:

 Income Tax is outlined in Section 8;  Social Security Benefits is outlined in Section 10.

2.7 Newspapers

2.7.1 The Evening Post and Western Mail newspapers will be provided on Monday – Friday to the following:

 Cabinet Office – for all Cabinet Members (both)  Members Lounge – for all non-executive Councillors (both)  Leader of the Main Opposition Group (Evening Post only)

2.7.2 These newspapers are purchased for Council business in order to assist Councillors with their duties and to inform them of what topics have been deemed newsworthy by the press.

2.7.3 The newspapers should not be removed from the above offices / locations.

3. TRAVEL EXPENSES

3.1 Councillors are able to claim for travel and subsistence expenses incurred when undertaking an ‘approved duty’. Travel and Subsistence Expenses are paid in addition to the Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances and will only be paid if the following rules are met:

3.2 Approved Duty

The current Regulations define an ‘approved duty’ as: a) Attendance at a meeting of the authority or of any committee of the authority or of any body to which the authority makes appointments or nominations or of any committee of such a body; b) Attendance at a meeting of any association of authorities of which the authority is a member; c) Attendance at any other meeting the holding of which is authorised by the authority or by a committee of the authority or by a joint committee of the authority and one or more other authorities; d) A duty undertaken for the purpose of or in connection with the discharge of the functions of an executive where the authority is operating executive arrangements within the meaning of Part II of the 2000 Act; e) A duty undertaken in pursuance of a standing order which requires a member or members to be present when tender documents are opened; f) A duty undertaken in connection with the discharge of any function of the authority which empowers or requires the authority to inspect or authorise the inspection of premises; g) Attendance at any training or development event approved by the authority of its executive or board;

h) Any other duty approved by the authority, or any other duty of a class so approved, undertaken for the purpose of, or in connection with, the discharge of the functions of the authority or any of its committees.

3.3 Clarity of interpretation relating to Approved Duties – to establish greater clarity and transparency the Handbook will include guidance on the nature of meetings for which Councillors can claim.

3.3.1 Examples where meetings would constitute an approved duty:

 Meetings with Officers called to cover a specific item of council business at which there are at least the Chief Executive/Chief Officer or Head of Service present. These meetings will have been ‘summoned’ i.e. either formally convened or requesting a Councillors attendance by letter or email (see Appendix E).

3.3.2 Examples where meetings would NOT constitute an approved duty:

 Personal meetings with the Chief Executive/Chief Officers to discuss private matters.  Group meetings  Meetings relating to Electoral Division matters  Member only meetings  Invitations to functions  Governors meetings

3.4 Administration via Member Support Unit

3.4.1 The Member Support Unit should make all bookings associated with travel requests on behalf of Councillors. Where possible any costs will be covered by the use of the Corporate Purchasing Card.

3.5 Travel by Rail

3.5.1 Councillors (and Officers travelling with Councillors) will travel standard class unless first class rail travel can be found cheaper than the standard class open ticket as advertised at the www.trainline.co.uk website. These standard class tickets are referred to as “Anytime Return” tickets on the Trainline website.

3.5.2 Incidental costs associated with rail travel, such as parking at stations, taxi, tube, etc. will be reimbursed subject to production of receipts.

3.5.3 Rail cards may be purchased for all eligible Councillors who intend travelling on the Council’s behalf where it will reduce the overall cost to the Council. The cost to the Council of rail travel can be reduced significantly if Councillors, who are eligible, have one of the following rail cards: Senior Railcard or Disabled Persons Railcard. An eligible Councillor should provide all the necessary documentation for the relevant railcard to MSU who will obtain the railcard on the Councillors behalf. Privately purchased rail cards will be reimbursed providing it is deemed to be of benefit to the Authority.

3.6 Travel by Private Car

3.6.1 Mileage Claims from qualifying address - The Council will pay Councillors mileage claims based on the mileages listed on the RAC Route Planner website (http://route.rac.co.uk/), postcode to postcode.

In relation to single journeys, Members Support will enter the Councillors qualifying address postcode and the destination postcode. The quickest route will always be selected. The distance will be rounded up if 0.5 miles or over or down if less than 0.5 of a mile. Only complete miles may be claimed.

In relation to return journeys, Members support will enter the Councillors home postcode as the start and end point and enter the destination postcode using the “via” option. The quickest route will always be selected. The distance will be rounded up if 0.5 miles or over or down if less than 0.5 of a mile. Only complete miles may be claimed.

The Authority will hold a list of the distances relating to the most frequent or routine journeys undertaken by each Councillor. This list will be reviewed and updated at the First Annual Meeting of Council following an election by the Members Support Unit using the RAC website. The next review will therefore be in May 2012.

3.6.2 Mileage Claims from a Councillors Private Place of Work (excluding qualifying address) - Councillors shall personally cover the cost of their travel:

 To or from their private place of work;  When attending any venue in a private capacity;  When undertaking their electoral division duties.

Therefore travelling allowances for journeys from a Councillors private place of work, private venue or other electoral division duty or to carry out an approved duty will only be for the normal amount that a Councillor would have claimed if they were coming from their home to the Civic Centre, other appropriate Council building, location of approved duty or their place of work whichever is the lesser.

3.6.3 Site Visits - Councillors are expected to use the transport provided to attend Site Visits as this reduces the overall cost to the Council and as such Councillors cannot claim mileage in respect of site visits. However, in some cases the distance to Civic Centre from home to pick up the transport provided would be in excess of the mileage to the Site Visit itself. Where this is the case mileage can be claimed.

3.6.4 Councillors should where possible travel together.

3.6.5 Authorised journeys within Wales are reimbursed at the approved mileage rates for Councillors (see Appendix A) subject to 3.6.7 below.

3.6.6 Authorised journeys outside Wales are also reimbursed at the approved mileage rates, set out in the Appendix A, but only if it is deemed reasonable in the circumstances. Reasonable is taken to mean to be cost effective in terms of time and money subject to 3.6.7 below.

3.6.7 If a Councillor will be travelling over 130 miles in total (from a starting point of the Civic Centre, Swansea, SA1 3SN) then the Councillor must consider the best financial interest of the Council by the possible use of public transport, a hire car etc. If that Councillor chooses to use their own vehicle they would only receive the cost of their fuel used for the journey at the current rate per mile. A valid VAT receipt for the fuel MUST be submitted in order for any payment to be made.

3.6.8 Where transport is provided, Councillors will not be entitled to claim mileage if they choose to take their own vehicle unless otherwise agreed in writing (preferably e-mail) with the Chief Executive.

3.6.9 Incidental costs associated with travel by private car such as fuel, tolls, ferries and parking fees will be reimbursed subject to production of receipts and the completion of a claim form. Relevant VAT receipts for fuel are required for all mileage claims i.e. the dates on the receipt must reflect the period of the claim.

3.7 Travel by Hired Car

3.7.1 Councillors and Officers will hire a B Class vehicle (currently Ford Focus style of car) but the opportunity to choose to hire a C class vehicle will remain if they feel it is appropriate*.

*Discretion would need to be exercised on all occasions. Examples of circumstances that may deem an upgrade appropriate could include the ability to work on the journey, the length of the journey or the time of the journey.

3.8 Travel by Taxi

3.8.1 Normal public transport fares are paid, unless it is unreasonable, when actual taxi fare may be claimed subject to production of receipts. Actual taxi fares claimed for journeys taken on a regular basis within normal working hours will only be allowed with prior authorisation by the Head of Finance. This decision will be reviewed by the Head of Finance following each Local Government Election.

3.9 Travel by Air

3.9.1 The actual fare is payable in appropriate circumstances and Councillors should, therefore, consult the Monitoring Officer / Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement in advance in each individual case. Flights will be arranged via the MSU. Councillors and Officers will travel Standard Class.

3.10 Travel by Bicycle

3.10.1 A cycling allowance will be available to Councillors as outlined in Appendix A.

3.11 Travel By Bus

3.11.1 Bus fares will be reimbursed subject to the production of the appropriate tickets.

3.12 Car Parking Permits

3.12.1 As a result of a scheme introduced by Cabinet in January 2011, Councillors will have to apply for a permit to enable them to park in Council car parks, whilst on Council duties. (For further information please see http://staffnet/index.cfm?articleid=41650).

3.12.2 Councillors are able to reclaim the cost incurred for their car parking permit should they wish to do so. Please see Appendix H reclaim form.

4. SUBSISTENCE

4.1 Councillors are able to claim for travel and subsistence expenses incurred when undertaking an ‘approved duty’. They are paid in addition to the Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances and are subject to the following rules:

4.1.1 Subsistence within the Authority’s area will NOT be paid.

4.1.2 Subsistence outside the Authority’s area is payable for absences from Council Offices or from a Councillors’ residence and / or work as shown in Appendix A. Subsistence claims will only be paid for food and beverages. Only one alcoholic drink with dinner will be reclaimable. Claims for “incidental items” such as newspapers etc will NOT be allowed.

4.1.3 The right to claim for subsistence covers both the time spent on Council business and also the expenditure that Councillors have incurred on meals during the periods specified (which may overlap).

4.1.4 Subsistence is payable only where receipts are attached to the claim form. These must be itemised receipts not just a credit card receipt. Expenses incurred can be re-claimed up to a maximum as shown in Appendix A. Claims without a receipt will not be authorised.

4.1.5 In determining the duration of a Councillor’s duties for the payment of this Subsistence Allowance, the method of calculation is as follows:

 Actual travelling time, plus  Actual length of time of the meeting

These are the only times allowable in the calculation of subsistence and must conform to the requirements detailed in Appendix A.

4.1.6 Where meetings are held on the same day both inside and outside the Authority’s area then subsistence is payable for the outside meeting only and should be calculated as described above. The time taken for the meeting within the Authority’s area is not to be included in this calculation.

4.2 Inclusive Costs

4.2.1 Where seminar or conference fees paid direct by the Authority are inclusive of accommodation but do not include meals then any meals incurred will be paid at the approved rate as shown in Appendix A. Where meals are included, no additional Allowance will be paid.

4.3. Overnight Costs

4.3.1 Where an approved duty involves an overnight stay the accommodation must be organised via the MSU. If a rail warrant, hire car or flight is required this must also be arranged via the MSU. Any additional subsistence incurred in respect of meals taken during the period of absence will be paid at the approved rate as shown in Appendix A.

4.3.2 The circumstances in which it would be considered reasonable to stay overnight in order effectively to perform an approved duty, are as follows:

 Where the round trip is more than 250 miles and the relevant meeting / duty starts before 12.00 noon (for the night before) and / or where the relevant meeting / duty finishes after 4.00 pm (for the night after);

 Where the round trip is more than 500 miles and the relevant meeting / duty starts before 1.00pm and / or finishes after 3.00pm.

NOTE: It is important to stress that Councillors must have incurred overnight expenditure in order to claim reimbursement.

4.4 Overseas Allowances

4.4.1 Councillors MUST gain authority from the Chief Executive prior to travelling abroad. Detailed guidance on the procedure and entitlement is set out in Appendix B.

4.4.2 Foreign Currency - To obtain foreign currency a Councillor would be required to obtain a cash advance for this purpose and arrange to have the money converted into the appropriate currency themselves, retaining the receipt for submission with the appropriate paperwork.

5. PAYMENT

5.1 The payment of Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances is incorporated into the monthly payroll system and paid automatically by bank credit transfer without any action required by Councillors.

5.2 These payments are enhanced by the Travelling and Subsistence Allowances claimed for the previous month. Claims must be submitted on the appropriate form to the MSU within 3 months of the meeting to which the expenditure refers. Travelling expenses may not be claimed via cashiers and must be processed through payroll.

5.3 The current day for monthly payment is the 25th of each month or the previous working day if falling on a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday.

5.4 Cash advances of Travelling and Subsistence Allowances exceeding £56 can be made through the Cashiers Office, if authorised by the Head of Finance.

6. CLAIM FORMS AND CLAIMING

6.1 Attendance at Meetings - Councillors must sign the Members attendance book and check the published minutes to ensure that their presence was recorded, otherwise they will be deemed not to have attended meetings. For ease of reference Councillors are required to print their name along with their signature.

6.2 Meetings with Officers – As part of the daily business of the Council there are some meetings which take place with Officers that can be classed as an Approved duty. These will generally be when the meeting has been initiated by the Officer. Where this is the case the Councillor must ensure that a form will be signed by the Officer for submission with the Claim Form by the Councillor (see Appendix E).

6.3 Representation on Outside Bodies – When claiming for attendance at Outside Bodies the onus is on the Councillor to be able to provide adequate evidence of attendance at the meetings claimed for. A standard form has been produced as Appendix F. If Members require to use the form, they should ask the Chair of the relevant body to confirm their attendance. The MSU team will spot check claims.

6.4 Claim Form

6.4.1 Appendix D sets out a sample claim form for travel and subsistence claims as a guide to completion.

6.4.2 Councillors must complete the claim forms themselves, no one else should be allowed to insert additional expenses. In the case of errors any alteration must be initialled by the Councillor. The responsibility lies with the Councillor for the accuracy of the claim.

6.4.3 All sections must be completed by the Councillor. When attending more than one meeting a day and claiming more than one journey, the times and place of ‘commencement’ and ‘completion’ of duties must be inserted for each and every journey. The form must be signed and dated.

6.4.4 All receipts for petrol, taxi fares, meals etc. must be retained and attached to the claim form.

6.4.5 To ensure that the information provided is adequate for verification purposes in future the details entered onto the Claim Form will need to include the location of the meeting or activity being claimed for. For non routine journeys i.e. those not identified on the list mentioned in 3.6.1 above postcodes to identify the start and end of each individual element of the journey would be required.

6.4.6 Councillors are required to complete the Claim Form with all relevant information in a legible manner. Forms that are either illegible or incomplete will not be processed.

6.4.7 Councillors must forward expense claim forms to MSU for validation no later than 5th of the month if they wish to receive payment on the 25th of the month. Following validation, MSU will refer validated expense forms to payroll by 9th of the month for payment.

6.4.8 All claim forms must be submitted within a three month period. For clarity this requires that claim forms submitted for payment in any pay period can only be for claims for the preceding three calendar months (e.g. claims submitted at the beginning of December for payment in the December payroll should only be for September, October and November. Ideally Councillors should submit their claim forms on a monthly basis.

6.4.9 If Member Support receive confirmation that a member was not present at a meeting that they are claiming for, that entry will be removed from the Councillors claim form and the Councillor will be notified by e-mail in order to provide alternative evidence if appropriate.

6.4.10 If a Councillor attempts to claim more mileage than set by Council, the Member Support Unit will amend the mileage to the maximum level approved by Council.

6.5 Claiming

6.5.1 Councillors need to keep an accurate record of expenses claimed:

 in order to minimise the risk of duplication of claims; and

 in order to demonstrate that amounts claimed are fully supported by evidence of expenditure incurred.

6.5.2 Councillors claiming more than one return journey when attending more than one meeting a day must spend, either at home or work, a minimum period of 1 hour between each meeting. If the period between meetings spent at home or work is less than 1 hour then Councillors will only be entitled to claim one return journey.

6.5.3 Councillors must therefore judge whether it would be constructive whenever possible to remain within the area if meetings are within a reasonable period of one another. This also applies to rota visits. Councillors are requested where possible to visit establishments in the same vicinity at the same time.

6.5.4 When claiming subsistence outside the boundary of the Authority and overnight Allowances Councillors must be aware of the various rates allowable and that the time taken for Council duties within the boundary performed on the same day cannot be included in the calculation of hours spent on duties outside the boundary when subsistence and overnight Allowances are involved.

6.6 Overseas Claims

6.6.1 Any claims relating to overseas duties must be approved by the Chief Executive. A detailed itinerary of the trip giving the names of all people travelling, modes of transport between venues and specifying items of expenditure which have been paid in advance by the Authority or provided by an outside body should be attached to the claim form.

6.6.2 In any cases of urgency, approval must be obtained under the Chief Executive’s delegated powers, exercised after consultation with the Leader of the Council.

6.7 Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)

6.7.1 Councillors are required to submit all claims on the relevant forms for WLGA (blue) duties direct to the Authority for payment. These claims must be submitted as soon as possible in order for the Authority to reclaim the amounts from the WLGA on a monthly basis.

6.8 Claims not Allowable

6.8.1 Councillors are not entitled to claim expenses for ‘Civic Duties’, ‘Group’, Invitations to functions or ‘Governors’ meetings. In respect of ‘Governors’ meetings any expenses incurred must be claimed direct from the school. In respect of Civic Duties for the Lord Mayor or Deputy Lord Mayor, these must be claimed for direct from the Lord Mayor’s Office.

6.8.2 Councillors are not allowed to claim for meetings of ‘Outside Bodies’ unless they are the named representative or the named substitute. In the event that a Councillor is requested by the whips to represent the Authority instead of the named representative or substitute then the Councillor concerned must ensure that the Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement has been informed accordingly.

6.8.3 Rota visits outside the designated periods will not be paid.

6.9 Checking of Travelling and Subsistence Allowances Claim Form

6.9.1 The onus is on the Councillor to submit accurate claim forms.

6.9.2 The Cabinet Office / Member Support Unit will perform the following checks to assist in verifying the claim forms:

 Checks against Attendance Records  Checks on attendance at Outside Bodies (if form not attached to claim)  Checks on attendance at Officer meetings (if form not attached to claim)  Checks on other unclear entries

6.9.3 The Payroll Section will perform the following checks to assist in verifying the claims forms:

 Checks on the arithmetic  Check on receipts

7. INTERESTS, GIFTS AND HOSPITALITY OF COUNCILLORS

7.1 Attached as Appendix C is an extract of the Council Constitution. The extract outlines the Code of Conduct and makes reference to Interests, Gifts and Hospitality of Councillors.

8. INCOME TAX

8.1 Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances are taxable and Councillors will be taxed at the basic rate under the normal PAYE system. However, Councillors should contact the Payroll section for a P46 form if they feel they are entitled to Allowances against this income.

8.2 Currently there is no “profit” element on Mileage due to the fact that the Council pays the Inland Revenue rate of 40p per mile . As it is deemed there is no profit, no end of year report is submitted.

9. NATIONAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS

9.1 Since the current levels of Councillors Allowances (Appendix A) exceeds the current lower earnings limit for all Councillors under 65 years of age (Sliding scale from Age 60 for women depending on Date of Birth), there is a liability for Class 1 National Insurance contributions at the standard rate.

9.2 Married women and certain widows who have exercised their right not to pay the full rate will need to produce their reduced liability certificate.

9.3 Each employment is considered separately for contribution purposes and no account is taken of the fact that a Councillor may have another job or be self employed.

9.4 However, there is an annual maximum for contribution liability and in certain instances a Councillor may be entitled to a refund. Information regarding this can be obtained from the local Benefits Agency.

10. SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

10.1 Social Security benefits is an area of growing complexity and detailed specialist advice must be obtained from the local office of the Benefits Agency.

10.2 Councillors must notify the Department of Social Security Office from which they receive the benefits that they are an elected Councillor.

10.3 If a Councillor is minded to renounce all or part of his / her Basic or Special Responsibility Allowance, because of the potential impact on benefit entitlement, he / she should consult the Benefits Agency before doing so. In most cases it is the amount to which a Councillor is entitled, not the amount actually claimed, which will be taken into account in calculating benefit.

10.4 The treatment of Councillor’s Allowances varies from benefit to benefit. For some benefits, the very fact that they are undertaking Council duties (whether or not they get paid for them) can affect their rights to claim. In other cases, it is the level of income from the Allowance that affects entitlement.

11. INSURANCE

11.1 The Council maintains a personal accident insurance policy which provides cover for Councillors who sustain bodily injury by accidental, external, violent and visible means as a result of which death or disablement occurs within 24 months of sustaining such injury. This also covers bodily injury resulting from violent or criminal assault, including attack with explosives, providing that such assault or attack arises solely from the injured persons being Councillors.

11.2 Councillors have to be engaged on Council business, which can be anywhere in the world, at the time of the injury. This includes, for example:

 Attending meetings of and duties carried out for the Local Authority Associations;

 Service, on behalf of or with the approval of the Council, on Committees of Other Authorities or Bodies (e.g. LEA appointed representatives on School Governing Bodies);

 Direct travel;

 Councillors’ surgeries;

 Complementary activities.

11.3 The Capital Sum payable in the event of death, loss of limbs or eyes, total loss of hearing or speech or permanent total disablement from usual occupation is £100,000. Lesser injuries of a permanent nature will attract benefits in accordance with a sliding scale based on the capital sum but relatively minor injuries, especially where there is no permanent effect, will not necessarily rank for any payment.

11.4 In the event of minor injury, the Policy covers temporary disablement from engaging in or giving attention to usual profession or occupations for a maximum period of 104 weeks, the benefits being £330 per week for total disablement and £165 per week for partial disablement.

11.5 Personal effects consisting of money, articles of clothing, footwear and other property worn or carried by a Councillor whilst engaged on Council business are also covered without limit in the event of injury. At any other time, the limit is £400, with a maximum for loss of cash of £100.

11.6 Councillors cars are not covered for damage and Councillors are advised by their respective insurers should they want to extend coverage to include business use.

12. FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT LIST

For further information or queries, please contact in the first instance:

Name Title Tel: Allison Lowe Councillor Support Officer 636424 Sonia Hansford Cabinet Support Officer 636141

Other Relevant Contacts:

Paul Smith Chief Executive 637501 Jack Straw Executive Director / Section 151 637510 Officer Rod Jones Monitoring Officer / Acting Head of 636699 Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement Andrew Barrett Payroll Manager 636540 Huw Evans Democratic Services & Complaints 637347 Manager Andrew Taylor Deputy Democratic Services & 637290 Complaints Manager Caroline Davies Member Support Unit 636923 Katherine Jones Karen Thomas Victoria Hartson de Vulgt PA’s to Cabinet Officer 636141 Caroline Miller Jane Walters

APPENDIX A

COUNCILLOR ALLOWANCES 2011 / 2012

 Basic Allowance £12,858 per annum  ICT Allowance - £402 (index linked to September Retail Price Index) (Only payable to the Councillors who have opted out of the Council’s ICT provision. This is amended automatically on 1 April each year.  Broadband Allowance £21.13 per month

 Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) No. Office £ 1 Leader 32,418 1 Deputy Leader 17,830 8 Cabinet Member 16,209 1 Chair of Appeals and Awards Committee 9,708 1 Chair of Audit Committee 9,708 1 Chair of Partnership Overview & Scrutiny Board 9,708 0 Chair of Planning & Petitions Committee - Note 2 - 1 Chair of Overview & Scrutiny Business Committee 9,708 5 Chair of Overview & Scrutiny 9,708 2 Chair of Area 1 and Area 2 Development Control 9,708 Committee 1 Chair of Licensing Committee 9,708 1 Main Opposition Leader 9,708 0 Leaders of all other Political Groups - Note 3 4,161

 Co-opted Members Allowances No. Office £ 1 Chair of Standards Committee 2,230 1 Chair of Community / Town Councils Committee 1,400 6 Co-opted Members (Standards Committee & 1,200 Education Scrutiny)

Note:

1) The Council has 72 Councillors. Only 50% (36 Councillors) are allowed to be in receipt of SRAs; 2) Council on 3 February 2011 resolved that the Planning and Petitions Committee be chaired on rotation between the Chairs of the Area 1 and Area 2 Development Control Committees (Minute 168 refers). 3) Leaders of all other Political Groups will not automatically receive a special responsibility Allowance as the statutory provision requires the group to have at least 10% of the seats on Council to be eligible.

Where an authority operating executive arrangements has more than one deputy cabinet leader the additional sum of 10% payable by way of special responsibility allowance for such responsibility may be apportioned amongst those deputy leaders.

 Chair of Council & Vice Chair of Council Allowances

No. Office £ 1 Chair of Council 9,708 1 Vice Chair of Council 4,161

The Chair of Council and Vice Chair of Council are paid in line with Sections 22 and 24 of the Local Government Act 1972.

The role and definitions attached to each of the positions for which a Special Responsibility Allowance is payable as set out in the Council Constitution.

 Subsistence Allowances:

Day Allowance £28 per day London overnight £150 Cardiff overnight £120 Elsewhere overnight £95 Overnight stay with friends / family £25

 Mileage Allowances (within Wales):

Private motor vehicle Rate per Mile – Up to 10,000 miles 40p Rate per Mile – Over 10,000 miles 25p Passenger Supplement (per passenger per mile) 5p Motor cycles (per mile) 24p Pedal Cycle (per mile) 20p

 Care Allowance

Maximum Per Month (Must be Receipted) £403

APPENDIX B OVERSEAS ALLOWANCES

Claims Procedure

Claims for overseas duties must be approved by the Chief Executive. A detailed itinerary of the trip giving the names of all people travelling, modes of transport between venues and specifying items of expenditure which have been paid in advance by the Authority or provided by an outside body must also be provided to the Chief Executive. In any cases of urgency, approval must be obtained under the Chief Executive’s delegated powers, exercised after consultation with the Leader of the Council.

Travelling Allowances

Whilst abroad reasonable travelling expenses will be determined by the Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement in consultation with the Head of Finance. These may be claimed at actual cost but the normal rules will apply to any part of the trip within the UK.

Subsistence Allowances

Reasonable Subsistence Allowances for accommodation and meals if not included in the cost of the accommodation or otherwise provided, may be claimed at actual cost upon production of valid receipts up to a maximum as outlined in Appendix A “Day Allowance”.

(Note: Receipts must be formal documents showing the name of the business, the date and the nature of the supply. Basic non-detailed till roll receipts are not acceptable).

If Subsistence is claimed for travelling time within the UK then full details of departure and arrival times must be given in the itinerary.

Other Expenses

Foreign Currency - To obtain foreign currency a Councillor would be required to obtain a cash advance for this purpose and arrange to have the money converted into the appropriate currency themselves, retaining the receipt for submission with the appropriate paperwork.

Business telephone calls and any other valid business costs relating to the trip will only be paid on production of the relevant receipts.

Appendix C

Interests, Gifts and Hospitality of Members

PART 1 THE REGISTER OF MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

Registration of Financial and Other Interests and Memberships and Management Positions

1.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), you must, within 28 days of— (a) your authority’s code of conduct being adopted or the mandatory provisions of this model code being applied to your authority; or (b) your election or appointment to office (if that is later), register your financial interests and other interests, where they fall within a category mentioned in paragraph 10(2)(a) in your authority’s register maintained under section 81(1) of the Local Government Act 2000 by providing written notification to your authority’s monitoring officer. (2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) You must, within 28 days of becoming aware of any new personal interest or change to any personal interest registered under sub-paragraph (1), register that new personal interest or change by providing written notification to your authority’s monitoring officer. (3) Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply to sensitive information determined in accordance with paragraph 16(1). (4) Sub-paragraph (1) will not apply if you are a member of a relevant authority which is a community council when you act in your capacity as a member of such an authority.

Sensitive information 2.—(1) Where you consider that the information relating to any of your personal interests is sensitive information, and your authority’s monitoring officer agrees, you need not include that information when registering that interest, or, as the case may be, a change to the interest under paragraph 15. (2) You must, within 28 days of becoming aware of any change of circumstances which means that information excluded under sub-paragraph (1) is no longer sensitive information, notify your authority’s monitoring officer asking that the information be included in your authority’s register of members’ interests. (3) In this code, “sensitive information” means information whose availability for inspection by the public creates, or is likely to create, a serious risk that you or a person who lives with you may be subjected to violence or intimidation.

Registration of Gifts and Hospitality 3. You must, within 28 days of receiving any gift, hospitality material benefit or advantage above a value specified in a resolution of your authority, provide written notification to your authority's monitoring officer of the existence and nature of that gift, hospitality material benefit or advantage.

The Monitoring Officer shall maintain a Register for the declaration of any gifts or hospitality of more than £25 in value in accordance with of the Code of Conduct.

Appendix D

C I T Y A N D C O U N T Y O F S W A N S E A CLAIM FOR TRAVELLING AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES ______D I N A S A S I R A B E R T A W E

Councillor: ______Vehicle Registration No: ______Engine Size: ______Address: ______Month Ending: ______

Start of Duty End of Duty Travelling Allowances Subsistence

Date Place Time Place Time Description of Travel by Fares, Allowance Outside the Totals Vehicle Tolls, Authority’s Approved Duties Parking, Claimed Area Only Miles Rate etc (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) p £ p £ p £ p £ p

Where travel is by own vehicle, please state vehicle registration no and engine size TOTAL If the mileage rate claimed in column 8 is the higher mileage rate please give Less payment received or claimed reason for claiming at this rate: from any other body or authority Amount Claimed

A I declare that I have necessarily incurred expenditure on travelling and subsistence for the purpose of enabling me to perform approved duties as For Office Use a member of this Authority and that I have actually and necessarily paid the fares, fees and made the other payments shown in column 9 and incurred the actual mileage in column 7 above. The amounts claimed are in accordance with the rates determined by the City and County of Checked by: ______Swansea. B I declare that the statements above are correct. Except as shown above I have not made, and will not make, any claim under any enactment for travelling or subsistence expenses in connection with the duties indicated above. Payroll No: ______

Date ...... Signature of Councillor ...... Month Paid: ______

a Appendix E (OFFICER)

Confirmation of Councillor Attendance

This form provides confirmation of your attendance at a meeting with an Officer as an approved duty. Please attach this signed form to any expense claim form submitted for this meeting. Refer to Appendix G “Guidelines on Approved Duty”.

Councillor Name:

Reason for Meeting:

Date of Meeting: Time of Meeting:

Location of Meeting:

Post Code:

Attendance Confirmed

I confirm that the named Councillor was present at the meeting as detailed above. Officers Signature:

Name of Officer:

Position:

Contact Number:

Date:

a Appendix F (OUTSIDE BODY)

Confirmation of Councillor Attendance

This form provides confirmation of your attendance as a representative on an outside body. Please attach this signed form to any expense claim form submitted for this meeting. Refer to Appendix G “Guidelines on Approved Duty”.

Councillor Name:

Reason for Meeting:

Date of Meeting: Time of Meeting:

Location of Meeting:

Post Code:

Attendance Confirmed This section MUST be completed and signed by a representative of the Outside Body.

I confirm that the named Councillor was present at the meeting as detailed above. Signature:

Name:

Position:

Contact Number:

Date:

Appendix G (Approved Duty)

Approved Duty

1. The current Regulations define an ‘approved duty’ as:

a) Attendance at a meeting of the authority or of any committee of the authority or of any body to which the authority makes appointments or nominations or of any committee of such a body; b) Attendance at a meeting of any association of authorities of which the authority is a member; c) Attendance at any other meeting the holding of which is authorised by the authority or by a committee of the authority or by a joint committee of the authority and one or more other authorities; d) A duty undertaken for the purpose of or in connection with the discharge of the functions of an executive where the authority is operating executive arrangements within the meaning of Part II of the 2000 Act; e) A duty undertaken in pursuance of a standing order which requires a member or members to be present when tender documents are opened; f) A duty undertaken in connection with the discharge of any function of the authority which empowers or requires the authority to inspect or authorise the inspection of premises; g) Attendance at any training or development event approved by the authority of its executive or board; h) Any other duty approved by the authority, or any other duty of a class so approved, undertaken for the purpose of, or in connection with, the discharge of the functions of the authority or any of its committees.

Examples where meetings would constitute an approved duty:

 Meetings with Officers called to cover a specific item of council business at which there are at least the Chief Executive/Chief Officer or Head of Service present. These meetings will have been ‘summoned’ i.e. either formally convened or requesting a Councillors attendance by letter or email.

Examples where meetings would NOT constitute an approved duty:

 Personal meetings with the Chief Executive/Chief Officers to discuss private matters.  Group meetings.  Meetings relating to Ward matters.  Member only meetings.  Invitations to functions

Appendix H

Reclaiming of Councillors Car Parking Permit Charges Proforma

Notes: 1) Repayments will only be made if all relevant shaded areas have been completed; 2) If you pay monthly, then you will be repaid monthly via payroll; 3) If you pay if full, then you will be repaid in full by way of a one off payment via payroll.

Name: Councillor

Address

Postcode

NI Number / / / /

Telephone Work Numbers Mobile Home e-mail Address

I hereby declare that I have read the Paying / Reclaiming – Councillors Car Parking Permits Protocol and that:

Please Mark “X” a) I do not wish to reclaim any of the money that I have paid for my Councillors Car Parking Permit. b) I wish to reclaim the money that I have paid for my Councillors Car Parking Permit.

Note: Question b1) and b2) need only be completed by those that wish to reclaim the money which they have paid for their Car Parking Permit. b1) I pay on a monthly basis and understand that I will be repaid on a monthly basis via payroll. b2) I paid in full by cheque and understand that I will be repaid in full by way of a one off payment via payroll.

Your Signature

Date (dd/mm/yyyy) / / 2 0

Item No. 16 (1)

Report of the Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board

Council – 31st March 2011

‘CARE TO HELP?’ A REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF COUNCILLORS AS CORPORATE PARENTS

Summary

Purpose: This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations resulting from the Board’s Review of the Role of Councillors as Corporate Parents.

Policy Framework: Council Constitution

Reason for Decision: The Overview & Scrutiny Board makes a number of recommendations to Council.

Consultation: Legal, Finance

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Council is usually provided with reports produced by the Overview and Scrutiny Boards, for information. This happens after consideration of the report and recommendations by Cabinet. However, on this occasion a number of recommendations are being made to Council.

2. THE BOARD’S REPORT

2.1 The Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board has completed a review of the Role of Councillors as Corporate Parents and produced a report of the findings, conclusions and recommendations resulting from this work.

2.2 The report contained recommendations for Cabinet, the Corporate Parenting Forum, and Council.

2.3 The Board’s report was presented to Cabinet on 10th March 2010 for decision on relevant recommendations.

2.4 The final report of the Board is attached as Appendix 1.

3. CABINET MEMBER RESPONSE

3.1 At the same time as an Overview & Scrutiny report is presented to Cabinet, the relevant Cabinet Member is required to present a response to the recommendations made.

3.2 Cabinet takes into consideration both the Board’s report and the Cabinet Member’s response before making a decision on the recommendations.

3.3 The Cabinet Member’s response that was agreed by Cabinet is attached as Appendix 2.

3.4 Council will note that the Cabinet Member’s response includes a view on the scrutiny report’s recommendations to Council to help inform Council’s decision.

3.5 Noted below are each of the recommendations to Council followed by the Cabinet Member’s advice:

It is recommended that Council:

a) Revises councillor role descriptions to include the duty of corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: Recommendation should be referred to the Constitution Working Group to consider the detail.

b) Includes councillor job roles and role descriptions in councillor nomination packs to ensure prospective candidates are aware of key responsibilities, including corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: This recommendation would be dependent on the outcome of the first proposals being considered by the Constitution Working Group. In practical terms this is not a problem and can be addressed in Democratic Services. Recommendation should be referred to the Constitution Working Group.

c) Adopts the new guide to councillors developed by the Board as a statement of action on corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: The proposed new guide for councillors is certainly very helpful and is a welcome addition to the information that can be made available. It is recommended that this should be adopted.

d) Includes the new guide to councillors on corporate parenting in new councillor ‘induction packs’.

Cabinet Member Response: It is certainly reasonable that the new guide on Corporate Parenting should be included as part of the induction pack for new Councillors. This proposed course of action can be implemented by the Democratic Services and Complaints Manager. This recommendation is agreed.

e) Determines arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Forum to be supported and resourced independently of the Social Services directorate, for example by the Chief Executive or Executive Director.

Cabinet Member Response: There are a number of changes that are likely to occur across the organisation in respect of the resources that are available. It is recognised that it is important that the Corporate Parenting Forum is supported. To achieve such an aim it is necessary to provide a consistency in terms of the agenda for Corporate Parenting. This is probably best achieved by staff within Social Services but the position can certainly be reviewed. It is recommendation that the option for supporting the Corporate Parenting Forum is reviewed.

f) Allocates a clearly identifiable budget to the Corporate Parenting Forum for its work.

Cabinet Member Response: There are a number of arrangements across the Authority that may need to access a budget and the Corporate Parenting Forum is certainly one such situation. The Chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum has been advised that any requirements for funding should be submitted to the Corporate Director (Social Services). The position will be subject to review so that the financial requirements can be established during the coming year. It may be reasonable to identify a specific budget subject to the possible expenditure that may be incurred. The recommendation is agreed but implementation will depend on establishing expenditure requirements for the Corporate Parenting Forum.

3.6 The Chair and Vice-Chair have discussed the response of the Cabinet Member and consider the suggested way forward to be agreeable. The Board’s recommendations to Council have taken these views into consideration.

4. FOLLOW UP

4.1 The Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board will follow up progress with the implementation of the agreed recommendations. It will be entitled to receive from the relevant Cabinet Member:

 within 2 months, a report detailing an action plan drawn up to address agreed recommendations (May / June 2011)  a progress report 6 months after the action plan has been presented (November/December 2011)

5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 There are no specific legal implications to consider.

6. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

6.1 There are no specific financial implications to consider.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 It is recommended that Council:

i) refer the following recommendations to the Constitution Working Group for detailed consideration:

a. revise councillor role descriptions to include the duty of corporate parenting.

b. include councillor job roles and role descriptions in councillor nomination packs to ensure prospective candidates are aware of key responsibilities, including corporate parenting.

ii) adopt the new guide to councillors developed by the Board as a statement of action on corporate parenting.

iii) recommend that the Corporate Parenting Forum:

a. keep under review support arrangements for the Forum

b. establish financial requirements for the Forum so that a budget can be identified.

Background Papers: Agenda Papers and Minutes of the Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board (June 2010 – November 2010)

Contact Officer: Brij Madahar, Overview & Scrutiny Coordinator  01792 637257

20th March 2011

Legal Officer: Alex Fletcher

Appendix 1

City and County of Swansea

‘‘CareCare to Help? ––– A Review of the Role of CCCouncillorsCouncillorsouncillorsouncillors as Corporate Parents’

Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board - November 2010

City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe

Appendix 1

Why This Matters

Cllr Mark Child Cllr Paxton Hood-Williams (Chair) (Vice Chair)

Chair’s Foreword

According to the Who Cares Trust about 75,000 children are in care in the UK. They also provide a sobering list of statistics about the life chances of those in care compared with those who are not. So, for example:

• Only 13% of children in care obtain five good GCSEs – compared with 62% of all children. • Only 6% of care leavers go to university – compared with 38% of all young people. • One third of care leavers are not in education, employment or training – compared with 13% of all young people. • More than half of all children in care have at least one mental health problem – compared with one in ten of the general child population.

Hence there is a huge responsibility on local councils to provide the best support possible for those children who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in local authority care.

Corporate parenting is the name that describes this responsibility. According to the Improvement & Development Agency:

“Corporate parenting places collective responsibility on local authorities to achieve good parenting for all children in their care. It requires ownership and leadership at a senior level, this includes all elected members.”

Exactly how this simple objective is to be executed has been the focus of our review. Corporate parenting had been identified through Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales inspection reports and Intervention Board1

1 Refers to the Welsh Assembly Government appointed Board established by the Deputy Minister for Social Services in April 2009 to provide robust external challenge to the service, following critical inspection reports by the CSSIW Appendix 1

comments as an area for improvement. Effective corporate parenting is vital to the welfare and life chances of the children in the care of the Authority. There has been a dramatic rise in looked after children numbers across Wales over the last 12 years (almost 50%) together with a significant drop in adoption. In Swansea at the end of September there were 593 children in care (an increase of about 25% since April 2009).

This report focuses on the role of the councillor as corporate parent. The Board recognized that for most councillors, corporate parenting appeared to be a daunting prospect. One of the issues that the Board was keen to explore was how well corporate parenting was understood. The term may be familiar but people may well have different (or few) ideas about what in practice this legal duty means. We now feel that, having talked to various people involved in the care of looked after children, and reflected on the evidence gathered, we have come up with a practical aid to help councillors meet their responsibility as corporate parents.

We hope that this report will help councillors in Swansea and elsewhere to become better corporate parents and help particularly those Councillors who may have ever thought ‘what’s this got to do with me?’ Ultimately it is the political members who hold the power to dramatically improve the lives of children in care and we hope that our work goes some small way to making that happen.

We would like to thank all members of the Board for their time and commitment to examining child and family services, but particularly those councillors who worked with us on this review over many task and finish group meetings: Councillors Susan Jones, John Newbury, Janet Thomas, Christine Richards and Cheryl Philpott. We would also thank all those people that gave evidence and supported this important piece of work.

Appendix 1

Summary

1. Aim of the Review

1.1 To explore what ‘corporate parenting’ should mean for a councillor and identify ways of discharging this responsibility to improve the life chances of vulnerable children.

2. Evidence Considered

• Examination of existing guidance on what corporate parenting is and what makes a good corporate parent? • Evidence from the Corporate Director (Social Services) and the Head of Child & Family Services • Evidence from Executive Councillors (Mary Jones, Alan Robinson, Peter May) • Evidence from the Cabinet Member for Social Services • Evidence from Rose Seabourne, councillor and Member of Intervention Board • Findings from a survey of councillors • Findings from scrutiny reviews elsewhere • Examples of good practice elsewhere • Evidence from the Corporate Parenting Forum (Officers) • Evidence from looked after children – via the Participation Officer • Evidence form the Corporate Parenting Forum (Members) • Evidence from Social Workers / Practitioners • Findings from the National Corporate Parenting Conference held on 16th Sep in Cardiff • Feedback on the views of Foster Carers

3. Conclusions

3.1 Corporate parenting is one of the most important roles of a councillor. 3.2 The corporate parenting role is not fully understood by all councillors. 3.3 There are practical ways in which every councillor can and should play a part in ensuring the best possible care for looked after children. 3.4 The Council’s Corporate Parenting Forum must be more effective. 3.5 Corporate parenting is not just about social services. 3.6 Professionals and carers involved with looked after children have limited awareness of the corporate parenting role of councillors. 3.7 There are no effective mechanisms for councillors to hear the views of looked after children.

Appendix 1

4. Recommendations

The Board recommends that Council:

4.1 Revises councillor role descriptions to include the duty of corporate parenting. 4.2 Includes councillor job roles and role descriptions in councillor nomination packs to ensure prospective candidates are aware of key responsibilities, including corporate parenting. 4.3 Adopts the new guide to councillors developed by the Board as a statement of action on corporate parenting. 4.4 Includes the new guide to councillors on corporate parenting in new councillor ‘induction packs’. 4.5 Determines arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Forum to be supported and resourced independently of the Social Services directorate, for example by the Chief Executive or Executive Director. 4.6 Allocates a clearly identifiable budget to the Corporate Parenting Forum for its work.

The Board recommends that the Cabinet Member for Social Services:

4.7 Introduces mandatory training on the different levels of the corporate parenting role as a compulsory part of the councillor induction programme. 4.8 Takes additional steps as necessary to ensure that every councillor has been properly informed and is fully aware of their duty of corporate parenting. 4.9 Provides monthly performance data relating to looked after children to all councillors. 4.10 Provides information about looked after children (e.g. numbers) by electoral division to relevant councillors on a regular basis to increase councillor awareness. 4.11 Includes information about the role of the councillor including contact details in any training for professionals and carers and within the ‘Swansea Cares’ looked after children information pack.

The Board recommends that the Corporate Parenting Forum:

4.12 Undertakes a survey of all councillors in 12 months on corporate parenting awareness and activity, to monitor improvement and report the results to Council. 4.13 Revises its Terms of Reference to give a more focussed purpose, particularly so that it: • meets more frequently (at least every 4 weeks). • embodies an element of scrutiny in its approach to work (e.g. producing assessments, recommendations). • promotes ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent to help embed the corporate parenting agenda across the Council. Appendix 1

• acts as an advocate for looked after children. • has a clear line of reporting its views. 4.14 Reports annually to Council (presented by the Lead Member) to raise awareness of its work (summarising achievements and issues) and highlight performance and issues relating to the well-being of looked after children. 4.15 Ensures that partner representation is always maintained through the use of substitutes for nominated representatives. 4.16 Ensures representation from Corporate Parenting Forum councillors at each Fe Fi Forum and other relevant events. 4.17 Ensures representation of looked after children on the Forum. 4.18 Includes comments from looked after children on their experiences during the year in the annual report to Council.

Appendix 1

1. Aim of the Review

1.1 To explore what ‘corporate parenting’ should mean for a councillor and identify ways of discharging this responsibility to improve the life chances of vulnerable children.

1.2 Key Questions:

• What is corporate parenting? • What makes a good corporate parent? What can we learn from practice elsewhere? • In what ways can councillors in Swansea exercise their role as corporate parents?

1.3 The Board aimed to use the evidence gathered to produce a clear definition of corporate parenting that would help councillors here and elsewhere to better understand their role and come up with practical ways in which councillors could exercise their duty as corporate parents.

2. Evidence Considered

2.1 To help formulate its response the Board gathered a range of evidence from:

13th July - Examination of existing guidance on what corporate 2010 parenting is and what makes a good corporate parent? 27th July - Evidence from the Corporate Director (Social Services) and the Head of Child & Family Services 3rd Aug - Evidence from Executive Councillors (Mary Jones, Alan Robinson, Peter May) - Evidence from the Cabinet Member for Social Services 10th Aug - Evidence from Rose Seabourne, Councillor and Member of Intervention Board - Findings from a survey of councillors 17th Aug - Findings from scrutiny reviews elsewhere

- Examples of good practice elsewhere - Evidence from the Corporate Parenting Forum (Officers) 31st Aug - Evidence from Looked After Children – via the Participation Officer 8th Sep - Evidence form the Corporate Parenting Forum (Members) 14th Sep - Evidence from Social Workers and Practitioners - Findings from the National Corporate Parenting th 21st Sep Conference held on 16 Sep in Cardiff - Feedback on the views of Foster Carers

Appendix 1

3. Conclusions

3.1 Corporate parenting is one of the most important roles of a councillor.

“The role of Elected Members as Corporate Parents is of central importance and must be given the highest priority.”

Gwenda Thomas AM, Deputy Minister for Social Services in a Statement to the Welsh Assembly Government on children’s social services in Swansea - 19th October 2010.

3.1.1 In June 2009 the Welsh Assembly Government and Welsh Local Government Association produced a guide to corporate parenting called ‘If this were my child…’ In this guide the Deputy Minister for Social Services states that one of the most important roles of Elected Member is as a corporate parent and that the importance of this responsibility cannot be overemphasised. Cllr Meryl Gravell OBE (WLGA Spokesperson for Social Services & Health Improvement) adds that “…as elected Members, there can be no more important responsibility than supporting those children and young people entrusted into our care”. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler, says that Councillors “have a major role to play in ensuring that those children who are cared for by your council have the best possible care that they can possibly receive”.

3.1.2 Corporate parenting boils down to a very simple objective – do for children in care what you would do for your own children. It is a special duty to ensure that looked after children are treated in an equitable manner and not disadvantaged by their circumstances, and are able to achieve their potential as you would want for your own child.

3.1.3 The concept of Corporate Parenting was introduced by Frank Dobson MP when he was the responsible Secretary of State in 1998. It was introduced as a result of a number of high profile incidents and lack of progress and improvement. In his words –

“The (looked after) child has a right to expect that members of the authority are looking out for him and will protect him from harm. Therefore, given that the central importance of the local authority's role in caring for looked after children and supporting them to reach their potential, all Councillors should take an informed interest in how the council supports this very vulnerable group.”

3.1.4 The role of councillors as corporate parents was introduced in Wales by Alun Michael who launched the Children First campaign in April 1999. We are now all too familiar with the harrowing details of the recent Baby Peter case and just how vital it is that services for children & young people protect and nurture these vulnerable young lives.

Appendix 1

3.1.5 The Children’s Act 1989 provides the basic framework for services for children, and defines local authorities’ responsibilities towards the care of children. Every Council has a legal duty to act as a ‘corporate parent’ for looked after children and make sure they do not miss out and are provided with opportunities to reach their full potential. The law expects the local authority’s housing and education services and the NHS to assist social services in carrying out their functions under the Act and assist corporate parenting. The Children Act 2004 augmented this Act, with a particular focus on achieving good outcomes for children & young people. The central principle of corporate parenting is that each employee and each elected member within the City and County of Swansea, along with partner agencies, should seek the same outcomes for the children in our care as they would for their own children. There are also care leavers for whom the authority retains a level of responsibility until the age of 21 or 24 if they are in full time education.

3.1.6 Children’s social services in Swansea have been the source of concern since a highly critical CSSIW inspection report in November 2007. This inspection reported a lack of ongoing promotion of the concept and principles of corporate parenting. It found that whilst Councillors could visit any of the social services’ establishments and there was a rota of visits to the children’s homes, Members did not visit operational children’s teams. At the same time, complaints, investigations and their outcomes were not reported to members. A further inspection report in March 2009 recognised the establishment of a corporate parenting forum as a strength, albeit concerned about the length of time taken to set it up, but highlighted the need for it to become operational, deliver its agreed aims and actively engage in promoting its agenda. This report also raised concern about low attendance at the corporate parenting induction seminar following the 2008 Council elections, and that no additional specific training was provided to overview and scrutiny ‘panels’ despite the importance of this role. The CSSIW report of March 2010 subsequently included ‘embedding the corporate parenting agenda throughout the council’ as an area for improvement and placed emphasis and expectation on the effectiveness of the Council’s newly created Corporate Parenting Forum.

3.1.7 Swansea has seen a significant rise in the looked after population over the last few years. Numbers of looked after children in Swansea are extremely high - at the end of September there were 593 children & young people in the care of the City & County of Swansea, for whom it is corporate parent. This represents approximately a 25% increase in looked after children numbers since April 2009. These high numbers continue to present a significant challenge to the Authority and lead to a concern that the demand for services is unsustainable. Against this backdrop it is vital that all councillors take ownership and an individual responsibility to engage in this work, not only to ensure that the services are functioning effectively but that improved life chances and outcomes are being delivered for our looked after children.

Appendix 1

3.2 The corporate parenting role is not fully understood by all councillors.

“Many Councillors do not fully realise the power and influence that they have in respect of making a difference to lives of looked after children and care leavers.”

Councillor Nick Tregoning, Cabinet Member for Social Services

3.2.1 It is evident that, despite awareness of corporate parenting and its importance, there is confusion amongst councillors about the responsibilities and what they mean in practice. The Board carried out a survey of all 72 councillors in Swansea to tell us something about the importance and relevance of corporate parenting to individual councillors. Conclusions from survey were as follows:

• The 25% response rate to the survey was disappointing • The questionnaire showed that the majority of respondents (17 out of 18) had some knowledge of what corporate parenting is. The degree of knowledge did differ between respondents • Overall the responses took a positive view of corporate parenting. Only one out of the 18 respondents gave negative feedback feeling that corporate parenting meant nothing to them and rejecting their role as a corporate parent • The councillors who did respond generally knew what corporate parenting was. There were various examples given of how they undertook the role as a corporate parent however, they seemed to be quite basic ways such as attending meetings, reading reports. There were very few examples of any proactive steps taken. It seemed that the problem was that they did not quite know what corporate parenting meant in practice • The majority of councillors require further information and training on corporate parenting • As only a quarter of councillors responded it is unclear how many of the Councillors who did not complete the questionnaire also share a negative view of corporate parenting

These findings were similar to those of a national survey carried out by Karen Sinclair, AM during 2009. Both questionnaires had a disappointingly low response rate (25% and 26%) which could be attributed to councillors not knowing enough about corporate parenting to respond.

Appendix 1

3.2.2 Corporate parenting is a responsibility that clearly many, including Cabinet Members, are struggling to understand particularly at an individual level. It appears that many councillors think it is no more than a nominal responsibility that does not really affect or impinge very much upon their daily work as a councillor. Unhelpfully, there is currently no reference to corporate parenting in the councillor role descriptions found in the Council Constitution. We suspect that there is generally a lack of deep understanding unless a councillor’s area has a significant number of looked after children and/or has a children’s home located in it. Indeed there will be many councillors who have not had any significant involvement with social services and for these councillors corporate parenting can be a very difficult thing to understand.

3.2.3 Prospective and new councillors appear to have limited opportunities to learn about their corporate parenting role. It is likely that prospective councillors who stood for election in 2008 knew very little (if anything at all) about a councillor’s corporate parenting responsibilities and some of those who became councillors in 2008 may have missed subsequent training. It would help and would bring focus if the corporate parenting role was flagged up to candidates, political parties could make people aware in their selection processes, and that this was followed by more detail in the councillor induction programme.

3.2.4 Corporate parenting needs a raised profile. It is important that the role and responsibilities of councillors as corporate parents are communicated well to all councillors in a clear and concise way. Councillors need to feel confident in the role. We felt that any induction training or seminar should focus on exposing councillors to real circumstances, for example through case studies, to encourage the emotional attachment and raise aware of the issues. Only then can we hope to get the commitment that is necessary. It has been noted that attendance at previous training events has been poor and this needs to improve and attitudes need to change. As well as training, the provision of a sufficient level of information on a regular basis to all councillors will help to keep Councillors connected to the corporate parenting agenda.

3.2.5 Corporate parenting as a term can give rise to confusion. People may have different ideas about what it would mean to be a ‘parent’ to looked after children. Does it mean you are supposed to take these children home? Is it really possible for councillors to treat looked after children as their own children when the same bond of love doesn’t exist? Whilst ‘parenting’ may not be the most accurate way to describe the role the Board has struggled to come up with a better word.

3.2.6 The Board is clear that councillors do not need to directly contact or get personally involved with individual looked after children or care leavers. This is also the guidance of the Deputy Minister. Corporate parenting is not about physical contact, as with your own children, but about a higher responsibility and care about their lives. It is worth noting that councillors do not have the right to know about individuals unless their assistance is specifically asked for. However, councillors must be satisfied that there are mechanisms in place for looked after children and care leavers to be listened to. Are they being consulted? What are their concerns? Have they been addressed? Appendix 1

What arrangements are made for parent evenings at school? These are the types of questions that councillors as corporate parents should ask.

3.3 There are practical ways in which every councillor can and should play a part in ensuring the best possible care for looked after children.

“It is important to understand that it is everyone’s issue – a 72 member responsibility. It cannot just be left to the Executive Member or the Corporate Parenting Forum”

Rose Seabourne, former Councillor and Cabinet Member – Torfaen County Borough Council and member of Intervention Board

3.3.1 The Board found that even where there is knowledge of corporate parenting there was some uncertainty about what practical steps could be taken in order to be an effective corporate parent. National and local guidance is available (for example ‘All Our Children’) and numerous briefing sessions for councillors have been held. There is still, however, confusion about the role. It is clear from research that some councillors feel that unless they are directly involved in this work corporate parenting does not apply to them or they feel that they have little to contribute. Some councillors may try to steer clear of social services and, in some cases, social services may have historically had limited engagement with councillors. This has to change.

3.3.2 A shared responsibility, however, can sometimes be problematic. Whilst it is every individual councillor’s responsibility to be a corporate parent the Board recognises that councillors carry out different roles and it would be unreasonable to expect every councillor to have the same level of knowledge, responsibility, opportunities and influence. Clearly there will be various layers of involvement by councillors. These will range from the very strategic, in terms of the Council’s policies and procedures and allocation of resources, to the effectiveness of service provision and outcomes for looked after children and care leavers (health, wellbeing, education etc). The involvement of all councillors, albeit in different ways, is the key. The Board believes there is a need to make the role clearer and easier to understand and that this can be done by identifying practical examples and specific approaches that could be taken, drawing on available guidance.

3.3.3 The National Children’s Bureau usefully defines 3 levels of responsibility:

1. Universal responsibility - applicable to all councillors 2. Targeted responsibility - e.g. those councillors who may sit on the Corporate Parenting Forum, Fostering / Adoption Panels, Scrutiny Boards etc. 3. Specialist responsibility - e.g. those councillors who are lead members for children’s services, chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum, chair of scrutiny etc. Appendix 1

3.3.4 From the various discussions held and evidence gathered the Board has developed a short guide (see Appendix A) which we are confident explains the role of the councillor in a far more direct and clear way than may have been done so previously. If all councillors are to be effective corporate parents then there must be a clear way in. However, the success of the guide relies on councillors being proactive and taking an interest in order to find out about what is happening to our looked after children and care leavers. The guide identifies the various roles that councillors may have within the political management structure and clarifies respective corporate parenting responsibilities from lead Members right down to the part that ward councillors can play.

3.3.5 The Board believes the adoption of this guide by Council will demonstrate a firm commitment to corporate parenting. We hope that it will help break down any ‘what’s it got to do with me?’ attitude that may exist and help influence other members about their responsibility and get people signed up. It should also demonstrate to some councillors the part that they are already playing but may not recognise as corporate parenting. We hope that the guide will also humanise the role and strengthen the emotional bond that should exist between councillors and looked after children and care leavers. It is not claimed that the guide is perfect and it should be improved upon by others if necessary.

3.3.6 It is also clear that officers must support and facilitate the involvement of councillors in matters relevant to looked after children and care leavers. The councillor’s ability to meaningfully understand and challenge services depends to a large degree on the level, consistency, regularity and quality of information that is provided and available to them. If we are expecting all councillors to take responsibility then it is probably necessary that information is provided on a local basis so that at the very least it is easier for a councillor to know how many looked after children and care leavers live or are schooled in their area. This does not necessitate revealing their identity. This information will increase awareness and connection with this agenda and we should encourage Members to be involved in such activities. Councillors have become better over the years at challenging and scrutinizing so they should feel confident about exploring these services and issues.

3.4 The council’s Corporate Parenting Forum must be more effective.

“An integral part of their work is to promote ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent. The work of the corporate parenting forum should assist in embedding the corporate parenting agenda across the council.”

CSSIW Inspection Report (March 2010)

Appendix 1

3.4.1 This section of our report focuses on the role of the Corporate Parenting Forum but it is very important that Councillors do not think that this Forum in anyway removes them from their corporate parenting responsibilities. Whilst the Forum has a targeted responsibility and should play a very important role there is the universal responsibility that is applicable to all councillors.

3.4.2 Although the Council established a Corporate Parenting Forum in February 2009 it has not yet developed into an effective body. It is safe to say that the Forum has been ‘finding its feet’ over the last year and not really grasped its remit. The Corporate Parenting Forum appears to still be working out its agenda and is unclear about its purpose. The Intervention Board has already expressed some clear views about the role and effectiveness of the Forum. These refer to the rather exacting Terms of Reference, the Forum’s focus, the relationship with scrutiny, and its influence. To a large extent the Board would echo these points.

3.4.3 Although we make a number of observations in the following paragraphs we do recognise that the Corporate Parenting Forum is proactively reviewing its role and revisiting its Terms of Reference to address the issues raised. We also noted a recent change in membership and time for new members to bed in is necessary. We hope that the Board’s work and recommendations will contribute to the future success of the Forum.

3.4.4 Whilst it has done some positive and useful work in terms of increasing knowledge about the service through various presentations and making visits, it is evident that the Forum has not formally reported anywhere else and therefore there are no clear outcomes, despite current Terms of Reference suggesting reporting to both Cabinet and the Overview & Scrutiny Board. Because of this it is not entirely clear where the Forum sits or its status. It is important that the Forum has the ability to feed in its views in order to make a difference. The frustrations of some of the Forum members we took evidence from was apparent. The Intervention Board was clear that the Corporate Parenting Forum needed ‘teeth’ with a tangible role in order to make a positive impact on young people in care.

3.4.5 There was some concern from witnesses about the profile of the Forum and level of importance attached to it. We heard that in other authorities, such as Gwynedd, the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive regularly attend their Corporate Parenting Committee. There were concerns that this level of engagement was absent in Swansea. The Forum would certainly welcome stronger officer support at a senior level. There was also concern that the Chair of the Forum was unable to attend an important national conference on corporate parenting because it had no budget.

3.4.6 We also noted some concerns about the engagement of partners in the Forum. We were told that nobody from health has appeared for a long time, and that representation from other partners, including other Council departments, is erratic. We feel that there should always be a representative from the various bodies even if it is a deputy for a person meant to attend. This needs to be resolved.

Appendix 1

3.4.7 The CSSIW inspection report published in March 2010 recognised that the Corporate Parenting Forum had begun its work programme and expected that an integral part of their work would be to promote ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent. The inspectors felt that the forum should assist in embedding the corporate parenting agenda across the Council. It is clear that the Forum has got to be more proactive. In terms of raising the profile and impact of the Forum it should have a very specific role and some clear ideas emerged about the necessary focus of the Forum and how it can be improved.

It should:

• Scrutinise the work of council departments and the work of partners in relation to what are they doing for looked after children and care leavers • Scrutinise what Council is doing strategically e.g. the impact of policy decisions and their implications for looked after children and care leavers such as the closure of a Leisure Centre or school reorganisation. • Promote ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent e.g. leading, encouraging and educating all members, talking about corporate parenting, producing leaflets, being an example to councillors • Gather the views of, and act as advocate for, looked after children and care leavers

At the same time the Forum should review the frequency of its meetings. We think that it should be at least monthly. Although in reality the work of the Forum will determine this.

3.4.8 The Forum can and should do more and must begin to ask questions. We hope that the Forum will revise its Terms of Reference and resolve these issues, and establish itself more firmly as an integral part of this environment with clear outcomes from its work. People should expect to hear from it.

3.5 Corporate parenting is not just about social services.

“Effective corporate parenting depends on true partnership working. Education, housing, health and leisure all have a critical role to play in achieving good outcomes for looked after children”

Overview & Scrutiny Board Member

3.5.1 Corporate parenting responsibilities are neither specifically aimed at nor limited to social services. It is not just a social services issue. The legislation is clear that the whole authority has a duty to act as a corporate parent for looked after children and care leavers and recognises that their lives are affected by not only by social work professionals. It is a responsibility that goes across the organisation. There is a clear expectation that all services will assist corporate parenting. Indeed it extends to beyond the boundaries of the local authority to bodies such as the NHS. Whatever the law says it is fairly obvious that in the promotion of good outcomes for looked after children Appendix 1

and care leavers other areas of the Council and our partners are important. Councillors need to ensure that every department is considering the impact on looked after children and care leavers in its policies, services and procedures and ask ‘what are you doing to support looked after children?’ It will be the true indicator of whether or not there really is a corporate approach to looked after children. Councillors need to make everyone aware of their responsibilities and cross departmental and organisational communication is very important.

3.5.2 Meeting the needs of looked after children and care leavers requires cooperation between council departments and other organisations. In Swansea there have been issues raised externally about the development of cross-departmental and partnership working. The Intervention Board has commented previously about the partnership agenda not being as joined up as it could be, particularly with health having only just come on board. Partners have a corporate parenting role for example the Local Health Board should have an executive member for children and a children’s champion. The view expressed to us was that Swansea Local Health Board was not as developed as other Local Health Boards in terms of grasping the partnership agenda and responsibility to looked after children and care leavers. In comparison the Police appear to be far more engaged. We recognise that relationships and linkages can be complicated but shared working is vital. A particularly innovative example given to the Board was from Torfaen who were the first in Wales to jointly appoint a Local Authority and Local Health Board officer. This officer worked for both organisations and provided a valuable link between the Local Health Board and the Council and proved very effective for any issue that arose.

3.5.3 Building trust with partners is important. To promote the partnership approach it may be beneficial to explore joint training opportunities for examples on issues such as child protection as different organisations. We should also realise that some partners do want a way into the Council as well and that the Council must be supportive particularly where partners are involved in the preventative agenda.

3.5.4 We were concerned that some felt that the silo mentality still existed in certain quarters. Hearing about complaints within education about the social services budget is counter productive and can only have a negative effect, especially where there are examples of Child & Family Services having to meet the cost of certain matters in relation to maintain looked after children in their current school. Whist no doubt the relationship in most cases is good the feeling of separation is still predominant. It’s not about departments it should be about one joined-up service for looked after children and care leavers. Some looked after children may not need the help of a social worker but may need an education agenda to get them on the right track. It is a priority to get education and social services together. The joined up partnership approach cannot be emphasised enough. The work that is led by the Children and Young People Partnership on Team Around the Child is a particularly positive example of agencies coming together for the good of the child.

Appendix 1

3.5.5 Below is an example of some of the questions that councillors could consider in relation to the part that others can play:

• Can looked after children and care leavers get to and access leisure facilities and events? Is it affordable? • What legal assistance is provided to looked after children and care leavers? Who is fighting for their rights? • Are you planning for supported accommodation in county and trying to get preferential treatment from planners? • Do foster carers of disabled looked after children receive a fast track service regarding disabled facilities grant? • Are there any other housing issues? How can housing improve the quality of life? What provision and support is there for care leavers? • Do all looked after children have an individual health plan? • Is there a school council? Is there a mentoring scheme? • Whether there is any proactive work to open up employment opportunities for looked after children and care leavers?

3.6 Professionals and carers involved with looked after children have limited awareness of the corporate parenting role of councillors.

“We don’t have much contact from Councillors but would welcome their help”

Foster Carer

3.6.1 It appears that those involved in the care and support of looked after children know very little about the councillor’s role as a corporate parent. It was apparent from staff that there is not much contact with councillors. The view of foster carers was similar and it is most likely the case that children fostered have never met a councillor. There was some uncertainty from the foster carers we heard from about what councillors did and whether they gave enough of a priority to looked after children. They did, however, welcome the idea of engagement.

3.6.2 This lack of awareness potentially hinders the ability of councillors to be effective corporate parents as councillors will not be seen as important players who are able to contribute. It is therefore necessary to improve awareness and communication with professionals and carers. At the moment it is likely that foster carers do not think about contacting a councillor because they do not know what they can offer. In order for councillors to be better corporate parents their profile needs to be raised and activities they are involved in need to be more explicit. It would help place councillors closer to the ‘front-line’ where they can get a real feel and sense for the issues and play a part in their resolution. It would also increase the likelihood of councillors being approached by those in direct contact with looked after children and getting feedback about the service. It would help clarify the support that councillors can provide. Councillors can be effective signposters even if they do not solve problems directly, acting as conduits and a contact Appendix 1

point to take issues forward.

3.6.3 It is important that children’s teams and foster carers have access to councillors. Contact details should be readily available. Sometimes a foster carer may want to speak to someone else aside from social worker. It would help if foster carer training includes information about the role of the councillor. At the same time it would be useful for councillors to be aware of foster carers in their area. Some of the expectations that foster carers had of councillors was of giving support and improving morale. They welcomed more communication and clear guidelines about the councillor’s roles and responsibilities. In terms of contact with Councillors they valued a special surgery that could enable carers to discuss relevant issues.

3.6.4 Staff members were clear that councillors could provide support by understanding their work and the complexity of looked after children and trauma experienced, and ensuring that agencies were working together to meet their needs. They felt that councillors must know how going through the care system affects looked after children and what the social work teams are trying to do for the child. They stated that the looked after children teams would welcome greater engagement of councillors and would urge them to visit social workers more and be more visible. The recent establishment of new locality based area teams provides a good opportunity to develop and strengthen links with local Councillors. Councillors should know their area team leader and vice-versa and contact arrangements can then be made.

3.7 There are no effective mechanisms for councillors to hear the views of looked after children and care leavers.

“It can be a very difficult area in practice but Councillors could be more engaged with the views of young people. It’s not just about getting views but learning more about what’s happening to these young lives”

Tom Jones, Participation & Children’s Rights Worker

3.7.1 Although councillors should not seek to make personal contact with looked after children and care leavers or to get involved in individual cases, the importance of knowing about the experiences and views of looked after children and care leavers is crucial to delivering better outcomes. Clear channels of communication between looked after children and care leavers and councillors are not evident. It should be an active process. Poor communication can perpetuate stereotypical negative perceptions of looked after children and care leavers. The Board found that a lack of knowledge can leave a councillor removed from the issues but when they find out detail, such as when details of serious case reviews emerge, they are moved. Councillors should consider whether they understand the day to day pressures of looked after children and care leavers and their needs. Do we understand as corporate parents that just getting out of bed in the morning is an achievement let alone receiving 25 hours education? Are we asking the right questions to ensure we are doing enough for looked after children and Appendix 1

care leavers? The following paragraphs consider how meaningful engagement with looked after children and care leavers could be achieved.

3.7.2 The Council has an established consultative body called the Fe Fi Forum which is used internally by the Social Services department. It is for an 11 to 16 age group. Unfortunately capacity issues mean that consultation with younger children is less developed. The Fe Fi Forum currently has about 10- 12 young people involved, so it represents a very small percentage of the looked after children population. Social workers are, however, asked to encourage wider participation. The Forum generally has five topics that are revisited in the year plus topical issues. The Forum is well supported, by the Children’s Rights & Participation Officer who also sits on the Corporate Parenting Forum, for example, and it has arranged a looked after children awards event. It has been recognised that the Forum could be expanded and used differently and that other communication methods explored such as text, web and other social media.

3.7.3 Young people were asked via the Fe Fi Forum during 2009 about corporate parenting and their expectations. It was difficult for them to grasp what a corporate parenting meant but a young person was able to come up with a definition: ‘It’s all the other people around you who help’. The group were able to list some of the things they wanted from corporate parents:

- keep them safe - help when they are ill – consider our health - provide pocket money and clothing allowance (clothes, trips, Christmas) - pay for school trips - help and care - celebrate birthdays (presents for big birthdays 16 and 18) - support them – talk to teachers to help sort things out if finding school difficult - listen and decide things together - support and encourage – sit down and talk to you about what they want to do (e.g. in education, placements) but not push them into things - no suits (dress down)

Key themes were that looked after children did not want to be different and picked out. They did not want to have to give everyone the whole story.

3.7.4 It is our view that the Corporate Parenting Forum could take the lead with engagement with looked after children and care leavers. We have already suggested that it should act as an advocate and champion for looked after children and care leavers and ensure that their voice is heard, talking to young people in the care system and leavers. It would be beneficial if the Corporate Parenting Forum had representation from looked after children as it does for care leavers. Perhaps this role could be taken by an older child on a periodic basis. If that is not the most appropriate way forward then the Forum should have a forward plan from which it could identify opportunities for looked after children involvement. The Forum will need to consider the formality and timing of meetings and ensure the preparedness of looked after children to contribute. At the very least the Corporate Parenting Forum Appendix 1

should develop a relationship with the Fe Fi Forum as it is a good opportunity for the Corporate Parenting Forum to get views and concerns and take them forward and where necessary make views to the Cabinet and other decision- makers. In addition all councillors should get involved in celebratory events for looked after children, such as the awards ceremony.

4. Recommendations

The Board hopes that the issues and ideas raised by this review are considered by all Councillors and all departments across the Authority. Given that corporate parenting is wider than Child & Family Services the Board directs a number of recommendations to Council, Cabinet and the Corporate Parenting Forum.

The Board recognises that the Authority: (a) will need to ensure that any subsequent actions are legal and meet the requirements of any relevant legislation; (b) has a responsibility to make the best use of limited resources and that any additional costs will need to be considered carefully as part of the annual budget setting process.

The Board has kept these principles in mind in the course of its review.

The Board recommends that Council:

4.1 Revises councillor role descriptions to include the duty of corporate parenting.

4.2 Includes councillor job roles and role descriptions in councillor nomination packs to ensure prospective candidates are aware of key responsibilities, including corporate parenting.

4.3 Adopts the new guide to councillors developed by the Board as a statement of action on corporate parenting.

4.4 Includes the new guide to councillors on corporate parenting in new councillor ‘induction packs’.

4.5 Determines arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Forum to be supported and resourced independently of the Social Services directorate, for example by the Chief Executive or Executive Director.

4.6 Allocates a clearly identifiable budget to the Corporate Parenting Forum for its work.

The Board recommends that the Cabinet Member for Social Services:

Appendix 1

4.7 Introduces mandatory training on the different levels of the corporate parenting role as a compulsory part of the councillor induction programme.

4.8 Takes additional steps as necessary to ensure that every councillor has been properly informed and is fully aware of their duty of corporate parenting.

4.9 Provides monthly performance data relating to looked after children to all councillors.

4.10 Provides information about looked after children (e.g. numbers) by electoral division to relevant councillors on a regular basis to increase councillor awareness.

4.11 Includes information about the role of the councillor including contact details in any training for professionals and carers and within the ‘Swansea Cares’ looked after children information pack.

The Board recommends that the Corporate Parenting Forum:

4.12 Undertakes a survey of all councillors in 12 months on corporate parenting awareness and activity, to monitor improvement and report the results to Council.

4.13 Revises its Terms of Reference to give a more focussed purpose, particularly so that it: • meets more frequently (at least every 4 weeks). • embodies an element of scrutiny in its approach to work (e.g. producing assessments, recommendations) • promotes ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent to help embed the corporate parenting agenda across the Council. • acts as an advocate for looked after children • has a clear line of reporting its views.

4.14 Reports annually to Council (presented by the Lead Member) to raise awareness of its work (summarising achievements and issues) and highlight performance and issues relating to the well-being of looked after children.

4.15 Ensures that partner representation is always maintained through the use of substitutes for nominated representatives.

4.16 Ensures representation from Corporate Parenting Forum councillors at each Fe Fi Forum and other relevant events.

4.17 Ensures representation of looked after children on the Forum.

4.18 Includes comments from looked after children on their experiences during the year in the annual report to Council.

Appendix 1

Acknowledgements:

The Board is very grateful to the following for their participation and contribution to the review:

Chris Maggs, Corporate Director Social Services Steve Walker, Head of Child & Family Services Councillor Nick Tregoning, Cabinet Member for Social Services Councillor Mary Jones, Cabinet Member & Lead Member for Children & Young People Councillor Peter May, Cabinet Member for Housing Councillor Alan Robinson, Cabinet Member for Community Regeneration Rose Seabourne, former Councillor and Cabinet Member – Torfaen County Borough Council and member of Intervention Board Karen Sinclair, AM Richard Evans, Principal Officer (Social Services) Deborah Checkland, Planning Officer (Social Services) Tom Jones, Participation & Children’s Rights Worker Members of the Corporate Parenting Forum (Councillors Audrey Clement, John Davies, Ryland Doyle, Mair Gibbs, and Margaret Smith) Debbie Jones, Manager for the looked after children Team (over 14 years and leaving care) Rhiannon Thomas, Manager for looked after children Team (under 14 years) Wyn Williams – Carer, Foster Swansea Linda Francis – Carer, Foster Swansea Brij Madahar, Overview & Scrutiny Coordinator Jenna Tucker, Overview & Scrutiny Research Officer Debbie Smith, Legal Services A thank you also to Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Wakefield, Rotherham, Torbay, Sunderland, Leeds & Camden Councils (for use of previous scrutiny reviews on this subject matter)

Appendix 1

About the Child and Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board

The Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board is a cross-party body of Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet. The Board was set up against a backdrop of concerns about children’s social services in Swansea by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government. The role of the Board is to hold the Cabinet Member to account and support and challenge improvement in children’s social services to ensure that improvement in the care of vulnerable children is delivered, sustained and embedded.

Specific activities of the Board include: • monitoring performance to evaluate and challenge assessments on progress; • challenging the strength of the Child & Family Services Strategic Delivery Plan / Action Plan, monitoring implementation, and testing the improvement work; • undertaking additional project/development work on specific policy or service areas to support the overall programme of improvement; • considering briefings on improvement and development issues and reports on multi-agency partnerships / forums

Members of the Board 20010/2011: Councillors: M C Child (Chairman) P R Hood-Williams (Vice Chair) V Abbott S M Jones J T Miles J Newbury D Phillips C L Philpott D Price J C Richards J M Thomas

Further Information

Background Papers: • Agenda Papers and Minutes of the Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board (June 2010 – November 2010) • ‘If this were my child…’ (Joint publication from the WAG and WLGA - published in June 2009)

Contact: Brij Madahar, Overview & Scrutiny Coordinator (Tel: 01792 637257) E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.swansea.gov.uk/scrutiny Date: 4th November 2010 Appendix 1

APPENDIX A

HOW TO BE A GOOD

CORPORATE PARENT

A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR COUNCILLORS

Developed by the Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board November 2010

‘The Future in Your Hands’

Pic: kent.gov.uk

Appendix 1

CONTENTS Page

1. Introduction 3

2. What is Corporate Parenting and What Does This Have To Do With Councillors? 4

3. So What Can A Councillor Do? 6

4. Something for Everybody… 8

• If you are the Lead Councillor for Children & 8 Young People…

• If you are the Cabinet Member with 9 responsibility for children’s social services…

• If you are a Cabinet Member for other 10 services…

• If you are an Overview & Scrutiny 10 Councillor…

• If you are a member of the Corporate 11 Parenting Forum…

• If you are a member of other Committees… 12

• If you are a School Governor… 13

• As a Ward Councillor… 14

5. What contact should I have with looked after 16 children / care leavers?

6. Useful Contacts / Links 17 Appendix 1

Introduction

There are numerous documents and guides already available which have tried to explain what corporate parenting is and what makes a good corporate parent. The most recent of these was the joint publication from the Welsh Assembly Government and Welsh Local Government Association published in June 2009 (based on work originally issued in 2005) called ‘If this were my child…’.

The guide you are reading draws to a large extent upon this recent work. However, responding to views expressed by many councillors, this guide specifically aims to provide a simple and clear explanation of the respective responsibilities of executive and non-executive councillors and practical advice on ways to carry out the role.

It is hoped that this will be useful not only for councillors in Swansea but those elsewhere in Wales and the UK, improve understanding, whatever their position, and ultimately help them to become better corporate parents.

Pic: derby.gov.uk Appendix 1

What is Corporate Parenting and What Does This Have To Do With Councillors?

“When you became an elected member you took on one of your most important roles, as corporate parent to the children your local authority looks after” Gwenda Thomas AM, Deputy Minister for Social Services, Welsh Assembly Government. (from ‘If this were my child…’ published June 2009)

The role of corporate parent is to seek for looked after children and care leavers the outcomes every good parent would want for their own children and to safeguard and promote their life chances, providing opportunities and support. This includes having concern for the child’s education, training & employment, health, welfare, leisure, housing and cultural opportunities.

According to Local Government Improvement & Development (www.idea.gov.uk) corporate parenting places collective responsibility on local authorities to achieve good parenting and councils must demonstrate their commitment to helping every child they look after – wherever the child is placed – to achieve their potential. Corporate parenting also extends to care leavers, as the authority retains a level of responsibility for former looked after children until they reach 21 (or up to 24 if they are in full-time education).

As you would expect much of the day to day functioning of a council’s corporate parenting responsibility is delegated to childcare professionals, including foster carers and social workers but the leaders of the corporate parenting body – the local councillors – need to be aware of what is happening on their behalf for the looked after children and care leavers they are ultimately responsible for.

Appendix 1

For the approximately 60,000 children & young people who are in the care of local councils in Wales and England at any one time, it is councillors who have the ultimate responsibility for their safety, well being and development. Good corporate parenting requires ownership and leadership at a senior level, this includes elected members. It is the responsibility of all councillors, as corporate parents, to be satisfied that there is a joined up, effective & holistic approach to meeting the needs of looked after children and care leavers through policy and planning. It is a councillor’s duty to ensure that they are prioritised in decision making across the council’s areas of responsibility. This is important because their circumstances and experiences mean that they can experience many disadvantages and poorer outcomes than other children across a range of measures including health and education.

Appendix 1

So What Can A Councillor Do?

All councillors have an important role to play whatever their position, power or influence, and can be actively involved in ensuring the best possible care and opportunities are available for looked after children and care leavers.

Effective corporate parenting will depend on councillors:

• Being aware of the role, accepting responsibility and being accountable for their wellbeing.

• Making a clear political commitment to corporate parenting and demonstrating leadership.

• Committing resources through effective budget setting, and prioritising their needs in decision-making across all areas of the council.

• Seeking for looked after children and care leavers the same outcomes any good parent would want for their own children – finding ways to support their growth and attainment until they achieve full transition.

• Understanding the impact on looked after children and care leavers in all council decisions.

• Getting adequate information on the profile of looked after children and care leavers, and their needs (e.g. key information about the looked after children population (numbers and where placed), trends and issues affecting them, performance in schools, cost / quality / outcomes of placements).

• Making it your business to find out about and develop knowledge of the various services across the council and key partners that support looked after children and care leavers.

• Asking the right questions about the quality of care and the quality of services provided to them and monitoring overall performance and ensure that action is being taken to address any shortcomings in the Appendix 1

service and to constantly improve outcomes. Also question any area of the council about how they are supporting looked after children and care leavers.

• Being accessible to professionals, carers and looked after children / care leavers.

• Being advocates for looked after children and care leavers – ensuring that their voice is heard and knowing their issues – and celebrating their achievements.

Effective corporate parenting will also depend on officers openly engaging councillors in dialogue about relevant services, responding to questions, providing training & information and keeping councillors up to date.

Appendix 1

Something for Everybody…

How you can play an active part and make a valuable contribution to corporate parenting:

If you are the Lead Councillor for Children & Young People…

• The Children Act 2004 requires the designation of a lead member for children’s services to mirror the director’s responsibilities at a local political level. This role is crucial as it provides leadership, accountability & innovation.

• The local Children & Young People’s Partnership comprises of the local authority, health services and other statutory bodies including police and probation. The arrangements and duties on strategic partners are intended to ensure that effective cooperation takes place to improve outcomes for all children & young people across partner organisations and local authority departments. The lead Member and the lead officer are responsible not only for the effective engagement and cooperation between partners but also for ensuring effective joint planning.

• Make links with other lead Members to ensure issues affecting looked after children / care leavers and children in need are taken into account and prioritised in all Executive Members’ areas of responsibility.

• Ensure a political priority for children across the council – including making a case to colleagues for funding.

• Ensure that the views of children & young people are known and taken into account in service development and delivery.

Appendix 1

If you are the Cabinet Member with responsibility for children’s social services…

• Provide strong & effective political leadership.

• Provide strategic direction for children’s social services.

• Ensure a political priority for children across the council – including making a case to colleagues for funding.

• You are accountable for actions, decisions and delivery of services to looked after children and care leavers.

• Policy / service development ensures no adverse impact on looked after children and care leavers.

• Play a leading role in partnerships on behalf of the authority – the active involvement of leading Members, as well as officers, in the Health Service is particularly vital to ensure that the needs and interests of looked after children are given sufficient priority in National Health Service planning.

• Make sure that departments and agencies are talking to each other to ensure effective ‘joining-up’ of existing services and ways of working.

• Make links with other lead Members to ensure issues affecting looked after children and care leavers are taken into account and prioritised in all Executive Members’ areas of responsibility.

• Ensure that the views of looked after children and care leavers are known and taken into account in service development and delivery.

Appendix 1

If you are a Cabinet Member for other services…

• What priority is given to looked after children and care leavers within the service in your portfolio?

• Do the decisions you take consider the impact on them?

• Cabinet should look at issues affecting children across the board, particularly links between social services, education, leisure and transport policies, whatever managerial structures are in place.

If you are an Overview & Scrutiny Councillor…

• The scrutiny function offers councillors a range of different and potentially exciting and innovative ways to fulfil their corporate parenting responsibilities.

• Scrutiny councillors can bring a fresh look and common sense approach to issues affecting looked after children and care leavers, and ask demanding questions about the services and resources for children in our community. You can influence policy and ensure that good practice is encouraged, monitored and embedded.

• Looked after children should be a regular item for scrutiny – examine the services for looked after children / care leavers and key issues that are of most concern – and prioritise your work.

• Examine the arrangements that are in place for all aspects of a looked after child’s well being and monitor the effectiveness of systems that have been put in place – challenge and scrutinize departmental performance and partnership working and make recommendations for improvement.

• Regularly examine performance information reports regarding trends / outcomes / service delivery – challenge the information you are provided with and what it is meant to show. Do not accept at face value what you are told. Seek qualitative as well as quantitative information to give a better picture of activity.

Appendix 1

• Focus on improving outcomes for looked after children and care leavers - monitor whether needs are being met.

• Ask for case studies to get a real feel for the experience of children in the system and the service.

• Priorities identified for scrutiny should align with priorities in the Children & Young People Plan.

• Involve children & young people, parents, carers and partner agencies – feedback from looked after children and care leavers themselves as well as from foster carers and other relevant organisations should drive your scrutiny work.

• All Overview & Scrutiny Boards should consider looked after children and care leavers in their work – it should not be limited to the Committee with specific responsibility for children’s services.

If you are a member of the Corporate Parenting Forum…

• Champion and promote the corporate parenting role across the authority and beyond – having a clear understanding of the arrangements that need to be in place in order to be an effective corporate parent.

• Be aware of government expectations regarding the service to looked after children and care leavers.

• Review and monitor the quality of services to looked after children and care leavers and ensure that these are appropriately supported and resourced.

• Ask how we are planning for looked after children and care leavers and working across agencies.

• Review the work of the Permanency, Adoption and Fostering Panels.

• Closely monitor outcomes for looked after children and care leavers.

• Question what all directorates are doing for looked after children and care leavers. Appendix 1

• Have access to both qualitative and quantitative information on the service, and have enough knowledge to understand and evaluate this information.

• Consider how you are going to engage with looked after children and care leavers, their parents and carers to hear and respond to their views (e.g. via Fe Fi Forum).

• Ensure that looked after children and care leavers are represented and play a leading role, including being involved in identifying priorities and developing a work programme for the Forum.

• Attend and support relevant events held throughout the year that aim to improve outcomes and life chances for looked after children e.g. the looked after children Education Achievement Awards.

• Send birthday cards to looked after children.

If you are a member of other Committees…

• Decisions on various committees will affect children – what consideration has been given to implications on looked after children and care leavers?

• Make more effort to ensure the views of young people are considered.

Appendix 1

If you are a School Governor…

• Ensure that the school is meeting statutory obligations towards looked after children (know the number of looked after children, monitor educational attainment, attendance, exclusions, ask about who go on trips, bullying incidents etc.).

• Ensure that information on looked after children is regularly reported and discussed at school governor meetings (e.g. once a term). Ask what strategies are in place for assisting looked after children in the school to do better. Get basic information – whether written or face- to-face, or via an annual report or through opportunities to hear from looked after children themselves.

• Find out which member of staff has specific responsibility for looked after children.

• Ensure schools have high expectations of and focus on raising attainment standards for looked after children – schools should have the same aspirations for what they can achieve as for other children – is the school meeting objectives and doing the best they can for looked after children?

• Satisfy yourself that staff are aware and that appropriate special efforts are being made to help their education – are regular reviews carried out?

• Are any of the looked after children statemented, and what support are they getting?

• Champion and promote the needs of looked after children in schools and nurseries.

• Check how the council is monitoring educational standards for looked after children and progress with the introduction of Personal Education Plans – are they up to date?

• Know which comprehensive school is being considered – know if appeal is taking place.

• What advice on careers is being provided?

Appendix 1

As a Ward Councillor…

• Be aware that there are probably looked after children and care leavers living or at school in your area and understand the basic issues they may face.

• Maintain contact with the relevant area locality based children’s team and arrange to make periodic visits to see and hear from staff.

• Make sure foster carers, social workers and looked after children / care leavers know how they can contact you.

• Celebrate the achievements of foster parents in your area and attend celebration events when you can.

• Know what provision (e.g. housing) is made for foster carers, care leavers etc.

• Know if looked after children and care leavers in your area have access to a doctor, dentist, optician etc and they go regularly.

• Take an active interest in any children or young people’s facility in your area.

• Find out if looked after children and care leavers have contact with the police.

• Report issues in your ward regarding looked after children and care leavers to relevant persons, e.g. Cabinet Member for Social Services, Corporate Director (Social Services).

• Promote community understanding of looked after children and care leavers – get the wider community on board.

• Monitor council policy for impact on looked after children and care leavers.

• Get involved in schedule inspection (rota) visits to children’s homes which will provide you with an insight into how the homes are run, and the challenges faced by those who manage them.

Appendix 1

• Engage in reviews and any formal (CSSIW) inspections of children’s services and read reports of the findings.

• Participate in seminars, briefings on children and young people to increase your knowledge.

• Promote foster caring – have leaflets in you surgeries / community centres / events etc.

• Offer employment opportunities / work experiences or placements.

Appendix 1

What contact should I have with looked after children / care leavers?

• You can be an effective corporate parent without having to know individual looked after children and care leavers personally - personal contact on an individual basis is not generally appropriate, although children and young people, as any local resident, can choose to contact or visit their local councillor.

• Communication between children, their carers, the council and councillors can be complicated and challenging to find appropriate ways to ensure the voices of children are heard. There are issues of confidentiality and respect, and the needs and interests of the child must always come first.

• Some contact and communication is important. For councillors it can help you understand why you must take your responsibilities seriously. For children & young people it is an opportunity to express their views and concerns directly with those with ultimate policy- making authority.

• You can become involved in visits and attend events to understand the issues that looked after children and care leavers face, and celebrate the successes they achieve – often against significant odds. Your attendance would provide encouragement to the young people involved. Occasional events are also organised for our foster carers, who play such a key role in the care and development of looked after children. Again, by attending you can show your recognition and appreciation of the service they provide for the authority.

Appendix 1

Useful Contacts and Links

• Corporate Director (Social Services) Telephone: Chris Maggs 01792 636245

• Head of Child & Family Services Telephone: Steve Walker 01792 636248

• Child & Family Services Web pages - http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=12023

• Looked After Children 14 plus Team Telephone: 01792 533259

• Looked After Children under 14 Team Telephone: 01792 533240

• Child Disability Team Telephone: 01792 636267

• Contact number for all five social work locality teams Telephone: 01792 635180

• Participation & Children’s Rights / Fe Fi Forum Telephone: 01792 637446

• Nant y Felin Children’s Home, Blaeymaes Telephone: 01792 564100

• Children's Central Advice, Referral and Assessment Team Information, advice, and initial referral point for families, the public and organisations. Also use this number for any concerns about child abuse or neglect. Telephone: 01792 635700 Email: [email protected]

• Family Information Service Telephone: 01792 517222

Appendix 1

• Children’s Complaints Officer Telephone: 01792 636285

• Fostering (FosterSwansea) Telephone: 01792 533200 Website: www.fosterswansea.org

• Adoption (AdoptSwansea) Telephone: 01792 522900 (Adoption Duty Officer available Monday to Friday, 9:30 -12:30 Website: www.adoptswansea.org

• Emergency Duty Team Telephone 01792 775501 (evenings and weekends)

• Joint Childcare Legal Service Telephone: 01792 637188

• Swansea Safeguarding Children Board Telephone: 01792 637543 Website: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/safeguardingchildren

• Children & Young People Partnership Swansea http://www.cypswansea.co.uk/

• ‘If this were my child…’ (Joint publication from the WAG and WLGA - published in June 2009) http://www.wlga.gov.uk/download.php?id=2866&l=1

• Children’s Commissioner for Wales http://www.childcom.org.uk/

• Who Cares Trust http://www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/

Appendix 2

Item No. 6 (2)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Social Services

Cabinet – 10th March 2011

RESPONSE TO THE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BOARD ON ‘CARE TO HELP? - A REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF COUNCILLORS AS CORPORATE PARENTS’

Summary

Purpose: To outline the response of the Cabinet Member for Social Services to the recommendations of the Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board.

Policy Framework: Children and Young People Plan, Corporate Plan

Reason for Decision: Council Constitution.

Consultation: Legal, Finance, Chair and Vice Chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum.

1. Introduction

1.1 Corporate Parenting is a key role for all Councillors. The Child and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Board has produced a report ‘Care to Help? - A Review of the Role of Councillors as Corporate Parents’ which seeks to provide recommendations to assist the development of the agenda associated with Corporate Parenting.

1.2 The recommendations are focussed on three areas of responsibility namely: Council, the Cabinet Member for Social Services and the Corporate Parenting Forum. Discussion took place between the Cabinet Member for Social Services and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum so that the recommendations could be carefully considered.

1.3 It is recognised that there are some matters that may need to be considered by Council and these are noted in the relevant responses.

Appendix 2

2. Response to Board Recommendations

Recommendations for Council

Recommendation 1

Revises Councillor role descriptions to include the duty of corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: This is a matter that would ultimately need to be determined by Council. It is, therefore, reasonable to suggest that the Constitution Working Group be asked to consider the detail.

Recommendation is TO BE REFERRED TO THE CONSTITUTION WORKING GROUP

Recommendation 2

Includes Councillor job roles and role descriptions in councillor nomination packs to ensure prospective candidates are aware of key responsibilities, including corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: This recommendation would be dependent on the outcome of the first proposals being considered by the Constitution Working Group. In practical terms this is not a problem and can be addressed in Democratic Services.

Recommendation is TO BE REFERRED TO THE CONSTITUTION WORKING GROUP

Recommendation 3

Adopts the new guide to councillors developed by the Board as a statement of action on corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: The proposed new guide for Councillors is certainly very helpful and is a welcome addition to the information that can be made available. It is reasonable that this recommendation is considered by Cabinet and it is recommended that this should be adopted.

Recommendation is AGREED Appendix 2

Recommendation 4

Includes the new guide to councillors on corporate parenting in new councillor ‘induction packs’.

Cabinet Member Response: It is certainly reasonable that the new guide in Corporate Parenting should be included as part of the induction pack for new Councillors. This proposed course of action can be implemented by the Democratic Services and Complaints Manager.

Recommendation is AGREED

Recommendation 5

Determines arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Forum to be supported and resourced independently of the Social Services directorate, for example by the Chief Executive or Executive Director.

Cabinet Member Response: There are a number of changes that are likely to occur across the organisation in respect of the resources that are available. It is recognised that it is important that the Corporate Parenting Forum is supported. To achieve such an aim it is necessary to provide a consistency in terms of the agenda for Corporate Parenting. This is probably best achieved by staff within Social Services but the position can certainly be reviewed.

Recommendation is TO REVIEW THE OPTION FOR SUPPORTING THE CORPORATE PARENTING FORUM

Recommendation 6

Allocates a clearly identifiable budget to the Corporate Parenting Forum for its work.

Cabinet Member Response: There are a number of arrangements across the Authority that may need to access a budget and the Corporate Parenting Forum is certainly one such situation. The Chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum has been advised that any requirements for funding should be submitted to the Corporate Director (Social Services). The position will be subject to review so that the financial requirements can be established during the coming year. It may be reasonable to identify a specific budget subject to the possible expenditure that may be incurred.

Appendix 2

Recommendation is AGREED BUT IMPLEMENTATION WILL DEPEND ON ESTABLISHING EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CORPORATE PARENTING FORUM

Recommendations for the Cabinet Member for Social Services

Recommendation 7

Introduces mandatory training on the different levels of the corporate parenting role as a compulsory part of the councillor induction programme.

Cabinet Member Response: It is extremely important that all Councillors attend relevant training when it is made available. This is a personal responsibility for all Councillors. The training should be identified by all Political Groups as a key requirement for training.

A decision to make training mandatory would be a matter for Council. As a matter of principle the role of corporate parenting requires each Councillor to understand the expectations and mandatory training would certainly be reasonable. It would seem appropriate for the Constitution Working Group to consider this matter given that it needs to be determined by Council.

Recommendation is AGREED IN PRINCIPLE BUT SUBJECT TO CONSIDERATION BY THE CONSTITUTION WORKING GROUP

Recommendation 8

Takes additional steps as necessary to ensure that every councillor has been properly informed and is fully aware of their duty of corporate parenting.

Cabinet Member Response: The training and information available for Councillors will be reviewed by the Head of Child and Family Services. In so doing the views of the Corporate Parenting Forum will be sought.

Recommendation is AGREED

Appendix 2

Recommendation 9

Provides monthly performance data relating to looked after children to all councillors.

Cabinet Member Response: Information is already produced on a monthly basis in respect of looked after children. The current information will be reviewed and a specific monthly update will be provided to all Councillors.

Recommendation is AGREED

Recommendation 10

Provides information about looked after children (e.g. numbers) by electoral division to relevant councillors on a regular basis to increase councillor awareness.

Cabinet Member Response: The broad intent of this recommendation is reasonable and it is certainly important that awareness is raised in respect of the position for looked after children. There are professional concerns about how confidentiality can be maintained if information is provided by electoral division.

It is proposed that information be produced, at least initially, based on the areas covered by each of the five locality based social work teams. This position can then be reviewed from time to time.

Recommendation is PARTIALLY AGREED

Recommendation 11

Includes information about the role of the councillor including contact details in any training for professionals and carers and within the ‘Swansea Cares’ looked after children information pack.

Cabinet Member Response: The exact detail may be subject to the views of the Constitution Working Group given the previous recommendations. It is important that information is accurate and up to date and as a consequence it may be more appropriate to refer to the Authority’s website rather than using leaflets or other documents. The exact detail will need to be carefully considered.

Recommendation is AGREED Appendix 2

Recommendations for the Corporate Parenting Forum

Recommendation 12

Undertakes a survey of all councillors in twelve months on corporate parenting awareness and activity, to monitor improvement and report the results to Council.

Cabinet Member Response: It is important that the maximum impact is achieved in respect of this recommendation. Given the timescale it is proposed that a slight adjustment is made to the approach so that next year’s Council Elections are considered. It is proposed that the following should take place following the Elections in 2012: a. Induction to include training for Corporate Parenting. b. Survey of all Councillors following induction. c. Further survey one year later.

It is also anticipated that other training in respect of Corporate Parenting will be made available.

Recommendation is AGREED

Recommendation 13

Revises its Terms of Reference to give a more focussed purpose, particularly so that it:

ƒ meets more frequently (at least every four weeks) ƒ embodies an element of scrutiny in its approach to work (e.g. producing assessments, recommendations) ƒ promotes ownership and understanding of the importance of being an effective corporate parent to help embed the corporate parenting agenda across the Council ƒ acts as an advocate for looked after children ƒ has a clear line of reporting its views.

Cabinet Member Response: The Corporate Parenting Forum is currently seeking to revise its Terms of Reference. There will be a range of issues that will need to be addressed as a consequence of any changes that are agreed.

It is certainly anticipated that the Forum will meet more frequently and this may be every two months. In addition Task and Finish Groups will be utilised and, therefore, the overall frequency of meetings will increase.

Appendix 2

There is a need to provide a focus on a small number of key issues for consideration by the Forum and the specific detail will need to be agreed by the members of the Forum. The Chair of the Corporate Parenting Forum will ensure that liaison takes place with the Cabinet Member for Social Services.

Recommendation is AGREED

Recommendation 14

Reports annually to Council (presented by the Lead Member) to raise awareness of its work (summarising achievements and issues) and highlight performance and issues relating to the well-being of looked after children.

Cabinet Member Response: It is essential that the Corporate Parenting Forum provides a report to Council to describe the work that has been undertaken. This should be at least annually and other reports could be submitted if it is considered necessary to do so.

Recommendation is AGREED

Recommendation 15

Ensures that partner representation is always maintained through the use of substitutes for nominated representatives.

Cabinet Member Response: It is recognised that attendance at meetings can be difficult but there does need to be a personal responsibility and commitment. Whilst it is not possible to ensure attendance from any external organisation the situation will be regularly reviewed by the Forum.

It may be necessary for the Chair of the Forum to write to an individual and / or the organisation.

A further consideration relates to consistency of engagement and the use of substitutes can prove to be more difficult given such an aim. This is particularly important until the Corporate Parenting Forum is fully developed. Experience with other similar arrangements indicates that attendance by substitutes may actually affect the dynamics for the Corporate Parenting Forum.

Recommendation is NOT AGREED AT THIS TIME BUT THE POSITION WILL BE SUBJECT TO REVIEW

Appendix 2

Recommendation 16

Ensures representation from Corporate Parenting Forum councillors at each Fe Fi Forum and other relevant events.

Cabinet Member Response: The Fe Fi Forum is a group specifically for Looked After Children. It provides a forum that enables a discussion, in a safe environment, about issues that might be of concern to children and young people. It is necessary to recognise that the Fe Fi Forum would need to decide whether a Councillor might attend.

If representation by a Councillor is not agree by the Fe Fi Forum other means of engagement may need to be considered.

Recommendation is PARTIALLY AGREED

Recommendation 17

Ensures representation of looked after children on the Forum.

Cabinet Member Response: This is a matter that requires consideration by all members of the Corporate Parenting Forum in respect of its Terms of Reference. It has not yet been possible to conclude how looked after children might best be represented as part of the Forum.

Recommendation is NOT YET DETERMINED

Recommendation 18

Includes comments from looked after children on their experiences during the year in the annual report to Council.

Cabinet Member Response: It is very important that the views of children and young people are properly considered and comments should be included in the annual report to Council.

Recommendation is AGREED

3. Legal Implications

3.1 There are no specific legal implications to consider.

Appendix 2

4. Financial Implications

4.1 There are no specific financial implications to consider.

5. Recommendations

5.1 It is recommended that Cabinet notes the response of the Cabinet Member for Social Services as outlined in this report.

Background Papers: None.

Contact Officer: Chris Maggs Corporate Director (Social Services) 01792 636245 cm12002/sd

Legal Officer: Janet Hooper

Item No. 16 (2)

Report of the Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board

Council – 31st March 2011

REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING

Summary:

This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations resulting from the Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board’s report and the outcome following its submission to Cabinet.

FOR INFORMATION

1. Introduction

1.1 Council is provided with reports produced by the Overview and Scrutiny Boards, for information.

1.2 This covering report provides Council with a copy of the Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board’s report and informs Council of the Cabinet decision in respect of the recommendations made by the Board.

2. The Board’s Report

2.1 The Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board carried out a Review of the Development of Medium Term Financial Planning and produced a report of the findings, conclusions and recommendations resulting from this work.

2.2 The Board’s report was presented to Cabinet on 11th March 2011 for decision.

2.3 The final report of the Board is attached as Appendix 1.

3. Cabinet Member Response

3.1 At the same time as an Overview & Scrutiny report is presented to Cabinet, the relevant Cabinet Member is required to present a response to the recommendations made.

3.2 Cabinet takes into consideration both the Board’s report and the Cabinet Member’s response before making a decision on the recommendations.

3.3 The Cabinet Member’s response that was agreed by Cabinet is attached as Appendix 2.

4. Follow Up

4.1 The Performance and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Board will be following up the Cabinet decision and progress with the implementation of the agreed recommendations. In accordance with the Council Constitution it is entitled to receive an action plan from the Cabinet Member within 2 months of the Cabinet decision. This Board is expected to consider the Action Plan at its meeting in June.

4.2 The Board will also schedule a review of progress and is entitled to receive a report back after a period of 6 months after the action plan to measure the implementation and impact of its work. This is expected to take place during November / December 2011 but will be dependent on the timescales within the Action Plan.

5. Legal Implications

5.1 There are no legal implications.

6. Financial Implications

6.1 The financial implications are as detailed in the Cabinet Member’s response.

FOR INFORMATION

Background Papers: None

Contact Officer: Karen Shadrach Overview & Scrutiny Coordinator  01792 636292

Legal Officer: Tracey Meredith

Date: 21 March 2011

Appendix 1

City and County of Swansea

‘The Development of Medium Term Financial Planning’

A Policy Review

Performance and Finance OverviewWhy This &Matters Scrutiny Board City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe November 2010 Appendix 1

Why This Matters

Cllr Darren Price(Chair) Cllr Mike Hedges (Vice Chair)

Chairs Foreword

The financial challenge facing the public sector over the next few years is clear. Following the Comprehensive Spending Review, as outlined by the UK Government in October 2010, local authorities across Wales are likely to face significant reductions in revenue and capital spending.

Local authorities, including Swansea, have been aware of the potential public sector funding gap and have been developing plans to counter it. The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) has been reported to Council over the past few years, with a number of cost saving actions being put forward with a view to closing the funding gap.

In 2008 the Finance, Audit and Business Improvement Overview Board decided to look into the process by which Swansea’s MTFP was being developed, how it was being delivered and to what extent improvements could be made.

Over a period of 2 years, with the support of the Scrutiny Support team, a significant amount of work has gone into the review by a dedicated Task and Finish Group who met with each of the Council’s Heads of Service to scrutinise the current process, and to ask each in turn to undertake a prioritisation exercise of their Service.

It became clear that the issue of ‘prioritisation’ is a key one which the Council needs to address. Further work, by all members of the Council, in terms of setting out the Council’s priorities needs to be undertaken, clearly linking the Medium Term Financial Plan to the Council’s Corporate Priorities.

I would like to thank the members of the Task and Finish Group and support staff for their time and dedication during the review and am hopeful that the Cabinet will take on board the recommendations that we make. I also hope that all members of Council engage in the process, which will have an important bearing on the future shape of this Council.

Darren Price Appendix 1

Summary

1. Aims of the Review

1.1 The aim and objectives of this review were:

 To assist with the ongoing development of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the City and County of Swansea.

 To review the process for forecasting and agreeing additional spending needs.

 To review the process for identifying and agreeing spending reductions including general savings targets including efficiency targets and targeted savings.

 To review the process for reconciling the Council’s available resources to its priorities, in particular its overall service and corporate objectives.

 To review the timetable for updating the MTFP including links to the annual budget process.

 To consider examples of best practice in other organisations.

2. Evidence Considered

The evidence considered by the Board has been summarised as follows:

 Task & Finish Group meeting with Head of Financial Services – existing MTFP, assessment of revenue spending needs & savings proposals.  Task & Finish Group meetings with 3 Heads of Service – officers views on the budget process & budget monitoring.  Task & Finish Group meeting with Vanessa Phillips, WLGA – presentation on financial context & experiences of other local authorities.  Presentation from Hywel Pullen, Pricewaterhouse Coopers – external audit perspective on MTFP.  Task & Finish Group meeting with the Head of Finance & the Head of Performance & Strategic Projects – discussion on the activities that the Council carries out and possible ways to rank & prioritise.  Task & Finish Group meeting with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Executive Director – discussion on the work of the Business Improvement Board and budget progress. Appendix 1

 Task & Finish Group meetings with 22 Heads of Service and 1 Director – discussion on information provided on the activities undertaken by the Council and how they could be prioritised (10 meetings in all).

3. Conclusions

3.1 The conclusions can be summarised as follows:

3.2 An in-depth process of prioritisation linked closely to corporate planning processes, including broad consultation on options and wide stakeholder involvement, was suggested as good practice by the WLGA and was felt to be a fairer approach than simply reducing budgets across the board. It was found that in recent years, the Council had moved away from simply reducing budgets across the board.

3.3 Efficiency was considered to be an important agenda regardless of the local government settlement.

3.4 Given the high proportion of budgets taken up with staffing costs workforce planning was naturally felt to be a critical component of any Medium Term Financial Plan.

3.5 The delivery of the Medium Term Financial Plan is clearly bound up with the annual budget process. .

3.6 The whole area of benchmarking is difficult and it was impossible to find examples of good practice.

3.7 There are a number of incidences where there is possible duplication between the different service units, such as health promotion, marketing and performance management.

3.8 There are opportunities to maximise income generation such as advertising on council vehicles and promoting outdoor residential centres to the public when they are not being used by schools.

3.9 There are a number of examples of service units working with their colleagues at a regional level.

3.10 All of the Council’s departments are actively reviewing their service provision and this is wholeheartedly supported by the Board.

3.11 There are a number of instances where other providers are not participating as fully as they should in certain circumstances.

3.12 After hearing from the Heads of Service, the Board suggests that there are a number of areas where further work could be undertaken that could improve services. Appendix 1

4. Recommendations

The Board recommends that:

4.1 Cabinet

4.2 Consider the conclusions and proposals in this report as part of the on- going budget process.

4.3 Use the model of prioritisation as a basis for future budget decisions, and engagement with Councillors, Trade Unions, the public and other stakeholders.

Appendix 1

1. Aim of the Review

1.1 A policy review of the development of Medium Term Financial Planning was identified as an area for detailed investigation at a meeting of the Finance, Audit & Business Improvement Overview Board on 8th September 2008. The scope of the review was agreed at the Board’s next meeting on 20th October 2008.

1.2 The main reasons for carrying out this review were that the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) was a key planning document which ensures that future resources and spending needs are closely aligned. The need to develop a fully resourced MTFP has been highlighted in several external audit reports. It is also difficult to evidence prudential stewardship of public money without such a plan.

1.3 Specifically, the aim and objectives of this review were:

 To assist with the ongoing development of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the City & County of Swansea.

 To review the process for forecasting and agreeing additional spending needs

 To review the process for identifying and agreeing spending reductions including:

– general savings targets including efficiency targets – targeted savings

 To review the process for reconciling the Council’s available resources to its priorities in particular its overall service and corporate objectives.

 To review the timetable for updating the MTFP including links to the annual budget process.

 To consider examples of best practice in other organisations.

2. Evidence Considered

2.1 The review was carried out over 3 municipal years; 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. The first year’s work concentrated on looking at the existing Medium Term Financial Plan in considerable detail which included:

Appendix 1

 Meeting several Heads of Service to gather information from officers on how they perceived the budget process and budget monitoring.  Meeting with Vanessa Phillips, Resource Director Welsh Local Government Association to gain an understanding of the financial context and experiences of other local authorities.  Having a presentation from Hywel Pullen, Pricewaterhouse Coopers on medium term financial strategy from an external audit perspective.

2.2 The second year’s work concentrated on looking at the Council as a whole, via each service unit and prioritising each of the Council’s 462 activities. This was to address the objective of reconciling the Council’s available resources to its priorities, in particular overall service and corporate objectives.

2.3 The Board asked each of the 22 Heads of Service (and 1 Director) to carry out an activity analysis to provide a list of all the activities that their service unit carried out. They were then asked to “rank” each activity in order of importance. This was recognised as a personal and subjective choice. Nearly all Heads of Service commented on how difficult it had been to prioritise their activities. The Board recognised that this was indeed a difficult process. The Board delegated the main information gathering to a Task & Finish Group. The ranking of the activities as listed under each service unit was the opinion of the Task & Finish Group in the first instance, confirmed later by the Board and is attached as an appendix to this report. This work did not consider priorities that cross-over services or other agencies, but focused on each stand-alone service.

2.4 The work was included in the work plan of and completed by the Performance and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Board in 2010.

3. Conclusions

3.1 Prioritisation

In recent years Swansea has moved away from simply reducing budgets across the board. An in-depth process of prioritisation linked closely to corporate planning processes, including broad consultation on options and wide stakeholder involvement, was suggested as good practice by the WLGA and was felt to be a fairer approach. At the same time, the current Spending Needs Assessment process was felt by officers to have been a good way of highlighting issues. In contrast, the approach taken in previous years of requiring across the board savings of a fixed percentage was not well supported. Heads of Service raised concerns about the Appendix 1

disproportionate impact on smaller units, the difficulties this causes in “volatile” service areas, the variable potential for savings between units and the lack of distinction between statutory and discretionary services. The Board concurred that the process for forecasting and agreeing additional spending needs were sufficient and that sufficient challenge was provided by the Corporate Management Team and Heads of Service.

3.2 Efficiency

This was considered to be an important agenda regardless of the local government settlement. Whilst a complete root and branch review was considered to be a lot of work, other suggestions for developing this agenda included bench marking to identify inefficiencies, greater use of internal audit, further development of shared services and increased use of “spend to save”. Consideration of internal and external sources of challenge in addition to the challenge currently provided by CMT through vacancy monitoring, for example, was also felt to be important. Following the detailed examination of all of the Council’s activities and evidence provided by each Head of Service, there were many areas where the Board felt more could be done to look for efficiency savings particularly in terms of reducing administration, supervisory and back office functions. These areas are:

 Communications, Marketing, Overview & Scrutiny  Education Effectiveness  Culture & Tourism  Planning  Highways  Transportation  Environmental Management & Protection  Environmental Health  Human Resources  Corporate Property & Asset Management  Finance

3.3 Workforce Planning

Given the high proportion of budgets taken up with staffing costs, it was felt that workforce planning and service prioritisation should be a critical component of any Medium Term Financial Plan. This is already something that Heads of Service spend a great deal of time on and succession planning seems to be taking place albeit informally. Natural wastage was recognised as only a first step if necessary savings were to be found. Concerns were also raised, however, about the arbitrary nature of natural wastage.

3.4 Annual Budget Process Appendix 1

The delivery of the Medium Term Financial Plan is clearly bound up with the annual budget process. A number of points were raised in respect of this including; the flexibility for Heads of Service to move under spends between their budgets; consistency in terms of the levels of accountancy management support provided to services; the specialist knowledge required by accountants operating in particular service areas; different approaches to budget monitoring across units; links between budget setting and budget monitoring; financial training for senior managers; scope for greater interdepartmental working; increased involvement of Members through overview & scrutiny; and the potential for public engagement.

The process for forecasting and agreeing additional spending needs was found to be working effectively, although consideration needs to be given to what appropriate action should be taken where services do not deliver on agreed savings.

3.5 Benchmarking and Best Practice.

The whole area of benchmarking is confused. Nearly all the Heads of Service mentioned how difficult it was to do any meaningful benchmarking with other similar authorities due to the differences in organisational structure. Whilst the Board strongly recommends that benchmarking needs to take place to ensure that services are as cost effective and efficient as possible, it recognises the limitations that are currently being encountered. After speaking to the Welsh Local Government Association, the Council’s auditors and senior officers it became apparent that it was difficult to find good examples of best practice, particularly in the absence of a national database. More recently, the Board were informed that work commissioned by the Wales Audit Office in this area had found a 4* English local authority that’s Medium Term Financial Plan ran to 300 pages.

3.6 Duplication

There are a number of incidences where there is possible duplication between the different service units. Some of the areas identified were health promotion, performance management, adevrtising and marketing. Action should be taken to review this activity to ensure that services are joined up and do not duplicate activity elsewhere. The Planning service unit provides an environmental education service. Does this duplicate work carried out in schools or by the Education department? It was not evident how effective the output of the Research & Information team was and it was suspected that there may be duplication with other service units.

3.7 Income Generation

Appendix 1

There are opportunities to maximising income generation. The commercial use of the Outdoor Residential Centres during weekends and school holidays should be promoted by the Tourism team. The potential to generate sponsorship for the Shopmobility scheme should be investigated along with the possibility of increased charges. Efforts to increase Design Print income generation are welcomed.

3.8 Regional Working

There are already a number of examples of service units working with their colleagues on a regional level and this should be taken forward as an issue of corporate leadership in order to maximise opportunities. The regional working in Legal Services is to be commended and it would be in the interests of the Authority if it was to find more areas of collaboration with other Welsh local authorities. The provision of training maybe an area that can contribute to this. The prospect of possible regional working to take the ICT contract forward should be beneficial to the Council.

3.9 Ongoing Reviews

All of the Council’s departments are actively reviewing their service provision and this is wholeheartedly supported by the Board.

3.10 Other Providers

There are a number of instances where other providers are not participating as fully as they should. Where the Council is meeting a disproportionate level of costs for a project involving other agencies, all partners should be encouraged to share the financial costs. This was highlighted in the case of bathing water monitoring and contaminated land. The Board felt that specifically, the Police should be asked to contribute to the cost of the Business Crime Reduction Officer, the Council could then cease to fund this post and that the Home Office and the Police Authority should be asked for a contribution to the cost of providing CCTV.

3.11 Future Service Provision

After hearing from Heads of Service, the Board suggests that there are a number of areas where further work could be undertaken that could improve services. For ease of reference this has been split by Directorate.

Chief Executive:

 Review resources / savings at senior manager level across the authority, particularly Heads of Service. Appendix 1

 Consider whether the following activities should continue to be supported by the Authority: . Engagement with forums such as the Business Forum . Event management for civic and corporate events . Manage hospitality at the Stadium and other civic and corporate events . Manage the Mansion House

Education:

 The take up of the petrol allowance for parents of pupils currently transported to and from school by taxi should be promoted in relation to home to school transport.  The Employment Training, Adult Community Learning & Student Finance teams should be reviewed to see whether they can be streamlined.  the QEd & Capital Strategy and Performance & Project Management teams in the Education Planning and Resources service unit should be amalgamated as the teams will come under more pressure as the school improvement programme continues.

Regeneration and Housing:

 The asset management plan in respect of Libraries is a positive tool for implementing future service provision. The service should look at ways of increasing the use of automated services.  New ways of providing a number of activities in the Housing service area should be explored, especially in the use of IT:

 Setting, compilation, monitoring and varying the HRA capital and revenue programmes  Development and publication of the Local Housing Strategy  Central cross service administration  Management, maintenance and operation of the performance management framework

 Grants to the independent sector should be reviewed in line with the work on Corporate Grants.  Consider the possibility of transferring Community Buildings to an external organisation / trust.

Environment:

Appendix 1

 The APSE recommendations in relation to Fleet management and maintenance and repair should be carefully considered and implemented where possible.  The payment of wages and invoices and procurement and stock control in Highways should be looked at to see whether the functions can be centralised. The use of electronic time sheets should also be progressed.  Effort should be focused more towards waste minimisation and education to increase levels of recycling.  Review the policy of not charging for the use of public conveniences including the possibility of drawing up service level agreements with private companies to allow the public to use their facilities as already operates in other parts of Wales.

Executive Director:

 Consideration should be given to merging the Business Assurance and Business Performance teams in the Performance & Strategic Planning with the Internal Audit team in the Finance service unit to provide a more progressive method for monitoring the effectiveness of delivering the Council’s priorities.  Business planning over a 4year period should be introduced throughout the Council.  The volunteers in the 50+ Network should be encouraged to take charge of the Network, thus allowing the Council’s role to become one of coordination only.  Work to bring together the Council’s and schools IT systems should be progressed.  Once the amount of transactions that can be completed online have been increased and are in operation, effort should be made to publicise the service. This could be an area for Invest to Save.  Proposals to change the working practices of the Accountancy team should be progressed. These include reviewing the structure of the team and a reduction in the number of departmental contacts.  Consider rolling out the ALITO contract management system out across the Council as soon as practicable to allow a more central electronic record of contracts and to generate savings.

Social Services:

 The Commissioning undertaken in the Social Services department, with special emphasis on the planning element, should be reviewed to enable partnership working with Health to be improved. Planning needs to be proactive, and the staff Appendix 1

responsible for planning need to be able to work effectively with partners.  If there is a reduction in the amount of grant received that contributes to work on the client database in the Social Services department, the way this work is carried out should be reviewed.  Although Social Services transport has been reviewed in the past it was evident that there were significant cost savings to be made. In the current financial climate it makes sense to review this area again.  The free provision of community alarms needs to be reconsidered as the City and County of Swansea is the only local authority in Wales that does not charge for this service.

All Directorates:

 In addition to the existing corporate team, it was evident that there are a number of teams in different departments throughout the Council that deal with performance, such as Education. Thought should be given to carrying out a central review of them with the aim of creating a single strategic team.  Find savings by locating departments in one place, specifically the Education department to allow for efficiency savings to be found.

4. Recommendations

The Board commends Cabinet to consider all issues and ideas raised by this review and, in particular, the recommendations set out below.

The Board recognises that the Authority (a) will need to ensure that any subsequent actions are legal and meet the requirements of any relevant legislation; (b) has a responsibility to make the best use of limited resources and that any additional costs will need to be considered carefully as part of the annual budget setting process.

The Board has kept these principles in mind in the course of its investigations.

4. Recommendations

The Board recommends that:

4.1 Cabinet

Appendix 1

4.2 Consider the conclusions and proposals in this report as part of the on- going budget process.

4.3 Use the model of prioritisation as a basis for future budget decisions, and engagement with Councillors, Trade Unions, the Public and other Stakeholders.

Appendix 1

Acknowledgements

The Board would like to thank the following for contributing to this review:

Robin Brown Vanessa Phillips Iwan Davies Hywel Pullen David Daycock Steve Rees Steve Dinnick Councillor Stuart Rice Deborah Driffield Brian Roles Andrew Falvey Martin Saville Tony Glacken Jeremy Stephens Bryan Graham Jack Straw Carl Humphrey David Tosh Ian James Mike Trubey Mandy Jones Chris Vinestock Chris Maggs Steve Walker Lee Morgan Lee Wenham Martin Nicholls

Further Information

Background Papers:

Briefing – 8th September 2008 Scope – 20th October 2008 Interim Report – 15th June 2009

Contact: Karen Shadrach Date: 23rd September 2010 Appendix 1

About the Finance, Audit & Business Improvement Overview Board

The Finance, Audit & Business Improvement Overview Board is a body of Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet. Their role is to assist in the development of policy and to make recommendations which outline policy proposals

* denotes that Member did not serve for the whole municipal year

Members of the Board 2008/09

Cllr. Darren Price (Chair) Cllr. Jim Kelleher (Vice Chair) Cllr Viv Abbott* Cllr. Nicholas Bradley Cllr. Audrey Clement * Cllr Anthony Colburn* Cllr. Robert Francis-Davies Cllr Nicola Holley* Cllr. Jeff Jones Cllr. Mervyn Jones* Cllr Rene Kinzett* Cllr. Grenville Phillips Cllr. Glyn Seabourne Cllr Rob Speht*

Members of the Board 2009/10

Cllr Darren Price (Chair) Cllr Jim Kelleher (Vice Chair) Cllr Nicholas Bradley Cllr Anthony Colburn Cllr Nicola Holley Cllr D I E Jones Cllr Jeff Jones Cllr Keith Marsh Cllr Grenville Phillips Cllr Christine Richards* Cllr Glyn Seaborne* Cllr Rob Speht Appendix 1

About the Performance and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Board

The Performance and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Board is a body of Councillors who are not members of the Cabinet. Their role is to act as a “critical friend” to the Cabinet and other decision makers to promote better services, policies and decisions. They can make recommendations that inform and advise the Cabinet and Council as a whole on the revision of policies, budget and service delivery issues.

* denotes that Member did not serve for the whole municipal year

Members of the Board 2010/11

Cllr. Darren Price (Chair) Cllr. Mike Hedges (Vice Chair) Cllr Peter Black Cllr. June Burtonshaw* Cllr. Wendy Fitzgerald Cllr. Paxton Hood – Williams Cllr David Howells Cllr. DIE Jones* Cllr Paul Meara Cllr. John Newbury Cllr. David Phillips Cllr Des Thomas

For further information contact:

Karen Shadrach Scrutiny Support Coordinator City and County of Swansea [email protected] 01792 636292 Appendix 1

Chief Executive’s Department

Communications, Marketing, Overview & Scrutiny

Ranking Activity 1st Manage media & public relations 2nd Provide support & advice to the Overview & Scrutiny Boards 3rd Provide communications & stakeholder support to the Councils projects / priorities 4th PA & admin support to the Corporate Management Team 5th Managing internal communications across the Council 6th Corporate marketing & brand management 7th Provide high level reputation advice to Cabinet and CMT 8th Support the development of the Community Strategy 9th Administer & allocate grants to voluntary organisations 10th Support the Local Service Board / Better Swansea Partnership 11th Support engagement with forums such as the Business Forum 12th Event management for civic & corporate events 13th Manage hospitality at the Stadium & other civic & corporate events 14th Manage the Mansion House

Education Department

Education Effectiveness

Ranking Activity 1st Support & challenge of schools through School Development Advisers 2nd Support & challenge of schools through Subject Advisers 3rd Support for schools & pupils through the Ethnic Minority Language & Achievement Service (EMLAS) 4th Support for schools & pupils through the Welsh Centre 5th Support for schools & pupils through the Traveller Education Service 6th Support & challenge of schools through Subject Teacher Advisers 7th Welsh Translation Service 8th Support for schools & pupils through the Music Service 9th Support for schools through the Education Library & Resource Service

Education Planning & Resources

Ranking Activity 1st School Funding & Information Appendix 1

2nd School & Pupil Data & Information (including P.I.s & Performance) 3rd QEd & Capital Strategy (including stakeholders & communications) 4th Business Continuity & Health & Safety 5th DCELLS Income 6th Non Delegated Schools Budget (NDSB) – Home to School Transport 7th Performance & Project Management 8th Catering – Provision of Free School Meals 9th NDSB – Pensions, Insurance & other uncontrollable / fixed costs 10th NDSB – Discretionary Budgets 11th ICT & E Learning / Broadband Services 12th Directorate Support & other “Directorate Wide” budgets 13th Catering – Provision of Paid School Meals 14th Continuing Education – Residual Pension Costs 15th Continuing Education – Post 16 Transport 16th Cleaning Services

Education Inclusion

Ranking Activity 1st Access to Learning & SEN & Statutory Assessment 2nd Pupil Referral Units (PRU) & Pupils Educated Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) 3rd School & Governor Unit 4th Education Welfare Service 5th Education Support for Looked After Children (LAC) 6th Lifelong Learning 7th Employment Training 8th Adult Community Learning 9th Student Finance

Regeneration & Housing Department

Culture & Tourism

Ranking Activity 1st Libraries 2nd Parks 3rd Sport & Physical Activity 4th Tourism 5th Events 6th Grand Theatre 7th Arts & Culture 8th Archives

Community Regeneration

Appendix 1

Ranking Activity 1st Youth Service 2nd Community Buildings 3rd Play 4th Community Safety 5th Community Projects 6th Out of Schools Activities & Children’s University 7th Communities First (CF) 8th CCTV 9th Outdoor Residential Centres 10th Community Regeneration Unit (CRU) Non CF Areas & Communities of Interest 11th Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme 12th Professional Youth Work Training 13th Youth Information 14th Youth Participation 15th Healthy Directions 16th CRU – Policy, Support, Research

Economic & Strategic Development

Ranking Activity 1st Implement Swansea 2020 with Partners 2nd Deliver and coordinate the city centre regeneration programme 3rd Provide support for new & existing businesses 4th Coordinate and deliver strategic regeneration programme 5th Lead on coordination of European Structural Funds 6th Deliver waterfront regeneration 7th Lead on strategic land & property disposals 8th Manage and develop Swansea indoor market 9th Coordinate and deliver Beyond Bricks and Mortar Initiative 10th Deliver strategic employment sites and premises 11th Corporate integration of sustainable development framework 12th Coordinate sustainable energy action plan 13th Operational management and development of the city centre 14th Management and development of Shopmobility 15th Deliver city centre events and promotions programme 16th Deliver business events programme

Housing

Housing Revenue Account (HRA)

Ranking Activity 1st Voids and lettings 2nd Gas servicing 3rd Housing assessment Appendix 1

4th Repeat burglar alarm service 5th Management and maintenance of core business systems 6th Rent collection 7th Arrears recovery and prevention 8th Tenancy enforcement 9th Housing Futures programme 10th Management of statutory schemes 11th Setting, compilation, monitoring and varying the HRA capital and revenue programmes 12th Development and publication of Local Housing Strategy 13th Estate management 14th Central cross service administration 15th CCTV, RCS lone worker system 16th Tenancy management 17th Furnished tenancies 18th Sheltered housing service 19th Tenancy support 20th Neighbourhood Support Unit (NSU) Patrols and Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) witnesses 21st Improvement liaison and decant 22nd Management, maintenance and operation of the performance management framework 23rd Communications, customer services and tenant participation

General Fund

Ranking Activity 1st Homelessness services and temporary accommodation 2nd Housing Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) and adaptations 3rd Grants to independent sector 4th Enabling team 5th Sustainable housing and home energy efficiency services 6th Asylum seekers and refugee team 7th Hafod renewal area 8th Corporate properties 9th Gypsy support

Corporate Building Services

Housing Revenue Account

Ranking Activity 1st Statutory compliance 2nd Day to day emergency repairs 3rd Void repairs 4th Day to day urgent repairs 5th Housing disabled adaptations 6th Housing planned works Appendix 1

7th Housing capital works and improvements

Non Housing

Ranking Activity 1st Statutory compliance 2nd Day to day emergency repairs 3rd Day to day urgent repairs 4th Servicing and repairs to mechanical and electrical systems 5th Planned capital maintenance repairs 6th Capital improvements

ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

Planning

Ranking Activity 1st Planning application process 2nd Preparation of the Local Development Plan 3rd Enforcement against breaches of planning control 4th Protect and enhance the Gower AONB 5th Administrative support to the service 6th Preparation of supplementary planning guidance 7th Protection of the natural environment 8th Protect and enhance conservation areas and listed buildings 9th Maintain and improve the public rights of way network 10th Pre application service 11th Defending the Council’s decisions on appeal 12th Maintain a comprehensive biodiversity database 13th Provide a comprehensive landscape design service 14th Provide an environmental education service 15th Promote economic activity in Swansea’s rural areas

Highways

Ranking Activity 1st Safety inspections 2nd Highways and lighting maintenance reactive 3rd Control of activities including utilities 4th Highway and lighting maintenance planned 5th Highway asset management and records 6th Licensing of activities 7th Development agreements 8th Lighting design 9th Highway improvement and construction 10th Fleet management 11th Fleet maintenance and repair Appendix 1

12th Payment of wages 13th Payment of invoices 14th Procurement and stock control including fuel 15th Job costing, charging and accounts 16th Plant hire and control

Transportation

Ranking Activity 1st Home to school transport 2nd Telematics 3rd Drainage and coastal protection 4th Civil parking enforcement 5th Highway development control 6th Bridges and structures 7th Concessionary fares administration 8th Transport strategy and RPT / Regional Funding 9th Road safety engineering and accident investigation 10th Traffic modelling and monitoring 11th Bus shelters and stops 12th School crossing patrols 13th Road safety education, training and publicity 14th Subsidised bus services 15th Design and construction management 16th Cycling

Environmental Management and Protection

Ranking Activity 1st Food waste collections 2nd Residual waste collections 3rd Waste disposal 4th Clinical waste collections 5th Drainage defects and enforcement 6th Fly tipping 7th Dead animals on highways and land 8th Nuisance from noise, pests, filthy premises etc 9th Dangerous trees 10th Vacant buildings open to access 11th Waste enforcement (Inc dog fouling / littering) 12th Pest control treatment 13th Stray dogs and other animals 14th Litter bin emptying 15th Air quality management and monitoring 16th HMO licensing 17th House disrepair (private rented) Inc illegal evictions Appendix 1

18th Potable water supplies 19th High hedge enforcement 20th Manual street cleansing 21st Dry recycling collections 22nd Garden waste collections 23rd Recycling processing 24th Tir John landfill site management 25th Bathing water monitoring 26th Civic amenity site provision 27th Permitting of industrial processes 28th Trade waste and recycling collections 29th Bulky waste collections 30th Empty properties 31st Gypsies and travellers 32nd Sewer baiting 33rd Pest control contracts 34th Contaminated land 35th Mechanical brush cleaning 36th Caravan and park home enforcement 37th Waste minimisation / education promotion 38th NEATs / Tidy Town initiative 39th Public convenience provision 40th Marina berthing facilities 41st Lock bridge operation 42nd Boatyard services 43rd Marina site / plant maintenance 44th Special projects in Marina

Environmental Health

Ranking Activity 1st Registration of deaths 2nd Cremation services 3rd Burial of dead 4th Food safety 5th Dangerous structures 6th Infectious diseases 7th Taxi licensing 8th Building regulations 9th Registration of births 10th Licensed premises 11th Marriage ceremonies 12th Health & Safety 13th Call centre 14th Food sampling 15th Safety at sports grounds 16th Health promotion Appendix 1

17th Consumer advice 18th Admin support 19th Local land charges searches 20th Illegal money lending 21st Gambling 22nd New Citizenship Ceremonies 23rd Memorialisation 24th Sex shop licensing 25th Camping and caravan site licensing 26th Skin piercing 27th Door step crime 28th No smoking legislation 29th Age restricted produce enforcement 30th Street trading 31st Animal health & welfare 32nd Copy certification 33rd Nationality checking 34th Promotion of healthy lifestyles 35th Safety of consumer goods 36th Consumer education 37th Companion animals legislation 38th Description of goods & services 39th Demolition controls 40th Proof of age scheme 41st Storage of petroleum spirit 42nd Explosives storage & licensing 43rd Approved inspector work 44th Crucial Crew

RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Legal & Democratic Services

Democratic Services

Ranking Activity 1st Provision of an elections service 2nd Maintain the electoral register (statutory) 3rd Provision of a Social Services complaints service 4th Provision of a corporate complaints service 5th Service Council regulatory committees 6th Provision of a service to Members 7th Provision of a service to scrutiny boards 8th Administer RIPA (Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) 9th Provision of a service to informal bodies and working groups

Legal Services Appendix 1

Ranking Activity 1st Ensure legality of all actions taken by the Council 2nd Provision of a joint childcare service with Neath Port Talbot (NPT) & Bridgend 3rd Deliver legal services 4th Coroners service (statutory) 5th Provide a land charges service (statutory) 6th Provision of a debt recovery service 7th Administer education appeals (statutory) 8th Facilitation of the Definitive Map (statutory) 9th Provision of a commons & rights of way service to CCS & NPT 10th Administer charities & trusts 11th Pension appeals

3.7.1 Human Resources

Ranking Activity 1st Job Families Project Work 2nd Effective HR advice 3rd Health & Safety (H&S) advice 4th Review & development of HR policies 5th CRB / ISA policy & transactional service 6th Medical & rehabilitation support 7th Effective employee relations 8th Provide information to pension fund actuary 9th Pension benefits – calculate & pay 10th Equal pay 11th H&S – monitoring, emergency response, risk assessments, annual report 12th Deliver appropriate “competent person” assistance to HOS 13th Reporting, investigating and analysing accidents and incidents 14th Identify, deliver and evaluate staff H&S training needs 15th Undertake audits of H&S management & make recommendations for improvements 16th Promoting H&S cooperation between individuals / unions / safety reps 17th Liaise with enforcement bodies concerned with H&S at work 18th Provide counselling and support for individual staff 19th Support departments to monitor and reduce sickness absence 20th Pre employment checks 21st Health surveillance and lifestyle screening 22nd Provide advice on infection control and communicable diseases to ensure continued effective services 23rd Administer medical pension appointments 24th Pay & grading business as usual 25th Tactical workforce planning 26th Provide information to Actuary for valuation of pension fund Appendix 1

27th Implement annual increases on all pension benefits 28th Calculate & pay all types of pension transfers out & calculate service credit for all types of transfer in 29th Maintain up to date pension IT system 30th Record all new starters to the LGPS & provide information 31st Communicate on pensions with employees 32nd Provide annual pension benefit statement to active & deferred members 33rd General admin – budget monitoring, raising orders, paying invoices, staffnet updates, recruitment, stats, PIs, eye tests 34th Civic Centre access control 35th Flexi time administration 36th Maintain Council wide level of training 37th Council wide support for developing departments’ performance 38th Implementation of management development programme and senior managers’ induction

Performance and Strategic Planning

Business Assurance

Ranking Activity 1st Project assurance health checks 2nd Independent management services reviews 3rd Audits & working with our external auditor

Business Performance

Ranking Activity 1st Management of the Wales Programme for Improvement 2nd Wales National Performance Measure Framework 3rd Service & Business Planning / Performance Challenge

Strategic Projects

Ranking Activity 1st Programme & project management methodology maintenance, continuous update & roll out across the Council, including supporting in house training 2nd Strategic programme tracking / reporting / assurance to facilitate strategic programme board meetings 3rd Development & adoption of key frameworks for effective member involvement, corporate prioritisation and resource management across programmes and projects

Joint Resilience Unit

Ranking Activity Appendix 1

1st Assess local risks and use this information to inform emergency and business continuity planning 2nd Put in place emergency plans, business continuity management & plans 3rd Put in place arrangements for warning & informing the public in the event of an emergency 4th Share information with local responders to enhance coordination efficiency

Access to Services

Ranking Activity 1st Equality & diversity issues (inc community cohesion, engagement with the 3rd sector) 2nd Customer service / consultation & engagement 3rd Strategy for 50+

Procurement & ISIS

Ranking Activity 1st Deliver payroll service 2nd System administration of ISIS system 3rd Manage system patching / upgrades 4th Deliver transactional HR processes 5th Produce corporate absence reports 6th Advise services on procurement matters 7th Update and oversee procurement strategy 8th Deliver ISIS purchasing roll out 9th Implement reorganisations in ISIS 10th Draft and agree contract procedure rules 11th Deliver a corporate contracts service 12th Deliver ISIS update project 13th Process non catalogue orders 14th Manage corporate purchase to pay process 15th Manage corporate P Card programme 16th Manage implementation of Xchangewales system 17th Provide business process analysis service 18th Deliver schools E Procurement project 19th Support expert ISIS users 20th Provide procurement helpdesk 21st Deliver ISIS purchasing / P Card training 22nd Roll out of ALITO contract management system to wider council 23rd Advise staff on payroll matters 24th Advise services on ISIS usage and development 25th Participate in supplier development activities

Information & Customer Service Appendix 1

Ranking Activity 1st Delivery & development of ICT services to the Council 2nd Delivery & development of ICT services to schools 3rd Delivery & development of corporate customer services 4th Providing research & information services to the Council 5th Management of the ICT outsourced contract with Cap Gemini 6th Leadership of major IT / IM / CS related projects 7th Developing corporate arrangements for information management and security 8th Development & operation of the Council’s public website and intranet

Corporate Property & Asset Management

Ranking Activity 1st Security & caretaking for civic buildings 2nd Facilities management service 3rd Records & database management 4th Production of asset management plan 5th Corporate strategy for office accommodation 6th Provide a professional print buying service for CCS 7th Rent reviews & lease renewals 8th Management of landlord / tenant relationship 9th Energy management, consumption & emissions management 10th Corporate mail service / delivery service 11th MFD contract management 12th Disposals – freehold / leasehold / rights of way / way leaves / easements 13th Disposals 14th Commercial rent collection 15th Support to QED 2020 programme 16th Return an investment to the authority 17th Valuation 18th Acquisition – freehold / leasehold / rights of way / way leaves / easements 19th Strategic property / advice to other departments 20th Rating on Council premises 21st Accessibility of service premises 22nd Provide a professional advisory service for Welsh language, corporate identity, visual impairment polices 23rd Land management 24th Civic building room bookings service 25th Management of surplus properties 26th Non operational property review 27th Monitoring corporate asset disposal programme 28th Programme of service asset management plans 29th Service reviews 30th Management of civic pool cars Appendix 1

31st Management of civic centre café providers 32nd Management of civic car parks 33rd Accommodation expertise, advice & support for all corporate office accommodation 34th Improve the operational & economic efficiency of the corporate Design Print service

35th Maintain ISO 9001:2008 quality accreditation

Finance

Ranking Activity 1st Advise, assess, calculate & collect Council Tax 2nd Issue invoices & collect other debts due to the Council 3rd Pay creditors 4th Advise, assess, calculate & pay Housing Benefits 5th Advise, assess, calculate & collect Business Rates 6th Prepare annual budget 7th Prepare annual accounts 8th Monitor budget 9th Complete a rolling internal audit review of the Council’s financial affairs 10th Maintain & support accounting systems 11th Maintain pension fund accounts on behalf of the pension fund 12th Manage & control grant applications & claims 13th Manage Council’s bank accounts 14th Arrange insurance cover & administer risks, claims etc 15th Detect & investigate fraudulent benefit claims 16th Provide financial advice (minimum level) 17th Complete statistical returns (non optional) 18th Investigate financial irregularities 19th Administer VAT claims & provide VAT advice 20th Provide a cashiers service 21st Encourage take up of benefits 22nd Provide financial advice (enhanced level) 23rd Support Council projects 24th Complete statistical returns (optional)

SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Directorate

Ranking Activity 1st Substance misuse 2nd Commissioning 3rd Client database 4th Transport Appendix 1

5th Performance & Information 6th Staff training & development 7th Supporting people 8th Social inclusion 9th Finance Support Services 10th Management & administration 11th COASTAL project

Adult Services

Ranking Activity 1st Protection of vulnerable adults

2nd Assessment & care management 3rd Residential care provision 4th Home care / domiciliary care 5th Day centres 6th Intermediate care 7th Occupational therapy 8th Community alarms 9th Carers 10th Management & administration 11th Voluntary organisation contributions 12th Respite 13th Community meals 14th Social centres

Child & Family Services

Ranking Activity

1st Ensuring the local authority fulfils its statutory obligations to children and young people who have suffered or may suffer significant harm and those looked after by the local authority. 2nd Working with families to prevent the development of complex problems which could result in family breakdown, significant harm or children and young people becoming looked after 3rd Working with partner agencies to develop preventative and early intervention initiatives that ensure that vulnerable children and young people and their families receive support which will restore issues without the need for intervention from child and family services

Appendix 2 Item No. 6 (4)

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance

Cabinet – 10th March 2011

RESPONSE TO OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY BOARD REPORT ON DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING

Summary

Purpose: To outline the response of the Cabinet Member to the recommendations of the Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board

Policy Framework: None

Reason for Decision: Council Constitution.

Consultation: Legal, Financial

1. Introduction

1.1 This report is in response to the recommendations of the Performance and Finance Overview & Scrutiny Board’s policy review of the development of medium term financial planning.

2. Response to Board Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Consider the conclusions and proposals in this report as part of the on-going budget process.

Cabinet Member Response:

Recommendation is AGREED

Proposed Action:

The conclusions and proposals contained within this useful and productive review will be considered as a part of the up and coming budget and future budget processes.

Recommendation 2

Use the model of prioritisation as a basis for future budget decisions, and engagement with Councillors, Trade Unions, the Public and other Stakeholders.

Cabinet Member Response:

Recommendation is AGREED

Proposed Action:

In this year’s budget consultation process the Council has already considered a Statement of Principles that has outlined the priorities of the Council. In future budget processes (including engagement with Stakeholders) these priorities will be reviewed and considered.

3. Legal Implications

3.1 There are no legal implications.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 Financial implications will be detailed in future budget reports.

5. Recommendations

5.1 Accept the recommendations of the Performance and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Board as outlined in 2.

Background Papers: None

Contact: Councillor S Rice

Legal Officer: Tracey Meredith

Item No. 16 (3)

Report of the Overview & Scrutiny Business Committee

Council – 31st March 2011

OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY STRATEGIC WORK PROGRAMME

Summary:

The report presents the Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme for 2010/11 following the agreement of work plans by each of the Boards / Committees.

FOR INFORMATION

1. Background

1.1 In order to ensure a coordinated approach to the work of overview and scrutiny, Overview & Scrutiny Board / Committee work plans operate within the framework of an overarching Annual Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme, which is overseen by the Overview & Scrutiny Business Committee.

1.2 It is expected that the work of overview and scrutiny should represent a significant and constructive programme of activities that will:

 help improve services  provide an effective challenge to the executive  engage Members in the development of polices, strategies and plans  engage the public

2. Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme

2.1 The current work programme is attached at Appendix 1.

2.2 The Work Programme summarises the main areas of overview & scrutiny work under the following headings:

 Current in Depth Reviews  Active Task and Finish Groups  Reports to the Boards and Committees (Next Two Months)  Reports for Cabinet Decision  Referrals from Council  Follow Up on Recommendations Agreed by Cabinet  Chairs Letters

2.3 To raise awareness and to encourage wider involvement in the work of overview & scrutiny, the Strategic Work Programme will also be publicised through the relevant pages on the Council’s website (www.swansea.gov.uk/scrutiny). Aspects of the work programme will also be publicised informally through the Swansea Scrutiny Blog (http://scrutiny.cityandcountyofswansea.org.uk/).

3. Legal Implications

3.1 There are no legal implications.

4. Financial Implications

4.1 There are no financial implications.

FOR INFORMATION Background papers: None Contact Officer: Dave Mckenna, Overview & Scrutiny Manager  01792 636090 21.03.11 Legal Officer: Janine Townsley APPENDIX 1

Overview & Scrutiny Strategic Work Programme (March 2011)

1. Current In-Depth Reviews

Issue Board Start Date Completion Expected Status Waste Minimisation, Recycling & Environment & August 2010 April 2011 Report Writing Composting Communities Shared Services Performance & Finance September April 2011 Report Writing 2010 Transforming Adult Social Care Health, Social Care & August 2010 April 2011 Evidence Gathering (Community Capacity) Wellbeing Leaving Care Child & Family Services December July 2011 Evidence Gathering 2010

2. Active Task and Finish Groups

Issue Board / Committee Date of Next Meeting Purpose Transformation of Adult Services – Health Social Care & Well W/C 21 March 2010 Challenge Community Development Being Shared Services Performance & Finance 14/03/11, 21/03/11 Final review meetings Budget Monitoring Performance & Finance TBA Monitoring Performance Monitoring Performance & Finance TBA Monitoring Estyn Inspection work with Schools Children, Young People 22/03/11 Challenge and Learning

3. Reports to the Boards and Committees (28th March – 13th May)

Issue Purpose Cabinet Portfolio Board / Committee Date Estyn Inspection Outcomes – Dylan Performance Monitoring Education Children, Young People & Learning 28/03/2011 Thomas Comprehensive Schools follow up QED2020 Cabinet Member - Update Education Children, Young People & Learning 28/03/2011 Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment Director - Report Environment Environment & Communities 29/03/2011 APPENDIX 1

Council's Strategic Programme Officer Briefing Business Finance & Performance 04/04/2011 Overview Improvement & Efficiency Cabinet Member Question & Cabinet Member - Update TBC Finance & Performance 04/04/2011 Response Swansea City Bus Station Project Officer Briefing Environment Performance & Finance 04/04/2011 Update Draft Improvement Plan Officer Briefing Business Performance & Finance 04/04/2011 Improvement & Efficiency Compact & Voluntary Sector Officer Briefing Finance Performance & Finance 04/04/2011 Estyn Inspections Self Evaluation Director - Report Education Children, Young People and 04/04/2011 Challenge Learning Safer Swansea Steering Group For Information Community Partnership O&S 11/04/2011 Minutes Regeneration Better Swansea Partnership Notes For Information Community Partnership O&S 11/04/2011 Leadership and Democracy Child & Family Services - Strategic Director - Report Social Services Child & Family Services 13/04/2011 Delivery Plan 2011/12 Child & Family Services Performance Director - Performance Social Services Child & Family Services 13/04/2011 (and Project Monitoring) Report Monitoring Waste Minimisation, Recycling and Draft Final Report Environment Environment & Communities 19/04/2011 Composting Review Management of escalating concerns Director report Social Services Health, Social Care & Wellbeing 08/03/11 within residential care homes Suresprung Director report Social Services Health, Social Care & Wellbeing 08/03/11 Older Persons National Service Director - Performance Social Services Health, Social Care & Wellbeing 27/04/2011 Framework Monitoring

APPENDIX 1

4. Reports for Cabinet Decision

Issue Board / Committee Portfolio Review Completed Date Corporate Parenting Child & Family Services Social Services November 2010 10/03/2011 Medium Term Financial Plan Performance & Finance Finance November 2010 10/03/2011 Literacy in Schools Across the Children, Young People & Education February 2011 07/04/11 Curriculum Learning

5. Referrals from Council

Issue Board / Committee Date First Referred Purpose Scheduled for Council None

6. Follow Up on Recommendations Agreed by Cabinet

Review Board / Committee Cabinet Portfolio Review Completed Date Scheduled Youth Support Services Children, Young People & Learning Education April 2010 18/04/2011 Eligibility Criteria for Services to Child & Family Services Social Services June 2010 13/04/11 Disabled Children Cycling Strategy Environment & Communities Environment February 2010 29/03/2011 Community Alarm Health, Social Care & Wellbeing Social Services August 2010 05/04/2011 Communities First Environment & Communities Community Regeneration June 2010 July 2011

7. Chairs Letters (May 2010 – April 2011)

Issue(s) Board / Committee Cabinet Portfolio Letter Sent Response Received Performance for April 2010 / Budget Child & Family Social Services 10/06/2010 15/07/2010 Services Scoping the ‘Literacy in Schools across Children, Young Education; Business 22/06/2010 12/07/2010 the Curriculum’ Review People & Learning Improvement & Efficiency

APPENDIX 1

Children & Young People’s Partnership Child & Family Social Services 12/07/2010 26/07/2010 Draft Disability Strategy / Role of the Services Lead Director for Children & Young People Proposed Work Programme Health Social Care & Social Services 12/07/2010 14/08/10 Well Being Team Around the Child Children, Young Education; Business 19/07/2010 23/08/2010 People & Learning Improvement & Efficiency

QED 2020 – request Cabinet member Children, Young Education 19/10/2010 08/11/2010 attendance at Board People & Learning

Invitations to attend Board Meetings / Performance & Community Leadership; 21/07/2010 Responded to Budget Timetable & Scrutiny Finance Business Improvement & separately Efficiency; and Finance

Area Committees / Outcome Agreement Performance & Community Leadership & 28/07/2010 29/07/2010 & & Strategic Programme / Projects Finance Business Improvement & 09/08/2010 Efficiency CFS Budget Child & Family Social Services 17/08/2010 24/08/2010 Services Welsh Language Member Champion Performance & Business Improvement & 08/09/2010 08/10/2010 Finance Efficiency CSSIW Monitoring Report / Progress Child & Family Social Services 09/09/2010 19/10/2011 with Improvement Services Community Capacity Pillar – scrutiny Health Social Care & Social Services 21/09/2010 Response not challenge Well Being required Budget process & timetable / Reports to Performance & Finance & Business Improvement 30/09/2010 11/10/2010 & next meeting / WAO Annual Finance & Efficiency 08/10/2010 Improvement Report Performance for August 2010 / Adoption Child & Family Social Services 07/10/2010 22/11/2010 Services Services APPENDIX 1

Highways Winter Protocol / Request for Environment and Environment 21/10/2010 Response not further information re. Grit Bins Communities required Social Inclusion Unit Health Social Care & Social Services 19/10/2010 Response not Well Being required CCS contribution to BID / Cabinet Performance & Community Leadership 27/10/2010 04/11/2010 & Member written reports / further PI report Finance Business Improvement & 13/01/2011 after Phase 2 evaluated / risk register / Efficiency and Finance reports to next meeting CSSIW findings / Workplan – Child & Family Social Services 04/11/2010 22/11/2010 Anonymised Cases Services Further information requested on School Children, Young Education 20/12/2010 Information received Performance data People and Learning 06/01/11 Equality & Diversity Scheme / Waste Performance & Business Improvement & 25/11/2010 06/01/2011 Management Strategic Programme Finance Efficiency Graffiti removal / Park & Ride Services Performance & Environment 09/12/2010 23/12/2010 Finance Swansea Safeguarding Children Board Child & Family Social Services 13/12/2010 24/01/2011 Services Feedback on Communities First Review Environment and Community Regeneration 16/12/2010 22/11/2010 Action Plan Communities Budget / Treasury Management Performance & Finance 20/12/2010 Response not Finance required Remodelling service provision on adult Health Social Care & Social Services 11/01/2011 07/02/2011 services Well Being Budget / End of Year Performance Child & Family Social Services 10/01/2011 Response not Services required Budget Performance & Finance 26/01/2011 Response not Finance required Performance Monitoring / Strategic Performance & Business Improvement & 26/01/2011 Response not Programme Overview Finance Efficiency required Performance for November / December Child & Family Social Services 07/02/2011 15/02/2011 Services Terms & conditions / Member Equality Performance & Business Improvement & 24/02/2011 01/03/2011 APPENDIX 1

Champion / Equality Impact Finance Efficiency Assessments / Network 50+ Asset Management Programme Performance & Finance 24/02/2011 Response not yet Finance received Draft Strategic Plan for Children & Young Child & Family Social Services / Children & 28/02/2011 Response not People 2011-14 / Strategic Delivery Plan Services Young People required 2010/11 – Progress Report on First Three Quarters

Contact: Dave Mckenna, Overview & Scrutiny Manager, 636090, [email protected] For more information see www.swansea.gov.uk/scrutiny

Item No. 17 (1)

Joint Report of the Chief Executive, Section 151 Officer and Acting Monitoring Officer

Council – 31st March 2011

DESIGNATION OF SECTION 151 OFFICER FOR THE COUNCIL

Summary

Purpose: To designate the Head of Finance as the Section 151 Officer

Policy Framework: None

Reason for Decision: To assist in the proper operation of the Council.

Consultation: Chief Executive, Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement

1.0 Introduction

1.1 At its meeting on 17th March 2011 Council agreed to appoint the current Executive Director, as Chief Executive from 1st April 2011 on the terms set out in the minutes to that meeting.

1.2 Under the provisions of Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 every Local Authority must make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs and shall secure that one of their Officers has responsibility for the administration of those affairs. There are further statutory provisions in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which introduces the term “Chief Finance Officer” to designate the Officer who is responsible for the Council’s financial affairs under Section 151 of the 1972 Act.

2.0 Issue Requiring Decision

2.1 The Section 151 Officer of the Council is the Executive Director at present (page 41 of the Constitution). As this post will be unoccupied from 1st April in accordance with the resolution of Council on March 7th, there is a need to designate another officer to be the Section 151 Officer for the Council.

2.2 The Section 151 Officer is one of the 3 posts which an Authority must designate by statute. Legally the Head of the Paid Service may also be the Section 151 Officer. However, it seems more appropriate to have this role carried out by a different officer within the Council, both in terms of the workload of the Head of the Paid Service and the proper running of the affairs of the Council. The recommendation to Council is that the Head of Finance should be designated Section 151 Officer for the Council.

3.0 Financial Implications

3.1 As stated in the report to Council on 7th March 2011, any minor financial implications arising from a future realignment of duties will need to be contained within existing budgets.

4.0 Legal Implications

4.1 The relevant statutory requirements are mentioned above.

4.2 Under the Local Government Finance Act 1988 the holder of the Section 151 Officer role must meet certain qualification requirements. These requirements are met by the Head of Finance.

5.0 Recommendations

5.1 That the Council designate the Head of Finance as the Section 151 Officer, responsible for the administration of the Council’s financial affairs under Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 from 1st April 2011.

5.2 That the Council’s Constitution is amended to reflect this change following the close of this meeting.

Background Papers: None

Contact Officer: Roderic Jones – Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement  6699

Legal Officer: Roderic Jones – Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement  6699

Date of Report: 23rd March 2011

Item No. 18

Report of the Acting Head of Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement

Council – 31st March 2011

WRITTEN RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED AT THE LAST ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL

Summary:

The report provides an update on the responses to Questions asked during the last ordinary meeting of Council on 3rd February 2011.

FOR INFORMATION

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 It was agreed at Council on 8th April 2010 that a standing item be added to the Council Summons entitled “Written Responses to Questions Asked at the Last Ordinary Meeting of Council”.

1.2 A “For Information” report will be compiled by the Democratic Services Team collating all written responses from the last Ordinary Meeting of Council and placed in the Agenda Pack;

1.3 Any consequential amendments be made to the Council Constitution.

2. RESPONSES

2.1 Responses to questions asked during the last ordinary meeting of Council are included as Appendix A.

Background Papers: None

Contact: Democratic Services Extension: 6820

Date: 18th March 2011

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011

1. Uta Clay to Councillor A M Day, Cabinet Member for Education

Question

At the Council meeting in December I asked you if the Social Inclusion Unit was consulted over the proposal to close Daniel James School. You answered that issues of social inclusion had been part of the overall considerations. Can you explain what that meant? Did you or did you not consult them? Can you give me the following details:

1) The dates of when you approached them? 2) Was it formally and in writing? 3) The name of who you communicated with either in writing or at a minuted meeting? 4) What was the advice was that you were given?”

Response

I can confirm that, while we did not consult directly with the Social Inclusion Unit, the Director with responsibility for the Unit received the consultation documents on 7th October 2010. No formal response was received. A Community Impact Assessment had been undertaken before the report to Cabinet, and an Equality Impact Assessment have subsequently been completed for this proposal.

As was mentioned by the Cabinet Member in his initial response, social inclusion has been part of our overall consideration when bringing forward this proposal and will continue to be so if approved by the Minister. We firmly believe that closing Daniel James Community School would improve the opportunities afforded to the children in this catchment area.

Despite support and significant challenge by the Local Authority over the last two years, the Governing Body and the then Headteacher failed to respond to the need to address significant shortcomings in terms of leadership, management, governance, quality of teaching and quality of learning. Standards of achievement at the school have been and are still amongst the poorest in Wales and the school performs well below the average of other similar schools in areas of deprivation. The education of the pupils has already been adversely affected by the failure of the school to provide even the most basic requirements as highlighted by the February Estyn report. These are just some of the reasons why we strongly believe that this proposal is for the benefit of all the children in the Daniel James Community School catchment area.

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 2. Councillor M C Child to Rod Alcott

Question

In paragraphs 40 & 53 (of the Annual Improvement Report) you initially asked that the structure for decision making in ICT be made clearer, and then report that it had now been made clearer. As you make no other reference to this are you saying that now it has been made clearer you are satisfied with the decision making process?. If that is so, can you tell me what it is please?

Response

Thank you for your written question to me following the Council meeting of February 3 2011. Your question was:

‘In paragraphs 40 & 53 you initially asked that the structure for decision making in ICT was made clearer, and then report that it had now been made clearer. As you make no other reference to this are you saying that now it has been made clearer you are satisfied with the decision making process. If that is so, can you tell me what it is please.’ My response is as follows: Following our initial information gathering for the Corporate Assessment (CA) we felt that decision making routes were not clear. After publication of the report the Head of Information & Customer Services raised the issue of the wording and we met with him to discuss the detail. During the meeting we asked why he had not raised the issue when we issued the report draft – he responded that he had not seen it and so was unable to comment. At the meeting the Head of Information & Customer Services clarified for us the arrangements for decision making within ICT and the Annual Improvement Report reflects this. The effectiveness of the decisions making arrangements will be covered as part of the ICT work we will be carrying out in the Council (and all 22 authorities) this year and will result in us having more information on the arrangements and at that point we will be in a position to pass opinion. I hope that this response answers your question. Regards

Rod Alcott

3. Councillor D Phillips to Councillor C A Holley

Question

The Leader of the Main Opposition Political Group sought clarity on the apparent confusions / contradictions in the section 6 of the report relating to “Transitional Provisions” with regard to the Sex Establishment Licensing – Proposal to adopt the Amended Provisions of Schedule 3, Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 report.

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 Response

Further to your question raised at the recent Council meeting concerning the above, I attach a Briefing Note which has been produced to clarify the transitional provisions under this legislation, together with a flow chart.

I understand you are due to meet the officers concerned shortly to discuss this matter further.

LICENSING OF SEXUAL ENTERTAINMENT VENUES – THE TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

The transitional provisions are set out in the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Wales) Order 2010

The transitional period will last for 12 months from the date that the local authority resolves that the amended legislation comes into force in their area. This is known as the 1st appointed day. Six months from the 1st appointed day will be known as the 2nd appointed day and the day on which the transitional period ends will be known as the 3rd appointed day.

Existing operators

To allow time to comply with the new regime, existing operators, who immediately before the 1st appointed day, have a licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (2003 Act) and lawfully use the premises as a sexual entertainment venue under that licence or are undertaking preparatory work to use the venue in that way, will be allowed to continue to provide this type of entertainment until the 3rd appointed day, or the determination of any application they have submitted before that time, including any appeal against the refusal of a licence, whichever is the later.

“Preparatory work” means work such as a refurbishment or refit in order that they can use the premises as a sexual entertainment venue in the future. The operator will have been granted a 2003 Act licence but will not have used the premises as a sexual entertainment venue by that date.

New Applicants

These are people who wish to use premises as a sexual entertainment venue after the 1st appointed day but do not already have a 2003 Act licence to operate in this way or do have a 2003 Act licence but have not taken any steps towards operating as such. After the 1st appointed day new applicants will not be able to operate as a sexual entertainment venue until they have been granted a sexual entertainment venue licence.

Determining applications received on or before the 2nd appointed day

Applicants will be able to submit applications for a sexual entertainment venue from the 1st appointed day onwards. As a local authority is able to refuse applications having regard to the number of sex establishments they consider appropriate for a particular locality, all applications made on or after the 1st Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 appointed day but on or before the 2nd appointed day shall be considered together.

No applications shall be determined before the 2nd appointed day. After the 2nd appointed day the authority shall decide what if any licences should be granted. A licence issued to a new applicant shall take effect immediately. A licence issued to an existing operator will not take effect until the 3rd appointed day. Up to this point they will be allowed to continue to operate under their 2003 Act licence.

Determining applications received after the 2nd appointed day.

Applications made after the 2nd appointed day shall be considered when they are made but only once all applications made on or before that date have been determined. This does not include the determination of any appeal against the refusal of a licence.

Again a licence issued to a new applicant shall take effect immediately. A licence issued to an existing operator will not take effect until the 3rd appointed day or when the application is determined, whichever is the later.

N.B Annex A and Annex B (attached), taken from “Sexual Entertainment Venues – Guidance for England and Wales” issued by the Home Office provide a guide to the transitional period in respect of existing operators and new applicants.

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011

4. Councillor N S Bradley to Councillor A M Day, Cabinet Member for Education

Question

How much money is being potentially removed due to the cessation of the Lifelong Learning Service?

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 Response

There are no plans to cease the Lifelong Learning Service.

These are difficult and challenging financial times which are requiring us to consider a variety of ways to reduce costs or deliver services in different ways.

The excellent education and training services being provided by the Lifelong Learning Service and its contribution over many years to the social and economic life of the area are recognised. The Cabinet Report (16 December 2010) outlined a number of options to achieve the savings required to deliver a balanced budget within the medium term financial plan timescale.

The preferred option that is being considered to make savings is to merge the Employment Training and Lifelong Learning Service to form an all age education and training service. Both services work closely together on many initiatives and share staff expertise. By merging the services the Education Department will be able to reduce management and administration staff through ER/VR as well as some operational efficiency savings, which will deliver substantial savings whilst protecting frontline services as far as possible. In respect of Employment Training the merger will impact some service delivery aspects as we reduce staffing levels; cease the coordination of Work Experience, remove some budget support for Post 16 Youth Access, and the non replacement of a Learner Support Officer. The merger will deliver significant savings from the Council contribution to these two services over a three year period. The merger will retain an infrastructure to continue with the majority of its core services.

Such a merger would also enable new ways of planning and delivering education and training opportunities with other local providers as envisaged in the transformation agenda post 16 education and training. The detailed planning required to merge the services is ongoing and the intention is to ensure that students and trainees continue to have access to high quality provision as now and into the future.

The merger would deliver savings of about £597k over three years across both services. In respect of Lifelong Learning Service this would be a reduction in Council contribution to their budget of £114k in 2011-12.

5. Councillor M J Hedges to the Leader

Question

How many fixed penalty notices for dog fouling have been issued by this Authority over the last 12 months?

Response

Further to the Question raised at Council on 3rd February 2011, regarding how many fixed penalty notices for dog fouling have been issued by this Authority over the last 12 months.

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 I am writing to advise that the Authority has issued 6 fixed penalty notices in the last year and over 1000 warning letters have been issued since August 2010.

6. Councillor J C Richards to Councillor A M Day, Cabinet Member for Education

Question

i) What is the consultation process used when disposing of Education land?

ii) What Education land has been identified as being possible land for disposal?

Response

Process Engaging with Schools regarding Disposals to Support the QEd 2020 Programme

The process which has been initially a desk top exercise, informed by key officers, to date to identify potential capital receipts to support the QEd 2020 Programme can be briefly summarised as follows.

 Surplus land – on the basis of building bulletin guidance any primary school site in excess of 4.5 acres was assumed to be over supplied. In many instances a number of sites are considerably in excess of this general guidance, but this was used as a first stage filter.

 Following this first stage filter, an identification of whether land is physically able to be separated or developed was undertaken.

 Advice was then sought from Planning and Highways colleagues as to the development potential of the land in question.

 On the basis of any sites left after advice suggests that development would not be completely ruled out on policy grounds, title reports were sought from Legal colleagues to ensure there were no Legal restrictions.

 Following the above desktop exercise all Headteachers were informed by e-mail on the 29th Nov 2010 that a number of sites had been identified and that Officers would be visiting those schools to discuss potential proposals in more detail.

th  The same communication was issued to all Councillors on the 30 November 2010.

 All visits have now been undertaken and Headteachers advised to communicate the proposals to their Governing Bodies

Providing Council with Written Responses to Questions at Council – 3rd February 2011 Land currently identified as being possible land for disposal

The Schools visited to date are listed within paragraph 2.11 of the Capital Budget Report that will be considered by Cabinet on the 17th February 2011. The report is available on the website http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=42745. As usual, hard copies of the Agenda will be placed in the Group Rooms and provided for those Members who have previously requested them. If you do require a hard copy please contact Democratic Services as soon as possible.

A previous report to Cabinet on the 23rd September 2010 clearly explained the need for such disposals.

Item No. 19

Council – 31st March 2011

COUNCILLORS’ QUESTIONS

PART A - SUPPLEMENTARIES

1. Councillors D Phillips, J E Burtonshaw, J T Miles, C Thomas, R J Lloyd, M C Child, J C Richards, R C Stewart, R Francis-Davies and E T Kirchner

Since the closure of Earlsmoor, will the Cabinet Member for Social Services tell Council  what changes have been made (or intended to be made) to the provision of respite care for the elderly in Swansea,  what use was made of the facilities in Neath Port Talbot.  After the decision not to pay the charges being asked for respite care by Neath Port Talbot, what is the anticipated available provision of respite care in Swansea?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Social Services

What changes have been made (or intended to be made) to the provision of respite care for the elderly in Swansea

. Following agreement by Cabinet to close the residential respite facility at Earlsmoor in 2010, a wider range of alternative services have been developed and co-ordinated through the development of a Short Break Bureau.

. The key aim of the remodelled short break (respite) service is to provide a diverse rather than ‘one size fits all’ service that can meet a wider range of needs and preferences.

. To enable this, the following new services have been developed:

1. A dedicated Respite Unit at Rose Cross House in Penlan. Eight places will eventually be available, this unit has been fully equipped to meet the complex needs of older people, and all rooms are en suite. There are currently seven short break beds available at Rose Cross. A further two beds will be utilised for emergency stays.

2. Three locality respite beds have been developed in the other local authority residential care homes, one at the Hollies, one in Cartref and the other in Bonymaen Care Home. These rooms have been renovated to provide en suite facilities. The purpose of creating locality respite beds was to ensure that people could receive respite within their local community rather than travelling to a central place.

3. Ty Waunarlwydd residential care home has a dedicated eight bed dementia care respite unit; two of these beds are dedicated to emergencies.

4. A self contained flat at Hazel Court has been made available for use for short breaks, one of the remits of this flat is a persons support at home can be transferred with them when they are utilising the flat. There is an emergency response service overnight, and service users can access the wide range of on site facilities and activities

5. Four adult family placements are being piloted. There is evidence from across the UK that this service can provide a popular and cost effective alternative to residential care home respite, especially for people with dementia.

6. Two short term ‘convalescence’ beds have been developed in St. Johns residential care home which are used for emergencies and funded from the respite budget.

7. There is a designated budget to fund an average of two to three respite placements per week, in the private sector care homes as and when required, including out of county placements

8. "Respite at Home" is being developed through the use of the remodelling of sitting services currently commissioned from Swansea Carer’s Centre, the Alzheimer’s Society and Crossroads.

9. Flexible respite day service places have been made available at St Johns day centre, which are utilised at very short notice for carers who need respite in an emergency during the day to attend appointments, or if they have other family responsibilities.

. In order to help people determine which service might suit them best a designated website has been developed, which includes a service information guide, self assessment Short Break Planners, and links to other agencies, including one website which helps people to access grants for one off short breaks, and another to accessible holidays. This website can be found at: www.swansea.gov.uk/shortbreaks

What use was made of the facilities in Neath Port Talbot?

. As part of local government reorganisation in 1996, a reciprocal agreement was made with NPTCBC to share respite facilities, so that NPTCBC could access eight beds in Earlsmoor on the understanding that the City and County of Swansea could access eight beds in Caewern.

. As part of the remodelling of respite services and the closure of Earlsmoor, discussions were held with NPTCBC, who agreed to continue allowing CCS residents to access Caewern at no cost to CCS, as it would be under occupied if usage was restricted to residents of NPTCBC, and their Department benefitted from the income generated via Swansea placements (NPTCBC have been claiming client contribution directly from service users).

. NPTCBC also agreed to our usage and an additional two beds as an interim measure following closure of Earlsmoor in September 2010, to ensure additional capacity whilst the in-house residential respite services in Swansea were being developed and expanded.

After the decision not to pay the charges being asked for respite care by Neath Port Talbot, what is the available provision of respite care in Swansea?

. The answer to this question is covered under question 1.

. Upon termination of the agreement with NPTCBC regarding usage of Caewern, there will be capacity within City and County of Swansea respite services to accommodate all existing respite service users needs. The range and quantity of respite provision is described above and is really quite considerable when compared with many other local authorities.

2. Councillors R L Smith, G Seabourne and M E Gibbs

Further to my question to Mr Straw at the Extraordinary Council Meeting on 28th February 2011 where the sale of council land at Knelston School was discussed, the Corporate Director did not answer my question, “I am informed that part of the school playing field has been withdrawn from sale. Can the Cabinet Member confirm the reason for this decision, was it a) a TPO on the site or b) the planting of trees by pupils?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Education

As Mr. Straw clearly stated at Council the parcel of land at Knelston Primary School was included as part of a list that was included within the Capital Budget Report to Council on the 28th February 2011.

This list provided ‘parcels of land’ for consultation in terms of future disposal and the schools concerned have been informed of the position. Consequently, no potential parcels of land included in this approved list have been ‘withdrawn from sale’. However, no timescales have been set out to date for any of the potential disposals which will clearly need to reflect further work in terms of development briefs and the most appropriate time for obtaining ‘best value’ in terms of any future receipts, as the Authority is legally required to ensure.

There is however a need to expedite this process as the Council’s contribution of £6.6m to Morriston needs to be generated.

The future process to dispose of any parcels of land will include any appropriate consultation as part of the planning procedures. We are not in this consultation process at the present time.

3. Councillors D Phillips, J E Burtonshaw, J T Miles, C Thomas, R J Lloyd, M C Child, J C Richards, R C Stewart, R Francis-Davies, E T Kirchner and P M Matthews

Will the Cabinet Member for Housing tell Council:

a. How many Voids there are within the City and County of Swansea by ward?

b. What is the timescale for getting the Voids up to a habitable standard?

c. How many people are in B&B accommodation waiting for re-housing?

d. Has a risk assessment been undertaken for people using mobility Scooters in Council accommodation (other than sheltered accommodation)?

e. Does the Tenants Home Insurance Policy cover the use and storage of the scooter within their home?

f. Have all Council owned properties been issued with Carbon Monoxide detectors?

g. How often are smoke alarms checked in Council owned properties?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Housing

a. Following changes and improvements to the way in which voids are managed over recent years, the level of voids has substantially reduced from a peak of 1201 in January 2001 to its current level of 292. The Total number of voids by electoral ward at 14th March 2011 is as follows :

Ward No. voids Ward No. voids Bonymaen 10 Morriston 18 Castle 27 Mynyddbach 22 Clydach 11 Penclawdd 2 Cockett 16 Penderry 71 Cwmbwrla 2 Penllergaer 2 Fairwood 2 Penyrheol 3 Gorseinon 2 Pontarddulais 7 Llansamlet 4 Sketty 18 Loughor Lower 2 St Thomas 3 Loughor Upper 1 Townhill 57 Mawr 2 West Cross 10 Total 292

b. The timescale for bringing voids up to a lettable standard depends on the extent of works required. For example, wherever possible, repairs of a minor nature are carried out after the new tenant has moved in. However, where there are more extensive repairs or where there are a substantial number of minor repairs, these are carried out prior to the property being let. There are also other associated works required such as gas capping, clearance, asbestos surveys, energy performance surveys, gas/electricity metering issues, etc. The extent of repairs and these associated works can vary considerably. For the period April 2010 to January 2011, the average time taken to bring a property up to a lettable standard was 49.3 days (7.04 weeks)

c. As of 14th March 2011, there were 20 single people residing in B&B accommodation. There were no families in B&B. This is a significant improvement from the same period in 2005 when 60 people, including 1 family were residing in B&B accommodation.

d. Individual risk assessments have not been undertaken in relation to mobility scooters in Council accommodation. Risk assessments under relevant Health and Safety legislation are usually required only where there are work related activities.

Fire risk assessments have been carried out in common parts which are the Council’s responsibility to maintain (i.e. communal stairwells, landings and corridors) in compliance with relevant legislation. In relation to scooters, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that “corridors and stairways that form part of an escape route should be kept clear and hazard free at all times. Items that may be a source of fuel or pose an ignition risk should not normally be located in any corridor or stairway that will be used as an escape route”. This prohibits the storing or charging of scooters in communal areas but would not apply to individual houses where there are no communal access or escape arrangements.

e. The use and storage of mobility scooters within the home is covered as part of the optional, low cost home contents insurance policy that is available to Council Tenants via the Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance PLC. Many tenants may choose to insure with another provider and in these circumstances it will depend on the terms of the individual policy.

f. A programme of installing carbon monoxide detectors to homes with coal central heating was completed during 2009 and 2010. There are no current plans to extend this programme where there are gas or oil fuelled systems as the risks of exposure are low and are mitigated by the annual servicing programme and the replacement of older boilers with sealed units.

g. Smoke alarms are checked annually as part of the central heating servicing programme. Smoke detectors are also checked as part of the letting process.

4. Councillors R L Smith, G Seabourne and M E Gibbs

At the Extraordinary Council Meeting on 28th February 2011, I asked the Cabinet Member the following question “Could Council be informed of the extra fuel, heating and lighting costs at the Mansion House, for this last winter period, on what was the coldest winter on record since 1947”, could the Cabinet Member provide a response?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Finance

For electricity the latest bill received covers the period up to January 2011 and to date for the winter months (Oct 10– Jan11) the council has spent £1062.00 and this compares to £1607 for the same period last year. Whilst therefore there is a reduction in the cost this it should be noted that there has been a change in corporate energy contracts which have yielded reduced prices so it is not possible to compare the years on a like for like basis

Similarly for gas, to date on the winter months (Oct – Jan) the council has spent £2421.00, compared to £2454.00 for the same period last year , although again the change in prices will make a like for like comparison difficult

5. Councillors R L Smith, G Seabourne and M E Gibbs

Can the Cabinet Member confirm the cost to the Authority for opening the “Pitch and Putt” course on Ashleigh Road during the winter months compared to the total income for the Authority? At this time of severe cut backs is it deemed a necessity for the course to remain open during these months?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism

The average income from October to March is around £5k with costs (staff, grounds maintenance, equipment and NNDR) around £12k, whereas for the period April to September the average income is £25k with costs of £20k. A review of the Ashleigh Road Golf Course is currently taking place and revised annual opening times will be introduced to reflect the net cost and low income generated during the winter months.

6. Councillors R L Smith, G Seabourne and M E Gibbs

I asked a question at the adjourned Council Meeting on 16th December 2010 and the Council Meeting on 3rd February 2011 regarding what effect there would be on the pupils of Clydach Junior School, Clydach Infant School and Birchgrove School should the proposed closure of Daniel James not be approved by the Minister. My supplementary question was in regard to Federation of Schools within this Authority. In his verbal reply, there was no mention made regarding implementation for the near future. I am disappointed therefore to note that within a very short period the Cabinet Member has proposed with Cabinet approval “the proposal to cease to maintain Clydach Infant and Junior Schools to establish all through primary provision, initially on the existing sites” .

Can the Cabinet Member confirm a) are there any proposals that will affect any of the other schools within the Electoral Division of Clydach b) will Ward Members be fully consulted and updated regarding Clydach Infant and Junior School?

Response of the Cabinet Member for Education

I explained quite clearly in my previous response that it is not anticipated that there would be any significant effect on the pupils of Clydach Junior and Primary schools who would attend Birchgrove Comprehensive School should the proposed closure of Daniel James not be approved by the Minister.

The current proposal to deliver all through primary provision for the pupils currently attending Clydach Infant and Junior Schools reflects the current Council Policy to consider any opportunity to deliver all through primary provision in view of the clear educational benefits. Consequently, it is not a proposal to federate the existing schools. The legal regulations regarding federation are still under review nationally and it would be premature to determine a local Council policy regarding federation in the absence of this clarity.

There are currently no proposals that would affect any schools other than those that were approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 10th March 2011. Ward Members were informed of the proposed amalgamation of Clydach Infant and Junior School prior to the Cabinet papers being published and, as with any statutory proposal, will be subject to a full public consultation process to consider the views of pupils, parents, staff, governors and wider stakeholders potentially affected, including Ward Members.