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The Policy Review and Performance Scrutiny Committee met on 8 October 2025. It reviewed the annual progress of the Cardiff Public Service Board, was briefed on the council's Change Programme of service review and change, and was briefed before a decision on replacing the council's financial system. For each of these items, the Committee agreed that the Chairperson will write to the Cabinet Member with its observations and recommendations. The minutes do not record what those recommendations are.
Apologies had been received from Sarah McGill.
Cllr Chowdhury declared a personal interest as she works for Public Health Wales. Cllr Bowen-Thomson declared a personal interest as she runs a community safety charity involved in crime prevention work that receives funding from partners involved in the Public Service Board.
The minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2025 were agreed as a correct record by Committee and signed by the Chairperson.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
The Chairperson welcomed Claire Beynon, Director of Public Health for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Dr Cerys Miles, Director of Communities, Partnerships and Prevention for the Office of the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner; Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council and Chair of Cardiff Public Service Board; Paul Orders, Chief Executive; and Gareth Newell, Head of Performance and Partnerships. The Chairperson advised Members that the Committee had a statutory responsibility to undertake strategic overview of the Cardiff Public Service Board’s performance. Progress is measured against the priorities set out in the Board’s five-year Wellbeing Plan covering 2023-2028 and Committee has the power to make recommendations in respect of PSB functions or governance arrangements. Cllr Thomas as Chair of the PSB was invited to make an opening statement on the annual report after which Claire Beynon and Cerys Miles were invited to make their own statements. The Chairperson then invited questions and comments from Members. Committee welcomed the detail in the report and passed on compliments to the Police and Crime Commissioner for a walkabout that took place on Cowbridge Road East which was described as instructive and received positive feedback from businesses and residents. Committee queried whether the Good Food and Movement Plan was working in partnership with the Council’s Planning Department. The Planning Department was indeed involved with Public Heath Wales on new planning applications to provide a public health view on sustainability, noting that the legislation around planning and public health was not as strong in Wales as it was in England and the Health Board are advocating Welsh Government to change this. Officers from both Planning and Education attend meetings of the Good Food and Movement Plan with outreach to schools identified as a critical objective. Members asked whether anything could be done regarding the percentage of relative and absolute low-income families listed in the Wellbeing Plan. Officers expressed they lacked leverage in controlling poverty indicators and measures such as the freeze on local housing allowance had an impact. When this freeze was lifted, there was a significant impact on the affordability of houses in Cardiff. Lifting the cap on the two-child benefits system would likely also have a positive impact on poverty indicators if introduced. While recognising that certain elements are not in the PSB’s control, Officers highlighted that good work was being done and if not for that, the situation for families could be worse. Committee was impressed with the evidence of collaboration in the report and raised whether dialogue could be improved between Police and Ward Councillors. A new Community Cohesion Board had been set up on which the Police and Crime Commissioner is represented and aims to improve community cohesion, a subject described as a priority for the Police and Crime Commissioner. Partnership working is important in providing a data driven and evidence-based approach to improve the operational and strategic understanding around community cohesion. Committee was encouraged to hear about the tackling of inequality and accessibility in health and how partners had amplified the preventative programmes through a whole system approach to strengthen prevention. They asked whether more could be done to tackle misinformation about vaccines given Cardiff was not currently hitting its targets for child immunisation. It was confirmed that Public Health Wales had been working to support schools and communities where people had not taken up the offer of a vaccine and if Members were aware of any events, an immunisation van was available to conveniently vaccinate people.. Although PHW had made improvements in improving its data driven approach, it faced limitations with some systems yet to be automated. An ‘Immune Control’ programme generated by the World Health Organisation was being promoted to schools to educate year 6 and 7 pupils about the immune system. PHW has an ‘Amplifying Prevention’ group to share information on vaccinations with Local Authority partners and the third sector to ensure messages are being communicated consistently from trusted sources. It was noted that more could still be done to improve vaccination rates among young people. Committee recognised the positivity of partnership work and whether there was an opportunity to explore this further. The PSB had set a strong foundation to encourage partnership working across a range of agencies and aimed to build on this. Significant issues regarding budgeting and budget pooling were listed as common issues for partnerships envisaging closer collaboration moving forward, with Officers keen to explore the possibility of a total place approach in Cardiff and how partners could work together to make public services more sustainable in future. Members noted the significant increase in cases of sexually transmitted infections among older people and whether there was potential for a collaborative approach to facilitate the need for better information and education. This trend had been recognised, highlighting the work of Age Friendly Cardiff to raise awareness among the older demographic of the inherent risks of STI’s. There is a joint project with PHW and the Council for the distribution of condoms and information at hubs and libraries as well as other Local Authority venues that older people attend. Committee highlighted older people’s concerns about attending the City Centre as referenced in the report and whether more A3 use for activities aimed at the older generation had been considered. Officers commented that they felt there was a range of options to suit all ages to be found within the City Centre. Members asked whether there would be any advantage from the upcoming changes in Welsh Government relating to joint funding and financial planning. Officers felt this change would be advantageous, noting that a lot of money comes through the Regional Partnership Board that is then distributed across different geographical areas to that of the PSB. Although the Council is represented by the RPB, it is not as essential to its agenda as the work of the PSB. The Chairperson asked whether, when asking for citizen engagement, the PSB or the Council had thought outside of the boundaries or targeted people from certain demographics. Officers confirmed certain demographics were focused on in the Participation Strategy Report because they were underrepresented in the electronic sample. These groups were identified because they tend to respond less to online surveys and the Council aimed to make its findings as representative and robust as possible. Referencing the Council’s Race Equality Taskforce, which was endorsed by the PSB, and noting the recent attack at a Manchester Synagogue, the Chairperson queried whether the Council would consider a taskforce into antisemitism and how the PSB interacts with the Prevent programme. Prevent is an integral part of the PSB reporting through to the Community Safety Partnership and is a multi-faceted programme of work with strong outreach work with communities around community cohesion. The Police and Crime Commissioner work closely with policing partners on the Prevent programme and acknowledges that Prevent had changed in recent months to ensure more people benefit from the programme. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
Decision as recorded
AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
For this item the Chairperson welcomed Cllr Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance; Paul Orders, Chief Executive; and Gareth Newell, Head of Performance and Partnerships. The Chairperson explained that Committee requested Cllr Weaver and the Chief Executive brief Members on the progress of the Change Programme that is underway to deliver a programme of service review and change across the organisation. The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement before a presentation from the Head of Performance and Partnerships. The Chairperson then invited questions and comments from Members. Members raised concerns as to whether making decisions based on the current working situation at the Council and the existing financial climate was the correct way forward. Officers confirmed it was difficult to predict long-term trends but that working patterns had changed and were embedded in the way many people work, with feedback from staff engagement reflecting this. The need to continue to provide face-to-face services is important and the Authority has kept its libraries and hubs open and managed to increase footfall by putting additional services into its hubs. There is a need for the Council to provide online services, and it is using corporate resource and coordinating programmes effectively to allow service changes to be made. Committee praised the work of the Digital team and highlighted a recent Member development session regarding the implementation of AI and the digital approach of the Council. Referencing the lack of external perspectives in the report, Members questioned how the Council was ensuring effective use of its resources. A peer review was conducted to recognise the challenges facing the Council in the medium-term and whether the Change Programme was fit for purpose. This review largely indicated it was, noting however that it was still relatively early in its progress. The Council would consider acquiring external viewpoints going forward to shape the ongoing development of the Change Plan. Members commented that the key to an engaged Council was down to an inclusive and responsive consultation process and queried what feedback mechanisms were in place to ensure citizens, staff and partners were informed about the mitigating risks involved in the Change Programme and the future shaping of work as an administration. Where change is taking place, the Council has corporate arrangements to ensure change is tracked using strong corporate processes. Engagement mechanisms highlight priorities, and Senior Officers have attended management forums to discuss each component of the Change Programme over the past 18-months. Committee asked for further detail on whether there was a focus on gaining feedback from lived experiences regarding proposed service change. Officers confirmed they would expect people with lived experience of a service to be engaged and consulted with, but that it would largely depend on the nature of the change as well as the specific service. Members queried whether there was a a lack of coherency with too many projects involved in the Change Programme.. The Programme was described as focusing on key corporate enablers and that a coherent package of interventions needed to be coordinated effectively. The Council recognises that it delivers a vast range of services and is keen to avoid a scenario where a standard approach of change across the organisation would cause unexpected consequences. The Chairperson asked whether the introduction of new technology is aimed at reducing staffing levels. The use of technology is designed to make efficiency savings in the way the Authority works. Any use of technology would involve considering the impact it would have on service delivery and how it could enhance this. Members raised concerns about whether the Change Programme would result in unintended consequences for other service areas. Officers welcomed a wider scrutiny approach should other Scrutiny Committees wish to explore aspects related to specific service areas within their Terms of Reference. Exploring changes at a corporate level allows the Council to view links between services more clearly and ensure it is reflecting the impact of any unintended consequences. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting at this point during consideration of this item as the Committee discussed exempt information of the description contained in paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Action 1972. The public may be excluded from the meeting by resolution of the Committee pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during discussion of this item. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
For this item the Chairperson welcomed Cllr Weaver, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance; Ian Allwood, Head of Finance; Chris Lloyd, Operational Manager for Technology; Dean Thomas, Operational Manager for Operational Finance; and Gemma Ellis, Operational Manager for Commissioning and Procurement. The Chairperson explained that this item provided Committee the opportunity for a pre decision briefing on work underway to procure a replacement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Members were reminded that Appendix A was confidential and therefore any discussion of this would mean Committee moving to closed session. The Cabinet Member was invited to make an opening statement before a presentation from the Head of Finance. The Chairperson then invited questions and comments from Members. The Chairperson asked Officers to clarify whether the aim was to replace multiple systems with one system. It was confirmed the aim was to replace the SAP, DigiGov and TalentLink systems with one system. Members queried what was being done to future proof the new system. As part of the procurement and alignment with the new Digital Strategy to be released later this year, Officers highlighted the importance of adopting a standardised new system which would allow the Council to take advantage of any new functionality introduced. Committee asked what risks were associated with adopting the new system and the cultural shift required of staff members to adapt to it. A standardised approach would make it easier to train staff, result in less errors and provide easier transitions for colleagues moving between teams. The adopt approach had been taken to improve efficiency and a learning and development aspect would be implemented into the programme. Officers had been advised not to underestimate the resources required in making the change by Councils that had already adopted the ERP programme. Members expressed disappointment that such a programme was not being introduced across all authorities in Wales as a collective to encourage a collaborative approach. Officers explained that at least six authorities in Wales had implemented a new financial management system within the last two-years and were unlikely to want to invest into a further programme. The Chairperson asked whether moving to one streamlined system left the Council more vulnerable to a cyber-attack. Officers noted that although a single system provided attackers only one place to search, Enterprise grade systems were robust with large security budgets. The Council will make sure to go through all checks and balances and consider its cloud impact assessment also. RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting at this point during consideration of this item as the Committee discussed exempt information of the description contained in paragraph 14 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Action 1972. The public may be excluded from the meeting by resolution of the Committee pursuant to Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 during discussion of this item. AGREED: that the Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, writes to the Cabinet Member conveying the observations and recommendations of the Committee when discussing the way forward.
There were none.
The next meeting was scheduled for 12 November 2025 at 4.30pm.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Chowdhury: Personal interest
Works for Public Health Wales, which is one of the partners in the Public Service Board.
Bowen-Thomson: Personal interest
Runs a community safety charity involved in crime prevention work that receives funding from partners involved in the Public Service Board.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.