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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the Council’s Annual Report 2024/25 be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 27th November, 2025 be noted.
An apology for absence was received from Councillor M. Donoghue.
There were no declarations of personal interest or of any prohibited party whips.
The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report in relation to the Health & Social Services, which provided an update on the latest budgetary position as at 30th June, 2025 in respect of the 2025/26 financial year. The Health & Social Services was forecasting an overspend of £3,557k on the revenue budget. The main variances on capital schemes indicated a forecasted variance of -£582k against a net budget of £1,294k on Social Care projects, and a nil variance against the Children Services projects net budget of £1,022k. A number of questions were raised to which officers responded. The main matters were as follows: · In reference to staffing levels and re-structuring it was noted that this was mainly in relation to housing services and that an update would be provided following the meeting. With regards to the fostering service, it was stated that the formal review process was almost complete and that further information was available under the Transformation Programme update. · In response to a query regarding staff training and the provision of in-house services, the Head of Children and Families advised that the authority did have suitably qualified staff but that there had been a lack of in-house placements (homes). It was noted that there were many benefits to providing in-house facilities and that a law change would compel the Authority to provide this in a few years’ time. · In response to a concern raised regarding how many elderly people relied on their partners to provide care, it was acknowledged that this was a risk as often these people weren’t known to the Authority until they reached crisis point. Assurance was provided that these issues could be addressed quicky and that there was now a dedicated role in place to help identify these carers. · Following a query regarding the operational target and the feasibility of income generation, the Head of Children and Families advised that re-charging other local authorities was not feasible and that additional information would be provided outside of the meeting. · In response to a query regarding Integrated Services, the Head of Integrated Services advised that there were on-going discussions being held with the Health Board and also at a national level. It was noted that there was an inequity with how people were funded and that the Authority was committed to getting people assessed correctly so that the support provided would meet their needs. It was also noted that there was strong collaboration with partner organisations, but it was a challenging area and without money to invest it would be difficult to move forward with new initiatives. UNANAMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered the Revenue Budget Outturn Report for 2024/25 which provided an end of year financial position. It was noted that the Health and Social Service showed a net variance of -£6,375k against the 2024/25 approved budget. The report included information relating to the following:- · Summary position for the services with the Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee remit; · Report on Main Variances on agreed budgets; · Detailed variances; · Details of the Savings Monitoring position for the end of the year. A number of questions were raised, the main matters were as follows: · While not relevant to this particular agenda item, concern was raised regarding the consequences of cutbacks on the delivery of statutory services. It was advised that while this report is regarding the budget for last year the pattern would continue into next year. Assurance was given that services were currently being maintained and that this was a testimony to the staff. · It was asked which cost centres consistently overspent and what was being done to address. The Head of Children and Families advised that the department had been overspending for several years. Much of the overspend had been addressed via Welsh Government grants but not all grants had continued however, the demand on services had. It was noted that placements for children in care, support for disabled children & their families and support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people were the main areas of overspend. It was stated that the spending for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children had been addresses and brought within Home Office funding. Work was being undertaken by looking at the entirety of resources, children’s homes and short break children’s homes so that available resources would be available to match the current demand. It was also noted that the Authority continued to reduce the reliance on commissioned support by developing in-house capacity. UNANAMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered an update on delivery to date against the Children and Transformation Programme plan and programme measures. The Head of Children and Families highlighted the recent positive CIW Llys Caradog inspection report. The Committee was also advised that a pool of casual staff had contributed to the reduction in the use of agency staff. It was noted that listening events with families and staff had taken place and that these had helped refine the proposal for the new children’s homes model. A number of questions were raised to which officers responded. The main matters were as follows: · In response to a query regarding the timescales with Garreglwyd, the Head of Children and Families advised that this was a delicate and sensitive process and would impact the way that families received support. Due to this the lead time was being managed carefully and that changes were being implemented as soon as it was feasible to do so. · In response to a concern regarding the increase in staff absences, it was advised that there were a number of reasons for the increase including the fact that the service was changing. There had been an increase in the number of staff working in short breaks and children’s homes. These staff are generally subjected to a higher level of physical abuse and that emotionally they were under pressure. Although a higher level of sickness was anticipated in this area it was being carefully monitored. · It was asked if a decision had been made on the location of the new children’s home. The Head of Children and Families advised that she could not advise the committee until this had been communicated in a planned way to the key stakeholders. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Council’s Annual Report 2024/25 be received.
The Committee considered the Council’s draft Annual Report for the period 2024/25 which had been produced in line with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021. The Authority must publish an Annual Report on performance based on a self-assessment approach each year and under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 the Authority was also required to publish an Annual Report on its Well-being Objectives. Consideration was given to the information detailed within the Annual Report relevant to the remit of the Health and Social Services Scrutiny Committee. The Committee extended thanks to officers involved in producing the report and noted the amount of information contained within. It was stated that once approved an executive summary would be available and that the report would be published on the web in an easy-to-read format. In response to a query regarding updating of the annual report as and when new acts and information was received, officers confirmed that any new information would be reflected in the report next year. UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Council’s Annual Report 2024/25 be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered the Performance Monitoring Report for the period 1st April to 30th June 2025 (Quarter 1), which set out the progress against actions and measures linked to the Corporate Strategy and the Well-being Objectives relevant to the Committee’s remit. In response to a query regarding Action WB02 / 18573 (gathering feedback from adults at risk and their carers to evaluate the outcomes of safeguarding interventions and areas for improvement), the Head of Adult Social Care assured the committee that there were robust regional approaches and that work was currently being undertaken in conjunction with partnership agencies to standardise how feedback was captured so that data could be easily compared between areas. It was anticipated that this work would be completed by the due date of March, 2026. RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
The Committee received an explanation for the non-submission of the following scrutiny reports. · Early Help Strategy · Living Well in Carmarthenshire (Prevention Strategy) · Regional Safeguarding Annual Report (due 02/26 moved to 03/26) · Communities Annual Safeguarding Report (due 02/26 moved to 06/26) RESOLVED that the explanation for the non-submission be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 27th November, 2025 be noted.
RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 27th November, 2025 be noted.
UNANAMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 9th June, 2025 be signed as a correct record.
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