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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Councillors Amanda Edwards and Marc Davies apologised for their inability to attend the meeting. Councillor Bryan Davies, Leader of the Council, Councillor Alun Williams, Cabinet Member, both apologised for their inability to attend the meeting due to attending to other Council Business. Elizabeth Upcott, Corporate Manager, apologised for her inability to attend the meeting.
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The Chair welcomed Cathryn Morgan, Equalities and Inclusion Manager, and Councillor Catrin M S Davies, Cabinet Member, to the meeting to present the Strategic Equality Plan Monitoring Report 2023-24. Councillor Catrin M S Davies outlined the main points. . Main points raised during discussion were as follows: · Following an enquiry regarding a contact to discuss dropped curbs on a trunk road, the Cabinet Member said she would raise the issue when meeting with Officers from the trunk road agency and advise the Member accordingly, · Councillor Rhodri Evans asked whether the training available to Members is adequate. Councillor Evans proposed that further Equalities and Unconscious Bias training is provided to both Councillors and Staff. This proposal was seconded by Councillor Keith Evans. Following discussion, Committee Members were asked to consider the following recommendation: Recommendation(s): i to receive and endorse the Council’s Strategic Equality Plan Monitoring Report 2023-24 and to make recommendations as appropriate when the report is presented to Cabinet on 01/10/2024. Reasons for decision: It is a requirement of the Public Sector Equality Duty that we produce an Annual Strategic Equality Plan (SEP) Monitoring Report for 2023/24 and to publish this on our external website by 31/03/25. Committee Members agreed to recommend that Cabinet: 1. To receive and endorse the Council’s Strategic Equality Plan Monitoring Report 2023-24,and to recommend:: 2. that further Equalities and Unconscious Bias training is provided to both Councillors and Staff. The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member, Councillor M S Davies, and Officer, Cathryn Morgan, for attending and presenting the information.
Hazel Lloyd-Lubran, Chief Executive of CAVO and Chair of the Public Services Board (PSB), Alun Williams, Corporate Lead Officer, Diana Davies, Corporate Manager, and Timothy Bray, Partnerships and Civil Contingencies Manager, were welcomed to the meeting. Hazel Lloyd-Lubran as Chair of the PSB presented the report. Main points arising from discussion as follows: · It was suggested that the Annual Report video referred to in the minutes should be shared with Committee Members and shown at the next Coordinating Committee meeting time permitting, · An update was requested with regards to the concern raised at the July Coordinating Committee meeting which is as follows: Committee Members expressed disappointment in that they believe ARFOR is no longer accepting funding applications. It was agreed that Timothy Bray would raise this at the PSB meeting 18th of July 2024. Ms Lloyd-Lubran confirmed that this is still being discussed, · A Member asked whether information could be received regarding the public sector organisations within the PSB in relation to their working arrangements, e.g. is it a requirement for them to attend the office or are they able to work from home etc. Ms Lloyd-Lubran confirmed that this could be raised at a future PSB meeting. The Corporate Lead Officer agreed that this could be raised, however, it may not be within the PSB remit. · A Member requested information regarding money spent on engagement exercises, albeit understands it is good practice to engage with the public, is it value for money, etc. It was agreed this would be raised at a future PSB meeting, · Ms Lloyd-Lubran advised the Committee that there is discussion in the Climate Change Group on opportunities to work collaboratively. There are also discussions on how to invest in the local community in projects such as green spaces, Following discussion, Committee Members were asked to consider the following recommendation: Recommendation/s: To receive the draft minutes of the Ceredigion PSB meeting held on 18th July 2024. Reason for Recommendation(s): As the designated Scrutiny Committee for taking an overview of the overall effectiveness of the PSB. Committee Members agreed to receive the draft minutes of the Ceredigion PSB meeting held on the 18th July 2024.
Audrey Somerton Edwards, Corporate Lead Officer and Statutory Director of Social Services was welcomed to the meeting to present the CYSUR/CWMPAS quarter 4 report. Summary of key points were as follows: ➢ In Quarter 4, there were 1111 contacts/referrals regarding children/young people, compared to 926 in Quarter 3. ➢ Of the contacts/referrals received, 196 led to actions needing to be undertaken under Child Protection Procedures and this is compared to 179 in Quarter 3. ➢ Of all the reports/referrals received, 17.6% went on to a Strategy Discussion, compared to 19.3% in Quarter 3. 7.2% went on to a S47 process in Quarter 4 compared to 9.6% in Quarter 3. 0.8% then went on to an Initial Child Protection Conference in Q4 which was the same percentage as in Quarter 3. ➢ There were a total number of 9 Initial Child Protection Conferences held in the quarter relating to 17 children/young people and 17 children/young people were placed on the Child Protection Register. ➢ 16 Review conferences were held in this quarter regarding 26 children. Of those,17 children/young people were removed from the register, 9 remained on the register. ➢ The Police remained the largest source of referrals in this quarter, with there being a decrease in the number of referrals made by internal Social Services and Education. ➢ 80 Section 47 Enquiries were undertaken in this quarter (69 were done jointly with Police). ➢ Physical abuse and sexual abuse/exploitation remains the highest category of abuse that has precipitated the need for a Section 47 Enquiry, followed closely by Emotional abuse. ➢ There has been a significant improvement in the percentage of Initial Child Protection Conferences that have taken place within the 15-day timescale from the date that it has been decided that a conference is required, with 82.4% being held in timescale this quarter compared to 58.8% in Q3. 100% of Review Conferences were held within the statutory timescale. ➢ The main risk factors which led to children/young people being placed on the child protection register were domestic abuse, parental separation, parental mental health difficulties and parental substance/alcohol misuse, as well as parental non-cooperation with the child protection plan. ➢ At the end of Q4, there were 32 children registered on the Child Protection Register compared to 32 at the end of Q3. The number of children registered have been decreasing since the end of Q1. ➢ Category of registration is 16 for neglect, 11 emotional/psychological abuse, 5 for neglect and emotional/psychological abuse. ADULT SAFEGUARDING. ➢ The number of adults suspected of being at risk of abuse and/or neglect reported has increased - 216 in Q4 compared to 200 in Q3. ➢ Staff in the Local Authority are the highest source of referrals this quarter as in the previous quarter, followed by Provider agencies and then Police. ➢ Emotional/Psychological abuse (109 reports) is the highest category of abuse reported in this quarter, with Neglect then being the second highest (100), then Physical abuse (63), Financial abuse (51) and then Sexual abuse (14) ➢ 48 enquiries concluded that further actions/investigations under safeguarding procedures were required. ➢ People’s own homes were where the highest incidents of abuse occurred, followed by a care home setting. ➢ A relative/friend was reported to be the people most reported of perpetrating the abuse, followed by a paid employee. Main points arising from discussions were: · In response to a comment regarding a high number of referrals reside in Aberystwyth, Ms Somerton-Edwards confirmed that Aberystwyth is the highest populated town in Ceredigion, · A concern as raised that referrals are increasing, · Ms Somerton-Edwards confirmed that a future event regarding the process of a Child Practice Review is being arranged. Following discussion, Committee Members were asked to consider the following recommendation: Recommendation(s): To note the contents of the report and the levels of activity within the Local Authority Reasons for decision: So that governance of the Local Authority activity and its partner agencies are monitored. Committee Members agreed to note the contents of the report and the level of activity within the Local Authority. The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and Officer for presenting the information and for the excellent work undertaken by the Service.
Elin Prysor, Corporate Lead Officer and Monitoring Officer, and Councillor Matthew Vaux, Cabinet Member, attended the meeting to present the report on the Council’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). The current situation was reported as follows: 1) RIPA Activity There has been no RIPA activity by any service of the Council during the period between the 21st November 2023 and 1st of September 2024. Authorising Officers have confirmed that they have not considered any RIPA applications during this time. 2) The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 There was a public consultation on the revised draft codes which was introduced on the 8th of November 2023 and completed on 30th January 2024. The changes include the regime for assessing whether the public should have no/low reasonable expectation of privacy for certain classes of information. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on the 31st of January 2024. The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) amends the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and seeks to renovate the process for intercepting communications, a revised notices regime & enhance UK Government surveillance powers. The Home Office states: “The Act will deliver the urgent, targeted changes needed to protect the British people from evolving threats. The reforms will support the intelligence agencies to keep pace with a range of threats, against a backdrop of accelerating technological change that provides new opportunities for terrorists, hostile state actors, child abusers, and criminal gangs. Updating the 2016 act to reflect the current threat and changing technology landscape will ensure that our intelligence agencies can develop the necessary tools and capabilities to rapidly draw insights from vast quantities of data, allowing them to better understand and respond to threats to the UK Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 3) Training On the 18th of April 2024, a full-day training workshop was carried out by an external provider to relevant Officers on RIPA. This training ensures relevant Officers have the knowledge to comply with RIPA requirements. During discussion, the following was noted: · Elin Prysor, stated that confirmation has been received up until the 1st of September 2024 that there has not been any RIPA activity (the report is dated 6th August 2024), RECOMMENDATION (S): That the Committee notes the content of the report. REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION (S): To ensure the committee is kept up to date with the Council’s use of RIPA and implementation of policies. Committee Members agreed to note the content of the report.
Alun Williams, Corporate Lead Officer and Councillor Matthew Vaux, Cabinet Member, attended to present the report. Following the conclusion of the second Hillsborough inquest in April 2016, the former Bishop of Liverpool, Bishop James Jones was commissioned by the UK Government to conduct a review on the experiences of the Hillsborough families over the years since the disaster. The report demonstrated that the experiences of many of the Hillsborough families were reflected in the experiences of families bereaved in subsequent public tragedies. Points of learning were identified for the Government, the police and other agencies involved in responding to public disasters. The Charter was written to ensure that the suffering endured by families bereaved following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster is not repeated should similar disastrous events occur in the future. Following discussion, Committee Members were asked to consider the following recommendation: Recommendation(s): For the Overview and Scrutiny Coordinating Committee to note the contents of the Charter for families Bereaved by public Tragedy and recommend to Cabinet that Ceredigion County Council adopt the Charter. Reasons for decision: Adopting this Charter and honouring its principles will provide collaboration and parity with a national framework to support bereaved families and the community in the aftermath of a major incident. Committee Members agreed to recommend that Cabinet adopt the Charter.
Lisa Evans, Standards and Scrutiny Officer, presented the Annual Report for 2023/2024. The Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report highlights the key issues that have been considered by the five overview and Scrutiny Committees during 2023/2024. There is a statutory duty on Local Authorities to publish an annual report relating to the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The Annual Report will be published in the Overview and Scrutiny webpage on the Council Website. Recommendation(s): The Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordinating Committee is requested to note the information contained within the report prior to the report being presented to Council on 19 September 2024. Reasons for decision: To meet the statutory requirement to publish an annual report of Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Committee Members agreed to note the annual report prior to it being presented to Council on 19 September 2024. Members thanked the Officers for their hard work and commented on the quality of the report and the information contained therein.
It was AGREED to confirm the minutes of the 17 July 2024 Committee meeting as a true record. There were no matters arising from those minutes.
Each Chair in turn gave an update on their respective Committee’s Forward Work Plans. During discussion, it was agreed that the current Budget should be considered at every future meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The Chair thanked Members for attending, Officers and Cabinet Members for presenting, Translators, and Lisa Evans and Dwynwen Jones for their support during the meeting.
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