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RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Draft Prevention Strategy for Carmarthenshire – ‘Living Well In Carmarthenshire’ subject to the inclusion of a monitoring and reporting governance structure chart.
RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Annual Report 2024-2025.
RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the:- 7.1 Early Help Strategy for Children, Young People and Families in Carmarthenshire 2025-27 and the; 7.2 Families Connected: Intensive, Immediate Multi-Agency Support to Young People 14-18 and their Families report.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 14th May, 2026 be noted.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D. Owen, B.A.L. Roberts and S. Williams.
There were no declarations of personal interest or of any prohibited party whips.
The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.
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RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered the Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report in relation to the Health and Social Services, which provided an update on the latest budgetary position as at 31st December, 2025 in respect of the 2025/26 financial year. The Health and Social Services was projecting an overspend of £6,099k on the revenue budget and net variance of -£1,500k against a net budget of £2,316k on Social Services projects. It was noted that the expectation was that at year end £2,870k of operational savings against a target of £3,835k were forecast to be delivered. Of the £200k policy savings put forward for 2025/26, none were forecast to be delivered. The Cabinet Member for Resources highlighted that the biggest concern for the corporate budget position was Children and Families Services where costs were higher than planned. This was mainly due to the high cost of residential care and foster care placements. It was noted that the Transformation Programme was looking to address the overspend while continuing to meet legal requirements. A number of questions were raised to which officers responded. The main matters were as follows: • A query was raised regarding whether the financial projections detailed in the report, which reflected the position at the end of December 2025, were expected to change significantly as the financial year neared its conclusion. The Group Accountant explained that the final report was currently being prepared. At present, a forecast could not be provided, as financial reports from officers and managers were still awaited. Therefore, any anticipated changes in projections could not be confirmed until all relevant information had been received and analysed. • In response to an enquiry concerning the receipt of any additional grants, the Director of Social Services and Housing confirmed that he was not aware of any grants being provided by the Welsh Government. With less than two weeks remaining until the end of the month, it was not expected that any last-minute grants would be forthcoming. • It was highlighted that throughout the report, a recurring paragraph stated that work continues at pace on right sizing the existing individual packages as part of the budget efficiency programme. It was requested that, instead of repeating the same generic statement, the report should note any changes or progress made in the budget efficiency programme. The concern is that repeated text may appear as though it has simply been copied and pasted, rather than providing meaningful information. The Director of Social Services and Housing acknowledged that the same comment appears in several sections of the report. He suggested that a different approach to expressing the actual issues could be adopted. Furthermore, he advised that updates could be added to highlight any material changes, ensuring that significant developments are clearly noted. Any change in fortunes regarding the efficiency programme would be reflected in the figures presented. The Committee agreed that future reports should move away from repetitive phrasing and instead provide clear, contextual updates. • In reference to the delay in the capital programme and the potential impact on the budget strategy, the Director of Social Services and Housing responded that the capital programme included the planned development of a new children's home in Llanelli. Recent consultation activities with local residents had taken place, and the project aimed to enter the planning phase in April. Welsh Government had provided a funding window that extended until the end of March 2027. However, it was anticipated that the construction of the children's home would not be completed within this timeframe. The current estimates suggested that the build would continue for approximately six to eight weeks into the 2027/28 financial year. Recognising the potential for overrun, £2m had been set aside to cover costs that may be incurred by the authority beyond the Welsh Government’s funding window which should mitigate the immediate financial risk associated with the delay. UNANAMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.
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RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Draft Prevention Strategy for Carmarthenshire – ‘Living Well In Carmarthenshire’ subject to the inclusion of a monitoring and reporting governance structure chart.
The Committee considered the Draft Prevention Strategy for Carmarthenshire – ‘Living Well In Carmarthenshire’. An early draft of the strategy was originally considered by the Committee in November 2025. Members were informed that the strategy set out a ten‑year vision to embed prevention and early intervention at the centre of health and well‑being services across Carmarthenshire. The intention was to move away from reactive service delivery towards a proactive, community‑based approach that empowered individuals and strengthened resilience across all age groups. The key objectives of the strategy were outlined, including promoting healthier lifestyles and reducing health inequalities, supporting people to live independently and well for longer, reducing demand on statutory services through early intervention, and strengthening collaboration across health, social care, the third sector and local communities. It was noted that the strategy identified five key opportunities to drive change: improving access to information and advice; empowering the public to take greater ownership of their health and well‑being; using data and intelligence to support smarter prevention; strengthening collaboration and innovation across services; and ensuring timely support to prevent escalation and crisis. It was further acknowledged that Carmarthenshire faced a number of significant challenges, including an ageing population, increasing mental health needs, rural access issues and high levels of deprivation. The strategy was intended to provide a coordinated and sustainable approach to addressing these challenges. It was advised that there would be further opportunities for engagement and contribution as the strategy was finalised. A number of questions were raised to which officers responded. The main matters were as follows: • A question was asked if the stated 10% of budgets to preventive activity over the next decade would be an incremental increase. The Head of Integrated Services advised that existing spend on preventative activity would need to be baselined and then further investment phased over the ten-year period of the strategy. By signing up to the strategy represents a clear commitment to its principles and objectives and that any future funding received from the Welsh Government would be directed into preventative initiatives, in line with the agreed approach. The committee was informed that such investment would be essential, as current services are unlikely to be sustainable without a significant focus on prevention. • In response to a query regarding the lack of clarity regarding the governance and monitoring of the programme, the Service Delivery Manager for Prevention and Wellbeing advised that she was responsible but with a large team assisting. Social services, housing, public health, and other partners were all working closely together on the prevention strategy with focus on bringing people together to move things forward. The strategy was overseen by the Carmarthenshire Prevention Group, along with the Healthier Carmarthenshire Group and the Regional Partnership Board. The groups provided clear oversight and regular feedback so everyone knew what was happening and could help progress. It was stated that a delivery plan had been created and kept in a complex Excel spreadsheet, covering around ten years with both ambitious and realistic targets. Progress on these targets would be monitored and reported through corporate governance channels. In response the Committee requested that the governance structure be detailed in the report prior to submission to Cabinet and that regular progress be reports be presented to Scrutiny for review. • In reference to the higher than average cardiovascular related death rates in Carmarthenshire, the Service Delivery Manager for Prevention and Wellbeing advised that ongoing work was being undertaken to ensure every contact counted. Work was being carried out with Public Health colleagues, and a range of services was available. It was noted that recent Living Well health checks had proved popular, and there was an intention to expand the programme subject to the availability of funding. RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Draft Prevention Strategy for Carmarthenshire – ‘Living Well In Carmarthenshire’ subject to the inclusion of a monitoring and reporting governance structure chart.
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RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Annual Report 2024-2025.
The Committee considered the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Annual Report 2024-2025. The Report outlined the progress made against the outcomes set by CYSUR and CWMPAS through the joint Annual Strategic Plan for 2024–25. Notable progress had been achieved across several key priority areas, including the development of an innovative new project, Safeguarding LINC, which the Boards sponsored to explore the use of emerging technology to support an intuitive multi‑agency information‑sharing platform for safeguarding practitioners. This project brought together critical information into a single, accessible space and was reported to have significant potential to support more timely and effective information sharing in relation to children at risk of harm. During the year, the regional Quality Assurance Framework was further developed, resulting in a revised dataset enabling analysis across a wider range of safeguarding practice areas for children and adults at risk. A new audit model had also been developed and embedded within a regional quarterly audit programme. These developments supported the Boards in overseeing regional practice and identifying opportunities to further strengthen safeguarding policy, procedures and training. It was noted that the Boards continued to support the implementation of the Single Unified Safeguarding Review framework following the publication of statutory guidance in October 2024 and led delivery of the associated Learning and Development Framework. A comprehensive programme of training had been made available to key stakeholders across Wales, with further progress detailed within the report and this work continuing into the coming year. The following observation/question was raised on the report: • In reference to the complexities around Data Protection the Director of Social Services and Housing highlighted the importance of effective collaboration and information sharing between partner organisations, particularly in the context of safeguarding and prevention. It was explained that the LINC project enabled information sharing where appropriate permissions existed and operated within safeguarding exemptions, while wider information sharing beyond safeguarding remained constrained by data protection legislation. It was noted that learning from the project could inform future preventative approaches, although any wider application would need to remain within the legal framework and consent requirements. Additionally, it was advised that the Board had developed certain approaches that could potentially lead to the reconsideration of how they operated within the field of prevention. However, the main objective was to stop children from coming to harm and to prevent any escalation of risks or negative outcomes. It was highlighted that this focus was specifically within safeguarded environments, rather than within the broader context of general early help or preventative work. RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Annual Report 2024-2025.
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RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the:- 7.1 Early Help Strategy for Children, Young People and Families in Carmarthenshire 2025-27 and the; 7.2 Families Connected: Intensive, Immediate Multi-Agency Support to Young People 14-18 and their Families report.
The Committee considered the Early Help Strategy for Children, Young People and Families in Carmarthenshire 2025-27 document. The strategy outlined the approach to Early Help and set out the vision to intervene early in meeting the needs of children and their families. The strategy also aimed to create a shared understanding of Early Help and embed it as an approach across all services and organisations so that families would be able to access the support they need wherever and whenever they ask for it. The accompanying Families Connected report demonstrated the significant cost benefit of the Early Help approach, including projected cost avoidance for 2025 and the potential for future cost savings across the Social Services and Housing Directorate. It was reported that the strategy had continued to embed across services and partner agencies, with plans in place for an Early Help and Prevention Conference in mid‑2026 to further share the vision and strengthen partnership working across Carmarthenshire. The following observations/questions were raised on the report: • In reference to the significant increase year on year of the number of CRT contact and referrals received it was asked what was happening to drive this increase and what the figures were for the latest years. The Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment highlighted the importance of recognising demand not only within the Early Help provision, but also as it came through the organisation's current front door system. This perspective underscores the interconnectedness between Early Help efforts and statutory services. It was noted that although current figures were not available, for the 2024/25 period there had been significant increase in both contacts and referrals, rising from 13,400 to 18,400. This increase represented a substantial escalation in demand for services. The implication is that despite efforts, Early Help was not yet sufficiently meeting the needs to prevent escalation to statutory services. It was stated that there was an ongoing piece of work aiming to investigate and understand the underlying reasons for this increase. The Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment noted that more work was needed to analyse the data and address the areas where Early Help may not be achieving its intended outcomes, in order to reduce the pressure on statutory services. • In response to a query regarding connections with primary schools, the Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment advised that there were established links with both primary and secondary schools. It was explained that this work formed part of the Early Help Strategy, which aimed to support earlier identification of needs for families. Members were informed that Coordinators were now based within both primary and secondary schools. These Coordinators engaged with schools and families at an early stage. Coordinators aimed to increase engagement, including attending events such as parents’ evenings to provide a visible and familiar presence and to initiate early conversations with families. • It was asked whether the Early Help Strategy was effective in reducing the number of children entering care. The Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment advised that the Families Connected pilot was a multi-agency initiative, designed to identify and support families before their needs escalated to the point where children required care. The strategy involved working collaboratively across agencies to deliver targeted support, aiming to intervene earlier in the lives of vulnerable families. As an example, the pilot worked with 110 young people and their families over a six-month period. The intervention focused on providing support and preventing escalation to care. The effectiveness of this approach was evidenced by the following outcomes: of the 110 young people supported, only four required supported accommodation during the pilot period. Subsequently, just one young person needed to be accommodated by Children and Family Services. One young person required specialist CAMS intervention, this was directly attributed to the early help approach. It was further noted that the report provided a year-on-year data on the number of looked after children , notably, the figures for the year 2024/25 showed a significant reduction, coinciding with the implementation of the Families Connected pilot. This suggests a strong correlation between the early help strategy and the reduction in children entering care. • A question was raised regarding the inclusion of a cost–benefit model, noting that the report acknowledged the model was outdated and not currently being used. The Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment explained that the model had been included to provide an initial indication of potential cost benefits associated with an early help approach. It was noted that work was underway on regional developments relating to a benefit realisation tool, and that future reports would better reflect cost avoidance and longer-term savings. It was also highlighted that current figures did not capture true costs due to the multi-agency nature of the work, including uncosted benefits to areas such as supported housing. • In response to a query regarding data protection issues, the Senior Manager Early Help and Assessment noted that information sharing currently took place on the basis of safeguarding and prevention, pending the development of clearer governance structures. It was acknowledged that this remained a complex area, with further work ongoing at a national level to establish a consistent framework across Wales. The strategic emphasis on a whole‑system, multi‑agency approach involving health, social care and wider local authority services was welcomed by the team. The Interim Head of Children and Families reported that joint working with youth services, housing and social work had enabled earlier, coordinated intervention through a single point of discussion, reducing duplication and repeat referrals. This approach had been positively received by staff and was supporting efforts to keep children and young people safely within their families, thereby reducing the risk of crisis intervention at a later stage. RESOLVED to recommend to the Cabinet to approve the:- 7.1 Early Help Strategy for Children, Young People and Families in Carmarthenshire 2025-27 and the; 7.2 Families Connected: Intensive, Immediate Multi-Agency Support to Young People 14-18 and their Families report.
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RESOLVED that the report be received.
The Committee considered the Performance Monitoring Report for the period 1st April to 31st December 2025 (Quarter 3), which set out the progress against actions and measures linked to the Corporate Strategy to deliver the Well-being Objectives relevant to the Committee’s remit. The Committee observed that many of the off-target deliverables / actions lacked assigned timescales. This absence of deadlines was considered unfair to officers, as it would be challenging for them to achieve on-target status without a clear timeframe. Furthermore, the lack of timescales hampers the Committee's ability to properly scrutinise and monitor progress. As a result, the Committee requested either the removal of these deliverables / actions or the allocation of appropriate timescales to them. RESOLVED that the report be received.
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RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 14th May, 2026 be noted.
RESOLVED that the list of forthcoming items to be considered at the next scheduled meeting on the 14th May, 2026 be noted.
UNANAMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 2nd February, 2026 be signed as a correct record.
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