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Resolved: subject to the provision of the information requested during the course of the discussion, to – (i) acknowledge the improvements realised to date with regards to improving attendance, behaviour and well-being of students in the county’s schools; (ii) note the on-going work underway to further improve school attendance rates, pupil behaviour and well-being through the utilisation of various funding streams provided (iii) acknowledge the work undertaken to date by all Education Authority and school-based staff in managing and realising improvements in dealing with the challenges they faced.
Resolved: subject to the above observations and suggestions, to – (i) acknowledge the Council’s efforts and achievements to date in improving internet connectivity rates in Denbighshire through the provision of appropriate support and information to residents and businesses to enable them to access suitable and effective internet network connections; and (ii) request that a further progress report on Internet Connectivity in Denbighshire be presented to the Committee in twelve months’ time.
Resolved: subject to the above observations, suggestions, and agreed changes – (i) to support the further actions drawn to their attention during the discussion which are required to respond to performance issues highlighted within the reports; (ii) to confirm the contents of Appendices I, II and III for submission to County Council in July 2026 for approval; and (iii) following consideration of the key messages arising from the Self-Assessment and the October to March Performance Update Report, in particular the Improvement Actions identified, that individual members submit scrutiny proposal forms to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group on areas and topics which they feel would merit from detailed examination by Scrutiny.
Resolved: subject to the inclusions agreed during the course of the meeting, to confirm its programme of future work as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.
Apologies for absence were received from the Chair, Councillor Terry Mendies, and Education Co-opted Member Colette Owen.
The following members declared a personal interest in the following agenda items: Business item 6: Councillor Ellie Chard as a Governor at Ysgol Tir Morfa and Christchurch School, Rhyl Councillor Gwyneth Ellis as a Governor at Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy, Cynwyd Councillor Alan Hughes as a Governor at Ysgol Caer Drewyn, Corwen Councillor Will Price as his wife was an employee at Rhyl High School Councillor Carol Holliday as a Governor at Ysgol Penmorfa, Prestatyn Councillor Gareth Sandilands as a Governor at Ysgol Clawdd Offa, Prestatyn Councillor Andrea Tomlin as a Local Education Authority Governor at Ysgol Bodnant, Prestatyn and as her son was an Associate Headteacher at one of the county’s schools Coopted Education Member Neil Roberts as a Governor at Ysgol y Parc, Denbigh Business item 8: Councillor Ellie Chard as a recipient of a pension from the Clwyd Pension Fund.
In the Chair’s absence the Scrutiny Coordinator presided over the election of a Vice-Chair for the Committee for the 2026/27 municipal year. Nominations were sought for the role. Councillor Carol Holliday proposed Councillor Gareth Sandilands for the role. His nomination was seconded by Councillor Ellie Chard. No other nominations were received and the Committee unanimously: Resolved: to elect Councillor Gareth Sandilands as Vice-Chair of Performance Scrutiny Committee for the 2026/27 municipal year. Councillor Sandilands thanked members for entrusting him with the officer of Vice-Chair for a further term. Following his election the Vice-Chair chaired the remainder of the meeting’s business.
No items of an urgent nature had been drawn to the Chair, or the Scrutiny Coordinator’s, attention prior to the commencement of the meeting.
The minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 30 April 2026 were submitted. Accuracy: Councillor Gwyneth Ellis advised that her apologies had not been noted although she had formally tendered them ahead of the meeting. The Committee: Resolved: subject to the inclusion of Councillor Ellis’ name in the list of apologies, that the minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 30 April 2026 be approved as a true and accurate record of the proceedings. No matters arose from the contents of minutes.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
Resolved: subject to the provision of the information requested during the course of the discussion, to – (i) acknowledge the improvements realised to date with regards to improving attendance, behaviour and well-being of students in the county’s schools; (ii) note the on-going work underway to further improve school attendance rates, pupil behaviour and well-being through the utilisation of various funding streams provided (iii) acknowledge the work undertaken to date by all Education Authority and school-based staff in managing and realising improvements in dealing with the challenges they faced.
The Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People presented the report (previously circulated) on the progress achieved and the impact of initiatives undertaken to improve attendance, behaviour, and well-being in schools. In February 2025, an additional £500k was allocated to Denbighshire Education to help address these challenges. The funding was intended to tackle increasing levels of apathy, disengagement and mental health concerns among students, which had risen significantly since 2018 and had worsened post-pandemic. The utilisation of the £500,000 budget was planned in consultation with Headteachers and education professionals to ensure that investment was prioritised towards the areas of greatest need and potential impact. The agreed priorities were: · Increase capacity of Family Link Worker Support. · Hire additional staff to work directly with families. · Expand Education Welfare Team capacity. · Increase Family Engagement Officers to develop parental engagement. · Focus on getting children into school and more importantly keeping them in school. The additional funding enabled Denbighshire to strengthen support for attendance, behaviour and well-being across its schools. It increased capacity in key service areas and was positively received by school leaders. Attendance showed a slight improvement, increasing from 88.3% in 2023/24 to 90.3% in 2025/26, bringing it just below the Wales average of 91%. The Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People emphasised that achieving this improvement had required a significant amount of work and intervention. It was acknowledged that substantial challenges remained, particularly in relation to persistent absence, pupil mental health, and behaviour. The additional funding complemented existing grants and core funding that supported whole-school approaches to counselling, Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision and early education. The report also noted that it was not possible to isolate and accurately measure the specific impact of the £500k allocation, given the complexity of education funding arrangements and the overlap between multiple funding streams and grants. The Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People concluded that a multi-agency approach would be required to address the complex factors affecting attendance and engagement, including poverty and mental health, which continued to be significant concerns across Denbighshire and Wales. The Lead Member also expressed gratitude to the Headteachers of Ysgol y Parc, Ysgol Penmorfa and Denbigh High School, present at the meeting, along with all other headteachers and other school staff across the county for their contributions and ongoing commitment to supporting pupils and their families. The Head of Education reiterated that the purpose of the report was to assess the impact of the additional funding. Given the level of core funding already invested in these priority areas, it was difficult to isolate the specific impact of local education authority grants. However, some examples of how the funding had contributed to and enhanced existing work were highlighted in Section 4.6 of the report. In certain areas, the impact could be more clearly evidenced. For example, under the Education Welfare Officer (Appendix 2), the additional funding was intended to increase the capacity to support pupils with the most entrenched patterns of non-attendance. As a result, warning notices issued increased from 334 to 1,138, while Fixed Penalty Notices rose from 36 to 100. Court fines for non-attendance ranged from £40 to £1,600. These figures provided evidence that the funding had made a positive contribution to addressing persistent non-attendance. In response to Members’ questions the following points were made – · The Head of Education stated that a range of external factors could contribute to challenging behaviour among children. While services were sometimes required to respond to incidents of poor behaviour and had established processes in place to manage such situations, it was equally important to understand the underlying causes and intervene at an early stage. There was close collaboration between the Principal Manager – Intervention, Prevention, Health and Well-being, Children's Services and Education Services in seeking to understand the factors influencing behaviour in schools and to provide appropriate support. It was acknowledged that poor behaviour in schools could also be reflected within the wider community, and that the Education Service worked closely with Criminal Justice partners to address these issues. It was emphasised that education services alone could not resolve anti-social behaviour. Effective outcomes depended on strong cooperation between Council departments and partnership working across the whole system. The Homelessness Service also played an important role in this collaborative approach, including attending headteacher conferences to discuss how support could be provided to children and families who were facing, or at risk of crisis. · Having established staff who knew the children, parents, and wider community contributed significantly to staff knowledge and understanding of the children. However, staffing remained a challenge. Plans had been made to appoint additional staff within the behaviour management department, but recruitment had been unsuccessful, resulting in the allocated funding being returned to savings. In relation to class sizes, regulations meant that classes could not exceed 30 pupils. The data showed that larger class sizes did not necessarily result in poorer behaviour, as children with challenging behaviours were present across classes of all sizes. The Head of Education agreed that children benefited from consistency. The Principal Education Manager stated that, to strengthen team and multi-agency working within communities, a Community Focused Schools Manager had been appointed in September through alternative funding arrangements. The postholder had undertaken extensive work within local communities. The Headteacher of Denbigh High School reported that the funding and support had been extremely beneficial, particularly as resources were stretched and there were community engagement needs. The work undertaken through the Community Focused Schools had facilitated access to a range of interventions and had enabled Year 10 and Year 11 pupils to gain additional qualifications. Furthermore, it had supported the establishment of a community steering group, where issues were discussed with a range of services and future opportunities to enhance community support were explored. · The Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People highlighted that Denbighshire had excellent youth centres in Ruthin and Rhyl, and that the centre in Llangollen was to be reopened. They noted that these centres had made a significant impact on young people by helping to build their confidence and resilience. · The Head of Education explained that the Timian Method was a trauma-informed training programme. It was important to note that the vast majority of Timian training focused on de-escalation techniques, positive behaviour strategies, and ensuring that staff were able to recognise when a child was becoming dysregulated and respond appropriately. This involved identifying triggers, using de-escalation approaches, and applying positive techniques to support the child. The method was used across all schools, and the service maintained a continuous programme of Timian training, which was offered annually for schools to access. · The Educational Psychologist post was included in the original plan, and the service had successfully appointed an Educational Psychology Assistant to undertake neuro-profiling. Unfortunately, the postholder had been absent from work but was due to return, which was a positive development. The service had also been working with the regional collaboration team on neuro-profiling, as well as with other North Wales authorities, to implement a different neuro-profiling tool from the one originally planned. This approach would ensure alignment across partner agencies. A number of senior managers had been involved in developing the neuro-profiling work, and it was anticipated that the Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) programme would be rolled out over the following 12 months. The Educational Psychology Assistant would be utilised to help plan and support the implementation of EBSA. The aim of the training was to ensure that all Denbighshire professionals working with families were aware of EBSA processes and procedures. · It was noted that media reports had highlighted staff leaving schools due to challenging pupil behaviour, stress, and workplace pressures. The Head of Education advised that this information would need to be obtained to Human Resources (HR). The Chair requested that a briefing note containing this information be provided to the Committee. The Head of Education reported that two headteachers would be leaving the authority during the summer, with one taking up another post and the other retiring. · The Head of Education confirmed that there were schools in Denbighshire with attendance levels of 97.5% or higher and that these schools demonstrated excellent practice. It was explained that innovative approaches were being used and that the service worked closely with Estyn, which had undertaken a thematic review of attendance in secondary schools and published two reports highlighting examples of good practice. The service also participated in regional and national groups and worked with schools to share effective practice through Headteacher conferences. It was emphasised that lower attendance levels did not necessarily indicate that a school lacked effective systems and processes. A significant amount of work was being undertaken by both local authority officers and schools to improve attendance levels. The service regularly evaluated attendance levels and held ongoing discussions to assess the effectiveness of current approaches, identify areas for improvement, and explore alternative ways of developing and enhancing the support provided. The Headteacher of Denbigh High School explained that engagement officers played a key role in supporting attendance by spending time with parents and pupils to identify barriers to attendance and acting as an intermediary between families and schools. They also provided support when pupils were in school, helping them to settle and implementing strategies to support their engagement and attendance. It was stated that the service would be willing to visit schools in other areas to observe and learn from examples of good practice, with a view to assessing whether similar approaches could be implemented effectively in Denbighshire. · It was highlighted that Family Link Workers provided significant value to schools through their work with primary and foundation phase learners. Their support began before children started school and continued when they came to school, helping pupils to settle and engage in school while also providing valuable support to families. · The Head of Education advised that he was aware of the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) but did not currently have access to it. He explained that the service used free school meals (FSM) data to identify low-income families from an educational perspective. He added that discussions could take place with the Finance Department regarding access to LIFT data, although there may be restrictions due to the sensitive nature of parental income information. The service also utilised the Wales Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) data when analysing attendance and engagement data. It was further explained that the Elective Home Education Officer was involved in attendance monitoring processes, as efforts to improve attendance could sometimes result in families choosing to withdraw their children from the education system and elect to home educate them. However, it was noted that the work undertaken to improve attendance had not had a significant impact on elective home education figures. · It was stated that there was no reluctance to work with a residents' association if doing so would have a positive impact on issues such as anti-social behaviour, school attendance, pupil well-being, and engagement with education. It was acknowledged that the service could not achieve improvements alone and that any support which contributed positively to outcomes would be welcomed. The service was therefore open to discussions. From a local authority and senior management perspective, it was explained that engagement with residents' associations had tended to be limited, as their involvement was often reactive when issues arose. However, it was noted that a more proactive approach, aligned with the principles of community-focused schools, would be a suitable and constructive way of working together. The Head of Education advised that the service worked closely with a range of partner organisations, including North Wales Police and the school liaison programme. · Illnesses and family holidays were the most common reasons for pupil absences from school. The service did not support children being taken out of school during term time for holidays; however, it was acknowledged that parents had the right to do so and that the number of such absences had increased. In some cases, families had taken up to three holidays during an academic year. Schools regularly communicated information to parents highlighting the impact of term-time holidays, particularly as lessons were not repeated, making it difficult for pupils to catch up on missed learning, especially at secondary school level. It was noted that 1,138 warning notices had been issued during the reporting period. It was suggested that these notices were having a positive impact, as only 100 cases had progressed to the issuing of fixed penalty notices. In addition, four cases relating to non-attendance had proceeded to court, where significant fines were issued. It was noted that there was often a significant difference in the cost of holidays, and this was considered to be a contributing factor to the increase in holiday-related absences, particularly during September, when many families chose to take advantage of lower travel costs. · It was explained that the Behaviour Support Service was a particularly challenging area to work in, and despite recruitment efforts, the post had remained vacant. While this was disappointing given the continuing demand for the service, it had not been possible to fill the position using the available funding. With regards to the decision to surrender the funding, it was noted that, at the time, all services had been asked to review their budgets and identify potential savings to support the Council’s budget-balancing requirements. The Head of Education explained that reducing funding from other areas of the service could have resulted in greater costs, whereas the unfilled vacancy presented the most practical and efficient option for achieving the required savings. · It was acknowledged that discussions had taken place over the previous 12 months regarding whether the available funding had been spread too widely. During the development of the original plan, a range of options had been considered, including focusing all available funding on secondary schools. It was recognised that attendance generally declined as pupils progressed through their education, with the most significant reductions often occurring in Years 10 and 11. However, it was also recognised that directing all funding towards secondary provision would have limited opportunities for early intervention. Numerous options had been explored before the proposals were presented to Scrutiny and Cabinet, and that the final approach was a balanced one that addressed the needs of a broad range of schools. The impact of the funding was extremely difficult to measure due to the complexity and the range of support mechanisms in place. These included not only educational interventions but also the work of pastoral teams, Family Link Workers, and other support services. As a result, it was challenging to attribute improvements in attendance or service outcomes to certain funding or intervention. · It was confirmed that the surrendered money was recurring and would not feature in the budget every year. · The Head of Education advised that every effort was made to make vacancies as attractive as possible when recruiting, including offering flexibility where appropriate. However, recruitment challenges were not unique to this role and were also experienced when recruiting to senior positions such as headteachers. It was acknowledged that there was no clear solution to significantly increase the attractiveness of these posts. The role had an established job description and salary that had been determined through the appropriate evaluation process. While increasing the salary could be considered, it would not be equitable for other employees working in similar roles within the service, particularly given the number of staff employed in this area. It was noted that it would not be feasible to increase salaries across the board. · It was reported that there were currently nearly 300 students in Denbighshire who were being electively home educated. While the service did not monitor the behaviour of these learners, it did monitor the educational provision being received, as the local authority retained a statutory duty to ensure that a suitable education was being provided. It was also noted that new legislation relating to elective home education was currently progressing through the Senedd. · The Head of Education confirmed that a policy was in place regarding holidays taken during term time. Headteachers had the discretion to approve or refuse holiday requests. While authorisation by the local authority was not encouraged, the final decision rested with the individual school and its headteacher. If a holiday request was declined, this did not prevent the family from taking the holiday. However, any absence would be recorded as unauthorised by the school. The policy stated that, where an unauthorised absence exceeded a certain period, a warning notice would be issued, which could trigger a fixed penalty notice, it was noted that the policy was reviewed regularly. In relation to court costs, there were costs associated with taking families to court, including staffing and time costs incurred by schools. There were also significant time costs for the local authority, particularly where officers were required to attend court proceedings. These costs were taken from the education budget. The Chair asked that the information relating to the cost figures could be compiled into an information brief and circulated to Members. The Corporate Director – Governance and Business explained that, in cases where an individual was prosecuted and found guilty, the authority was entitled to apply for the recovery of its costs, including those associated with legal representation and case preparation. The court had discretion to determine the overall financial penalty imposed on the defendant, taking into account their financial circumstances. It was noted that the authority's representation to the court would be that the proceedings had incurred a cost to the public sector and that recovery of those costs should be prioritised over the imposition of a fine, as the public purse should be reimbursed for the expense of bringing the case. · It was confirmed that all schools had access to Family Link Worker support, as well as support from the Education Welfare Team and Behaviour Support Service. Every school had access to the support outlined in the plan. · The service acknowledged that some staff had sustained bruising and confirmed that there was a process in place for reporting all such incidents to Health and Safety. These incidents were monitored through the reporting system to ensure appropriate oversight. It was noted that this reflected the challenging environment in which school staff were currently working. The Headteacher of Ysgol Penmorfa confirmed that the school had received excellent support from the Behaviour Support Service. · The Headteacher of Denbigh High School stated that both 100% attendance and high levels of attendance were celebrated within the school. Attendance awards were presented each half term, and pupils with a minimum attendance rate of 90% were eligible to participate in reward trips. It was noted that discretion was used in cases where learners had been absent due to medical reasons or other exceptional circumstances. The Headteacher of Ysgol Y Parc confirmed that attendance rewards were not used within their setting, primarily because it was an infant school and pupils had limited control over their own attendance. The Headteacher of Ysgol Penmorfa stated that certificates were awarded to classes in recognition of their attendance achievements for a particular week. At the conclusion of an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion the Committee: Resolved: subject to the provision of the information requested during the course of the discussion, to – (i) acknowledge the improvements realised to date with regards to improving attendance, behaviour and well-being of students in the county’s schools; (ii) note the on-going work underway to further improve school attendance rates, pupil behaviour and well-being through the utilisation of various funding streams provided (iii) acknowledge the work undertaken to date by all Education Authority and school-based staff in managing and realising improvements in dealing with the challenges they faced.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
Resolved: subject to the above observations and suggestions, to – (i) acknowledge the Council’s efforts and achievements to date in improving internet connectivity rates in Denbighshire through the provision of appropriate support and information to residents and businesses to enable them to access suitable and effective internet network connections; and (ii) request that a further progress report on Internet Connectivity in Denbighshire be presented to the Committee in twelve months’ time.
The Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage introduced the report (previously circulated) on poor internet connectivity in Denbighshire. It was explained that the figures included within the report had been sourced from Thinkbroadband.com rather than Ofcom, as obtaining data directly from Ofcom had taken longer. It was acknowledged that Thinkbroadband.com’s figures may have been slightly more optimistic. There were approximately 5,103 properties in Denbighshire that did not have access to full fibre broadband and were experiencing speeds below 30mbps. However, Denbighshire was performing better than the Welsh average in terms of fibre-to-the-premises coverage, with coverage having increased from 83% to 90%, compared with 86% across Wales and 84% across the UK. This demonstrated a positive overall position. The map included within the report highlighted the areas where connectivity issues remained. It was noted that the main upgrades had taken place in more populated areas, while rural communities continued to face challenges due to the costs involved for Openreach to provide the required infrastructure. In response to members’ questions, officers – · Explained that they had gained access to the property list, which enabled them to check whether residents who contacted the service were included within any known projects. These included exchange upgrade programmes, Project Gigabit funded by the UK Government, and an upcoming Welsh Government scheme, which was due to be officially announced. The UK Government and Openreach had advised that some premises would not receive fibre connectivity due to the high costs involved, with it sometimes being more cost-effective to build new houses rather than extend cables to individual properties. In these circumstances, alternative solutions were available, including satellite broadband, 4G connectivity (which was suitable for some areas but not others), and fixed wireless solutions. The Welsh Government scheme would aim to provide fibre connectivity where it was financially viable. However, it would also consider alternative solutions for properties receiving speeds below 30mbps, including wireless, fixed wireless, or 4G connectivity options. It was noted that, where fibre was not available, the fastest connection option was likely to be through a low Earth orbit satellite system. · Stated that energy projects were monitored through the Community Development Team. Where a group of residents identified an issue or required support, the team would work with them to try and develop a local solution. The service should promote this as a team, as this had not yet been actively undertaken. The Digital and New Technologies Officer explained that wind farms would typically establish partnerships with organisations rather than an individual. It was noted that Openreach was no longer accepting Fibre Community Partnership schemes, which had historically used government vouchers, as they were now focused on delivering Project Gigabit. With wind and solar farms Openreach were likely to have limited capacity due to their existing commitments. However, community benefit funds that became available through such developments could potentially be used to support alternative solutions, such as 4G cells. · It was explained that requiring broadband provision as part of the infrastructure requirements for new developments would not be possible through local policy, as the responsibility for installation primarily rested with Openreach rather than the developer. It was therefore not considered feasible to attach a planning condition requiring that broadband be made available by Openreach. However, the Planning and Development Service continued to encourage developers to engage with Openreach following the granting of planning permission. · The service did not have access to information on whether broadband connections were private or business broadband, as Openreach did not hold this information. This data was held by internet service providers, as they managed individual customer contracts. It was noted that this information could not be shared due to GDPR. The data could not be accurately mapped using GIS software, as some premises were recorded as businesses due to individuals operating as sole traders or limited companies from home, even though they worked from home they did not trade from those premises and were therefore not required to register for business rates. For a more detailed breakdown of connectivity by area, the Digital and New Technologies Officer had requested information from Openreach. The most detailed information available was a full breakdown by exchange areas, which could be shared with Members. Once the Welsh Government commenced the new scheme, it would fund an open market research survey covering all premises in Wales. This would provide a snapshot of broadband speeds and identify premises receiving speeds below 30mbps, with the information then being broken down further into wards. Members were advised to contact the Digital and New Technologies Officers for this data. · In relation to new developments, it was explained that developers did not always engage with Openreach before infrastructure works commenced. This created additional challenges, as early engagement would allow appropriate measures, such as installing the required trunking for each property to be incorporated. Without this, additional works, including digging up roads at a later stage, could be required. · The Digital and New Technologies Officer confirmed that he had attended Community Council meetings to discuss connectivity matters in specific locations. · The Principal Manager – Youth and Community Resilience stated that the aspiration was to extend the Digital and New Technologies Officer role indefinitely. The role had been expanded to incorporate new technologies, providing a broader scope to apply for additional grant funding opportunities, which would be explored during the year. The Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage acknowledged that officers had been working extremely hard to secure the best possible provision for every community and property. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Committee: Resolved: subject to the above observations and suggestions, to – (i) acknowledge the Council’s efforts and achievements to date in improving internet connectivity rates in Denbighshire through the provision of appropriate support and information to residents and businesses to enable them to access suitable and effective internet network connections; and (ii) request that a further progress report on Internet Connectivity in Denbighshire be presented to the Committee in twelve months’ time.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
Resolved: subject to the above observations, suggestions, and agreed changes – (i) to support the further actions drawn to their attention during the discussion which are required to respond to performance issues highlighted within the reports; (ii) to confirm the contents of Appendices I, II and III for submission to County Council in July 2026 for approval; and (iii) following consideration of the key messages arising from the Self-Assessment and the October to March Performance Update Report, in particular the Improvement Actions identified, that individual members submit scrutiny proposal forms to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group on areas and topics which they feel would merit from detailed examination by Scrutiny.
The Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities and Strategic Assets introduced the report (previously circulated) on the Council Performance Self-Assessment 2025 to 2026 and Performance Update for October 2025 to March 2026. The report was submitted as part of the Council’s statutory duties which included the Local Government and Elections Wales Act 2021 which stipulate the Authority’s duty to self-assess its overall performance as well as its compliance with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the Equality Act 2010. The Lead Member thanked the Strategic Planning and Performance Team for their hard work in gathering data from across the organisation and conducting the analysis presented to members. The core purpose was to assess how well the Corporate Plan was being delivered, how the service knew this and what improvements were required. The reports attached as appendices 1 and 2 showed solid delivery across key priority areas alongside ongoing pressures. Appendix 3 provided an additional layer of insight based on a nationally standardised survey which enabled comparison with other Welsh local authorities and provided a broader resident perspective. The Citizens’ Voice report was an important step in meeting requirements to include stakeholder feedback. It was noted that a key issue remained, as, evidence suggested that the gap between performance and public perception persisted. Citizens’ Voice findings reinforced satisfaction levels identified through the National Resident Survey. The Committee was reminded that participation rates remained low, with fewer than 1,000 respondents. It was noted that the findings were broadly similar to the Welsh average. The data needed to be considered alongside service performance information and feedback from service users, which in some cases provided a different perspective. The service intended to invest in stronger engagement with residents during the coming year, supporting the development of a stronger vision for Denbighshire and work towards the next Corporate Plan. The key messages for members were to remain confident in the strength of delivery, ensure that public messaging reflected both achievements and challenges, and strengthen communication and engagement to build greater trust. The Head of Corporate Support Service - Performance, Digital & Assets stated that conducting an honest and reflective annual review of the progress and challenges helped develop a culture of continuous improvement and continued to deliver support to residents in line with the organisation’s values and principles. The report had been presented to Governance and Audit Committee, and would then proceed to final approval at Cabinet on 30 June 2026 and full Council on 7 July 2026. Following final approval, the performance reports would be added to the Council website and sent to the Auditor General for Wales, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Education and Training in Wales and the Welsh Ministers. The role of the Performance Scrutiny Committee was to test the performance picture, agree any further action required in response to performance issues, confirm the content of the appendices prior to Council approval and reflect on the key messages arising from the report. The overall position was mixed but stable with strong delivery in key service areas alongside structural challenges linked to rising demand, complexity, financial pressure, and inequality across communities. The importance of demonstrating that the Council was not only presenting a positive picture but that services were identifying where further action, support and scrutiny were needed was acknowledged. The Governance and Audit Committee noted the financial resilience and requested that this be more strongly emphasised. In addition, staff survey responses were positive. The Head of Corporate Support Service – Performance, Digital & Assets highlighted the contents of the appendices and explained that: · Appendix 1 provided a high-level assessment of performance over the year, outlining key achievements and challenges. · Appendix 2 contained the six-monthly performance report and detailed the improvement actions that had been identified. · Appendix 3 was the Citizens’ Voice Report, which was informed by the National Resident Survey. It was noted that 79.4% of respondents stated that they would recommend Denbighshire as a place to live. · Appendix 4 presented the Corporate Plan Performance Scorecard, providing an accessible summary of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) being measured and monitored under the Corporate Plan. Work had continued throughout the year to improve the accessibility of the Council’s data for councillors and residents. The Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager provided a more detailed overview of the report. It was emphasised that the Council had sustained delivery across the Corporate Plan priorities while maintaining a balanced budget and increasing the level of earmarked reserves to £6.6 million. It was also noted that Denbighshire had achieved Disability Confident Leader (Level 3) status, becoming the fourth council in Wales to receive this accreditation. An update was provided on the different areas: Communication and Engagement The County Voice News blog had received more than 870,000 page views, supporting improved communication and engagement with residents. In relation to a Prosperous Denbighshire, regeneration activity had continued across the county, including key projects such as the reopening of the cinema in Rhyl and the opening of Queen’s Market. The Council had also adopted and was delivering its new Economic Strategy. In terms of support for the tourism sector, data from the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM) indicated that the total economic impact of tourism was £767.22 million, representing an increase of 4.23% compared to the previous year. Housing and Homelessness A total of 106 homes had been improved through Disabled Facilities Grants, helping residents to remain independent in their own homes. Tenant satisfaction had remained consistently high, with 84% of respondents reporting that they were satisfied with the service provided. The Council had also supported the delivery of 28 additional homes through partnerships with Registered Social Landlords. In Denbigh, 22 new energy-efficient homes had been developed, with half achieving an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above. Since 2023, 182 privately owned homes had received support through ECO energy-efficiency schemes. Happy and Healthier Denbighshire Children had been supported through the Council’s library service, with the Summer Reading Challenge achieving a 13% participation rate among children across the county. This was the highest level of participation in Wales and was more than double the national average. Adult Social Care Feedback received from Extra Care Housing, Residential Care and Resettlement Services indicated high levels of satisfaction, overall averaging 90% across all responses received. During the year, more than 1,000 carers had been helped with advice and support. It was also noted that Denbighshire had become a recognised Age-Friendly Community and had joined the World Health Organization Global Network. Growing and Learning Denbighshire More than £3 million of community-focused school improvement projects had been delivered across the county. In addition, the Flying Start programme had been expanded to additional areas, enabling more young children to receive the best possible start in life. A total of 82% of surveyed learners had provided positive responses regarding their feelings towards school. Greener Denbighshire More than 4,000 trees had been planted across eight sites, including three schools, two housing estates, two allotment gardens and a former landfill site. The project had been supported by more than 150 volunteers, including 95 school pupils and 37 employees from local businesses. 4 kilometres of new active travel routes had been created, representing progress towards improving safe and accessible options for walking and cycling across the county. The Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager stated that, while the achievements highlighted represented significant progress, there remained areas where further improvement was required. It was noted that 14% of the indicators continued to be identified as priorities for improvement. These were as follows: Housing demand and homelessness – Demand for housing had continued to rise, with more than 1,300 households on the housing waiting list. Homelessness prevention services and the provision of temporary accommodation had also remained under significant pressure. Deep-rooted poverty continued to present challenges in some communities. It was noted that Denbighshire had the lowest average weekly earnings in Wales and continued to face demographic challenges, including an ageing population and a declining working-age population. Education – Attendance had improved, however, GCSE performance remained one of the lowest in Wales. Schools continued to face challenges relating to learner engagement, exclusions and the wider impact of child poverty. Environment and Waste – Further progress was required to achieve the Council’s net carbon zero and ecological resilience goals. Recycling performance remained below Welsh Government targets, however, improvements continued to be made. Capacity and Resources – Increasing demand and complexity remained challenging, particularly across social care, education, housing and homelessness services. It was noted that Appendix 2 highlighted progress against previous improvement actions and set out proposed new actions. Of the nine previous actions, four had been completed, with the remaining five demonstrating positive progress. One of the proposed actions for the Corporate Executive Team (CET) was to review the governance arrangements supporting the delivery of the Corporate Plan themes. A further proposed action was to review the Well-Maintained Highways Code of Practice by September 2027. An additional improvement action was anticipated from Education in relation to Additional Learning Needs, and the Citizens’ Voice Report would continue to be developed further over the coming year. The report provided the Performance Scrutiny Committee with an opportunity to consider whether the evidence, conclusions and proposed improvement actions were sufficiently robust before the report progressed to Cabinet and Full Council. In response to members’ questions, officers advised that – · With regard to the Staff Survey, the results were reviewed to assess their impact on staff, alongside monitoring the number of one-to-one meetings taking place. This data was regularly reviewed to inform ongoing improvements. · Improving accessibility to ‘live’ data remained a long-term ambition for Denbighshire County Council. However, there were technological and capacity challenges to consider. Work was ongoing to identify what improvements could be made within the limitations of the existing systems. The service was also developing the team’s skills in Power BI, which would support the presentation of data in a more accessible format for users. Further discussions with Councillors would be required to understand how frequently updated and live they required the data to be. · It was noted that Scrutiny had the ability to invite any Member or officer to attend its meetings. However, it was recognised that inviting every Cabinet Member would be challenging from a logistical perspective. As the report was also due to be considered by Cabinet and Full Council, there would be further opportunities for Members to raise questions and seek clarification. Members were assured that there were projects and programme governance arrangements, as well as the local growth fund and post Brexit funding programme board that monitored progress with delivering specific aspects of the Plan. · In relation to the Rhyl, Prestatyn and Denbigh projects, highlight reports were received regularly and reported through the Corporate Executive Team (CET), Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and relevant project management teams. It was recognised that managing costs and timescales continued to be challenging due to inflationary pressures and contractor obligations. These challenges were reflected within the highlight reports, resulting in an overall yellow Red, Amber, Green (RAG) rating. Members were assured that the project and programme governance board along with the Local Growth Fund and post-Brexit funding Programme Board continued to monitor each project individually, while also considering the programme as a whole, to ensure challenges were identified and managed effectively. · Regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there was an active learning programme in place, and lessons learned were captured across the Insight, Delivery and Strategy Team on how AI supported and enhanced analysis. · It was explained that regarding the Internal Audit of the Climate and Nature aspiration a draft report had been completed at the end of the previous month. The next steps were to progress it through internal review and the relevant council governance processes. This was considered an important piece of work, as the Constitution had been amended to require climate and nature considerations to be considered in every decision. · It was noted that the Council’s new Digital Strategy would be brought forward in July. One of its key objectives was to strengthen data, insight and performance capabilities, recognising the importance of digital technology and ensuring that data was managed effectively, rather than being viewed solely through the lens of the Corporate Plan. It was further noted that AI tools could be applied once the necessary data foundations were in place, with data needing to be held, managed and structured appropriately in the first instance. · It was explained that performance data was entered into the performance management system by specialist officers within each service area. The data was provided by the relevant services and reported to committees every six months, with an annual assessment undertaken as part of the normal reporting cycle. A central team reviewed and analysed the data before developing the accompanying narrative. This was then reviewed by the CET, SLT and Cabinet. Heads of Service could return to teams to seek clarification where required. The committee process provided a further opportunity to review and refine the reports. Members were encouraged to contact the Insight, Delivery and Strategy Manager if they had any questions or required clarification on any aspect of the reports. · It was explained that the team had reviewed the format of the reports and recognised that councils use a variety of reporting formats and document lengths, with some reports being shorter and others more detailed. Consideration had been given to data accessibility, and it was noted that, when compared with reports produced by other councils, the Council's reports were particularly transparent in presenting performance data. Following feedback from the Committee in the previous year, a shorter infographic version of the report had been developed, specifically designed for social media and wider public engagement. This had been well received on social media platforms. Work had already commenced on producing a similar infographic for the current reporting period, which would be made available to both residents and staff. It was suggested that Councillors direct residents to the County Voice news portal as an accessible and user-friendly way of engaging with and understanding the reports. · In relation to future engagement, it was noted that the report highlighted low levels of trust in democracy, which was reflected on a Wales and UK-wide basis. This data had been discussed with Cabinet and was consistent with findings from other sources. It was acknowledged that this was an unfortunate reflection of the current media environment, but that there was work the Council could undertake to address these challenges. Looking ahead to the development of the next Corporate Plan, a programme of engagement was scheduled to take place over the coming weeks in relation to the Well-being Assessment and the production of the Well-being Plan. Members were advised that a briefing note providing an update would be circulated shortly. The importance of engaging with residents and providing feedback on how their views had informed decision-making was also highlighted. In addition, work was being undertaken with the Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council (DVSC) on an expression of interest that would introduce a digital lens to support improved navigation and analysis of data. This approach aimed to enable deeper engagement with communities and facilitate more meaningful conversations with residents. · It was confirmed that the homelessness figures referred to households rather than individual people. In relation to improvements in addressing homelessness, it was noted that officers had attended several Council workshops and were implementing a range of interventions aimed at preventing people from becoming homeless. Members were advised to contact the service directly should they require further information on the specific initiatives being undertaken. It was noted that there was a report on Rapid Re-housing Project due to be presented to Communities Scrutiny Committee in July. Following detailed discussion the Committee: Resolved: subject to the above observations, suggestions, and agreed changes – (i) to support the further actions drawn to their attention during the discussion which are required to respond to performance issues highlighted within the reports; (ii) to confirm the contents of Appendices I, II and III for submission to County Council in July 2026 for approval; and (iii) following consideration of the key messages arising from the Self-Assessment and the October to March Performance Update Report, in particular the Improvement Actions identified, that individual members submit scrutiny proposal forms to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group on areas and topics which they feel would merit from detailed examination by Scrutiny.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
Resolved: subject to the inclusions agreed during the course of the meeting, to confirm its programme of future work as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.
The Scrutiny Coordinator introduced the report and appendices (previously circulated) seeking members to review the Committee’s Forward Work Programme. The Scrutiny Coordinator informed Members that, should they wish to investigate any items further, they were required to complete the Member Proposal Form, which was included at Appendix 2 of the report, and submit it to her. The proposal would then be presented to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group at its meeting on 10 July 2026 for consideration for inclusion on a future scrutiny forward work porgramme. The next meeting of the Performance Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for 16 July 2026. Members noted that four substantial items were included on the agenda for that meeting: · Update on Christ The Word School · Draft Director of Social Services Annual Report 2025/26 · Library Service/One Stop Shop Provision · Recruitment, Retention & Workforce Planning The Scrutiny Coordinator advised Members that the Forward Work Programme was now fully scheduled for the coming months. This followed a recent meeting of the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group, during which all transformational projects were reviewed, and it was agreed that each scrutiny committee should consider these projects prior to the local elections in 2027. Three of the transformational projects had been allocated to the Committee for scrutiny; however, these were not scheduled for consideration until early 2027. To distinguish them from other items on the Forward Work Programme, the projects had been highlighted in purple. Members were advised that Appendix 3 contained the Cabinet Forward Work Programme, while Appendix 4 provided an update on the progress of recommendations from previous meetings. The Committee: Resolved: subject to the inclusions agreed during the course of the meeting, to confirm its programme of future work as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.
None. Meeting concluded at 1pm.
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Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.