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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
Resolved: subject to the above comments and observations to – (i) confirm that the Director of Social Services Annual Report for 2024/25 provided a clear account of performance during the year and demonstrated the difference Denbighshire’s social services was making to people’s lives; and (ii) acknowledge the work of staff across various Council departments, as part of the ‘One Council’ approach, in securing the delivery of adults and children’s social care services and homelessness services. At this juncture the Corporate Director: Social Services and Education reminded all members of their statutory responsibilities as corporate parents and encouraged them to make every effort to attend meetings of the Corporate Parenting Forum. The attendance rates of elected members at the Forum were low, which was concerning. The Chair suggested that it may be beneficial for a communication to the sent from the Lead Member for Children, Education and Families to all county councillors reminding them of their statutory responsibilities for Denbighshire’s ‘looked after children.’ Councillor Feeley suggested that attendance at meetings may improve if the Corporate Parenting Forum was changed to a Corporate Parenting Committee. The Corporate Director undertook to look into this suggestion.
Resolved: (i) to receive the actions and outputs to date from the Libraries Task Force; and (ii) subject to it having regard to the Committee’s observations and exploring the suggestions put forward, to recommend that the Task Force continue its work for a further 12 months; and (iii) that a report on its progress and findings be submitted to the Committee for further consideration in July 2026.
Resolved: (i) to confirm the Committee’s forward work programme as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report; and (ii) to appoint the following members to serve on the Council’s Service Challenge Groups: (a) Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services – Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (b) Finance and Audit - Councillor James Elson (c) Housing and Communities Services - Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (d) Adult Social Care and Homelessness – Councillor Carol Holliday (e) Corporate Support Service: People – Councillor Gwyneth Ellis (f) Education – Councillor Ellie Chard (g) Children’s Services – Councillor Andrea Tomlin (h) Highways and Environmental Services – Councillor Bobby Feeley (i) Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets – Councillor Martyn Hogg
Apologies for absence had been received from Gary Williams, Corporate Director: Governance and Business, the Corporate Executive Team’s (CET) support officer for the Committee. However, Nicola Stubbins, Corporate Director: Social Services and Education was in attendance and would fulfil the CET support role.
Councillor Alan Hughes declared a personal interest in business item 5 on the basis that his professional employment entailed undertaking paid work for various private care providers.
No items of an urgent nature had been raised with the Chair or the Scrutiny Coordinator prior to the commencement of the meeting.
The minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12 June 2025 were submitted. The Committee: Resolved: that the minutes of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12 June 2025 be approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting’s proceedings. Matters arising: page 12, item 7, ‘Scrutiny Work Programme’, penultimate paragraph – the Scrutiny Coordinator confirmed that the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group (SCVCG) at its meeting on 30 June 2025 had discussed the ‘Report Deferment Procedure’. The Group had confirmed that the current procedure where the decision to permit a deferral lay with the Chair, and in the Chair’s absence the Vice-Chair, was the correct process to follow. However, every effort should be made to inform the person who had requested the item for scrutiny of the decision to defer at the earliest possible opportunity.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: subject to the above comments and observations to – (i) confirm that the Director of Social Services Annual Report for 2024/25 provided a clear account of performance during the year and demonstrated the difference Denbighshire’s social services was making to people’s lives; and (ii) acknowledge the work of staff across various Council departments, as part of the ‘One Council’ approach, in securing the delivery of adults and children’s social care services and homelessness services. At this juncture the Corporate Director: Social Services and Education reminded all members of their statutory responsibilities as corporate parents and encouraged them to make every effort to attend meetings of the Corporate Parenting Forum. The attendance rates of elected members at the Forum were low, which was concerning. The Chair suggested that it may be beneficial for a communication to the sent from the Lead Member for Children, Education and Families to all county councillors reminding them of their statutory responsibilities for Denbighshire’s ‘looked after children.’ Councillor Feeley suggested that attendance at meetings may improve if the Corporate Parenting Forum was changed to a Corporate Parenting Committee. The Corporate Director undertook to look into this suggestion.
The Lead Member for Health and Social Care introduced the Draft Director of Social Services Annual Report 2024/25 to the Committee. The report (previously circulated) set out how Denbighshire had been performing its duties under the Social Services and Wellbeing Act over the previous financial year. The report reflected the significant pressures along with the progress that had been made across Adult and Children’s Services. The delivery of Social Care continued to be a challenge and demand for Social Care Services continued to increase. Specifically, the complexity in need within Children’s Services was increasing which added to financial pressures and sustained workforce challenges particularly around recruitment and retention. It was stated that the challenges Denbighshire were facing within Social Care were not unique to the Local Authority, these challenges had been evidenced as being faced nationally. The report gave the opportunity to reflect on the positive work that was carried out in the community everyday despite the pressures and challenges. There were approximately 668 members of staff across Adults and Children’s Services delivering high-quality person-centred care to residents in need. The report contained case studies which alluded to the difference staff within the sector were making to residents lives daily. A priority for the Service going forward, responding to the current challenges, was focusing on the Transformation Agenda through a broader cultural change to the way care was delivered in the County. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education said that the report was an honest reflection which balanced the challenges being faced along with the achievements made within Adults and Children’s Services across 2024/25. Reports from external regulators on service provision and on individual establishments operated by the Council supported the Director’s assessment of the Services as laid out in the report. The format of the report was dictated by Welsh Government with case studies now becoming a more focal part of the report. The Chair thanked the Lead Member and Officers for the report, which was in his view a very easy report to read and understand, and questions were welcomed from members. The report stated that in Adults Services there had been a decrease in demand for care assessments however, the complexity in needs was increasing. Members questioned if this was due to people presenting later when their needs had significantly increased and what preventative actions could be instigated to try and stem an individual’s needs escalating. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education stated that work on providing information, advice and assistance was carried out prior to a statutory Care Assessment being conducted which formed part of the service’s early intervention and prevention. Across Adults and Children’s Service there were opportunities for information and advice assistance via Single Point of Access (SPoA), Talking Points, Community Navigators and Edge of Care Teams in both Adults and Children’s Services. Members discussed people with more complex needs not wanting to contact Social Services for assistance and therefore leading to them presenting with their needs later. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education explained there may be individuals who were reluctant to approach Social Services for the help they needed and close work with partners across public sector bodies and the Voluntary and Community Sector was ongoing to address this. In addition, there was a ‘Well North Wales’ project run by Public Health Wales (PHW) which was aimed at helping people to keep well for longer. Members questioned the significant decrease (43%) in the number of children being added to the Child Protection Register during 2024/25. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education stated that Denbighshire was a smaller county, and this number regularly fluctuated, one family with a large group of siblings could significantly change the numbers recorded against this measure. There was an agile workforce in place who addressed any peaks in referrals. Work on transforming service delivery in a bid to secure the sustainability of services was well embedded within the Adults and Children’s Social Care Services, with projects such as Bwthyn y Ddôl, the development of a business case for a small discreet children’s home, in-house foster carers, domiciliary care, reablement and homelessness services at an advanced stage. Members asked what process was in place to support young people at the age of 18 who were leaving care to sustainably move on with their lives, supporting them to make their own decisions about their future but also assuring them that they were not on their own and could seek advice from the service at any time. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education explained there was a specific service who dealt with young people leaving the care system. There was an Independent Living Skills Group which was for young people aged 16+ who met monthly with the aim of helping them become more independent and provide them with living skills. The Group was facilitated by Social Care Practitioners in the 14+ Team within the Child Looked After Service. Post 18-year-old young people had the choice whether they wanted to continue to engage with the service and bespoke support was offered to those who required it. There was also a ‘When I am Ready’ scheme in place which meant young people in care did not leave their foster carers at the age of 18, instead stayed with them until they were ready to live an independent life. Officers provided reassurances that they were monitoring the implications of the WG’s ‘eliminating profit from care’ proposals closely and were due to report to Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on that work in early 2026. Services interacted at different levels with the Health Board. Whilst members were aware of good working relationships existing between the community-based teams of both organisations, members questioned how working relationships were at other levels. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education informed the Committee that Lead Members had regular meetings with the Health Board and the Community Resource Team were working very effectively with their Health Board colleagues. Working relationships varied at other levels however, DCC and the Health Board were committed to continuing to forge good working relationships going forward. The report stated that there did not seem to be the professional progress pathways for workers that there used to be, members requested more detail on this. The report also noted a large number of different teams within the service and questioned if there was a risk of overlapping and residents not being directed to the correct Team for help and advice when it was needed. Responding to the questions raised, the Corporate Director for Social Services and Education explained that the Council worked in collaboration with partners who delivered educational programmes. The service was aware of concerns around the number of applicants to certain courses in Universities across Wales, which had led to them reconsidering the types and number of courses that they would deliver. The Council were working closely with Social Care Wales to address this. The were a large number of Teams within the Service and this was down to the amount of grant funding across Adults, Children’s and Education Services. There was the ‘No Wrong Door’ approach applied within the service which meant however a resident contacted the Council, for example through Single Point of Access (SPOA) or the Customer Connect Team, they would be directed to the correct team to address their need. The Teams had been reviewed many times and therefore it was not believed that there was any overlap between any teams within Social Services. Members noted the report stated there was a crucial issue with the recruitment of qualified and experienced staff to more senior positions within the Social Services Team, and questioned how the service would address this. The Corporate Director for Social Services and Education informed the Committee that recruitment for senior roles within the service was difficult. The Team was very mindful of succession planning. The nature of the work and the pressures within the service already discussed, along with negative social media content all had an impact on recruitment to all positions within the service. There was a ‘Grow Your Own’ initiative within the service which enabled staff to work in a variety of roles within Social Services alongside completing a degree in Social Services through the Open University. The Lead Member for Education, Children and Families gave her thanks to Officers for the hard work that had been carried out in producing the report. The Chair echoed his thanks and added that the case studies within the report were helpful in portraying the hard work and achievements of staff and Social Services over the past year. At the conclusion of a comprehensive discussion the Committee: Resolved: subject to the above comments and observations to – (i) confirm that the Director of Social Services Annual Report for 2024/25 provided a clear account of performance during the year and demonstrated the difference Denbighshire’s social services was making to people’s lives; and (ii) acknowledge the work of staff across various Council departments, as part of the ‘One Council’ approach, in securing the delivery of adults and children’s social care services and homelessness services. At this juncture the Corporate Director: Social Services and Education reminded all members of their statutory responsibilities as corporate parents and encouraged them to make every effort to attend meetings of the Corporate Parenting Forum. The attendance rates of elected members at the Forum were low, which was concerning. The Chair suggested that it may be beneficial for a communication to the sent from the Lead Member for Children, Education and Families to all county councillors reminding them of their statutory responsibilities for Denbighshire’s ‘looked after children.’ Councillor Feeley suggested that attendance at meetings may improve if the Corporate Parenting Forum was changed to a Corporate Parenting Committee. The Corporate Director undertook to look into this suggestion.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: (i) to receive the actions and outputs to date from the Libraries Task Force; and (ii) subject to it having regard to the Committee’s observations and exploring the suggestions put forward, to recommend that the Task Force continue its work for a further 12 months; and (iii) that a report on its progress and findings be submitted to the Committee for further consideration in July 2026.
The Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage introduced a report (previously circulated) on Library Services/ One Stop Shop Provision to the Committee. The Library Task Force was established to monitor the impact of a reduction in service delivery of the Library/ One Stop Shop Service following a reduction in the core budget. The changes in the opening hours started in June 2024 following extensive consultation and the decision made by Cabinet in January 2024. The Library Task Force was Chaired by the Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage and included the Lead Member for Equalities and representatives from each of the Member Area Groups, Rhuddlan Town Council and Unison. The Task Force met 8 times and considered a number of items including – · Opportunities for more Town Councils to contribute towards Library Services. · Opportunities for further external funding. · Libraries Charging policies review resulting in a new charging framework. In addition, the Task Force considered the impacts of the reduction of Library/One Stop Shop opening hours. This included the Service’s performance against the Welsh Public Library Standards and the results of an Adult User Survey and a Bespoke Library Staff Survey on Library performance. Over 94% of respondents thought the standard of customer care was either good or very good, which demonstrated how much library customers valued frontline staff. Staff had been severely impacted by the reduction in opening hours, both through reduction in their household income and through added stress of delivering Library/One Stop Shop services during reduced hours and challenging operational changes across the Council. The findings of the Library Staff Survey reflected the challenges faced and its impact on staff morale. The Lead Member emphasised that addressing the findings of the staff survey was a priority for him and management as the staff were the most valuable asset the Council possessed. Performance monitoring had been challenging as a new All-Wales Library Management system went live in December 2024 meaning that a lot of the performance information was inaccurate. Therefore, it would be difficult to compare the production rates of pre and post reduction in library opening hours periods. This would be the subject for a report being brought to Scrutiny in the future. Meanwhile, Internal Audit had undertaken a review of the project that reduced the opening hours, and the results of that review would be presented to the Governance and Audit Committee in the Autumn 2025. The Chair thanked the Lead Member and Officers for the report and questions were welcomed from the Committee. Members noted that the report referred to the financial reprofiling to remove a long-term borrowing commitment for Prestatyn Library. This was only an accounting tool and did not reduce or remove the Council’s liabilities in respect of the debt. The Head of Housing and Communities Service explained the remainder of the debt was being paid for from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and not the Council’s General Account. Members commented that the report and Strategy did not seem to cover the purposes in which the Task Force was set up to for. It was hoped that the Task Force would be presenting the Committee with innovative ideas on how to safeguard libraries for the future and how libraries could extend their services and opening hours without reverting to regressive taxation methods. It was asked if the Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture and Heritage was satisfied with the report and what had been achieved to date since the reduction in opening hours. The Lead Member stated that he would be satisfied with the report once all the work had been completed over the next 12 months and agreed that ongoing work was needed. The Head of Housing and Communities Service explained that the past 12 months had been focused on implementing the new model of the Library Service and supporting staff. The work of the Task Force had been challenging due to member and officer availability to attend meetings and therefore the recommendation was for the Task Force to continue their work for a further 12 months. It was initially hoped that the work would be completed within the first 12 months of implementation however, due to other pressures this had not been achieved. In recent years the numbers taking part in the ‘Summer Reading Challenge’ had decreased and members questioned if Library Service Officers still attended the County’s primary schools to encourage children to take part. The Head of Housing and Communities Service stated that the Summer Reading Challenge was an important campaign across the UK. The numbers participating were decreasing, and this was a challenge due to reduced management capacity however, a number of school visits had taken place along with poster drop offs, and emails had been sent to all primary schools with information. Members further expressed their disappointment with the report as it did not give any alternative proposals for enhancing or improving the Library Service which was a much valued and well-used service. There was a need to be able to effectively evaluate the impact of the reduction in opening hours on all stakeholders, library users, other services and staff in order to be able to build for the future. Suggestions were made during a call-in of the Cabinet decision such as the availability and accessibility of Library and One Stop Shop as ‘Warm Spaces’, sanctuaries for children to study away from chaotic lives at home, banking hubs etc. and members questioned suggestions had been explored or would be explored in due course. Some buildings were being used for banking services on certain days and only one Group who used the libraries as meeting venues had withdrawn from using them as a result of the change in opening hours. The Lead Member confirmed that all the suggestions made at the call-in of the Cabinet decision were being delivered every day. Members referred to the key statistics in the report (previously circulated) and stated that the impact of the reduced opening hours could not be measured without pre and post data to compare one against the other. Performance metrics was key for the Committee to be able to understand the impact of the reduction in library opening hours. The Head of Housing and Communities Service explained that a full year of data was not yet available as the reduction of library opening hours was implemented in June 2024, therefore the data provided within the report was from 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025 and was an overlap between the previous Library Service model and the new Library Service model. Similarly, the Welsh Library Service Standards report due to be presented to the Committee in early 2026 would also be based on two different service models as it would span the period between April 2024 and March 2025. The first report with a full year’s data based on the new Library Service model would not be presented to members until early 2027. Members questioned if opportunities had been explored to bring businesses into the library, for example drop off delivery lockers. The Lead Member confirmed that many libraries in the County already had plans for installing Inpost Lockers on site. Further suggestions on how to explore businesses providing a service at library sites were welcomed. Following an in-depth discussion, it was: Resolved: (i) to receive the actions and outputs to date from the Libraries Task Force; and (ii) subject to it having regard to the Committee’s observations and exploring the suggestions put forward, to recommend that the Task Force continue its work for a further 12 months; and (iii) that a report on its progress and findings be submitted to the Committee for further consideration in July 2026.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: (i) to confirm the Committee’s forward work programme as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report; and (ii) to appoint the following members to serve on the Council’s Service Challenge Groups: (a) Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services – Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (b) Finance and Audit - Councillor James Elson (c) Housing and Communities Services - Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (d) Adult Social Care and Homelessness – Councillor Carol Holliday (e) Corporate Support Service: People – Councillor Gwyneth Ellis (f) Education – Councillor Ellie Chard (g) Children’s Services – Councillor Andrea Tomlin (h) Highways and Environmental Services – Councillor Bobby Feeley (i) Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets – Councillor Martyn Hogg
The Scrutiny Coordinator introduced the report and appendices (previously circulated) seeking members to review the Committee’s Forward Work Programme. The next meeting of the Performance Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for the 18 September 2025 and there were four agenda items listed for that meeting. The Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group (SCVCG) met on the 30 June 2025 and referred one item for the Committee’s attention. It related to the Council’s Transformation Programme and the Customer Contact Project and confirmation from Officers on an attendance date at a future meeting was awaited. The next meeting of the SCVCG was scheduled for 15 September 2025 and members were advised to submit a Scrutiny Proposal form if they had any topics they wished to be considered. Appendix 3 to the report contained the Cabinet’s Forward Work Programme for information. A table summarising recent Committee resolutions and advising members on progress with their implementation was attached as Appendix 4. A request had been received from the Strategic Planning and Performance Team for the Committee to appoint one representative to serve on each of the nine Service Challenge Groups. The dates and times for each Service Challenge Group meeting was attached to the report as Appendix 5. The Committee were asked to appoint a representative from amongst its membership to serve on each Group and report back to the Committee on the discussions held. At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee: Resolved: (i) to confirm the Committee’s forward work programme as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report; and (ii) to appoint the following members to serve on the Council’s Service Challenge Groups: (a) Planning, Public Protection and Countryside Services – Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (b) Finance and Audit - Councillor James Elson (c) Housing and Communities Services - Councillor Terry Mendies or Councillor Gareth Sandilands (to be confirmed) (d) Adult Social Care and Homelessness – Councillor Carol Holliday (e) Corporate Support Service: People – Councillor Gwyneth Ellis (f) Education – Councillor Ellie Chard (g) Children’s Services – Councillor Andrea Tomlin (h) Highways and Environmental Services – Councillor Bobby Feeley (i) Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets – Councillor Martyn Hogg
None. Meeting concluded at 1pm.
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