Loading
The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the work carried out to date by the West Wales Shared Lives Scheme, and the traction of ongoing priorities and work streams be approved.
RESOLVED That the Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector report be approved noting any future items identified for scrutiny.
RESOLVED That the update from the West Wales Regional Partnership Board be deferred until the next meeting in September 2023.
RESOLVED That the Annual Report 2022-23 be endorsed prior to consideration by Council
RESOLVED That the Forward Work Programme be approved, subject to the following amendments: · That a Task and Finish group be set up to review the costs of Adult Social Care Services. · That Ukrainian Refugees be invited to present their experiences. · That the 3rd Sector attend to present on their work and how the Local Authority can provide support. · That a review of the Lola James report take place in January 2024.
The Chair sought nominations for the role of Vice-Chair. Councillor David Bryan moved that Councillor Steve Alderman be duly elected; Seconded by Councillor Danny Young The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Steve Alderman be duly elected as Vice-Chair for the ensuing Municipal Year.
There were no Declarations of Interest received.
Moved by Councillor David Bryan; Seconded by Councillor Alistair Cameron The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2023 be approved as a correct record.
There were no public submissions or items of correspondence received.
The Committee agreed a change to the order of business as follows: That the item regarding Working with the 3rd Sector be moved back due to technical difficulties.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the work carried out to date by the West Wales Shared Lives Scheme, and the traction of ongoing priorities and work streams be approved.
The Chair welcomed the Head of Strategic Joint Commissioning who introduced the Commissioning Manager and the Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer to present the report on the Wear Wales Shared Lives Initiative to the Committee highlighting the work that had taken place with Ukraine Refugees. The Commissioning Manager informed the Committee that the initiative was to match adults or young people who need support with carefully approved Shared Lives carers. The Officer further noted the recruitment issues that were being experienced and that they had conducted a specific focussed recruitment workshop which had raised awareness. The Committee then debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer clarified that the recruitment workshop had taken place in Fishguard as they were targeting recruitment to a local residential home. · In response to a concern raised by the Chair regarding reticence from client groups, the Officer advised that it was a long process to match the home environment and family setting but that this was fully supported by the team. · In response to a question from Councillor Delme Harries regarding safeguarding training, DBS etc., the Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer advised that there was a training officer in place to ensure all mandatory training was completed ahead of the process. · Clarification was sought by the Chair that the appropriate liability insurance would be in place and the Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer committed to review this and update the Committee. · In response to a question from Councillor Steve Alderman regarding successful placements, the Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer advised that the process enriches relationships to ensure they grow organically ensuring parties are happy throughout and would review if any had failed and update the Committee accordingly. The Commissioning Manager emphasised that there were processes in place should that happen and that Commissioners and other stakeholders would reflect on the reasons to learn from the experience. · The Director of Social Care and Housing clarified that there would always be an element of carer breakdown particularly when shared lives was not traditional transactional care and advised that there were benefits for both the cared for and the carer providing income, companionship and accommodation. The Chair thanked the Commissioning and Contracts Management Officer for her enthusiasm who advised that the team work collaboratively to develop the relationships with the West Wales Shared Lives team who are all equally as passionate. Proposed by Councillor David Bryan; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the work carried out to date by the West Wales Shared Lives Scheme, and the traction of ongoing priorities and work streams be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector report be approved noting any future items identified for scrutiny.
The Head of Strategic Joint Commissioning thanked the Committee for the opportunity to update Members on the work that had been taking place. The Commissioning Manager, Strategic Joint Commissioning, presented the work that had been undertaken with a number of partners including PAVS and the Health Board advising of the four pillars that were underpinning their work: Active Communities, Connected Communities, Resourceful Communities and Sustainable Communities. The Committee then debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: • Volunteering Connect – allowed volunteers to share their skills with the community. • Working in partnership had developed through the Pandemic and the refugee crisis. • The Director of Social Care and Housing fully endorsed the excellent work of the voluntary sector and the work of the Commissioning Manager, Strategic Joint Commissioning and the Head of Strategic Joint Commissioning. • In response to a question from Councillor Alistair Cameron regarding the objectives within the Four Pillars, the Commissioning Manager, Strategic Joint Commissioning advised that these were in a draft stage at present agreeing that they were quite an overall strategy at present. The Committee was unanimous in their thanks and support for the team and the voluntary sector in the County and Councillor Steve Alderman highlighted that the Citizens Advice Bureau was to present at a future meeting regarding the Cost of Living Crisis. Moved by Councillor David Bryan; Seconded by Councillor Terry Davies The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector report be approved noting any future items identified for scrutiny.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the update from the West Wales Regional Partnership Board be deferred until the next meeting in September 2023.
The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the update from the West Wales Regional Partnership Board be deferred until the next meeting in September 2023.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Annual Report 2022-23 be endorsed prior to consideration by Council
The Committee considered a report by the Head of Democratic Services regarding the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2022 – 23. The Head of Democratic Services outlined the main points of the report and stated that the report provided details of scrutiny activities from June 2022 to March 2023, and covered each of the five scrutiny committees, which would be presented to Council in July for consideration and endorsement. She then highlighted the recent survey undertaken to gather Members' views on the current Overview and Scrutiny Committee arrangements and give Members an opportunity to make suggestions for improvement. The Head of Democratic Services highlighted that there was a 67% response rate and gave thanks to those Members who took the time to complete the survey. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Committee was encouraged to see the increased views on Committee webcasts. · The Committee noted their disappointment in the response rate 40 out of 60 and felt that Members should take their responsibility as County Councillors more seriously. · Councillor Michael James highlighted the important work of the Head of Democratic Services and the Democratic Services team for the work undertaken. Proposed by Councillor David Bryan; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Annual Report 2022-23 be endorsed prior to consideration by Council
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Forward Work Programme be approved, subject to the following amendments: · That a Task and Finish group be set up to review the costs of Adult Social Care Services. · That Ukrainian Refugees be invited to present their experiences. · That the 3rd Sector attend to present on their work and how the Local Authority can provide support. · That a review of the Lola James report take place in January 2024.
The Chair presented the Forward Work Programme to Members noting there were many vital discussions included. In response to a concern raised by Councillor Huw Murphy regarding the tragic death of Lola James, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Care and Safeguarding highlighted that the Chair had spoken with the Head of Adult Services noting the request from the Committee to review the report when available. The Head of Adult Services advised that the ownership of the report lay with the Regional Safeguarding Board who would make recommendations. The review had paused to allow the criminal trial to take place and was now continuing. The Independent Author, KC Sutton would compile the report following the gathering of information and there would then be two days of learning events. The final report would then be presented to the Executive Board for final sign off with recommendations to be presented in October 2023. A planned release for details of the report would then be scheduled with a realistic plan to review in January 2024. Councillor Cameron requested that a working group be established to review adult care including the rising year on year costs to provide decent care for vulnerable residents. Councillor Cameron then Moved the recommendation. The Chair advised that the scope of the Working Group would need to be established at the initial meeting and the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Social Care and Safeguarding welcomed the initiative. Councillors David Bryan, Maureen Bowen, Michael James and Alistair Cameron put their names forward to be on the Working Group with all other Members of the Committee to be invited in reserve. In response to a question from Councillor Steve Alderman regarding visiting the third sector care farms, the Head of Strategic Joint Commissioning and Democratic and Scrutiny Services Officer committed to repeating the request for preferences in order for visits to be arranged. Councillor Michael James emphasised that, as part of the work as Carers Champion for the Authority, he chaired the Carers Partnership Strategy Board noting that there were 12-14 organisation representatives that could be asked to present at future meetings. Moved by Councillor David Bryan; Seconded by Councillor Terry Davies The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Forward Work Programme be approved, subject to the following amendments: · That a Task and Finish group be set up to review the costs of Adult Social Care Services. · That Ukrainian Refugees be invited to present their experiences. · That the 3rd Sector attend to present on their work and how the Local Authority can provide support. · That a review of the Lola James report take place in January 2024.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.