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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
RESOLVED That the Public Submission relating to the Budget consultation be noted, with an undertaking from the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies to contact the submitter to discuss the matter further.
RESOLVED That the Shared Prosperity Fund be added to the work programme.
RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2025-26, the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29 and the Provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025-26. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theelements of the County Council Budget for 2025-26 and the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29.
RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Treasury Management Strategy 2025-26 to 2028-29, including the Policy on Borrowing in Advance of Need, the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy, the Treasury Limits, the Prudential Indicators, the Borrowing Requirements and the Annual Investment Strategy. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theTreasury Management Governance Arrangements for 2025-26 contained within the Treasury Strategy.
RESOLVED That the draft Corporate Strategy for 2025–2030 and the development of new Well-being Objectives contained within, be noted. [Councillor Mike Stoddart left the meeting at this juncture.]
RESOLVED That the Corporate Safeguarding Board Annual Report for 2023-24 be noted and the comments made be fed back to the Corporate Safeguarding Board.
RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Partnerships Panel meeting of 23 May 2024, be noted.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Steve Alderman and Bethan Price and the Leader, Councillor Jon Harvey and the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, Councillor Tessa Hodgson.
Due to apologies being received by the Vice-Chair, Councillor Steve Alderman, and the Chair having concerns regarding the reliability of his broadband, he sought nominations for a Vice-Chair for the meeting. Councillor Alan Dennison nominated Councillor Michael Williams; Seconded by Councillor Huw Murphy. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That Councillor Michael Williams be duly elected as Vice-Chair for the meeting.
No requests were received.
Councillor Huw Murphy declared a personal interest by virtue of being employed by Hywel Dda University Health Board, albeit in a limited capacity. He stated the declaration was a general one in the instance that he raises a question during the meeting in relation to the Health Board.
The Chair highlighted a typographical error on page 16 of the agenda pack, contained within bullet point four, where it should state ‘Chair’ not ‘Char’. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Mike James. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the English and Welsh Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024 be approved as correct records, subject to the above amendment.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
The Chair welcomed any questions from Members regarding the updates contained within the action log and the associated appendices. With no questions raised, Councillor Michael John Moved to note the updates; Seconded by Councillor Pat Davies. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the updates be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Public Submission relating to the Budget consultation be noted, with an undertaking from the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies to contact the submitter to discuss the matter further.
The Chair advised that a Public Submission had been referred from the Policy and Pre-decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the disparity between the Welsh and English version of the 2025-26 Public Consultation for the Budget. The Chair highlighted that an offer had already been extended to the submitter by the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies for him to contact them to discuss the matter further in order to improve future budget consultations. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Huw Murphy. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Public Submission relating to the Budget consultation be noted, with an undertaking from the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies to contact the submitter to discuss the matter further.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Shared Prosperity Fund be added to the work programme.
The Chair drew the Committee’s attention to the work programme, highlighted the planned items for March and sought suggestions from Members for items they wished to be added to the programme for scrutiny later in the year. Councillor Pat Davies requested that the ‘Shared Prosperity Fund’ be added to the programme to scrutinise how it is distributed, the output of the funding provided to communities and whether it complements the levelling up agenda. The Chair confirmed that the matter did fall under the remit of the Committee and he would be happy to include it for scrutiny, if the other Members were in agreement. Moved by Councillor Pat Davies; Seconded by Councillor Huw Murphy. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Shared Prosperity Fund be added to the work programme.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2025-26, the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29 and the Provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025-26. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theelements of the County Council Budget for 2025-26 and the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29.
The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources regarding the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2025-26, the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29 and the Provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025-26. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies outlined the main points of the reports and highlighted that the draft settlement figure indicated from Welsh Government had been more favourable than predicted which had reduced the funding gap from £34.1 million to approximately £27 million. It was stated that the main pressures continued to be in relation to social care and housing and the importance of investing in prevention work was recognised. Members’ attention was drawn towards the full list of proposed savings measures, and it was reiterated that to balance the budget a combination of Council Tax increases and service cuts would be required. Further information was provided in relation to the categorisation of the proposed cuts and it was stated that whilst it was not thought that the draft settlement figure indicated from Welsh Government would fluctuate, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies and the Director of Resources were currently working on a response to the settlement highlighting matters such as rurality, poverty and social care demand. Attention was also drawn towards the standard spending assessment, the transfers in and the one transfer out of the budget. It was added that following work undertaken by Audit Wales, concerns had been raised regarding the financial sustainability of the Authority and the importance of the Medium Term Financial Plan was highlighted. The Chair welcomed Chris Veale, Finance Manager, to the meeting to assist with answering questions from Members. The Committee debated the contents of the reports and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair raised concerns in relation to the budgetary pressure which would be put on the Authority as a knock on impact from the Fire Authority’s increase in National Insurance which would be included within the precept. The Director of Resources provided further information on how the funding worked and stated that whilst the funding may come through the Authority, the Fire Authority would then levy the Council to obtain the funding. Whilst clarification was still being sought, it was predicted that the National Insurance funding would go directly to the Fire Authority. It was hoped that direct funded services would be reimbursed by the UK Government; however, the funding arrangements for indirect services were still unknown. · The Chair highlighted that the Fire Authority received a levy from the Council as opposed to a precept like the Police and queried if that arrangement would be changed. The Director of Resources stated that whilst reviews of the matter were conducted on a fairly regular basis, it had always concluded to remain as it is. · Reference was made to the increase in costs to provide school-home transport for pupils on asymmetric weeks, and it was queried how this would create additional costs. In response, the Finance Manager advised that it was due to those schools usually sharing transport with other schools, who may not be on an asymmetric week schedule. · For accuracy, the Chair stated that Appendix A outlined the range of consultation undertaken in relation to the budget, but the Scrutiny undertaken by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee had not been included within the list. · Councillor Mike Stoddart made reference to the cumulative funding gap figure outlined within Appendix D1 and expressed that he did not agree that a funding gap figure could be represented as a cumulative. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies offered to remove the word ‘cumulative’; however, Councillor Stoddart stated that the figure also needed to be removed as it was not a sound mathematical principle. The Cabinet Member stated that he would be happy to amend the section, to include an explanation as to how that figure was calculated. It was agreed that the explanation would be included within the reports to Cabinet and Council and would be done in time for the upcoming budget seminar. · Councillor Michael Williams highlighted the concerning situation in relation to budget deficits within schools and the projected school balances and sought the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies’ view on the matter. The Cabinet Member agreed that the forecasting was very concerning and outlined a range of reasons as to why managing budgets was getting increasingly harder for schools. It was stated that in the instance that schools cannot manage finances effectively, the Authority did not have the capacity to take that management in house which raised concerns with the long term viability of some schools. It was stated that further information would be provided in relation to this matter at the upcoming budget seminar. · Concerns were raised by Councillor Mike James regarding the downward trend of primary school admissions, and it was highlighted that declining numbers would also have a negative impact on school funding for both primary and secondary schools. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that he did not have the intricate detail of school admission data but would pass the concerns on to the Director for Education and the Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language. · Councillor Alan Dennison requested further information as to why a reduction in staff within the Law and Governance department had been outlined within the Table D3: ‘Potential Staff Losses (Full Time Equivalent by Directorate’ table but was not showing within the budget modeller. In response the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that he believed it was a mistake within the table, and that the staff loss had been replaced by a recharge to the HRA. He agreed to seek clarification on the matter and make any necessary amendments. · In response to an indication being sought by Councillor Huw Murphy, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that he believed the Council Tax increase for 2025-26 would be approximately 9%. [At this juncture, Councillor Michael John declared a personal interest by virtue of being a Governor at Haverfordwest High, appointed by the Authority.] · Discussion ensued around the use of reserves and in response to a view expressed by Councillor Huw Murphy, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies agreed that it would not be sensible to borrow any more than the budgeted £1.3 million from reserves as that was not a sustainable method to bridge a funding gap and would take away from using reserves towards prevention bids. · Councillor Mike Stoddart stated that it was his understanding that the falling school admission numbers would be reflected within the AEF settlement figure from Welsh Government but queried if the amount of money the Authority spends on Education varies in line with the AEF. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies confirmed that school numbers did contribute to the calculation of the AEF and stated that the Authority had protected schools financially more than other Authorities in Wales do. The Director of Resources confirmed that the reducing admission figures were negatively affecting the AEF figure and would continue to do so until pupil numbers begin to stabilise. · Reference was made to the School Modernisation Working Group, which was a cross-party group currently undertaking a piece of work to rationalise school numbers due to the large number of surplus places. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that it was hoped that the work being undertaken by the group would ascertain the most effective way to fund education within the County and to determine the best ways for the education system to operate, as the provision of Education was becoming increasingly challenging. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to a range of departments proposing a number of redundancies categorised as deep red ‘statutory failings and/or very significant impact’ and queried why the redundancies had not been staggered as one or two posts as a green or amber proposal would be more realistic, and whether the Directors who had made the suggestions had been challenged on them. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies advised that all proposed savings were challenged, and he reminded Members that if they did not agree with any of the proposals they could propose amendments to the suggestions. The proposed deep red savings within Public Protection and Planning were explained. [Councillor Tom Tudor joined the meeting at this juncture.] · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the proposed ‘red’ saving of £750,000 for Adult Services to work with partner agencies on a project to secure positive funding options for joint health and social care packages of care and sought assurance that this money would come into Pembrokeshire if the saving was enacted. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies agreed that delivering some of the proposals would be challenging and stated that Social Care had confirmed that whilst the involvement of partner agencies did make the proposal more challenging it was felt it would be achievable. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the ‘structured budget review savings’ which was a green rated saving, which would be conducted by the Chief Executive, and queried how the £1.5 million savings would be achieved. The Director of Resources stated that the savings were achieved during 2024-25 on top of the planned structured budget review savings and would become part of the base budget for 2025-26 and would be taken next year as a permanent saving. · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the proposed £355,000 ‘red’ saving for Adult Services ‘by reviewing Health Service costings for 2025-26 to align them with market pressures and costs’ and queried how that would be achieved. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies advised that he would find out the details. · Following clarification sought by Councillor Alan Dennison as to how a £100,000 saving could be made in relation to the Parent Partnership, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that it would be funded via grant funding. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Michael Williams The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2025-26, the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29 and the Provisional Local Government Settlement for 2025-26. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theelements of the County Council Budget for 2025-26 and the Medium Term Financial Plan for 2025-26 to 2028-29.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Treasury Management Strategy 2025-26 to 2028-29, including the Policy on Borrowing in Advance of Need, the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy, the Treasury Limits, the Prudential Indicators, the Borrowing Requirements and the Annual Investment Strategy. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theTreasury Management Governance Arrangements for 2025-26 contained within the Treasury Strategy.
The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources on the Treasury Management Governance Arrangements for 2025-2026. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies stated that the Council had a statutory obligation to prepare and approve the Treasury Management Governance Arrangements on an annual basis. He stated that the Council used corporate markets as its Treasury Management Advisors who attend the internal Treasury Panel on a quarterly basis, deliver training and also provide ad-hoc advice throughout the year. It was noted that the draft strategy was based on quarter two, so figures would be subject to change following a further review and update of the Capital Programme for quarter three. The role and importance of the Capital Programme was outlined along with information provided in relation to the average cost of borrowing, known as the ‘pooled rate’. The decision making process of securing a loan was explained and Members were informed that no changes had been made to the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy. The Chair welcomed Stephen Lewis, Finance Manager, to the meeting to assist with answering questions from Members. The Chair commented that the Treasury Management training which had recently been provided to Members had been a very worthwhile and detailed session which provided an insight into the dedicated work that goes on behind the scenes. He encouraged all Members, particularly those who sit on Committees who have responsibility to scrutinise the Treasury Management arrangements, to undertake the training module, which was available on the POD (Pembrokeshire Online Development) platform. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair sought assurance that recent cost savings had not left the Treasury Management function stretched too thin and that the statutory responsibilities were being met. The Director of Resources stated that whilst one post had been lost within the Financial Services team, which covered Treasury Management, additional staff were being upskilled to undertake the tasks required. Assurance was given that whilst cuts had been made, the internal controls had not relaxed and Treasury Management was a highly controlled environment. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Alan Dennison, the Finance Manager stated that the Authority was currently in a banking contract with Barclays until May 2027, and closer to the renewal time all banking choices would be evaluated. Regarding the interest matter, it was stated that only a small amount of money was kept in the Council’s Barclays account, as transfers out were done every night to money markets or other funds to obtain the highest interest rate, therefore no interest was accrued from Barclays. · Following discussion around the decision to use Barclays, the Director of Resources stated that whilst the high street branch had now closed, Barclays was based in County Hall a few days a week. · The Chair sought more information in relation to ‘borrowing in advance of need’ to which the Director of Resources advised that it was a very rare occurrence to do so and would only be done for a short period of time if the rates were particularly favourable. It was confirmed that before externally borrowing, the costs would be compared with the benefits of borrowing internally first, where possible. · Councillor Mike James recognised the intensity of managing the finances and queried if it was Council Officers who transfer the money to different accounts at the end of every day and seek out the best borrowing terms when required. In response, the Finance Manager stated that information was received daily from money market providers advising on investment rates and limits, and borrowing was decided in consultation with the Council’s Treasury Advisors. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Alan Dennison, the Finance Manager confirmed that return of investment from Barclays Green deposit account met the benchmark. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Mike James The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED (a) That the Committee scrutinised the Treasury Management Strategy 2025-26 to 2028-29, including the Policy on Borrowing in Advance of Need, the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy, the Treasury Limits, the Prudential Indicators, the Borrowing Requirements and the Annual Investment Strategy. (b) That the Committee concluded that no recommendation be made to Cabinet in respect of theTreasury Management Governance Arrangements for 2025-26 contained within the Treasury Strategy.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the draft Corporate Strategy for 2025–2030 and the development of new Well-being Objectives contained within, be noted. [Councillor Mike Stoddart left the meeting at this juncture.]
The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive on the Draft Corporate Strategy for 2025-2030. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities outlined the main points of the report stating that it was a high level organisational document which sets out the strategic direction of the Council for the next five years and enabled the Authority to meet its duty under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. It was recognised that whilst the document was not a political document, it was designed to outline how the Authority would deliver the political ambitions of the Chamber. It was stated that previously there had been too many wellbeing objectives, so the development of a new corporate strategy was to condense them into four broad objectives, which were outlined. Members were advised that the strategy was currently out for public consultation, until the 2 February 2025. It was noted that there had already been some key milestones achieved which would be outlined within the report to Council on 6 March 2025. The Chair welcomed the Corporate Policy and Partnerships Manager and the Corporate Planning Manager to the meeting to assist with answering questions from Members. The Corporate Policy and Partnerships Manager stated that whilst no in-depth analysis of the consultation data had been conducted yet, over 60 responses had already been received which was pleasing. He added that some components of the report, such as the financial context section, were still evolving and would be finalised before the report is presented to Council in March. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair made reference to the revised four objectives and commented that they were aspirational and clear. He raised concerns with the financial sustainability of the Authority and expressed that a close eye needed to be kept on that situation in order to meet the objectives. · Councillor Huw Murphy stated that it had been disappointing to see agriculture and farming mentioned so few times within the report and expressed that the successful agricultural industry within the County needed to be mentioned more when referring to the Pembrokeshire economy. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities agreed with the comment and gave an undertaking to strengthen the contribution made to the industry within the report before it is presented to Council. · Councillor Pat Davies highlighted that she would like to see more details in the report, particularly in relation to plans regarding housing provision and how the Authority plan to meet the needs of residents in the future. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities explained that the report was a high level overview and intricate details for each service area could not be included. He stated that the report was backed up by service plans and corporate strategies which outlined the specific plans and data for all Council matters. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the ‘Fluent in Welsh’ figure and raised concerns with its accuracy as it stated that it was based on a parental assessment and not though an official Council process. The Director for Education stated that the figure was calculated from school application forms completed by parents, for both Welsh and English medium schools and could not be challenged. · In response to concerns raised by Councillor Alan Dennison with regards to the Authority’s pay gap between male and female employees (3.4%), the Corporate Planning Manager advised that the gap is based on the gender of those conducting particular roles and added that the gap had closed significantly and would likely continue to do so. · Following clarification sought by Councillor Michael Williams, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities confirmed that the Pembrokeshire Public Services Board was a statutory body which had a remit to ensure collaborative working between key partners to improve well-being in the County. · Following concerns raised by Councillor Mike James in relation to decreasing population statistics and the effect that would have on Council funding, the Corporate Planning Manager advised that the statistics used were provided by the Office for National Statistics. · Following clarification sought by Councillor Mike James, the Corporate Planning Manager stated that the format of the consultation questions on Welsh Language skills had been based on the format of questions used within the census. It was stated that in doing so the Authority was confident that the wording of questions on demographic characteristics allowed comparison with other data e.g. the census. · Councillor Mike James raised that he felt there were better opportunities for full time employment within the South of the County in comparison to the North and queried what could be done to level it out. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities stated that he had not seen any statistics to support that view so did not feel he could provide an adequate answer. · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the devolution of the Crown Estate to Wales and stated that with Pembrokeshire being a coastal Authority, it may be a matter which should be looked more in depth at. Moved by Councillor Michael John; Seconded by Councillor Pat Davies. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the draft Corporate Strategy for 2025–2030 and the development of new Well-being Objectives contained within, be noted. [Councillor Mike Stoddart left the meeting at this juncture.]
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Corporate Safeguarding Board Annual Report for 2023-24 be noted and the comments made be fed back to the Corporate Safeguarding Board.
The Committee considered a report by the Safeguarding in Education Manager in relation to the Pembrokeshire County Council Corporate Safeguarding Board Annual Report for 2023-24. The Chair welcomed the Director for Education and the Safeguarding in Education Manager to the meeting to assist with questions from Members. The Director for Education outlined the main points of the report and highlighted that the report sought to provide assurance that the Authority was creating the best conditions for optimum safeguarding practices. It was stated that the report outlined how the governance and management arrangements were undertaken to ensure that both children and adults were safeguarded as per the recommendations made within the 2019 Audit Wales Report and reviewed the actions and processes outlined for each Directorate. The range of progress made was outlined, along with highlighting the proposals for improvement. It was stated that following scrutiny of the report last year, the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee has scrutinised school attendance, school exclusions, and the Trauma-Informed Practice Policy in detail. It was noted that an internal audit was ongoing in relation to the work of the Corporate Safeguarding Board, of which the outcomes of the audit would be reported in due course. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor Huw Murphy made reference to the Liberty Protection Safeguards and recognised the resilience of the department in dealing with the additional pressure. · In response to clarification sought by Councillor Huw Murphy, the Director for Education confirmed that school attendance outcomes had improved significantly, but whilst primary attendance was back to pre-pandemic levels, secondary levels were not. It was highlighted that attendance issues presented more in areas with higher levels of deprivation, which continued to be a challenge for the Authority. · Councillor Alan Dennison made reference to the current Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) renewal programme of every three years and queried if the renewal programme would be better conducted on a risk-based approach. The Director for Education outlined circumstances where renewal terms had been aligned with particular terms of office durations but stated that following work undertaken, the cost savings to lengthening the renewal period were minimal. The Chair stated that the matter would be looked at further by the Committee following a referral from Cabinet and scrutiny would be undertaken with best practice in mind. · Councillor Pat Davies queried if any trends had been seen in relation to low school attendance i.e. increased missed attendance by a particular age group or sex. In response the Director for Education stated that data was collected by year group and varied, of which a brief summary was outlined. It was stated that the variations were tracked, and support was provided to schools on a case by case basis. The Safeguarding in Education Manager added that the Education and Welfare Service was in the process of launching an attendance strategy and she provided some trend information of secondary fluctuations in attendance. She stated that reasons for low attendance were becoming more complex although highlighted that interventions such as the mobile phone policy had brought with it good progress in terms of attendance. · In response to a question raised by Councillor Michael Williams, the Safeguarding in Education Manager confirmed that the Authority was aware of the Lucy Faithful Foundation and had used the foundation for training for Social Care colleagues. The Director for Education recognised that the report did not include information in relation to the range of third sector organisations that the Authority work with, so the Safeguarding in Education Manager made a note to elaborate more on those arrangements in next year’s report. Assurance was given that the Authority worked with experts in the fields of specific safeguarding matters, particularly when providing and creating training for staff. · Further information was sought by the Chair as to the completion levels of the mandatory safeguarding training modules, to which the Director for Education stated that the POD reminders had been effective in prompting staff and Members to complete the modules in a timely manner; although a range of limitations were outlined particularly in relation to staff whose roles do not require everyday access to I.T. therefore arrangements need to be put in place for those individuals to complete the modules. · Councillor Mike James highlighted the importance of safeguarding young carers and made a request for more emphasis to be placed on the support provided to those individuals in future reports, which was agreed. In summing up, the Chair requested that the Committee’s thanks be passed on to Milford Haven Comprehensive School for their success in obtaining the gold award for Investors in Carers, which was a remarkable achievement and one that no other school within Wales held. Moved by Councillor Alan Dennison; Seconded by Councillor Mike James The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Corporate Safeguarding Board Annual Report for 2023-24 be noted and the comments made be fed back to the Corporate Safeguarding Board.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Partnerships Panel meeting of 23 May 2024, be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Chair of the Partnerships Panel containing the Minutes of the Partnerships Panel meeting of 23 May 2024. The Chair advised that whilst the report was in his name, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Improvement and Communities, (Chair of the Public Services Board) was also in attendance to assist with questions. The Chair provided an update advising that following consideration of any better alternatives to scrutinising the work of the Public Services Board (PSB) and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) it was decided that the Partnerships Panel was currently the most effective forum for that scrutiny, so the status-quo would remain and the matter would be reviewed in a year’s time. Moved by Councillor Pat Davies; Seconded by Councillor Jonathan Grimes The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Partnerships Panel meeting of 23 May 2024, be noted.
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