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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
Apologies for absence were received from: Clair Swales, PAVO; Claire Bryant, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner; Carl Cooper, Powys Teaching Health Board; Duncan Hamer, Welsh Government; Christine Harley, HM Prisons and Probation Service; Rhys Morris, Welsh Government; Emma Palmer, Powys County Council; Hayley Thomas, Powys Teaching Health Board; Catherine Mealing-Jones, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority and Peter Greenslade, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
The minutes of the last meeting held on 13 March 2024 were agreed as a correct record.
Mererid Bowley provided an update on the Whole System Approach to Healthy Weight Step’s quarter one activity, noting the areas of focus as agreed within the Well-being Plan for this Step being children under the age of five and access to healthy foods for families. Task and finish groups for each priority area of focus were also being established. The priority areas of focus which were informed by the evidence-base included: • breastfeeding; • introduction of solid food; • cooking skills; • and affordability of healthy food. As part of the affordability of healthy food workstream, the NHS Healthy Start scheme was being promoted, providing funding for those eligible to buy healthy foods. The uptake across Powys was lower compared to other areas of Wales was noted. Part of this workstream involved understanding why uptake was low. Fiona Valentine – affordability of healthy food update: Rurality had a large impact on uptake, however parents also noted there was a lack of information in retailers about the scheme which put them off applying for the funding. There was anecdotal evidence of people who had presented a card in store but had been turned away, which deterred people from signing up. In response, the team shared resources developed from the national Healthy Start website to share with retailers across Powys. This started in the areas with the highest level of deprivation which were Ystradgynlais and Newtown. Uptake subsequently rose, with uptake being maintained in these areas and uptake in general was at 62%. It should be noted that due to the low uptake in general, a reduction in one or two people accessing the scheme caused a large percentage decrease in the reporting statistics. Increased uptake had also been observed in Knighton, as the Pathfinder team had been working with the community. Step Leads had also worked with PCC colleagues in Flying Start groups at pre-schools and schools, to ensure as many colleagues as possible were promoting and signposting parents to the scheme. Chloe Barrell – cooking skills update: A new initiative was launched in Powys called Cooking Counts for people aged 19 and over, aimed at improving numeracy skills alongside cooking skills. The initiative was being delivered in partnership between the PTHB Public Health Team and PCC Health Protection Team. The first cohort had already completed the course, with planning ongoing for the next cohort. Uptake had been positive and pre- and post-evaluation suggested good outcomes had been achieved by attendees. Further evaluation was ongoing to understand potential barriers to accessing the programme to inform the approach going forward, with a focus on early years provision and the need for ‘train the trainer’ initiatives to upskill people to be ambassadors for Cooking Counts. Funding was due to last until December 2024, and PSB partners were urged to engage with Cooking Counts during the autumn while funding remained. Fiona Valentine – Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme update: Following stakeholder engagement sessions, the Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme was identified as an opportunity to support mothers in the community. The scheme aims to support and empower mothers and families to normalise breastfeeding and to feel confident when breastfeeding in public, as part of the systems-based approach to healthy weight. The Scheme will offer businesses and other organisations to sign up to pledge their support for breastfeeding mothers by displaying a welcome sticker and providing seating and an overall welcoming environment. Where complaints are made, the complainant will be asked to move. It should be noted that it is a legal right for mothers to breastfeed, and the evidence shows that breast milk is the best nutritional source for babies, in addition to offering lifelong health benefits for mothers and babies. Collaborative working has gained the support of senior officers of PCC for the Scheme to be adopted in all corporate buildings. PAVO have expressed interest and the team hope that all public facing areas of PTHB will also sign up following Executive agreement. Mererid Bowley asked that all PSB partners consider signing up to the Scheme for corporate and public-facing buildings, and to check whether policies were in place to support breastfeeding. The PTHB Public Health Team were also able to support drafting of internal policies. The launch of the Scheme was planned to be aligned with World Breastfeeding Week (1st to 7th August). Question Ann Watkin noted the focus was mainly on diet and questioned whether there been consideration of other factors such as exercise and access to facilities. Mererid Bowley explained that the Step incorporated a whole-system approach to healthy weight and whilst physical activity was a very important element, the evidence-base supported the Step’s approach by influencing the environment around how people access healthy foods. Similarly, the target age group of five years and under was also informed by the literature, which showed that children aged up to seven years were particularly influenced by their environment and the behaviour of their care givers. Fiona Valentine added that the particular focus on diet rather than exercise was informed by evidence but also from the views of people engaged during the strategic workshop events prior to deciding the system areas of focus. Exercise was not excluded however, and may become part of the workstreams in future. The Chair asked whether it was worth circulating information particularly around the Healthy Start Scheme with councillors, to forward on to wider groups and organisations. Mererid Bowley noted that the resources could also be circulated with Powys schools, and that the team could also attend any school governor training sessions to advise on potential areas of influence within schools. Fiona Valentine added that the resources had been shared with the Healthy Schools team. It was also noted that there were issues reported in using the payment cards for online shopping, which was a national issue that needed to be addressed. ACTION - Public Health Team to share resources with schools and the PSB secretariat, to share with County Councillors for wider dissemination.
Catherine James gave an update on the Evidence and Insight Step’s quarter one (April to June) activity, noting that the work programme was ‘On Track’. • A joint workshop was held between the Powys Regional Partnership Board (RPB) and Public Services Board (PSB), to explore what a Powys digital identity should look like. The outputs of the session were being considered, with further work expected during quarter two. • Locality engagement events held across Powys, in addition to a specific young person’s engagement event held at the Pavilion in Llandrindod on 20 March 2024. The findings of these stakeholder engagement sessions have been collated and shared with Partners. • Workshops were held jointly between RPB and PSB Partners, to develop a definition of co-production in Powys. The draft poster of the agreed definition and supporting principles was included in the agenda pack. • Support was provided in developing a climate risk assessment survey, sent to PSB Partners and wider stakeholders across Powys. The outputs of the survey were now informing the development of the Powys Climate Risk Assessment. • The Population Needs Assessment was due for a Mid-Point Review. • There was potential for combining the Well-being Assessment (WBA) with the Population Needs Assessment (PNA) which are currently separate reports to reduce duplication. • A data maturity assessment was to be undertaken across the PSB Partnership, to understand the current position of Partners regarding their use of data in supporting the PSB’s work. • Regarding funding, the PSB Scrutiny Committee recommended that the PSB considers all funding streams to support the work of the Steps. • Further work was planned to support the work of the other two Steps, particularly the Whole System Approach to Healthy Weight Step. • Access to a shared digital space for PSB Partners to promote collaboration was ongoing. Questions Gavin Bown noted it was positive that the partners was exploring opportunities to reduce duplication and asked how the Board intended to tap into learning from other partners, to share this learning across the PSB membership effectively. Catherine James responded by confirming there were existing Knowledge Exchange Sessions hosted by Welsh Government, which could be promoted throughout Partner organisations. Updates were also received through regular dialogue with the Future Generations Commissioner’s Office. The Well-being Information Bank was also publicly available and updated when new data sets were released. Catherine James advised that this was the logic behind the proposal to combine the WBA and PNA; the need to reduce duplication and maximise collaboration would continue to be promoted wherever possible. The Chair noted the risk mentioned in the report regarding data sharing, and asked what the likely blockage points were in the data sharing between partners? Catherine James responded that there was a risk of not being able to share data effectively as part of the Step’s work due to individual organisations of the PSB having different approaches to information governance and security. This could be mitigated by the memorandum of understanding agreed at a previous Board meeting, so long as the Data Protection Officers of each PSB Partner organisation continue to be in agreement to share the necessary data.
Liz Hutchins provided an update on the Responding to the Climate Emergency Step’s quarter one activity. The Step was on track in producing a strategic climate action plan for Powys and would be ready to present to the PSB at the December meeting or at a separate meeting with partners. It was noted that the team were around halfway through the first phase of the Step’s work plan, however the issue of further funding needed to be addressed if the PSB wanted the coordinated Powys climate work to continue. Liz Hutchins noted that the Step was made a five-year priority as part of the Well-being Plan, with its purpose being to scale up action for a just transition to a net zero Powys, with a focus on county-wide climate action using an evidence-based community-led approach. Phase One had progressed very well and was on-track to finish by the end of December 2024. The team were currently undertaking research and analysis to inform a climate risk assessment, understanding the risks that Powys already faces and what they’re likely to be in future. Additionally, understanding Powys’ carbon footprint and sources of carbon. Work was also underway to understand carbon sequestration opportunities in Powys; the potential for nature to draw down excess carbon from the atmosphere. This work could also be aligned to Powys’ nature recovery goals, and more widely in terms of food production and economic development. Shared Prosperity Funding was also being utilised to carry out five feasibility studies. These studies would be informed by the analysis from the climate risk assessment for Powys, in addition to feedback from stakeholder engagement which was being planned and scheduled. This engagement and networking were important, as once the climate action plan was finalised, it would need to be delivered by Powys PSB organisations as well as other sectors and community organisations. It was noted that a lot of good work was ongoing in communities already, which needed to be collated to understand the total impact and to identify the areas that needed to be built upon. As part of phase two, the Powys Climate Action Plan was on-track to be developed by the end of 2024, with recommendations for proposals for action across different sectors in Powys, along with a matrix of responsibility to ensure that right organisations/people were taking necessary action to deliver on the recommendations. Funding for the core team and consultancy who support the work was due to end by the end of the year if no further funding was identified. There was also a need to ensure stakeholders know what they can be doing to support the transition to net zero in Powys. Similarly, there was an appetite for public engagement and communications to inform people in what they can do in their everyday lives to support the journey to net zero. Part of phase 2 also envisaged supporting people and businesses in Powys to be able to invest in and make changes that support the net zero transition. This type of work needed to be coordinated by PSB Partners and wider stakeholders to influence and tailor strategic skills development, so that there are skills and expertise available to deliver on the Powys Climate Action Plan. To continue the Step’s work and to deliver on phase two, potential options had been developed and costed to inform the decision of PSB partners, however the PSB also needed to make a decision on how to fund the chosen option. Potential options for consideration included: • approaching Welsh Government for funding; • other public sector funds for example Shared Prosperity Fund and Innovate UK; • crowdsourcing; • philanthropy; • PSB organisations pooled funding. Questions Gavin Bown noted the positive work and progress made to date and agreed that duplication of work on climate change needed to be avoided, and noted that a potential way forward may be to influence existing schemes linked to tackling climate change to add value, such as the Sustainable Farming Scheme, however that needed to be mapped out in terms of what the PSB could influence. There was also crossover between procurement and skills/training with the work of the Mid Wales Growth Deal, and in other areas as part of the Marches Forward Partnership. Gareth Jones praised the good work achieved and noted the importance of the Step in achieving the objectives of the Well-being Plan. The Climate Action Plan recommendations may be more easily financed, however there still needed to be resource to provide the core support team to coordinate the work going forward both by external grant funding and from collective support of the PSB. There was a risk otherwise of losing the momentum due to the short-term funding gap. Diane Reynolds noted that there may be funding opportunities available and invited Liz Hutchins to contact the dedicated email address for PCC to support identifying grant funding. There may also be learning to be gained from the wider Climate Officer Network in terms of what other public bodies were planning to do in the absence of dedicated funding. County Councillor Gwynfor Thomas joined the meeting. Iwan Cray noted that considering the importance of continuing the Step’s work, the matter should be considered by Welsh Government first considering that RPBs have funding attached for delivery but not for PSBs. Mererid Bowley supported the idea of aligning systems to avoid duplication but still progress the Step’s work, however a small pot of money was still needed for the team to act as supporters and enablers. There were other programmes such as Shaping Places for Wellbeing which was funded and led by Public Health Wales, which includes a climate change workstream and so could support the risk identified in the annual report of not knowing what is going on elsewhere, by engaging with other representatives in the workstream The Chair noted each PSB partner was making decisions around how they operate to meet net zero targets, however duplication needed to be avoided and so the PSB was the best avenue for leading on the climate change response in Powys. If partners were able to contribute towards the minimum cost option to cover the staffing costs to deliver phase two of the Step’s work, that could then relieve the pressure of some of the work individual partners need to do regardless. Liz Hutchins added that the funding required was to bring the Climate Action Plan into action, to further crystalise projects accordingly and to centrally coordinate the responses of all the different stakeholders who will be involved in its delivery to limit duplication. Grant funding opportunities may assist with this however will not meet the core funding requirement. There was a possibility that the PSB could write to the Welsh Government or Future Generations Commissioner to make the case for funding to be made available, otherwise the funding could be collectively sourced from PSB partners. The Chair agreed that collectively funding the climate change action work at the PSB-level would enable the work required of all partners to be delegated to the team and to the Step. Iwan Cray was supportive although noted the challenges of the MWWFRS being a member of six PSBs and tried to maintain a consistent approach to requests for funding. The timing at mid-year was also challenging and so would need to be a decision of the Service’s Board. The Chair noted that the report prepared by Liz Hutchins was a good basis for a report with a series of options to be decided by each partner’s executive, with the decisions being reported back at the next meeting of the PSB in September. Gavin Bown added that NRW operated on an all-Wales basis and were due to present their net zero plan to their board in the autumn, which could provide scope to share thinking and practical outcomes with other PSB partners. A balance needed to be struck as there was a responsibility of organisations individually but also collectively as PSBs, and more widely as a public sector requiring engagement with the private and third sectors. Gareth Jones supported the Chair’s recommended approach, with discussions with individual organisations in the background to consider using both external funding and funding from PSB organisations, as it was clear that the coordination of the Step was needed. Mererid Bowley added that it would be beneficial to review the Powys Climate Action Plan in September if possible, to identify potential areas of overlap that fit with ongoing local systems-based work and also national/international climate change action. ACTION – To add an item to the agenda for the September PSB meeting to consider the approach agreed by individual Powys PSB partners. Officers are to liaise outside of the meeting to raise awareness of the funding issue for continuing the phase two work of the Step, and to prepare option reports for individual organisations to decide their chosen approach in readiness of the PSB meeting scheduled for 26th September 2024. Liz Hutchins added that the key requirement was for sustained core funding to cover staffing costs and to provide continuity. There was a risk that without the certainty of funding relatively soon, the core staff who are working on the project may leave for other employment. In addition to writing to Welsh Government, there was an alternative option for PSB partners to consider funding a shorter period of time, such as the first six months of 2025, to ensure the planned project phases were finalised and to also give the PSB more time to decide on a more longer-term funding approach. Liz Hutchins was able to support partners with drafting reports for a funding decision, including the option of a six-month extension of funding. Diane Reynolds added that If the PSB was to approach the Welsh Government, it should ideally be sent from the PSB secretariat. Partners also need to consider whether the request for funding is solely related to responding to climate change, or whether it is funding for the PSB’s work in general, of which climate change is a large part. James Langridge-Thomas noted that the PSB coordinator sessions were held every six-months, although it was possible to contact other PSB coordinators to find out what position they are in and how they have approached the collective challenges and funding arrangements. The Chair added that making contact with other coordinators would be beneficial, noting that a collective request from PSBs to Welsh Government would be a more powerful approach rather than an individual request. ACTION – PSB Secretariat to contact other PSB coordinators to understand the approach being taken to fund PSB activity, and whether there was a possibility for PSBs to jointly approach Welsh Government for grant funding.
Councillor John Powell gave an overview of Brecon Town Council’s annual report for 2023/24 including the main highlights identified within the report. The report covered aspects such as the Council’s governance arrangements, budget and activity undertaken throughout the year. It was noted that Brecon Town Council were committed to meeting the objectives of the local well-being plan, with a detailed breakdown of its activities over the past year, with indicators highlighting the associated well-being goals the work contributed to. The annual report concluded with an overview of the Council’s contributions to the national well-being goals for Wales in addition to the Steps of Powys PSB’s initial Well-being Plan. The Chair thanked Councillor John Powell for providing the report and update, noting that the Town Council was very active within the community. Mererid Bowley commended the Town Council for involving two youth representatives in the Council’s work. Gavin Bown queried how much dialogue occurred between town councils in Powys. Councillor John Powell responded by confirming that there was not much formal conversation with other town councils in Powys, although ideas are shared with neighbouring communities.
Catherine James provided an overview of the PSB Annual Report for 2023/24 for approval. The draft report was scrutinised by the PSB Scrutiny Committee in advance of the meeting, with the scrutiny recommendations report included as a supplementary agenda: Recommendations to the PSB PSB Response As a priority step within the Powys PSB Wellbeing Plan, clarity regarding further funding of the ‘Responding to the Climate Emergency’ Step following December 2024 is required to ensure the Step’s work can continue as planned. Accept – there are ongoing conversations around funding arrangements to continue past December 2024. Establish a high-level risk register that is reviewed at quarterly Board meetings, to identify, mitigate and maintain oversight of the risks which may impact on the delivery of the Well-being Plan. Accept – PSB Partners will need to agree a risk management approach to underpin the risk register. Consider including key performance indicators/measures and timescales aligned with the Well-being Plan Objectives, to enable effectiveness of the work of the steps to be measured over the long-term. Partially Accept – indicators/measures will need to be reviewed for each Step in terms of monitoring processes in the first instance. That the PSB review the national indicators included within the report so that the Board are assured that the indicators align with the Well-being Plan and Objectives. Accept – in conjunction with recommendation three, the national indicators included within the Well-being Plan will be reviewed in advance of the next annual report. The Chair queried whether the recommendation related to the PSB having its own risk register, rather than the Steps, and also how the PSB would establish its own risk register. Connor Farmer confirmed that the recommendation related to the PSB itself establishing a high-level risk register, and confirmed that Powys County Council’s risk management software could be used to set up and manage the PSB risk register, once approved by the Board. An action was agreed for the PSB Secretariat to add the PSB Risk Register item to the agenda for the September Board meeting. Mererid Bowley asked whether the PSB needed to broaden its thinking around the Well-being Plan and PNA, to link common objectives with the RPB, as the RPB has access to funding streams which the PSB may be able to use where there was slippage for example. The Chair agreed that the PSB should be maximising all possible funding streams to progress the partnership’s work as much as possible. Catherine James added that she would find out further information, although noted that the Step Leads were in a good position to feedback to each other on potential areas of overlap to collaborate on, similarly with RPB Partners, where there is collaboration already on engagement. There were no further questions and with no dissent, the Annual Report for 2023/24 was subsequently approved by the PSB.
Ystradgynlais Town Council provided their annual report for 2023/24 for information. The Chair commended the Council for their achievements, especially due to the voluntary nature of many of their roles.
Mererid Bowley provided a verbal update regarding the recent work which had started and was being led by Public Health Wales, known as ‘Shaping Places for Well-being in Wales’. PSB partners had sent representatives to the initial in-person learning group sessions in Cardiff, and would then be engaging in longer-term learning group sessions. The three learning group themes were: • Neighbourhood Well-being • Poverty and Inequality • Climate and Nature Emergency These themes aligned with the objectives of the Powys PSB Well-being Plan, and would be developed further using a systems-thinking approach. These skills will also be beneficial for the PSB representatives engaging with the programme for use in the wider work of the PSB and partners.
Iwan Cray provided a verbal update regarding the change to the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s (MWWFRS) policy in responding to automated fire alarms. The decision was made earlier in April and took affect from 1st July 2024. It was noted that these responses formed a large proportion of the Service’s activity. Changes included: • Only responding to automated fire alarm calls from domestic premises (such as private dwellings, flats and care homes); • and premises that have fire safety deficiencies listed against them (such as places with prohibition or enforcement notices) The reasons for this policy change included reducing disruption caused in-house; reducing unnecessary travel and associated road risk; the environmental benefit of reducing vehicle movements and to reduce disruption to employers and associated loss of productivity. Following implementation of the policy, around four to five incidents per day were being reduced across the mid and west Wales area currently. Gavin Bown noted that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will be changing its approach to the flood warning system following a review of current arrangements due to technological drivers and contractual commitments, seeking to maximise its value and will be considered by the Local Resilience Fora across Wales with communications to share afterwards.
Due to running over the scheduled time on the agenda, the item was postponed to a future meeting of the PSB to provide sufficient time for consideration and discussion. ACTION – PSB Secretariat to identify a suitable future meeting date for the Centre for Digital Public Services to attend.
The dates of the scheduled future PSB meetings were noted as: · 26th September 2024, 14:00-16:00 · 11th December 2024, 10:00-12:30
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