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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors Adrian Jones, Corinna Kenyon-Wade, Glyn Preston and David Bryan (Pembrokeshire County Council); Peter Swanson (PAVO), Tracey Deacon, Fiona Valentine, Chloe Barrell and Mererid Bowley (Powys Teaching Health Board). The Chair requested that Members attend future meetings wherever possible.
No declarations of interest were received from Members.
The Committee did not receive any disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.
Documents Considered: • Draft minutes of the previous meeting The minutes of the last meeting held 28th March 2024 were agreed as a correct record.
Documents Considered: • Draft Powys Public Services Board (PSB) Annual Progress Report 2023/24 Issues Discussed: The Chair noted that the PSB annual report was due to be considered for approval at the PSB meeting scheduled for 18th July 2024. The Committee therefore had an opportunity to provide pre-scrutiny and issue recommendations to the Board in advance of their meeting. In accordance with section 45 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, the PSB must prepare and publish an annual progress report which specifies the steps taken since the publication of the Board’s most recent Well-being Plan (in 2023) to meet the objectives set out in the Plan. The PSB may include other information as the Board considers appropriate and must provide a copy of the report to the PSB Scrutiny Committee. The annual progress report for 2023/24 was structured to establish the following: · Objectives of the Powys PSB Well-being Plan · The steps taken to help meet the well-being objectives · How the three Steps had progressed · Other activity of Powys PSB · How the PSB were working more sustainably · How the PSB were working towards the Well-being Goals for Wales · Overall assessment of well-being in Powys Members reviewed the annual report page-by-page noting the following observations and recommendations, particularly in relation to the ‘How have the Steps progressed’ section of the report: • Members expressed concern regarding the future funding position of the PSB’s work in delivering on the Well-being Plan Objectives, particularly when positive outcomes were being reported within the first year of the new Well-being Plan. • Noted that there was a contradiction between the need to be sustainable, despite the lack of access to funding/resource to enable this work. Members noted that creative solutions were therefore needed around resourcing/budgeting, with agreement sought across the PSB Partnership. • The Chair requested that the PSB consider bold, insightful and innovative actions to drive sustainability across the work of the PSB Partnership, especially considering the current economic situation. • Members welcomed the overall positive picture portrayed by the chosen National Well-being Indicators (comparing Powys and Welsh figures) noting that the work of the PSB would take time to fully reflect in these statistics. • Members resolved to consider the current Well-being Indicators at a future scrutiny session, however felt that the Board should have the opportunity first to review the current Well-being Indicators in terms of their alignment with the Well-being Plan. • Members recommended adding a ‘climate and nature’ section to PSB report templates where possible to ensure all PSB work regularly considered actual/potential climate and nature impacts. Discussion / Debate: Responding to the Climate Emergency Step Members noted the following observations: • It would be useful to include further detail of the stakeholder engagement sessions held during 2023/24, to understand the feedback gained from stakeholders, whether the sessions were successful and how feedback informed future plans. • Within the ‘What have we learned and what do we need to do differently?’ section, it would be useful to include further information regarding the extent of impact on people in their daily lives, such as some examples or a case study. • Members noted the inclusion of baseline figures would be helpful for benchmarking; to track progress between annual reporting and to measure impact over the longer term. This may also assist with defining what success looks like for this Step. • The Committee noted that further funding/resource needed to be allocated by the PSB to enable the Climate Emergency Step’s work to continue past quarter three, to ensure the goals of the Step and PSB are met. • Regarding the high-level Powys Climate Action Plan within section 4.4, the Chair requested that the ‘matrix of responsibility’ mentioned in point C should also include accountability. • Regarding section three of the ‘What challenges do we face’ section, it would be helpful for the PSB to include here: the need to embed climate change action as a responsibility of all Powys PSB Partner organisations, to remove silo working as much as possible by collaborating and aligning the approach of Partners. The Chair congratulated the Step Lead and team for their work and looked forward to seeing the finalised PSB Climate Action Plan. A Whole System Approach to Healthy Weight Step Members made the following observations: • Members queried whether the ‘education’ aspect of healthy eating needed to be embedded further within the Step’s work, considering the focus on healthy lifestyles within the National Curriculum for Wales. This could inform children’s awareness of healthy eating, with knowledge passed on further to parents/carers/families. • Members questioned to what extent was complimentary work ongoing within Powys schools in addressing overweight and obesity; was this work solely focused on 0-5 years only? • It was noted that inclusion of a set of key performance indicators could be useful, considering the preventative and multi-generational aspect of this Step’s work. • Further details of the stakeholder engagement sessions held, and how outcomes have informed and improved the Step’s work and plan would be welcomed. • Considering that some communities of Powys experience inequity of access to affordable healthy food sources, how could engagement be improved to ensure people of all socio-economic backgrounds are informed of the support available? • Clarity was sought as to whether the Cooking Counts courses would be delivered in communities experiencing the highest levels of deprivation. • Noted that it would be useful to include examples/measures to monitor the progress and delivery of the Step’s goals. • Regarding the ‘What challenges do we face’ section, Members noted a similar theme emerging around limited funding and capacity. It was further noted that community groups who can support the Step’s work also needed sustainable funding sources. The Chair praised the work of the Step and noted the good progress made over the past year. Evidence and Insight Step Members noted the following observations: • Clarity was sought as to how the Step’s work could evolve and gain traction further in future; Members noted the potential for further advertising and engagement around the Well-being Information Bank, as it is a very useful data resource in providing current and future insights both for PSB Partnership and public use. • Members questioned how impact will be evidenced for this Step. • Following Year 3 of the Step’s current work plan, what would success look like at this point? • Further details of how the Evidence and Insight Step has supported the other Steps would be welcomed, in addition to how it has helped to shape policy across the PSB Partnership. • Members questioned how best to engage and promote the Step’s work, including utilising and sharing the Well-being Information Bank with PSB Partners, Town and Community Councils and third sector organisations. There is a need to ensure people using these resources can use them effectively to inform longer-term thinking and planning. Outcomes: PSB Scrutiny Committee issued the following recommendations to the PSB: • As a priority step within the Powys PSB Well-being 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. • 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. • 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. • 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.
Members resolved to add the following items to the Committee’s forward work programme: · Evidence and Insight/Well-being Information Bank development session. · Review the national well-being indicators used in the PSB annual report (following the PSB’s review). · Collaboration between Powys PSB, RPB and the Mid Wales Corporate Joint Committee. Actions: Secretariat to: · circulate the PSB agenda pack with PSB Scrutiny Committee Members once published on a continual basis · identify potential dates for future PSB Scrutiny Committee meetings/development sessions · invite the Responding to the Climate Emergency Step Lead to the next meeting/development session · continue scheduling hybrid meetings to allow in-person and remote attendance
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