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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to elect County Councillor Jake Berriman as Chair of Powys Public Services Board.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to elect County Councillor Jake Berriman as Chair of Powys Public Services Board.
Connor Farmer explained that a vacancy for the Chair of Powys Public Services Board (PSB) had become available following the resignation of County Councillor James Gibson-Watt as Executive Leader of Powys County Council, who was the former Chair of Powys PSB. Prior to the meeting, a request for nominations was circulated by the PSB Secretariat amongst the representatives of the statutory members of the PSB, who were eligible to hold the position of Chair. The Vice-Chair, currently held by Dr Carl Cooper (Chair of Powys Teaching Health Board) remained unchanged. No nominations were received prior to the meeting; as a result, representatives of the statutory member organisations were requested to nominate a new Chair from amongst themselves. County Councillor Jake Berriman nominated himself for the position of Chair, which was proposed by Gavin Bown and seconded by Mererid Bowley. Voting by a show of hands, a majority of the statutory member representatives RESOLVED to elect County Councillor Jake Berriman as Chair of Powys Public Services Board.
The Chair formally welcomed attendees to the meeting, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to chair the PSB and provided a brief background on his role at Powys County Council. Apologies were received from: Hayley Thomas (represented by Mererid Bowley), Dr Carl Cooper and Fiona Valentine (Powys Teaching Health Board); Iwan Cray (Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, represented by Steve Rowlands); Diane Reynolds and Felicity Llewellyn (Powys County Council); Rhys Morris and Anne Watkin (Welsh Government); Allison Perry (Office of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner); Christine Harley (HM Prisons and Probation Service); Liz Hutchins and Simone Lowthe-Thomas (Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority).
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 9th April, were considered for approval. Proposed by Gavin Bown and seconded by Mererid Bowley, the Board RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the previous meeting held 9 April 2025 as a correct record of events.
Catherine James provided an update on the progress made during Quarter 1 2025/26 for the Evidence and Insight Step, with progress being on track overall: • A new template was being used to report the key milestones, progress and priorities for the Step to focus on the most salient points • significant collaborative work had been undertaken to improve how engagement findings were shared across partnerships in Powys, particularly between Powys PSB and Powys Regional Partnership Board (RPB) • the six-monthly ‘Powys People and Communities Insight Report’ was a key output of the Powys Engagement and Insight Network, consolidating engagement findings and insight across PSB and RPB partner organisations • preparatory work was underway for the upcoming PSB well-being assessment (due for publication in March 2027); the importance of having comprehensive data available to inform this assessment was highlighted, as it was used by Powys County Council and other partners to inform their strategic planning. The issues and risks identified by the Step were noted, with further detail provided in the Step’s quarterly progress report. Questions and Discussion The Chair queried whether engagement information could be presented on a locality-basis and integrated with other data sets. Emma Palmer raised the importance of using the evidence and insight gained from partners’ engagement to inform decision-making and to avoid duplication of effort on engagement across partnerships, requesting clarification on how this could be evidenced. Claire Swales supported the partnership approach and presenting engagement findings through a locality lens, as well as stressing the importance of defining ‘good’ community engagement and increasing awareness of the Have Your Say Powys online engagement platform. Catherine James and Connor Farmer provided initial responses and confirmed that the queries would be further considered with responses provided at the next PSB meeting. Actions Arising Actions for the Step to consider for response at a future meeting included: • to expand the dissemination of engagement findings within and between partner organisations to maximise their impact, and • to identify a method for evidencing how and where duplication of public engagement has been avoided through collaborative engagement activity with partners.
Toby Pitts and Melusi Moyo provided a Quarter 1 progress update for the Responding to the Climate Emergency Step, supported by a presentation. The first phase of work had concluded, which included: • a carbon footprint assessment; a decarbonisation trajectory for Powys; a climate risk assessment; feasibility studies; stakeholder engagement had been held, including with town and community councils • case studies and asset mapping provided a strong evidence base of climate risks and opportunities in Powys. For the second phase of work, additional Shared Prosperity Funding had been secured up until February 2026. Work was to shift from research and evidence-gathering to immediate climate action and capacity-building for long-term impact. The next steps for phase two were proposed to include a range of work packages, including: • a Climate Engagement Hub: Development of a dedicated climate engagement hub on the Have Your Say website, enabling two-way communication and sharing of climate-related information, assets and updates. • Stakeholder Coordination: Transitioning the Powys Climate Stakeholder Group into a panel with clear terms of reference and ongoing coordination among public bodies and key groups. • Climate Social Enterprises: Collaboration with social enterprises (e.g., The Hive and Super Surplus) to scale up local climate solutions across the county and promote holistic, wellbeing-linked approaches. • Problem Solving and Advocacy: Organisation of focused, hackathon-style workshops to address climate challenges (e.g., data sharing) and provide feedback to decision-makers. • Strategy, Policy and Project Management: Continued CDP disclosure reporting, alignment with evidence and insight and development of a costed plan for future climate work beyond February 2026. • Funding and Finance: Exploration of fundraising bids and innovative financing, with input from the new Head of Natural Capital. • Framework for Climate Action: Introduction of a framework based on the Climate Change Committee’s ‘onion diagram’, illustrating how public bodies can multiply their impact by mobilising wider societal action. • Systemic Climate Risks: Presentation of eight systemic climate risks identified for Powys, derived from the climate risk assessment, to guide future focus and decision-making. Discussion: • Emma Palmer welcomed the climate action framework presentation, highlighting the usefulness of the ‘onion diagram’ and its broader relevance. • Discussions included a need for a pragmatic approach regarding employee travel, given Powys’s geography. The links between potential impacts on health, climate and social care, especially for vulnerable groups were also discussed, requiring action by the public sector, noting that actions needed to be realistic. • A need for clear communication and public engagement was highlighted, suggesting quick, actionable wins for both the public sector and wider community. • It was confirmed that the next project phase would focus on simplifying technical information into clear actions, including through platforms such as the Have Your Say Powys website.
Mererid Bowley and Anna Prothero provided a Quarter 1 progress update for the Whole System Approach to Healthy Weight Step. Stakeholder working groups had been merged due to overlapping scope: • The breastfeeding group and introduction to solids group had combined to form an Early Nutrition Group • The Cooking Skills and Affordability of Healthy Food groups had also been merged to create an Accessibility of Healthy Food Group. Promoting Breastfeeding: • Promotion of the Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme continued with over 320 organisations participating, surpassing the initial target of 300. A new target of 350 organisations by Breastfeeding Awareness Week (1–7 August) had been set. A communication plan was in place to encourage more businesses to join. • A gold standard workplace breastfeeding policy had been developed (Breastfeeding Charter) for Powys Teaching Health Board, to be shared with partners upon completion (expected by August/September). • Work towards UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative accreditation was ongoing, with an assessment due in July 2025. Introduction to Solid Foods: • The Public Health Team worked collaboratively with Powys County Council colleagues to include nutrition information on the new parenting hub webpage. • The Gold Standard Healthy Snack Award was available for local pre-school settings to promote healthy eating habits from an early age. • Work was underway to improve the collection and analysis of local data on the age of weaning, in collaboration with national colleagues. Accessibility/Affordability of Healthy Food: • The Healthy Start Scheme continued to be promoted. • A collaborative pilot was underway with local partners to provide healthy vegetable boxes in nurseries. • Improvements to the Healthy Start Scheme continued to be advocated for, to enable online purchases and automatic enrolment for qualifying families, as was the case in Scotland. Cooking Skills: • There were plans to commission targeted analysis to better understand barriers to cooking healthy food among parents of four- to five-year-olds in Powys (e.g., knowledge, affordability, access and equipment). Discussion: • The importance of joined-up thinking across the sector was emphasised, with reference to Powys Teaching Health Board’s involvement in the Bwyd Powys Food Plan and related school programmes. • Assurance was provided that partnerships with the Food and Fun programme and other relevant teams were continuing. • The wider benefits of the Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme were highlighted, particularly in promoting societal change and reducing stigma around breastfeeding in public. • Emma Palmer noted concerns raised at a recent child poverty conference where there were reports of young people avoiding school meals due to unfamiliar healthy food options, stressing the need for balancing healthy choices with meal uptake, and queried how partners and school caterers could be engaged to prevent this. • Mererid Bowley highlighted the importance of early exposure to a wide variety of foods to establish healthy eating habits as being key to tackling the issues raised. • Potential actions could include engaging healthy schools teams and education partners via school nutrition action groups and involving children in menu development to widen healthy food choices and encourage uptake.
The item was postponed and would be rescheduled for a future PSB meeting as County Councillor Jackie Charlton was not available to join to provide an update.
Catherine James provided an update on the Future Generations Report for 2025 which had been published since the last Board meeting. The statutory report was published every five years by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and included an assessment of improvements public bodies should make to help meet their well-being objectives in line with the sustainable development principle. There were over 50 recommendations, approximately 20 of which were relevant to PSBs. Examples discussed included calls for more long-term planning, unlocking private sector finance to support the transition to net zero, commitment to the Real Living Wage, ring-fencing budgets for prevention activities and rebuilding trust in decision-making. Board members were encouraged to review the report and consider its implications for their own organisation’s objectives and planning. It was noted that some recommendations (e.g., climate risk assessment and partnership integration) were already being implemented by Powys PSB. The National Food Resilience Plan was discussed in relation to the alignment of the Future Generations report with ongoing food-related projects in Powys, including efforts in schools to improve access to fresh fruit and vegetables and broader initiatives promoting sustainable and regenerative farming. Actions arising: Emma Palmer suggested dedicating some time as a PSB to collectively consider the recommendations for PSBs in the Future Generations Report, beyond those already underway, to identify priority and longer-term actions that Powys PSB could take, which would be helpful in informing the PSB’s next well-being plan. It was agreed that a workshop would be formed with partners interested in joining requested to send expressions of interest to Catherine James. It was agreed to report the outcomes of the workshop back to the Board at the December 2025 meeting. ACTION
Two letters from Welsh Government were received and noted: • a response to the PSB’s request for dedicated climate action funding for PSBs, explaining that no specific funding was planned to be made available to support PSBs with this activity, and • correspondence from Dawn Bowden MS, regarding PSB responsibilities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Dates of upcoming Board meetings were noted, with members invited to propose additional agenda items to add to the forward work programme.
The dates of future Board meetings were noted: · Thursday 25 September 2025, 14:00-16:00 · Thursday 11 December 2025, 14:00-16:00
The meeting was formally closed, with thanks extended to all participants. Attendees moved into private session to provide sustainability updates on behalf of their respective organisations.
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