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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.
Councillor A H Stevens declared a personal interest in minute 9 - Follow Up: Scrutiny Working Group – Community Growing. Councillor A Stevens stated that he had dispensation from the Standards Committee to stay, speak but not vote on matters relating to the Food Wales Bill.
In accordance with the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, no declarations of Whipped Votes or Party Whips were declared.
Resolved that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committees held on 13 May and 15 May 2025 be approved and signed as correct records.
There were no public questions.
The Chair presented the report to ensure that everyone was clear about the role of the Committee, being the first meeting of the municipal year. Committee agreement was sought to continue the co-option of: · Performance Panel Conveners not already on the Committee, for the year ahead; and · representatives from partner agencies to assist with the Scrutiny of Swansea Public Services Board, for those meetings only The report also encouraged Committee discussion about effective working. Resolved that: 1) The co-option of Scrutiny Performance Panels conveners to the Committee be renewed. 2) The co-option of partnership organisations to enable representatives to participate in the Committee’s scrutiny of the Public Services Board be renewed.
The Cabinet Member for Community (Support) and the Cabinet Members for Well-being and Environment & Infrastructure assisted by Officers provided an update of the delivery of Community Growing for Swansea Council. This was in response to the Committee following up on the Scrutiny Working Group meeting on Community Growing in May 2024. Councillor M W Locke, Convenor of the Working Group, was also present and and referred to the main areas of follow up that the Committee should explore. Committee questioning and discussion focussed on: · Green Spaces/Biodiversity – Officers confirmed that work was ongoing on the Wild About Our Ward project. The Nature Conservation Team had completed draft versions of all 32 ward-based maps, highlighting key biodiversity and green space features. Members were told about the technical work required before uploading the maps to the Council website so that they can be interactive for users, and noted the proposal to initially distribute them as PDF’s to all Councillors in the Autumn. IT services were currently developing new software to make the maps interactive. It was also noted that the draft maps would be shared with local members for feedback prior to being finalised and published online. · Schools – Officers outlined efforts to encourage school governing bodies to appoint link governors to champion green space and growing initiatives within their schools. The Committee was told that there was regular communication between the Council and governing bodies, including a termly newsletter. It was confirmed that schools had been contacted and a further reminder would be sent in early Autumn. Additionally, guidance on growing projects on school sites had been provided. Although no feedback had been received to date, it would be actively sought as it was acknowledged there were known examples of good practice already taking place in some schools. For example, Members noted the success of the ‘Green Scene’ Scheme at Brynmill School. Officers had provided guidance to schools without access to green spaces, encouraging the use of raised beds for growing fruit and vegetables. This guidance would be re-issued and would include information about the role of the link governor. Officers also highlighted the availability of the Emergency Food Aid Grant which was accessible to community growing groups and schools. · Community Gardens – The Committee was keen to get an overview of how many gardening clubs or community growing groups currently exist across the City & County of Swansea. Officers reported that there were currently around 30 community growing group projects across a range of settings, including community centres, initiatives addressing food poverty, religious venues, the Council’s Youth Service and Community Councils. Further checks would be undertaken with partner organisations to ensure the list was comprehensive and up-to-date. It was noted that projects typically involve a mix of food cultivation and wildflower planting. Officers outlined the partnership working, eligibility of grant funding and approaches to managing food waste distribution. · Garden Sharing Scheme – The Committee asked about one the Working Group recommendations not taken forward by the Cabinet Member. Committee members acknowledged the valuable benefits of community growing and garden maintenance, and asked the Cabinet Member to revisit developing a garden sharing scheme. However, the Committee was informed that the situation remained unchanged from last year as there was currently no resource available to explore, develop or maintain a Council led scheme. Officers highlighted the challenges associated with implementing such a programme and were informed of the national Lend and Tend Scheme which was accessible to Swansea residents with further details available on its official website. · Other Developments: - Sustainable Food Policy – The Committee asked about other developments in relation to Community Growing and asked about progress in developing a Sustainable Food Policy. It was noted that this was linked to the national Food (Wales) Bill, and work was on hold whilst the Welsh Government determines national policy. - Sustainable Farming Scheme - There was discussion about the Sustainable Farming Scheme, which had just been published, and grant funding. The Cabinet Member for Environment & Infrastructure would be reviewing the Welsh Government’s report to understand the potential opportunities and grant funding opportunities under the Sustainable Farming Scheme. The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for Community (Support), the Cabinet Members for Well-being and Environment & Infrastructure and Officers for their input. Resolved that: 1) the Chair write to the Cabinet Member for Community (Support) reflecting the discussion and sharing the views of the Committee.
There were no changes to report.
The Chair referred to the following letters, reflecting on recent Scrutiny activity: · Follow Up – Anti-Social Behaviour Scrutiny Inquiry Panel – 13 March 2025 – Letter to Cabinet Member for Well-being. · Empty Properties Scrutiny Working Group – 25 March 2025 – Letter to / from Cabinet Member for Service Transformation. · Committee – Crime & Disorder Scrutiny (Safer Swansea Partnership) – 8 April 2025 – Letter to Joint Chairs of Safer Swansea Partnership. · Tree Services Scrutiny Working Group – 19 May 2025 – Letter to / from Cabinet Member for Community (Services).
The Chair stated that following consultation, including the recent Scrutiny Work Planning Conference, the report contained a proposed Work Programme for the year ahead. The Draft Work Programme showed the proposed Inquiry Panel and Working Groups that would be established for the year ahead, Performance Panel arrangements, and topics which the Committee itself will lead on. A Draft plan for future Committee meetings was also shown. The Work Programme document also showed the coverage of topics across Cabinet portfolios and links to Council priorities (Corporate Well-being Objectives), which were important considerations. He highlighted the following: · In-depth Inquiry Panel – There is capacity to support 1 in-depth Inquiry per year. Once the current Grants Inquiry is concluded, the next Inquiry would be on ‘Cost of Living & Community Resilience. The Terms of Reference and Key Question will be need to be agreed by the Inquiry Panel when it meets. · One-off Working Groups – Working Group topics have been identified, focussing in turn on ‘Heritage Protection and Restoration’, ‘Streetscene’, ‘Taxi Services’, ‘Public Toilets’ and ‘Business Support’.. · Performance Panel arrangements would be unchanged from last year. Each Performance Panel will have its own work plan, developed by the Convener / Members and agreed by the Panel, however the Programme showed some of the topics which should be considered within their work plans. Subject to agreement, expressions of interest would then be sought from Scrutiny Councillors to participate in new Scrutiny activities, and reported back to the Committee. He referred to the next Committee meeting, taking place on 16 September, and arrangements would be made for the Committee to focus on: · Recycling / Waste Collection Service (following Committee discussion in July 2024, primarily to hear how operational issues, including staffing, that affected services during 2024 have been addressed) · Fly Tipping Reduction and Enforcement Resolved that: 1) The Scrutiny Work Programme for 2025/26 including new Inquiry topic, Performance Panel arrangements, and Working Group topic priorities be approved. 2) The Committee Work Plan be approved.
The Chair referred upcoming Panel/Working Group/Regional Scrutiny meetings, for awareness.
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.
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