Scrutiny Inquiry Panel - Cost of Living

The Scrutiny Inquiry Panel on the cost of living heard evidence from the Council's employment support services. It noted a written response from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It agreed to meet again on 12 October and to visit a food bank in Blaenymaes in late October. The minute records no decision on the evidence itself. The Panel will weigh all the evidence when it agrees its conclusions.

1. Cost of living inquiry: Council employment support services

   Decided

   The minutes record no decision on this item.

   Why

   Cabinet Member for Community Cllr Rebecca Fogarty and the Employment and Skills Manager, Jo-Anne Thomas, presented a report answering questions the Panel had sent in advance. The report says staff on the Communities for Work Plus programme have seen some people turn down job offers because they cannot afford the fuel to get to work, and more people asking for help with utilities, clothing and debt advice. The report and discussion will form part of an Inquiry Findings Report, which returns to the Panel at the end of the evidence gathering stage.

   Based on the minutes, 2026 09 23 Scrutiny Report - Employment Team Cost of Living Impacts (002)

2. Written response from the Department for Work and Pensions

   Decided

   The Panel noted the response from the Department for Work and Pensions. It will go into the evidence pack and be considered with the other evidence gathered in the inquiry.

   Why

   The DWP said it would not attend in person, because many of the Panel's questions concern national policy that local staff cannot answer. It suggested the Panel write to DWP Ministers and pointed to its Stat-Xplore statistics service. It answered two operational questions, covering its support for residents and how urgent cases of DWP error can be escalated.

   Based on the minutes, DWP Email

3. Inquiry project plan: next meeting and food bank visit

   Decided

   The next meeting will be on 12 October at 10.30am on MS Teams. The Panel agreed to make a site visit to the food bank in Blaenymaes towards the end of October.

   Why

   The project plan in the papers lists a session with Citizens Advice on 12 October and a session on food banks and food-related initiatives at the end of October, with the date still to be confirmed. It also shows a concluding meeting on 17 November. The plan says the final report would go to SPC in February and to the Cabinet, the council's group of senior councillors who run services, in March.

   Based on the minutes, 02 - Cost of Living Inquiry Project Plan as at 6 Mar

Written by AI from the council's minutes and reports. Sentences with a number or name that can't be found in those papers are removed automatically, but mistakes are still possible. Councils publish no word-for-word record of meetings, so this says what was decided and why. Read the official papers to be sure.

1. 2

   Disclosure of Personal and Prejudicial Interests

   Minute

   None

2. 3

   Prohibition of Whipped Votes and Declaration of Party Whips

   Minute

   None

3. 4

   Minutes

   Minute

   Minutes of the 27 July 2026 were agreed as a correct record.

   Papers: CoL SIP 29 June 2026 Minutes
4. 5

   Public Questions

   Minute

   No public questions were received.

5. 6

   Cost of Living Scrutiny Inquiry - Employment Services

   Minute

   Cabinet Member for Community Cllr Rebecca Fogarty and the Employment and Skills Manager Jo-Anne Thomas attended the meeting to present the report they prepared that addressed a set of questions the Panel sent to her in advance of the meeting and to answer any questions the Panel had. The report and the discussion arising from this will form part of the Inquiry Findings Report and this will be brought back to the Panel at the end of the evidence gathering phase of the inquiry. It will then be considered alongside all the other evidence gathered when discussing and agreeing the Inquiry conclusions and recommendations.

   Papers: 2026 09 23 Scrutiny Report - Employment Team Cost of Living Impacts (002)
6. 7

   Written Response Department for Work and Pensions

   Minute

   The Panel noted the response received from the Department for Work and Pensions. This will be included in the evidence pack and considered alongside the other evidence gathered as part of the inquiry.

   Papers: DWP Email
7. 8

   Inquiry Project Plan

   Minute

   The next meeting will take place on the 12 October at 10.30am via MS Teams. The Panel also agreed to make a site visit to the food bank in Blaenymaes towards the end of October.

   Part of an issue followed across 10 meetings

   Papers: 02 - Cost of Living Inquiry Project Plan as at 6 Mar

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.

• Lyndon Jones MBE, ChairConservativePresent
• Adam Davis, Committee MemberLabourPresent
• Allan Jeffery, Committee MemberLiberal DemocratPresent
• Jeff Jones, Committee MemberLiberal DemocratPresent
• Joe Hale, Committee MemberIndependentAbsent
• Lynda James, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Mair Baker, Committee MemberLabourRecorded
• Michael Locke, Committee MemberLiberal DemocratPresent
• Nicola Furlong, Committee MemberLiberal DemocratAbsent
• Oliver James, Committee MemberLabourAbsent
• Rebecca Fogarty, Community RepresentativeLabourPresent
• Susan Jones, Committee MemberIndependentPresent
• Tony Fitzgerald, Committee MemberIndependents@SwanseaAbsent

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