The Panel heard from the Gowerton Comprehensive School cluster of schools and their partners about how they are introducing the Curriculum for Wales. Headteachers, chairs of governors and a Partneriaeth link officer gave a presentation and answered the Panel's written and spoken questions. The minute records no decision; the Panel's views will go to the Cabinet Member in a letter from the Convener after the meeting.
At its meeting on 18 January 2024, Swansea Cabinet approved a Customer Charter, a Co-production Policy, publication of the 2022/23 Annual Equality Review, nine local authority governor appointments, a new model for alternative education, a Damp and Mould Policy for council homes, and agreements for smart city equipment on lamp posts. It also approved a statutory notice on merging two special schools into one, with Cabinet to decide the outcome on 18 April 2024 after considering any objections.
The Committee questioned the Leader of the Council, Councillor Rob Stewart, on his portfolio, covering major projects, city centre parking and the council's transformation work. The only decisions were to ask the Chair to write to Cabinet Members with the Committee's views and to note the panel's update.
The Panel met to scrutinise the Council's 2024/25 budget proposals, the Quarter 2 budget monitoring report, the Quarter 2 performance report and an update on the Swansea Destination Management Plan 2023-2026. No formal decisions are recorded in the minutes for the budget or performance items; the Panel noted the reports and questioned officers and Cabinet Members, then agreed to send letters. The Panel also noted the work plan, which sets a pre-decision scrutiny session on the annual budget for 13 February.
Cabinet met in special session to consider the Council's budget proposals for 2024/25 to 2027/28.
The Planning Committee considered an application to build up to 108 homes on Plots E7 and E8 at Swansea Waterfront. The minute records that the committee approved the application subject to a Section 106 agreement, which is a legal agreement between the council and the developer that sets out obligations the developer must meet.
Cabinet met on 21 December 2023. It approved ten nominees for local authority governor vacancies at nine schools, and changed the voting rules for the regional education partnership so each council can choose whether its Leader or its Cabinet Member for Education votes.
The Scrutiny Programme Committee considered reports on tackling poverty, support for business and bus-related matters, and noted several panel updates. The minutes of this meeting record the declarations of interest and the items considered, but for the substantive items the minute records only that the Committee questioned the Cabinet Member and agreed to write letters. Items 12 and 13 have no minute published yet, so the decisions they record are not stated here.
The Scrutiny Performance Panel – Education, a group of councillors who check the council's education services, heard the annual report on education performance against the council's priorities, including progress on two Estyn inspection recommendations. It also heard feedback from the councillor group that scrutinises Partneriaeth, the joint education improvement service. No decisions were recorded: the report was for information, and the Panel asked questions and gave its views.
The Adult Services Scrutiny Performance Panel met on 12 December 2023 to review the October 2023 performance report and to hear a briefing on dementia care, including case studies. The minutes record no formal decisions. They record requests for further information on dementia prevention work and on the Marie Curie respite project, and the Panel's letter to Cabinet Members asks for written replies by 23 January 2024.
The panel considered the council's revenue reserves, a verbal mid-year budget update, recycling performance for 2022/23, and the council's response to an Audit Wales review of its digital strategy. The panel noted the reserves report, which had already gone to Council, and asked for the annual review of the digital strategy to come to scrutiny.
On 7 December 2023 the full Council approved a review of revenue reserves, the Council Tax Base for 2024/25, and an updated Councillors Handbook that includes guidance on the use of the council logo. The Section 151 Officer also gave a verbal update on the mid-term budget, and councillors asked ten supplementary questions, with written answers to follow.
It approved listed building consent for a screen in Court 2 at the Guildhall, adopted new planning guidance on converting traditional rural buildings, and approved a draft Countryside Access Plan for public consultation.
The Panel reviewed performance for September 2023, the Child and Family Improvement Programme, and the work of the Contextual, Missing, Exploited and Trafficked (CMET) team. The minutes record one action: the Panel will receive more information on a new computer system that Welsh Government plans to introduce.
The Panel received a briefing on environmental tourism from the Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration, Events and Tourism and the Tourism and Marketing Manager. The minute records no vote; it lists three actions for officers to provide information on active travel links, the Wales Coastal Path and a ski-style cycle map. Following the meeting, the Panel wrote to Cabinet Members, and their responses dated 3 January 2024 are included in the papers.