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Cabinet news releases - October 2017
Published: 24/10/2017
Annual Performance Report
天涯社区鈥檚 performance during 2016-17 will be discussed at a
Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 24 October before the publication of the Council鈥檚
Annual Performance Report.
The report reflects the overall good progress that has been made against
priorities set out in the Improvement Plan 2016/17 and summarises the
achievements of the organisation. 天涯社区 continues to be a well-run and
high performing council. Our consistently good performance has been recognised
locally and nationally. 天涯社区 is the most improved council in Wales when
comparing similar performance measures.
Some of the successes are set out below:
路 Over 3,300 customers contacted our housing service for advice and
assistance. 63.4% of these enquiries were managed at the first point of
contact allowing our specialist teams more capacity to deal with the remaining
36.6% more complex and urgent cases.
路 Twelve new Council homes were completed through the Strategic Housing and
Regeneration Programme (SHARP) at the former Custom House School site, and work
will continue into 2017/18.
路 The Council secured 285 鈥渟hared equity鈥� properties for local first time
buyers through developers鈥� contributions. Developers have also gifted
properties to North East Wales (NEW) Homes to the value of 拢3m.
路 We have supported person-centred care in 16 residential homes and 3 nursing
homes by providing 鈥淧rogress for Providers鈥� training and guidance.
路 There are three Dementia Friendly communities in 天涯社区, and four other
communities are applying for this status. We now have 38 Dementia Friendly
businesses, and 10 memory caf茅s.
路 天涯社区 has played a central role in developing an Economic
Growth Deal Bid for North Wales with the UK and Wales Governments.
路 181 business enquiries were received, of which 158 converted to investment,
resulting in a conversion rate of 87.2%.
路 Our development partner for the Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme
(SHARP), created 12 apprenticeships, 4 of these through Futureworks 天涯社区,
shared apprenticeship scheme.
路 天涯社区 is above the Wales and regional average for the percentage of Key
Stage 3 learners achieving improved outcomes in mathematics - we are ranked 5th
in Wales. At Key Stage 2 we have improved by 2.2% to highest level in North
Wales and 6th in Wales.
路 57% of 天涯社区 Youth Justice Service school age young people are in full
time employment, training or education (Wales average is 46%).
路 We helped 天涯社区 households obtain additional benefit income of over 拢1.5
million.
路 Communities First supported 99 people into full and part time employment and
helped 247 long term unemployed clients gain a qualification, helping them to
become more work ready.
路 The percentage of employees working in an agile way within County Hall was
87% which equates to a ratio of 819 desks to 944 employees.
路 In line with the Council鈥檚 Digital Strategy, online digital transactions
increased with over 11,000 customers choosing to correspond with the Council
online via the website. There was also a 19% increase in the number of people
using the Council鈥檚 website.
天涯社区 Chief Executive, Colin Everett, said:
The Council is making good progress in areas highlighted as priorities.
Despite intense funding pressures and reductions in national funding,
天涯社区 has been creative and successful in achieving its aims for another
year.鈥�
The Leader of 天涯社区, Councillor Aaron Shotton, said:
鈥淭he Council has once again proved to be a high performing organisation,
setting targets and meeting the priorities stated in the Improvement Plan.鈥�
The Report must be published by 31 October and at County Council on 24 October,
councillors will be asked to adopt the report for publishing.
天涯社区 Public Services Board
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to note the progress on the
work of the 天涯社区 Public Services Board (PSB) and support the PSB themes
for the Well-being Plan when it meets on 24 October.
The PSB was formed in April 2016, as a statutory responsibility of the
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Its work has focused on the
production of the Well-being Assessment and the development of the Wellbeing
Plan which is to be published by May 2018.
In addition, the PSB has continued work on the priorities from the former Local
Services Board (LSB) and also maintains its statutory role of the Community
Safety Partnership.
天涯社区 has a longstanding and proud track record of partnership working.
The 天涯社区 PSB is at the heart of promoting a positive culture of working
together and concentrates energy, effort and resources on providing efficient
and effective public services.
A Well-being Assessment for 天涯社区 has been produced and published in line
with statutory requirements. This presents a contemporary picture of life and
well-being in 天涯社区.
The Well-being Plan is a requirement of the Well-being of Future Generations
(Wales) Act and will be produced and published by May 2018.
This Plan has five priorities, chosen because this is where the PSB believes it
can add most value. These are:
路 Well-being and Independent Living (former LSB priority)
路 Community Safety (former LSB priority)
路 Resilient Communities (new priority)
路 Economy and Skills (new priority)
路 Environment (new priority)
The PSB themes and priorities/sub-priorities were formally adopted by all PSB
members and work is underway to pull these into a draft Well-Being Plan which
will go out for a 12 week public consultation, starting this month and
finishing at the end of January 2018.
These themes are also represented clearly in the Council鈥檚 own Plan for this
year; detailing the contribution of the Council鈥檚 commitments to the future
Well-being Plan.
The Well-being Plan for 天涯社区 once endorsed by the PSB, will be presented
to each of the PSB member bodies for approval with a view to the Plan being
published in early May 2018.
Councillor Billy Mullin, Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Assets,
said:
鈥淭hrough the Well-being Plan, 天涯社区 Council and its partner organisations
in the PSB can ensure they are working towards the same objectives for the
benefit of local residents. We are always looking at ways that we can enhance
the lives of local people.鈥�
Councillor Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council, said:
鈥溙煅纳缜� has a longstanding and proud track record of partnership working
and the PSB priorities link well with our Council Plan. The communities we
serve rightly expect the statutory and third sector partners to work together,
to work to shared priorities and, through collective effort, to get things
done.鈥�
Corporate Safeguarding Policy
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to approve the Corporate
Safeguarding Policy when it meets later this month.
Safeguarding is everybody鈥檚 business in every service within the Council.
Whilst Social Services remains the lead service for dealing with enquiries
regarding allegations and concerns, everyone, whatever their role, has a
responsibility to safeguard the well-being of children, young people and adults.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Social Services and Joint
Champion for Safeguarding, Councillor Christine Jones, said:
鈥淭he policy describes the roles and responsibilities expected of every
employee, as well as elected members, volunteers and contractors. It includes
information on the different kinds of abuse, recognising signs of abuse and how
to report any concerns you may have.
鈥淭he policy doesn鈥檛 replace existing arrangements within Social Services;
rather, it sets out the duty for the Council as a whole organisation, making
clear the responsibilities at all levels, regardless of their area of work.鈥�
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Joint
Champion for Safeguarding, Councillor Billy Mullin, said:
鈥溙煅纳缜� is committed to its responsibilities and has taken positive steps
by establishing an internal Corporate Safeguarding Panel to ensure that there
are robust arrangements in place for protecting children, young people and
adults. This policy is as a result of the work undertaken so far by the Panel.鈥�
The policy will be supported by a number of measures available to employees and
elected members, including:
路 Frequently asked questions;
路 Two e-learning programmes for safeguarding children and safeguarding adults
available online;
路 AFTA Thought, an organisation specialising in training through drama,
delivered four Safeguarding training sessions in May and June which brought to
life different safeguarding issues. These sessions were attended by almost 300
employees across a range of portfolios.
路 Presentations about safeguarding to be made to Scrutiny Committees during the
next few months to raise their awareness.
路 Publication of a Corporate Safeguarding newsletter to reinforce the
importance of recognising and reporting concerns and to highlight current
issues.
Income Generation Policy
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to approve an Income Generation Policy when
it meets on 24 October 2017.
This policy has a number of key objectives and principles to assist in the
setting of appropriate and benchmarked fees and charges together with the
mechanism for regular reviews and monitoring.
The Council has undertaken a review of its fees and charges and concluded that:
路 some Council fees are appropriate;
路 other fees need to be reviewed to ensure costs are fully recovered, where
appropriate; and
路 there are opportunities to recover fees and charges which, based on other
local authorities鈥� activity, could legitimately be recovered.
Key objectives of the policy include:
路 Maximising income generation with full cost recovery wherever possible.
路 Ensuring that charges reflect the ability to pay.
路 Comparing costs with our own sector and market.
路 Taking into account any competition to deliver the service from the public,
private or voluntary sectors.
路 Ensuring that fees and charges are set in a way that complements the
Council鈥檚 wider policy goals.
路 Collecting costs as efficiently as possible, in advance of the point of
delivery and providing customers with as many ways as possible to pay.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Aaron
Shotton, said:
鈥淔ees and charges are an important part of the Council鈥檚 financial plans and
the review undertaken has sought to ensure that there are clear mechanisms to
set, review and recover fees and charges taking into account a customer鈥檚
ability to pay. At a time of increasing demands upon services and reducing
national financial support, it is critical for the future resilience of local
services that the council maximises its ability to raise other forms of income
to ameliorate the impacts of government cuts.鈥�
Welsh in the Workplace Policy
Members will be asked to adopt 天涯社区鈥檚 Welsh in the Workplace Policy at
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 24 October.
The purpose of the Welsh in the Workplace policy is to:
i) Promote positive attitudes and encourage employees to take
pride in the Welsh language and Welsh culture.
ii) Increase the number of Welsh speaking employees and provide
opportunities for employees who are already fluent Welsh speakers and those who
are learning to use Welsh at work.
iii) Encourage a bilingual working environment in which employees
have the freedom and support to work through the medium of Welsh.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Corporate Management and Assets,
Councillor Billy Mullin, said:
鈥淚mplementing this policy will support the Council to develop bilingual
services and comply with Welsh Language Standards. Amongst other things, it
will reduce our dependency on translation services, contribute towards
increasing the use of Welsh in the workplace and help to attract and retain
Welsh speaking employees. It also supports the Council鈥檚 Welsh in Education
Strategic Plan, sending a clear message, internally and externally, that the
Welsh language is valued outside of the school environment and is an asset in
employment.
鈥淥ffering more opportunities for employees to see, hear, use and practise Welsh
at work, will support them to become more confident and proficient, improving
the quality of Welsh medium services to the public. The more people are
immersed in a language, the more quickly they learn.鈥�
The Council鈥檚 ability to deliver bilingual services is challenged by the
difficulty in recruiting to Welsh essential posts. To rectify this situation,
the Council is reviewing such things as:
路 using practical and user friendly wording to describe the level of Welsh
skills required for posts. Employers who use specific examples of the levels of
skill required rather than stating a job is 鈥淲elsh essential鈥� have reported
more success in recruiting Welsh speakers.
路 using Welsh media to advertise posts; and
路 developing alternative solutions if suitable Welsh speaking applicants cannot
be recruited, for example, introducing a requirement to learn Welsh to a
specified level in a set time or training a Welsh speaker to fulfil other
requirements of a post.
Councillor Mullin added:
鈥溙煅纳缜� is committed to working with the Welsh Language Commissioner to
ensure that the Welsh Language Standards can be practically achieved,
recognising the Council鈥檚 geography and demographic breakdown. Resources to
support managers and employees are available, including developing an intranet
page to provide resources for Welsh learners.鈥�
Armed Forces Covenant
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to approve the Council鈥檚 first Annual Report
of the Armed Forces Covenant when it meets on 24 October.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that those who serve or
have served in the armed forces and their families are treated fairly. The
Covenant is a national responsibility involving government, businesses, local
authorities, charities and the public, encouraging local communities to support
the Armed Forces in their area and to promote understanding and awareness.
The Council is committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community by working
with a range of partners who have signed our Covenant, including 天涯社区
Local Voluntary Council and the Royal British Legion. The purpose of the
天涯社区 Covenant is to encourage support for the Armed Forces Community who
work and/or live in 天涯社区 and to recognise and remember the sacrifices
made by members of this Armed Forces Community.
A multi-agency steering group has been established and Councillor Andrew
Dunbobbin, who is the Council鈥檚 Armed Forces Champion, chairs the group.
The Steering Group has completed a self-assessment against the Covenant and
developed an action plan to progress its work. Key achievements are set out in
the Annual Report and include:
路 a dedicated page on the Council website providing information and support for
the Armed Forces Community and links to key agencies such as Betsi Cadwaladr
University Health Board (BCUHB);
路 a commitment to the Covenant in the Council Plan 2017/18;
路 the implementation of a Reservist Policy providing additional two weeks leave
for employees who are Reservists enabling them to attend their annual training
camp and provide support for those mobilised for duty to assist them transition
back to the workplace and retain continuous service status;
路 offer guaranteed interviews for veterans who meet the essential criteria of
the job role;
路 supported Accommodation Schemes for veterans are available in 天涯社区 in
partnership with First Choice Housing.
Councillor Dunbobbin said:
鈥淭he Council is also an active member of the Regional North Wales Regional
Armed Forces Forum which includes all six North Wales local authorities and
BCUHB. A successful North Wales local authorities鈥� bid for two year Ministry of
Defence funding has led to the temporary appointment of two North Wales Armed
Forces Liaison Officers. These posts will support local authorities to
implement the Covenant and work with services to meet the needs of the Armed
Forces Community.鈥�
Bailey Hill HLF application
Later this month, members of 天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked
to agree a report on a stage 2 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) application for
Bailey Hill in Mold and to agree the Council鈥檚 contribution.
Bailey Hill is a significant project to improve the heritage environment of the
Motte and Bailey Castle at Bailey Hill. This includes large areas of tree
removal, access improvements, a new play area and site-wide interpretation
including a display area in the Custodians Lodge.
The Council is working in partnership with Mold Town Council and the Friends of
Bailey Hill Group. A Stage 1 HLF award of 拢43,000 was successful in 2016 to
fund the development stage. This work is due to be completed by the end of
2017 with an estimated stage 2 application to be submitted if the work is
agreed by all partners at the beginning of 2018.
Estimated costs of further work, which includes improvements to the entrance,
renovation and development of the Custodian鈥檚 Cottage, improvements to access
to the Inner and Outer Baileys, signage and interpretation, and an activity and
events programme led by a three year fixed term appointment, are 拢1.38m which
does not include the play area. The play area is not considered eligible by
the Heritage Lottery but is a key part of the overall masterplan.
The Council鈥檚 contribution has been previously identified as funding for the
play area.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Education and Youth, Councillor
Ian Roberts, said:
鈥淐abinet agreed in March that capital funding would be used to improve play
areas and all weather pitches. Bailey Hill was identified as a 鈥渞ed rated鈥�
play area, in need of repair, with improvement costs estimated at between
拢50,000 and 拢100,000. This money would be required during the financial year
2019/20. While not part of the overall Heritage Lottery Fund scheme, this
allocation will be key to Heritage Lottery Fund agreeing their final
contribution to the scheme.鈥�
Active Travel
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to approve 天涯社区鈥檚
Active Travel Plan before submission to Welsh Government when it meets on 24
October.
The Plan forms part of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 whose purpose is to
enable more people to choose walking or cycling for short journeys rather than
using vehicles, such as driving or taking the bus, where it is suitable for
them to do so.
To help draw up a local plan for 天涯社区, a number of informal engagement
events were held prior to the statutory consultation which ran between 3 July
and 24 September, 2017. The outcome of this process will be submitted to
Welsh Government on 3 November for approval and will subsequently be published
on the Council鈥檚 Active Travel web page.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transportation,
Councillor Carolyn Thomas, said:
The Active Travel Act gives us the opportunity to make Wales an Active Travel
nation. Whilst the Act specifically relates to links to services and
facilities, 天涯社区 recognises the benefit active travel brings in terms of
leisure and the wellbeing of the community. Therefore any comments received
during the consultation process on the use of the Active Travel Network for
this purpose will be considered when plans for the strategic network are
developed.鈥�
Community Resilience
Members of 天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to agree the Council鈥檚 Community
Benefits Strategy at its next meeting on 24 October.
A key priority of the Council Plan is 鈥楢 Connected Council鈥� with a sub priority
being 鈥楻esilient Communities鈥�. The 天涯社区 Public Services Board has also a
developed a priority around 鈥楻esilient Communities鈥�.
The Council recognises the importance of community benefits and has identified
a set of community benefits which can be used in all types of procurement
contracts, but which can also be used to assess the level of community benefit
an organisation is delivering.
As part of the procurement process, organisations will be asked to set out how
they will contribute to the community benefit objectives and will be assessed
as part of the tender evaluation. This will include areas such as:
鈥� the steps to be taken to deliver community benefits;
鈥� how these steps will ensure benefits are realised; and
鈥� the benefit that each step will deliver to communities.
Over the last three years, the Council has worked hard to grow the social
sector through Social Enterprise Development, Community Asset Transfers and
Alternative Delivery Models. A key element of this growth has been to develop
social enterprises that are of a significant scale and can support the
development of other social enterprises 鈥� examples include Aura Leisure and
Libraries, Cambrian Aquatics and Holywell Leisure Centre.
In summary, 24 social enterprises or social organisations operating within
天涯社区 over the last year benefitted from Council support to help their
development, including the following: RainbowBiz, West 天涯社区 Community
Enterprises, 天涯社区 Counselling CIC, Beyond the Boundaries CIC and Amser
Babi Cymraeg.
This work, along with the Community Asset Transfer programme, has resulted in
the many assets being transferred to social enterprises or community
organisations, including: Connah鈥檚 Quay Swimming Pool (Cambrian Aquatics),
Gwernaffield Village Hall, Hope Library, Holywell library, Mancot Library and
Trelogan Community Centre.
天涯社区鈥檚 Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor
Aaron Shotton, said:
鈥淢uch work has been done already to grow the social sector and this policy will
help to increase the community benefits that the council can achieve from
procurement of its goods and services. This innovative approach is needed to
ensure delivery of more community benefits which help to deliver economic,
social and environmental well-being to local communities.鈥�
Review of Care Sector
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet will be asked to accept a report on the
review of the care sector when it next meets later this month.
The Council faces a serious challenge to provide services within a context of
rapidly changing social, demographic and environmental demands, and needs to be
able to respond to the needs of its service users and their carers within a
very limited budget.
天涯社区鈥檚 older population (+80) is predicted to rise by 23% in the next 4
years with the number of older people with significant health and social care
needs predicted to rise by 22% during the same period.
There is a clear risk that the care sector will be unable to sustain itself if
no action is taken. 天涯社区 has a proactive plan in place which will
identify priorities, short, medium and long plans to help address some of the
most pressing issues.
天涯社区鈥檚 social care providers, like providers throughout the country, are
facing pressures and are concerned about the sustainability of their
businesses.
Between June and September, 天涯社区 commissioned an independent review of
the residential and nursing care sector in the county. Significantly, results
show that major pressures focussed around recruitment and retention of staff
and the purchase of consumables, utilities, equipment and waste services.
The review identified innovative ways to support the sector, including
development of a 鈥減ortal鈥� which will act as the hub of a local marking and
recruitment. Also, working with the Business Development Team, the
opportunities of Microcare services are being explored. These offer flexibility
and operate on a small scale, usually employing less than 5 people, and focus
on a small group of clients.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Social Services, Councillor
Christine Jones, said:
鈥淭his report makes clear that 天涯社区 is leading the way nationally in
taking forward positive partnership working with our care providers and looking
at every possibility for improving the long term future of social care in our
county. Significantly, a letter has been drafted to accompany the report,
which outlines our case to Welsh Government for increased funding, access to
resources, and the full recognition of the needs of the social care sector.鈥�