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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 September 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the Conwy Opportunities Board held on 25 August 2022 be noted.
RESOLVED- That the Forward Plan for the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee together with the combined Forwad Plan be approved.
An apology for absence was received from Councillor Stephen Price.
None.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 September 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.
The minutes of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 September 2022 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED- That the minutes of the meeting of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 September 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the minutes of the Conwy Opportunities Board held on 25 August 2022 be noted.
The minutes of the Conwy Opportunities Board held on 25 August 2022 were submitted. RESOLVED- That the minutes of the Conwy Opportunities Board held on 25 August 2022 be noted.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED- That the Forward Plan for the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee together with the combined Forwad Plan be approved.
The Scrutiny and Committee Services Officer presented Members with the individual Forward Work Programme (FWP) for the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined FWP. The following changes were highlighted: · The Chair of the Asset Management Task and Finish Group had met with Officers and agreed that a report would be presented to the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the outcomes of the Group. A timetable would be discussed with the Chair and Vice Chair and the FWP updated accordingly. · In respect of Licensed Deficits for Schools, Officers had received required information and were drafting a report, which would be circulated via the Members Brief. · The Corporate Procurement Strategy had been deferred from December 2022 to February 2023, as Officers were awaiting new UK regulations which were due to be issued in October 2022, as they would have an impact on the Strategy. · A report relating to the Land Acquisition for Dinerth Road had been deferred following discussions with Welsh Government (WG) as further options were being considered. The following was discussed: • It was confirmed that the Medium Term Financial Plan would be presented to the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December 2022. • A Member raised concerns that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs (which did not represent all political groups) had agreed that the Notice of Motion – Review of Education Services and Schools was to be considered by the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee only, as opposed to a joint meeting with the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Member concerned made reference to the Constitution and the role of the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee to settle any disputes in relation to scrutiny topics. - The Head of Law and Governance, in his role as Monitoring Officer was of the view, the correct decision had been made, as Council had referred the matter to the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and the Chairs and Vice Chairs had been mindful of this when considering the matter. - The Cabinet Member for Education advised that all Members were welcome to attend and comment at the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which as politically balanced. - Reference was made to resource implications in respect of Officers being requested to produce additional reports. • It was queried as to when an update in respect of Licensed Deficits for specific Schools would be provided. - In response, the Scrutiny and Committee Services Officer advised that it had been agreed that an annual report would be produced as opposed to separate reports for individual schools. - There had been a delay in producing the report due to the pandemic. - The Scrutiny and Committee Services Officer would liaise with Officers in respect of a date for the report. • Clarity was sought in respect of the frequency of reserves and balances reports. - In response, the Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that reports were presented twice annually. - Reports were produced in order to set out the year end position and to assist with the budget setting process. • Further Information was sought in respect of delays to the Land Acquisition for Dinerth Road. - In response, the Strategic Director – Social Care and Education advised that WG was seeking advice in respect of an alternative option. RESOLVED- That the Forward Plan for the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee together with the combined Forwad Plan be approved.
The Cabinet Member for Democracy and Governance introduced the Corporate Plan 2017-2022 Annual Report and Self-Assessment 2021-2022. The purpose of the Annual Report was to provide a summary of the progress Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) had made in 2021/2022 to deliver the Corporate Wellbeing Objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2017 - 2022. The Corporate Performance and Improvement Manager presented Members with the report and highlighted the following: • The Corporate Plan had 8 long term citizen outcomes, which were aligned to the 7 well-being goals set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. • Each citizen outcome was supported by a series of actions and measures, which were monitored every six months. • The report was written at a time when all Covid restrictions had been removed, however, Covid was still prevalent within the community and the impact on service delivery and staff wellbeing continued to be monitored and managed. • The Annual Self-Assessment (included as an appendix to the report) assessed the extent to which CCBC was able to positively answer the following 3 statutory questions: Ø Is the Council exercising its functions effectively? Ø Is the Council using its resources economically, efficiently, and effectively? Ø Does the Council have effective governance in place for securing the above? - Where gaps in performance were identified, a review was undertaken. Those areas not already being addressed were formulated into the improvement action plan, which was included within the self-assessment report. • Reference was made to key achievements during the reporting period, which were included within the Annual Report. • Areas to be focused on were highlighted including improving completion of safeguarding training and community engagement. • In respect of carbon emissions, figures had increased as comparisons had been made to previous years when emissions were lower than usual due to covid lockdowns. • Improvement actions had been identified as part of the self-assessment to further improve the effectiveness and efficiency of how the Council operated. In scrutinising the report, Members discussed the following: • Concern was raised in respect of completion rates for online staff safeguarding training and it was queried whether the training was mandatory. - In response, the Strategic Director – Social Care and Education advised that the training was mandatory for both staff and Elected Members. - Not all staff within Social Care were required to undertake the e-learning module as they had completed an equivalent or higher qualification. - Some staff had completed the initial training but were yet to complete refresher training. - A free e-learning platform was currently used for the training, however, there had been some issues with recording completion. Alternative platforms would be considered. - It was likely that safeguarding training was not transferrable between organisations, due to the differing requirements. - Updated training data would be included within the Members Bulletin in October, 2022. • The membership of the Self-Assessment Board was requested. - In response, the Head of Corporate Improvement and HR confirmed that the membership consisted of the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors, three Heads of Service, the Leader, the Cabinet Member for Democracy and Governance and Overview and Scrutiny Chairs. • Reference was made to the UK Covid-19 enquiry which would examine the UK's preparedness and response to the pandemic. - There was a backlog of residents needs to be met following the pandemic, in particular in respect of children and young people. - It was suggested that the number of Conwy County residents who had passed away from Covid-19 should be recorded along with the number of residents who were suffering with Long Covid. - The Chief Executive advised that the Annual Report recorded the achievements of the Authority over the last 5 years and that it would not be appropriate to include Covid-19 figures. - The UK public enquiry would address issues in respect of the pandemic response and ongoing needs. • It was queried as to why action A3.1 (Increase the supply of affordable housing) had been given a green rating. - In response, the Housing Services Manager advised that the targets for the year had been exceeded for affordable housing delivery and bringing empty homes back into use. However, it was acknowledged that the housing was a significant problem for the Authority and there was a lack of supply. RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: a) That the good progress made in delivering the Corporate Plan 2017-2022 Wellbeing objectives be acknowledged and that the self-assessment for 2021-2022 accurately answers the 3 statutory questions. b) That Council be requested to approve the Annual Report 2021-2022 and Self-Assessment for 2021-2022.
The Leader introduced the Draft Corporate Plan 2022 – 2027. The draft Corporate Plan consisted of a full ‘technical document’ and a summary ‘public facing’ version. The Corporate Performance and Improvement Manager presented Members with the report. The following points were highlighted: • The aim of the Corporate Plan was to improve outcomes for citizens in the most efficient manner possible. • The draft Corporate Plan had been developed after community engagement through ‘The County Conversation’, and analysis of demographic information published in the Assessment of Well-being for the counties of Conwy and Denbighshire, carried out by the Conwy and Denbighshire Public Service Board. • The Corporate Plan was aligned to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act Well-being Goals and reflected the 5 ways of working. • Reference was made to each outcome and what it planned to deliver. • Engagement had taken place with Conwy citizens via a survey and through on-line citizen engagement workshops. • A specific workshop with organisations representing the seldom heard was held as well as workshops with the Visual Impairment Forum and a youth forum. • The Corporate Plan would be reviewed annually. • The Medium Term Financial Strategy would be aligned to the proposed Wellbeing Objectives. • Each objective within the plan was accompanied by actions and measures. • Targets had not yet been allocated to some new measures. In scrutinising the report, Members discussed the following: • The level of input by newly elected Members was queried. - In response, the Head of Corporate Improvement and HR advised that workshops had been held for new Members. - The Corporate Plan would be reviewed annually. • It was suggested that a focus was needed on improving customer service. - In response the Head of Corporate Improvement and HR advised that an exercise in respect of customer service for the economically disadvantaged had taken place. - Online services were welcomed. - Front facing services had re-opened following the pandemic, however there were ongoing recruitment issues. - A report was presented annually in respect of customer compliments and complaints. • Reference was made to work previously carried out in respect of a possible Customer Contact Management System. - The Strategic Director – Economy and Place advised that work on the management system had been paused due to complications with services using different IT systems and databases. - A call centre had been successfully introduced for leisure centres. - The Management System concept may be revisited, it would be costly to implement but may realise long term benefits. • It was queried as to why the target for recruiting Welsh Speakers to Welsh essential roles was not set at 100%. - In response, the Head of Corporate Improvement and HR advised that posts were reviewed by the language unit. - If a post had been advertised twice and a Welsh speaker had not been appointed, the language requirements could be revised. - The marketing of Welsh language posts was important along with ensuring that Welsh language provision was available to the public. • It was felt that emphasis on the Welsh language within the Corporate Plan was narrow and that cultural aspects should also be considered. - It was suggested that support should be offered to rural and agricultural businesses. - The use of local produce within establishments such as schools would help to reduce the carbon footprint. • Concern was raised in respect of M4.8 (homelessness prevention) being monitored via a trend measure as opposed to a percentage target which had previously been set at 75%. - In response, the Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that homelessness had increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the uncertain landscape it was difficult to forecast and set appropriate targets. - The Housing Services Manager advised that the last outturn against this measure was 67% prevention which was a significant reduction on previous years. - The number of Section 21 notices issued from the private rental sector had increased. - The Strategic Director – Economy and Place advised that, due to the pandemic, the criteria for being classed as homeless had been relaxed and there had been an increase in homelessness due to domestic violence. - Although the Authority may prevent a higher number of people becoming homeless, the target may not be met due to the increased numbers requiring support. - How the objective was measured would be kept under review. • It was suggested, in respect of outcome 2 (People in Conwy live in a County which has a prosperous economy with culture at its heart) that aspirational targets should be set. - Reference to the real living wage should be considered. - Conwy’s Gross Value Added (GVA) was one of the lowest in Wales. - The Strategic Director – Economy and Place advised that the North Wales Growth Deal’s targets included job creation and improving the GVA. - Different economic models were being considered which would take into account sustainability and resilience. • Further information was requested in respect of the real living wage for carers. - In response, the Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that WG had provided funding within the 2022/2023 settlement in order that Care Providers be paid appropriately. - Intelligence suggested that Care Providers commissioned by the Council were paying at least the real living wage, due to challenges with recruitment and retention. - CCBC care staff were paid at least the real living wage. - The real living wage had recently increased and was to be implemented by May, 2023. • It was queried as to how a reduced settlement from the WG would impact the delivery of the Corporate Plan objectives. - In response, the Strategic Director – Finance and Resources advised that WG had provided an indicative budget for 2023, any additional funds would need to be allocated by the UK Government. - If no additional funding was allocated, then the ability to deliver the Corporate Plan would be impacted. • Concern was raised in respect of the mental wellbeing of unpaid carers and it was suggested that respite should be provided. - It was suggested that providing respite was not realistic as carers’ needs were not being adequately assessed and there was unlikely to be funding available. - Unpaid carers took pressure away from the National Health Service (NHS) and the Local Authority and it was felt that this should be recognised. Therefore, it was proposed and seconded that Corporate Plan action 6.6 be amended to include the following: ‘also providing practical help, support and respite care to unpaid carers’. Following a vote it was: RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That Council be requested to approve the Corporate Plan for 2022/2027, subject to action 6.6 being amended to include the following: ‘also providing practical help, support and respite care to unpaid carers’.
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