Economy, Residents and Communities Scrutiny Committee

Background: • A customer services review was undertaken across the Council by Bettergov in the middle of last year to ascertain the views of residents. • The presentation provided an update on the customer service experience. • Various methods of communication were used and over 1000 residents took part in the survey. • The presentation provided a draft outline of the research findings and the work ongoing towards developments and improvements. • The work undertaken provided important insights and recommendations for future work streams and two corporate plan objectives. Points raised by the Committee: Responses received from Officers or Cabinet Members: Disappointed was expressed that changes would not be made until after the review in March 2026 and was asked if it could be brought forward, as it was felt that although the web presence had improved call handling had not and if benchmarking could be included. Guarantees were given that changes and improvements would be made continuously as the date stated was the project end date only. Key feedback received from residents showed a nervousness around digital facilities and stressed that alternatives would always be on offer. Community digital skills activities was part of a programme that would be rolled out to ensure no one was excluded. Benchmarking figures were available and would be considered when digital services were more available. Were areas identified where the Council was performing better than others and if learning could be taken from internal departments. It was asked if a continuous mechanism to engage with residents on a regular basis was in place. The Bettergov review analysed responses in relation to service areas and data would be used to understand and build the customer experience. Also to help build a wider picture as the customer complaints review was shortly concluding, and services would receive feedback to improve outcomes. A blueprint of customer experience was being developed to look at principles to ensure that engagement and feedback was considered continuously and developed in line with customer needs built on the governance principle, with a review to be undertaken around the ‘My Powys Account.’ The Importance of maintaining a personal interaction was stressed and the Council needed to publicise details of public contact points. Monitoring in personal activities was vital for consistency of quality. Caution was raised that any further development of artificial intelligence did not lose the human touch. Officers agreed and added that signage was a key factor for the public and was being improved. Guidance including clear ethics was expected from the Welsh Government around artificial intelligence and a cautious approach was being taken by the Council for the customer to have a better experience. Figures were questioned from slides 2 and 4 around the online accounts and it was asked if the council new how many households did not hold online accounts. Information was not available; however, it was stressed that households may have more than one account and a review of ‘My Powys Account’ would capture new information for analyses and help towards improving services. The ambitions of the Council on slide 7 was provided but assurance was sought to ensure honesty would be forefront if customer expectations were not met and services could not be delivered. Messaging in the past had been blurred and assurance given that all messaging would be clear to ensure residents new what to expect from a service interaction provided by the Council. Clarification was asked for around a query on slide 8, that place was the strongest principle at 97%. The place principle was regarding residents knowing what was on offer, choosing a way to interact and using a Council service, for example out of hours through the internet. It was noted that a lot of residents were still choosing the in-person interaction, and the Council needed to be open and honest on service provision. Resolved: The Committee noted Customer Service Update.

Background: • An update was provided for the areas of Powys and the Mid Wales region. • The current position was given of current ongoing projects and initiatives including Town Centre Wi-Fi. • The presentation also included how the Council was cross working with many organisations and Ceredigion County Council on numerous projects. • How the next steps were time lined and actioned. Points raised by the Committee: Responses received from Officers or Cabinet Members: Clarification was asked for around how the projects were funded. Funding was a combination of different funding streams including successful bids to Welsh and UK Government. It was confirmed that funding was not directly provided by Powys County Council. Town Centre Wi-Fi timeline was requested. The Council were working to install the systems as soon as possible with inception meetings, 3 towns were to conclude by the end of the summer and discussions with a further 3 towns ongoing. It was hoped that all installations would be complete by the end of the year. It was explained that some residents had been quoted substantial sums to get connected and asked if emergency masts converted to network providers would preclude residents from getting Welsh Government funding. Previous installations had been completed by various providers and Project Gigabit was aimed to encompass all properties. The Shared Rural Network were looking into mast coverage to ensure adequate mobile coverage was available for communities. This would not impact on Project Gigabit or other funding sources. A comment was made that the work being carried out to migrate the emergency services away from their 'airwaves' sets to a 4G digital coverage solution was progressing under the Governments work on ESN - Emergency Services Network and in some areas of Powys were benefiting from new 4G masts under the EAS Extended Area Service and need to ensure targeted support does not duplicate the work being carried out by central government ESN. Clarity was requested over the figures provided for the Project Gigabit information. 14,000 was the number of properties within Mid Wales included in the procurement bid with a proviso to connect 80%. How many properties did not receive a fibre connection over the 30mb per second connection. And a suggestion made that either percentages or figures were used for consistency. As of 12.06.204 there were 69,004 premises in Powys, 61,746 had access to Superfast Internet above 30Mbps. 34,936 of those properties had access to Full Fibre. 7,258 premises had less than 10Mbps or no connection. Project Gigabit would provide full fibre to an additional 14,000 premises within Powys. What was the Councils role for those rural areas that were currently unable to attain a connection or mobile signal. A comment was made that not all communities were successful with pledges and the terms and conditions were quite onerous with a substantial cost included if the supplier was switched, and if any hybrid opportunities available for properties. It was explained that the projects now had joined up thinking and the next steps for Project Gigabit was to include all premises. Officers understood it had been hugely frustrating for residents that they were unable to get enough pledges for previous projects to work (e.g. half the community already had connection). Mobile coverage data was being gathered by Streetwave to ensure that the data mobile service operators was accurate. Welsh Government, Building Digital UK, Shared Rural Network and Powys County Council were working together to obtain digital connectivity at a fair price. It was noted that not all properties had refuse collections from the door and data collection would need to factor that when compiling information. Resolved: The Committee noted the Mobile Broadband Connectivity Roundup and would be provided additional information by Officers.

Background: • A duty of care held by Powys County Council for the safety or visitors to Council owned cemeteries was the focus of the policy. • The Memorial Safety in Council Cemeteries Policy and Procedure was adopted in 2006. • The service had undertaken a review and recently updated the document in July 2024, including amendments to the health and safety measures and awareness to residents of work and changes ongoing. Points raised by the Committee: Responses received from Officers or Cabinet Members: It was asked if the notices within the agenda pack would still be used. It was explained that notices/posters were now standardised throughout the County and made appropriate for each location. Concerns were raised around the distance between review periods and asked if review dates could be added. It was agreed that a five-year policy review would be added and updated when completed to keep the document up to date. More information was requested around the scale and size of the responsibility, e.g. how many cemeteries there were and what happens to those abandoned. The Council own 20 cemeteries. 8000 memorials between the sizes of 625mm and 1.5m – assessments were to be carried out over the next two years with an ongoing rolling programme budget permitting. 1200 memorials below 625mm. 2225 memorials above 1.5m – assessments had been conducted. Memorials contained within cemeteries outside the council's ownership, responsibilities would fall to the landowner to ensure visitor safety. It was noted that the Council had adopted cemeteries over time from other Cemetery Boards and Town and Community Councils and held records and maps from the 1800’s. What would be the greatest risk and how would it be measured. The larger memorials pose the higher risk and had been assessed, next steps were in place to continue risk assessments and that visitor safety at cemeteries was paramount. The members of the Committee felt there was a role to provide support to local communities and raise awareness of the work ongoing. The Portfolio Holder added his thanks to the Committee for providing support towards potential sensitive issues that may arise. And urged the members of the Committee to encourage Town and Community Councils to publicise the ongoing work. Actions: · Review dates to be added to the policy to ensure documents are reviewed and kept up to date. · Ensure clear consistent communication due to the sensitive nature of the policy. Resolved: The Committee noted Memorial Safety Policy and provided actions to officers.

RESOLVED to exclude the public for the following items of business on the grounds that there would be disclosure to them of exempt information under category 3 of The Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007). The Committee were made aware that the Council currently had numerous policies relating to assets including: · Corporate Asset Policy · Asset Management Strategy · Commercial Estate Delivery Plan · County Farms Delivery Plan And that the Strategic Property Team aimed to amalgamate the documents as part of a review process to eliminate confusion. The current policies also referred to and cross-referenced other strategies including the medium-term financial strategy that was adopted by Council each year and the review aimed to streamline processes and increase officer efficiency. Time frames and processes were provided to the Committee and the Officer highlighted: · An independent assessment was conducted, and a report was due imminently. · Dates would then be allocated on Forward Work Programmes for public availability. · Formal processes would then follow including the approval of scrutiny later in the year. · Before presenting to Cabinet. Committee raised: Concerns around the timelines and emphasised that the Scrutiny Committee would need adequate time to conduct a full and robust process as other significant reports were also due shortly. Combining documents would eliminate potential risks of silo working and simplify processes. Challenges were put forward around the cost of the review, in depth discussions followed and clarity provided to fully understand the delay. It was explained to Committee that additional time may be needed to ensure the outcome were satisfactory. It was suggested that concepts could be gained from looking at what neighbouring local authorities have considered. The Committee were assured that the processes were being carried out thoroughly and eagerly await a further update. Resolved: The Committee considered the update and would be provided with additional information circulated by Officers

Resolved: The Committee noted the Cabinets response on recommendations made for the Joint Leisure Review. It was noted that one recommendation was fully accepted, and two recommendations partially accepted.

Resolved: The dates of upcoming meetings were noted – agenda items subject to change. 19 July – 1. Car Park Review 09 Sept – 1. Four Weekly Bin Collection 2.Asset Management Policy including the Farm Estate Review 28 October 09 December