Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received.

Members are reminded of their personal responsibility to declare any personal and prejudicial interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 relating to Council Tax, the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct

Note:

(a)  Members are reminded that they must identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest and

(b)  Where Members withdraw from a Meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chair when they leave

Councillor L Davies Declared his Interest in Item 4 – Welsh Public Library Standards as he works for the Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust but not for the Library Service.

To consider the attached report

The Chair referred the Committee to the ‘Forward Work Programme 2022/23’ report and advised that the Cabinet Work Programme had been received and suggested that no further items be added to the Forward Work Programme until a Meeting had been held of the Committee to consider this matter and this suggestion was agreed by the Committee.

Resolved that:

The items set out in the Forward Work Programme as detailed at (Appendix 1) be agreed and a Meeting be held with Committee Members to further consider the Forward Work Programme.

To consider the attached report

The Chair welcomed Jane Sellwood to the Meeting.

Jane Sellwood then led the Committee through the ‘Welsh Public Library Standards’ report and responded in detail to the following questions raised by the Committee:

·        The big drive for improvements in Literacy and Oracy in schools – How are Schools and the Library linked up

·        Removal of Fines – What is the financial impact on Services – Does it deliver on the removal of barriers

·        All inclusive options – How the Service reacted to the Pandemic – Were lessons learned – Was there insight to Digital Exclusion and were there key messages for the County Borough in relation to this

·        Increase in loans – The Call and Collect Service – Where in the Community were the locations of the Lockers and is it intended to keep up this Service

·        Membership Statistics – Are the figures high in relation to the population – Do they include users from outside the County Borough

·        Is Membership lifelong or if users are not engaged for a period of time are they removed from Membership

·       What we need to do in relation to Digital Exclusion and Literacy

Resolved that:

(a)    The report be accepted and ratified as a full return

(b)    The report for the Performance during 2020-21 be accepted and approved.

To consider the attached report

The Chair referred to the ‘Corporate Self-Assessment’ Report and welcomed Councillor A Barry Cabinet Member and Officers to the Meeting.

Councillor A Barry then led the Committee through the report.

Andrew Mogford also referred the Committee to the report and gave the following Presentation:

·        The Legislation – Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021

·        Engagement on Performance held with – Council Staff, Local People (Including People who fall under the Protected Characteristic Groups – e.g Young People, Older Persons etc, Local Businesses and Trade Unions

·        Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

·        Our Approach

·        Governance Framework – Our Governance – Effective, Efficient, Economic

·        Key Elements of Our Governance

·        Member Scrutiny, Governance and Audit Committee, Officer Scrutiny – e.g Quarterly Performance and Improvement Reviews, Budget Board, Commercial Board, Consultation and Engagement, Risk Management, Organisational Development and Capacity, Operating Model and Core Values

·        Self-Assessment Report

·        Set out our approach and how it fits with our Governance, Our Performance – Qualitative and Quantitative, How are we doing against our Well-Being Objectives, What do our Consultees say, Our Support Services and Governance, Our Action Plan

·        Next Steps

The following questions were then raised by the Committee on the report and the Presentation and were responded to in detail by Councillor A Barry and the Officers:

·        Paragraph 6.2 – How is this looking – When will Members have sight of the Plan

·        Paragraph 6.11 – QPIR’s – How effective is Evaluation and Review – How do the Council stand – Is this in line with the Corporate Vision

·        Appendix 7 – Feedback from Staff – Number of responses – What are we learning – Are we making it more engaging

·        Question 10 – Data missing from Graph

·        Can any correlation be seen between the Local Authority Self-Assessment set against what the Public have said – Is there disparity between the two viewpoints – For the future can there be reference of the two things together and compare

·        Appendix 3 – Sickness in Previous Month – Is this the number of days or the number of staff 

·        Performance – Best Start to Life – Fixed Term Exclusions – Increase in Exclusions – Why is this and what are we doing to reduce this figure

·        No targets for the KPI’s – Why is this and what is the timescale

·        Performance Management and Reporting – No targets recorded against KPI’s – How is this to be addressed – What is the process to set targets – SMART targets

·        Business Births / Deaths – How many jobs does this equate to – Could be an increase in births but if a larger business closed it could be more jobs lost – Is there any way to look at this

·        Carbon Emissions – What is the Plan for the recording of Carbon Emissions – How will data be recorded – How is work being undertaken with Partners to achieve zero emissions by 2030 – What are the time scales for this

·        Appendix 6 – Why has the figure dropped significantly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 266.

The Chair advised that there were no referrals.

Did we address the recommendations in each report and how have we added value?

The Chair and the Committee discussed the reports and the recommendations that had been considered at the Meeting.

Any outstanding actions?  Feedback from workshops / task and finish groups / enquiry days, etc.

The Chair referred to the Cabinet Forward Work Plan and the Work Plan for the Committee and it was agreed that all the Committee meet to consider this.

To consider the attached report

The Chair referred the Committee to the report of Feedback from the Risk Policy / Strategy Update Workshop.

The Chair advised that there was no business deemed urgent.