Agenda a Chofnodion drafft

The Chair welcomed Members to the meeting. Apologies of absence were noted from County Borough Councillors D. Parkin (RCTCBC) and Cllr J Thomas (MTCBC). Mr M Jehu, co opted Member, also provided his apologies.

Members of the JOSC are reminded that, as set out within its terms of reference, their core statutory functions include:-

•     To review or scrutinise the decisions made or actions taken by Board;

•     To review or scrutinise the Board’s governance arrangements;

•     To make reports or recommendations to the Board regarding its functions or governance arrangements;

•     To consider matters relating to the Board as the Welsh Ministers may refer to it and report to the Welsh Ministers accordingly; and

•     To carry out other functions in relation to the Board that are imposed on it by the Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

The Member Researcher and Scrutiny Officer advised Members to note the 5 core statutory functions of the Cwm Taf Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To receive disclosures of personal interests from Committee Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

Note:

1.       Members are requested to identify the item number and subject that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.       Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.

To approve as an accurate record, the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th October 2022.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the XXXX as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

To pre-scrutinise the draft Well- Being Plan ‘ A more equal Cwm Taf Morgawnng’.

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communications (RCTCBC) presented the report to Members and Members were advised that they had the opportunity to pre scrutinise the draft Well-being plan prior to its consideration and adoption by the future Cwm Taf Morgannwg PSB.

Following this, the Senior PSB Officer presented the draft Well-being plan to Members and by se of a power point presentation, Members were shown the timeline in respect of the roll out of the plan.

Members were then provided with the opportunity to ask questions.

A Member praised the plan and emphasised that this plan is exactly what is needed in the valleys. The Member noted that she was pleased to see that the increase in death rates and obesity were also being addressed. The Member emphasised that we need more police on the streets and stressed that the police need further resources. The Member also noted that mor community hubs are needed throughout Merthyr Tydfl. The Member also emphasised the importance of communities coming together and to make residents responsible for their own community resources.

Unfortunately, at this point, the Vice Chair gave her apologies and left the meeting.

Due to insufficient attendance at this juncture the meeting was inquorate. The remaining members continued discussions but no formal decisions were taken.

***At this point, the recording stopped and the Chair duly closed the formal meeting (10.30am)***

Informal discussions ensued and a Member thanked the Senior PSB Officer for the presentation and noted that the 2 objectives within the plan do fit in with what is needed in our communities. The Member also noted that she was impressed wit the elements of activities and engagement in the community that’s taken place. The Member referred to the strategic document and emphasised the sentence “by working together”. The Member emphasised that it is key to have overarching objectives.

The Member argued that decisions made in one area can impact the objectives being achieved, for example, premises closing locally will impact people staying locally. Members emphasised that the issues faced daily in the community are reflected in the plan and so much work needs to be done to improve local services. Members agreed on the importance of organisations/groups drawing up action plans to demonstrate how they are meeting the objectives.

Another Member pointed out a typographical error on page 19 that should include the word “For”. The Senior PSB Officer agreed to amend this. The Senior PSB Officer also confirmed that processes are in place within the PSB so that organisations must show how they ae delivering the objectives. Members were advised that this is the second Well-being plan and it is renewed every 3 years. Members were advised that the previous plan also included delivery action plans. The Senior PSB Officer emphasised that ultimately it’s the partners on the PSB that are responsible for the Well-being plan. The statutory attendees attend but also partners such as the Police and Interlink. It is the PSBs responsibility to look at  ...  view the full Cofnodion text for item 24.

To receive an update from the Chair in respect of work undertaken to date in relation to the transition to a regional Public Services Board for Cwm Taf Morgannwg.

The Chair provided Members with an update on the merger of Cwm Taf PSB to become one Cwm Taf Morgannwg PSB.

Following the last JOSC on the 28^th October, where the Committee were given a brief update on the merger by Mark Brace, Chair of Cwm Taf and Bridgend PSBs, it was reported that several workshops were undertaken over the summer and autumn of 2022 to develop the Well-being Plan, including a ‘3 Horizons’ session with NRW, to look at future priorities for the new Plan and the future merged PSB. 

The Chair also highlighted that a session was scheduled for the 15^th November for both PSBs, it’s sub boards and the Chair of the RPB, and that session took place in the Waterton Centre in Bridgend.  The Chair and Anita Lewis both attended from the JOSC. The session was well attended and facilitated by Keith Moultrie of Oxford Brookes University.   He challenged participants to be clear about why they are creating the new partnership, what is its purpose, what will be its priorities, how will these priorities be delivered, what performance management arrangements will be in place and how will they measure its success. He took us through a series of discussions on how we define a successful partnership, its purpose, analysing the current position, and future proposals and next steps.

Members were informed that many partners felt that the purpose of the PSBs has often been unclear and that has impacted on progress and direction in improving well-being in any significant way.  There was a view that more immediate service delivery issues could also be addressed by the PSB where they could make improvements to longer term well-being. 

The challenge for the PSB is to balance the long-term focus of the Board detailed in the Act in relation to shorter term service delivery issues faced by the statutory partners, particularly in a time of growing budget pressures.

The session particularly highlighted the importance of:

o   Communication both within partner organisations on the work of the PSB and with wider partners and local people, showing what the PSB is working on and how it is making a difference. 

o   Engaging with communities and ensuring an understanding of the issues facing communities

o   Having performance management systems linked to shared outcomes to demonstrate impact.

o    

A written proposal by Chris Bradshaw, shared in the session, proposed an overarching PSB to meet annually with an ‘Executive Group’ of chief officers of the health board, local authorities and police – i.e. those viewed to be a major commissioning body – for the purpose of improving the quality of public services and to improve local outcomes.

There was support for an executive board of statutory bodies as it was recognised that this structure worked well during Covid and built on good relationships between executives.  There was concern however that this approach could forfeit challenge, not consider the view of issues affecting local people in the area, and also impact on buy  ...  view the full Cofnodion text for item 25.

To consider any other business, as the Chair feels appropriate.

There were no urgent items to report.

The Chair thanked Members for attending and reminded Members of the next meeting date on the 28^th March. Several Members advised that they would be on holiday on this date. Members were advised that a survey will be issued following the merger with Bridgend to ascertain Members preferences regarding the most appropriate date for the next meeting.