Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed Members and Officers to the last meeting of the Cwm Taf Public Service Board Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting for the 2020-21 Municipal Year. The Chair also asked Members and Officers to introduce themselves to ensure ease of reference.

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 Chair asked 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 the 4^th December 2020.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the 4^th December 2020 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

To update Members of the Cwm Taf Public Services Board Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee on the forward work programme, annual report 2020/21 and proposals beyond the Councils’ Annual General meetings

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication provide an

update for Members of the Cwm Taf Public Service Board Joint Overview &

Scrutiny Committee in respect of the agreed forward work programme, annual

report 2020/21 and proposals beyond the Councils’ Annual General meetings.

The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication informed

Members that following the Councils’ respective AGM’s, the membership of the

committee will be confirmed and a further governance report will be delivered

to the first meeting of the 2021/22 Municipal Year, setting out the administrative

arrangements and forward work programme resulting from the joint local

authority discussions. Members were reminded that the agreed approach will

ensure that Members of the JOSC will continue to work together with shared

responsibility for improved outcomes with the most appropriate support and

resources in place.

Following discussion, Members acknowledge the content of the report and the update provided to Members by the Service Director, Democratic Services & Communications.

To receive Mr Mark Brace, Chair of the PSB, who will provide the Committee with a progress update on the PSB in terms of response, recovery and future focus

The Chair welcomed the Chair of the Cwm Taf Public Service Board (PSB), Mr Mark Brace, to the meeting and thanked him for his attendance.

The Chair of the PSB thanked Members of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee for inviting him to give a progress update on the PSB in terms of response and recovery and the work of the Community Impact Assessment.

The Chair of the PSB reminded Members of his presentation to Committee on the 4^th December 2020. He reminded Committee Members that the JOSC was given an update on how the PSB had navigated and worked within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and asked the key questions:

·       How are we making a positive difference in our communities; and,

·       Are our mechanisms for delivery right, and are they working

JOSC Members were informed that the Board last met on 26 January and the first item of business was to confirm the role of the Chair. Members were reminded that the position of Vice Chair is currently vacant but the PSB welcomes the opportunities that sharing a Chair with Bridgend PSB presents.

The Board also approved the PSB Budget for 2021/22, as well as agreeing to continue the current support arrangements.

Mr Brace informed the Committee that the focus of the Board was mostly on the role of the PSB in Covid-19 response and recovery. At the time of the meeting, Wales was still in full lockdown with no information on how the restrictions would be eased. However, positive news was reported about sustained reduction in cases and rollout of community testing and the vaccination programme.Colleagues driving this work thanked the exceptional partnership working facilitating the achievements. 

In respect of the PSB’s Role in Recovery and it’s future focus the following points were noted:

·       PSB Members were each invited to give an update on how each organisation had been impacted and managed to date and all expressed its thanks for the incredible effort made by staff across all organisations.

·       Themes emerged as common areas of concern for organisations as a result of Covid-19 such as homelessness, mental health and wellbeing, impact on children and young people / distance learning, employment and the economy and climate change.

·       The Board noted the struggles that many staff are facing with regards to handling sensitive conversations when working from home, feelings of fatigue and managing wellbeing.

·       It was acknowledged that the governance structures required by WG and the PSB aren’t conducive to the speed at which organisations have had to work.

·       Moving forward, consideration needs to be given to how the flexibility and responses can be built upon as a new approach to working. The Board needs to better understand what it can do, and then establish the governance to sort out the ‘how’, in line with the 5 ways of working.

·       Clear focus on fewer, more targeted, priorities going forward to ensure the delivery of tangible results through existing mechanisms or addressing gaps.

·       Chairs and Support Teams for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

To provide the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee with oversight of the progress made against the Cwm Taf Well-being Plan Objective ‘Strong Economy’ in relation to ‘employment and skills’ and ‘procurement’ (by means of Power Point presentations and reports)

Members will have the opportunity to monitor progress in this area and identify any further information it would like to consider in support of the delivery of the Well-being Plan.

The Head of Procurement Delivery RCTCBC provided Members with a summary of the expenditure on ‘goods works and services’ that takes place locally by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

Members were informed that in order to deliver the range of services that the Councils are responsible for, contracts are put in place with a large number of external organisations. In addition to delivering contracts that are compliant with the law, the Procurement Service(s) has a key role in supporting and enabling service areas to deliver economic, social, environmental and cultural outcomes through the contracting process.

The Head of Procurement and Delivery provided Members with a brief overview of the regulatory requirements that Contracting Authorities are legally obliged to follow and provides a summary of spend that has occurred for the financial year 2020/21.

In conclusion, Members were advised that high level monitoring provides assurance that there is significant public spend directly with businesses within our local communities.  Through active engagement and appropriate procurement practices, we believe there is scope to improve local spend levels further.

Following the update, Members ACKNOWLEDGED the contents of the report, in particular the financial values spent with local suppliers across both Councils.

Following on from this, The Service Director Community Services RCTCBC provided Members with a presentation and a short video overview in respect of employment and skills in the region.

Following the presentation and video, Members were provided with the opportunity to ask questions.

Councillor Isaac welcomed the scheme to get people back into work and queried whether feedback was being provided by employers to applicants who were not successful in obtaining the role. He noted that any feedback given by employers could do a lot to boost the applicant’s confidence in the future. The Service Director RCTCBC noted her agreement and assured Members that employers on the scheme always provide feedback to the applicant and in particular about how the applicant could improve. The Service Director RCTCBC also noted that this responsibility also falls on to large organisations such as the Council and assured Members that the Council will provide feedback to every applicant as part of its HR process.

Councillor Caple queried whether the scheme monitors vacancies in both the private and public sector. The Service Director advised Members that they do receive data updates from Data Cymru in both RCT and Merthyr Tydfil and assured Members that those updates are received through on a regular basis. Members were advised that this also links in with the work being done with our regeneration partners and that an Employment Liaison Officer will work closely with partners to see any future developments in respect of employment opportunities in the region. The Service Director also assured Members that a Local Authority cluster group meets every two months to consider any employment opportunities in the region and that an knowledge is shared between partners.

Following the presentation, Members ACKNOWLEDGED the update from the Service Director Community Services and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To reflect on the meeting and actions to be taken forward

The Chair thanked Members for attending and for engaging in a constructive discussion. The Chair also thanked Members and Officers for contributing to the work of the JOSC throughout the 2020-21 Municipal Year. The Chair reminded Members that the date of the next meeting will be scheduled shortly following both Councils respective AGM meetings.