Morning everybody and welcome to this meeting of cabinet on the uh 21st of December 2023 I’ll take apologies for absence first please and no apologies received leader okay thank you we’ll move then to disclosures of personal or prejudicial interest are there any for any items on the agenda today item 10
And item 11 personally in both I’m a member of local Authority uh appointment panel dispensation to speak but not vote and then I’m named in item 11 uh under the legal officer we take that forward and going to personal interest okay thank you very much any
Others no we’ll move then to the minutes of the previous meeting which are on pages one to three of the agenda I haven’t had any requests for any amendments to the meeting uh minutes but I will take them if there are any uh if
Not uh I’m happy to move them as a true record could I have a second there please thank you very much all those in favor yeah happy to agree thank you very much uh I’ll move then to announcements of a leader of the Council uh firstly if
I can uh Begin by um making comment on the uh draft settlement uh by Welsh government for local authorities uh members will know that um Welsh government received uh the very uh pitiful sum of 305 million uh as part of the Autumn statement from UK government
Um 305 million may sound like a lot of money but on a 20 odd million pound 20 odd billion pound budget it is a very very meager increase uh for the Welsh government indeed um over a 2-year period as it is uh meaning that around 160 odd million is available to Welsh
Government um over a 2-year period um we spend more than that on education in Swansea alone so it is a very very small amount having said that though um the position um remains extremely challenging Welsh government have uh provided a 3. 1 uh% uplift which uh remains well below uh the inflation
Levels that we have seen over the last 12 months and will mean uh incredible pressures remaining on local councils including Swansea um We are continuing our discussions with Welsh ministers post the uh discussions uh on the draft settlement to try and seek improvements for local government prior to the final
Settlement in the new year um it is important that the key Services of Education of social care uh and the things that councils deliver are not lost in the aims of the Welsh government supporting the health board and the Health Service uh with further substantial sums of money and and again
It’s not about uh a competition between health and other services but we do know that many of the pressures that can be relieved on the health services are done by funding preventative Services in Social care so those are the points we will continue to make to the Welsh
Government uh in terms terms of uh the overall situation that the lack of uh funding from UK government to Wales and to the Welsh government means that pressure inevitably flows to councils in the decisions about council tax we will make uh determination in the New Year about that but again you know uh
Residents should be in no doubt at all if the UK government provided more money to councils we would need to L raise Less in council tax that is a simple slight of hand by the government in London they continually pile pressure onto citizens to pay more tax locally both in
England Wales uh and elsewhere so uh we will do all we can to balance uh those pressures and again through the prudent uh considerations and actions made by this Administration over recent years we are now one of the best provision councils in Wales we have one of the
Highest levels uh of gearing of any uh Council in Wales and therefore for we do have some resources that we can deploy when rainy days arrive well let me tell you we’re in monsoon season this year given the amount of pressure that we will see through the through the low
Settlements we’ve received in local government therefore our commitment will remain that we set aside sums of money for rainy days and we will seek to deploy sums of money to help during rainy days I will be meeting with head teachers later today today where we will discuss uh potential provisional
Settlements for schools and we hope to be able to help schools but likewise when we come to make our final determinations next year we will also need to draw from our reserves in order to protect the services and to deliver on the commitments that we set as an
Administration uh when we were elected in 2022 obviously all of this needs to be done with the advice of officers and be done in a prudent and manageable matter because you as Mr Smith has told us many times you can only spend your reserves once uh but pressures this year
Are probably worse than we’ve seen them in a generation so uh therefore that that that concludes uh my announcements in terms of the budget um I wanted to just uh on a more positive note though just indicate as well that 2024 will be another year uh of uh
Change and regeneration and uh ambition for Swansea despite the pressures that we have uh for those of you who who look at some of the social media you’ve seen whes online uh recently highlighting the fact that a number of the major things that we had committed to deliver uh will
Be coming online next year um obviously uh there is uh the delivery of the uh 7172 Kingsway site which was uh which is part funded uh by the city deal and we’ve already delivered the first phase of the city deal in terms of the arena and and the outline complex the second
Part uh around the Kingsway comes online uh in the early part of next year that’ll be uh closely followed by uh the opening of things like the Albert Hall and uh the Palace Theater which will all be uh venues and locations where where thousands of new jobs will exist and
That is important for the economy of our city to get more people working in our city center and being paid um and receiving salaries which are above the uh minimum wage uh on top of that obviously we’ll begin the works on Castle Gardens uh we’re already well into the works for
The new uh Hub uh to create the new uh local Services Hub in the old British home stores building we will be shortly making further announcements on our plans for the debam store that we have uh purchased and that we seek to bring more retailers into um we will begin the
Second phase of the build around Coppa Bay uh which will see uh new uh locations for government public and private Services moving into the city center we will obviously uh the planning uh uh planning uh committee will uh be discussing uh the merits of the skyline application uh and again you know if
Subject to approval that will be an excellent facility bringing again hundreds of jobs and thousands of tourists uh to the city we will also commence the works on the leveling up uh re Ren ation of the river Corridor and on top of that there will be a series of
Announcements that I’ll be making in January in terms of our Capital program and investment not least in our new schools uh uh but also in the fabric of our communities so again I believe uh and I’m sure cabinet does that despite the challenges we will respond effectively and that we will try and
Make 2024 as bright uh a prospect as we can for the people of Swansea Conor Francis Davis on the on the first announcement uh leader um Al we welcome money from Welsh government um just over 3% almost derisory when um we see that English uh local authorities are getting
A six six and a half% increase and um Wales you know look the the public that we serve relying us to deliver essential services and when you see the mid and West Wales Fire Authority increase in their um Levy up to 8 and a half% because of pay increases inflation
That’s got that had got out of out of control in the last year um the 3% isn’t even going to cover pay increases and I do worry for local authorities like ourselves and because of good management by by yourself leader in the finance uh section and other officers like Ben Smith
Here financially we probably one of the best authorities best performing authorities in Wales financially but you know 3% is just not enough for us to be able to um go forward on our ambitious plans and I really hope that the Welsh government can put pressure on central
Government to make sure that we get a fair share of resources so that local government can continue because the 3% or it 3.11% is just not sufficient for for what we need to deliver no and I think it’s it’s it’s it’s universally accepted that the pressures in schools the pressures in
Social care the pressures in all of our services are way above the level of funding currently um our settlement is slightly above the average because of the um changes in our population growth so we will receive um a 3.8% up LIF which when you when you take out the
Cash equivalent is is is real is real terms worth about 3.6% but again even though inflation has fallen this month it’s still below inflation so it’s a real terms cut and given that inflation has been much higher for such a long time it is a significant real terms cut um which
Doesn’t go anywhere near addressing the pressures that we have so you’re absolutely right on that France Davis um any other comments if not counc councilor Smith yeah I just would Echo what’s been said uh we know the financial pressures but added to that we’ve got significant social pressures
No andere more so than in our schools we know the issues with attendance we know the issues with behavior it’s more the quantum we’re desperate to increase the quantum uh and yet we’re trying to make to with a very moderate uh increase as already been said 3.1% it doesn’t even
Touch the sides so that message needs to go back it needs to go back to Welsh government but it certainly needs to go back to UK government yes thank you very Council Lewis thank you leader and um I I completely agree with your comments about the position that we’re in at the
Moment financially um just to flag that the housing support Grant um is Cash Flat essentially so we are seeing homelessness pressures uh but we’re not seeing an increase in the grant so that is also reflected in the financial settlement from Welsh government so I welcome the uh opportunity to consider
Use of reserves because we are in difficult financial times thank you for that okay thank you colleagues we’ll move then to uh next item which is public question time I don’t think we have any members of the public um who’ve indicated or provided questions correct okay uh and then in
Terms of counselor question time I I don’t see any councilors present who uh indicate answering asking any questions so we’ll move uh to the scrutiny uh inquire quiry um antisocial Behavior review I’ll call Council henigan as chair of that Committee in to introduce the uh scrutiny findings you ch um I’m
Here today to present the antisocial behavior um inquiry panel given our findings conclusions or recommendations based on the our examination and subject to evidence we gathered we would like to thank all those who took part in the the inquiry and I got to say we had a very good crew
Of Ward counselors and it was cross party we were impressed with the commitment um of all organizations and individuals as part of the inquiry we were particularly um pleased to go and meet a group of uh young people in Brin at the start of the inquiry I did
Say about going outside and meeting people in the community which I think you gather more evidence we went to this um early East H I called it and there about 25 young people there we learn more from them than a lot of the other organizations that was there and I would
Like to congratulate them on that um our key recommendations uh from the inquiry was to conduct a map and exercise of council services but also those organizations that have a stake in improving anti social behavior um we thought this would help a council its partners and wayer stakeholders
Including public and the bigger to see the bigger picture um again address any cross party or organization challenges um it’s taking you to get it all together I’m sure we’ve all read read the report um and that’s all I got to say it okay thank you uh councelor henigan
And can I thank you for uh the report and for the work that yourselves and the committee have done so I’ll call in councilor poo to respond uh yeah thanks leader and I I would like to thank councelor Hanan and um it has been about
A year isn’t it uh and many meetings you know it was very thoroughly done in all fness and and and I would like to thank the whole panel because you you’re right there was cross party there was a good mixture in there but also it was very
Well attended from all the the partners and the agencies uh you you know it was really nice to see that momentum kept up right through all the meetings and and I think one of the strong things that have come from it is the fact that we value our partners we work very closely
Together that this is across Swansea it’s not one man alone can’t do it all that everybody has to work in Partnership and I think that you you you know throughout the ASB report you know you can see is very multifaceted you know faceted um you you know so there’s
Lots of recommendations in there um I some are easier than others to be able to to get get on with um we certainly aim to um build on our partnership work and certainly sort of um as well feed alter the the way of the safeer Swansea
Runs a bit in the fact that perhaps taking to the priorities each time and having more formal feedbacks in there so partners are more aware of what’s going on um you know if you speak to our ASB officer he very much values the C team
And all the the support that he that he gets you know but like the leader was talking about budgets earlier we have got flat budgets some of them even being cut so everything is a challenge and I think that the multi- agency work will be more important now than than than
Ever you you know um when we went to Brin havd it was was absolutely it was fantastic wasn’t it you you know young people have no hesitation in telling you how they feel and what they want and what they don’t want and uh and and best
Way to learn and I think we learned more in in that evening there didn’t we than than anything it was it was excellent I’ve even seen one young girl in the park since since she held me took her she said you said you come in over to
Visit us in stn so over I being on they managed to get some money out to me do I mean so they they cany they are do I mean um they they’re very good but um you know so look I just want to thank everyone and I think it we really value
The fact that you’ve identified in the the hardship when your grants of not knowing you know that that to help us put PRI um pressure on the crime police and crime commissioner for the threee grants so the people got we we got chance to embed things in and do
Something with it because it is very difficult on a year toe basis sort of things so I know the officers are all all pleased and I know everybody wants to work together to improve things and I think that another nice thing that come from it is the fact that you you know
Sometimes Society has a few of young people all being TR you know they’re all hang around so they’re all troublemakers and I think the voice of the young people come across very much to it to say sometimes we’re there but it doesn’t mean we actually do it anything you you
Know we you know they don’t want to be blamed and they were very quick to point out that after time is adults it’s not it’s not them so I think there’s been good learning from this councilor enan and um we’re all very grateful thank you Council Pooh in terms
Of um that that has been the response did did you want to remove the report at the same time okay that’s fine uh okay thank you I come back to you counc again a second he got to go through the order so Council Lewis thank you leader and I
Want um repeat councilor Pooh’s comments but I will add my thanks uh to council henan and the committee this is probably the biggest most thorough piece of scrutiny I think I’ve ever seen uh in my time as a counselor and so it was really well done I just wanted to add my thanks
In terms of the inclusion of the housing department and the housing associations and during our session there was a lot of cross partnership working that we identified where there were maybe some gaps and we could work more closely with our partners uh and my thanks to the
Committee for revealing that uh and it was also a good opportunity to see and highlight all the good work which is ongoing as well so my thanks to the committee really good piece of work thank coun Lewis councelor Gibbard thank you very much yeah I just
Wanted to make a couple of comments on some of the aspects that are that are in my portfolio and again like everyone else has done thank all the counselors on the panel and all the officers for their input and you know it’s really pleasing to see that the report has
Recognized the hard work and the range of initiatives um across the council that are dedicated to this issue um some of the recommendations that have been pointed out um been put forward are already underway recommendation five for example I heard at the youth Justice board last week that the team are
Working in five schools with with younger pupils in years five and six that that um you know on on some of these issues to kind of get that prevention working in early um the CET team have recently been really successful with a with a really big Grant from the home office the youth
Endowment fund to continue and expand that work um but obviously as as councelor anony and others have said that you know there are resource pressures which are going to make some of these recommendations difficult but we very much recognize and and and welcome the report yeah thank you councelor giard um
Okay the the report sorry councelor gulam thank you um yeah again just to um mention there are lots of um uh work being done on the recommendations that have been put forward I know that there there’s a new safe as wanty partnership leflet it’s available in digital form
And also in a physical copy which is one of the things that was mentioned you know we need to make sure that we are providing material in ways that that people find accessible um with the reporter mechanisms and partner agencies included in there contact information and a handy recording um table at the
Back so people can keep a track on whether it’s crime reference number or who they’ve spoken to um so they can follow up easily on actions taken there’s also been a mapping exercise underway both internal and external I know that um Council officer re Thomas has been involved in that with his new
Transformation um role and he’s also leading on the bright ideas campaign to look at youth engagement thanks to the 100K which was um released or made available by yourself leader and there’s been lots of consultation and engagement with Ward members internal departments within the council external partner
Agencies including the police and big um third sector and with uh members of the public and and this is ongoing and and it is um uh you know there’s future dates and it will take some time but um it’s to ensure that there’s no duplication of service provision out
There as well because we don’t want to be um you know repeat what somebody else is doing we need to be really resourceful because as as been mentioned budgets are tight so if we pull resources and work in Partnership then then that reach would be um far greater
Um I know that uh Jane Whitmore has met both internal and external and she’s looked at producing a document so that we can physically see organizational structures and Reporting mechanisms and also the referral processes that are already in place as well well and we briefly had some sight of of that work
Um before um I know uh uh counselor Gibbard will Echo this but the cat youth panel developed a language guide as well around how um services are talking or referring about young people um for example one of the most powerful things that I I actually heed was she or or or
He is putting themselves at risk when in fact they’re not they being exploited you know they vulnerable um young people and they they are being exploited by adults um a lot of the time um and I think it would be beneficial for us to to have that presentation I I he it in
The the chamber but there was only a select VI but that would be good to go out wider as well because it is it is really important about the way that we refer to to young people um I know one recommendation was around um more youth workers
Um and it is very difficult to attract and recruit and that’s not just within the youth service but wider all public services are feeling the pressures um so we’re not in a unique position on that and again budget budget constraints um and and another point is I know um
Councelor IIA K has worked quite hard on this but the community centers have been looked at and and Ward members have been attached to community centers to try and make sure that they are accessible and open to to you know more public use then so um yeah there’s there’s lots of
Really good work and and I Echo the thanks of of everyone else um for uh councelor Terry henan and and the rest of the panel that were involved and and all the members of the public and and and agencies as well so thank you very much okay thank you all anybody else
Wish to comment before I go back to councilor henan councel henan so uh you’ve had the we’ve had the report was there any comment you wanted to make sorry just to say that we have to take it to the scrutiny program committee first and um the chair of the scrutiny
Committee actually said he thought it was an excellent report as for the record and could I put on record that Michelle the script in the officer done a fantastic job as well yeah thank you thank you very much counc H again I’m sure we all agree with those and uh pass
On our thanks as well so the report has been moved and seconded um can we then go to the vote please thank you leader the vote has been launched if you logged in vote electronically if not just show your hands will be fine thank you all very much okay that’s unanimous thank you
Very much okay colleagues thank you thank you coun hen again um we’ll move then to item eight which is the revenue and capital budget monitoring report um for the second quarter um the report is in my name but I’ll come to Mr Smith in case he’s got any further comments he
Wishes to add to the uh information already contained in the report before I introduce it thank you leader um as you rightly attest um the report is in your name but uh it relies on technical advice to myself and this report has some clear officer technical advice around reserves
And Provisions as you’ve rightly acknowledged um you you listen and take that advice that has set you in good stead in previous years and I expect you to do the same going forward it is based on as being prudent given the heightened risks the the the authority as all
Authorities face um so I would only give officer comment in terms of the overall narrative weave throughout the report in normal fashion which you are used to um compared to first quarter service overspending has reduced but there is still service over spending and my clear advice to you is service directors must
Contain that spend pressure simply because of the pressures that you face going forward like every other authority and I don’t think there is Authority in the land that is not reporting an overspend certainly not an authority that has got education and upper tier social care responsibility the rest of
The report sets out as is normal fashion my advice in terms of ads to and from uh Reserve matters and also uh planned use of contingency and Central inflation um it does indicate that you are at the second quarter still technically over spent in year but I remain confident
Given the track record of fellow directors and yourselves to contain and bring down and Bear Down on spending that taken with those the central items I’m advising that you deploy uh and also potential some Surplus on council tax income at end of year and the usual
Weird and wonderful bits to be mop up including the not insignificant 7 million pound estimated underspend on Capital financing that at this point in the year at second quarter you are as close to balancing as you could reasonably expect to be the third quarter will be especially important
Because you will receive it at the same point in time at which you were considering your final recommendations to cabinet on the budget but um there is nothing here that concerns me compared to any normal uh second quarter report other than the pressures are clearly set
Out as growing and the future as you’ve indicated leader is very very significant but this is a report that indicates there is a a a judicious need to draw from reserves in the current year you planned to do that anyway and I would emphasize exactly that that there is a distinction between
Using reserves randomly and drawing and planning to use those reserves so I don’t think I need to add anything else to the report itself um other than the HRA stands alone Ultra ring fenced the message is the same as first quarter it is under greater pressure than it has
Been in recent years and you may also wish to comment that the capital program continues to concern Us in terms of the pace and scale of delivery but from my point of view I I always see that as a win-win for me less so for yourselves because that’s what’s contributing to
The inye 7 million pound Capital financing underspend so it’s not all bad news on that on that side of it but the report is clear as far as I’m concerned there is nothing of great note in compared to to a normal year other than the technical advice I’ve given on
Reserves and Provisions and I’ll defer to yourself leader given the na report is in your name thank you very much for for that Mr Smith and uh again welcome you your advice uh and also thank you and your officers for the work that you’ve done uh on this report and all of
The monitoring you’re doing to ensure that we remain on target for a balanced budget uh outturn uh in April this year um as you quite rightly referenced um you know that we are making good progress over quarter 1 um and this follows the same pattern that we’ve seen
In previous years where we are reducing the uh overspends uh with the work going on across directorates um so that when we do get to the end of year we are not in an overspend position because of course uh what members will know but the public often don’t
Is that we do not have the luxury that others have like the Health Service and the health Boards of massively overspending we have to balance our budget every year we cannot rely on a435 million pound bailout to balance our budgets and that is where some of the an
Comes between the services we deliver and the services delivered by others um but as has been said I am grateful to the work that directors and cabinet members are doing to reduce uh any overspends and and like yourself Mr Smith I’m confident that we will uh come
Into a balanced position by your end um you’re absolutely right I was going to reference the capital spend which I’ve done before it is uh behind the curve of previous years there are some very good reasons for that we know that some of our major schemes are ones which have
Had some technical challenges uh in terms of the pace of delivery but those are in the process of being resolved so we do and anticipate those major schemes for the next phase of delivery picking up um like wise there have been challenges in the HRA which again are
Being dealt with uh whilst they do provide us with some uh Financial Headroom in the capital program which is welcome um we have made commitments to the uh to the people of Swansea to deliver new schools new new city center uh new uh facilities in communities and
New homes and and all of those Capital elements of the capital program do need to pick up pace and that is that continues to be my message um so overall a a positive step forward as a quarter two report we note the risks and variations within the report Mr Smith
And and with that I’m happy to move the report could I ask for a second please Council Lewis thank you leader and thank you to Mr Smith I’m happy to Second the report and if I can just comment on the H uh Revenue first uh we have seen
Increased uh staff increased costs that we didn’t plan for uh and also inflationary pressures and energy costs have risen as well uh in addition to that though the good news is uh from the revenues repairs budget we’ve actually put an additional 4.4 million pounds into carrying out repairs
In our Council homes for the benefit of our tenants so even though it is higher spend than we’d actually anticipated is a good new story um in terms of the HRA Capital program uh much like the council’s capital program we have seen slippage there are reasons for that uh
We have only spent 29% of our bu to date uh but we do look to try and accelerate uh some of those projects and sites um we have good reasons why some of them have been delayed stopping up borders um trying to carry out further due diligence to get more exacting costs on
On site uh and so there are good reasons for it but we intend to try and pick up the pace and carry out that spend towards the end of the financial year thank you leader thank you counc lewi any other comments from or contributions from anyone if not um then again we’ll take
This one to the vote uh all those in favor please show thank you very much again that is unanimous um okay we’ll move on to agenda item nine which is Quarter Two performance monitoring Council Hopkin yeah thanks what I will say about today what we have got we got a new
Format within the report I think um Richard Rens have looked at EAS making it easier easy readable what I would ask cabinet members if they can think of any areas of improvement please um please talk myself and Richard to try to to make this document as easy readable as
Possible what I do like about it when you if you look at certain dependencies throughout you can actually see where the greens are the Reds on the amers it’s it’s it’s far more readable to me and I think it’s it’s a far better format but as I say it’s not setting
Stores open to any criticism the the other issue I do like about the new format the way it’s laid out is that you get the chep executives um Narrative of of where you know his has taken this and also the lead directors at each point so
To me it it gives that gives you know set sets out out the the issues and the reasons why and I think it it is far far better and also includes the risks U the SAT alongside it so more than happy to um to take any any questions on on the
New format and the way it’s going but also any changes that need to be what I’m pleased also to say particularly in my area and I’m sure with other cabet members will come out come in throughout you know we have still got significant pressures in in the um Public Health
Particularly in our housing provision with the uh in in the uh private sector what of HMO teams are really still struggling with the effects and and the demands particularly of the ren in homes act the new rent homes act it’s putting significant pressure onto our team so
They they that we are Amber there are lots of work going on to try to get that back on track again very pleased to see with the work that’s gone on within the planning area we’re now one of the top performing councils in um sorry top performing planning committees in the
Hol of Wales I think it’s a fantastic U TR thing to have and I would like to thank Paul Lloyd the planning committee and and our planners for the work that they’ve done here I I know this has worked in partnership with our development Forum where we’ve worked
With our plan with our with our people who actually matter in this um in this country where we char to improve more homes and everything else that we work with our developers so again I think that is fantastic um achievement for for our plan department so I would like put
On right my thanks I don’t not going to go into any further detail on the report I think the report is is um set out very well happy to move the recommendations on page 67 and there two recommendations happy to move that them but more than
Willing to to to listen to any comments to come from um from federal Cy members yeah thank you Hopkins I’m very happy to formally second the report I absolutely agree with you um I think the new format is is much improved I think it it helps people understand where we are in terms
Of uh delivery of uh our corporate plan and our our service delivery again I think the the pie charts that are on pages 68 69 are really useful in showing how significant uh we a job we we’re doing cross directorate in terms of delivering against targets and measures
Um with uh you know 81% of the corporate plan steps in in green 83% of the corporate plan success measures green uh and 75% of the corporate Pi’s uh green which is which is again a healthy position for us to be but I’m sure other cabinet members will want to make uh
Comments about uh elements of their own director so I’ll come to councilor Stevens first uh yeah thank you leader and uh Echo comments from yourself and um Council Hopkins on the new format of the report so please pass on my thanks to the team um for the the exell uh laid
Out um uh details in the appendix uh it was it was very very easy to follow so the there’s uh certainly many positive areas within the report in particular um I’ll touch on some of the transforming economy and infrastructure um where the quarter two performance in meeting the well this wellbe objective is
Overwhelmingly positive uh with over 80% of the steps um On Target um so just to touch on a uh briefly on a on a couple of points you’ll see on page 44 our commitment to um lighting Around The Bay with over 300 energy efficient uh lighting columns alongside one of our
Most popular walk-in and cycling routs and this scheme’s well underway uh work from West Cross the skety has been completed and the team are currently working from Brin Mill to the 360 um with a majority of the links uh completed and the the the remainder to
Be done by the spring um page 47 shows that we are back on track with our free Wi-Fi objective uh and I’m pleased to say the first area is due for installation by the end of winter um it also references um on page 47 of our continued investment in parks and play
Um and I have the pleasure of working along side councelor Francis Davis and an absolutely exceptional team to help deliver transformational change to um all the play areas across on um um so page 48 also references our uh bus Shel uh program um so Works progressing well
On this uh and Al the appendix states that uh uh two rounds total in £100,000 worth of shelters uh states that two rounds have been done there’s a third round done with another £1,000 worth of uh bus shelters um in the first part of the the new year um work is also
Progressing on a well our 10 10 million pound investment into road infrastructure with another transer Road schedule for the beginning of the new year uh so I just want to put my on record my thanks to the our entire highways um like in uh and transport
Teams for the work they’re doing to keep us on track and our commitments despite extremely challenging circumstances so thank Council Stevens absolutely agree with all of that Council Lewis thank you leader um I I totally agree with the the improved layout of the report it’s really easy to read very
Clear um so my thanks to Richard Roland and Council Hopkins for uh the improved uh structure of it it looks good um just to highlight a few things in terms of one of our corporate objectives uh tackling climate change and nature recovery um I’m pleased to say that
We’ve got now over 110 either fully electric or hybrid vehicles on our Council Fleet and we’ll continue to work towards finding fund into green that further that’s serviced by around 12 charge points across the estate um we’ve also had some real success with uh an organization called Sparks so they did a
Pilot with the ginan Hub to look at their energy demand and usage and have saved them around £44,000 a year and that program has now been rolled out to all our schools to try and help them make energy efficiencies as well and we had some success in our plan and
Application for our solar farm at tier John this year so that’s really excellent news and my thanks to the team for all the work that they’ve done uh on that uh and just a final quick thing for me because there’s a lot of good news in
The report to cover I won’t cover it all um but I am really pleased that we’ve reestablished our energy Hub switched on to help the members of the public this year to save money on their energy bills uh and to reduce their carbon emissions so some good news there as well yeah
Again thank you Council Lewis agree with all of that and as you say some some very good news contained in that ex section of the what I come to councelor Gibbard next thank you yeah I just wanted to um to note that pleased with the good
Progress um across the board in a lot of the areas in in in the Safeguard in priority um just wanted to reassure colleagues really that the areas which are coming up as as as red or Amber uh we’re aware of the of the of the workforce presses that we’ve got in in
Both adult and child Family Services but then with some of them for example the percentage of overdue visits to children on the protection register we’re confident that those are being done and often those but some of the issues there might be to do with reporting and the IT
Systems um so just wanted to reassure people that you know even where the ones are are not green that the the plans are in place to make sure that we are improving and then and getting those essential things done okay thank you Council Gibbard uh Council Smith next yes thank you leader
I I’d Echo the comments about both the presentation of the report but I think this links to what I said earlier in terms of the pressure on the Education Service in general and the fact that we have such a positive report is I think a reflection of what our schools are
Achieving the commitment of our school staff supported by our staff centrally um the work around School attendance is not where we wanted to be but uh we are coping with a national uh issue here and I think uh the figures that we have are attribute to Swansea schools likewise
There are issues uh in in inclusion in behavior that I referred to earlier there is a lot of here about the Strategic work which needs to be done and I won’t go through the whole uh report it’s there for people to read um but the work around uh eotas the
Inclusion strategy uh Welsh in in education all of that strategic um to um Community sustainable communities for learning all of that is essential uh strategic work that uh in some way or other is going to commit contribute to the success of our children and young
People and I think that is a um a tribute as I said to the staff we have and especially to the staff that are working so hard in our schools uh moving forward yes as we said earlier we need more resources but what we are achieving uh is due to to
Them yep absolutely councelor Smith thank you very much for that uh councelor King next yeah thank you leader um I think whilst we continue to see a sustained attack on human rights by the UK government um across the board I’m I’m really proud that we’re able to demonstrate in this report our
Commitment as a city to maintaining people’s human rights and that we welcome everyone to Swansea and I think um the it it demonstrates the Fantastic work that started by councelor Gibbard but also now being taken forward um by by the team with with establishing a human rights City and and bringing
Together our action plan um I was very pleased that that last week we were able to welcome uh Jane Hut the minister to Swansea to give a a lecture um around human rights which recognized the work and also recently being invited as a council to uh by UNESCO to a global
Conference next year to talk about our journey as a city so I think it really demonstrates our commitment to our citizens to ensure that they can express and are able to enforce their human rights thank you yeah thank you counc absolutely and I think that’ll be a really good opportunity next year to
Demonstrate the work that’s been done councel Francis Davis I’d like to welcome the new format as well um and congratulate Richard Roland and uh in the ways put this uh report together uh but I think the deliver on this I know delivery is being is really good
But it only comes because we have a good staff and investing in in a good staff and I think that um I’d like to mention a couple of Staff um Paul Ralph who was been responsible on working tirelessly to bring a team together to look at the investment um through the shed
Prosperity fund and and other the leveling up fund Etc the work with Welsh government um but also the late Hugh mry who is legacy is second to none um and I think we we should never forget that Christy Tillman who has done a great job on our um children’s play um again Works
Quietly people perhaps don’t see her on a day-to-day basis but who work has been exceptional so um let’s congratulate staff yeah thank you uh Robert and uh again I think we’d all agree uh wholeheartedly with your comments uh specifically uh around the comments you made about humri
And we were all very very sad uh to hear of his passing but we will we will take the opportunity it’s one of the things that I would hope we can do early in the new year is to recognize who unique contribution to our city center and that’s something we’ll we’ll come back
To in the New Year I’m sure so thank you for that um and again uh the report has been moved and said I’ll come back to council Hopkins if there’s any further comments but again thanks from me to yourself and to the team for the work that’s been gone into this
Report no nothing further do I just to thank everybody for for what I would say yeah the pressures are huge within Workforce but I think we are very fortunate in in Swansea to have such a committed uh team and I think uh resources are tight but I still still
Take some great pleasure in in the way that the that very small teams in some area perform absolutely outstanding and across its Authority and yes the pressures are huge but from us it is only right and proper we should say a big thank you to them all thank you very
Much oh sorry uh councelor Anthony I apologies I missed you yes I’ll back too late just no no sorry all right yeah no thank you and I I welcome the report and like everybody else it it has been easier to read you you know it’s been
Easier to sort of navigate uh through it you know um I know I like my pen and paper and my highlighter I’ve already had some stick this morning that you I mean but um you you know uh but it is actually very nice to see it laid out
Like this um we have been up against it we’ve had I think all all the officers have had a really you know a hard year um and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier but I think that what we have got is a Workforce that rise to the
Challenge that um they don’t say no they don’t say can’t do they they try their best they they use you you know we’ve had shared Prosperity funds Paul Ralph already mentioned uh earlier you know the enabling communities grants over a million pound given out this this year
In in just in trying to help make sure the children had food in the bellies that families were looked after to the the the best that we can our employability Hub in the quadrant has been an enormous success you you know our in work for G best in Wales you you
Know and they couldn’t do it if they weren’t a partnership you can’t you know when you think of over a million pound in welfare benit welfare benefits secured for people that would never have known they could apply for these and this you know because the government
Don’t make it easy for people to know what they’re entitled to you you know and and it’s life changing so and and and and I’m really proud that whether it be regen whether it be employability life long Le whatever it is they they all work together and if it’s if they
Can’t quite do it they’ll they’ll get someone who can and they and and they help so just a big thank you to to all the staff uh and everywhere and and the community safety team we’ve been out in the cold uh on the on the stall in the
German Market this week fair play is is there’s been some cold days out there so they’re all excellent so just thank you to everybody yeah again thank you coun Anthony apologies for not bringing you in before the summon up um but yes absolutely agree with those comments
Okay uh thank you colleagues for those comments and again thank you for you the work that you and your teams are doing uh to help deliver which uh shows in this report in in Spades so um Mr Evans if we can go to the vote um I think we
Can just do that um physically so all those in favor if you could show please okay thank you very much that is unanimous again we move then to item 10 which is local Authority Governor appointments councelor Smith yeah thank you leader I’ve already thanked the uh School staff I’ve already thanked our
Central team uh for the contribution local Authority Governors all governors perform another unsung role within our education system uh and I thank the people that have volunteered and happy to move the report CH okay thank you very much I’m uh very happy to Second the report if there
Aren’t any other comments all those in favor okay that is carried thank you very much we’ll move then to agenda item 10 and just to say this agenda item was it’s uh in the name of the cabinet memb is actually going to be taken by the
Head of of uh legal services so I I’m declaring a personal interest okay thank you Mr councilor Smith uh Miss Smith thank you leader um yes it’s a very straightforward report uh it’s seeking approval of cabinet to amend the terms of reference of the partner joint committee at present the
The terms of reference state that the leader um has to be the voting member member on The Joint Committee the deed of variation seeks to introduce some flexibility for the constituent authorities so they can make a choice whether the vote in member should be the leader or the cabinet member with the
Port uh the education portfolio responsibility so the first recommendation is is for approval of the draft deda variation as described and in as far as swans is concerned recommendation two specifies that the cabinet member for education and learning should be the voting member on the joint committee and the non- voting
Member should be the leader and the third recommendation is um delegating authority to the uh legal officer to approve the final terms because obviously that’s a draft attached to the appendix a it’s anticipated that any amendments will be very minor but uh delegated authority to sign that off
Thank you leader thank you very much Mr SMI um again very supportive of this change I think it’s it’s it was out of kilter with the way in which we’ve approached the CJC arrangements and and others whereby we have um ensured that cabinet members are the representative
Delegates on those committees and it was important that councilor Smith had that um uh ability to cast our vote at the meetings because I don’t attend those on a regular basis councilor Smith does as importantly carries that vote so I think it’s absolutely the right trange um and
And again would uh move the report for cabinet and look for a second thank you very much okay any comments or questions on that you have the slightly amended uh thing as well so anything further okay all in favor thank you very much and then our final report uh item
12 which is financial procedure rule 7 Local transport fund sorry another two sorry yes absolutely number 12 first then uh councelor Stevens uh yeah uh thank you leader so I’m happy to present the latest report uh on the local transport fund awards for for this year and last are we
Okay apologies that there’s discussion about how many agenda items we got I I think I was I was corrected and accepted I was wrong and I I’m actually right so please proceed right so um so the the local transport fund aims to support local authorities in um delivering transport
Improvements that align with uh work government’s priorities and objectives uh so Welsh government informed us back in in May of our award of a total of 5.8 million uh split over two years so it’s 3.8 Million last year and this report covers the 2 million for 2425 for the
Further development of uh the Swansea Bay in West Wales Metro um the report also includes 250,000 for our regional Bus co-allocation um this will enable us to uh identify and develop uh bus corridors and um signal priority infrastructure um further improving the efficiency attractiveness of our uh bus
Infrastructure in our region and um support the the in in integration of bus um bus with other modes of Transport um as we know the um the Metro is a long-term Vision um uh to create a modern sustainable uh and integrated transport Network um that aims to
Connect the whole region by rail uh bus and active travel modes um this funding will enable us to continue the uh feasibility design and planning work needed uh and to prepare for its implementation and uh delivery um so there are many positive things with the uh Metro will bring it will help boost
Local economies um join up Journeys across different regions um provide faster and more reliable options to commute and access public service is um and Leisure destinations reduce the environmental impact of the transport Network and have positive impact on health and wellbeing uh so these projects stand to make a significant
Difference to our transport system um so I just I just want to place on thanks my uh on record my thanks to Matt Boer uh for pulling together the report there an entire highways and transport team for the excellent work they’re doing on a consistent basis right across the county
So with that I have nothing further to add done thank you coun Stevens uh very happy to Second the report and agree with all of the comments you made and and obviously add my thanks to to the officers for the work they’ve done I think just to add a little bit more to
What you said this is continuing the investment uh on the path to that Metro system that we committed to delivering um I recently gave an update at the green economy conference showing where we’d got to with transport for Wales uh and again just some highlights uh for people uh to take away
Um we now have in our Metro in in Southwest Wales the route that will move the most people offroads and into public transport of any scheme in Wales it it scores uh highest in terms of all of the data modeling all of the work by transport for Wales in terms of the
Feasibility of the creation of the stations has been done all we really need now is for the UK government Transport Board to give us part of that 1 billion pounds they’re holding on to to help us get on and deliver it we’re ready to do so it is really important
After the debark of hs2 that Wales gets its Fair funding that’s at least 250 million initially but as I’ve said in other places it’s several billion pounds uh as a consequential whale should be expecting from the debacle of hs2 which which was crestly described and incorrectly described as an England a
Whale scheme well not an inch of track exists in Wales it it was slight of hand by the UK government and they need to write that wrong and they need to provide the funding as soon as possible we’re ready to deliver uh and stand deliver with our regional partners and
Transport for Wales uh the rail Metro System uh in Southwest Wales which will connect a number of our communities up moving more than a million people out of their cars alongside that we are looking forward to announcements on the hydrogen bus trail uh with Welsh government which
Will be linked to the Metro bringing cleaner buses to our uh communities and of course on top of that all of the elements of through ticketing and enhanced services that we would expect so uh again those are things that we hope we will see move forward in
2024 uh again very grateful for the work that’s being done here to put us in in that position and and of course just a a rer we’ve got the bus Bill coming next year from Welsh government as well that bus bill will allow authorities like ourselves that have been locked out of
Running bus services the opportunity to do so from next year we remain uh an ambitious Council that would like to step in and run bus services where it’s prudent to do so and I will put existing operators on notice now improve your services you started to Tinker in the
Last few weeks our communities will not put up with the types of services they’ve been having from you for very much longer and if you do not improve Services then we stand ready to act and we will step in so the ti the clock is ticking not long left now and when the
Bus bill is here we will be ready to act so I want to see an improvement in bus services in Swansea and Southwest Wales if not then we stand ready to act I don’t think that message could be clearer but I thank councelor Stevens for bringing the report I’ll bring other
Colleagues in for comment uh if they wish to councelor Francis Davis thank you leader and thank you for the work you’ve been doing and pushing this Metro um Metro system for um West Wales you are right the U the transportation system is not working for Swansea it is not working for West Wales
In fact the private sector have shown to be absolutely abysmal in the way they deliver the services we have a thriving nighttime economy in Swansea um we have added to that by bringing things like the arena into Swansea that makes us um a destination for all of West Wales and
Yet try getting home late at night either by bus or by train um it is absolutely disgraceful the way that the private sector since Ste regulation we were promised competition more services more regular and yet we’ve got no competition worse services and completely irregular and that that is
Not good enough and yet as you say for a measly 250 million pound now people think that’s a lot of money 250 but let’s get it into um perspective compared to the 5.1 billion pound that was short Change to Wales on the hs2 which was an England Wales scheme Wales
Never saw a penny that money and we could get a million people off the road on and onto a Metro System that could be running and getting people um in and out of Swansea we are doing our part as a local Authority in regeneration our city centers our communities needed to be
Linked up uh and the these deserve better um so I’m glad you said that they’ve been put on notice um because um all I hear these days on social media is people in our communities complaining of bus is not turning up when they turn up they are uh late or um
Overcrowded and I think we need to get this so congratulations to the staff on bringing these reports together and let’s hope that we can get the finances to be able able to give um West Wales a service it it it deserves thank you thank you very much if there are no
Other comments um sorry Siri and and just a slight Amendment if if we could um thank you chair just a slight Amendment before you vote to the wording of recommendation two to make it absolutely clear so what I suggest is um that it’s reworded to say Authority is
Delegated to the cabinet member and director of place to progress the local transport fund scheme set out in paragraph two just to make it clear that that’s the purpose of the report okay we all clear on that Amendment yeah okay thank you very much so all those in
Favor if you could show please thank you very much uh again that is uh carried unanimously so just before we close can I just take the opportunity again to thank you all uh and your teams for the work that you’ve done during the year and wish you all a very merry Christmas
And a happy peaceful and uh successful 202024 thank you very much declare the meeting closed
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