Agenda and draft minutes

We elected County Councillor P. Jones as Chair.

We appointed County Councillor P. Farley as Vice-Chair.

There were no declarations of interest raised by Select Committee Members.

Context:

To provide the Joint Select Committee with an Outline Business Case (OBC) and associated papers that considers the range of alternative delivery models for the Tourism, Leisure, Culture and Youth Services (TLCY) following an independent options appraisal by Anthony Collins Solicitors.

Key Issues:

As one of the Council’s key priorities is to ‘maintain locally accessible services’ the options appraisal needed to assess which of the principle Delivery Options could create the potential for growth and sustainability for the services as well as an analysis of the legal and governance structures available and make recommendations on:

·         Growth and investment opportunities.

·         Skills gaps.

·         Human Resources (HR) including TUPE and future pension arrangements.

·         Procurement routes for awarding services.

·         Asset / leasehold transfer implications.

·         Stakeholder engagement to maximise staff, community and service user involvement.

The objectives of Anthony Collins have been to consider the right mix of services and the best new Delivery Option to help the Council address the projected £542,000 funding shortfall over the next four year period.  A full analysis of options of the OBC has resulted in four recommended Principle Delivery Options namely:

·         Delivery Option One:  Do Nothing.

·         Delivery Option Two:  Transform the Services ‘in house’.

·         Delivery Option Three:  Move the Services into an Alternative Delivery Model (ADM).

·         Delivery Option Four:  (a) Outsource the services to a private sector operator or (b) existing Charitable Trust.

The Pros and Cons of each of the four delivery options were then measured in order to assess the strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management case for change. In addition, a wider analysis was undertaken, informed via a due diligence process. Best practice research was also carried out to find other Councils that have implemented innovative Delivery Options.

In addition, the Options were also assessed against their ability to meet the Council’s four key priorities whilst also providing enhanced opportunities to:

·         Increase flexibility and agility in responding to needs and change.

·         Freedom to market and trade its services.

·         Improve services through innovation and a culture of enterprise.

·         Introduce lean processes that reduce duplication of effort and increase use of technology and self-service, making it easier for residents to access services and obtain information and advice.

·         To establish a sense of ‘ownership’ amongst staff and service users with a view to improving morale, motivation, job satisfaction and ultimately the quality of service.

·         Access funding and tax efficiencies currently outside the scope of the Council.

·         Offer higher levels of engagement and achieve economies through collaboration and partnership.

Should the Council agree the Outline Business Case, the next steps would be to move to preparing the Full Business Case. There is considerable work to be done to demonstrate a full comparative analysis between Options 2 and 3, and to ensure that all questions raised by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Finance Department are fully responded to.

The Full Business Case will provide more detail in the following areas: outcome of the procurement process, a final check on affordability and value for money; staffing considerations;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Context:

To consider the draft well-being assessment, as well as considering the emerging Well-being Objectives ahead of a decision by Council on 20^th March 2017.

Key Issues:

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 places a well-being duty on public bodies to act jointly via Public Service Boards (PSB) to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of their area by contributing to the achievement of the seven well-being goals. The four statutory members of the PSB are the Local Authority, Local Health Board, Fire and Rescue Authority and Natural Resources Wales, other organisations are also invited. As part of this responsibility the PSB has produced a draft well-being assessment which assesses the state of economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being in Monmouthshire.

The production of a well-being assessment is a key part of identifying the priorities for the area that the Public Service Board will work to progress. The assessment is evidence based and draws on a range of sources, in particular: data; the views of local people; information about future trends and academic research.

The assessment highlights a number of strengths on which the Authority can build a future for the people and communities of Monmouthshire and also a number of problems and challenges that need to be addressed.  During the consultation phase between January and February 2017 the PSB is seeking the views as to whether the right issues have been identified based on the evidence presented as part of the assessment.

The challenges and opportunities facing public services in Monmouthshire are in the process of being finalised through the consultation process and discussions with PSB partners.  They are identified in the draft assessment as:

·                Inequality between communities and within communities.

·                Wage levels available locally are low, coupled with high property prices, making it difficult for young people and future generations to live and work locally.

·                With an increasingly globalised economy and technological advances, tomorrow’s workforce will need a very different skillset to those of today’s school leavers.

·                Limited public transport, particularly in rural areas, makes it harder for people to access jobs, services and facilities. This could be exacerbated by rising fuel prices but there are also future opportunities from things like automated vehicles.

·                Adverse childhood experiences have a negative impact on people’s long term health and economic prospects and can be perpetuated through the generations.

·                There is a need to increase healthy behaviours with a particular focus on the first thousand days of a child’s life.

·                Reducing levels of physical activity which along with dietary changes are leading to growing levels of obesity. This is likely to lead to an increase in long-term conditions.

·                An ageing population brings many opportunities. However, there are also challenges for service provision and increases in the number of people living with long term conditions.

·                The natural and built environment needs to be protected and preserved for future generations, due to risks from development, climate change and pollution.

·                There are human health impacts of air pollution,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.