Agenda item

Context:

To provide members with an opportunity to revisit the draft well-being assessment ahead of its approval by the Public Service Board on 29th March 2017.

Key Issues:

1. The Well-being of Future Generations Act should ensure that public bodies think more about the long term, work better with people and communities and each other, look to prevent problems and take a more joined-up approach. The production of a well-being assessment is a key part of identifying the priorities for the area. 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.

2. Public Service Boards should expect to be scrutinised on the process of how they agreed their priorities. At the PSB Scrutiny Committee on the 17th February members considered the draft assessment, questioned officers about its production and indicated areas where it was felt improvements could be made.

3. In addition to the comments received from the committee, consultation responses been received from a wide range of partners, groups and citizens including the Future Generations Commissioner, Welsh Government, Aneurin Bevan University

Health Board, The Royal British Legion, Arts Council for Wales and more than 20 responses from residents.

4. The Welsh Government graded their feedback as A (Significant issues to be addressed prior to publication of the well-being assessment); B (matters which are important and would support a better informed well-being plan) and; C (matters which would strengthen the assessment but could be addressed over time). Monmouthshire received no category A recommendations.

5. At the time of writing this feedback is still being used as part of the process of redrafting the assessment. Key issues that are being addressed are shown in appendix 2 along with an indication of how they have been considered within the assessment.

Recommendations:

Members are invited to consider the feedback that has been received in response to consultation and seek assurances that this has been used to refine and improve the well-being assessment.

Member Scrutiny:

The Armed Forces Champion asked if officers were confident that they had taken into consideration the views of armed forces veterans in the county and the future of refugee’s status. In response we were told that we have visited the barracks where the consultation was led by a discussion on housing. We also received a consultation contribution from the Royal British Legion covering issues for serving and ex-servicemen which we incorporated into the final draft.

Members voiced their disappointment that they had not seen the document prior to the meeting and were informed that they would receive it with the papers for the Council meeting on the 20^th March 2017. A Member questioned how the committee were expected to scrutinise the amendments without sight of the document. In answer we were told that a copy of the document with the amendments highlighted was available and would be emailed to the members to the committee.

In respect of cross boarder issues it was asked if this had been addressed and officers explained that all key issues had been dealt with.

A Member voiced concerns that the updated document had not come to this meeting since the Committee had arranged to meet on this date with the purpose of being able to assure full Council that this select committee had scrutinised this document.

In terms of cross boarder issues, a Member spoke of an important issue being transport, as many of Monmouthshire’s residents out commute to England. It was felt that there is a very obvious cross boarder issue in terms of transport and strategic transport links. This is something which has been discussed at length at the Strategic Transport Group as there are frustrations that Welsh Government do not take these issues into account, so it was hoped that this evidence based issue would be reflected in the cross boarder concerns.

Members stressed their support and appreciation for the officers and the work which had gone into the assessment and questioned the capacity and resources of the officers involved.