Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made.

David Farnsworth introduced himself to the Select Committee and advised that his questions related to the Community Engagement Review.

·         The first question asked was whether the review had defined the term “the community” and who “the community” refers to, as it suggests engaging with partners but does not give a sense that it is reaching out to residents.

·         The second question asked related to the mechanisms for the public to engage with the Council. Mr Farnsworth highlighted that the public need clarity on the mechanics of how to engage with the Council, but also on how they can participate in key projects and matters that affect their communities. He suggested that the public need to be able to input into issues that will affect them in an accessible way and that very detailed reports can make it difficult for the public, who are unlikely to be able to engage in significant policy issues at that level.

The Chair thanked Mr Farnsworth for his highly relevant questions and suggested the answers would arise from discussion of the review.  She invited Mr Farnsworth to remain for the presentation and discussion on the review and for the duration of the meeting if he wished.  It was recognised that discussions today would take place on the strategic direction and that the mechanics of the future clusters would need further consideration, taking into account the issues raised.

Peter Sutherland, representing Llanbadoc Community Council, asked for an update on Llanbadoc speed limits since the last meeting.  The Head of Operations updated Mr Sutherland on progress since they met to discuss speeding in the Usk and Llanbadoc area and advised that a design suitable for this area has been commissioned and will be consulted upon.   Mr Sutherland queried if there would be any involvement from Llanbadoc Community Council and local residents in view of the significant delays and local frustration about the matter and was reassured that the proposed scheme would be consulted upon.  The chair reaffirmed that the role of the Road Safety Task and Finish Group is to consider a county wide road safety policy that would include speed management and not to consider specific instances and cases in any depth.  She reminded members that the Task Group was due to meet the following week and highlighted that a public workshop would be organised during October to consider the views of the public to inform the policy and that when a date was agreed, Mr Sutherland would be invited to attend and participate in the development of the policy.

Secondly, it was queried if there would be any involvement from Llanbadoc Community Council and local residents in view of the significant delays and local frustration about the matter.

The Chair announced that there would be a public meeting on speeding for Town and Community Council and members of the public to attend in September.

A Member, who is a member of the Community Health Council, referred to the Health and Care White Paper “Services Fit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15^th June 2017 were confirmed and signed as a true record.

Public Open Forum:  A question was raised at the last meeting regarding the container park opposite Usk Island and a response was provided that a planning and enforcement officer has reported no record or recent evidence of overnight sleeping at the site.

Referring to the Alternative Delivery Model, a Member questioned what proposals are under consideration to run the Borough Theatre, Abergavenny in the future.

The Chair suggested that the matter should be raised at the Joint Select Committee meeting on Monday 24^th July 2017.

Context:

To present the findings and recommendations of the draft Community Engagement Review for scrutiny, requesting Members consider:

•      the findings of the Review and associated conclusions / recommendations; and

•      the proposed ‘Way Forward’ for a newly defined Community and Partnership        Development Team (Appendix B).

Recommendations:

The Select Committee scrutinises the findings of the review, making recommendations as appropriate.

Key issues:

In October 2015, a review of community governance was undertaken to analyse the role of local decision making within Area Committees and to understand the Authority’s level and type of community engagement and its direct relationship to how local needs and solutions are identified, developed and delivered. 

Monmouthshire has four area committees; Bryn y Cwm; Severnside; Lower Wye and Central Monmouthshire.  Their purpose is to:

•           engage the community in area working to help the council shape major proposals affecting specific areas advising the Authority of the associated implications for the area;

•           lead the community planning process;

•           ensure services are properly co-ordinated on a local level;

•           encourage effective cross sector collaboration; and

•           provide a forum for community debate and to make Executive decisions on matters within areas provided they are within the Council’s policies and budgetary allocations and do not adversely affect other areas.

In October 2016, there was a recognition that in light of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act and the Authority’s evolving Future Monmouthshire programme, there was a need to extend the review to address the following objectives:

•           Clarification of the strategic direction required to meet legislative requirements and enable asset and place based delivery;

•           Repurposing of the Authority’s Whole Place team;

•           Identification of joint working opportunities internally to enable a streamlined approach;

•           Assessment of new roles in the provision of impartial advice across the county’s five strategic settlements – Abergavenny, Monmouth, Caldicot,    Chepstow and Usk;

•           Understand how Section 106, the proposed Community Infrastructure Levy and Area Committee Grants can be used strategically to address resource implications for a sustainable, place and asset based approach; and

•           Reconfiguration of the community governance model to preserve the leadership role of Council Members and encourage wider community participation.

Following presentation of the Community Engagement Review, its length and complexity were acknowledged and questions, and requests for more detail, were welcomed:

Member Scrutiny:

A Member recognised that there is a lot to do in terms of community engagement and asked if there were any examples of best practice encountered in members’ wards and their engagement with the public, in clusters and area committees.  It was responded that there are pockets of good practice e.g. Llangybi which has put forward community led plans by focusing on what’s important to residents.  Here, the work of the people involved was vital in achieving a high return of surveys. It is hoped that its plans going forward will align with the Public Service Board and our partners so more assistance can be provided.

Secondly, it was asked how lack of awareness in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Context:

To ensure that members understand the Council’s performance framework.

To present the 2016/17 performance information under the remit of Strong Communities Select Committee, this includes:

·         Reporting back on how well we did against the objectives which the previous Council set for 2016/17; and

·         Information on how we performed against a range of nationally set measures used by all councils in Wales.

Key Issues:

The Council currently has an established performance framework, this is the way in which the Authority translates its vision - building sustainable and resilient communities - into action and ensures that everyone is pulling in the same direction to deliver real and tangible outcomes. 

Over the coming years the shape of public services in Wales is likely to change significantly influenced by two very significant pieces of Welsh legislation, The Well-being of Future Generations Act and The Social Services and Well-being Act, as well as financial pressures, demographic changes, changes in customer needs and expectations and regulatory and policy changes. Services need to continue to think more about the long-term, work better with people and communities, look to prevent problems before they arise and take a more joined-up approach.

The Council has recently completed two substantial assessments of need as a result of this legislation. This information has provided a much deeper evidence base of well-being in the County and, as required by the Future Generations Act, this has been used to produce the Council’s well-being objectives and statement 2017.

The shift in focus in the well-being objectives means that activities will need to be focused on longer term challenges at a community level rather than some of the internal process issues and outputs that could sometimes be found in its predecessor, The Improvement Plan. When dealing with more complex societal challenges it will take longer for measurable change to come about and longer still to be able to evidence those changes in a meaningful way. In the short-term there will continue to be milestones that can be used to track the Authority’s improvement journey. This will be supported by a range of performance reports select committee can request as part of its work programme and the structure of performance reports received by committee will be revised to reflect this emphasis.

Appendix 2 of the report sets out performance achieved in 2016/17 against the actions and performance measures approved by Council in May 2016 as part of its Improvement Plan. As well as being presented to select committees the objectives will be included alongside a further evaluation of performance in 2016/17 that will be reported to Council and published by October 2017. The Welsh Government has recently consulted on plans to repeal the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 which means this is likely to be the final plan and report in this format. 

Appendix 3 sets out further key performance indicators from the national set that are under the committee’s remit.

Activity that contributes to the delivery of some objectives cross cuts select committee remits and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Context:

A ‘planned approach’ to Scrutiny Forward Work Programming in order to maximise the effectiveness and added value of scrutiny activity, ensuring focus upon topics of the highest priority for the Council and those which reflect the public interest.

Key Issues:

Work programme discussion meetings have taken place between the new Chair of the Select Committee and the former chair and chief officers have highlighted the following topics for consideration for future scrutiny:

• Volunteering Policy
• Waste:
• Recycling
• Anaerobic Digestion
• Refugees and Asylum Seekers
• Gypsy and Traveller Provision
• Flood Risk Management Plan
• Rights of Way Improvement Plan ~ joint scrutiny with Economy and Development (Jan / Feb 2018)
• Local Development Plan ~ joint scrutiny with Economy and Development
• Affordable Housing ~ joint scrutiny with Economy and Development and Adults
• Cardiff Capital Region City Deal ~ joint scrutiny
• Cycling and Walking Product ~ joint scrutiny with Economy and Development
• Outdoor Education Review ~ joint scrutiny with Economy and Development
• Alternative Service Delivery Model ~ joint scrutiny ~ all select committees 
• Road Safety Policy ~ ongoing Task and Finish Group

Member Scrutiny:

The Head of Waste and Street Services made the following suggestions of topics for scrutiny:

·         Waste Management: Long term waste contracts, Anaerobic Digestion, more re-use at Civic Amenity sites

·         New waste service collection model.

·         Grounds and Open Spaces

·         Management of Trees

Select Committee Members identified the following topics for scrutiny:

·         Public Toilet Provision across the County:  It was agreed Committee Members would be kept up to date through briefing notes.

·         Waste Management: Anaerobic Digestion

·         Refugees and Asylum Seekers, to include Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking

·         Open Spaces

·         Road Safety: It explained that a final report of the Task and Finish Group containing a draft strategy, will be brought to this Committee for consideration with the Cabinet Member present.  The Select Committee will be asked to make suggestions and recommendations, and to endorse the report.

·         Outdoor Education: A review is in progress and may be a future topic for joint scrutiny with Economy and Development Select.

·         Protection of Dark Skies

The following topics were identified by the Head of Operations:

·         Traffic Management

·         Prioritisation: Management of the Highways (in view of reduction of Welsh Government support for capital budget)

Annual update

·         People Services Annual Report: It was suggested that this report could be circulated to Committee Members.

The forward work programme will be derived from the discussion of the previous item.

A reminder was given for Committee Members to closely monitor the Cabinet and Council Forward Work Programme.