Swansea welcomes visitors
Major companies from the Northern Powerhouse were in Swansea this week to explore investment opportunities.
As part of a programme organised by the Welsh Government, representatives of the north of England companies met with us, Neath Port Talbot Council and Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. These companies have shown an interest in establishing a presence in Swansea/South Wales, should the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project be given the “green light”.
Included in the programme was a visit to the Meridian Tower for our officers to set the scene for the proposed investments in the city.
This all follows Welsh Government’s visit to Sheffield last year, where during discussions, they learnt that many would consider expanding into Wales and all were keen to explore working with Welsh supply chain companies.
On the back of the news The Right Honourable Charles Hendry has approved the tidal lagoon plans, and with the City Region’s City Deal bid now with the UK Government for approval, this is yet more encouraging news in terms of potential investment in job creation in Swansea in future.
European partnership
It was also great to welcome a delegation from our twin city in Mannheim. It gave us a chance to share the differing approaches to strategic planning, the efficiency agenda and how we set and deliver our respective corporate priorities. There were also workshops on a range of key areas including sustainable Swansea, cultural services, youth and city of music, infrastructure waste management, finance and safety.
The sessions were very successful allowing us to share our respective best practice and learn a few lessons of how the two councils can work collaboratively on the wider European stage.
Both the Mannheim and Northern Powerhouse delegations were invited to the Swansea City FC match against Southampton which the Swans won after a hard fought contest. So I hope our visitors will leave Swansea with positive views of the city and its prospects as well as our club’s prospects for survival in the Premier League.
A great showcase
Wales’ top social services official, Albert Heaney, visited our Child and Family Services this week to look at some of the great work we’re doing. A number of staff made presentations and gave him an insight into our work with families and young people.
Afterwards I spoke to Albert to get his reflections on the afternoon. He is a tough man to impress but I think he was quite blown away by what he saw.
It’s clear that the Welsh Government, and many other councils, are struggling to get to grips with the pressures within children’s services, particularly with increasing Looked After Children populations.
Albert has significant influence in the Welsh Government and the ear of key ministers, so I’m hoping he’ll pass on his positive views of Swansea. I also hope that we will get the opportunity to showcase our work to the Minister at some time in the near future.
I’m so grateful to all the staff for the work they do every day in this really challenging environment.
And further congratulations to staff in Child and Family Services on a hugely encouraging report from the CSSIW. Based on an unannounced inspection of our flexible home support service, the report includes positive feedback from not only the inspector, but also from the families using the service. Well done to all involved!
Local Government Reform
The Welsh Government has this week published the ‘White Paper: Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed’. This follows discussions with the Cabinet Secretary throughout the autumn and it includes proposals for regionalised services as well as proposals considered in the previous Draft Bill. The unexpected element for me, and I suspect many others, is that the Welsh Government is seeking views on electoral reform, specifically on the lowering of the voting age to 16 and options for councils to determine their own voting arrangements (including the Single Transferable Vote system) and an option to allow councils to return to the committee system.
We’ll be considering these issues in some detail and will bring forward a report to Council to agree our response to the consultation.
A useful background paper from the Welsh Local Government Association can be found here.
Evolve
Last Friday I attended part of the development day held by the Evolve service in Gorseinon. The event was organised to engage staff in considering the options arising from the recent commissioning review into Family Support, and specifically into services offered to young people aged 11-plus. After sitting in on a couple of the groups it was interesting to see people airing their views frankly and clearly about the various options for the service going forward. It’s very important these events are inclusive and I was really pleased to see everyone engaging with enthusiasm. The staff also made some important points about the commissioning process which I’ll share with Corporate Management Team as we seek to improve it in the next round of reviews. They also asked me some tough questions about the tidal lagoon and current regeneration plans.
Thanks to Gavin Evans and all the team for making me feel at home and I look forward to discussing the outcomes of the review with Leadership Team and Cabinet in the coming weeks.
Birchgrove School
On Friday I also visited Birchgrove Comprehensive School to meet with the head teacher, Andrew Owen, who’s been in post since September. Like many of the schools I visit Birchgrove faces a number of challenges but the approach of the head teacher and staff is very positive and the determination to improve education for the pupils is very impressive. We had an in-depth discussion about education inclusion and specialist teaching facilities which Andrew has a real passion about.
I also had a quick tour round the school which has some excellent facilities and Andrew explained future plans to me. I was particularly interested in the practical skills options for students, including work in textiles and construction trades. I hope we can work very closely with the school on developing these skills, particularly in construction, given the massive investment taking place in our housing stock and regeneration projects. I have asked our Director of Place to push this idea forward as quickly as possible.
School performance
Sticking with education, I was delighted to see continued improvement by Swansea’s schools following the publication of the National Categorisation System. The latest Welsh Government school colour-coded categorisation figures published this week show a record number of schools in Swansea in the best performing (green) category and none at all in the most in need of help (red).
Congratulations and thanks to all the teaching staff and those in the education service for their hard work and determination to secure a better education for young people in Swansea. A special thank you must go to Martin Franklin and his team at Morriston Comprehensive School who recorded the biggest improvement in GCSE results of any school in Wales. In 2015 the school had been identified by the Welsh Government as one of 40 secondary schools in Wales most in need of improvement. I visited Martin and his team last year and it’s great to see the hard work they are putting in and making a real difference. These are not issues that can be fixed overnight and the improvement journey is long and hard, but this really is a dramatic improvement in pupil attainment; a core priority for us all.
Senior staff recruitment
Unfortunately we were unable to put forward candidates to Council for the post of Director of Resources and I will be working with HR and the current director, Mike Hawes, to identify a way forward later this week.
We’ll be reporting to the shortlisting committee next week on the recruitment of a Chief Education Officer, as you’ll remember that Lindsay Harvey will be leaving us to join Bridgend Council in March.
Green school
Well done to staff and pupils at Craigfelen Primary for helping the school gain a Platinum Eco Award. In recognition of the school having won three Green Flags, the award shows the school covers topics like energy, litter, recycling and healthy living both in class and extra-curricular activities.
Congratulations
Well done to all staff involved in the upgrade of the Matthew Street blocks of flats in Dyfatty. This major project will boost the health and wellbeing of residents, while also improving the appearance of a key gateway in and out of the city centre. More than 2,400 council homes will also have new kitchens and bathrooms in the 2017/2018 financial year in areas including Cwm Felin Fach, Bonymaen, Llanllienwen, Caemawr, Clase, Birchgrove, Clydach, Craig Cefn Parc, Pontarddulais and Penllergaer. This follows on from similar works that have been completed in areas including Penlan, Gendros and Waunarlwydd.
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