Chief Exec's Blog

An update from the Chief Executive

Archives for March 2019

Great work

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It’s always important as Chief Executive to be able to highlight the council’s achievements and praise our staff.

Our trading standards team recently did some great work in helping to prosecute four people over a call centre scam. We’ve seen a number of these scams in Swansea which target the elderly and vulnerable. It’s never easy to bring successful prosecutions and it takes an awful lot of hard work from our staff. Thankfully on this occasion their efforts have been rewarded through the courts. It’s also been highlighted on BBC’s X-Ray programme where team leader Rhys Harries was interviewed. It’s not often that our trading standards team are in the spotlight so credit where credit is due. My thanks to the team involved, led by Nicola Murphy, and colleagues in legal.

Some of our Child and Family staff were recognised at this year’s BASW Cymru Social Work Awards. Helen Philpott was shortlisted in the Spirit of Social Work category, Lisa Collier in the Innovative Social Work category (Michelle Apthorpe collected her certificate for her and is pictured here) and the team at our Ty Nant home was shortlisted in the Social Work Team category. This is a great achievement and congratulations to all the staff involved.

Ania Negele, community coach in Cultural Services, has won a Sporting Excellence Award at the Evening Post Community Awards.  Ania was recognised following a successful year as a performance coach with Weightlifting Wales.  She is the first female Olympic Weightlifting Coach to represent Wales at a Commonwealth Games and is also the newly appointed Great Britain U20 Coach. Well done Ania.

A big thank you to two of our tree services staff who’ve been praised for stepping in after a disabled woman had been robbed in her own home. Matt Palmer and Paul Williams were in their council vehicle when they were approached by carer Jane Morgan seeking help in catching-up with the thief. Rather than allow her to go on alone, they made sure Mrs Morgan and her friend were safe.  The thief was later apprehended by police. Mrs Morgan later contacted the council to say how grateful she was for their help and kindness.

A group of our trainees have become the first to complete our inaugural waste management traineeships. They achieved WAMITAB NVQ level 2 in Sustainable Recycling Activities, run in conjunction with Gower College. Well done to everyone involved.

Last night’s Full Council meeting also recognised the recent achievements of some of our staff. Congratualtions went to Darran Kiley for being shortlisted for a St David’s Award for his bravery after he stepped in to confront a man armed with a knife in the city centre. Also recognised was the Corporate Health, Safety and Emergency Management Service who were shortlisted for a National Innovation Award in Health and Safety. There were congratulations too to the apprentices who picked up prizes at the Gower College Swansea Apprenticeship Awards. The council also collected the Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250+ Employers). 

These are just some examples of the great work of our staff, if you know of any more please let me know.

On a less positive note you may have seen yesterday’s story about the regional Youth Offending Team being criticised following an inspection. It’s a disappointing report highlighting failings including management, governance, strategy and performance management. It’s important to stress this doesn’t reflect on individual staff who work extremely hard in very difficult circumstances. The regional arrangement covering Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot and Swansea, including ABMU health board, is ending and each authority will in future go back to providing its own service. This will undoubtedly help to focus efforts, but that in itself is not the full solution. When we fully analyse the report we’ll have to put in place arrangements and actions to rectify the findings as quickly as practicable and this will be a major focus in the coming months.

As noted above, last night I attended my first Council meeting since returning. The last time I attended I was kindly presented with a Nottingham Forest shirt as a leaving gift and left with a smile. Last night was slightly different! However, there were lots of familiar faces on the political benches and although the agenda was relatively light compared to recent meetings where issues like the budget have dominated, I was particularly interested in the presentation by Save the Children who we’ll continue to work closely with.

Finally, the mess around Brexit continues and, whatever your personal view, I’m sure you’ll agree we all need clarity as soon as possible. As a council we’re continuing to prepare for the unknown. An example of this is we don’t even know if we’ll be taking part in the European elections on May 23. A huge amount of work has to go into elections, but how far down that road do you go when it may not even happen? This is just one example and the issues facing the public and business sectors are huge, so the sooner they sort it the better for all of us.

Our city deal projects are on track

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One of the major issues for us is to deliver the City Deal projects, especially the multi-million pound regeneration of the city centre. We need the City Deal funding to build the planned Digital Arena and other key development sites. You may have seen the recent adverse coverage over one of the other projects, the wellness village in Carmarthenshire. This led to some Swansea University staff being suspended and intervention by the UK and Welsh Governments which led to a review being carried out. At the same time the City Region joint committee commissioned an independent review. Both reviews looked at the governance arrangements rather than those issues related to the university staff. These have now been published and have recommended changes to improve the governance. At the moment too much responsibility and work rests with Carmarthenshire and it’s recognised other partners have to share this load. But one of the more positive outcomes was the recognition that the business case for the city centre is fit for purpose and will now move forward to the joint committee and the UK government, which is in stark contrast to the wellness village. Although there are still some steps to take, this is great news and I’d like to thank all the staff involved in preparing this business case.

The major item at this week’s Corporate Management Team was ensuring we deliver on next year’s budget savings. We can’t have a repeat of the overspends that have occurred in recent years and it’s vital that we have an oversight process in place where senior members and officers together monitor progress on a regular basis. We have to ensure where savings can’t be delivered that we have alternatives in place as we have to hit the overall target, given that we’ve nearly exhausted our reserves. I’ll keep you updated on progress.

CMT also looked at mandatory training for staff which at the moment looks messy and inconsistent. As always, the dilemma is how we provide it to those who don’t have computer access because some of this training relates to issues like health and safety and safeguarding and there shouldn’t be any excuse for not doing it. I think there’s a lack of clarity about what mandatory training we need to do, and it’s important that staff know what training they should be undertaking. Leadership Team have been given a few weeks to sort this out.

I mentioned last week that officers reacted brilliantly to the sad demise of Dawnus who were our main contractor on the Kingsway scheme and our new Pupil Referral Unit at Cockett. Our staff have been on site this week making it safe and secure and carrying out some works. Others have been putting in place the necessary steps to appoint a new contractor which is now nearing completion. We hope to re-start work on site in the coming weeks and we’re taking similar steps on the PRU scheme. Thank you to all the staff who’ve really pulled out all the stops on this.

After many months of discussion and consultation, the closure of two schools were approved by Cabinet yesterday. Officers and Cabinet have looked at a range of options for YGG Felindre and Craigcefnparc where pupil numbers are very low. We believe this is the best option for pupils, although it’s never an easy decision to close schools. Thank you to all the staff in areas including education, legal and finance for their professionalism throughout.

Finally, I met Mary Sherwood, Cabinet Member for Better Communities, to discuss progress with the poverty forum, a subject which is very important to me. We agreed to arrange a forum in the next few weeks to ensure a continued focus on this work.

We are preparing for Brexit, whatever that means!

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The role of chief executive, like many jobs, ranges from the mundane to the interesting, but in recent days it’s certainly moved to the bizarre!

I’ve been asked to prepare for Brexit, but if anyone out there can tell me what I’m meant to be preparing for I’d be really grateful. We also recently received a small grant for the extra costs Brexit will generate, but I’m not sure what those extra costs are yet!

On a more serious note, Adam Hill and Craig Gimblett have attended various working groups set up by the Welsh Government to look at issues like loss of food and fuel supplies. But to me, this doesn’t seem entirely realistic, although more may become clearer in the next week or so.

Our £12m scheme for the Kingsway is in the news because our main contractor, Dawnus, is in difficulties. But behind these headlines there’s the human story of the workers facing financial and other implications. Given this is a Swansea firm this is clearly a concern for us. As always, when faced with a crisis, our officers have risen to the challenge and a team of people are working to deal with the consequences of Dawnus’ plight and to ensure we complete this scheme. Dawnus were also our main contractor at our new pupil referral unit at Cockett and we’re taking similar steps to ensure this scheme goes ahead. There are many people involved, but particular thanks to Martin Nicholls, Stuart Davies, Alun Thomas, Gareth Hughes and Debbie Smith.

Today we’ll be launching the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swansea’s city status. Throughout the year we’ll be staging a programme of events and activities to celebrate everything good about our city, and today’s event is to spread the word to our stakeholders and partners who can “be part of it”. We’ve create a logo for the 50th and we’ll be using this on our website, social media, printed materials etc to help promote Swansea. We’re also adding it to our email signature so please follow this guidance and adopt the logo on your work emails.

Regional working across issues like health and education were a feature of local government life when I left in 2016 and it remains so today. I understand the current Welsh Local Government Minister, Julie James, will be introducing legislative steps this Spring to encourage further regional working. So it’s with some dismay that I see Neath Port Talbot are threatening to leave ERW, the regional education consortium, along with refusing to make their financial contributions this year or in the year of their notice. This council’s position is that we’re committed to working with others in regional structures which are resourced and governed properly so it can be seen to make a positive contribution to outcomes for children and young people. The NPT position appears to be borne out of self-interest and is in my opinion unprofessional. We’ll pursue their financial contribution so that it doesn’t impact on other partners. The reality is that regionalisation, or elements of it, is the direction of travel and we have a duty to make it work.

Corporate Management Team reviewed our corporate risk register. It seems to me the continuing loss of funding increases the probability of some of these risks occurring so we have to be clear about the mitigation we put in place.

We also considered proposals for replacing our Oracle system covering finance and HR. As always with IT we face the dilemma that the current system will become obsolete, but there are costs and resource implications when implementing the new version. CMT understood the case for replacing the system, but we’re not prepared to commit the financial or human resource until an implementation plan is devised giving assurance we can actually deliver it.

Rachel Moxey, Head of Poverty and Prevention, Gavin Evans and Damian James gave CMT a briefing on the future of our outdoor activity centres which are used by young people from across Swansea. CMT acknowledged the good work undertaken to improve the financial performance and operation of the centres which will help in the next few years. The briefing also looked at potential options for making the centres more sustainable in the longer term, but ultimately this will be a political decision and we’ll need to consider the resources needed if we were to, for example, go down the route of creating a trust.

Rachel is due to leave us to take up a new post in Pembrokeshire and Dave Howes, Director of Social Services, thanked her for her hard work and we wish her well.

Finally, I’ve received feedback in relation to my comments on the mental health strategy last week. Whilst I highlighted the service pressures and shortcomings, I should also have acknowledged the sterling work that our mental health social workers do in very challenging circumstances.

Leadership team discusses our priorities

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I went to the first Leadership Team meeting since my return and it was a chance to meet our heads of service and set out my priorities.

I mentioned my priorities last week in my blog so I won’t repeat them now. It was good to see some familiar faces as well those Heads of Service that have been appointed in the past couple of years. It was also the last Leadership meeting for Rachel Moxey, Head of Poverty and Prevention, who is taking up a post in Pembrokeshire. I’d like to thank Rachel for all her hard work and wish her well.

Gower College came along to present their ideas for closer working with us on a training and apprenticeship programme. There’s potential for them to second a member of staff to us to better understand our needs and to deliver a programme for us. We all know how important apprenticeships are so this could be a really productive partnership.

The importance of this was highlighted this week at Gower College Apprenticeship Awards where a number of our staff were rightly rewarded with an Apprentice of the Year award. These are:

Aaron Redden – Bricklaying

Ingrid Parker (St Thomas Community School) – Childcare

Iestyn Thomas – Information, Advice and Guidance

Cameron Lewis – IT

Elizabeth Jarvis – Leadership and Management

Luke Evans – Apprentice of the Year

We also won the Employer of the Year award for organisations with more than 250 employees.

This is a great achievement by all of our staff and they should be rightly proud and I wish them well in their careers. It’s also recognition of our strong track record with apprentices. University isn’t for everyone and it’s crucial that we give people a choice. I’m sure our work links with Gower College will further strengthen this and create even more opportunities.

This week’s Corporate Management Team meeting looked at the issue of mental health services and a new strategy being developed by ABMU health board and local authorities in the region. Those of us living in Swansea may already be aware through personal experience that services are pretty weak, particularly around prevention and early treatment and out of hours support. The strategy is designed to get all the partners to agree a model for future services which set out the shape and scope of services. This will be going to Cabinet in the coming months, but the big challenge is the need for major investment in these services which will not be possible without national funding. That will be an interesting debate in the coming months.

When I was appointed Chief Executive in 2011 one of the first meetings I attended with a range of officers from across the council was about the Local Development Plan. At the time we were looking at candidates sites and it was clear then that this was a huge and complex task. So it’s quite amazing to be back at a time when the LDP has been approved by Council eight years after that initial meeting. It demonstrates the professionalism, determination and stamina of those officers involved. Following comprehensive public consultation and engagement including a rigorous independent examination by the Planning Inspectorate, the LDP was approved by Council. It’s the most up-to-date plan of its kind in Wales and the primary strategy and policy document against which the Council will make decisions on development proposals. The LDP is based on a strong ‘Place-making’ agenda and seeks to address the need for new homes, jobs, infrastructure and community facilities to support economic growth and raise standards of living. It also includes policies that require proposals to respect and promote cultural heritage, important landscapes and sensitive environments. My thanks to Paul Meller, Tom Evans, Rachel Willis, David Rees, Ruth Henderson, Sarah Jenkins, Andrew McTaggart and Lisa Roberts for all their hard work. It’s much appreciated.

Budget agreed

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Council last night agreed its budget for the coming year following a huge amount of work by officers and Members in preparing the savings proposals, drafting and considering reports and much more.

We all know this has been a difficult few months for all staff and particularly those affected by proposals. The extent to which councils in Wales are finding their budget setting process difficult is highlighted by the fact that Powys recently failed to agree their budget and then the Vale of Glamorgan equally failed to agree. Both will have to return to this issue shortly as all councils are legally required to set a budget by mid-March.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t at Council last night as I was attending the funeral of a good friend and former colleague Paul Hopkins. Paul joined the estates team in the former city council in 1989 and retired in 2009. It was good to see many colleagues past and present at the funeral. Paul was a Marmite-type character perhaps best summed up in the eulogy given by his brother who referred to him as ‘Storm Paul’ because he hit you like a hurricane! Our thoughts are with Paul’s family, friends and former colleagues.

Since returning to the council a few weeks ago, a number of colleagues have asked me why I was asked to return during Phil’s absence. Firstly, it’s a short-term arrangement and staff may not be aware that the senior management team is facing capacity issues due to Phil’s absence and also the loss of Nick Williams, Chief Education Officer, who’s also on long-term absence. The other reason is about experience because you need both capacity and experience in these difficult times and our Corporate Management Team is a relatively new team.

It’s also worth highlighting that I have a few specific short-term goals which are leading the management of the senior team, ensuring advice to Members is fully thought through, a focus on delivering savings and transformation, and assessing the strengths of our corporate leadership. The other priority I have is ensuring we help deliver on our regional working, particularly emerging from the current review of the City Deal.

So my focus is pretty much on the here and now, but there’s a huge amount of work to do beyond my short-term goals. Adam Hill, our Deputy Chief Executive, is leading CMT colleagues in picking up the medium to long-term issues. Adam will also be covering much of the corporate activity such as Cabinet, Council and agenda planning to allow me to concentrate on my short-term goals. The Deputy role also leads in crucial partnership work with agencies such as Wales Audit Office, our Regional Partnership Board, police etc.

Finally, someone who was here during my previous spell is leaving us today – I’ve been assured it’s not because of my return. Lucy Hyde, PA to CMT, is leaving to start a new job at Swansea University. I’ve known Lucy for many years and I’d like to thank her for all the support she’s given CMT. We’ll miss her but wish her well for the future. Like many other posts, we won’t be filling this, but there will be a wider review of PA and business support to ensure the council’s needs are met.