Chief Exec's Blog

An update from the Chief Executive

Archives for October 2019

A poor reflection on our society

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I recently had the opportunity to discuss rough sleeping with the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James AM.  Many years ago I watched a TV play called Cathy Come Home which made a significant impression and led me to study housing in more depth.  I probably thought at the time that this poor reflection on our society would at some point be consigned to the dustbin of history and that no-one would have to sleep rough or choose to do so because it was less risky than the alternatives.  In retrospect this was a naïve view and, if anything, the problem has escalated to a level that I wouldn’t have imagined possible all those years ago.

Every November a snapshot of rough sleepers is taken. Last year the figures on one night were 18 in Swansea, 64 in Cardiff, 14 in Newport and 24 in Wrexham. The Swansea figure had dropped slightly from the previous year (21) but is fairly consistent year-on-year.  It gives some idea as to the extent of rough sleeping in each area, but the bald figures don’t reflect the complexity of the challenges some rough sleepers face.

Our housing team are working hard with partners to address the issue and I’m grateful for their continuing commitment and hard work.  I’ve been discussing issues with Councillor Andrea Lewis, Cabinet Member for Homes, Energy & Service Transformation and Joint-Interim Deputy Leader, and our Head of Housing & Public Health, Mark Wade.  We’ll consider what more can be done to tackle rough sleeping and raise some issues that I hope the Welsh Government will help us with along with our partner agencies in the third sector, health service and police.  But we are under no illusions that this is a problem many have wrestled with and it persists and sadly deepens, particularly in our cities.

Regional working

On Tuesday the Leader and I attended the Regional Working Scrutiny Inquiry Panel, chaired by Councillor Lyndon Jones.  The panel produced a report in June last year with a number of helpful recommendations so they were keen to see what actions we’ve taken since.  It is pleasing that almost all have been completed and the remainder are in progress.  Since the report was published the details of the Welsh Government proposals for improved collaboration and the operation of Joint Committees have become clearer and I’ve had a number of informal discussions with the Minister and civil servants as well as with regional colleagues in South West Wales. A Bill is likely to be published in November which will set out the Welsh Government’s plans.

South West Wales has a strong tradition of collaboration between the councils of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath & Port Talbot:

  • The efficient and effective administration of hundreds of millions of pounds of European structural fund programmes.
  • A shared economic regeneration strategy that identified the key economic challenges, drivers and sectors for the region.
  • A regional learning and skills partnership and observatory
  • A regional transport body via SWWITCH
  • The submission and approval of a case for City Region status to the Welsh Government
  • The submission and approval of a growth deal to support the City Region
  • A Joint Committee to implement the City Deal

I advised the panel that it’s this “four council footprint” that represents the greatest potential for collaboration and this also reflects the view of all the Council members I’ve spoken to.  I hope we can reach an agreement with the other three councils about how we can best work together to provide better services to the people of South West Wales.

Shwmae Su’mae

Mae Diwrnod Shwmae Su’mae’n gyfle gwych i annog pobl i ddefnyddio’r Gymraeg yn fwy. Hyd yn oed os nad ydych chi’n siarad llawer o Gymraeg, mae dechrau sgwrs trwy ddweud ‘Shwmae’ yn rhoi’r hyder i bobl ddefnyddio’r iaith yn fwy. Cynhaliwyd nifer o fentrau – aeth y Cyfarwyddwr Addysg, Nick Williams, i ymuno â phlant Ysgol Gynradd y Crwys ddydd Mawrth i’w gweld yn mwynhau defnyddio’u Cymraeg ar ddiwrnod Shwmae Su’mae.

Roedd tîm rhaglen Partneriaeth Ranbarthol Gorllewin Morgannwg wedi dathlu trwy fwyta pice ar y maen a defnyddio propiau swigod siarad. Creodd Llyfrgell Townhill arddangosfa llyfrau Cymraeg i annog dysgwyr, a chynhaliodd llyfrgell Carchar Abertawe ddiwrnod o siarad Cymraeg â’r carcharorion trwy gymorth gan swyddog y carchar sy’n siarad Cymraeg.

Mwy am Ddiwrnod Shwmae Su’mae: https://www.swansea.gov.uk/staffnet/article/53607/Shwmae-Sumae

Swansea 50

A few weeks ago I mentioned the exhibition at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery to celebrate 50 years of Swansea receiving city status. This week I visited the exhibition which was a brilliant display of artistic talent from Wales City of Culture.  

The main exhibition contains some important works which reflect a variety of artistic styles and images of Swansea through the ages.  Thanks to Karen MacKinnon and her team for making me feel so welcome. It’s also good to see the Glynn Vivian has joined British Art Network and will share expertise and research across UK cultural organisations.

Last weekend I also visited the exhibition to celebrate 50 years of Swansea Music at Swansea Museum, only to find some of my records and embarrassing photographs on display. 

Being a museum exhibit certainly reminds you of your age. Thanks to Amina Abu-Shahba, our Cultural Community Co-ordinator, for inviting me and to all involved in creating this memorable celebration. I hope you can visit these great exhibitions and continue to celebrate our 50th birthday.

Sad news

Last weekend we lost one of our most experienced and distinguished local politicians, honorary Alderman Alan Lloyd.  Alan was the ward councillor in Townhill and Castle communities, with almost 45 years of continuous service and he was also the Mayor of Swansea (1980/81) and Lord Mayor of the City and County of Swansea (2009/10). He also served on many national and international bodies, representing Swansea and Wales across the globe.  I have many fond memories of his dry wit in the Council chamber but also of his support in difficult times.  Our best wishes go out to his family, particularly to his son, Councillor Clive Lloyd, who has taken a break from his duties as Deputy Leader.

C’mon Wales

Good luck to the Welsh rugby team against France this weekend.  Let’s hope the dream is still alive next weekend.  There’ll be no blog next week as I’ll be on leave; unfortunately not in Japan.

Iechyd da

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This week the Leader and I met with the Chair and Chief Executive of Bwrdd lechyd Prifysgol Bae Abertawe, the Swansea Bay University Health Board.  Over the last couple of years the interaction between the Council and the NHS has strengthened considerably, thanks in no small part to the hard work put in by our officers and elected members to building relationships.  The boundaries between health and social care are blurred to say the least and it is often complicated to identify who is specifically responsible for what.  We have to work on the principle that it is the service to the citizens that is important and those citizens do not really care who is responsible; they just want a seamless health and social care system.

We discussed the excellent progress made in getting more clarity on cost responsibilities, how we can work better together to improve hospital discharge performance, preparing for the impending winter pressures and the provision of new, improved health facilities as part of the City Deal.

I hope the relationship continues to grow so thanks to all involved in the joint work.  At the same time I hope that the Welsh Government recognises the critical importance of strong, preventative social care services that reduce health pressures in the forthcoming budget decisions.  Whilst I was pleased to see significant investment in health last time round, this needs to be balanced with a recognition of the importance of local government services in the provision of seamless care.

Innovative Housing

The Leader and I also met with Coastal Housing this week to discuss our priorities for joint working on regeneration and housing.  As the transformation of the Kingsway continues our focus is on re-purposing some of the empty buildings including the space above the Potters Wheel.  At the same time the momentum built up by some excellent developments by Coastal in the High Street area must be maintained.  I should also say thanks to all of you who voted for High Street in the Great British High Street competition which closed on Monday.  Let’s hope that the great work of the High Street partnership is recognised by the judges next month.

Meanwhile Swansea continues to be the centre of innovative housing schemes with the recent announcement of the UK’s first “biophilic” building.  Biophilic Living is founded on research that reconnecting with nature is essential to our well-being, and that there are positive community and health outcomes from living more closely with the natural world.  For me it is a demonstration of ensuring that our corporate priority to maintain and enhance Swansea’s natural resources and biodiversity is reflected in our regeneration programme.  The scheme at Picton Yard (where Oceana used to be), led by Hacer Developments, has secured funding from the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme.  It has been developed in Swansea using local talent including design by Powell Dobson architects.  I hope that similar schemes will follow this innovative lead.

Public Services Summit

Yesterday I was in the Liberty Stadium at the All Wales Public Services Leaders’ Summit.  The event was opened with keynote speeches by the Rt Hon Mark Drakeford AM, First Minister of Wales, and Julie James AM, Minister for Housing and Local Government.

The event was organised by Academi Wales to provide the opportunity to focus on the future for public services in Wales and what this means in terms of leadership and change.  The Welsh Government is aiming for a fundamental shift toward more empowered citizens and communities and a more enabling state.  The First Minister delivered a thought provoking speech about the nature of leadership needed to drive forward change in Welsh public services which will require a “distributive, permeable and shared approach”.  I will be discussing this with CMT over the coming weeks.

The Leader and I are continuing a dialogue with our neighbouring councils to improve collaboration over the four council footprint of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.  Next month we anticipate that the Welsh Government will bring forward the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill which will set out the rules of engagement for future collaborative working.

Fair Play

Monday is the deadline for completing the council’s gender equality survey, so please take part. It’s entirely confidential and the results will inform our ambition to become a FairPlay Employer; a place where everybody is able to achieve their full potential regardless of gender. 

Congratulations

Well done to all who helped make last weekend’s Swansea Fringe a record-breaker. Supported by our Cultural Services team, it gave a platform for almost 600 performers. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales joined the Fringe and Swansea Museum and Swansea Fusion created an exhibition to mark the city’s 50 years of music making.

Cultural Services officers have signed up to a new Diversity Pledge. It will challenge them to do four key things in the course of their work – listen and share, reflect the community, encourage minorities and celebrate third sector ambassadors. It’s part of the Pilot Cities Europe Programme on which there’ll be more details soon.

Congratulations to the Waste Management Service in winning the ‘Best Workforce Initiative’ at the recent APSE Awards for its Waste Management Trainee Partnership. All 10 Year One trainees have achieved an NVQ Level 2 qualification and are now full-time employees. Our 13 Year Two trainees are on course for similar success.

Thank you to our libraries staff who supported more than 3,500 young people to take up this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. There were 541 reading events across our libraries during the summer reaching thousands of participants.

Pob lwc, Cymru

Mae ein tîm rygbi cenedlaethol yn parhau i rownd gogynderfynol Cwpan Rybi’r Byd 2019 ar ôl ennill yn erbyn Ffiji. Ddydd Sul, ac yn amodol ar y tywydd, bydd y gêm grwp olaf yn erbyn Wrwgwái, sy’n siwr o fod yn gêm llwyddiannus i Alun Wyn Jones a’r tîm.

Mae Alun wedi cynrychioli ei wlad a’i ddinas â balchder, ymrwymiad a brwdfrydedd. Mae wir yn llysgennad gwych ar gyfer Abertawe.

Well our national rugby team continues to march onwards towards the quarterfinals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup with a great victory against Fiji.  On Sunday, weather permitting, we have the last group game against Uruguay which is surely a safe bet for Alun Wyn Jones and the team. 

Alun has represented his country and his city with pride, commitment and enthusiasm.  He is a truly excellent ambassador for Swansea.

Another great High 5 celebration

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I joined colleagues at the Liberty Stadium for the High 5 Awards ceremony on Tuesday.  Now in its 8th year we never run out of young people who achieve great things against the odds. 

I was joined by our ambassadors Siany Martin (Mumbles Pier and The Wave) , James King (Ospreys) and Lee Trundle (Swans) along with the Lord Mayor and Councillors Lyndon Jones, Mike Lewis and Andrea Lewis.  The evening was opened with live music from “Soulshine”, a local band featuring Shaun Roberts, a previous High 5 winner. Thanks to the efforts of our team we secured a huge amount of sponsorship which covers the entire cost of the High 5s.  We try to tailor the prizes to the individual winners and this year they included work experience, gym membership, an Ospreys VIP experience, driving lessons and working behind the scenes at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.

You can find out details of the award winners here.

Special mention must go to the staff who were magnificent on the night as the ceremony went like clockwork. Thanks to Mark Gosney, Liz Edmonds, Rebecca Hicks, Sara Gibbons, Fran James, Karen Betts, Chris Peters-Bond, Kyle Davies, Lindsay Sleeman, Amy Rees, Amanda Woods, Clare Dollard and Jane Whitmore.

Cabinet changes

As you may already know Councillor Clive Lloyd is taking a temporary leave of absence from the role of Deputy Leader so that he can focus more time on giving carer support to close relatives.  He will continue as a ward member for St Thomas and Cabinet Member for Resilience and Strategic Collaboration. Clive has done a great job and I hope his relatives’ recovery will be speedy.  In the meantime, Councillors Andrea Lewis and David Hopkins will share the role of Deputy Leader, bringing their extensive experience to bear as we face the challenges ahead.

Stormy weather

Once again our fantastic workforce stepped up to the plate as Swansea took the brunt of the latest storms.  Teams from highways, parks, education, corporate building services and the emergency management and health and safety teams have been involved in dealing with floods, tree collapses, blocked storm drains, damage to schools and land slips, to name only some of the problems they faced. We received scores of calls over the weekend to flooded roads, blocked drains and homes put at risk by the storms.

They’re still responding to requests for mopping up after the weekend and Tuesday’s rain and the latest rainfall is bringing more challenges for them. Corporate building services, emergency management and health and safety teams responded to requests for help from Bishopston and Bishop Vaughan schools when some of their facilities were flooded, including 10 classrooms as Bishopston. Our building maintenance surveyors have been visiting other schools sorting roof leaks and electrical problems, supported by our roofers and electricians. CBS are on still on site at Bishopston putting things right in time for the school to re-open next week.

Our tree service team was dealt with more than a dozen fallen or damaged trees and branches while our transport team unblocked the Swansea Beach storm drain on Saturday and Sunday after it was blocked with sand, causing the Singleton Park lake to flood. Throughout it all our cemeteries team ensured funerals were able to place and our waste collections team continued working out on the roads to complete daily refuse/recycling collections.

There are too many names to mention but I know staff were out in terrible weather working up to 19 hours at a time to keep people safe and putting things right. I am very grateful and proud of you all.

Raising money for charity

The Waste Management Team raised an impressive £400 for Macmillan Cancer Support by holding coffee mornings at the Baling Plant and Pipehouse Wharf.  Thanks to Kelly Jenkins and Meinir Davies for organising, and all staff for their generous contributions.  Llanfair House also held its annual coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support raising an amazing £195 supported by service users, staff and visitors.  Our revenues and benefits team also held a cake sale, raising £420. Well done to all involved on raising money for this important cause.

Come On Wales

After a real nail-biter against Australia in last week’s Rugby World Cup pool matches there’s a definite air of optimism in the corridors at the moment for the prospects of success.  Let’s hope the strong performances continue and that we’re still tuned in to watch the final on November 2.