Archives for March 2020

This has been a difficult and exhausting week for most of us as we attempt to prepare for the biggest public health emergency of our lifetime.  We’re in completely unprecedented times and our organisation has needed to adapt rapidly and dramatically as a result.  We’re still providing critical services, but we’re also re-training and re-directing staff into the contact centre to support the vulnerable, converting leisure centres into temporary hospitals, running food banks and providing meals for those in need. We are creating a community taskforce to help meet the needs of those who cannot leave home, operating childcare hubs at schools to provide childcare for key workers who are keeping the NHS and other vital services going and establishing a distribution network with our partners to ensure the vulnerable and those living in poverty are supported.

It’s been a mammoth task but those of you involved in delivering all this have done an astonishing job.  The people of Swansea should be very proud of you all.  The work you are doing is already helping to save lives, but will be critical in keeping more people alive in the coming weeks and months. I cannot stress how important it is that you continue to help us deliver this work.  We know there’s a storm approaching; the scientists have predicted it’ll be upon is in days, possibly weeks.  The ability of the NHS to keep people alive depends absolutely on our work. We must help them create more capacity and more beds and we must provide the best care for their children while they are working on our behalf. The people of Swansea have never needed our support as much as they do now.

I know many of you have concerns over your health and the health of your loved ones by remaining in work, but I want to reassure you we’re following the Government’s latest health guidance and will respond to any changes to the guidance to ensure our staff remain safe and have the necessary personal protection equipment where needed. By remaining in work you’ll be providing a vital service and you will help to reduce the impact of Coronavirus on many people’s lives, but more importantly you will save lives.

I am hugely grateful for your continued commitment and support at a time when so many people are relying on us and I wish you and your families well and that you keep safe and healthy in the coming weeks.

We’ve created a new hashtag across all comms platforms #HereForSwansea.  I think that sums up our approach perfectly.

As we brace ourselves for the impact of the coronavirus a huge amount of work has been undertaken by officers and members of the Council, overseen by the Leader and me.  I’ve communicated to you as best as I can the current understanding of what’s likely to happen and how we’re preparing for it.  Very often in emergency planning exercises we emphasise the need to reassure people but this is a global crisis that requires a co-ordinated and comprehensive response.  It’s in nobody’s interest to play down the disruptive impact of Covid-19.

I won’t repeat the messages that we’ve sent out.  As public servants we now have to adapt to the changing needs of our citizens and this will impact upon what we all do, including CMT.  I’m leading the officers on strategy and oversight and I’ve allocated tasks to the following officers who will lead specific workstreams.

Adam Hill – strategic co-ordination and resources

Martin Nicholls – place services and community support

Dave Howes – health and critical social services

Nick Williams – schools interface, management of remote education and childcare provision

Tracey Meredith –  Business Continuity (Governance)

Ben Smith – Business Continuity (Finance)

Sarah Lackenby – Business Continuity (Digital/customer)

Lee Wenham – Lead officer (communications)

Craig Gimblett – Coronavirus lead officer

We are meeting daily with the Cabinet and Committee Chairs to monitor progress and communications.  We’ll share as much information as possible as quickly as we can with councillors, officers, partners, businesses and the public.

You’ll be aware that from today all schools will close for an indefinite period and so we’ve been working with headteachers to make appropriate arrangements for childcare for parents delivering critical services, a strategy for the continued delivery of education to pupils and providing a free school meals service.  Overnight the UK Government published a list of key workers that we’re now working through to provide further clarity to parents and schools in anticipation of many schools re-opening next week to provide childcare etc for key workers and others. The key principles are:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then provision will be available for them.
3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

We anticipate we’ll shortly be moving to the next phase where the isolation of vulnerable people becomes necessary.  It’s likely given previous statements from the Prime Minister and the Chief Medical Officer, that a large number of citizens, including some of you, will be confined to your homes for up to 16 weeks and we’ll be introducing measures in an attempt to combat the impacts that such isolation might cause.  This will include methods of contact where support is needed.  I am particularly concerned about the impacts of loneliness on our older population.  We all have a duty to our neighbours and communities in this regard and we are exploring every option to marshal and co-ordinate community support.

We must do all we can to mitigate the impacts of this and I thank everyone who is working to this end.  Your contributions are vital and necessary and I hope we can all continue to be flexible and innovative. 

Above all I hope that you and your families remain healthy throughout this crisis.

The UK has now moved to the “delay phase” in the Government’s latest step to try to slow the spread of the virus.

We’re monitoring the situation and taking steps to support staff and the public. I had a briefing with the Welsh Health Minister yesterday and the predictions for the number of people who could be affected in Wales is really worrying. The Public Health Wales advice and the message from the Minister yesterday is that if you feel ill with a fever or have a persistent cough you should self-isolate for seven days. This’ll put a huge strain on our ability to deliver services at a time when the most vulnerable residents need them. So we’re already planning for this by refreshing our business continuity plans for each service which identifies those critical services we’d want to maintain in times of crisis and those that may temporary be suspended. This may mean some staff in non-critical areas being asked to undertake more critical work. We’re now looking at what policies and training need to be in place to help us do this. We’re also considering our staff and councillors with underlying health issues who may be considered vulnerable. This could mean more home working.

We will update all staff and councillors regularly through StaffNet and team briefings.

Best outcomes for learners

I’ve talked previously about the challenges that come with being the Chief Executive of our regional collaboration on school improvement, ERW.  In brief Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Powys councils have been working together for almost a decade and had a number of successes and helped to drive improvement within teaching and learning. But it’s also experienced a number of challenges.  The sheer size and diversity of the geographical area has presented operational and organisational difficulties.  There have also been changes in political and managerial leadership and it’s failed to exercise strategic and policy grip.

Now there’s an emerging agreement on the need to change the regional footprint which had previously been directed by the Welsh Government. We’ll be recommending to the ERW Joint Committee next week that this new approach is adopted.  We’ve worked to the best of our ability but we need a different approach where we can better align our school improvement and education work with economic opportunities and the ambitions of our young citizens.  Discussions are already under way to achieve the most effective model and geographical design for future collaboration.

Swansea would ideally like to operate on the City Deal footprint and we understand this is also the preference for Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire. We hope all six councils will agree the early dissolution of ERW so that we can move rapidly to a new and better model. This will be a time of uncertainty for our schools and ERW staff but would emphasise that our actions are in support of a strengthened service. Our responsibility is to secure the best outcomes for our learners and this can only happen on a different regional footprint.

School Investment

A huge proportion of the Council’s capital programme is devoted to investment in the schools estate. The £150 million “Band B” programme will be transformational and on Wednesday Martin Nicholls and I visited two of the current school build sites to see progress.  Huge thanks to Louise Herbert-Evans for taking time out of a busy schedule to accommodate our visit.

First stop was the new Pupil Referral Unit at Cockett where Amanda Taylor, Headteacher PRU & Behaviour Support Unit, showed us round with contractors, Kier.  This has been a challenging project given that the original contractor, Dawnus, went into administration in the opening weeks of the contract. 

We then went to Gorseinon where the new primary school is taking shape even more rapidly.  We were given a quick tour by the contractors, Scott, and it was great to see this project finally progressing at pace after a long and sometimes difficult history. 

Progress has been excellent on these much needed facilities and I look forward to them opening later in the year.  My thanks go to Louise and her team for the massive amount of work put in to deliver these schools.

City Deal

I met with the new City Deal Programme Director, Jon Burnes.  Jon has joined us from Swansea University and he will have a hot desk in the Guildhall where he and his team can operate.  He’s extremely enthusiastic about his new role and I hope he’ll become a familiar face to councillors and officers here.  We discussed priorities and forthcoming projects as well as progress on our Swansea Central scheme.  I look forward to working with him.

Swansea Sports Awards

Well done to the Sport & Health team who once again delivered the Swansea Sports Awards at the Brangwyn last night, in association with Freedom Leisure. These are always great occasions and a lot of work goes into ensuring the event is a very special occasion for all the winners. The event recognises sports excellence but also pays tribute to the largely unsung heroes who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our sports clubs and organisations going. Congratulations to them all. You can view all of the winners here www.swansea.gov.uk/sportsawards and check the Sport & Health social media account for all the images from the evening.

We’ve taken a huge step forward in helping to shape and regenerate our city.

On Wednesday I joined the Leader and colleagues at the National Waterfront Museum to launch our Strategic Sites procurement process. 

In short we’re seeking a joint venture partner via Sell2Wales to assist in the regeneration of the following sites:

• Swansea Central Phase 2
• Former Oxford Street school site
• Site 9 Swansea Marina
• Civic Centre
• Sailbridge site
• Former St Thomas Station
• Hafod Copperworks

I told the audience of business people how the council will support our development partners as we aim to build on the initial investment by the council in the Swansea Central Phase 1 scheme.  We’ve been the initial catalyst for further regeneration programmes and it’s essential the private sector now plays its part in making Swansea the best it can be. Thanks to the officers and councillors who helped us to prepare for the launch and attended on the day.  

A live video stream of the event is available on Facebook here.

Budget Council

Last night Council approved the budget reports following much discussion and debate in the Guildhall Chamber.  Thanks to a better than expected settlement the depth of cuts was nowhere near what we had feared.  The medium term however looks less comfortable and this puts a premium on the rapid revision of our Sustainable Swansea strategy which needs to be progressed more rapidly.  I’ll be discussing this with the Corporate Management Team next week.  Thanks to Ben Smith and the Finance Team for all the work they’ve put in over the past few months. 

Coronavirus

The news continues to be dominated by the coronavirus, but it’s important to stress we have only have one case in Swansea and Wales. We’ve provided more guidance to staff, particularly around washing hands with soap and water is the most effective control, rather than hand gels and sanitisers. Here’s the latest guidance.

Homelessness Pledge

Yesterday I returned to the Parc yr Helig site where we’re building new council homes as I mentioned a few weeks ago.  This time it was to meet the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James AM.  We explained the work we’re doing, particularly in providing more energy efficient housing and the Minister was clearly impressed.  I took the opportunity while she was with us, along with the Leader and Councillor Andrea Lewis, to sign the Homelessness Prevention Pledge. We’ve pledged to offer support to those in need, at the right time, addressing people’s problems before they escalate and assisting people so they can live in a permanent home of their own.

Tree Services meeting

I met staff from our tree services unit to thank them for the great work they’ve been doing all year round, but especially during the recent storms.  They suggested how the use of better mobile communications could improve the way they work, which I’ll chase up. They also highlighted the challenges we face in dealing with Ash Dieback which is killing ash trees across Europe. I’ll follow it up with the Welsh Government as we need to commit more funding.  I’m hoping to meet other staff from our Place directorate, particularly in Highways, to hear their accounts in the next few weeks.

PCC

The Leader and I held our regular meeting with Alun Michael, the Police and Crime Commissioner to talk through a large number of issues including the improvements being made in the Youth Justice Service and the issues relating to sex workers and drug-related deaths.  It was a productive meeting and there are certainly some major challenges ahead that we must work together on.  Thanks to the youth justice team and to all of our staff working to make Swansea a safer place.

Boundary Commission

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales (LDBCW) have completed the final stage of their Review of the Electoral Arrangements for the City and County of Swansea.  I think it’s fair to say it’s not the easiest report to digest so I’ve summarised the key recommendations to be in place by May 2022:

• Increasing number of Councillors to 75 (currently 72).
• Abolishing Mawr Ward and moving Craig-Cefn-Parc Community, Felindre Community & Garnswllt Community to Clydach Ward, Llangyfelach Ward & Pontarddulais Wards respectively.
• Removing Pontlliw & Tircoed Communities from Llangyfelach Ward and creating a new Pontlliw & Tircoed (Pontlliw a Thir-coed) Ward.
• Removing everything sea side of A4067 from Castle Ward & St Thomas Ward to create a new Waterfront (Y Glannau) Ward.
• Removing Waunarlwydd Community from Cockett (Y Cocyd) Ward and creating a new Waunarlwydd Ward.
• Merging Dunvant Ward, Killay North Ward & Killay South Ward to create a single Dunvant & Killay (Dyfnant a Cilâ) Ward.
• Merging Gorseinon Ward & Penyrheol Ward to create a single Gorseinon & Penyrheol Gorseinon a Phenyrheol) Ward.
• Removing Ilston Community from Gower Ward and adding it to Pennard Ward.
• Increasing the number of Councillors in Gowerton (Tre-g?yr) Ward to 2.
• Merging Kingsbridge Ward, Lower Loughor Ward & Upper Loughor Ward to create a single Llwchwr Ward on the same footprint of the historic Llwchwr Town Council.
• Merging Newton Ward and Oystermouth Ward with 506 Electors from West Cross Ward to create the Mumbles (Y Mwmbwls) Ward.
• Standardising the following Ward names, to be the same in Welsh and English: Bôn-y-maen, Mynydd-bach, Pen-clawdd and Pontarddulais.
• Recognising a number of Welsh ward names.

Their Final Recommendations are available at www.ldbc.gov.wales. There’s now a six-week window for anybody to respond by email to lgdtmailbox@gov.wales by April 14.