Last night Full Council agreed our budget plans for the coming year. We will be spending a record amount – more than £677m – so that you can deliver the best-possible services that our residents rely on every day. Most service areas will see an increase in their budgets, which is good news for us and local people. As well as that, Full Council also signed off our capital spending programme and our HRA revenue and capital budgets. As always, I want to thank all of those involved in the budget process that started six months ago and to Ben Smith and his team for getting it over the line. Our collective job is now to deliver on those budget commitments made by Council.
Associated with the budget is service planning, and this week Leadership Group continued its work developing plans that will feed into everyone’s work and objectives in the coming year. This work will also link into the annual appraisal process which will be starting for all of us shortly. Leadership Group also discussed our emerging workforce strategy. We looked at actions that will move us towards a more resilient future workforce structure for the council that includes succession planning, career pathways, age profiling and how we attract and retain talent across all areas and roles.
The Covid pandemic may seem a long time ago, but the UK-wide inquiry is still taking evidence, most recently from local authorities in Wales. We were described as the country’s hidden front line. Evidence to the inquiry highlighted not only the risks and emotional strain we faced, but also the professionalism and compassion shown throughout. The Chair of the Inquiry, Baroness Hallet in summing up the day’s evidence session, said she hoped that the Inquiry process helped to shine a spotlight on the local government workforce and paid tribute their impact and to their collective contributions during the pandemic. While the presentation was about Wales as a whole, it is also an accurate reflection of what we did here in Swansea. Ahead of lighting up Guildhall on Sunday for this year’s Covid Day of Reflection, we should be proud of what we achieved together while remembering all those who lost their lives.
It is always great to earn praise from our regulatory bodies, and Estyn’s latest feedback following an enhanced Local Authority Link Inspector (LALI) visit offers very encouraging feedback on our education services. Inspectors identified strong strategic leadership, positive relationships with school leaders, and a clear, shared understanding of our Abertawe 2028 vision. They also praised our sustained commitment to promoting the Welsh language, including the expansion of Welsh?medium provision, improved immersion support and better opportunities for learners with additional needs. School leaders spoke warmly about the quality of professional learning and practical support from our teams. My thanks to our education staff, school leaders, partners and members for their hard work as we continue to improve outcomes for learners across Swansea.
I want to highlight some outstanding safeguarding practice by three of our refuse colleagues last month. While they were working, Kai Gwyther, Tony Roberts and Stephen Phillips witnessed a serious incident near a local primary school. Drawing on recent safeguarding training, their quick thinking meant our education team could step in and put safeguards in place to prevent further escalation. My thanks to each of them for their vigilance, judgement and professionalism. Also want to remind all staff of our obligations as staff to carry out the mandatory safeguarding training and this example shows it is indeed everyone’s business
Yesterday’s the Council hosted our Tourism Stakeholder Day in the George Hall, bringing tourism and hospitality businesses together to hear about our destination marketing campaigns and plans for 2026. Attendees explored how to make the most of the Visit Swansea Bay Partner package and learned more about our growing profile as a filming location. My thanks to our Tourism and Marketing team for organising such a successful event.
Finally, my thanks to Alison Williams the Headteacher, and all the pupils and staff at Craigfelen Primary School, who invited me along to their community café for a cuppa and a chat. The school is a big supporter of the Swansea Pledge, a collaboration between businesses and schools to support children to understand what the world of work is like, at any age. Supported by staff, and volunteers, the schools has taken over the community centre and on certain days the community café is run by pupils, offering hands-on experience of how work and business operate, from customer service and sales to financial management, profit and loss. My thanks to all for sharing their day and enthusiasm with me.
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