Chief Exec's Blog

An update from the Chief Executive

Turbulent Times

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I’ve always had a keen interest in politics but can’t remember a week quite like this one. Nor can I remember an issue so divisive as Brexit.  I’ve previously commented that leaving the EU without a deal was predicted to have a number of unpleasant consequences for the economy, let alone unanswered questions about trade in medicines, foodstuffs and numerous other commodities.  Our Brexit Steering Group has continued to grapple with the issues throughout.

The prospect of a possible October election has meant that our electoral services team have had to prepare for every eventuality.  Thanks to the team but also to the staff from across the Council who have helped out given that we’re in the middle of the Annual Canvass process and that the need to ensure the electoral register is up to date is of paramount importance. 

Amongst the staff drafted in to assist were two of our apprentices; Cally Blake (3rd year Multi trade apprentice) and Alex Eades (2nd year Carpentry apprentice).  Thanks to all of you for your help.

Many commentators believe we’re heading for a general election on October 15 but this changes daily as a result of the twists and turns of the political fracas.

At CMT I described the events at Westminster earlier this week as being akin to an episode of the Borgias and as Parliament reconvened this Tuesday the political temperature was at an all-time high.  So on Tuesday it was with some trepidation that the Leader and I weaved our way through the chaotic crowds outside the Houses of Parliament to attend and give evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee Inquiry into regional growth deals.  The inquiry session was productive and we were able to reassure the committee about progress on the City Deal as well as raise the issues of the tidal lagoon and proposals for a South Wales rail metro.  I’m encouraged by the current heightened level of interest in the tidal lagoon in Westminster and the Leader and I will be discussing how best to capitalise on this opportunity.

However, the continuing uncertainty over the future of our economy caused by Brexit needs to be resolved quickly.  The task of regeneration is hard enough for our councillors and officers to deliver without additional risks for developers and investors.

It’s also fair to say the continuing uncertainty also confuses our budget preparations.  Over the next fortnight CMT will be sharing with the Cabinet our best understanding of the assumptions that underlie the settlement for 2020/21 along with some initial suggestions on how to balance the budget.  Recent pledges of financial injections into the public sector would provide some welcome relief from continued austerity but at this point in time the implications for this for local councils in Wales are impossible to evaluate.  Given the need for us to take continued remedial action on this year’s budget through spending restrictions my guess is that we’ll be facing another £28 million gap next year.  We will continue to press home to the Government this is an unsustainable situation and that essential services are under threat here in Swansea and across Wales.

Appointments Committee

Yesterday the Appointments Committee met to determine the appointment of a permanent Deputy Chief Finance Officer.  The Committee agreed the appointment of Jeff Dong, who has been undertaking the duties on an interim basis so congratulations to Jeff.

Swansea 50 years a City

Congratulations to Karen MacKinnon at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery for some excellent coverage of the forthcoming opening of the exhibition to celebrate 50 years of Swansea receiving City status. I was particularly impressed by the Papier-mâché statue of Diego Maradona made by children in Penlan School in 1986 which was far superior to the ghastly version unveiled back in 2017.  I’ll leave you form your own judgement.  

The exhibition opens on Thursday September 26th and I hope many of you will find the time to visit it. And a great effort from our Comms team to get such coverage for this.

Congratulations

Well done to all.our officers involved in opening a new changing places facility at Caswell Bay. This will improve access for all at one of Wales’ best-loved beaches.

It was great to see 15 new apprentices start with us this week. We have a proud record of working with trainees and I wish the latest group all the best for a long and successful career.

Ben Thomas

Well done to Ben Thomas in our facilities team who was recently crowned Welsh singles bowls champion.

There’s been a great start to the new school year for two of our primaries who’ve received very good Estyn inspection reports.

Crwys Primary is rated excellent for wellbeing and attitudes to learning and good in all other inspection areas.

Portmead Primary is rated good across the board. This achievement is all the more impressive given it has more than double the Welsh average of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Sad news

This week I learned that we had lost two colleagues. 

Councillor Byron Owen was a committed and hardworking member of our Council.  As a Cabinet Member he oversaw some of the most important projects of the time, including of course the Liberty Stadium build.  I worked with him in his capacity as ward councillor on numerous housing and regeneration schemes in Clase and his support at difficult times was invaluable to me.

Councillor John Hague passed away this week.  John was one of life’s original characters.  His irascible style did not always make him the easiest person to work with but this was just a reflection of how committed he was to his ward and his work.  As deputy leader and cabinet member there was rarely a dull moment when John was around and he too leaves an impressive legacy, not least of which is his beloved bowls hall. On the rare occasions we fell out with each other his peace offering would usually be a pork pie and a cup of tea. 

I will miss both these colleagues who have made a massive contribution to the City and the Council.

Brexit’s parallel universe

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Mysteriously, I find myself transferred back into the weird parallel universe known commonly as Brexit.  Despite uncertainty surrounding the European elections, large quantities of public cash (not this council’s!) are being committed to preparing for this potential event, which could technically be cancelled anytime up to midnight on the night before.  Should the election go ahead we will need a variety of staff in place and our electoral services team are currently seeking to fill a number of positions, if interested please apply here.

It is also worth noting that we are now in the pre-election period (from 15th April 2019) for this as of yet unconfirmed election!  We need to be careful, as do all public bodies, not to make announcements etc. that may influence the election outcome.  If in doubt, seek the advice of your manager or the legal services section.

Back in the real world I was pleased to see that sentencing took place this week in relation to the call centre scam known as ‘Wolves of Wind Street’ which I covered here previously, a prosecution brought following an investigation by the Trading Standards team.

Many teams in Swansea operate under severe pressure and that is certainly true in relation to our food hygiene service.  So again, I am pleased to hear of their successful prosecutions recently achieved.  Well done to all those involved in this vital work in an area of public protection that does not always get the recognition it deserves.

School budgets are under pressure along with all other areas of public service.  Since returning to the Council I have been pleased to see that school performance has improved or been maintained across the patch over the last few years.  This week the latest inspection results for Townhill Primary were released and confirmed good performance across all criteria.  Well done to all staff and pupils, it was particularly pleasing to note that children are in an environment where they feel both safe and valued.

When times are tough (when were they not?) it is vital that  there is a clear understanding of what management is doing, whether it be the Corporate Management Team (CMT), the leadership team or individual departmental management teams.  CMT this week agreed a revised template setting out the various responsibilities so that we can be clear who is accountable for what.  Anyone interested can access this ‘corporate grip’ report here.

Whilst I am sure budgets and money are not the most inspiring or uplifting subject for many staff, it is vital that the Council both sets and delivers financial targets.  To this end CMT this week compiled and reviewed early options and proposals leading to the next budget round.  These will be refined and discussed with cabinet over the next few weeks. The financial outlook remains challenging.  Any view that the much-hyped end of austerity could transform the position seems to me to be misplaced. If more money feeds through to local Government it is likely to come with strings attached and will not therefore alter the overall position.

Another week, another threat from Neath Port Talbot to withdraw from a regional arrangement, this time the City Deal.  It is of course for them to manage their own business.  All of us working in regional arrangements will be well aware of the conflicts, the contradictions and the sheer hard work that they entail.  So why don’t we just declare the independent state of Swansea and withdraw from them all? 

There are many reasons, the first is philosophical, a belief that we can achieve more by our collective effort.  The second is practical, Welsh Government policy is to push harder on regional working and there will shortly be legislation in place to push the agenda further and faster.  Our task is to find ways to make regional arrangements work to the benefit of our customers, clients and citizens.  We can influence the policy in positive ways but we cannot be seen to undermine it!

I never thought I would see the day when we built Council homes again.  So the start of work at Parc-y-Helyg is an important step, creating local jobs and supporting some of our apprentices.  Well done to all involved in this initiative.

On a similarly positive note, the sun is due to shine over the Easter break, but I offer no guarantees.  I hope all staff who have the opportunity of a break enjoy their time off.  But we should all thank those many staff who will be working to ensure that services to the community continue over the bank holiday.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

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My last blog of the 2017 is a chance to reflect on some of the major issues of the past year and to look ahead to our challenges in 2018.

We started the year in fine style by being awarded the Platinum Corporate Health Standard after excelling in corporate social responsibility and innovation. January also saw the Hendry Review say the Tidal Lagoon was a “no regrets” policy. Almost a year on we’re still waiting for a government decision!

The Welsh Government unveiled its ‘White Paper: Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed’ including regionalised services and electoral reform.

Spring brought the City Deal signing which promises a £1.3bn transformation of our economy and we built on our track record of investing in young people by launching our Apprentice Strategy – more than 170 apprentices have come through since 2003.

April showed there were no fools in our waste team when they cleaned up at the IESE (Improvement and Efficiency South East) Awards.

In May we stood united with Manchester following the horrific terror attack which served as another reminder that we all have to be vigilant, particularly at our major events. And our elections team and volunteers pulled out all the stops to deliver yet another election with huge effort but minimum fuss.

The tragic events of Grenfell Tower threw the spotlight on high-rise flats across the UK and our Housing and Corporate Buildings teams led the way in Wales, acting quickly and professionally to reassure our residents. Another election, this time the General, once again saw our staff pull-out all the stops.

The summer brought a mixed bag of news – I was delighted to be permanently appointed Chief Executive and for us to be shortlisted for City of Culture. But this delight was dampened with the shelving of the rail electrification to Swansea and the worrying budget indications from the Government.

The annual local government “league tables” in September showed that despite budget cuts and service pressures:

  • 29% of all our performance indicators were in the top quartile, up from 17% in 2014/15
  • A reduction in lower quartile PIs from 22% to 14%.
  • We’re ranked 9th among all 22 councils, up from 15th last year. Considering we are an urban authority this is a major achievement.

We launched our Love the Lagoon campaign to unite the community in telling the Government we want and need the project.

October is always a highlight for me because of the High 5 Awards and this year a record number of young people were recognised. Autumn also sees the real work on our budget get under way and Corporate Management Team and Cabinet were locked in meetings to plug the budget gap due to government cuts. Each year is getting more difficult.

 

November was a month for lobbying in London when we took both our City of Culture and Love the Lagoon campaigns to Westminster. Closer to home our Christmas Parade was met with great feedback from the public.

Peter Blake

Despite a fantastic effort, our City of Culture bid fell at the final hurdle in December. Since then we’ve had encouraging talks with the Welsh Government on how we can take culture forward. Our annual staff survey showed the vast majority of areas improving. However, there’s more work to do, particularly on appraisals. And just before the Christmas break I was delighted to hear primary school attendance was 95% for the 2017-2018 academic year, compared to 94.9% for each of the two previous years.  The five-year trend since 2011-2012 has an improvement of 2% which is the highest rate of improvement in Wales. Congratulations to all our school and education staff for this impressive result.

So what does 2018 have in store for us? Hopefully a positive decision on the Tidal Lagoon with the clock running at 350 days since the Hendry Review recommended the government gets on with it.  We’ll  see some significant developments taking place around the Arena and Kingsway sites as the city centre regeneration gathers pace.  This will involve major changes to the city centre road network and the development of the infrastructure for a Smart City.

I suspect we‘ll see a restatement of the Welsh Government approach on local government reform, possibly with greater emphasis on mandation unless the pace of collaboration between councils increases.

We’ll set a budget following the consultation process and hopefully continue to deliver excellent services in increasingly difficult circumstances. Our work on modernising and transforming the Council will continue, increasing our agile, digital and commercialism programmes to help us to combat future cuts in the revenue budget.

Above all I hope 2018 will be a healthy and happy year for you and for your families and I want  to thank you once again for the fantastic work during 2017.

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda.

In the election spotlight

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This has been another long 24 hours for me and the team who help me to run the UK Government Parliamentary election. I cast my vote as soon as my polling station opened and was greeted by an amazingly cheery and bright-eyed polling station team of Mal, Geraldine and Rebecca.  Like all the other polling station staff they faced a long day and I am hugely indebted to everyone who helped run this election. Thanks for the warm welcome from the staff in the polling stations I was able to visit.

The elections team once again exceeded expectations, despite only just recovering from last month’s council elections. This time we faced heightened security concerns following the dreadful events at Manchester and London Bridge and the support from our security staff and special events team was outstanding.  I was also grateful for the work done by our resilience team working with the Police.

Congratulations to Dean Howard, the first presiding officer to deliver his ballot papers to the election count.  Dean came second at the local government election count but beat his personal best by arriving at around 10.15.  As you can see from the photo Dean was pretty pleased with his performance. Mind you his polling station was only 100 yards from the count.

We had a lot of attention on the Gower constituency given the closeness of the 2015 result; a margin of only 27 votes. This wasn’t just from the local and national media companies.  Gower was one of eight constituencies across the UK to be visited by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association team  led by Callum Forster and made up of politicians from the governments of Bangladesh, South Africa, St Lucia and Ghana.  Each of the eight constituencies is the subject of an election assessment to consider the conduct of the electoral process, and make recommendations for improvement. On Tuesday Huw Evans and I met with the CPA team and answered a range of questions about the electoral process and how it operates here in Swansea.  They also visited the postal vote team and a number of polling stations in the Gower constituency.  I look forward to their feedback and any suggestions on how the process could be improved in future.  Huw and I made a few suggestions of our own which would require changes to national legislation and hopefully the CPA team will take these on board.

Congratulations to the MPs who have been elected to represent our three constituencies;

Swansea West – Geraint Davies

Swansea East – Carolyn Harris

Gower – Tonia Antoniazzi

 

Appointments

This week the appointments committee met to shortlist candidates for the post of Director of Resources. Interviews will be held on 26th June and I am confident that Council will be able make an appointment the following day.

On a different note a number of people have asked me why the post of Chief Executive has been advertised. When I was appointed to the post last year it was on an interim basis for one year.  Under local government rules interim appointments of the most senior staff should only be for a year.  It was my view, and the Leader’s view, that an interim appointment would be the best way forward because it would allow the newly elected Council to choose their own permanent Chief Executive.

Approval of Swansea Central planning application

On Tuesday Planning Committee considered the planning application for Swansea Central. I have mentioned the project a number of times in previous blogs but the approval by Planning committee was a significant milestone and a green light to proceed with the regeneration plan for our City Centre.  Comments at the committee reflected the quality and detail of the application.  This has required a mammoth effort from our staff and a lot of people deserve to be thanked for their contributions not least of which are Phil Holmes, Huw Mowbray, Lee Richards, Katy Evans, Ryan Thomas, David Owen, Liam Smith and Stephen Smith.

The next phase is delivery and will be equally challenging but I am delighted that the key milestones have been met and confident that we can progress this apace.

Trading Standards

A Trading Standards case in Crown Court earlier this week has determined that a local shop owner jailed for selling dangerous ‘legal highs’ must now pay back more than £120,000 of the money he gained during the years he traded. This is great news and a further example of the hard work by Trading Standards and our Legal Team who have vigorously pursued the case, ensuring individuals do not profit from harmful trading activities.

City Centre

Demolition of the former Oceana building on Kingsway is now about 50% finished. Experts from Cuddy Group, who are demolishing the building for the council, are continuing to dismantle what remains of the building with a high-reach excavator. Scheduled for completion this summer, the demolition will pave the way on site for a new office development accommodating tech businesses.

High 5 Awards

Nominations are starting to increase for this year’s High 5 awards but we want more. The High 5 awards are open to any child, young person or group in three age ranges – under 13s, aged 14 to 19 or 20-25 year olds. We’ve also added a schools award this year which looks to recognise and reward larger school groups, even whole classes, years or teams.

All nominators need to do is fill in a nomination form here where they get the chance to explain why their choice of nominee should get a High 5, whatever the reason might be.

We’ve made it even more accessible to answer any query you have about High 5 this year with a new phone number we’ve set up.  If you have a query or would like to leave a voice nomination call (01792) 635699 and leave a message. 

UNESCO

Next week we will welcome visitors from across the UK and Europe who are keen to find out how Swansea is encouraging children and adults alike to learn about enterprise.

We were the first city in the UK to become a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities and are hosting a two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

Visitors will hear how we have worked with schools, colleges and universities to reduce the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), and see at first hand the extensive efforts to inspire young people to think about setting up their own businesses.

More than a dozen delegates are expected from as far afield as Scandinavia. I hope we will all give them a warm welcome.

Agile working

In the Civic Centre it’s great to see our new Agile Working area expanding. It’s encouraging to read the positivity coming from staff already there. I particularly like Marlyn Dickson’s observation in her case study: “Business conversations are so much easier … every working day feels much more human and personable.” Still wondering what it’s all about? Pop in and chat to some of your colleagues there!

Congratulations

It was great to hear that Burlais Primary School will soon be home to a garden from the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show after their success in the Greening Grey Britain project. The new school which was completed in 2015 will soon have a courtyard filled with plant life and colour.  There was great coverage on the One Show last Monday as well.  Congratulations to Alison Bastion and her team.

Congratulations also to transformation officer Gemma Whyley, who helped lead a Welsh team to glory at a major global cheerleading championships in the USA. Gemma was one of two coaches involved with the Welsh Paracheer Unified Freestyle Pom team that won gold at the ICU International Cheerleading and Dance World Championships held in Orlando, Florida. Twenty-five per cent of the team – the first ever from Wales to win at the championships – is made up of young athletes with physical disabilities.

And finally….

Are you going to the Take That concert at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday evening (June 14)?

If you are, then all the info you’ll need on car parking, taxi tips, drop-off points, pick-up points and road closures is here. My thanks to staff in special events and transport for all their work in the build-up to the event to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brave new world

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The recent council elections will trigger a number of things that will impact on us. Council on May 25 will elect a Leader who will appoint a Cabinet and determine the responsibilities within each portfolio.   The policy agenda will reflect the commitments made during the election which includes new projects and programmes. We’ve already held induction sessions for our councillors.  In an induction presentation I explained to them how the organisation functions, the roles of councillors and officers and the importance of maintaining mutual respect. There were also a series of presentations from senior staff on our services.  It’s a daunting prospect for our new politicians, with a huge amount of compulsory training ranging from planning and licensing to safeguarding and data management.  I know officers will make a concerted effort to help the new members to settle in.  We’ve made a good start by holding a market place event where councillors spoke to staff from every service area. Thanks to all the staff who organised and took part in the market place event and to the councillors who attended.

CMT meeting

Corporate Management Team considered a number of reports relating to performance management and a new suite of indicators to reflect the next set of policy commitments and service performance.   This will be driven by a newly established Strategic Delivery Unit to work closely with service directorates to ensure coherent and joined up delivery of Council priorities.

We also discussed workforce issues, including sickness management, and we’ll be having further discussions on this in the coming weeks.

Rhian Millar updated CMT on the results of the telephone survey of customers and I’m always impressed by the number of people who rate what we do. Every two months we survey the public on a number of issues and we always score very highly on staff being friendly (89%) efficient (82%), treating customers with respect (89%) and the level of customer service we provide (83%). Overall satisfaction with the way we run things is (71%). This is a great reflection of our staff. But it’s also interesting that only 34% of people would speak highly of us. I’m not sure why there’s such a gap between these scores, but it’s something I want to look at more closely.

Communities First – where next?

Since the Welsh Government decided to discontinue the Communities First approach to tackling poverty, we’ve been working closely with them to develop a transition plan to focus on employability, empowerment and early years. I was delighted when Swansea was selected to be one of the “early adopters” to pilot the new approach and I’m grateful to all the staff who’ve been working on this. This is an excellent piece of work that will now be presented to the Welsh Government for approval. Key to making this plan successful will be a joined-up approach which links employability to our early years and schools work, our apprenticeships strategy, the major investment programmes for the city and our social benefits policies.

Congratulations

As a keen walker I was delighted to hear that Rebecca Tribe (Waste Management) and Terri Shaw (Corporate Building Services) have just completed the Great Wall of China challenge to raise money for Ty Hafan. They joined a team of fundraisers in China last week, walking for up to 9 hours a day! Between them all they managed to raise a fantastic £70,000 for the local charity.  Ever dedicated to her job – Rebecca even managed to take a photo of the recycling bins along the way! Congratulations to Rebecca and Terri for a fantastic achievement.

Ian George, contract monitoring officer in adult services, recently completed the London Marathon. Ian was thrilled to have finished in 5 hours and 21 minutes. Currently the funds raised stands at over £5,000 and this will help Shaw Trust to support vulnerable people in academy schools. You can donate here

 

Our Food and Safety team received a Certificate of Commendation from the Swansea and West Wales Occupational Safety Group. It’s in recognition of the team visiting local businesses and manufacturers to talk to them about health and safety in the workplace.

 

We’re on a bit of a roll at national award ceremonies and our latest successes came at Sunday’s inaugural Professional Teaching Awards Cymru. Mark Thompson, who has led St Helen’s Primary School since 2011 and supports other schools in Swansea as a challenge adviser, was named Head Teacher of the Year. Bethan Baglow of Olchfa Comprehensive School won the award for School Business Manager, while Hafod Primary School, shortlisted for the Whole School Award for promoting relationships with parents and the community, just missed out. Many congratulations to everyone involved.

Staff events

Many of our colleagues have already become Dementia Champions as part of our commitment to make Swansea a Dementia Friendly city. On Thursday (May 18) Dementia Friendly Swansea is holding an open morning at the Waterfront Museum as part of Dementia Awareness Week.

On Tuesday (May 16) between 6pm and 8pm the Foster Swansea team will be staging the first of two information evenings at the Civic Centre so that anyone considering becoming a foster carer can find out more.

C’mon the Swans!

Finally, this weekend could well be a significant one for our local football club, Swansea City, who travel to Sunderland in an attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League. I suspect the issue of who gets relegated will not be determined until next Sunday but I hope any staff who are travelling have a safe trip and an enjoyable day.  It’s really important for the city that the Swans retain their Premier League status.