safeguarding

Our city deal projects are on track

March 22, 2019 by Jack Leave a Comment

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.

A promising year ahead

January 4, 2019 by Martin 2 Comments

A happy new year to you all. 2019 promises to be an interesting year. I suspect Brexit will continue to dominate the news and the political debates but we’ll continue in our mission to improve the city whatever happens.

Following the holiday period the work to regenerate the Kingsway will gather momentum again as this critical part of the city infrastructure gets a long-awaited facelift. I’m confident the plans Council approved will breathe new life into the city centre and the funding from UK and Welsh governments through the City Deal will supplement our own investment in this transformation.

At the same time we must maintain our focus on the other corporate priorities and we’ll be reinforcing this important message in the forthcoming staff roadshows – more on these below. As some of you know I’m not a big fan of Christmas but if I’d made a list to Santa it would have included;

Greater clarity on Brexit from the UK Government at the earliest opportunity
A sense of direction from the Welsh Government on the future shape of local government
Some real evidence that austerity is over, including a fair financial settlement for local government

Sadly thus far Santa has been unable to find my house but let’s hope 2019 will bring these to us at some point.

Staff roadshows

As you know, Cabinet agreed to consult on our budget proposals for next year. The public consultation is already under way, which staff can take part in, but on top of this we’re holding a series of staff roadshows at various council venues this month.

I’ll be attending some of the roadshows, and Adam Hill, our Deputy Chief Executive, will be fronting many of them along with directors and heads of service. I hope as many of you as possible can attend these so we can get your views and thoughts on where we are and where we’re heading as an organisation. Here’s a list of the roadshows, please agree with your manager which session to come along to.

We’re also producing a staff survey next week for you to give your views on proposals that affect our workforce.

Care home fire

On December 21 I was alerted at about 6.30pm that there had been a serious fire at a private dementia care home in Gorseinon. As you might expect the rest of the evening was spent on the phone as our emergency planning and social services colleagues worked tirelessly to relocate the 27 vulnerable people who needed to be rehoused immediately. This was one of the toughest logistical challenges we have faced for a number of years and the response was simply amazing.

I must thank all our colleagues who responded brilliantly. The residents were all assessed at the scene and two needed hospital treatment. Our emergency duty team had to find temporary accommodation for the remaining residents who moved into the spare beds we have at Parkway. It was a real team effort as our staff worked with colleagues from the fire, police, health services in very difficult circumstances.

From our end it involved colleagues from emergency planning, transport and social services who are too numerous to mention by name. Many, even though they were not on shift, made themselves available at no notice and worked long into the night. It really was a superb reaction. Thank you all.

Reverse advent calendar

Congratulations and thanks to all involved in the “Reverse Advent Calendar” in the run up to Christmas. Four charities, the West Wales Poundies, Morriston Hospital Children’s Ward, Zacs Place Homeless Support and the Salvation Army church, were all supported by the efforts and generous donations of our staff. Hats off to the organisers of this initiative which I hope will go from strength to strength in the future.

Are we a good parent?

July 20, 2018 by Martin Leave a Comment

The Care Inspectorate Wales have been with us again this week and I met with them on Wednesday to talk through our approach as a corporate parent, our progress on safeguarding and the performance of our Children’s Services.

Thanks to Gemma Whyley and Julie Thomas for their support and guidance as the inspection process is an important one if we are to improve our services further. Amongst the areas I felt confident but not complacent about was our performance as a corporate parent and the work done across the organisation to ensure children in our care have the best start in life and are able to realise their ambitions. This is a reflection of the work done for children in care by staff across the council which I’m very proud of and grateful for. This was particularly important as children in care was a key theme for the inspectors.

A good corporate parent should think the same way about the children in its care as any other parent should do. Are they able to achieve their ambitions, experience a good education, feel safe and secure, live free from poverty and enjoy life? There were a number of examples beyond the direct work of social services that I was able to give to demonstrate this commitment, including the measures we’ve taken on housing, education, council tax, the apprenticeship strategy, Beyond Bricks and Mortar and cultural event invites, all of which benefit children in our care and care leavers.

We won’t know the outcome from CIW for some weeks yet but thanks to all the staff involved in the inspection. I hope to thank them in person this afternoon at an event to mark the end of the three-week inspection.

Regionalisation

We’re waiting to hear the next steps in relation to local government reform following the scrapping of compulsory merger proposals. It sounds like another working group is on its way and I’ll be seeking to be represented on it. In the meantime, I’ve spent this week in joint committee meetings for ERW and Western Bay and at the City Deal programme board. The workload associated with all this collaboration is growing massively and following the senior management restructure I’ll be looking at the best way to ensure we’re represented at the various meetings that have filled up my calendar.

There are some significant challenges in relation to ERW which I’ll be working with regional colleagues on and there’s much to be done on the Western Bay collaboration in preparation for Bridgend Council’s departure next April.

Your home, your health

I’ve been working with colleagues in housing, social care and the health board to organise a symposium on housing and health at the Liberty Stadium in October. The links between good housing and good health outcomes are strong and I hope the symposium can help us develop our strategies and investment programmes to help promote independence for older people, combat the scourge of homelessness and tackle the impacts of welfare reform and fuel poverty. I’ll say more about this as the date approaches but if you are interested then you might wish to mark October 5 as a date in your diary.

High 5

The nominations for this year’s High 5 Awards are closing today. Thank you to everyone who’s been involved and to those who’ve nominated young people. I look forward to the judging process and planning the awards night in the autumn.

End of term

As the end of the school year approaches I’d like to thank all the teachers and support staff for their efforts during the year. I’ve been impressed with the performance of schools across the city and this has been evidenced in a series of ESTYN inspection reports throughout the year. Have a well-earned rest and come back refreshed after the summer break as the next cohort of learners will be arriving. Thanks to all.

Best wishes

Another long-serving employee is leaving with Clare Watson setting out for a new life in Brittany. Clare has worked as a specialist teacher for 20 Years and has 37 years’ experience working with pupils with additional learning needs. Based at YG Bryn Tawe during the last 14 years, Clare has provided support to pupils from Welsh medium schools as well as providing essential training across Swansea.

Penblwydd hapus

January 12, 2018 by Martin Leave a Comment

Today marks the first anniversary of the publication of Sir Charles Hendry’s report on the future of tidal lagoon energy with the clear recommendation to the Government to get on with the Swansea tidal lagoon project. I acknowledge that the lagoon doesn’t have 100% support but the vast majority of people I’ve spoken to are in favour of it and it has cross-party support in Council.

We’ll continue to exert as much pressure as we can to secure this project and the massive economic boost it’d bring to the city and the region. This week we had a Love the Lagoon birthday cake made to mark the anniversary. It’s part of our campaign and was shared with business leaders and visitors to Swansea Market. We also sent first birthday cards to the Prime Minister, Welsh Secretary and Business Secretary as a friendly nudge for them to make a decision.

You may have seen this week that the First Minister has now waded in to the debate with an offer of substantial financial support from the Welsh Government. It remains to be seen whether this will help unblock the project at UK Government level, but I know that the pressure of our Love the Lagoon campaign has been felt in Cardiff and London so thanks to all who‘ve joined with it.

On Monday I attended our Scrutiny Programme Committee along with the Leader where the subject of the lagoon was raised once again. The committee heard from the Leader about progress on a range of issues from City Deal and the broader regeneration programme to the work of the Public Services Board and our corporate priorities. Scrutiny is an essential function of local government and we responded to a range of challenging and important questions. The report is available here. During the meeting we noted that Greg Clark, the current Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, had retained his post in the UK Government Cabinet reshuffle. During our recent meeting with him he said a decision would be made “shortly” so we hope he keeps to his word and we can leave the second birthday candle firmly in the drawer.

Homelessness

This week saw the publication of the Wales Audit Office report into how councils are managing homelessness. The report presents a mixed picture on performance but acknowledges that many of the causation factors are outside the control of councils and Welsh Government. For example there’s a general concern over the impact of welfare reform and a growth in the numbers of people finding themselves without a home.

Auditor General, Huw Vaughan-Thomas said: “My report today highlights that Local Authorities continue to focus on managing people in crisis rather than stopping them getting into crisis in the first place. To truly prevent homelessness public bodies need to take a long-term view and work with other organisations to really tackle the issues that cause homelessness. This requires a focus on, for example, better educational attainment, access to employment, well planned transition when leaving care and access to welfare benefits.”

We’re praised in the report for work on preventing homelessness through the creative use of Supporting People funding, its work with private landlords and its strategic approach to prevention. This Council has led the way in Wales on tackling homelessness for many years and I was proud to read the comments of the auditor. My thanks go to all those who work in this important and essential service area.

Sharing Information

On Tuesday I met with the Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss the effectiveness of information sharing protocols with housing following the introduction of new arrangements last year. It’s clear our council is also leading the way nationally on this initiative and although there are still some issues to resolve this is having an impact on community safety for our housing estates. Thanks to Dave Thomas and all in the housing team who’ve helped to make this a success.

Congratulations

The ‘Jig-so’ project has been shortlisted for prestigious British Journal of Midwifery Awards. It’s a Swansea-wide team of midwives, nursery nurses, family facilitators and early language development workers. Well done to all involved and let’s hope the team get the right result on the night.

Our corporate building and property services team is carrying out works at council homes to help tenants save money on their heating bills. The team has taken on more staff to do the work in-house, leading to a 25% increase in turnover compared to 2016/17. This will help us reach the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, so well done to all staff involved.

Staff in a range of services have joined forces with businesses and organisations to help improve the appearance of St Phillips Community Centre in Sandfields. This will improve things for thousands of people who use the community centre every year, so my thanks to all involved.

Bananas, Bacteria and the School of Rock

February 17, 2017 by Martin Leave a Comment

Awards

I mentioned last week that following discussions with the Leader we‘ve submitted a number of our projects and services for the Municipal Journal (MJ) Awards.

These awards recognise the best local government services and personnel. Judges look for evidence of ability, ingenuity and performance. They’re often impressed by the dedication of local government staff and the practical outcomes we achieve. An MJ Award allows local authorities to be recognised for the delivery of their services over the past 12 months and to share their expertise with peers. It also provides staff with the recognition they deserve.

There were a number of possible candidates for consideration but after much deliberation we‘ve submitted in the following categories

Category	Main Content
Local Authority of the Year	All-council – City Deal, Tidal Lagoon, City Centre, Sustainable Swansea, Vision, Values
Delivering Better Outcomes	Helping Hands Volunteer Service, Stress Management & Counselling, South Wales Estates Project, Delivering Better Outcomes, Swans Academy Pilot, Health & Safety Engagement
Delivering Better Outcomes	Domestic Abuse Hub Swansea (Child & Family, Poverty & Prevention)
Excellence in Community Engagement	Work Development Service – vulnerable/ disadvantaged people create a cleaner and safer Swansea.
Reinventing Public Services	Western Bay Health and Social Care Programme’s Optimal Model of Intermediate Care
Workforce Transformation	Sustainable Swansea

Thanks to all the staff who helped to prepare the submissions in a very short space of time and particular thanks to Andy Pearson, Communications and Engagement Officer, for pulling the whole process together for us. Well done Andy.

Poverty

CMT met at the Mansion House on Wednesday to discuss a number of issues including the on-going commissioning review of catering services, the Band B school improvement programme and the Poverty Strategy. You’ll be aware that tackling poverty is a corporate priority for us all and the timely review of the Poverty Strategy allows us to reflect on what has been achieved, but more importantly to determine what we’ll collectively do in the coming months and years. This will be set out in the Delivery Plan and it was encouraging to see contributions coming from a large number of service areas. We have a real opportunity to make a difference in the coming years providing we believe that tackling poverty, like safeguarding, is everyone’s business.

Three years ago Council approved an economic regeneration strategy which aimed to increase prosperity through a series of targeted interventions, many being reflected in the current projects within our City Deal and Tidal Lagoon proposals. But critically the strategy identified that unless we adopted the right approaches to skills, training, apprenticeships and managing supply chains we could experience 20 years of what economists call “jobless growth”. Productivity rises but unemployment and economic inactivity increases. As a consequence relative poverty increases. We’ve been working locally and regionally to tackle this through projects like Workways, Beyond Bricks and Mortar, our Apprenticeship Strategy and Communities First.

You may have seen the announcement this week by Carl Sargeant that Communities First, the flagship policy aimed at boosting deprived communities across Wales, is set to be dropped. The Communities Secretary said he was not convinced that “continuing to focus on 52 small areas is the most effective way to deliver for Wales”. Mr Sargeant told AMs that a new Wales-wide approach would focus on employment, early years and “empowerment”.

It‘s too early for us to understand the full impact of these changes on our organisation. I appreciate these will be uncertain times for many employees but we’ll be working with our staff to determine a way forward which will give us the confidence that our Poverty Strategy and Delivery Plan will be implemented.

Penyrheol Primary School

Last Friday I was privileged to be invited to Penyrheol Primary School to present a High 5 award to the Year 5 pupils, along with our fantastic High 5 ambassador and Swansea City star, Leon Britton.

The High 5 judging panel had decided that they would award the whole of Year 5 for the support they have given to their classmate, Ellis. The children had been nominated by Ellis’ mother, Heidi.

Ellis is confined to a wheelchair but this has not stopped him participating in virtually everything the class does. Year 5 have gone out of their way to ensure he can take part in activities ranging from climbing trees to playing rugby and football. They are magnificent role models and show a degree of empathy and caring that puts most of us adults to shame.

The head teacher, Alison Williams, had invited the whole school and the parents in Year 5 to celebrate the achievement so I was a bit taken aback when I entered the school hall which was crammed full of people.

At that point it all started to get a bit surreal. Leon entered the hall to a fanfare of cheering and he and I were marched onto the stage. I was then handed a guitar and asked to play along with four songs with the Penyrheol School of Rock, flanked by children dressed as bananas and bacteria.

It was a lovely celebration by the school, for the school, and set up fantastically by Alison and her team. I promised to go back there soon to talk to the school council but I suspect they won’t ask me to play the guitar again.

Thanks to the pupils, parents, governors and staff for making Leon and I feel so welcome. And thanks to Year 5 for setting a fantastic example for us all.

Pre-election period

With the local government elections taking place in May, we’ll soon be entering the pre-election period. Sometimes known as “purdah”, it begins on March 17 and affects some of the things we do. It’d be a good idea for all staff to read the latest guidance that you can find via this link.

Chief Education Officer

Council has confirmed the appointment of Nick Williams as our new Chief Education Officer. Nick, our current Head of the Learner Support Service, was appointed by competitive interview following a recruitment process that attracted a lot of competition. Well done to Nick. I‘m delighted with his appointment. He will commence duties immediately on the departure of Lindsay Harvey in March.

Ambassador

Sarah Jones, who is of our many inspirational carers with Foster Swansea, has recently been appointed one of six Foster Carer Ambassadors in Wales.

As part of her new role she’ll host and speak at events, showcase foster care achievement, offer support to fellow carers and help raise the profile of what they do.

Along with the other ambassadors, she will also act as a voice for foster carers across Wales. Foster carers in Swansea do an amazing job and I’m sure we all wish Sarah well.

Neat work

Well done to members of our NEAT team who assisted Mid & West Wales Fire Service, retrieving more than 60 abandoned shopping trolleys from the River Tawe.

Next week

There’ll be no blog next week as I’ll be on annual leave. The next one will be on March 3.