I’ve been in Cardiff quite a bit this week raising our profile and trying to secure some commitments from the Welsh Government.
On Monday I met our Skyline colleagues from New Zealand to further develop the proposals for their leisure scheme at Kilvey Hill. Work continues apace and I hope we can give the project the final push towards delivery. It would have a major impact on Swansea as a tourist destination but given the financial climate we’ll very likely be dependent upon grant support from Welsh Government to secure it. Councillors Stewart and Francis-Davies also attended and I know they’re doing everything they can to get that support.
On Tuesday I was with the Welsh Government to discuss the future funding for ethnic minority language support to our schools. I was joined by the chief executives of Cardiff and Newport councils and they feel as strongly as I do about this subject. It’s essential the Welsh Government recognises that councils can’t provide these essential services without the necessary funding and I pressed the case as forcefully as possible. Whilst funding is secured for the next financial year we need firm commitments beyond that and I hope sense will prevail.
We continue to work with colleagues in Cardiff and Newport to promote our cities and to highlight to the Welsh Government the particular challenges faced by urban authorities and I think they got the point.
I also met with Geraint Rees who’s taken over the helm at ERW, our regional school improvement consortium. I’ve mentioned previously there have been some problems at ERW and one year on since my appointment as lead Chief Executive for the consortium I’m now confident real progress is being made. I emphasised the need for better engagement and stronger partnerships with schools to make sure we secure the best possible outcomes for our learners across the mid and southwest Wales region. Geraint and I will be working on a report to the ERW Joint Committee in January that will chart the future and hopefully ensure all regional councils engage fully in the organisation.
Swansea Central
Cabinet yesterday approved an extra £3m to progress phase one of the Swansea Central project including the proposed digital arena. This is a major step forward and couldn’t have been possible without tremendous efforts of Huw Mowbray and his team along with many others such as finance, legal, planning and communications.
Swansea University
I was concerned to learn of the current issues at Swansea University and the suspension of four members of staff. As major partners in our regeneration projects, the University has a key role, and I hope the current difficulties can be resolved quickly. The Leader and I have sought reassurance that the progress we’re all making on the City Deal will not be hindered by this. In the meantime I must thank the economic regeneration team and Deputy Chief Executive, Adam Hill, for their work on pushing the case forward with Welsh Government officials this week. Hopefully in the next week or so there’ll be some definitive statements on the first projects to be approved under the Swansea Bay City Deal.
YGG Lon Las
On Thursday I was at Lon Las School for the official opening with TV news presenter Huw Edwards. Huw is a great advocate and promoter of Welsh medium education so I was delighted when he agreed to officially open the new £9.8m school. It has over 500 pupils and it’s a huge improvement with all the classrooms under one roof. There’s also a lovely new flat play area and a sports field. Huw spoke eloquently about the importance of quality in education and choice in language. Both Huw and I were impressed by this magnificent facility and the team responsible for delivering it should be rightly proud of their work. Huw was brilliant with the children and has promised to return. Thanks to headteacher Karen Thomas and her fantastic team for making us all feel so welcome. And congratulations to the school on their very positive inspection report.
Additional Learning Needs
CMT considered our approach to implementing the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 – to support children and young people with additional learning needs (ALN). It replaces existing legislation for special educational needs and the assessment of children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in post-16 education and training. There are major implications for us and the NHS, and the recent commissioning review of ALN has resulted in the development of a new strategic approach which will be taken to Members in the coming weeks. Thanks to Mark Sheridan and Gemma Whyley for explaining this to CMT. The financial implications of the new requirements give me cause for concern and I feel further discussions with Welsh Government over funding will be necessary.
Spending controls
CMT also discussed the need for re-enforced efforts to reduce ‘discretionary’ spend given our projected financial overspend for 18/19 and beyond. We’re anxious not to create unmanageable levels of extra bureaucracy and bottle-necks in the approval process which frustrated previous implementation of enhanced spending controls. But we must find a way to provide extra scrutiny of expenditure. Ben Smith and I will shortly be meeting staff involved in purchasing to talk through the issues with them.
Awards
Well done to our Building Services team who won a gold award at the Careers Wales Valued Partner Awards. It saluted their work on activity such as careers fairs and talks, work experience and mock interviews with school pupils.
The awards recognise the contribution made by those who support Wales’s workforce of the future.