Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: COUNCIL CHAMBER, RUSSELL HOUSE, CHURTON ROAD RHYL LL18 3DP
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The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and conveyed a special welcome to Judith Greenhalgh, Chief Executive of Denbighshire to her first meeting of the Public Service Board. |
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Andy Jones- National Probation Service Gary Doherty- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Simon Smith – North Wales Fire and Rescue Service Stephen Hughes – Office of the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner |
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MINUTES OF LAST MEETING PDF 395 KB To approve the minutes
of the meeting held on 16 April 2018 (copy enclosed). Minutes: The minutes of the Conwy and Denbighshire Public Service
Board meeting held on 16 April 2018 were submitted – Matters arising – Page 5 – Attendance – Teresa Owen was present at the meeting
in the role of Executive Director of Public Health for Betsi Cadwaladr
University Health Board. Page 9 – Relationship between PSBs and North Wales Regional
Partnership board – The Chair confirmed that an agenda item had been scheduled
at the meeting to discuss in detail. RESOLVED that the minutes
of the meeting held on 16 April 2018 be received and approved as a correct
record. |
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a.
Welsh
Assembly – PSB inquiry (letter attached)
b.
Partnership
Governance of ACE programme (verbal update) 2.30-2.40 p.m. Minutes: (a)
Welsh
Assembly – PSB inquiry The
response from Conwy and Denbighshire PSB (previously circulated) to the
Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee was presented. The Chair
confirmed a meeting had taken place to discuss the issues raised. Numerous
representatives of various PSBs had been in attendance. It was asked of PSBs to
examine key aspects of each PSB including resources available, sustainability
of PSB and the complexity around PSB. The findings of these questions asked
would be fed back. (b)
Partnership
Governance of ACE programme Background
information on the ACE programme was provided along with the partnership
governance proposals for the programme.
One of the proposals was for PSBs to provide governance of the regional
programme. However at a recent Cross Sector CEO meeting it was requested that
further options for the regional governance arrangements be looked at,
including the Children’s Transformation Group and the Safer Communities Board,
together with the Cross Sector CEO Group itself having a role. There was recognition that PSBs were not the
most suitable mechanism to provide regional governance for the programme. RESOLVED that members receive and note the
update. |
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CONWY AND DENBIGHSHIRE VOLUNTARY SERVICE - SUPPORTING COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT To receive a presentation from Wendy Jones, Community and Voluntary Support Conwy and Helen Wilkinson, Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council. 2.40-3.10 p.m. Minutes: Wendy Jones, Community and Voluntary Support Conwy (CVSC),
delivered a power point presentation on supporting community empowerment. Members were advised on the role of CVSC and the services
provided. Details were also provided to the funding the registered charity
obtained from Welsh Government and funding which included support from third
sector services. Encouragement and guidance was key to the work carried out by
the service. From the presentation it was established that a training
programme had been constructed to encourage the development of individuals and
share experience and knowledge. Support had been given to learners to empower
them to take learnings and support other individuals. Joint working with
Llandrillo had taken place with an excellent pass rate. Information and advice had been given regarding funding with
surgery groups held to encourage potential projects and funders to meet and
provide feedback. A large number of
project proposals had been successful in obtaining funding. The surgeries had
been received well from both volunteers and organisations. Also it was confirmed that a new grant finder
portal will be launched later this year. It was shared with members that representatives from the
CVSC sat on over 70 different boards and groups to share practices and offer
support. At times this had been problematic as meetings had clashed. Overall
work completed by CVSC had been positive. The Chair thanked the CVSC representative for her detailed
presentation to members. She raised a concern over the number of meetings that
they have to attend, asking if there was any support the PSB could offer. In
response to the Chair, Wendy Jones confirmed the main issue was resourcing and
supporting partnership work. To ease the pressure, additional resources and
funding for more officer time would be the most positive support. Due to the
amount of meeting invites received representatives had to decline attendance
due to prioritising of work. Helen Wilkinson, Denbighshire Voluntary Services Council
(DVSC), presented the work undertaken by the organisation. Members were
informed of the recent changes to DVSC including, a new team structure, new
logo and a refreshed website launched in 2018. The priority of the DVSC had
been to provide excellent support and information to volunteers. Engaging with
the public was hoped from the improved social media coverage. It was explained
like Conwy, DVSC is a 3rd sector support service that received
funding form Welsh Government and partnership arrangements. It had been observed that a number of changes had taken
place with DVSC, with the team, learning and developing the service
consistently to achieve a positive service to organisations and volunteers.
Promotion of the service and engagement had been established. The Chair thanked the DVSC for the presentation and was
pleased to see work had progressed in a positive manner. Close work with the
Voluntary councils of both Conwy and Denbighshire and the PSB was needed to
support and promote the service through other organisations. Exploration around
the structure of the voluntary process and how PSB could support would be
beneficial. The Chair asked both representatives how they felt PSB could
aid and support the voluntary service. If they could discuss together and bring
back a report to the next scheduled meeting for members to discuss and address
issues and concerns. RESOLVED that the
presentations and information be received and noted. An update report as
requested above to be presented at the September PSB meeting.
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PROGRESS UPDATE ON PRIORITIES a.
People – Mental Well-being (Sian
Williams) b.
Community – Community Empowerment (Judith Greenhalgh) c.
Place – Environment Resilience (Teresa
Owen) 3.10-3.20 p.m. Minutes: An update on progress with priorities was provided as
follows – (a)
People
– Mental Well-being Siân
Williams, NRW informed the committee that the Sub-Group had recently met. At
the meeting it was agreed that North Wales had in place an established mental health
strategy. This strategy would form the basis for the Sub-Group to allow
discussions on what provision PSB could offer the mental health strategy. The
Sub-Group had begun the organising of a workshop due later in the year, to
discuss the strategy. It was confirmed an update would be reported at the next
meeting. Members asked that the minutes of the recent Sub-Group be circulated
upon completion. (b)
Community
– Community Empowerment Judith Greenhalgh, DCC reported that a workshop had been
arranged for the following week. The strategic Planning Manager and her team
had arranged the meeting to discuss the priorities and strategies of the
Sub-Group. A report would be submitted to the PSB committee in September to
update members on the outcome of the workshop.
(c)
Place
– Environment Resilience Confirmation from Teresa Owen,
BCUHB Public Health, that a workshop has been scheduled for 18 July to develop
a detailed action plan for the priority.
The workshop will focus on collaborative solutions and next steps around
these areas - ·
Developing
a Common Environment Policy Statement ·
Developing
Actions for Environmental Resilience in Conwy and Denbighshire ·
Developing
the PSB as an influencer A
report would be submitted to the PSB committee in September to update members
on the outcome of the workshop. RESOLVED that the
progress with priorities be noted and a further update be provided for the
September meeting. |
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PSB SCRUTINY ARRANGEMENTS - UPDATE ON PROPOSALS PDF 422 KB To consider a report by Steve Price, Democratic Services Manager (DCC) on the PSB Scrutiny arrangements on proposals and terms of reference (copy enclosed). 3.20-3.35 p.m. Additional documents:
Minutes: A report was submitted (previously circulated) providing
members with the local authorities’ response to the proposal to establish a
joint Scrutiny Committee, and to the draft terms of reference. Steve Price, Democratic Service Manager, Denbighshire County
Council guided members through the report, providing members with an
overview of the work that had been conducted to date. He
confirmed at the September 2017 PSB meeting, members preferred arrangement
would be to develop a formal joint scrutiny committee and requested that views
were sought from each authorities designated committee. The report had
contained the response from both local authorities to the request. The proposal had been presented to both authorities along
with the draft Terms of Reference Rules and Procedures (appendix 2) for
comments. Confirmation was given that both authorities scrutiny co-ordinating
groups had received the report and had to date agreed the proposal in
principle. The proposal report and appendices would be presented to both
authorities designated Scrutiny Committee’s for consideration during the summer
2018. Subsequently the report will be submitted to the Democratic Services
Committee for approval before going to full Council for formal approval in
October of this year. Sioned Rees, Welsh Government Representative suggested the inclusion
of the ‘5 ways of working’ to the draft Terms of Reference. Confirmation that
the appendices included were in draft form and the inclusion or omission of
work was welcomed for discussion. The Chair thanked all involved in the communication between
authorities and welcomed the proposal for a joint scrutiny to challenge the
work of the PSB. RESOLVED that, subject to members’ comments, the report
on PSB Scrutiny arrangements be received and noted.
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RESOLVED,
that the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting for the following items
of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt
information. |
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REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP BOARD To receive a confidential report (copy enclosed) on the relationship between the Regional Partnership Board and the Public Services Board. 3.40-4.10 p.m. Minutes: [It was agreed by the Chair at this junction to combine
agenda item 7 and 8 to discuss as one agenda item] The Chair introduced the confidential report, explaining to
members that the report had been to the previous PSB meeting. Members discussed the importance of working together
coherently to ensure work is not duplicated by numerous bodies across
authorities. Numerous partnerships work locally to complete tasks and roles, a
coherent approach to streamline and simplify partnerships needed to be adopted.
Regional arrangements and local arrangements need to look at
the most effective way of working in partnership. The response provided by PSB
to the Regional Leadership Board was imperative to state the opinion of the
PSB. It was agreed that strong leadership, a robust agenda that debated the needs
identified was required. Members supported better links to collaborative
working, but given the different legislation governing the work of both Boards
the PSB would be unable to meet their statutory obligations if it worked to the
principle as proposed. Communication was
seen as imperative between the PSB and RPB to debate issues and findings. It was suggested that the Integrated Services Board would be
the most suitable mechanism to support delivery of the Part 9 Board locally. The Chair stated that further communication was needed with
both Chief Executives and representatives from the Voluntary Services to
discuss how to move forward in a way that would benefit all, still meeting all
required stator obligations. RESOLVED that the Chair,
communicate with the Chief Executive of Conwy and Denbighshire along with
representatives from the Voluntary Services from both authorities to discuss
further discussions with regards to the Regional Partnership Board and bring an
update report to members later in the year.
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LOCAL PARTNERSHIP STRUCTURES IN CONWY AND DENBIGHSHIRE To receive a confidential report (copy enclosed) on the Partnership Landscape for North Wales. Minutes: The Chair guided members through the Local Partnership
Structure report (previously circulated). The information provided had strong
links to the previous agenda and highlighted the complexity of the numerous partnership
organisations that work across the local authorities. It was discussed
duplication of work, streaming work to allow authorities to work coherently
with each other and share best practice. Further clarification was sought to
distinguish responsibility. RESOLVED that members
receive the report and note its contents. |
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At this junction (16:25 p.m.) there was a 10 minute comfort break. The meeting reconvened at 16:35 p.m. |
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES To receive a confidential report (copy enclosed) on funding sources. Minutes: The Chair introduced the confidential report (previously
circulated) on available funding sources available to Public Services. She
asked that representatives take time to read the report thoroughly. The Chair felt further consultations with PSB members
regarding the allocation of core government funding would promote priorities of
both the PSB and individual public services. It was felt that discussions with
Welsh Government around the restrictions faced by PSB would be of benefit.
Members discussed the importance of assessing needs in line with the allocation
of funding. Judith Greenhalgh, DCC highlighted the importance of the allocation
of money. Funds can often be allocated for specific services, with monies
already embedded in current work. RESOLVED that the
confidential report be noted and a discussion to Welsh Government on the
restrictions in place regarding allocation of funding be established. |
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LEADERSHIP RISKS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES To receive a confidential verbal update on Leadership Risks,
Challenges and Opportunities. Minutes: The Chair opened the confidential discussion to allow
members to share and issues or pressures they had experienced. The opportunity
to share best practices and support other public services was given. Sian Williams, Natural Resource Wales, informed members that
a new Chief Executive had been appointed and they had shown a positive opinion
to partnership working. The introduction of new legislation had created extra work
load with the addition to provide area statements. Work had begun to complete
all required assessments. It was the intention, upon completion of the
assessments that the findings be shared between services. It was explained to
members as it was still at the early stages, no outcomes had been observed.
Sian Williams stated she would update the committee once outcomes had been
received. Sioned Rees, Welsh Government Representative agreed that
sharing of information and resources was valuable. Sharing lessons learnt would
prevent duplication and empower services. Secondments between services would be
beneficial, co-location and hot desking were noted as other means of improving
knowledge across organisations. The Chair asked that the proposal of
secondments and training/ workshops in this field be put forward at the next
leadership meeting. Iwan Davies CCBC, highlighted the potential challenge in the
future of Specialist education. Communication between utilities and services
had proven difficult as not having lead contacts in the field. The Chair
encouraged members to communicate any potential contact opportunities and share
contact information to one another. Members discussed the Health board. It was agreed that
improvement of public perception was imperative to obtain positive engagement
with its users. Work had been done to better the service provided. It was
important to make the public aware of the positive working that had happened
including work to departments. The Chair gave background information to the reasons behind
the closure of the upstairs facilities at Denbigh Infirmary. She confirmed that
communication was ongoing into the future of the establishment. Further updates would be provided to the
committee in the future. RESOLVED that – (a) the verbal update of the risks, challenges
and opportunities be received and noted; (b) an update be provided to the board from Sian
Williams following the outcomes of the area statements; (c) secondments and shared learning be put
forward at the next leadership meeting; (d) members communicate any contact information
between services, and (e) an update on the Denbigh Infirmary be
provided once consultation had concluded. |
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OPEN SESSION Upon completion of the above business the meeting resumed in open session. |
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FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME PDF 426 KB The Chair will lead
on this item. 5.25-5.30 p.m. Minutes: The PSBs Forward Work Programme (FWP) (previously
circulated) was presented for consideration. Members confirmed the agenda and reports
due at the next PSB meeting in September 2018. ·
An update report from Conwy and Denbighshire
Voluntary Service - How PSB can aid and support ·
An update to the priorities ·
Embedding the PSB priorities / work into member
organisations ·
Review of PSB members ·
North Wales Growth Bid Update ·
To follow up PSB and Regional Partnership Board
agenda. RESOLVED that, the work
programme be approved. |
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ANY OTHER BUSINESS Minutes: None The meeting concluded at 17:10 p.m. |