Agenda item
MEIFOD WOOD PRODUCTS
To consider a joint report by the Service Manager Client Services and the Commissioning and Planning Officer (copy enclosed) detailing the results of the consultation exercise to inform the future operation of service provision at Meifod and potential options for the service, including the recommendation from the Member Task and Finish Group, with a view to the Committee formulating recommendations to Cabinet in relation to future service delivery.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed all present for this item,
including the Corporate Director Communities and the Commissioning and Planning
Officer together with Councillor Bobby Feeley, Lead Member for Well-being and Independence
whose portfolio covered the service area.
A warm welcome was also extended to Brenda Jones, parent of a service
user of Meifod who would also be addressing the Committee.
The joint report by the Service Manager
Client Services and the Commissioning and Planning Officer (previously
circulated) detailed the results of the consultation exercise to inform the
future operation of service provision at Meifod and potential options for the
service, including the recommendation from the Member Task and Finish Group,
with a view to the Committee formulating recommendations to Cabinet in relation
to future service delivery.
Councillor Christine Marston, Chair of the
Member Task and Finish Group reported upon the discussions of the Group on the
detailed information and options put forward by officers in their report. The Group strongly recommended that the
facility be kept open and for it to reopen as soon as possible but appreciated
that clients needed to be maintained in a safe environment and clearly reviews
had to be carried out on the machinery used given the safety concerns raised in
that regard. The Group had also
considered that officers should explore working with social enterprise and/or
the private sector to deliver the service in order to safeguard its
continuation given the financial challenges faced and be more creative in the
way the service was managed. The Group
considered that Meifod provided a good service which was vital to the people
who used and engaged with it, producing well known quality products bought
locally and it would be very sad if that was to be lost.
The Corporate Director Communities referred to
the detailed information provided and thanked the Task and Finish Group and the
Scrutiny Committee for their work and scrutiny of the report. Meifod was a very welcome and valued service
by those who accessed it and also for staff who worked there, the local
community, the families of the people who attended and those who referred
people there. That said there was a need
to consider the viability of all services and opportunities to modernise and
meet people’s needs. Meifod closed at
the end of March 2020 due to Covid-19 and restrictions in place but given that
those restrictions were being reduced it was an opportune time to consider the
future of the service. Consequently an
engagement exercise had been carried out over a period of weeks seeking the
views of service users, their families/carers, and service staff together with
other stakeholders. Whilst it was
clearly a valued service, some people did not want to return to Meifod and
would like to consider other opportunities and different activities and
therefore it was important to consider the difference of opinion. Having considered a number of options put
forward by officers the Member Task and Finish Group had recommended that
Meifod should be re-opened as a Council-run service, with reduced activities
and new ways of working, and that work be commenced to secure an external
organisation or social enterprise to provide a range of activities for people
from the existing Meifod building but that this may not be woodwork based
activities, with a view to exploring the long term sustainability of
Meifod. The Corporate Director confirmed
that officers were in complete agreement and supported the recommendation of
the Member Task and Finish Group and welcomed questions from the Committee.
During a lengthy debate members scrutinised the
report in detail and took the opportunity to raise questions and discuss with
officers various aspects of the report.
Members paid tribute to Meifod and the valuable service it provided for
all those involved with it, acknowledging the significant impact on the
wellbeing of individuals accessing the service and opportunities the service
presented to them. All members were in
agreement that the Council should take necessary steps to safeguard the service
for the future and ensure it continued to be delivered for the benefit of
service users and their families.
Consequently whilst there was support for the recommendation of the
Member Task and Finish Group to re-open the service and explore opportunities
to ensure its future viability, the Committee considered that the
recommendation could be further strengthened to include additional investment and
to ensure Meifod was re-opened as soon as possible.
Main issues discussed related to the leasing
arrangements; management of repair and maintenance of both building and
machinery and concerns regarding the decline; financial pressures facing the
service; potential diversification of the service; reasoning behind the
reduction in the number of referrals to the service; the engagement exercise,
and compliance with the Council’s Welsh Language Policy. Officers were also challenged on detail of
the report and reasoning behind the various options put forward. The main points of debate focused on the
following –
·
it was
clarified that the current building was subject to a ten year lease with four
years remaining up to 30 September 2025; the building was in a state of
disrepair and whilst basic maintenance had continued during its closure there
had inevitably been issues of deterioration to the building and machinery which
had not been in use for a significant period, and there was also a need to
upgrade the heating system over concerns of the recirculation of air
·
the
expensive running costs of the building relating to heating/electricity costs
were noted in addition to rent, repair and maintenance costs and there was some
debate as to whether Meifod should remain in the existing building long term or
whether the service would be better relocated to a more modernised council
owned building given the costs associated with the current building and
restrictions in terms of any energy efficiency saving adaptations, etc.
·
in terms of the
potential diversification and provision of alternative work
opportunities/activities a range of other products could be explored and
further work would be required with service users to seek their views together
with other external organisations/social enterprises in terms of available
opportunities. Councillor Bob Murray in
particular was keen that the potential to work with the NHS was explored,
potentially producing face masks, etc.
·
whilst the
price increase in timber was acknowledged members suggested that wood could be
procured locally and officers agreed to look into that possibility
·
social
workers were more likely to signpost people to non-statutory community based
activities and projects to increase the number of individuals in paid jobs or
voluntary opportunities although it was acknowledged that approach was not for
everyone and some individuals needed the opportunities Meifod provided
·
Councillor
Bobby Feeley provided some background to Meifod which was set up in 1972 and
elaborated upon its aims and objectives together with its success over the
years. As Lead Member for the service
she would not sanction the closure of Meifod but agreed that changes needed to
be made to improve the offer and looked to working collaboratively over the
remaining four year term of the building lease to secure a sustainable economic
enterprise and potential diversification of activities including working with
the NHS and recycling/upcycling. She was
keen for the health and safety requirements to be addressed in order that
Meifod could be re-opened as soon as possible
·
questions were
raised by Councillor Rhys Thomas regarding lack of investment in
repair/maintenance requirements identified relating to the machinery and
heating system and he also queried whether the level of wood stock currently
held by Meifod would enable woodwork to continue – both himself and Councillor
Emrys Wynne were keen that wood products continued to be produced. Officers agreed to look into the
repair/maintenance issues and wood stores and report back to Councillor Thomas
thereon. Since compilation of the report
Welsh Government had announced a new Social Care Recovery Fund and it was hoped
some of the repair costs could be recouped through that fund
·
it was confirmed
that the recommendation from the Member Task and Finish Group, supported by
officers, was to use the remaining time of the building lease to work with
people who currently used the service to explore what interests they had and also to look at the opportunities that
may be available by working in partnership with others. Other organisations were able to access
funding streams (not available to the local authority) to invest monies in new
services and opportunities – all of those options needed to be explored
·
officers
elaborated upon the reasoning behind the cost variation between different
services which in Meifod’s case included a high rent
level and other costs associated with the building, and a high proportion of
individuals needing one to one support, and therefore it was difficult to
compare like with like with different services providing different activities
·
the
reasoning behind the reduced number of people attending Meifod and lack of
signposting to the service had been due to the introduction of the Social
Services and Well-being Act in 2014 and the asset based approach taken to look
at what assets an individual had themselves or within their communities which
had resulted in more people being signposted to other activities and community
based services, consequently all statutory services had seen fewer
referrals. That approach worked for some
individuals but it was acknowledged that there were individuals who would need
a statutory service
·
the
statement relating to demographic change was important because those
individuals referred to Meifod tended to be those who had more complex needs
and there was a need to ensure the service could respond to those needs
·
referrals
to the service were made following an assessment by the Complex Disability Team
which included health and social care practitioners
·
the point
made in the reference to “the council does not exist to supply benches” was
that Meifod existed to provide a service and work based activities for people
and whilst making a profit was welcomed it was not the primary concern
·
a ‘Meet
the Buyer’ event had been held in March 2020 which had been an exploratory
exercise looking at work opportunity services and whether there were other
partners or stakeholders interested in Meifod, however that work had not progressed
due to Covid-19. In the event a future
decision was taken to look at other alternatives and options then it would be
considered again further
·
Councillor
Meirick Davies also provided some background to Meifod and its relocation from Henllan to Denbigh.
In response to questions officers confirmed that the documentation
relating to the engagement exercise had been produced bilingually and the
origin of the name ‘Meifod’ was unknown.
Officers agreed to provide further detail of the costs of providing the
service including the gross annual costs prior to the pandemic for comparison
with the annual net cost
·
the next steps
involved the Committee making a recommendation to Cabinet on 23 November 2021 and
subject to that decision, work would be carried out to prepare for the
re-opening as soon as possible.
At this juncture the Chair invited Mrs. Brenda Jones, whose son used the service at Meifod, to address the Committee.
Mrs. Jones advised that she was representing her own family and other families who had been affected by the current situation. She explained to the Committee about her son’s involvement with Meifod and provided a moving account of the valuable service it provided and made a heartfelt plea that Meifod be re-opened and continued in its current form. Mrs. Jones highlighted concerns over the nature and competency of the engagement exercise and potential future options for the service. She also highlighted issues within the report, including the lack of suitable community based activities, and felt more should be done to market Meifod with local schools and take out of county placements which would contribute financially. She also believed that individuals had left because the service had no longer been there but that they would return once it re-opened. Attention was drawn to the lack of investment in the facility over time and comments made within the engagement report prepared by the North Wales Advice and Advocacy Service and their view that the engagement exercise had not provided adequate opportunity for most Meifod attendees to participate. Finally reference was made to the counter-argument which Mrs. Jones had previously emailed to Committee members and she looked to the Committee to continue the operation of Meifod in its current form.
The Chair and other members thanked Mrs. Jones for speaking to the Committee which provided a valuable insight into the impact of the service. The Chair confirmed the general consensus during the meeting that Meifod be protected and preserved for the future and additional investment be provided in the service.
As Lead Cabinet Member responsible for the service area, Councillor Bobby Feeley confirmed a clear message across all political groups that Meifod be kept open and she had been heartened to hear the questions and contributions from members together with various ideas for the service and how it could be expanded and improved. Notwithstanding comments made regarding the inadequacies of the engagement exercise or the report, the recommendation of the Member Task and Finish Group had been to keep Meifod open and explore opportunities over the next four years to move forward to modernise and improve the service. Councillor Feeley looked forward to an optimistic future for Meifod and thanked officers for responding to questions and comments put forward.
The Committee discussed the recommendations contained within the report and agreed to re-word those recommendations going forward to Cabinet to include the need to re-open Meifod as soon as possible and provision of additional investment together with ensuring compliance with the Council’s Welsh Language policy.
The Committee –
RESOLVED that having considered the issues facing
Meifod, the feedback from the stakeholders who participated in the engagement
exercise, the advantages, disadvantages and risks associated with the potential
options contained within the report, along with the outcomes and
recommendations submitted by the Task and Finish Group to recommend to Cabinet
that –
(a) Meifod
should be re-opened as soon as possible as a Council-run service within the
existing building, with additional investment being provided for the service
provided there;
(b) work
commence to explore all opportunities for new ways of working to improve and
develop Meifod, including the potential of securing an external
organisation/social enterprise to provide a range of activities for people from
the existing Meifod building (all of which do not necessarily have to be
woodwork based activities) with a view to exploring and securing the long-term
sustainability of Meifod, and
(c) future service-provision conform with all relevant
legislation and the Council’s Welsh Language policy.
The Chair thanked all present for their attendance and
contributions to debate.
Supporting documents:
- Meifod Wood Report 1410221, item 5. PDF 479 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 1, item 5. PDF 112 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 2 Complete, item 5. PDF 432 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 3, item 5. PDF 114 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 4, item 5. PDF 714 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 5a, item 5. PDF 149 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 5b, item 5. PDF 214 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 6, item 5. PDF 152 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 7, item 5. PDF 296 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 8, item 5. PDF 122 KB
- Meifod Report 270921 - App 9, item 5. PDF 247 KB