To receive reports from, and put questions to, Cabinet Portfolio Holders:
a. Councillor Stephen Hayes – Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Adult Social Care
b. Councillor Martin Weale – Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Planning and Regeneration
Minutes:
Members welcomed the opportunity to receive reports from, and to put questions to, members serving on outside bodies.
Councillor Stephen Hayes – Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Adult Social Care
a. Adult Social Care Inspection – CSSIW are undertaking an inspection of Adult Social Care. The inspection would include review of patient experiences with a focus on the standard of care provided. There would be informal feedback to the portfolio holder and service shortly. It is expected that the public report would be made available in the summer. It would be important to address any actions for improvement
b. Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOCs) – officers are in regular discussions with hospitals in order to ensure timely discharges. In some situations there had been issues regarding discharge being prevented due to packages of care not being in place. Winter has always been a peak time for hospital admissions. Positons are very closely monitored
c. Re-ablement – support depends on individual situations. There had been some misleading reports regarding a six week period for re-ablement. Re-ablement services are often not needed for such long periods after discharge
d. Care Homes (BUPA Contract) – BUPA operate a number of homes under contract to Powys (Powys owns the sites). Recently BUPA had been looking to transfer the contract (initially without notifying the Council), to HC1. It would be a legal requirement for BUPA to honour the contract. The position is being very closely monitored by the Authority
e. Budget – the 2017/18 spend would be in the region of £57 million, 14% of costs (£8 million) would be recovered. The Welsh Government policy commitment to cap contributions towards care costs would have an impact on the budget position. For 2017/18 Council had agreed to identifying a £7.7 million fund which could be accessed to support Adult Social Care pressures, however, to date no funding had been required to support pressures
f. Day Centres/Care – in some areas there had been re-commissioning and change to care services which had resulted in the use of different care providers. There are different arrangements in place for different areas. The Portfolio Holder share area provision detail in order that there’s clarity in relation to what is operating where and by which provider
g. Adult and Children’s Services Budget Positions/Business Plans – the Portfolio Holder agreed to share business plans which had been accepted and would draw down additional funding to support both areas
h. Virtual Wards – the Portfolio Holder agreed to provide an update/position statement in relation to operating virtual wards. A member queried whether there had been appropriate evaluations and actions thereafter
Members thanked the portfolio holder for attending, taking questions and updating.
Councillor Martin Weale – Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Regeneration and Planning.
Councillor Weale had been unable to attend today’s meeting, however, he had arranged for officers to provide briefings/updates in relation to matters within his portfolio. Julie Lewis – Tourism Officer and Nathan Davies – Powys War Memorial Project Officer attended for this item of business:
Powys Economy/Business Support – members were shown a short film which provided information in relation to business support and projects being driven to support regeneration activities. During discussion and update particular reference was made to:
a. Internet Connections/Network – there are areas that are still experiencing poor internet speeds which can impact greatly on businesses. Members expected networks to be upgraded as part of the Superfast Cymru project (funded by the Welsh Government and being undertaken by British Telecom). It would helpful to keep members updated on progress where there had been issues
b. Tourism – the importance of tourism to economies in Powys is well recognised. It would be important to retain and build on the reputation of Powys as a tourist destination
c. Move to Mid Wales – publicity and schemes focus on promoting Powys as a place to live in and work from, the positives are promoted. Powys has good links with a range of partners who work to ‘sell’ Powys
d. Brecon Beacons National Parks (BBNP) – the value of tourism to the area is very important. Members urged close links with the BBNP. It was suggested that the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration should attend meetings at the BBNP where regeneration is the focus. Councillor John Morris would pursue the matter
e. Porta Peaks Project – members would welcome an update in relation to the Porta Peaks project
f. Vision 2025 – it was felt that there should be a review of publicity/promotions/projects/schemes in order to reflect the Cabinet Vision for 2025
g. Tri-Town Meetings – the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration had begun a series of meetings in order to bring local businesses and communities together in Builth Wells, Rhayader and Llandrindod in an attempt to involve them in regenerating the area. There had been some initial success. Members would welcome an update in relation to the pilot and information regarding plans to roll out to other areas
h. Brexit – a member requested details in relation to actions being taken in the light of the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union following the Brexit
i. Town Centre Loan Scheme – there are areas of Brecknockshire (Brecon Town in particular) that had been considered for the Welsh Government town centre loan scheme. Members would welcome an update in relation to the scheme and plans for areas of Powys
Powys War Memorials Project:
a. War Memorial Project – communities have access to a time limited grant which is administered by the Authority. Communities can apply for funding to support projects which recognise conflicts with a focus on WWI and refurbishing war memorials. We are currently in year two of the four year grant period (2014 – 2018). Where memorials recognise more than one conflict they would also be considered for funding. The fund is being allocated on a first come first serve basis
b. Funding/Application Process - up to £5k could be awarded to refurbish WWI war memorials, 10% of the grant award would need to be matched by the local community. The application process had been kept simple and there’s an emphasis on processing applications quickly
c. Community Engagement and Events – funding could also be accessed to support community events which recognise the forces i.e. an area had applied to support a local walk of historical interest which links to the forces. Local cadet squads may be able to access funding
d. Mapping – there are 350 WWI mapped memorials in Powys. Input/information regarding mapped or unmapped sites would be welcome
e. Brecknockshire – a number of projects had received funding i.e. Bwlch, Ystrad and Crickhowell
f. Social Media/Website Projects – funding could also be obtained to support activities to provide information via. social media and/or to operate websites which recognise the services
Members thanked Nathan for his update. Members wanting to discuss matters regarding potential applications were encouraged to contact Nathan direct.
Tourism:
a. Value – in 2016 the value of tourism to the Powys local economy was in the region of £720 million (the second largest value to Powys after farming). 75% of those who visit are from England
b. Vision 2025 – promoting Powys and taking advantage of tourism opportunities had been recognised as important in the Cabinet 2025 vision
c. Branding – branding Powys is very important in order to provide an identity
d. Events – the Authority has an events team. Hosting events can be very lucrative. It would be important to maximise publicity
e. Visit Wales/Cambrian Way (A470) – historically funding has been provided to support activities along the Cambrian Way route which sits alongside the A470
f. Business Wales – there are good links between the Authority and Business Wales