Venue: By Teams. View directions
Contact: Wyn Richards, Scrutiny Manager and Head of Democratic Services
Email: wyn.richards@powys.gov.uk
Media
Items
| No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies
To receive apologies for absence.
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
County Councillors L Skilton and J Gibson-Watt. Apologies for
absence were also received from Portfolio Holders County Councillor
J Evans (Portfolio Holder for Economic Development,
Housing and Regulatory Services) and R Powell (Portfolio Holder for
Young People and Culture).
|
2. |
Disclosures of Interest
To receive any disclosures of interests by
Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting.
Minutes:
There were no disclosures of interest by
Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting
|
3. |
Declaration of Party Whips
To receive disclosures of prohibited party
whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in
accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure
2011.
(NB: Members are reminded that under Section
78 Members having been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on
a matter before the Committee.)
Minutes:
The Committee did not receive any disclosures
of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation
to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local
Government Measure 2011.
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4. |
Scrutiny Items
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4.1 |
Growing Mid Wales  PDF 2 MB
To scrutinise the Vision for Growing Mid
Wales.
Minutes:
Documents Considered:
·
Vision for Growing Mid Wales – Strategic
Economic Plan and Growth Deal Roadmap – May
2020
Issues
Discussed:
·
Growing Mid Wales Group established 2015 to progress
jobs, growth and the wider economy within Mid Wales. Examples
include Tri Programme and Mid Wales Freight Strategy, and the
Growth Deal.
·
Joint Committee established between Powys and
Ceredigion Councils as well as an Economic Strategy Group. A
Regional Learning and Skills Partnership is also being
established.
·
This is a 15 year
project. 3 Programmes agreed i.e. Broadening, Strengthening and
Connecting the Economy.
·
Vision submitted to both Welsh and UK Government on
27th May and funding of £55m from both governments
has been confirmed.
·
The focus will be on programmes rather than
projects.
·
Questions:
|
As the document has been worked on for some time, has it been
"Covid checked" i.e. is there a need to
change emphasis due to what's happened
over the last few months. Is there a need to push Welsh Government
on starting on some emergency projects.
How are we identifying that Mid Wales has something different to
offer from other regions such as South Wales or the Marches and
identifying and specifying what these differences are such as green
energy. Newtown was developed as a result
of the Development Board for Rural Wales being created and
bringing investment into the area. Has any analysis been undertaken
of that previous growth project particularly in terms of resource
required to deliver projects as the current project seems to be
under-resourced.
|
The document has been updated to reflect the Coronavirus, but
the aspirations have not changed. There is a greater need for the
growth deal going forward due to the economic impact of the
pandemic.
In relation to the Development Board for Rural Wales, the growth
deal will take account of things which have worked well or not in
the past, but there has been no specific analysis of the work of
the Development Board. In terms of delivering projects having
sufficient resources is important, particularly when projects are
being developed.
The Strategic Economic Plan identified opportunities for growth
in Mid Wales, strengths, opportunities, what makes the region
different from others. It also identifies 8 priority areas for
investment.
However, the Council is also working on other projects in
addition to the Growth Deal which could bring in funding from Welsh
Government i.e. "shovel ready projects" e.g. investment in the
homelessness service.
|
|
How will the projects delivered by the Growth Deal fit together
and are there any conflicts with projects such as the Centre for
Rail Excellence which relies on another cross
border partnership.
|
The Centre for Rail Excellence will bring in about £150m
of funding itself and the Growth Deal allows value to be added to
that project such as by training and investment, or energy
production on that site.
Work has also been undertaken on sites and premises in Powys as
its been identified that there is the absence of good quality
employment sites and premises in ... view
the full minutes text for item 4.1
|
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4.2 |
Welfare Calls PDF 548 KB
To scrutinise the report of the Portfolio
Holder for Corporate Governance and Engagement regarding Welfare
Call Monitoring.
Minutes:
Documents Considered:
·
Report of the Portfolio Holder for Corporate
Governance and Engagement regarding Welfare Call
Monitoring
Issues
Discussed:
·
Update report as shielding does not end until
16th August 2020.
·
Originally the Council made 18,000 calls to
individuals. The Council now makes about 5,000 follow up calls
every week or fortnight to individuals. Initially 915 requests for
food boxes have been sent to Welsh Government, this has now reduced
to 326 boxes.
·
As part of recovery, consideration is being given to
whether the calls can be undertaken by volunteers. Welsh Government
is also seeking to transfer the provision of food boxes to local
authorities, and the Council is awaiting clarity of the
requirement. The monthly cost of resourcing welfare calls etc is
about £10k per month, but this is now
reducing.
·
The Chair commented that this work had been
undertaken sympathetically and the public welcomed the
calls.
·
Questions:
|
This has shown that Social Services and others do not know what
is being delivered locally by 800 other organisations in the
county.
|
The first call made to individuals was by the Council and advice
was taken about connecting with other organisations. This should be
continually reviewed, including local organisations and connections
as the pandemic is not over as
yet.
|
|
Some wastage in the process in relation to food boxes. Need for
groups and organisations to link in better together and have an
understanding who should be responsible for what element of the
service provided. Could people opt out of food parcel
service.
|
Once a person opts out, the Council advised Welsh Government.
However, there may have been a delay in the information being
received by the food delivered as well as a delay for the service
being stopped. Working on improving local connections would be
an useful piece of work for the Council
if shielding continues.
|
|
If there another coronavirus spike in the winter, what plans are
in place to address the issues raised e.g. collaboration with local
groups.
|
The Council is awaiting the announcement by Welsh Government of
the future plans for
shielding.
|
|
There has been a significant increase in the numbers of people
who the Council had to contact (initially 500 up to 6000). Did the
Council receive sufficient notice of changes to numbers, and are
any improvements to communications being fed back to Welsh
Government and Health.
|
The Council received little notice of changes, with numbers
requiring to be called growing within a two
week period. The Council increased the number of people
undertaking calls with over 100 people being redeployed from other
services to assist. If there is a second spike, the Council has
robust systems and experienced officers who can undertake
calls.
|
|
Will the cost of £10k per month for welfare calls be
recovered from Welsh Government.
|
It is hoped to recover the majority
of this cost from Welsh Government.
|
Outcomes:
|
5. |
Scrutiny Work Programme
The
next meeting of the Committee will be held as follows:
|
30/07/2020
|
14.00 – 15.00
|
Items: Global Centre for Rail Excellence
|
Potential items for consideration:
·
Regulatory Services
·
Recycling rates – what advantage is being
taken of the increases in recycling rates and how can we maintain
recycling rates.
·
Economic Impact Study / Town Centre Focus
Group
Update Information arising from previous meeting:
·
Car Parking Charges review – meeting to be
arranged in July 2020.
Minutes:
The
Committee noted that the next meeting would be held as
follows:
|
27/07/2020
|
14.00 – 15.00
|
Items:
|
Potential items for consideration:
·
Regulatory Services
·
Recycling rates – what advantage is being
taken of the increases in recycling rates and how can we maintain
recycling rates.
·
Economic Impact Study / Town Centre Focus
Group
Update Information arising from previous meeting:
·
Car Parking Charges review – meeting to be
held on 27th July.
|