Agenda item

To submit a report by the Programme Manager, Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board.

Submitted – a report by the Programme Manager, Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board.

The Programme Manager, Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board reported that the report is structured to refer to the progress of the work of the established Sub-Groups of the Public Services Board.  The Board has four Sub-Groups as follows:-

·      Climate Change Sub-Group

The Sub-Group has been established to encourage collaboration between the public bodies and local communities on how to deal with the threat to communities from future changes to the climate.  It was noted that a series of workshops had been arranged but due to the Covid-19 pandemic these have not been able to take place.  The Sub-Groups identified that regional work is being undertaken as regards to climate change and the sub-group is conscious that duplication of work needs to be avoided and an opportunity to learn from each other.

·      The Welsh language Sub-Group

The Sub-Group has mainly focused on collaboration to increase the use of the Welsh language within public bodies in Gwynedd and Anglesey.  This specifically relates to the Welsh language as a language of choice for internal communication in public bodies, and for communication with the public.  The established project ‘Arfer’ which was led by Bangor University as regards to understanding the habits of speakers who are not as confident or comfortable in using Welsh at work.  The Public Services Board across the region received a grant from Welsh Government annually. Discussions were held regarding using the grant to fund a study that would explore how to use the public organisations’ reception areas to encourage and promote the use of the Welsh language by more people. Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 pandemic the grant has been withdrawn.

·      Homes for Local People Sub-Group

The work of the Sub-Group has continued during the Covid-19 pandemic and its next proposed steps will be to fully evaluate the financial viability of the developments in relation to these sites, before confirming how best to finance the developments and the initial timetable for commencing work.  The Sub-Group has been discussing its plans with the Welsh Government to ensure that its work is in accordance with the Government’s vision for innovative and affordable housing.  A progress report will be submitted to the next meeting of the Public Service Board.

·      Health and Care Sub-Group

The Sub-Group’s responsibility is to oversee the work streams/projects of: Adults, Children, Learning Disabilities, Mental Health and Community Transformation.  These work streams are in accordance with the Regional Partnership Board’s priority areas for integration.  It was reported that a meeting of the Sub-Group was held on 7^th July.  The purpose of the meeting was to revise the terms of reference of the group, following the Covid-19 outbreak and it was agreed that the sub-group’s priorities in the recovery from the pandemic have changed as a result.  A workshop was held by the Health and Care Sub-Group on 16^th September to address the West Winter Plan and the work streams arising from the regional Health and Care Group.

The Committee considered the report and made the following points:-

·      Questions were raised as to what extent the work streams of the Public Services Boards has contributed to the wellbeing of residents of Ynys Môn and what impact has the work had on local communities.  The Programme Manager responded that the progress of the Sub-Groups have varied but to date the Sub-Groups have contributed to the wellbeing of residents within the local communities.  Some of the current outputs might be soft but they are required in order to set the foundations for contributing in the long term to the well-being of our residents.  The Chief Executive said that the work undertaken within the Welsh language Sub-Group has focused on linguistic behaviour of staff not wishing or lacking confident in using the Welsh language within the workplace and a project has been undertaken within the Social Services Department to address this matter;

·      Questions were raised as to what lessons the Board has learnt as a result of progress thus far and how does the Board intent to use any lessons in the future.  The Programme Manager responded that the Public Services Board are continuously learning from lesson. A workshop was held last week which enabled the public bodies to report on the lessons learnt from the following the pandemic.  The Chief Executive said that the workshop held last week also considered a situational analysis that had been sent to partner organisations which came back with 40 matters that are important to our communities.  The Public Services Board was required to discuss each matter and determine if the Public Services Board had a role to play in response to them.  She noted that it was important to be aware that duplication of services by the local authorities and the Public Services Board needed to be avoided and to gauge the additional support the Board may be able to afford to local communities;

·      Clarification was sought as to how effective the Board’s monitoring arrangements are in ensuring that objectives are implemented within timescales.  The Programme Manager responded that the Chairs of the Sub-Groups report on a quarterly basis to the Board.  The Board is therefore able to monitor the work of the Sub-Groups in accordance with the objectives within the timescales.  She further said that the main barrier with reference to progress was lack of resources;

·      Reference was made to the possible second wave of the pandemic and the alarming Ministerial Health expert’s prediction that the UK could see a possible 50,000 Covid-19 per day within the next 4 to 6 weeks. Questions were raised to the role of the Public Services Board if the prediction was to materialise.  The Leader of the Council responded that as was mentioned previously a workshop was held last week and the response to the questionnaire was discussed as to the role of the Board to the requirements of local communities if a second wave of the pandemic was to materialise;

·      The Committee expressed that they would have liked to have seen a list of achievements within the Annual Report as regard to the work of the Sub-Groups;

·      Questions were raised as to what will be the Board’s priorities for 2021/2022.  The Programme Manager responded that the Board’s objectives and priority areas remain relevant;

·      A Member expressed that Welsh Government has established Public Services Boards and he was of the opinion that the priorities set out within the remit of such Boards should be a function of each local authority.  The Leader of the Council responded that she accepted that the Public Services Boards are currently establishing themselves but due to the existence of such Boards the Well-being of Future Generations Act places pressure of Health Authorities to work regionally and closer to local authorities.  She also expressed that the Board has enabled partner organisations to identify potential development land in their ownership for social housing. The Chief Executive expressed that due to the regional work within the Board the Welsh language (through the ‘Adfer’ programme in conjunction with Bangor University) and housing priorities within local communities would not have had due attention.  She said that such achievement would be included in the next report of the Public Services Board.

It was RESOLVED to note the progress of the Public Services Board.