Agenda item

·       Annual Report 2024/2025

·       Governance arrangements/scrutiny of delivery of the Wellbeing Plan

The Annual Report 2024/2025 incorporating the governance arrangements/scrutiny of delivery of the Wellbeing Plan was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience said that the Public Services Board is in year 3 of the current 5-year Wellbeing Plan, and most of the objectives have either been completed or there is a workplan in place with a proposed timescale for completion.

The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board reported that the Board has evolved over the years and meetings are focused more on decision making and prioritizing action as opposed to being an information sharing forum and has also developed to have an operational perspective with many examples of partners jointly collaborating, sharing good practice, learning lessons and moving forward together.  The Sub-Groups have been established with Officers working in collaboration which have been recognized as good practice across Wales.  A workshop on Trauma Informed was held for all Board Members, delivered by Ynys Môn County Council experts.  The Language Sub-Group has completed the Good Recruitment Practices Project and is working with partners on the ’Busting the Myths About Working in Welsh Project’ which is to be launched at the Urdd Eisteddfod on Anglesey in May.  The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, in collaboration with the Welsh Government, has proposed piloting specific sessions for Public Services Board partners on the UN Children’s Rights Charter.  This is a unique opportunity for the Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Services Board to lead the way in North Wales in collaborating with the Children’s Commissioner to deliver this workshop. 

In considering the report, the Committee discussed the following main matters: -

·     Reference was made to the Boards engagement in the ‘Voice of the Learner’ and discussions have undertaken with Coleg Llandrillo Menai and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor as regards to transport issues for students to attend the colleges.  Questions were raised as to how the Board deals with this matter and whether it will extend to primary and secondary schools.  The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board responded that the matter was raised at the September 2025 meeting of the Public Services Board, and the Futures Generations Commissioner for Wales attended this meeting.  She noted that the Futures Generations Commissioner for Wales challenged the Board to ensure that the voice of young people needed to be heard and how their voice will be reflected in the work undertaken by the Board. Coleg Llandrillo Menai invited representatives from the Board to speak to the students at the college.  She further said that Gwynedd Council will be consulting on transport issues and will be reporting back to the Board in due course.  The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience said that it was important that the Board members were informed of the challenges that Coleg Llandrillo Menai students were facing with bus routes and transport links. He noted that the sharing of the link to warn of bad weather was shared with the college to enable them to plan for the transport safety of their students.   The Deputy Chief Executive said that the same transport issues refer to secondary school pupils with some having to cross both bridges to attend and return from the schools.

·     Reference was made to the Newborough Project is an example of good partnership working to address transport issues in the area.   The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board responded that this is a pilot project, and the intention is to develop a model of good practice that could be applied across the area of partnership working to respond to traffic issues. 

·     Concerns were expressed that the mitigating poverty objective has slipped to the Summer 2026.  Questions were raised as to the reason for this slippage in the mitigating poverty objective as the cost-of-living crisis still exists and what are the intentions of the Board in the Summer of 2026.  The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board responded that the Members of the Board have made it clear from the outset that they wish to investigate the reasons as to poverty in the local communities and not just receiving data as is similar to other objectives set by the Board.  She noted that a trial session was undertaken with the Bevan Foundation, but it was evident that it was data focused exercise.  The partner organizations within the Board recognize their role in mitigating poverty and work has been undertaken with Officers within both local authorities who work on poverty and have identified postcodes where there is low uptake upon the flying start voucher scheme.  She further said that referring people to receive support is important and Medrwn Môn, Mantell Gwynedd, Citizen Advice Bureau, ADRA and Barnardo’s have offered to support the work on mitigating poverty.  Bangor University has also undertaken work to identify areas of poverty in Gwynedd and Anglesey. 

·     Reference was made to Good Recruitment Practices Project and working in partnership on the ’Busting the Myths About Working in Welsh Project’ which is to be launched at the Urdd Eisteddfod on Anglesey in May. Questions were raised as to the expectations of the project after the launch at the Urdd Eisteddfod in May and who will benefit from the project thereafter. The Programme Manager – Gwynedd and Anglesey Public Service Board responded that discussions were undertaken by the partner organizations within the Board as regard to recruitment issues.  Comments that were of concern were that people were unable to have a career within the public sector in Gwynedd and Anglesey if they were unable to speak Welsh or that they considered that their ability to speak Welsh was not up to the required standard.  The Board commissioned TYLWYTH organizations to help to ascertain problems and issues people encounter by Welsh learners.  The Head of Democracy said that the conclusions of the project have been included in the guidance to Managers during the recruitment process.

·      It was RESOLVED to note the governance arrangement of the Public Services Board and the progress against the 2023-2028 Well-being Plan, published in July 2023.