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Right, good afternoon all. Welcome to this afternoon's Social Care and Tackling Poverty Service Transformation Committee. Any apologies for absence, please. No apologies, Chair. None. Welcome to any disclosures of personal or prejudicial interests, please. None. Item three is the minutes to approve the minutes from the 8th of April. That was shared by Councillor Kerry Evans. Page one, page two. Can we have a mover, please? Yes, I can move that, too. I'll second that. Kerry, can you hear us, Kerry? Can you hear us? Kerry, can you hear us? Yes, just about. I can hear you, no problem, yeah. Wanna log out, Kerry, can you log back in? Go on. And then we'll move on to the minutes from the 16th of May, which was chaired by who? Right. Page, oh, yeah, the one page, page one. Can we have a mover, please? Seconder? Thank you. And then we'll move on to the terms of reference, which is item four, which is on page, just for information. Thank you. And then item five is work plan discussions for 24/25. So we've had a meeting with the cabinet members and the officers. We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, can't count, two, four, six, eight items for the work plan. I would like, obviously, for cabinet members and the officers to indicate the priorities and anything that's ongoing that just needs a couple of meetings just to put the resolution and to seal the business. So we've got day opportunities and use of assets, adult services. That's the first item. Yes. Yeah. So I think as most members will probably know, this is one of the items that we've sort of committed to review this year. It's going to be quite a big piece of work really. And we've said that we want to do it in a co-productive way with service users and ward members, obviously, because day services or day opportunities, as we're going to try to call them, are in everybody's community. So this would be a good item to bring to the committee to get some member input on that as we go through. I don't know if we have a sort of time scale at the moment, do we, Amy? Just throughout the year. So potentially it's something we could maybe bring a sort of state of the nation, where are we now report to in the next couple of months maybe, sorry, just making work for you. And then I guess maybe scheduling to revisit it once, you know, once that's ongoing at various points in the year, if that's something the committee is minded to do. So regarding timelines, we say in three months, six months, Amy? I'll take your steer as chair. We really don't mind. We can bring a state of the nation quite soon. And then the work is ongoing at the moment. It's a part of our transformation programme as well. So we'll be pleased to report, but I don't want to bring you conclusions yet, I suppose, or findings. I just want to, you know, give you an overview and then six months time, maybe an interim position. Maybe ask. So, okay, that's fine. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to contribute? We move on to the second item, which is Assisted Technology and Independent Living Integrated Services. Again, I think this is one that was on last year's work plan and hadn't been sort of slotted in. So, so yeah, this is more in Helen St. John's area. She's not online and she's not available today. So, so yes, I guess again, it's just sort of seeing how that's moving forward. I know there is some, we've looked at some of this already. Again, it's part of the transformation programme, isn't it? And it's about kind of helping us people step up and step down from levels of care and things. So again, I can't tell you without Helen here when we're likely to bring something forward for that. I don't know, Amy, I don't want to put you on the spot. It's not yours. No, it's obviously fine. Again, we don't mind on this one. There's work ongoing on this. Some developments planned throughout the year as well. I think if I could ask if we could, whilst we've suggested it's Assisted Technology and Independent Living, I think what we want to refer to it as is Assisted Technology and Promoting Independence, because independent living is sometimes the name for another type of service. So, Promoting Independence. Yeah. So, but again, when it, when it can come in the year is, again, we'll take, we'll take your requests. Really, that's fine. Thank you. The next one is the Volunteering Policy, Tackling Poverty. Al, is this yours, Al? Yeah, I think this is the one that is carrying over from last year with Kerry and I'd just to, if that can come in, I suppose, Amy, you, but as soon as possible, really, for that one. Can I add something, Chair, as well to that? So, this, we brought the draft policy forward previously, and we want to bring forward the management toolkit as well. And there's some guidance as well. So, it's the supplementary documents as well that go with it. They've been co-produced and developed with colleagues as well. So, again, as Councillor said, as soon as possible, we can bring that one forward. Sorry, can we put that on the first three months? You okay with that, Al? Yeah? We'll put that in the first three months of work plan then, okay? So, that's one for the first three months. The next item is Tackling Poverty Strategy. That's you, Al, as well? Yeah. And we're at that point of the consultation. Amy, what about, like, sort of January? Do you think that we'll have, or perhaps, no, where are we now? July? No, not that far. Just to give it time to go out and then come before the committee, what do you think? Yeah, I agree. If we can do some time between September and December. Yeah. Okay. Okay. And the next item then is, again, Alison, the Poverty Truth Commission Outcomes. That's a priority? Yeah, please. And that, where are we now, July? I would have thought the sort of September time, they should be about ready, shouldn't they, Amy? They've had six months extra funding is finished, two months now. So, let's see, October? Right, thanks, Al. And then we've got Digital Inclusion. Is that with Healy? Yes. Hi, Healy. Sorry. Hi, yeah. Sorry I was late. I couldn't connect. I've added to my camera, also, sorry if you can't see me. Yeah, in terms of Digital Inclusion, I know that the digital transformation piece of work went through your committee last year. And what we're obviously hoping to build on is how we include in those people that maybe are not technological. I know that there was a big piece of work done previously where it identified that older people and those with disabilities, perhaps, are those that are not usually included in digital forms of communication. And it's a piece of work around how we tackle that, basically, and how we make sure that we're being as inclusive as possible and communicating in ways that are accessible to all. So, if the committee's willing to take that on, that would be much appreciated. Thank you, Healy. Maybe I shouldn't say, but you know this is very close to my heart. So, I welcome this year as well. So, what kind of timeline, Healy? Do you want it on the first three months or the second quarter? No, I think that with Alison's and Louise's, I think that they are maybe more urgent to be looking at. So, happy to go in the second part. Right, okay. So, we'll put you in September to December then, okay? Lovely, thanks. Thank you. Put it back on. Enabling communities, adult early help activities. Is this you, Al? Is Healy on? Healy? Yeah, sorry. As Healy has identified, there is some reorganisation going on in adult services and there's a piece of work to look at our early intervention and prevention services then and how we support people then to, one, to avoid having that higher level statutory intervention but two, promoting their wellbeing as much as possible in the community. So, I hand over to Amy, really. Yeah, this is a key part of our transformation programme this year for adult services. So, as Councillor just referenced, we want to expand and enhance our early help and prevention offers and, yeah, we'd be really pleased to bring forward as we're developing this as the year goes on. So, this might be one of those things where you receive more than one occasion, I suppose, just in terms of where we are now and then what our aspiration is and hopefully members can contribute in the development of that as we go forward. So, Healy, are we looking at second quarter? Yeah? Thank you. And then we have the final one for the Work Plan 24/25, support for kingship carers, that's child and family, that's Lou. Yeah, but it might be useful if we could maybe bring Julie in and see if we can, because there isn't a plan to do something specifically on this at the moment, but where you could maybe link it in with other things that we're doing. Julie, if you could chime in, that would be helpful. Yeah, sure. So, we're doing a support for transformation, we're looking at sufficiency across child and family services, and what I mean by that is having the right placements for children when they need to be looked after by the local authority. So, in that suite of types of placements include kinship carers as well as foster carers, and they're both regulated provisions, and that forms part of a wider national picture through Foster Wales about the support, including payments and allowances that are available for those carers. And then there's also residential provision, both in-house and that which we externally commission, and it's all tied up in Welsh government's radical reform and eliminate, which has just come out in the new draft social care bill that's been published. So, it's quite a complex picture that's emerging, and there's lots of factors and facets to it. So, maybe I thought it might be helpful to bring a bit like Amy said and one of her items to state with the nation about what this all might mean for Swansea's children and Swansea's services and Swansea's strategies and policies, and then out of that, we're required to produce, as part of the new social care bill, if it's passed, a sufficiency strategy, which we haven't. So, that's something that will be new for us in Swansea. So, perhaps it could be part of a bigger picture, a larger strategic approach which fits in really well with our current transformation plan for child and family services. Thank you, Julie. I did have two other thoughts. I'm really sorry, I couldn't make the meeting. No, that's fine. Some of the pieces of work we're doing that I thought that may be interesting for here as part of our transformation plan is that some joint work that we're doing across children's and adults around transitions, and what that looks like, how it can be the best it can be, not just from across the local authority, but perhaps more broadly in terms of children and becoming adults, what that means for them. So, that's an area of work that we're actively working on at the moment. And the other area, again, that's part of our transformation plan is about how we support parents and carers of children with additional needs. So, we've recently done a commissioning review in partnership with education, adult services, health, and also parents and carers. So, it's very much active co-production. And what that we'll be looking to do is inform both what we deliver in-house, but also what we commission externally within the resources we have available. So, that's a live piece of work that is underway, but is still very much at its early days, if that's of interest. Thank you. So, I'll ask you what are the priorities out of the three, or is it just a rolling agenda? Yeah, we need to deliver against all of them, different degrees in this coming year. I guess in terms of expectations from Welsh government, they probably say the first sufficiency, but also as far as part of our transformation in terms of available budgets and aligning to expectations around eliminating profits, that's definitely would be, I'd probably put that as our number one priority. And we'd be needing to have something, a clear strategic approach locally by the autumn. And then the other two, the support for parents and carers, if we're looking at what we could, if there's implications for commissioning, we'd have to have that and be clear around that before the end of the calendar year. So, before Christmas. And the transition policy, I think our best hope would be that we can achieve something together within the next six months in terms of some draft thinking around that. We do have an existing document that we're going to refresh and update. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. I think my priority, sorry. My priority is to put the priorities in the first three months. Obviously, none of us got a magic wand and we know these are big live agendas. So the first three months would be the absolute priorities. Then the following three months, then we'll start to work then from, or into the following three quarters then to establish what we can over the year. So is there anything else from anyone else that was tried to work plan before we move on? Yeah, if I can. Yes. I think we're trying to tackle the terms of reference for the various tasks that we've just looked at. I'm just looking at the first one, safeguarding people and harm. I mean, we don't seem to, I don't know whether this would be the right forum for it, but it might be perhaps put forward to a scrutiny committee, but we don't seem to be addressed anything to do with drug abuse or alcohol abuse. Because if you talk about safeguarding people and harm, I mean, it is drug abuse and alcohol would be something that does create a great deal of harm, particularly to the people concerned and families. I'm just wondering what our views would be on trying to address that issue. I mean, it is a growing problem within the city. And we get several people who express concern about the fact that it does exist, but we don't seem to be, I find that I'm on a couple of committees don't seem to be on one that seems to be addressing this in any way whatsoever. I was just wondering what, what, what our views are on that. Thanks, Jai. Alison, first please. Only, only just to answer that. I've been sitting on the Drugs Commission for the last year. So now it is just come into a clause. So all the findings are being written up and will be presented, presented back. So maybe in the latter part of this, you know, this year for the committee, you know, our response sort of thing from Swansea might well be able to come in here, you know, we haven't touched alcohol because it's just too, it's too vast drugs and alcohol. So the commission from the Health Board and the council that we've been involved with is purely looking at the drug usage because we've had so many deaths, you know, so like I said, it's been a huge piece of work. It is coming to an end now. And then within the council, we'll have to work out how we go forward with the Health Board and everything. So it's a bit soon at the moment, man, but maybe after Christmas, we'd be in a better position because Safer Swansea partnership obviously involved, PSB, it just needs a bit of time now to, to sort of know where we're going with it, you know. Thanks for that info. I would like to see it come back here. Obviously, there's a lot of work being done. There needs to be a lot of work done. You know, and I, for one, as many of us, probably all of us around this committee and all of us were involved in the organization, you know, probably experience in depth conversations and the cry for help. And you know, people do live in a very, very vulnerable world. And you know what my motto is, Al, if we can help one, I'm happy with that. But it's vast and it's, it's massive, out of control. But I'm happy to hear that, you know, the work has been done and I'm happy to hear that you'll bring it back here. So thank you for that Al. So I'll ask again, is there anything else? Angela, sorry, I didn't see you. That's okay. No problem. I just wanted to support Councillor Jeffries and feel strongly that it should be added to the work plan, not necessarily in the last part of the year. And I appreciate it's a complex problem, but I don't think we should shy away from what is a very, very big, important issue. Thank you. Thank you. Nothing else? I was just wondering how soon we can get sight of the tackling poverty strategy. And if at all, there's any correlation between that and the outcomes of the Poverty Truth Commission? Oh, sorry, I didn't know if Alison wanted to come in. Really linked. So the tackling poverty strategy is a refresh. So we had a tackling poverty strategy from 2017 to 2022, which we rolled into 23. And we appreciate now we're in 24. But the pandemic did stall the progress of the refresh. So we're still working on the old edition of it in terms of a corporate strategy. The Poverty Truth Commission, which has been supported by the council and the number of members and officers have been involved in it, has been running the last 18 months, and they've come up with a number of recommendations. So that's what we're talking about bringing here, not just for the council, but for lots of organisations and what those early initial findings have been fed into the refresh of the tackling poverty strategy, along with a number of coproduction events and links in with people, lived experience community organisations and partners. So that work is going to carry on just in terms of the strategy refresh in the coming months, it will go out to public consultation as well. So we've brought an early draft to this group last, at some point in the last five months, sorry, I can't remember the date of it. But we'd like to bring it and that's what we want to bring is the refresh of it, if that's okay. So it'll be the sort of final version that will come here post consultation. But we'd be really pleased to get member involvement in the consultation process as well, if that's okay. Thank you. So we move on to item six, which is dates and times for future meetings. They're all listed there. So we got three. I'm happy with four o'clock. Everyone happy with four o'clock on Monday? Yeah. There we are. Easy Al. Thank you. All the meetings closed and I'll see you on the 22nd of July.

Transcript