Transcript

• Okay, good morning, everyone. Welcome to our... Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our May Cabinet meeting. It's very good to see you all here today. On what will be my final Cabinet meeting as the leader of the City Council? So we start with item number one, on the agenda today, which are apologies. I don't believe we have any apologies to the item. Item number two, declarations of interest. I declare an interest in item number six. Item number three, the minutes from April 2024 cabinet. These are in pages three to six of your packs. You've all had an opportunity to read through the minutes. Can somebody move them as a true record, please? Thank you. We move to the first substantive item on our agenda today, then item number four, the Strategic Asset Management Plan. Now, following the development of the new corporate plan and other strategies, the Strategic Asset Management Plan has also been reviewed. The revised plan will help to ensure the principles of asset management are reflected in business decisions across the organisation. The plan will be an enabler to support the Council in achieving corporate plan objectives through the effective management of our land and property assets. This includes ensuring that our buildings are sustainable and meet the needs of our communities. The principles outlined will ensure property is suitably managed and maintained within budget constraints and in line with our climate change objectives. Before I move to the vote, cabinet member, would you like to say anything on this? Yes, thank you, Leader. So, the previous Strategic Asset Management Plan was produced in 2018. And as you can imagine, it's required a slight update given a global pandemic, cost of living crisis and our current economic outlook, as well as the climate change agenda. I would like to thank officers, partners, and elected members who through scrutiny, who have worked on producing and reviewing this paper. And we'd particularly like to point out the links between the climate change policies, especially building decarbonisation and the work that's being carried out by the estate team, climate change teams in this area. And of course, how can I stand you and not discuss my maintenance backlog? As at March 24, we hold over 1,500 assets, buildings and land with a gross value of 750 million. 100 million is our current maintenance backlog. These are with the added challenges of the building, all buildings, grade one and two listed buildings, and the estate is complex, and it's a credit to our teams who look after the assets portfolio. But it's not all doom and gloom. Our asset rationalisation programme is allowing us to come up with collaborative and effective uses of our buildings, as well as working in our wards with our local groups on community asset transfers, so we continue to push forward in ensuring the best use of our assets for the good of our residents and the environment. Thank you.
• Thank you, cabinet member. Cabinet member for climate change, would you like to come in?
• Thank you very much, leader. I'd just like to thank the climate change team for all their hard work in this department. Obviously, decarbonisation of our buildings is a long-term project, which is going to take many years to achieve, and the work is progressing at a good rate, but it's complex. And long-term work that will need to continue for a long-term into the future. So I just hope that the work continues, and I'd like to thank the team.
• Thank you for that. And I'd like to give my thanks to you both as cabinet members for the way that you've collaborated on this strategy. So thank you both. Deputy leader.
• Thank you, leader. As cabinet member for education, where the Council is the landlord responsibility, for 71 buildings being used for education purposes, I support the aspiration to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, with new builds being net zero and retrofitting already underway across the school estate. Work has already commenced to reduce or remove the use of natural gas and a good number of our schools. It's clear that a sustainable optimised estate will deliver effective services, fit for purpose, and will be financially viable. I certainly support this plan. Thank you.
• Thank you for that. Are there any further comments on this item? Okay, then in conclusion, so this plan will help us as a council through the use of our property assets to be more resilient, and it certainly supports sustainable development. We recommend it, it's recommended that we approve the strategic asset management plan and the support in policies in order for us to progress the strategic management of assets as directed by the corporate plan and the members can tend to do this. Thank you.
• Thank you. We move to the next item on our agenda today, then that's item number five, the Safer Newport Strategic Needs Assessment Plan. This is on pages 21 to 94 of your packs. Now as a local authority, Newport City Council has a responsibility under the Crime and Disorder Act to formulate and implement a plan to reduce crime and disorder in the area through our local community safety partnership Safer Newport. This important partnership includes Gwent Police and other relevant partners and supports a multi-agency approach to complex problems. Part of the partnership responsibility includes undertaking a strategic needs assessment for community safety. The primary goal of this assessment is to pinpoint the underlying causes, patterns and significant community safety issues, such as antisocial behavior, serious violence, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. I'm pleased that we're able to share this assessment with you today. The Strategic Needs Assessment presented with the report provides an evaluation of the current picture of community safety in Newport based on quantitative data from various agencies and qualitative insights from citizens and partners. This has previously been considered by our partnership scrutiny committee and their comments are included within the report. Colleagues, as you all know, the plan identifies three priority areas for Newport, the first two being serious violence and organised crime and antisocial behavior. The third priority is to support those in our communities who may be more vulnerable to being affected by community safety issues, such as children and young people, being or at risk of being exploited and those affected by violence against women, domestic abuse or sexual violence. The implementation of this plan and the vision of having a positive impact on the lives of our communities can only be achieved by working in partnership. And I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Safer Newport membership organisations for the work that they do across Newport. Would anybody like to comment on this item? Councillor Harvey.
• Thanks, Leader. It's an interesting read. My concern is knife crime. As you know, we lost Ryan in our ward and it was an absolute nightmare. His mother unfortunately found him bled out in a gutter. That's no way for the mother to find her child. Another incident yesterday, another death on our streets. It is an absolute nightmare. There are children being coerced into crime. There are domestic violence on the uptake and in all fairness, it's not just the person who is having a violence against them, it's what the children are living in, what they're seeing on a day-to-day, becoming a normal. So they think, it's okay for dad to beat mum, it's okay for mum to beat dad. That's a normal way of life. Until they get a bit older and they realise that actually that is not normal. So for this to come forward, I really embrace it. And if it saves just one more, it's got to be worth every minute. Thank you.
• Thank you very much for your comments, Councillor Harvey. And I note that Grem, please have got an operation run in this week with regard to addressing issues around knife crime. It's really interesting to hear you mention the challenges around domestic violence and abuse. And I'm really pleased also to note that the most recent legislation does identify that children are also victims. So I think that is a firm foundation for us to take forward our partnership work. Deputy Leader.
• Thank you, Leader. This is a very detailed assessment and report about our city with significant challenges regarding community safety. Newport, it does say has higher levels of crime than elsewhere in Gwent. But what does now need is that states and report is the comparative data with similar cities in the city together as a deep understanding of what is happening. And I look forward to seeing this information. However, what is reassuring is that community perception of community safety in Newport is positive with people generally feeling safe in our city in the daytime and are supportive of Newport City Council and taking this on as a key priority. It's great to hear how effective our prevention services are such as positive futures and look forward to future reports which will provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of what is happening. Thank you.
• Thank you, Deputy Leader. Any further comments? Councillor Fuzzy.
• Thank you, Leader. I just wanted to comment on the diagram on page 42 about the cost of living crisis and how this feeds into so many other aspects of life. Whether it's poor health, whether it's having to rely on people that you prefer not to rely on, whether it's going to loan sharks. And that diagram really explains how the cost of living crisis feeds into so much which can be violence or health and really having a detrimental effect on people. So it's not just, I could say, not just being able to find money for food, but the whole picture and the difficulty that presents for every aspect of life. And I think that's quite an insightful diagram. Thank you.
• Thank you, Councillor Fuzzy. Any additional comments? Councillor Marshall.
• Yeah, thank you very much, Leader. It's just too high like, obviously, where this partnership working is always good to have partners and many partners that we do have work very well together. It's just to note some of the work, obviously, within Council as well, like the Youth Justice System, sorry, Teams and also youth workers and schools and everything internally, because I know sometimes, obviously, within big authorities or big organizations, things get lost. But partnership working within the local authorities, very strong as well as those external partners as well. And fantastic work that's been undertaken by everyone. Thank you.
• Thank you, Councillor Marshall. Any further comments? You identify a really important point there, Councillor Marshall, which I would like to come back to, and that is the importance of partnership working with regard to these challenges. And I know that we've got some outstanding offices within Newport City Council who work on these issues, but we would not be able to do anything if it wasn't for our external partners. And I'd certainly like to pay tribute to our colleague, Councillor Clark, for his outstanding leadership with regard to these particular issues. So thank you, Councillor Clark as well. So a cabinet can tend to approve the plan and recommend that it be presented to full Council for adoption. Yep, thank you. Okay, item number six on our agenda today is the Serious Violence Duty Strategic Needs Assessment and Strategy. This is on pages 95 to 180 of the packs. I declared my interest in this item at the start. The Serious Violence Duty became law across England and Wales at the end of January 2023, and places a mandatory requirement on local authorities to work with other specified authorities to develop a plan and strategy to reduce and prevent serious violence. As colleagues will note, the development of the strategic needs assessment and strategy shared with us today was undertaken in collaboration with partners across Gwent, however, and this is really important, the duty applies to Newport City Council. The needs assessment and strategy provide an evaluation of the current picture of Serious Violence across the region with sections specific to Newport. The four strategic priorities identified to meet the vision of to create a Gwent without violence are better use of data to inform action, prioritise addressing the risk factors for violence with evidence-based interventions, join the dots to better understand and maximise impact, and adopt a place-based approach that utilises local experience, listens to community voices, and is strengthened through regional governance. Within Newport, the findings of the assessment and the four priorities have been embedded within the safer Newport Community Safety Plan, also on today's agenda. Both documents have been considered by our partnership and scrutiny committee, and their comments are also included within the report. Now colleagues, as you may be aware, this is the first Gwent-wide strategic needs assessment and strategy, and I'd like to thank all partners involved for their work on this. And I'm sure colleagues agree with me that the strategy's aim of creating a Gwent without violence is one that we can all support. But don't anyone like to comment? Deputy Leader. Thank you. It's acknowledged within the report that an effective strategy will be developed with essential pillars that will create a Gwent without violence, an ambitious goal, however, we cannot support anything less than this. The data presented is very clear that over the last five years, we've seen an increase in violent crime, and with a notable rise in stalking and harassment, along with weapon-based crimes, adopting an evidence-driven approach, focusing on what, when, and why, with consideration of how crime impacts on families and communities of positive way forward. And whilst responsibility lies with our council, we know this will be ably led by our newly elected Police Crime Commissioner, our very own Jane Mudd. And I want to place on record that I know you'll be excellent and committed to supporting those who struggle most in society, challenging inequality and unfairness while celebrating diversity and inclusion. We're going to miss you, Jane, we really are. But we know that you'll be at the helm that, and Gwent, will be a safer place in which to live. And I look forward to hearing from you how this strategy bring back change, improve community safety and well-being. And I hope that in your role as Police Crime Commissioner, you'll be able to come back and update us on its progress. Thank you.
• Thank you for your kind words, Deputy Leader. Chancellor Hughes.
• Thank you. I think someone who's worked in community services for a long time. I think it just points out the difference in this one, really, is that there's a real genuine attempt to look at the underlying causes in how we get to this situation. I think it's in line as well what we try and do in Newport, which is listen to the communities. And I think you can see throughout the report, really, that there's an attempt there to listen to the people that are experiencing these violent episodes and listen to the experiences and use the data we collect from that to actually get to real solutions on this problem. So I think that sort of summarizes what we're trying to do across the board in Newport, which is listen to our communities. Thank you.
• Absolutely. Thank you, Councillor Hughes.
• Any further comments? Okay. Cabinet then, are you happy to approve the plan and recommend that it be put forward to the Council for full adoption here? Thank you all for that. Item number seven on our agenda today is our external pressures report. And as you all know, colleagues, we've been really clear that we want this to be a standing item on our agenda, because it's really important, not only that we recognise the challenges that our communities face, but also because we want to be able to share publicly all of the positive work that's going on to support people in our communities. Now, as you'll be aware, colleagues, collaboration and partnership working is also key to supporting our citizens. And the report provides us with information on how this way of working is enabling greater access for our residents to support advice and guidance. The report also provides examples of activities and support offered during this period, including Easter family activities, distribution of essential food, shopping vouchers and household goods. Colleagues will note the uptake of free school meals, which is above 70% in all sectors, and above 80% in the special sector. Precious on housing and homelessness services in the city continue to be a concern. And this report provides an update on our strategy to tackle these challenges, including through working with the Royal Foundation Homewards programme. I'm pleased that Newport was chosen to be one of only six councils across the UK working with the programme. (mouse clicking) Now, colleagues, I think what's really important is that we all actively promote aspects of this work and we raise awareness, and that's something that we can all do, members and officers alike. And something that we can do is encourage private landlords with vacant properties to contact the city council, to discuss how they can support officers in our housing and community service, through the leasing scheme wells. I'd also encourage anybody in need to attend the think-wise, live-wise drop-in sessions that are run in across the city, which provide cost of living-related information and guidance on topics such as budgeting, managing utility bills and rent advice. As always, colleagues, I continue to advocate for partnership working as being vital in supporting our residents and businesses, and I'd like to thank everyone, internally and externally, for their contribution to this. So any comments? Councillor Harvey.
• Thanks, Leader. Again, I echo your thanks to all the staff inside the council on our outside. They're probably fed up to the back girls and taken bets on how many times I'm gonna say thank you to the staff. You think I don't know, but I do. (laughs) I have to give credit to business in the community. They have been absolutely exceptional in the help they've given, not only to my wards, but other wards across the city. They really have stepped up and gone the extra mile, but to echo what you've already said, just give us a shout. Just get in touch. It doesn't matter what councilor, what ward, we can pass you on to your correct, Councillor, if you don't know what that is, and we can also sign post you to where you need to go. And the live well, be well, dropping sessions are absolutely amazing, to be honest with you. They're worth their weight in gold. Thank you.
• Thank you for that. And thank you for the work that you've done on that. Deputy Leader.
• Thank you very much, Leader. I just wanted to raise that within the report, this focus and mention on the Welsh Government community focus schools and the grant funding that's been allocated to all our schools across the city. And the intention of this money is actually to establish and foster good relationships with families of children and young people at these schools, ensure schools are welcoming to families and take steps to know their children well, to know exactly where children are struggling, whether in poverty or with learning additional needs, that support's going to be there. And importantly, to encourage and support parental involvement in the school and engage in children's learning, and that will ensure we've got positive outcomes and actually parents know what's happening within schools, promote and facilitate opportunities for adult and community learning, a positive opportunity for many and many of our adults who may be left school without any qualifications, and making a range of communication methods available appropriate the family needs and preferences. And that's about facilitating food parcels, school uniform drops, access to advice, financial advice, et cetera. It's all those things that grant funding will make sure it will happen within our schools. Thank you.
• Thank you very much for that, Deputy Leader, thank you. Councillor Marshall.
• Yeah, thanks again, Leader. I know you've noted within your first initial introductions about the positive work, and it wouldn't be a mistake to highlight about the children's event that we had yesterday. You know, from the really little ones to obviously the other children. I think what emanated with me was, you know, children are a present, not just the future, and it's great to have celebrated that, you know, yesterday. Not gonna lie, I'm not very much of a mover when there were dancing and stuff like that there, but very much enjoyed the spirit behind it, very energetic, very lovely to witness, you know, and much appreciation to all those behind the scenes to get them ready. I know some of the children were a little bit nervous and things like that there, but they did marvellously well. And then just going on to some of the work and coming up, so Councillors will be hopefully submitting along with the Council information about half-term activities, so keep an eye on those. And also the splash programme, which we thoroughly enjoy within the city, is something to keep an eye on, something that's free to go around and something to enjoy as fellow citizens. Yeah, thank you.
• Thank you very much for that, Councillor Marshall. And there was an absolutely outstanding event yesterday, wasn't it? So well done to everybody involved. So a cabinet are happy to note the contents of this report. Okay, thank you very much for that. Item number eight is our work programme. Colleagues happy with the work programme? Okay, there are no further items, formal items on the agenda today, but I would like to make a few comments. So as you'll know, this is my final cabinet meeting as the lead of the City Council and the final time that I shall be chairing cabinet. So I feel it's very appropriate to reflect on my experience as lead of the City Council and as chair as cabinet, and who would have imagined in 2019 when I was elected leader of the City Council the days, months and years ahead and how challenging they would be. But I'd like to pay tribute to the officers, particularly the senior officer team that I work closely with since 2019. For their work on transformation, for their commitment to the citizens of Newport and for working day in day out to do in that really difficult period just to ensure that services kept running for our citizens of Newport. The endless meetings, endless meetings at every level across the whole of Wales, just trying to keep people safe. That's certainly something, a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life. And I know the citizens of Newport are well served by the officers of the City Council. I'd also like to pay particular tribute to our democratic services team and the important, but often, unrecognised role they play in enabling all of the civic activity to happen. So huge thank you to democratic services from the point where I first came in in 2012 to the point where I stepped down from the leadership next week. Huge thank you. It wouldn't happen without you as a team. And I know that we see many changes and we've seen new legislation and new regulations and the way that you've all dealt with it has been outstanding. So thank you all for the hard work that you do to support elected members to do their best for the citizens in Newport. I'd also like to thank my own office team for their outstanding commitment to me as a leader, to making the leader's office run effectively and for their personal loyalty and support. So thank you. Now as I said, I've worked closely with senior officers and it's been a real pleasure and pride, I've taken great pride in seeing them grow and develop in their roles over this period of time. So thank you to the officers as well. And last but not least, I'd like to give my personal thanks to you as a cabinet. I chose you and you have not let me down. I would like to thank you all for your dedication and commitment, your commitment to the citizens of Newport, for your broader commitment to public service and not personal gain. You are outstanding individuals and together you are strong and outstanding team to work with. So thank you. Thank you for your commitment to social justice, to fairness. Thank you for your commitment to civic life and the support that you have shown the citizens of Newport. I will always, always value and treasure the time that we've spent together working hard to ensure that we do our best for our citizens. And at that point, I think it's appropriate to close the meeting.