The Health & Social Services Scrutiny Committee of Carmarthenshire Council met on Monday 08 June 2026 to review the draft Local Authority Social Services Annual Report 2025/26, the 2025/26 End of Year Performance Report, and the Health & Social Services Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26. The committee also discussed the Forward Work Plan for 2026/27 and noted forthcoming items for future meetings.

Draft Local Authority Social Services Annual Report 2025/26

The committee reviewed the draft Local Authority Social Services Annual Report for 2025/26, presented by Darren Mutter, Statutory Director of Social Services. The report detailed the directorate's performance, challenges, and strategic priorities. Key areas discussed included increasing demand across all services, particularly in children's services, and the financial pressures associated with this. The report highlighted the dedication of the workforce, the positive inspection results for various services, and plans for future developments, including new children's homes and improvements to adult social care provision.

Councillor Karen Davies inquired about a targeted Real World of Learning project in partnership with Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, which involved pupils attending placements at the Ty Dyffryn Extra Care scheme and Manor Road. Councillor Davies expressed surprise at not being aware of this initiative and requested more information, also asking if it could be rolled out to other schools. Darren Mutter committed to speaking with education and departmental colleagues to provide a comprehensive answer.

Councillor Stephen Williams raised questions regarding the disparity between new calls for services and those actioned, the assessment percentage of 58.7%, and mental health response times for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs). The Chair, Councillor Gareth John, proposed addressing questions section by section to ensure a logical flow.

Councillor Martyn Palfreman commended the report's comprehensive view of the vital work undertaken and highlighted the resilience of the workforce. He raised concerns about the risk of investing in staff development only for them to leave the authority and asked how this risk is balanced with retaining staff. He also requested more details on the emotional support provided to staff. Darren Mutter responded that the department aims to foster a positive and nurturing culture to make it a destination of choice for employees. He also outlined various support mechanisms, including counselling, mentoring, coaching, and training for mental health managers. Kate Burton, Head of Adult Social Care, added that wellbeing champions within teams organise activities like wellbeing walks and team events to support staff.

Councillor Meinir James sought clarification on a dotted line in a graph on page 15 of the report concerning commissioned services, and asked about the challenges of providing personal assistants for direct payments in rural areas. Catherine Evans, Senior Manager in the Social Care and Housing Department, clarified that the dotted line on page 23 of the main report represented population estimates and projections for those aged 65 and over, and that the client numbers were on a separate axis. She agreed to take on board the comment to clarify such charts in future productions. Regarding direct payments in rural areas, it was explained that while it is a challenge, other options like respite and day services are available.

Councillor Chris Davies raised concerns about the funding for the dedicated suicide prevention coordinator role and the emphasis placed on underlying drivers such as the cost of living crisis, financial insecurity, and social isolation. Darren Mutter confirmed that suicide is recognised as a public health issue with a national strategy, and that Carmarthenshire is linked into a regional program of work. He stated that the suicide prevention coordinator role is currently grant-funded, and they are awaiting an update on future funding. He assured the committee that suicide prevention is a priority and is included in the business plan.

Councillor Stephen Williams returned to the assessment percentage of 58.7% in timescales, asking what work was ongoing to increase this and what barriers staff were encountering. Darren Mutter explained that the statistic does not necessarily indicate that work is not being done, but can be affected by the timeliness of sign-offs. He acknowledged that the figure is not satisfactory and that work is underway, including engaging external academics to review thresholds and practice. He also highlighted the challenging demand profile and workforce pressures.

Questions were also raised regarding domiciliary care, unpaid carers, and the timeline for the Plas Y Bryn Nursing Residential Home development. Regarding the Plas Y Bryn project, it was confirmed that the official opening is scheduled for summer 2028, with construction commencing in 2026.

The committee also discussed the More Than Words framework for mainstreaming the Welsh language in social services. Darren Mutter, as the newly appointed Welsh Language Champion, committed to chairing the Departmental Welsh Language Board to enhance the use of Welsh within the directorate.

The committee received positive feedback from inspections of various services, including the in-house domiciliary care service, Tir Einon respite unit, Yr Hafan Children's Home, and Llys Caradog children's home.

2025/26 End of Year Performance Report

The committee reviewed the 2025/26 End of Year Performance Report, which showed positive progress with over 80% of actions and measures on target. The report highlighted strong progress in areas such as preventative approaches, safeguarding, workforce development, and transformation programmes. However, it also identified a small number of areas that were off target or required further development, reinforcing ongoing pressures such as increasing demand and complexity in children's services and adult social care.

Councillor Martyn Palfreman raised concerns about three specific areas on page 80 of the pack: the introduction of a policy for allocating resources to support disabled children and their families, the percentage of families with additional social welfare needs linked to poverty receiving specific interventions, and the delay in updating Section 33 agreements. Darren Mutter explained that the resource allocation system was withdrawn due to legal advice and conflict with Welsh practice. He committed to gathering more information on the Flying Start performance and assured the committee that the delay in the Section 33 agreement was not expected to have a detrimental effect on integrated working at a practical level.

Health & Social Services Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26

The committee reviewed its own Annual Report for 2025/26, which provided an overview of its work during the year, including performance monitoring, strategic planning, and financial sustainability. The report highlighted the committee's engagement with a wide range of matters within the Social Services and Housing Directorate. Councillor Gareth John, Chair of the Committee, thanked members for their work and acknowledged the engagement of Cabinet members, officers, and partner organisations.

Health & Social Services Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Plan for 2026/27

The committee discussed and confirmed its Forward Work Plan for 2026/27. Key items for future scrutiny include strategic and operational integrated working with the health service, the first point of contact for social care services, the prevention strategy, and sustainable social services. The committee also discussed the format of future sessions, with a preference for development sessions for certain topics to allow for more in-depth discussion.

Forthcoming Items

The committee noted the forthcoming items for the next meeting on 22nd July 2026, which included updates on the Children's Services Transformation Programme, the Annual Report on Adult Safeguarding and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, the Corporate Safeguarding Annual Report, the Early Help Strategy Update, and a report on Strategic and Operational Integrated Working with Health within Carmarthenshire. Budget monitoring reports were also circulated.