Agenda item

(a)       That the role and responsibilities of the Flintshire Public Services Board are supported;

(b)       That the priorities for 2016/17 are supported;

(c)       That Members are assured of the level of progress that the Flintshire PSB has made since its establishment;

(d)       That Members are supportive of the pilot work being undertaken around the CAMMS performance management system; and

(e)       That the final draft of the Well-being Assessment be brought to a future meeting of the Committee to which the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee should be invited.

The Corporate Business & Communications Executive Officer introduced an overview of the establishment and work of the Flintshire Public Services Board (PSB) following the introduction of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.  The report focussed on areas of governance for the new statutory body which was a continuation of the former Flintshire Local Services Board and its priorities.

Information was circulated on the seven well-being goals which public bodies were expected to work towards, along with the five sustainable development principles to be applied when considering how to add value to the priorities.  Members were also shown a map of proposed community areas across the county to be used for a Well-being Needs Assessment.  Work was underway on scoping the PSB priorities which focussed on issues such as health, community safety, looked after children and vulnerable adults.  Details were shared on new workstreams aimed at inspiring community resilience and supporting families with complex needs through early intervention.

In response to a question from Councillor Robin Guest, explanation was given on the approach to quarterly meetings of the PSB with the full membership required to attend.

Councillor Arnold Woolley raised concerns that Wales could not be protected from the effects of global issues.  He commented that the activities, roles and duties of the PSB did not match and asked about the process of reaching agreement within the membership.  He felt that managing the principal activities would be difficult as these were subjective rather than measurable targets.  He pointed out a typing error in paragraph 1.09 of the report and went on to refer to balancing cost against aspirations, querying funding sources and raising concerns about unforeseen challenges as seen with the Welsh Government (WG) decision on Communities First.

Councillor Aaron Shotton described the work of the PSB as an extension of previous practice on a statutory footing.  He said that the Council had always engaged positively with its partners and that the introduction of the PSB had not been an issue in Flintshire.  He spoke about the Council’s representation on the PSB and the aim to achieve a democratic fit with partnership’s public and voluntary organisations by building on those relationships and the priorities.  He drew attention to the priorities for 2016/17 and highlighted the opportunity to influence issues on health and social care.

The officer advised that the PSB was currently developing a mediation protocol in the event of any conflict of agreement.  She gave assurance that a significant number of targets and milestones, built into the priorities, were subject to monitoring and would be formalised in the Local Well-being Plan to be published following the completion of the assessment.  On the matter of cost, collaborative working between partners would add value with only limited additional resources, for example on the early intervention hub.

Following comments on the quality of the papers circulated at the meeting, the officer agreed to provide these electronically to Members.

Councillor Richard Jones linked the priorities of the PSB with those of the Improvement Plan and viewed the PSB as an intelligence-sharing informative body.  He pointed out that two of the principal activities - to publish a well-being assessment and plan for Flintshire - were statutory requirements to be completed by 2017 and 2018 respectively.  On the assessment, he proposed that the final draft be reported to both this Committee and the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee around January 2017 following consideration by the PSB.  He also queried why North Wales Police was not a statutory member of the PSB, a view shared by Councillor Guest who stated that North Wales Police and the Police & Crime Commissioner should be one organisation.  Councillor Guest also felt that the statutory duties of the PSB were unclear.

Councillor Paul Shotton welcomed the collaborative approach to the PSB.  On earlier reference to Communities First, he expressed his gratitude for the work which had been done.

Whilst Councillor Nigel Steele-Mortimer welcomed the goals of the PSB, he remained sceptical about its value.

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin felt that the WG decision to abolish Communities First was in recognition of the need for a different approach.  On the PSB, he questioned the reliability of data and asked about engagement with the public and other voluntary organisations.

In response, the officer explained that the assessment was being carried out by Conwy County Borough Council which had undertaken significant engagement work.  Data sources would be clearly stated within the well-being assessment and the sharing of the draft document with Overview & Scrutiny had been accommodated in the timescale for February/March.  Whilst North Wales Police played a senior lead role on the PSB, it was not a statutory member of this WG initiative as it was not devolved.  The description of the two Police bodies as separate partners was set out in the legislation.  The statutory duties of the PSB had been taken from the guidance to the legislation and embodied in the Terms of Reference.  This full information would be shared with the Committee.

On the development of the proposed community areas, it was explained that these incorporated the Council’s public engagement areas (used during the 2015 budget consultation), together with the Health Board’s locality hub areas and North Wales Police divisional north/south areas.  Following a query from the Chairman, the officer agreed to establish the reason for the Health Board determining a straight boundary line from Hendre.  When asked about involvement by the Committee, the officer suggested an opportunity to scrutinise the work of the PSB and to invite a partner representative to a future meeting to discuss progress of a particular workstream.

Councillor Peter Curtis expressed his disappointment at the lack of consultation by WG on the withdrawal of Communities First and remarked on its role in contributing towards some of the goals of the PSB.

In response to the comments on Communities First, Councillor Aaron Shotton expressed his disappointment at the way in which the announcement by WG had been made.  He referred to the different model which had operated in Flintshire and its benefits to the wider communities.  He expected further clarity from WG on its review of the service on which the Council should seek to participate.

Councillor Jones’ earlier proposal was seconded and supported by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the role and responsibilities of the Flintshire Public Services Board are supported;

(b)       That the priorities for 2016/17 are supported;

(c)       That Members are assured of the level of progress that the Flintshire PSB has made since its establishment;

(d)       That Members are supportive of the pilot work being undertaken around the CAMMS performance management system; and

(e)       That the final draft of the Well-being Assessment be brought to a future meeting of the Committee to which the Social & Health Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee should be invited.