Gwent Public Services Board
3rd Business Meeting – 13:30pm Thursday 10th March 2022
Notes of Meeting
Present:
|
Name |
Organisation represented |
|
Cllr Philippa Marsden (Cllr
PM) |
Caerphilly County Borough
Council (Chair) |
|
Cllr Jane Mudd (Cllr JM) |
Newport City Council |
|
Cllr Anthony Hunt (Cllr AH) |
Torfaen County Borough
Council |
|
Huw Jakeway (HJ) |
South Wales Fire and Rescue
Service (SWF&RS) |
|
Ann Lloyd (ALl) |
Chair ABUHB |
|
Pam Kelly (PK) |
Gwent Police |
|
Anne Evans (AE) |
Torfaen Voluntary Alliance |
|
Howard Toplis (HT) |
Tai Calon Community Housing
Ltd |
|
Stephen Tiley (ST) |
Gwent Association of
Voluntary Organisations (GAVO) |
|
Dr Sarah Aitken (Dr SA) |
Dir Public Health and
Strategic Partnerships, (ABUHB) |
|
Maureen Howell (MH) |
Welsh Government |
|
National Probation Service |
|
|
Beverly Owen (BO) |
Newport City Council |
|
Paul Matthews (PM) |
Monmouthshire County Council |
|
Glyn Jones (GJ) |
Aneurin Bevan University
Health Board |
|
Cllr Nigel Daniels (Cllr
ND) |
Blaenau Gwent County
Borough Council |
|
Christina Harrhy (CH) |
Caerphilly CBC |
|
Jeff Cuthbert (JC) |
Office of Police and Crime
Commissioner (OPCC) |
|
Damien McCann |
Blaenau Gwent CBC |
|
Jon Goldsworthy |
Natural Resources Wales |
|
Cllr Robert Greenland |
Monmouthshire County Council |
In Attendance:
|
Kathryn Peters (KP) |
Caerphilly CBC |
|
Sharran Lloyd (SL) |
Monmouthshire CC |
|
Richard Jones (RJ) |
Monmouthshire CC |
|
Lyndon Puddy (LP) |
Torfaen CBC |
|
Andrew Parker (AP) |
Blaenau Gwent CBC |
|
Paul Cooke (PC) |
Caerphilly CBC |
|
Ruth Betty (RB) |
Gwent TTP |
|
Rob Hartshorn (RH) |
Caerphilly CBC |
|
Sarah King (SK) |
Blaenau Gwent CBC |
|
Eryl Powell (EP) |
Aneurin Bevan University
Health Board |
|
Paul Massey (PMa) |
Caerphilly CBC |
Apologies:
|
Dr Ben Calvert (Dr BC) |
University of South Wales |
|
Cllr Tudor Davies (TD) |
South Wales Fire &
Rescue Service |
|
Cllr Richard John (Cllr RJ) |
Monmouthshire County
Council |
|
Mark Cadwallader (MC) |
University of South Wales |
|
Stephen Vickers (SV) |
Torfaen County Borough
Council |
|
Steve Morgan (StM) |
Natural Resources Wales |
|
Michelle Morris (MM) |
Blaenau Gwent County
Borough Council |
|
Sian Curley (SC) |
Office of Police and Crime
Commissioner |
|
Cllr Nigel Daniels (Cllr
ND) |
Blaenau Gwent County
Borough Council |
The Chair welcomed all attendees to the first hybrid
meeting where a number of attendees met in person along with those joining
online via MS Teams. She thanked Monmouthshire CC for making the arrangements
and hosting the meeting. Apologies have been recorded in the table above.
All action points from the previous meeting had been
completed or on the agenda for this meeting and the note was approved by the
Board
Paul Cooke introduced his paper and gave a summary
of the actions carried out since the draft Well-being Assessment was presented
to the PSB on 7th December 2021. This included a consultation with
statutory bodies and other organisations and individuals who provided feedback
on the draft. The Assessment was amended in light of the feedback for the PSB
to consider. The Assessment can be found here on
the Gwent PSB website.
He then described the pre-cursor work carried out on
the Response Analysis at which the issues raised in the Assessment are to be investigated
in greater detail. There were 120 issues reviewed which were further compressed
into 16 summary issues. The PSB had further combined these into 4 cross-cutting
themes at the PSB development session on 14th February into;
·
Environment (Climate and Nature emergencies)
·
Economy and Infrastructure
·
Health and Well-being/Inequalities
·
Community Cohesion (including Community Safety and Substance Misuse
A special meeting of GSWAG was held on the 18th
February 2022 to score the 16 issues. And it was proposed to use a standard
approach to all response analysis areas to enable the PSB to compare them
equally.
Recommendations 1 & 2
Members were asked to consider 2 of the
Recommendations set out at the end of the paper (as follows) and both of
these were agreed :
·
approve the
Assessment of Local Well-being for translation and publication by the statutory
deadline of 5th May 2022. Noting that
translation may not be completed by the 5th May.
·
agree that the Assessment
of Local Well-being be sent to the statutory recipients (under Section 37 (7)
of the Well-being of Futures (Wales) Act 2015)
Recommendation 3
The PSB were then asked to
comment on the following recommendation
·
agree the
issues for further detailed investigation as part of the response analysis
SA felt that the Marmot proposal (to be covered
under agenda item 3) would cover most of the issues identified from the Health Inequalities
theme. She offered to go through the checklist to confirm this. PC suggested
that each of the key themes was cross-cutting with environmental and community
cohesion issues, for example, also having an impact on health. Therefore,
although each theme may have a
designated lead, they should ensure that the impact from other themes
was also taken into account when proposing the objectives for the Well-being
Action Plan. SA thought this work would help inform the partnership structure
but the prevention element was missing and would need some work to make sure it
was taken into account across the key themes.
PK agreed that prevention should be a priority but
should also risk assess what they would prioritise for action in the next few
years, including looking for funding opportunities and ensure this was
resourced. SA said it was important to
go through a process and develop a plan with opportunities and risks, focussing
on the key issues. AL agreed and said they needed to be clear about what
actions were going to be taken so progress could be tracked, and ensure leads
could cross communicate to ensure the linkages between each theme. PC also
agreed but highlighted that only key areas should be identified for action as
it was not feasible to do everything. He suggested Lead members should look at
the Response Analysis and come back with recommendations at the next meeting on
30 June. HJ agreed with this approach.
CH felt that the Chief Officers should carry out the Risk Assessment and make
an early impact as well as plan for the longer term.
Action: SA to cross-check Marmot proposal covers issues identified for Health in the Well-being Assessment
Recommendation 4
PSB members were invited to consider the following
recommendation:
·
consider lead
members and resources for the response analysis phase.
SA
agreed to Lead on the Health &
Well-being Inequalities theme and to align it
to the Marmot principles.
Cllr
AH was happy to Lead/co-Lead on any of the
themes but since the elections were due in May it would be difficult for any of
the currently elected representatives to commit to anything at the moment and
should return to this after the election period.
JC,
ST and PK – agreed to co-Lead/support on Community
Safety and Cohesion
JG volunteered SM to Lead on Environmental issues
(incl Climate change & Biodiversity) in his absence.
KP reminded members that subsequent to the last PSB Development
Day it was questioned whether Economic Infrastructure should remain as a
separate theme since this was already covered by different fora such as Cardiff
City Capital Region City Deal and the CJC
HT – felt that he could contribute to the housing
part of the agenda
SA also offered to cover the inequalities of access
to work as this impacted on health inequalities
PM felt that the PSB should only focus on what they
could realistically cover and that the Economic Theme should continue to be led
by the other fora. SA felt that Housing should still be part of the PSB’s focus
because of its effect on health.
JC said that Jobs and the Economy were still key
issues for the PSB to be taking a key interest in. However, whilst PM agreed it
was a key issue and that PSB should keep an interest in this theme,
realistically, he wondered what the PSB could do to add value more than the
other bodies already looking at this, particularly since the PSB met relatively
infrequently. HJ agreed that it would be best left to groups looking at this.
BO echoed this sentiment, commenting that at the macro level Economy should be
addressed at CJC/CCR level but the PSB should keep a watching brief. Cllr JM
also agreed that the PSB was not the most appropriate forum to be concentrating
on the economy when others were already responsible for this. CH also agreed
PSB should keep a watching brief and make the connections where necessary. SA
felt that aspects of economy and jobs could be picked up in the other themes,
especially as organisations within the PSB were large employers.
Decision on Recommendation 3 & 4
It was therefore agreed that the PSB would focus on
3 themes below with Lead/co-Leads attached (whilst keeping a watching
brief/making the connections with Jobs/Economy):
·
Environment (Climate and Nature emergencies) – Steve Morgan
(NRW)
·
Health and Well-being/Inequalities – Sarah Aitken (PHW)/Howard
Toplis, particularly re housing (Tai Calon)
·
Community Cohesion (including Community Safety and Substance
Misuse) – Pam Kelly (Gwent Police)/Jeff Cuthbert (OPCC)/Steve Tiley (GAVO)
The leads identified and agreed
above would be responsible for carrying out the Response Analysis phase for
their Theme area, leading to the production of the objectives for the
Well-being Plan
PC also set out details of the work needed in the
next steps following the delivery of the Well-being Assessment and the key
milestones were as follows:
·
The detailed response analysis work will need to be completed, and the outline
Well-being Objectives that will form the basis of the Well-being Plan to be
considered and agreed at the PSB meeting on 30th June 2022
·
The Draft Well-being Plan to be approved by the PSB at the meeting 29th
September 2022
·
Advice period Future Generations Commissioner (14 weeks) and Statutory
Consultation (12 weeks) (Dates to be confirmed)
·
Well-being Plan publication by 5th May 2023
Actions:
· PSB Coordinators to send Assessment of Local Well-being to the statutory recipients (under Section 37 (7) of the Well-being of Futures (Wales) Act 2015)
· PSB Theme Leads (outlined above) to lead the Response Analysis phase for their Theme area, leading to the production of the objectives for the Well-being Plan
SA presented the paper proposing that Gwent work
towards becoming a Marmot region. She said that Welsh Government was supportive
of the proposal and explained how it would work including the proposed next
steps. These included an in-depth data analysis of health inequalities in
Gwent, a series of workshops with the Gwent PSB and other key stakeholders and
a discussion with Prof Marmot which would be recorded and made available for
the PSB.
SA said that the Health Board would fund the work
required with the governance being provided by the Gwent PSB, and GSWAG
providing the function of the Steering Group. She would also need to look at
how Marmot would fit into the Well-being Plan.
PM said that SA had made good progress on this issue
working with Welsh Govt and others. He emphasised that Marmot also impacted on
the other key themes and all other partners had contributions to make, not just
those in the healthcare community. MH endorsed the proposal from a Welsh Govt
perspective and felt that her team had a lot to learn from this especially on
Health inequality and poverty. She was happy to act as the key contact within
Welsh Govt. Cllr JM thanked SA for her work and gave her support and agreed it
would have to align with the Well-being Plan. There was generally widespread
agreement with the proposal from all members who supported collective working
on the project.
Recommendation
Gwent PSB agrees to become a ‘Marmot Region’ and to
work with the UCL Institute of Health Equity to inform development of the Gwent
Well-being Plan
The PSB unanimously agreed the recommendation
CH introduced an item for discussion on humanitarian
crisis in Ukraine to prepare for a collaborative response for welcoming potentially
significant numbers of refugees. She explained that Welsh Govt had made it
clear that it wanted to welcome people from the Ukraine. She suggested that
Gwent should assess what was needed locally and look to respond on a regional
level. For example, should there be on reception centre for Gwent or local
authority level. Any action needed a make quick impact and perhaps consider
setting up a multi-disciplinary team that would report to the PSB.
SA agreed that a regional response was preferable.
JC had met with the Independent Police Advisory Group and that a regional
approach was best with joint responsibility taken by all public service partners
in Gwent. He was concerned that there was a risk to community cohesion, and
care needed to be taken because of potential of reprisals against people of
Eastern Europeans origin within communities. ST said GAVO were already working
with community groups and individuals who were trying to provide practical help
and support.
Cllr JM thought it was important to align with
existing structures and engage with Welsh Government to understand what the
requirements were. Newport already had some 20,000 people seeking sanctuary
which already had a large community from Eastern Europe and would need to consider
the impact, going forward. She also emphasised the need for safeguarding
considerations and that Newport were keen to provide support but warned that they
had limited accommodation available in the authority. BO supported this view
and said community goodwill needed to be harnessed in a safe way, sharing
resources and expertise across Gwent.
It was anticipated that Gwent could expect around
1,800 people from Ukraine if the UK accepted 200,000 people. PK said it was not
clear how long support would be needed but a group of the most appropriate
people should be assembled to set up the infrastructure as soon as possible to
coordinate a response for Gwent. PM agreed that the potential impact of such
large numbers was huge on housing, health and other services and that
safeguarding was also an issue. He said that refuges from other parts of the
world generally preferred to settle in Newport but hoped that other areas might
be able to contribute more this time. They should consider scenario planning
for accommodating different numbers of people, in locations close to schools
and health facilities with less reliance being put on Newport.
RG said that councillors were meeting people face to
face more now following the lessening of restrictions due to Covid-19 and there
seemed to be more public sympathy for Ukrainian people’s plight. He suggested
they plan for worst case scenario and coordinate the work together regionally
but with local delivery in mind. HT said that Housing Chief Executives were
working on the basis of accommodating 10,000 people in Wales (1,800 in Gwent)
and therefore would need to consider re-purposing non-domestic properties as
stock was limited. He welcomed any ideas on how to provide capacity to satisfy
the likely demand. SA explained that people would require early mental and
physical health assessments and also advised that Covid-19 vaccination rates
were low amongst the Ukrainian population. AL supported this assessment.
HJ reported that SWF&R had donated end of life
fire service equipment to colleagues in Ukraine and they were part of
International Search and Rescue and have a team on standby to accompany a
medical team deployment to the Ukraine border
CH summarised that members indicated strong support
for a cohesive Gwent response, making use of existing structures and to create
a Regional hub to oversee the work needed. She asked members to nominate their
“Go to” staff and send details to her as soon as possible so that partners
could begin working together promptly.
MH also provided a summary of the situation from
Welsh Govt:
“The Welsh Government has been clear that the
invasion of Ukraine by President Putin and the Russian state is an unprovoked
act of war against a sovereign democratic state. Until the UK Government gives
us clarity about the system for accepting refugees fleeing from Ukraine, we are
unable to confirm the number of refugees that we are likely to welcome and support
in Wales. However, Wales will play a full part in any schemes which are
developed. We have started planning with local authority partners, third sector
organisations and public service partners how we welcome people fleeing the
conflict and to ensure support is readily available in Wales. We have set up a
dedicated webpage setting out how people can help and sources of support for
people directly affected by the war in Ukraine.
At present only the family visa route is open. The
Home Office have announced some relaxations today. Basically if you have the
documentation and submit electronically, you will not need to visit a visa
centre. This should speed things up. The Humanitarian Sponsor route has been
announced but is not open and no detail is available as yet. We are in
regularly contact with UK Government (several times a day) as the position is
moving very quickly. Our intention is that we should be able to develop a
Wales-specific response, funded by the UK Government.”
Action: All Members to put forward representatives for Gwent coordination hub on the Ukrainian humanitarian response
SA also introduced the report provided, supported by
RH . She indicated that she would like a discussion on what should happen in
the next 12 months as it would be a “transition year”. There was need to catch
up on work that had been delayed for the last two years. She would like to
continue foster the public health and protection sectors’ relationships that
had been forged in the last two years. There was also a need to retain skills
developed and further training and retraining of workforces to ensure the
ability to respond quickly in future.
Vaccination remained a key defence for the future
with those most vulnerable being vaccinated periodically but this would still
be a huge ongoing commitment. They
should retain contact tracing for at least the next year as well as the ability
to respond to new future need.
The Chair supported the call for maintaining and
developing the system to enable public services to react to future needs.
Recommendation
The
PSB unanimously noted the actions taken by the
TTP service detailed within the report and agreed to support the continuation of work to explore transitioning of the
Service, to provide greater benefits for population health outcomes.
The TTP may also need to present a further proposals
paper in advance of the next meeting which could be circulated and agreed via
email
PK introduced the paper and explained that community
safety was at the forefront of what they do and partners were working together
to look at ways of solving future community problems. The Community Safety
Partnership network was looking to identify problems at the earliest stage
possible to make the biggest impact. HJ wanted to ensure that SWF&R were
included in this work and that the Serious Violence Duty was also included in
the remit of the working group.. Cllr JM was also keen to support this work.
The Chair asked for members to provide feedback on
how they felt the hybrid meeting had gone. The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday
30th June 2022 @ 13:00pm via MS Teams – and
all future meetings would be at 13:00pm start instead of the previously agreed
13:30pm start.
Draft agenda items were as follows:
·
Ukraine response
would remain an item on PSB agendas for the foreseeable future
·
The Draft
Well-being objectives. These may be outline only
as it will depend on how the work on Marmot had progressed
· Developing a Regional Scrutiny. HJ asked that all statutory partners should be
included in discussions, not just the local authorities
·
Participatory Budgeting. This concerned the fact that governance sits with the previous Local
authority area and a paper may have to be sent for agreement by the PSB in
advance of the meeting. ST had some comments on the paper and was advised by SA
to forward them to her.
·
PSB Terms Of Reference ( TOR). These will be amended by officials in advance of
the next meeting to further detail regarding values and openness, following discussions
at the PSB development day in February
AH gave thanks and praise to the Chair for her
chairing of the hybrid PSB meeting.
Meeting Closed
Action Summary
|
Agenda Item # |
Action detail |
Responsible |
|
2 |
Send Assessment of Local
Well-being to the statutory recipients |
PSB Coordinators |
|
2 |
Check Marmot proposal
covers issues identified for Health in the Well-being Assessment |
SA |
|
2 |
Lead the Response Analysis
phase for their Theme area, leading to the production of the objectives for
the Well-being Plan |
PSB Theme Leads |
|
4 |
Nominate representatives
for Gwent coordination hub on Ukrainian refuge response |
All members |
|
9 |
Forward comments on Participatory
Budgeting to SA |
ST (and any other members
who may have comments) |
|
9 |
Send feedback on Hybrid
meeting |
All PSB members |