Agenda and minutes

Cllr John Harris declared that he is Welsh Champion for the Council.

The minutes of the previous meeting held 26^th April 2024 were confirmed as a true record.

a)    Officer presentation

b)    Committee questioning and discussion

c)     Formation of comments and recommendations

Invitees:

-        Rhys Cornwall – Strategic Director – Transformation and Corporate

-        Tracy McKim – Head of People, Policy and Transformation

-        Janice Dent – Policy and Partnership Manager

-        Joseph Chambers – Welsh Language Officer

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation (PPT) gave an overview, and the Policy and Partnership Manager presented the report to the Committee.

The following was discussed:

·       The Committee queried whether the Eisteddfod discussed in the report was a specific Newport event. The Committee were advised that it was a mini-Eisteddfod, a discrete Newport event separate from the National Eisteddfod. 

·       The Committee expressed concern  about the equitable uptake of Welsh in schools following similar issues raised last year. The Committee were informed that data would be included in the Welsh Education report which goes to the Performance Scrutiny Committee – People but could be referenced here if desired. The Committee stated that speaking Welsh will be more important in the future, so ensuring equitable uptake is crucial. The Strategic Director advised the Committee they might wish to contact the Performance Scrutiny Committee – People to request they focus on the uptake of Welsh medium education when scrutinising the Welsh Education report.

·       The Committee queried where copies of the referenced Welsh Language Standards can be found. The Committee were informed that links are within the report but can be provided separately if required.

·       The Committee enquired how successes were monitored within the 5-year Welsh Language plan. The Committee were advised that there were tables in the report which outlined some of the data used, but wider reporting came from Census data. They were informed that Welsh medium student numbers are increasing yearly. The Strategic Director informed the Committee that Census data did not provide the whole picture as during the period between 2011 and 2021, Newport’s population increased but the proportion of Welsh speakers dropped. They advised that the awareness and accessibility of the Welsh language and Welsh medium education needed to be promoted to sections of the population where Welsh is not a native language..

·       The Committee noted the focus on Welsh speaker recruitment, retention, and development across all service areas of the Council, and that Appendix 2 showed areas needing more development, with Strategic Directors at basic level only. The Committee enquired about plans for concentrating on the areas of the Council with greatest need. The Committee were advised of a 10-hour online basic course, with focus on areas like Social Services and Education due to requirements. The Welsh Language Officer also promoted the use of Welsh in employment, such as jobs available within the Council, at Welsh medium schools. Incidental Welsh is widely used across the organisation. The Policy and Partnerships Manager noted that there were 4 Welsh speaking contact centre staff. The Strategic Director informed the Committee the Chief Executive Officer used Welsh regularly and the Strategic Director had committed to take the 10-hour course. They highlighted that the previous model was challenging for senior staff due to time constraints  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

a)    Officer presentation

b)    Committee questioning and discussion

c)     Formation of comments and recommendations

Invitees:

-        Katharine Majer – Deputy Democratic and Electoral Service Manager

-        Neil Barnett – Scrutiny Adviser

The Deputy Democratic and Electoral Services Manager gave an overview, and the Scrutiny Adviser presented the report to the Committee.

The following was discussed:

·       The Chair asked the Committee if they were content with the accuracy of the report, to which the Committee agreed.

·       The Committee stated that the report describes the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee’s (OSMC) role of listening to public views and ensuring their voice is heard by broadcasting meetings and providing a contact address. Concern was raised that this feels underwhelming and more should be done by Elected Members to obtain public views on issues and ensure their voice is heard. The Scrutiny Adviser informed the Committee that the public can request items be added to agendas, which would be reviewed for value in discussing at Scrutiny Committees.

·       The Committee stated a similar public engagement discussion occurred at the Democratic Services Committee, and suggested writing to ask if a Standing Order could be put in place about meeting the public bi-annually. The Deputy Democratic and Electoral Services Manager advised the Committee that the Participation Strategy promoted access to the Council’s Scrutiny function, including meeting information and recordings. Improvements have been made to the Council’s YouTube channel to make it more accessible, and work was ongoing with the Public Relations team to boost public engagement with Scrutiny updates on social media. They agreed with Committee that more public engagement was important and that increasing visibility of the Scrutiny function would assist in this aim

·       The Committee enquired about the viewing figures for meetings over the last year. The Committee were informed the figures are in the report, but OSMC appeared to be the most popular and views for each Committee were tracked.

·       The Committee stated the report is detailed but felt it was hard to get an understanding of the value of Scrutiny. The Scrutiny Adviser informed the Committee that their comments and recommendations go to appropriate officers and Cabinet Members. They advised that outcomes monitoring would be reintroduced this year to provide information on what recommendations were taken or reasons if not.

·       The Committee stated the Council structure including Scrutiny functions is set by the Senedd, limiting flexibility on Scrutiny Committee types, but control existed over what is brought to Committees. The Committee queried whether officers could look at neighbouring authorities' Scrutiny functions to ascertain useful information. The Deputy Democratic and Electoral Services Manager informed the Committee that although Scrutiny is a statutory function, there is variation on how the committees are set up in different authorities. They agreed that peer review was a useful tool and one the team did engage in regularly.   

·       The Committee highlighted the recent Policy Review Group as an excellent example of effective Scrutiny, with clear outcomes, as the group’s findings were accepted by Cabinet and work was currently being undertaking following the recommendations.

Comments and recommendations

• To improve public engagement with and visibility  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

a)      Actions Arising (Appendix 1)

b)      Draft Forward Work Programme 2024-25 (Appendix 2)

Invitee:

-        Neil Barnett – Scrutiny Adviser

1. Actions Arising

The Scrutiny Adviser noted that the outstanding actions in relation to the Corporate Safeguarding Annual Report 2023-24 have been chased with the Head of Safeguarding.

2. Draft Forward Work Programme 2024-25

The Scrutiny Adviser presented the Draft Forward Work Programme for consideration and   outlined the scheduled dates of meetings and the proposed agenda items. The Chair noted that on the 27^th September 2024 he have been asked to attend the Cardiff City Regional Deal so would like to keep that date free.