Agenda item

Invitees:

-          Beverly Owen – Chief Executive of Newport City Council

-          Craig Lane – Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Bureau, Deputy Chair – Strategy Performance under One Newport Partnership, Newport Third Sector Partnership

 

The Chief Executive of Newport City Council (NCC) introduced the Partners involved in the One Newport Partnership (ONP) and The Deputy Chair of Strategy Performance gave a brief introduction on the role of the ONP and how it is linked to the Well-being of the Future Generations Act. The partner introduced the Well-being Plan to the Committee and explained despite the move to a Regional Public Services Board, they are still responsible for the delivery of the Newport plan which runs up until April 2023.

 

Members asked the following:

 

·         The Chair thanked the partners for the introduction and discussion ensued on the function of SWAY. The Chair suggested that the document could be more interactive on mobile phone devices.

 

Members were then referred to page 11 of the appendices of the embedded link for SWAY by the Chief Executive of Newport Live.

 

·         A Member of the Committee complimented the partners on how interactive the information is on the website and asked if the Committee could have the data on how many visits the page has had since it was published.

 

The Head of Policy, People and Transformation confirmed that they could follow that up and provide the data for the Committee.

 

·         A Member queried the mention of hard copies of SWAY mentioned in the report.

 

In response the Chief Executive explained that it has to be but assured the Committee they are mindful of the carbon footprint. The intention would be to make the document as interactive as possible and that a summary version would be made available. The Member requested for the Councillors to be given one.

 

The Head of Policy, People and Transformation advised that they will take the comments from the Committee and assured that they make changes to it via a range of means such as Twitter, internal communications with Councillors also as they appreciate that people would not be interested in a full report so they would do case studies and then refer to the report via the study to get people interested.

 

Well-being Objective 1 - Everyone feels good about living, working, visiting and investing in our unique city

 

Invitees;

-          Beverly Owen – Chief Executive of Newport City Council

-          Steve Ward – Chief Executive of Newport Live

 

The Chief Executive of Newport City Council outlined the key projects signalling the progress across the City and welcomed the Chief Executive of Newport Live to the Committee. The Chief Executive of Newport Live did a walk-through of the document and covered a number of the interventions and highlighted how the objectives and goals are intrinsically linked and crosscutting, signalling good partnership work.

 

Members were informed that in the case study area of the report, there are a number of initiatives that did not make the report and that this is a snapshot of information of the work being done. The Chief Executive also gave an overview of the re-developments case studies in the report which focuses on the night time economy as well as the day time and recognised the different needs of the communities.

 

Members asked the following:

 

·         The Chair expressed his gratitude to public services for the work they do and commented that the report is helpful in getting to understand the five ways of working.

 

·         A Member commented as he used to be a sports coach and is aware of the encouragement of sustainable travel. It was asked if there would be any plans to stop anti-social behaviour on bikes on high street/friars walk area.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport City Council advised she has requested to convene a discussion with the Gwent Police, and assured that the partners are aware of the issues that have transpired and that she has asked for a discussion with the Police, Newport Business Improvement District (BID) and the owners of Friar Walk. It was noted that Sustainable Travel is important to be encouraged but also to deal with such issues as Anti-social Behaviour.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport Live added examples of the Active Travel and the work of partners developing outdoor spaces for residents to go for outdoor exercise and noted there are significant behaviour change programmes being worked on such as opening of secure bike storage in City Centre to encourage people to cycle into the centre and feel confident to store their bikes securely.

 

·         A Member mentioned the City Centre and its night time economy which has ambitious people and acknowledged the challenge around behaviour at night. Concern was expressed that some of the fantastic developments such as Green Spaces may attract unwanted behaviour and that the council would need to work together as partners to combat this.

 

In response, the Chief Executive of NCC agreed and noted how that is a partnership issue and not just for the Council, and stressed that there are no simple solutions to such challenges especially at an economically challenging time. Member’s comments were taken on board and confirmed that they will be working with the Gwent Police and other partners to ensure anything they do makes it work to discourage crime.  Members were also advised that feedback from the committee is good and she would address that back when in conversation with the Police. Members were assured that the Police are consulted on the infrastructure work, the partners stay on top of that with the Police.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport Live recognised that there is a lot of work to be done with commercial partners and those operating within the City Centre. An example mentioned was Pub Watch, which supports a more centralised sharing of data and Intelligence. This works with the Gwent Police. It was noted that the work is moving in the right direction and gives confidence to operators that their colleagues can report in incidents quickly.

 

·         Members felt it was important to note that there can be day-time issues down the Market end, acknowledged that the plan is a long-term approach but stressed that they need to look into the immediate day time economy.

 

·         A Member added that youth services require improvement as the youth are in a transient age. The City Centre becomes an attraction for young people if there is nowhere for them to go.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport City Council explained that the Newport Offer is crosscutting and acknowledged that they face challenges but also a lot of opportunities. The partnership has set out a lot of the hard work, some of which have taken years to come to fruition, such as the Ringland Hub and the Pillgwenlly Master Plan. The feedback from the Member was appreciated and would be taken back to the partnership.

 

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation added that with the different partnerships, there are two parts of legislation, the Wellbeing of the Future Generations Act and a separate one that everyone in the country has where everyone sets up a Community Safety Partnership. This is based on City Centre issues of Anti-social Behaviour, Community Safety, Police and Crime Commissioner, they all work together and the work is deep on that. The plan is evidence based from assessing things such as deprivation levels, crime assessments for instance in order to know what they can do to help the City. As mentioned in a previous point in the discussion, it was noted that such issues the Committee raised are not solved by one agency.

 

Members were advised that the report work does as much as it can to support and see what the partners can do to support the City; the conversation on Community Safety could be discussed and the Council appreciates the problems highlighted by the Members. The Committee then made the recommendation that Community Safety should be considered as a work programme item for future scrutiny.

 

·         A Member wished to pay tribute to the work of the council and the partners working to support the legislation and praised Newport BID for their excellent work in the City Centre. As Nature Resource Wales is a partner, the Member queried what they are doing about the physical infrastructure to prevent flooding of the River Usk. The Member went on to ask where he could find such information as it seemed to be a missing element of the report as it would fall under the sustainable development principle.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport Live clarified that type of work is picked up operationally and assured the Member that there are developments on that. Despite that not being reflected in the report, because it focuses on the partnership activity, looking at the green infrastructure work and the LAEP and climate change work. Members wished for this information to be shared with the Committee with the further information regarding the flood plan.

 

Well-being Objective 2 –Everyone has the skills and opportunities they need to develop, prosper, and contribute to a thriving, sustainable city

 

Invitee;

-          Guy Lacey – Principal, Coleg Gwent and Deputy Chair of One Newport Partnerships

 

The Deputy Chair of One Newport Partnerships gave a brief overview of the report for Skills and Opportunities and highlighted the eight case studies of collaborative activities such as Lync Cymru, Youth Engagement Framework, and then covered the opportunities for Post-16 Education and the delivered adult projects such as the Reach project to support Refugees and Asylum Seekers.

 

Members asked the following:

 

·         Members thanked Coleg Gwent and partners for the excellent work that they are doing as it gives young people and residents in Newport a real chance. It was acknowledged that working with partners including the authority is key to engaging children when they are young and showing signs of disengagement in Education.

 

·         A Member highlighted that those who are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) place a challenge on the authority and asked what kind of engagement there is to get these young people involved and if they are able to have conversations by asking NEET’s about what their needs are. It was noted that it has an effect on the City Centre night economy.

 

The Head of Policy, People and Transformation referred the Committee to page 49 of the report where NEET figures are discussed. Members were informed that the partnership works hard together in tackling the figures and highlighted how the area is below Wales average, year on year. There is a strong partnership in Gwent on that and they have the data to evidence the claim. The Head of Service went on to commend Coleg Gwent for their work.

 

·         A Member asked the partners for more information on efforts that have been made on different sections of the community, but the performance indicators do not give any detail on which sections it has impact on in terms of participation, from a diverse cross-section of residents’ protected characteristics, socio-economic groups etc. The Member went on to ask how the partners would know that they reach older people as a section of the community, as an example.

 

The Principal of Coleg Gwent responded that there are certain answers in the data that young people are engaged for measuring. When they look into older learners, the reach project can measure the number of people they are engaging with. It was understood that it could make it hard to make the data meaningful if the engagement is bad if numbers would not be enough. Across the whole of the education area, the partner would remind all members of delivery of adult education, they would look at numbers of those people engaging in numeracy and literacy but that would not necessarily have further information that detail. It was noted how to measure any aspect of adult learning can be problematic.

 

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation asserted that there are examples in the report of the partners working with young people, for instance, Stand for Nature and other elements which made those objectives cross-cutting. It was explained that on participatory budgeting has focused on marginalised communities where they try to use data on that.

 

Well-being Objective 3 – Everyone belongs to resilient, friendly, connected communities and feels confident and empowered to improve their well-being

 

Invitees;

-          Dr. Bethan Bowden – Aneurin Bevan University Health Board – Public Health Team

-          Harriet Bleach – Nature Resources Wales

 

The Lead Partner highlighted that with connected communities, there is a lot cross-cutting of themes with Healthier Wales and Cohesive Communities’ objectives. The partner covered the case studies which mentioned the decision making power for communities which helped encouraging involvement. It was recognised that those marginalised in their communities may not be so involved, so they intend to give these individuals the ability to identify their needs to see what support is needed. It was mentioned how successful participatory budgeting has been and that the partners wish to build on this and referred the committee to page 47 to see the type of organisations benefitting from it. They measure success by building the evaluation into the process to monitor and also assess the impact of the projects.

 

Committee made the following comments -

 

·         A Member complimented the officers and partners on this part of the report as it was acknowledged that there is a huge issue of the increasing number of people not as engaged in local community activity. It was noted that the means of engaging with particular groups is good and that the only part of the budget where the Members’ ward is mentioned. It was mentioned how engagement should be key in all areas, to be aware of what is happening in all parts of the community. People want to see how this applies to their particular area as local residents notice if their locality is not mentioned.

 

The Member went on to advise that the officer and partners must be mindful on not missing out areas because they may be in Wards that are viewed as not being deprived, but however do have pockets of deprivation.

 

·         A Member commended the work of local activity in his ward, undertaken by the volunteers supporting by the work of partnership. The Member mentioned the restoration group’s work which was mentioned in the report, where the group looks to provide wheelchair access to the site behind the barracks and also to link roots with active travel routes.

 

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation alluded to the evidence mentioned in an earlier discussion which looks at how Newport is side by side, and how the partners are able to spot the small pockets of deprivation to relative wealth. The Members were advised that the very detailed community analysis is slightly different with the participatory budgeting. They encourage all of those from different backgrounds to apply and have evidence as a later item agenda as information as they seek to ensure that everyone else understands – they have received applications from across Newport. Members were informed how the whole plan is evidence based and Members were reminded that they are in the last year of the previous plan, but a new plan will be based with this in mind.

 

·         A Member made a comment stating he’d be surprised if an area in Caerleon was involved in participatory budgeting.

 

The Head of Service advised she could check that for the Committee. It was then agreed that information on the next round of participatory budgeting would be shared with Members when it becomes available so they can look to promote the opportunity within their own communities.

 

Well-being Objective 4 – Newport has healthy, safe, and resilient environments with an integrated sustainable travel network

 

Invitees;

-          Tracy McKim - Head of People, Policy and Transformation

-          Craig Lane – Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Bureau, Deputy Chair – Strategy Performance under One Newport Partnership, Newport Third Sector Partnership

-          Harriet Bleach – Nature Resources Wales

 

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation advised the Committee that she was covering for the partners who were unable to make the meeting. Members were directed to pages 79-97 which covers the green and safe spaces discussed and highlights the effective partnership work with an increase in activity in protecting the environment. The Officer gave an overview of the list of case studies provided in the report, many of which public such as the success of the Road to Nature from the Road to Nowhere, the Gwent Green Grid which supports the local authority on their verges and parks and went over the range of other successful green projects that the partners have been working on.

The Officer welcomed questions from the Committee.

 

Members asked the following:

 

·         A Member thanked the partners for their work on the environment. A concern was expressed with regard to the Regional PSB. The Member asked if they will receive more detailed information on what is happening regionally as priorities may differ from region to region.

 

The Chief Executive of Newport City Council advised that Gwent PSB would respond and it is applicable to the challenges across Gwent, the One Newport Partnership also focuses on Newport issues. It continues to exist as the challenges can be addressed in that footprint at the Gwent level. Members were reassured that the Leader of Newport City Council sits on the Board and the City has a representation on that; ensuring that they are at the forefront of everyone’s interest.

 

·         A comment was made regarding accessibility of the report. It was suggested that before the document is made public, that some more thought could be given to the layout as the sections all run into one. The Member queried if the partners could make it easier to follow and added that the introduction is very technical.

 

The Head of People, Policy and Transformation confirmed that she will take on those comments for consideration. The Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Bureau appreciated the point raised on the accessibility and explained that they face a dilemma on the requirements on the commissioning way of working so he advised they’d look to find a version that could get the readers straight to the information, so it would be easier to use.

 

The Chair and Committee thanked all of the officers and partners for the work they do and for their time.

Conclusions

 

The Committee noted the One Newport Well-being Plan Annual Report 2021-22, and wished to make the following comment to the Partnership:

 

-          The Committee noted the content of the One Newport Well-being Plan Annual Report 2021-2022 and the content of the Gwent Public Services Board - Local Well-being Assessment. The Committee expressed their thanks to the partners and officers for their support and time.

 

-          The Committee complimented how interactive the information is on the website and asked if the Committee could be provided with the data on how many visits the page has had since it was published.

 

-          The Committee requested that more thought be given to the layout of the report so that the format is more consistent across the piece, and easier to follow. It was also suggested that the introductory information could be reviewed to make it easier to understand in the Sway version.

 

-          The Committee made the recommendation that Community Safety should be considered as a work programme item for future scrutiny.

 

-          The Committee made the request for the Flood Plan information to be provided by the partners.

 

-          The Committee request that information on the next round of participatory budgeting would be shared by the partners so the Members can promote the opportunity within their own communities.