Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Price, Chair, who was engaged in alternative Council business and from Councillor J. Tremlett.

There were no declarations of personal interests.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet  held on the 15th April, 2024 be signed as a correct record.

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The Chair advised that no questions on notice had been submitted by members.

The Chair advised that no public questions had been received.

Cabinet considered the Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 which identifies the 5 Workforce Strategic Objectives (WSO) that set out how we plan to develop our current and future workforce to ensure they have the right skills, environment, and values to deliver our Corporate Strategy.

WSO 1: Attract, Recruit, and Retain Talent

WSO 2: Grow Outstanding Leaders and Managers

WSO 3: Improve Workforce Engagement

WSO 4: Develop a High Performance, Innovative and Achievement Culture

WSO 5: Develop and Maintain a Safe and Healthy Workplace

The review, development and implementation of a Workforce Strategy was identified as a priority within the Authority’s Transformation Strategy. 

Sitting alongside this strategy is a comprehensive 5-year delivery plan, which will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. In terms of measuring success, a performance management framework was in the process of being developed which will be used to monitor progress and will underpin a new Workforce Performance Management data suite / dashboard.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 be endorsed.

Cabinet considered the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards Annual Report 2022-23.  This report outlines the progress that has been made against the outcomes set by CYSUR and CWMPAS as part of the joint Annual Strategic Plan for the year 2022-23. 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Mid & West Wales Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards Annual Report 2022-23 be received.

Cabinet considered the Carer’s Leave Policy which sets out the Authority’s commitment to supporting carers and the procedure for managing a request from an employee for carer’s leave, in line with the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. 

Whilst the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 became law on 24^th May 2023, it required regulations to set out how the entitlement would work. These have now been enacted by parliament and came into force on 6th April 2024 and from this date  employees will have a statutory right to a week’s unpaid leave to care for a dependent.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Carer’s Leave Policy be adopted.

Cabinet considered the draft Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for the Revised Carmarthenshire Local Development Plan 2018-2033. 

As part of implementing the content of the Revised LDP, it is often necessary for policies to be supported by supplementary guidance. This guidance is intended to support the interpretation and use of policies and proposals in the Plan. These are produced in the form of SPG which are required to undergo a formal consultation on their content prior to adoption.

The Draft SPG follows the publication of the 2nd Deposit Revised Local Development Plan (LDP) for public consultation.  It sets out a strategy, vision, strategic and specific policies, proposals and development allocations as well as areas where policies have been designed to protect and enhance the environment from inappropriate development.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL

9.1      that the Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance, as set out in the      report, be approved for publication for formal public consultation;

9.2      that delegated authority be granted to officers to update or amend     any factual, typographical or grammatical errors.

Cabinet considered a report detailing initial feedback and a proposal to discontinue the current consultation on federating Ysgol Rhys Pritchard and Ysgol Llangadog. 

In line with the agreed policy and process officers formally consulted on federating Ysgol Rhys Pritchard and Ysgol Llangadog with the aim of creating a sustainable learning community in this area of Carmarthenshire. The proposal is to federate the schools under the management of one Governing Body and appointing one Headteacher to lead both schools. The formal consultation commenced on April 9th and is planned to close on the 20th of May.

The consultation focuses on gathering the views of governors, school staff, parents, pupils, local councillors, community councillors, Estyn, unions and other stakeholders. Correspondence and feedback has been received from governors and staff noting that they feel that there has been insufficient informal discussions with them directly prior to launching the formal consultation.

Having considered the relevant guidance and feedback from key stakeholders, it was proposed to discontinue the current consultation to enable further work to be undertaken with both schools at the Exploration and Preparation Phases.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED

10.1    to discontinue the current consultation to federate Ysgol Rhys Pritchard and Ysgol Llangadog to allow further informal discussion with the Governors and school staff;

10.2    that the Federation Strategy be updated and the process for Local Authority led federations be reviewed.

The Chair advised that there were no urgent items of business.