Agenda and minutes

Venue: Chamber - County Hall, Carmarthen. SA31 1JP and remotely. View directions

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Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from William Bramble (Chief Executive, Pembrokeshire County Council), Councillor David Simpson (Pembrokeshire County Council), Councillor Rob Stewart (Leader, Swansea City and County Council), Mark Campion (ESTYN), Martin Nicholls, (Chief Executive, City and County Swansea), Councillor Lyndon Jones (Scrutiny Chair, Swansea City and County Council), Jon Haswell S151 officer, (Pembrokeshire County Council) and Karen Newby Jones (ESTYN).

 

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of personal interests made at the meeting.

 

3.

MINUTES OF PARTNERIAETH MEETING HELD ON THE 3 FEBRUARY 2023 pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Shadow Partneriaeth Joint Committee meeting held on 3rd February, 2023 be signed as a correct record.

 

4.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES (IF ANY)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

 

5.

LETTER FROM CHAIR OF THE PARTNERIAETH SCRUTINY COUNCILLOR GROUP pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Committee received a letter from the Chair of Scrutiny Councillor Group, reflecting on the views following the last meeting of the Partneriaeth Scrutiny Councillor Group held on the 13th February, 2023.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the letter, as attached in this report, be received.

6.

PARTNERAIETH DRAFT BUDGET FOR 2023-24 AND DRAFT MEDIUM TERM FINANCIAL PLAN (MTFP) FOR 2023-24 TO 2026-27 pdf icon PDF 113 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Committee received an update on the Partneriaeth Draft Budget for 2023-24 and Draft Medium Term Financial Plan for 2023-24 to 2026-27.

 

The Draft Budget for 2023-24 was approved ‘in principle’ by the Joint Committee with formal approval to be obtained at today’s Joint Committee.  An email was sent to the Joint Committee Members on 27 March 2023 with each Member confirming their ‘in-principle’ approval.

 

The Draft Budget for 2023-24 and the Draft MTFP for 2023-24 to 2026-27 have been developed in consultation with the Lead Officer Partneriaeth and the three Education Directors. 

 

There have been a number of changes to the Draft Budget following the 18 May 2023 confirmation of Welsh Government funding for 2023-24:

 

·       RCSIG funding was less than anticipated due to the Welsh in Education grant element of the EIG being delegated directly to Local Authorities, so the budget for Business Plan Objectives has been amended accordingly.

 

·       Confirmation of secondment income from Welsh Government, this also being reflected in the staffing costs budget.

 

·       Confirmation of changes to the staffing structure and recalculation of staffing costs.

 

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that :-

 

6.1         The contents of the report be noted.

6.2         The Draft Budget for 2023-24 be approved.

6.3         The Draft MTFP for 2023-24 to 2026-27 be approved.

6.4         The SLA’s for 2023-24 be approved.

6.5         The contribution from reserve for 2023-24, in lieu of the Local Authority contributions, be approved.

6.6         Utilisation of the £1.492m reserves and balances from ERW to create a Partneriaeth working balance of £0.100m and a Partneriaeth reserve of £1.392m be approved.

 

 

 

7.

PARTNERIAETH PERFORMANCE 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Committee received an overview of provision and performance throughout the 2022-23 Business Plan cycle for noting and accepting.

 

The Joint Committee were informed that Partneriaeth is offering an appropriate range of support for its schools and local authorities (LA). This is evidenced in a range of stakeholder groups as well as strong collaborative working with LA colleagues. Officers are providing suitable bespoke support for schools and clusters.

 

During the first twelve months of Partneriaeth as a regional service, senior officers have continued to receive honest feedback from LA officers in order and have refined provision where appropriate. As a result, engagement, trust and quality has improved. It is expected that ongoing open and direct feedback between LA and Partneriaeth officers will be mutually beneficial to shape professional learning and leadership development.

 

In response to a query raised on the timescale for the survey to teachers, the Lead Officer for Partneriaeth informed the Joint Committee, that a survey would be sent to all Headteachers in a timely manner with all teachers having access through various networks.  It was noted that an update would be provided at the next Partneriaeth meeting.

 

Several comments were made thanking Partneriaeth for their valuable work.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the update be noted and report accepted. 

 

8.

PARTNERIAETH STRATEGIC PLAN/BUSINESS PLAN 2023-24 pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Committee received Partneriaeth’s Strategic Plan and Business Plan for 2023-24 for approval.

 

The Joint Committee were informed that the Strategic Plan for 2023-26 has been developed to give an overview of priority areas in the medium term, linked to areas of funding from Welsh Government.

 

The Business Plan for 2023-24 also reflected the priorities and had additional measurable targets to support Welsh Government reporting requirements.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the Business Plan for 2023-24 be approved.

9.

RISK REGISTER pdf icon PDF 104 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Joint Committee received the Risk Register detailing the risk profile of the region.

 

The Risk Register will be developed to reflect the Business Plan priorities for 2023-24 for presentation at the autumn Joint Committee.

 

It was indicated that the following risks were as scoring medium probability and high impact:-

 

·       Timeliness of Welsh Government Funding

·       Lack of clarity regarding functions of Partneriaeth

 

It was noted that ESTYN were currently inspecting Carmarthenshire County Council and their findings would be incorporated into the next Business Plan.

 

A proposal was made to review the membership for the Joint Committee within the standing orders, to allow flexibility on nomination of permanent members.  A report will be considered at a future Joint Committee meeting for approval.

 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the:

 

9.1 risk profile be noted

9.2 report be accepted

9.3 membership of the Joint Committee be reviewed and report to future Joint Committee meeting for approval

 

10.

ANY OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS THAT BY REASONS OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES THE CHAIR DECIDES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A MATTER OF URGENCY PURSUANT OF SECTION 100B (4)(B) OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair noted that there were no other items of business that should be considered as a matter of urgency.

 

 

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