Carmarthenshire County Council
Leader’s Annual Report
2015-16
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
1
Introduction
I can scarcely believe that a year has gone by since my election
as Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council in May 2015.
Becoming the Leader of such a successful council was
undoubtedly a great honour. But with that comes an enormous
burden of responsibility.
•
the Council has made good progress in establishing
improved governance arrangements which are now more
robust and transparent, although there are opportunities for
further improvements to enable Members to be more
effective in their roles;
Normally in these circumstances, a Leader has to rely upon a
degree of self assessment when determining whether the last 12
months have successful or not. But on this occasion I can turn to
no less a figure than the Auditor General ..The Wales Audit Office
undertook a Corporate Assessment of Carmarthenshire County
Council during the last year and I am proud to say that the
Authority was highly praised for having “a well established vision
that is driven forward by a strong collective leadership from both
Executive and Corporate Management Teams”.
•
the council’s arrangements for managing its resources have
served it well in the past, but the current approach in some
areas is out-dated and not joined up, which may limit the
speed of progress towards improved outcomes for citizens;
•
the Council has an established and effective approach to
partnership working;
•
the council’s framework to manage improvement is good
but lacks qua;lity and consistent application within some
departments leading to a lack of accountability;
The report stated that a clear framework of well-aligned plans and
strategies, agreed to with partners, has translated into priorities for
action. This has ensured that a strong ethos of continuous
improvement runs through everything the council does.
•
the council in collaboration with partners, is continuing to
improve performance across its priority areas
The Auditor General concluded that:
“Carmarthenshire County Council, demonstrating ambition in its
vision, with collective leadership and more robust and transparent
governance, is delivering improved outcomes for its citizens
although some out-dated approaches may limit the speed of
progress. He came to this conclusion because:
•
increasingly collective leadership is supporting a revised
vision for Carmarthenshire and sustaining a culture of
improvement;
Right from the outset I made it clear that, as Leader, my top priority
would be regeneration. By this I meant the creation of sustainable
places, where people want to live, work, invest and visit, whilst
enabling our residents and businesses to achieve their potential. If
our communities are to survive and prosper, we need jobs. By
improving the economic prospects of our county, we can have a
direct impact on the prosperity of our families and communities.
These are things that take time and just 12 months into this job I
shan’t pretend that all our goals have been achieved. However, our
commitment to the people of Carmarthenshire demonstrates that
we are in this for the long haul. We are not just about short-term
fixes for long-term problems. That’s why we have recently unveiled
an ambitious 15 year plan which aims to transform the economy of
Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Our regeneration plan identifies six key transformational projects which we
hope will create over 5,000 new jobs and make the economy of the county
more productive and competitive. The six projects are based upon specific
geographic locations across the county, with each focusing upon local need
and opportunity.
They are:
•
Ammanford;
•
Carmarthen;
•
the Carmarthenshire Coastal Belt;
•
the Cross Hands Growth Zone;
•
Llanelli;
•
the rural economy.
We continue to work collaboratively with neighbouring local authorities. Our
involvement with the Swansea Bay City Region has been particularly fruitful.
It is a partnership between four local authorities working closely with local
businesses and a range of other partners in pursuit of the common goal of
creating economic prosperity for the people who live and work in the region.
Cllr. Emlyn Dole
Leader, Carmarthenshire County Council
A range of business sectors are being targeted including the creative industries,
tourism, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, energy and environment, financial
and professional services. In addition, investment in key infrastructure projects
to unlock economic opportunity will be targeted, together with investment in
rural Carmarthenshire to tackle poverty.
The council will also develop a new programme of support to improve skills and
help longer term unemployed people back into work. Significant investment is
taking place to ensure the county is well connected and at the forefront of the
digital age. High levels of digital connectivity are now in place in
Carmarthenshire for us to benefit from, in both our home and work lives. More
investment is underway and planned within our transport infrastructure
including new link roads at Cross Hands and to the west of Carmarthen.
The scale of the projects is hugely ambitious and transformational. We know
that to be successful we need to think big and work closely with the private
sector. I firmly believe that Carmarthenshire has the right mix of elements to
create the foundations of a strong and healthy economy for current and future
generations.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
3
The Council’s
Finances
Despite the reduction in funding from Welsh Government the
Authority has been able to set a balanced budget for the
forthcoming financial year, whilst at the same time maintaining
service standards to a large degree. For a number of years the
Authority has recognised the need to do things differently and
prioritise how it wishes to spend its increasingly scarce resources.
All commentators seem to indicate a continued or greater
squeeze on public finances for the future as the UK government
continues to work to eliminate the structural deficit.
Over the coming three years reductions of £34m will need to be
delivered assuming the reduction in Local Government funding
continues as forecasted within our Medium Term Financial Plan.
This year‘s consultation process has again seen significant debate
on the budget and the Executive Board are grateful for the
responses, I am pleased to say that the additional members
seminars continued this year and have again been of great
benefit in both providing members with a greater input to the
budget proposals and gaining feedback for the Executive Board
to consider. I would like to thank fellow members for their input
and commitment.
The public consultation process on the budget has been
extensive, using a variety of methods to ascertain views on the
budget proposals. Significant feedback was received and I would
like to express my thanks to all who took part in the consultation
or responded to the surveys. We intend to develop this
consultation further for next year’s budget, providing greater
information on the options being proposed.
I am extremely pleased that the Council has adopted an exciting
and ambitious capital programme that reflects our strategic
priorities, vision and aspirations.
4
The proposed capital programme is now £226m over the 5 years,
and is aimed at delivering significant investment in a number of
key projects that will create jobs and improve the quality of life for
the people of Carmarthenshire.
The programme includes significant investment in areas like the
21st Century Schools, Highways, Housing and the Llanelli Care
Home provision, and we have also introduced some new exciting
schemes which will support the regeneration and the creation of
jobs.
“
Our budget strategy ensures, as far as
possible, that service levels and standards
are maintained. It recognises that people
are finding it hard in the current climate
and therefore the increase in the council
tax has been kept as low as possible. It also
prepares the authority for any future
reductions in funding that may lie ahead
Cllr. David Jenkins
Deputy Leader and Executive Board Member for Resources
”
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Full council meeting
Millenium Coastal Path
Gwyl Gymraeg, Carmarthen
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Managers Conference
Insight budget consultation
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Our Workforce
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Core values
Following the recent consultation of our staff and members we have now agreed revised Core Values that reflect the type of
organisation we want Carmarthenshire Council to be. Great care has been taken to reduce the number of values to no more than
five; making sure that they are written in plain language that is easily understood and free from jargon. They are a guide to how
we all behave in the workplace. The next stage in the process is to ensure that those core values become second nature in all that
we do as a council.
Core
values
One
Team
Customers
First
Listening
Take
Responsibility
Excellence
Integrity
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Yr Iaith Gymraeg
The work of the Welsh Advisory Panel, chaired by Councillor Mair
Stephens and the vice-chairmanship of Councillor Cefin Campbell, has
continued unabated, leading on implementing the recommendations
of the 'Welsh in Carmarthenshire’. We have already seen progress on
many of the recommendations from the field of Education to the
adoption of the Council’s new Language Skills Strategy. This framework
will set the Welsh language in the context of attracting and recruiting
staff together with development opportunities for everyone to improve
their skills.
Yr Egin
The Council has been preparing the way to introducing the new Welsh
Language Standards during the year. The Standards replaced our Welsh
Language Scheme from 30 March 2016 and has established five areas of
development for our attention. There will also be new opportunities for
us to co-operate with external partners, as we prepare a Promotion
Strategy for September 2016.
“
I’d like to congratulate the two Welsh Language Centres in the county
for all their hard work during the year, and it’s pleasing to be in a position
to co-operate with Y Lle in Llanelli and Yr Atom in Carmarthen in
promoting the use of the Welsh language. We have already witnessed a
number of exciting projects and events during the last year and we look
forward to another busy calendar of activities during 2016-17.
Yr Atom
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
”
The period of preparation toward the standards
has been a good opportunity for us to look at
the current situation within the Council,
prioritising actions to ensure the next phase of
delivery and promotion of the language
Cllr Mair Stephens
Executive Board Member for Human Resources, Efficiencies and Collaboration
Community Safety
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Carmarthenshire continues to be one of the safest areas in the UK.
Crime rates continue to be significantly lower in Carmarthenshire
compared to the average for England and Wales.
While there has been an increase in recorded crime overall in the
last year of 10.8%, a rise of 794 to 8,128 reported crimes in
2015/16, it is difficult to compare figures with the previous year.
This is because there have been changes made in recording
practices by the police, resulting in increased accuracy of
recording. Any future changes in reported crime levels should be
as a result of a change in crime patterns as opposed to being due
to an administrative change.
Successes have continued to be seen as a result of partnership
working between our key partners.
These have included:
•
`Trawsnewid/Transform` - the Integrated Offender
Management scheme has continued to target a cohort of
offenders by a co-located team of Police and Probation
officers working with a number of partner agencies including
the Council’s Housing, Children’s Services and Mental Health
and Learning Disabilities divisions. A reduction in crimes in
the last year by these prolific offenders has resulted in a cost of
crime saving of over £800,000.
•
A range of crime prevention work including work with
vulnerable people to try to prevent them being a victim of
scams. Police and Trading Standards officers have been
visiting potential vulnerable victims subjected to scams
received in the post, on the internet and from phone calls.
•
Support for the ‘White Ribbon Campaign’ against domestic
abuse was supported with councillors and officers signing a
pledge not to commit or condone violence against women
and girls,
•
The Council has continued to work with licensed premises
and other partners to address problems in Town Centres of
alcohol and drug related crime and anti-social behaviour.
Joint licensing visits have taken place by the Council’s
licensing team and police with proactive work at Christmas
and during the Six Nations games. Police continue to work
closely with Trading Standards officers to tackle underage
drinking and sales to young people.
“
”
Although reported crimes are amongst
the lowest in the UK, we all need to do
everything we can to protect ourselves
and our families from becoming victims
of crime.
Cllr. Pam Palmer
Deputy Leader and Executive Board Member for Communities
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
“
”
I greatly value the work Trading Standards
does to protect consumers from rogue
traders and scammers
Cllr Jim Jones
Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
9
Education and
Children’s Services
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Education
Pupils in Carmarthenshire’s schools once more enjoyed
considerable success.
At GCSE Carmarthenshire’s school pupils achieved their highest
ever examination results, for the second year in succession, with
the proportion achieving the coveted Level 2 Inclusive standard
(a minimum of 5 number GCSE passes at grade A* to C including
mathematics and either English or Welsh first language) breaking
through the 60% threshold for the first time, with performance at
61.1%. A level students maintained their high level performance,
with Carmarthenshire students continuing in the top five of best
performing Welsh council areas.
There was further improvement in school attendance rates,
sustaining good progress in this important area as regular school
attendance is vital to a young person’s prospects of succeeding.
Other education measures have continued to improve, with all
main indicators at or above expected benchmark levels.
Significant successes include:
•
Teacher assessments have improved at all key stages.
•
Improved outcomes in national literacy and numeracy tests.
•
Diverse range of other achievements in schools, e.g.
Carmarthenshire continues to have the highest number of
young people entering and completing the Duke of
Edinburgh Awards Scheme of all Welsh councils, etc.
Carmarthenshire’s schools fared well in the national school
categorisation for 2015 with 77% of Carmarthenshire’s school
categorised as “Green” or “Yellow” and no schools categorised as
“Red”.
The Council has bolstered its governance of education services by
establishing a School Improvement Panel to challenge and
support schools along their improvement journey, working
alongside the long-established and effective Corporate Parenting
Panel, which has had its remit extended to include responsibility
for scrutinising all aspects of children’s safeguarding. Both Panels
support the Education and Children’s Scrutiny Committee in
monitoring performance and progress and in advising the
Executive Board on improvement actions.
School Federations
The Department has continued to expand the school federation
programme as a means of strengthening leadership and
governance across the schools network so as to improve
performance and raise standards. Carmarthenshire has the
highest number of schools of all Welsh councils participating in a
federal arrangement with a number of successful federations in
place in the primary sector and the formal federation of Glanymor
and Bryngwyn secondary schools, the first of its kind in Wales,
already proving to be highly successful. This federation is drawing
national interest as a case model of good practice.
Welsh Medium and Bilingual Education
The Department successfully launched “Codi Caerau”, the Welsh
Language Charter for Welsh medium primary schools in
December 2015. The aim of the Charter is to encourage children
to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their daily lives. A
version for non-Welsh medium schools will be launched in the
summer term in 2016.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Ysgol Carreg Hirfaun
Ysgol Bro Dinefwr
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Ysgol Dyffryn Aman
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Children’s Services
The Department once more secured a very positive annual evaluation from
the Care and Social Services Inspectorates Wales of the performance of its
children’s services. It was particularly pleasing to note CSSIW’s commendation
of the effective strategic and operational leadership of children’s services by
senior managers and recognition that the alignment of children’s services
with education in an integrated department under the control of a corporate
director for children is a key strength of this Council. Furthermore, the report
noted continuing improvement in the quality of services despite an increase
in the number of children being referred.
The Department has once more reduced the number of looked after children
during the year, maintaining the progressive trend of recent years, which has
seen numbers reduce by 16% from their high point in 2012, with the figures
now being at their lowest level for almost 10 years. This has been achieved
through the refocusing of the work of selected front line children’s social work
teams, with an increased emphasis upon preventative work, guided by a
realigned family support strategy, which in turn is supported by a refocused
Families First programme and the expanded Flying Start programme. The
new model of working will continue to be rolled out over the coming year to
make the practice universal across the service
Modernising Education Programme
2015/2016 has been a particularly successful year for investment in school
premises, with £39 million invested in a number of landmark projects.
The pupils from the former Pantycelyn school moved into their new home
upon its completion and were joined by the pupils of the former Garreglwyd
unit for young people with autism, which henceforth will be housed in a new
purpose built specialist facility known as Canolfan Cothi as part of Ysgol Bro
Dinefwr. The pupils of the former Ysgol Tregib will join their peers in
September.
The following major projects were completed during the year:
•
Ysgol y Strade: an £8.2 million development providing a large extension
and refurbishment of the existing school premises.
•
Burry Port: a £3.8 million investment to provide new premises for the
primary school. This is the first Passivhous school in Britain, with an
exemplar energy efficient building.
•
Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen: a £5.8 million development of new primary school
premises.
Investment projects have been commenced at:
•
Coedcae: the construction of a new science and technology block and the
refurbishment of existing premises through an investment of £6.7 million.
•
Seaside: the construction of a new two form entry primary school with
nursery, at a value of £10.2 million.
•
Trimsaran: an investment of £6.8 million in the construction of a new
school with nursery and accommodation for Flying Start.
Preparations are now being made for the next wave of major investments
with projects for schools at Llangadog, Parc y Tywyn, Dewi Sant and Penygaer,
Laugharne, Llandeilo and Ammanford at various stages of development.
The brand new school premises for Ysgol Bro Dinefwr in Llandeilo were
completed in February 2016 bringing to a conclusion an investment of some
£30 million in this new school. Added to the significant refurbishment and
extension of the premises of both Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and Ysgol Maes y
Gwendraeth we are nearing completion of an investment of some £68
million in the Dinefwr secondary schools transformation programme.
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Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
“
Burry Port Community Primary School
”
The high standards achieved at A level this
year reflect the commitment of the authority
through its schools, colleges and support
services to all of our young people in
providing them with every opportunity
to achieve their full potential
Cllr GO Jones
Executive Board Member for Education and Children
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Ysgol Strade
13
Regeneration
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Wellness and Life Science Village
Carmarthen West Link Road
Carmarthenshire County Council is currently in discussion with its
partners on how to drive forward plans for a unique Wellness and
Life Science Village at Delta Lakes, Llanelli. The multi-million
pound Council-led project will be the first of its kind and is being
developed through ARCH – A Regional Collaboration for Health an initiative by Abertawe and Hywel Dda Health Boards and
Swansea University.
Last Summer the Council agreed to pre-fund the Link Road within
the Carmarthen West development and if necessary use
compulsory purchase powers to secure the land required. The
decision was subject to the money being recovered from the
developers as the development proceeded. Carmarthen West is
identified as a Strategic Site within the council’s adopted Local
Development Plan and is allocated for mixed use development.
The Planning and Development Brief for the site sets guidance for
the delivery of 1,100 houses, the largest housing scheme in
Carmarthenshire’s local development plan, together with a new
link road, primary school, employment space, a small retail centre,
open space and affordable housing.
ARCH provides a new model for delivering healthcare specifically
planned for today’s increasingly complex needs. The Wellness
and Life Science Village aims to transform the way the region
delivers economic development and at the same time promotes
wellbeing – partnering first-class health, research and life science,
with innovative leisure opportunities to help people live healthy
lives. As the Minister acknowledged, these are truly exciting plans
and form an integral part of the ARCH initiative that aims to
improve the quality of health care and also boost the region’s
economy and skills base in a sustainable way.
The concept of a Wellness and Life Science Village follows talks on
plans to build a new leisure centre in Llanelli and the council’s
desire to work collaboratively with partners in the fields of health
and academia whilst putting additional investment into facilities
and services to help prevent ill-health and reduce pressure on
front-line health care. Scoping work to fine-tune details of the
pioneering scheme is underway, with potential to include a stateof-the-art wellness and leisure centre, and life science and
research facilities, as well as the possibility of a hotel, conference
facilities and high-spec business suites.
The Carmarthen Western Link Road forms a key element of the
development and will link the A40 at Travellers Rest with College
Road, providing direct access to the Trunk Road network for St
David’s Park, S4C’s new headquarters and the University of Wales
Trinity St David’s Carmarthen campus.
Carmarthenshire Rural Enterprise Fund (CREF)
The £4m fund provides grant aid assistance to rural enterprises
and sole traders for the development of new and existing
business premises, where new jobs are created as a result of the
capital project. The building to be developed, improved or
extended will have to be based in Rural Area of Carmarthenshire
as defined in Local Development Strategy for Rural
Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
“
Delta Lakes
”
I firmly believe Carmarthenshire has the right
mix of elements to create the foundations of a
strong and healthy economy ensuring jobs for
current and future generations
Cllr. Meryl Gravell OBE
Executive Board Member for Regeneration and Leisure
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Cycle Route
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Transformational Commercial Property Development
Fund (TCPDF)
The total project cost of £6.66m provides an incentive to Commercial Property
Developers to stimulate the supply of high quality business premises within
Carmarthenshire by offering ‘gap’ funding support towards the development
of high quality industrial units and / or office accommodation. Buildings to be
developed will be based on strategic employment zones within the
transformational project areas.
Cross Hand Strategic Employment Site
Construction works has reached a practical completion with 8.5ha of land
transformed into a fully serviced employment site incorporating primary site
infrastructure, landscaping and flexible development plateaus. The official
launch will be in July. There has been significant interest for the site, with
over 12 ongoing enquiries. The site will provide the necessary infrastructure
to create a high quality commercial environment to deliver significant job
opportunities. The site is a key strategic employment destination within the
county and is well placed to serve the region. It is anticipated that the
development would accommodate 600 jobs. An application for funding is
currently being drafted, requesting approximately £2.4m of ERDF grant for
the South West region.
The Coracle Offices in St Catherine Street
The opening of commercial premises in the centre of Carmarthen was one of
the final pieces of the jigsaw in the redevelopment of that part of the town.
The Coracle Offices in St Catherine Street were built with the support of the
South West Wales Property Development Fund whose lead authority is
Carmarthenshire County Council.
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The total cost of the development was more than £666,000 and the PDF
grant was almost £300,000. The South West Wales consortium of local
authorities, (Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea)
is working in partnership with the Welsh Government to deliver a Property
Development Fund, administered by Carmarthenshire County Council in its
role as lead body. The scheme provides financial assistance for the
construction of industrial and commercial property with the primary aim of
creating capacity for employment in selected strategic areas of South West
Wales. Funding for this programme was secured from the European Union
via the convergence programme.
New office complex in Cross Hands
A new office complex has been completed in Cross Hands with the support
of the Property Development Fund which funded by the European Regional
Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The development at
Llys y Barcud, Cross Hands Business Park, was developed by Enzo’s Lettings
and built by Enzo’s Homes (Wales) Ltd to the cost of almost £955,000. The
PDF grant received was £429,295.88. The development, which was designed
by Sauro Architectural Design, achieved a BREEAM Very Good with excellent
energy rating. The offices can accommodate up to 54 jobs and 12 businesses.
Regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire
A new programme to support the regeneration of rural Carmarthenshire was
launched in October. The programme will be administered by the Council on
behalf of the Grŵp Cefn Gwlad Local Action Group. The LEADER programme
was designed to get local people, businesses and communities involved in
delivering sustainable, innovative solutions to address some of the economic,
social and environmental challenges facing rural Carmarthenshire. Grŵp
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Cefn Gwlad has responsibility for rural regeneration and has developed a
strategy which will provide a framework for LEADER activity within the
county.
The types of projects that might be funded include pilot projects - small scale
and time limited activities aimed at testing out a concept or to try an
innovative technique; feasibility studies to undertake research into a specific
issue or problem; and facilitation and mentoring support to organisations
and groups to help develop their skills and expertise.
In order to qualify for LEADER funding applicants have to be located in one of
the following rural areas: Abergwili, Carmarthen Town North, Carmarthen
Town South, Carmarthen Town West, Cenarth, Cilycwm, Cynwyl Elfed, Cynwyl
Gaeo, Garnant, Glanamman, Glyn, Gorslas, Hendy, Kidwelly, Laugharne
Township, Llanboidy, Llanddarog, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Llandybie,
Llanfihangel Aberbythych, Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Llangadog, Llangeler,
Llangunnor, Llangyndeyrn, Llannon, Llansteffan, Llanybydder, Manordeilo and
Salem, Pembrey, Pontyberem, Quarter Bach, St. Clears, St. Ishmael, Trelech,
Trimsaran, and Whitland.
The HUB
The Un Sir Gar Hub has now been open for 21 months. The aim is to help
customers to move closer to the labour market and financial independence.
The Hub’s long term goal is to support residents in overcoming their barriers
and find rewarding, long-term employment/training by utilising all services
available to them across the County.
Wales Air Ambulance
This project has been supported by Carmarthenshire County Council and the
European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The
Carmarthenshire Physical Regeneration Package awarded a Property
Development Grant of £707,156 to Hacer Developments Ltd. Llandeilo to
create new office and industrial space adjacent to The Beacon in Dafen,
Llanelli. The £1.6m project has created an office building of 650m2 and an
industrial building of 600m2 which can accommodate 57 jobs.
Since 1st March 2016 it has been the headquarters for the Wales Air
Ambulance and the industrial building will house the helicopters and
ancillary support services later this year.
Regeneration of the Velodrome in Carmarthen
We’ve also agreed to support the regeneration of the historic velodrome in
Carmarthen with a capital funding contribution of £286,000. The funding
enables a further £296,000 grant from Sport Wales, and will see the
velodrome at Carmarthen Park become a regional centre of excellence for
cycling. The track, which first opened in 1900, will be used as a training and
competition venue for cyclists, with an upgraded track and safety fencing to
bring it back into use. Carmarthen velodrome will become a hub of activity
serving the whole community, and would be able to nurture the future
champions.
Since June 2015, Llanelli’s Customer Service Centre (CSC) was relocated into
The Hub, initially for a three month period, whilst refurbishment works were
undertaken at Tŷ Elwyn. The move proved very successful, with benefits such
as increased footfall into Llanelli Town Centre and a more co-ordinated and
seamless approach to supporting customers. As a result, it has been agreed
to relocate CSC into the Hub permanently.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
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Swansea Bay City Region
The Swansea Bay City Region has submitted a ground-breaking ‘Internet
Coast’ City Deal bid to both the UK and Welsh Governments, which will be
worth more than £500m over 20 years. The aim is to address the integrated
universal themes and challenges of energy, health and well-being and
economic acceleration by harnessing the transformational power of digital
networks and the asset base of Swansea Bay. It is estimated that the City Deal
investment could lever as much as £3.3bn of output and £1.3bn of gross
value added for Wales, while supporting around 39,000 jobs in the region.
The City Deal provides a real opportunity to push forward growth in the
region and importantly the rural economy of West Wales. There are strong
foundations upon which to build, including the strategic employment site at
Cross Hands, creative industries boosted by the Egin project in Carmarthen
and ambitious plans for a Wellness and Life Science Village at Delta Lakes
Llanelli.
The focus of the City Deal on boosting broadband connectivity infrastructure
is vital for other key sectors such as tourism and the focus on health and
social care is also crucial for delivering better services across rural West Wales.
Ammanford
Having invited tenders for the redevelopment of the former Police Station
and Court House in Ammanford, we hope to be in a position to announce an
exciting mixed use development in the near future. The area team for
Ammanford has been looking in detail at what improvements the town and
outlying areas need and have drawn up a schedule of issues that need
attention ranging from from minor repairs to large scale investments and
developments, including the targeting of some critical "hotspots" and
eyesores with the town. Discussions are also underway with potential
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property owners in the town to bring buildings back into use and to develop
brand new employment sites within the vicinity of the town too - property
development funding has been targeted to achieve this.
We are also keen to enhance the Twrch Trwyth brand of the town and are
also exploring a novel way of introducing a public wifi network into the area.
This is an exciting time for Ammanford, despite several business setbacks of
late, the team are keen, enthusiastic and determined to make a difference to
our town.
Regional Engagement Team
The Authority has also secured the Regional Engagement Team function for
the South West Wales region. The key purpose of the Team will be to work
strategically with the Swansea Bay City Region Board in ‘regionally proofing’
applications seeking funding under the new European Structural and
Investment Funding programmes. The Team will also be responsible for
evaluating the impact of European funding within the region.
Visit Wales Launch Pendine
The project to develop an International Visitor Attraction Facility in Pendine
has been prioritised as one of 10 projects that make up the Visit Wales
‘Tourism Attractor’ project with expected grant figure between Visit Wales
(ERDF) and TMF to be in the region of £4.5 million. The Welsh Government
has issued an offer letter for £1.5m TMF funding and Visit Wales have now
confirmed they have had approval for overall scheme commencement from
the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO). The project now moves into the
mobilisation phase with a view to commencing construction in the Autumn
of 2017.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Pendine
The HUB
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Cross Hands East
19
Communities
20
Adult Social Care
The CSSIW and WAO have evaluated our Social Services functions
as ‘amongst the best in Wales’. This is a significant achievement
as the authority grapples with reducing budgets and increasing
demand for health and adult social care.
A significant focus on the departmental performance
management of departments, the budget and key outcomes has
been the key to this continued progress with real improvements
being achieved including:
•
A lower rate of delayed transfers of care for older people from
hospital to home.
•
Improvement in the consistency of community packages
offered across health and social care.
•
Real savings being delivered through better targeting of
preventative services.
•
A small fall in the number of adults with a learning disability
placed in residential care.
•
A small fall in the number of older people in residential care.
These achievements have been recognised through the
Authority winning a UK wide award for improvement and
efficiency placing the Authority in a strong position to implement
the Social Services and Wellbeing Act over the next year. Plans
are now well underway to deliver a new Information and Advice
Assistance Service to transform our first point of contact to Social
Services for the public.
We have joined with Pembrokeshire to develop a joint
commissioning service, pooling our expertise and purchasing
power to get better value for the services we buy. Our new
domiciliary care contract is bedding in well with improved user
satisfaction, improved overall pay and travelling time for the staff
employed by domiciliary care agencies. The sector has real
financial pressure on it because of the increases in the minimum
wage and we have been able to work with them and our inhouse provider service to ensure the sector remains financially
stable. We are currently working on an options paper to deliver
pooled budgets with health across older persons. This has to
make sense in the long run for users but finding the most
effective way to do it is our challenge.
We have launched our Older Person strategies and, through this,
we have established a commitment to retain our in-house
services at the current level. This represents an investment in the
Authority as a provider and ensures we will always be a provider
of last resort should the market fall short in any critical area. A
commitment to invest millions in our own care provision in
Llanelli remains and we are close to bringing forward plans for
this.
We have continued to develop and modernise our services for
adults with a learning disability and have a range of social
enterprises linked to employment routes to maximise the
independence of these citizens. In Mental Health and Learning
Disability Services we have seen a small reduction in the numbers
placed in residential care. However, much more work is needed if
we are to develop community provision to ensure
Carmarthenshire residents with a mental health or learning
disability remain living in our communities and maximise their
level of independence.
There remains a national challenge as to the suitability of the
legislation in relation to the deprivation of liberty of vulnerable
adults. This has created a backlog of assessments in all authorities
in Wales which we continue to find a challenge to meet.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
“
”
It’s tremendous that that the performance of
our social services has been recognised by the
Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales as
“amongst the best in Wales
Cllr Jane Tremlett
Executive Board Member for Social Care and Health
ARCH
Housing
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Social Care
21
We are well underway in producing a paper exploring the potential of a Local
Authority Trading Company for some of our adult social care services. It will
be interesting to consider how a third party vehicle, wholly owned by the
council, could increase investment and even find a platform for the
expansion of council services in the wider market.
Housing
Considerable work has been completed in establishing an ambitious
affordable housing strategy. The Authority is in a strong position as one of the
only large social housing providers in Wales to have delivered the home
standards. With good housing stock that is well maintained we have created
a platform for expansion of Local Authority run housing as the core provision
of social housing in the county.
In doing so we have built on the decision to suspend the right to buy
through buying ourselves out of the HRA. This now allows us to invest in new
homes through buy back schemes, partnerships with landlords and new
builds. This will ensure we are able to deliver on our ambitious plan to deliver
well over 1000 extra affordable homes in the next 5 years. Plans are underway
to create an alternative delivery vehicle as a way to add to support these
efforts. Of particular note has been the success of our social lettings agency
and our affordable housing plan allows us to expand this through working
closely with landlords delivering good quality private sector housing
managed by us.
After a rise in the level of rent arrears plans are beginning to have an impact
as work with the Housing Quality Network begins to have a benefit. More
work will be needed in this area over the next year as the impact of central
government benefit changes continues to impact on some of our tenants.
In public protection we have continued to deliver food hygiene quality
outcomes above the Welsh average with the sector delivering higher
standards than ever before. Trading standards continues to have a national
profile for much of its work. Of particular note are impressive initiatives in
financial education in schools and ground breaking work preventing the
financial exploitation of older people.
Leisure and Culture
Our leisure centres have gone from strength to strength increasing income
and user numbers through expanding the user base. Targeting GP’s to refer is
becoming increasingly successful. In this challenging financial climate and
with growing market competition we will face further challenges to reduce
costs and increase income over the coming year. Substantial capital
investment in our Gyms next year should pay for itself as we recruit new
members for what will be an outstanding offer at an affordable price.
However we will have to continue to reduce our cost base.
We are developing detailed plans for a new leisure centre in Llanelli which
will form part of the Wellness and Life Science Village.
Our country parks are more popular than ever with Pembrey hosting more
events over the last year than ever before and visitor numbers up as a result.
Events such as Park Run increase visitor numbers to our parks, promote
healthy living and contribute to healthy communities. We are pleased to be
supporting the development of a junior park run in Carmarthen town later in
the year and will be seeking other opportunities for an expansion of this
innovative social enterprise. This contributes to our goal of increasing the
activity levels of children and is already showing signs of making a difference
as more children become active in sport.
For our most vulnerable residents we have refocused our efforts on
homelessness to a model of prevention and early indications are that our
performance in this area is firmly in the top quartile in Wales.
22
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Our libraries are seeing more visitor numbers than in the past and whilst some of
our smaller libraries have very limited opening times a re-design of our mobile
service should improve our service in the more rural communities. As
technology changes it will be interesting to see the impact of an E reader loan
scheme we are developing.
Our archive service has had a difficult few years and needs substantial
improvement. As a result we have committed £2,000,000 for a new archive
service based in the county. This is much needed and we will look to consult on
detailed plans for this in the coming months. Whilst our theatres have benefitted
from substantial investment our museums need further work and the
development of sustainable plans for Parc Howard are now underway. The
county museum in Abergwili needs substantial work although the proposal for a
new cycle route in the Towy Valley will create an opportunity in this area.
“
”
We need to ensure the supply of affordable
homes reflects housing need across
Carmarthenshire. This is a huge challenge,
but one we’re prepared to meet
Cllr. Linda Evans
Executive Board Member for Housing
We aim to make Carmarthenshire the cycling capital of Wales. Investment in a closed circuit track and in the historic circuit in Carmarthen Park will enable us
to deliver on this ambition. We have expressed an interest in hosting an element of the Tour of Britain with events such as this aiming to place the county as
the destination of choice for cyclists in Wales.
Cartref Cynnes
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
23
Environment
24
Carmarthenshire benefits from Welsh
Government Transport Grants
Local Transport Fund
£1.3m for the Carmarthen Western Link Road, linking the A40 at
Travellers Rest with College Road. Providing direct access to the
trunk network for St David's Park and the University of Wales
Trinity Saint David's Carmarthen campus, relieving congestion
and serving these employment and education sites.
£450,000 for phase 2 of the Cross Hands Economic Link Road.
Continuation of the road from the point at which it currently
intersects with Black Lion Road northwards to join with the A476.
A transformational scheme of regional importance in the
Swansea Bay City Region Local Transport Plan, which could lead
to 1,500 new jobs.
£950,000 towards four walking and cycling schemes in the
county, the Amman Valley Cycleway, Urban Connections, Towy
Valley Transport Corridor and School Transport Routes.
Road Safety Capital grants £150,000 for safety improvements at the A485 Alltwalis –
Llanybydder including reduced speed limits, warning signs and
road markings.
£145,000 for safety improvements at the A484 Kidwelly to
Cwmffrwd including reduced speed limits, warning signs and
surface improvements.
£144,000 for safety improvements at the B4306 Hendy Cwmffrwd Route Treatment including reduced speed limits,
warning signs and surface improvements.
Road Safety Education and Training £138,000
Safe Routes in Communities
Glanymor, £165,875 to make improvements near Caedcae, Bigyn,
Lakefield & Copperworks schools.
Converting street lights to LED
The Environment Department is converting its street lighting
lanterns to LED units in a bid to reduce energy costs and CO²
emissions. By introducing technology that incorporates a gradual
dimming regime it is anticipated the project will deliver efficiency
savings of £648,000 year on year upon completion. Although the
programme will require a capital investment of £2.9 million the
funding stream will utilise a £1.4m interest free loan under the
Welsh Government’s Invest to Save initiative yielding savings in
energy costs of £410,000 in the first four years alone. A further
£238,000 would be saved in the subsequent reduction in
maintenance, vehicle and labour costs including night patrols.
Ammanford College Bridge
Works to replace Ammanford College Bridge with a new structure
was completed in the summer of 2015. The existing bridge was
replaced with a 3.6 metre span structure comprising of precast
concrete box culvert units to accommodate traffic of up to 40
tonnes. The £70,000 scheme was designed in-house by Street
Scene officers and the construction work was carried out by the
council’s Direct Labour Organisation.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
Bwcabus
Bwcabus continues to have a very positive impact on life in the rural parts of
county to the North of Carmarthen. It is now much easier for people living in
communities across the Teify Valley to access local towns and villages to do
their shopping; pay their bills and use other services.Before Bwcabus, many
people didn’t have a bus service or if they did, operated infrequently. Now
passengers can pre-book their journeys, six days a week, from 7am to 7pm,
giving them the freedom to do as they please.
This model has revolutionised bus travel in the area and stimulated growth in
the whole public transport. The growth in patronage has bucked the trend of
falling passenger journeys on the public transport network across Wales.
This has been achieved through innovation and investment, secured through
the local authorities, the Wales Government and European monies. The
strategy to increase patronage was developed in partnership with Bwcabus
combined with the development of strategic routes i.e. Cardigan to
Carmarthen and Aberystwyth to Carmarthen.
The strategic routes were modified to:
•
improve journey times;
•
improve the quality and frequency of bus services
•
introduce through ticketing;
•
integrate service timetables with improved connections with other bus
and rail services;
•
development of innovative demand responsive service Bwcabus.
Bwcabus has facilitated the change by enabling the strategic routes to be
modified and for communities to have access to public transport that would
not have been possible previously.
Businesses in Newcastle Emlyn have praised the service saying they have felt
the benefit of Bwcabus bringing people into town. The service is especially
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
good at taking people shopping but it is also important in keeping people in
contact, bringing people into towns to see family and friends and also for
taking family and friends out to rural communities to people who are unable
to leave their homes.
Bwcabus has also been working in partnership with health organisations in
the Teifi Valley to give patients access to the care they need. Living in rural
and sometimes remote areas of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, many
patients struggle to attend appointments. But unlike traditional bus services;
Bwcabus is flexible, more widely available, and journeys can be pre-booked to
meet people’s needs when attending appointments.
Biodiversity & Conservation
We are committed to providing and managing suitable habitat for marsh
fritillary butterfly through the Caeau Mynydd Mawr Special Area of
Conservation project. Over the last year we have:
•
Installed 1,435m of fencing to allow grazing on neglected sites or better
management of sites which are already grazed;
•
Reintroduced grazing by cattle or horses on five sites whilst improving the
management of grazing on another one site;
•
Provided water for stock on three sites;
•
Stock handling and access facilities on four sites;
•
Improved access to two sites to facilitate management works and to give
access for grazing stock;
•
Scrub clearance and removal of scrub trees to open up and restore
grassland at four sites.
We currently have 16 management agreements in place, including 75.13ha of
habitat suitable for breeding marsh fritillary.
25
Development
We have continued to hold Building Excellence Awards. Two schemes from
the Carmarthenshire Building Control Awards (Charles Church – Machynys
and TRJ – Ffwrnes) went forward to the Wales LABC Awards held at the
Millennium Centre, Cardiff during the Autumn of 2015. These two schemes
then went on to represent Carmarthenshire at the National LABC Awards in
London during November 2015, receiving national recognition.
Apprentices
During the year we continued through our project contractual requirements
to provide work experience for shared apprentices along with offering
opportunities through various incentives such as the LIFT programme for
those not in employment. Two young people secured full time
apprenticeships through the “Next Steps” scheme and we have provided
work experience for shared apprentices through CCTAL and CYFLE as well as
short term placements for Year 10 Secondary School students wishing to
pursue a career in construction.
Energy Reduction, Efficiency & Sustainability
We continued with our policy of integrating low and zero carbon
technologies into major works projects such as the recently completed PV
installations at Ysgol Bro Dinefwr and Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen. We also delivered
the first fully accredited Passivhaus school building in Wales at Burry Port
School.
We continued to investigate, develop and encourage the “fabric first”
approach in order to realise the potential for reduced energy consumption
and servicing related issues on new build and major refurbishment schemes
in order to reinforce and inform future projects, so as to make a positive
26
difference to the operational ratings, costs and as part of the contribution to
our obligations in reducing C02 emissions, particularly when combined with
sustainably and locally sourced raw materials. This resulted in the first fully
accredited school building in Wales being delivered at Burry Port School. We
are now developing two further schemes adopting the Passivhaus principles
alongside the BREEAM Excellent requirements.
Increasing utility costs, plus associated penalties for carbon emissions, require
delivery of ever more challenging energy efficiency programmes. To-date, the
Council has invested £2m in some 200 energy efficiency projects under the
SALIX programme. These projects are projected to save £7+m / 41,000 tonnes
CO2 over the lifetime of the installed technologies. One of these energy
efficiency projects is the pool cover at Carmarthen Leisure Centre. This
became operational during in September 2014 and saved £24,268 in the first
year. Pool covers have subsequently been installed at all the Council’s wet
sites i.e. Llanelli Leisure Centre, Amman Valley Leisure Centre, Llandovery Pool,
Newcastle Emlyn Pool, and QE High. Unfortunately, SALIX projects in 2016
have been delayed due to Procurement / Framework discussions.
Achieving a sustainable environment is a priority for the council and further
progress has been achieved over the last year. The amount of waste that we
recycle continues to increase. Progress has been made in steady incremental
steps over a number of years, resulting in 59.6% of waste being recycled in
2014-15. This is one of the best performances in Wales and is comfortably
ahead of next year’s statutory target of 58%. At the same time the amount of
waste sent to landfill has significantly declined, largely as a result of shipping
residual waste to Scandinavia where it is burned to fuel community heating
schemes. Just over 18% of municipal waste was sent to landfill in 2014-15
compared with just under 38% the previous year. This represents aboveaverage performance for Wales and is set to further improve once data for the
full year is included.
Door knocking exercises by a team of permanent advisers have successfully
increased participation in food recycling in targeted areas, although overall
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
participation rates remain low at 34%. The Council is about to pilot the use
of free biodegradable liners for food recycling bins to try to increase
participation to 60%. According to the National Survey of Wales, 85% of
people are satisfied with the Council’s recycling service, putting us joint
third out of 22 councils in Wales. However, only 60% felt that the Council
kept them informed about its recycling service which is amongst the
lowest in Wales. This suggests that there is scope for the Council to review
the effectiveness of its promotional activity’. Wales Audit Office – Annual
Improvement Report – March 2016
“
Apprentices
Cllr. Hazel Evans
Executive Board Member for Technical Services
Bwcabus
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16
”
Businesses in rural areas are benefiting
from the Bwcabus service. It’s providing
a valuable contribution to rural life,
health and the local economy
27
Conclusion
28
There is so much more that could be said about the work of the
council. I am fortunate as Leader for having a strong and
committed Executive Board to work with. As individuals they
bring a variety of skills and experiences to the table. Henry Ford
once said: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success." We came together in
May of last year, we kept together throughout the year and I am
pleased to say that we are working well together. I am confident
that Henry Ford would recognise that we have been successful
as a team and I thank my colleagues formally for their unstinting
efforts during the year.
I would also like to express my thanks to those members of the
council who have served as chairs and vice chairs of Scrutiny
Committees and other committees such as Planning, Licensing
and Audit. It is also important to recognise the hard work of the
individual councillors who strive to represent their constituents
in so many ways. Without your considerable efforts in your local
communities Carmarthenshire wouldn’t be half as successful.
Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank the many
thousands of people who work for Carmarthenshire County
Council. Over the last 12 months I have had the pleasure of
meeting a great many members of staff in their various
workplaces and I have been taken aback by the degree of
commitment and dedication shown by so many. It’s my
intention carry on meeting members of staff at every level over
the next few months so that I can begin to appreciate fully how
the council works and gain a holistic view of the authority.
Ultimately they are the people who deliver the services and they
are the most important asset that we have. They are the people
who make Carmarthenshire stand out as one of the best
councils in Wales.
Carmarthenshire County Council Leader’s Annual Report | 2015-16