Annual Self-Assessment 2023-24

SA1 - Well-being Objectives (continued)

SA1.7 - We will support the Welsh language within communities and through schools

 

Assessment of current performance – how well are we doing?

  • Much of the information in this section is taken from the Draft Welsh Language Standards Annual Report 2023-24.  This will be considered by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its September 2024 meeting, and adopted following that. This report would normally be agreed earlier in the year but has been delayed due to election protocols whereby standard meetings were cancelled or postponed until after the General Election.  The Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office has extended our deadline for publication. 
  • The number of calls to the Council’s Contact Centre has dropped compared with 2022–23, but the number of Welsh language calls has fallen slightly more sharply (down 12%) than the volume of English language calls (down 9%).
  • The time that customers have to wait for a response, when calling the Council’s Contact Centre has increased for both English and Welsh languages since 2022-23, with callers to the Welsh language line now waiting an average of 31 seconds (an additional 5 seconds) and callers to the English language line waiting an average of 45 seconds (an additional 4 seconds). The response time for the Welsh language line is better than the English line.  These wait times are within the service target for 2023-24 which are for calls to be answered within 2 minutes on average. The overall target applied to both English and Welsh queues. 
  • Number of users of the English website continues to grow (4% increase), while numbers of users of the Welsh site decreased slightly (1% decrease).
  • Usage of the Council’s My Account continues to grow for both the English and Welsh Accounts. The growth in the number of customers registering for My Account and to receive My Account communication through the medium of Welsh is growing faster than English (62% increase in Welsh versus 41% in English).
  • Interest in the Council’s Welsh language Facebook page continues to grow, with the number of followers increasing 29% from 309 in 2022/23 to 400 in 2023/24. Interest has continued to be boosted by coverage of the St David’s Day parade, Shwmae Day promotions and Welsh language education news stories.
  • Compared with 2022-23, written translations of all lengths in 2023-24 have remained at a similar level. 
  • There continue to be some lapses in the Integrated Impact Assessment process (this is a document which supports decision-making), which has implications for the Welsh language and more widely. During 2024/5, we will review the Integrated Impact Assessment process to make it more effective and streamlined.  This review is in response to a number of factors including guidance published by the Welsh Language Commissioner’s in relation to the findings of a recent tribunal involving policy making standards.
  • Welsh language skill levels across the organisation (and schools) remain largely static (868 at Level 1 or above in 2023-24 compared to 899 at Level 1 or above in 2022-23, and 170 at Level 3/4 in 2023-24 compared to 179 at Level 3/4 in 2022-23).
  • Whilst the number of employees completing Health & Safety Training through the medium of Welsh more than doubled from 66 in 2021-22 to 152 in 2022-23, there was a decrease (38%) in the number of employees completing Health & Safety Training through the medium of Welsh in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23.  This decrease may be due to many factors including the timing of renewals for mandatory courses e.g. every 3 years.
  • The re-provision of Work Welsh learning, in partnership with the National Centre for Welsh, has prompted an increase in the number of employees taking up Welsh language learning opportunities from 118 in 2022-23 to 203 in 2023-24. 
  • The designations of Welsh language requirements on posts advertised has remained largely static since 2021-22 and is currently 8% Welsh language essential, 75% Welsh language desirable, 1% Welsh to be learnt on appointment and 17% Welsh language not required.
Education
  • Following consultation on the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill in 2023, the Welsh Government has recently published the new Welsh Language and Education Bill, aimed at giving every child in Wales a fair opportunity to speak Welsh independently and confidently, whatever their background or schooling.  The details of the Bill will now be scrutinised by Members of the Senedd.  Support for schools will include working with the sector to increase the number of staff able to work through the medium of Welsh, developing the language skills of the existing workforce, and providing Welsh language learning materials.
  • In relation to the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), the overarching target of increasing the number of children in Year 1 being taught through the medium of Welsh has continued to be met.  As at the baseline year of 2020, 292 (22.8%) children met this criteria.  In 2023/24, this had increased to 333 (28.2%).  This is set within the context of a falling pupil population, i.e. a decline of 100 pupils between 2020 and 2024. See Evidence - Welsh Medium Year 1 pupils (Source: PLASC)
  • Work to construct our new Welsh medium primary school in Pembroke is now complete, with the school becoming operational in September 2024.  Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Penfro has been delivered within budget and within programme and is Pembrokeshire’s first Net Zero Carbon school.  It is anticipated that the school will admit over 140 children in its first year of operation, and this will provide a significant means of contributing to the Council’s WESP targets.
  • Ensuring that Welsh medium education provision is accessible to all Pembrokeshire children is a key objective of the WESP.  To this end, Cabinet have resolved that the catchments of Ysgol Croesgoch, Ysgol Brynconin and Ysgol Maenclochog be extended.  In addition, Cabinet has approved extending the catchment area for Ysgol Bro Penfro, i.e. to coincide with the opening of the new school, and this will ensure that all children living in the south west of the county can access Welsh medium education.
  • In terms of Welsh language specifically, the Meistroli retrieval practice platform which has developed in conjunction with UWTSD will be ready for September 2024.  This will provide strong support for pupils’ Welsh listening and oracy skills.  Corresponding support for Welsh reading and writing skills will be provide through the Carousel Learning retrieval platform.
Youth and Community Education
  • Significant progress has been made to develop sustainable Working Welsh provision with agreement from HR Learning & Development to include taster/introductory Welsh into the Corporate Induction process. These need to be embedded going forward.
  • Working Welsh classes have continued and taster classes have been delivered to reception staff.
  • We have developed sustainable partnerships with the 3rd sector to broaden and enhance the range of Community Youth provision, promoting diversity and Welsh language. A number of workshops and joint activities have been delivered through our partnership with Menter Sir Benfro. This needs to be embedded year on year going forward.

 

Evidence – how do we know?

Education

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how?

  • The Welsh language in Pembrokeshire is not yet in a position to play its part in contributing to one million Welsh speakers by 2050.  To improve the use of Welsh in Pembrokeshire we will continue to deliver Welsh Language Standards, deliver our Welsh Education Strategic Plan, and have been successful in our bid to host the National Eisteddfod in 2026 which will promote the Welsh language and culture.
  • Utilise the support and guidance provided via the Promoting Compliance Programme (opens in a new tab) of the Welsh Language Commissioners Office, which runs during 2024/25, to support and maintain compliance levels and improvements.
  • Education: Consider further catchment changes where applicable.
  • Respond to requirements emerging from the new Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill.
  • Relocation of Cylch Meithrin Arberth to school site, pending capital grant award.
  • Establish new Welsh medium primary school for Milford Haven area.
  • Further examine changing language categories of existing Dual Stream, and English medium schools where appropriate.

 

SA1.8 - We will focus resources on delivering core services such as highways, waste and recycling, public protection and leisure and culture that contribute to communities’ quality of life, ensuring residents live in neighbourhoods that are clean, green, safe and active

 

Assessment of current performance - how well are we doing? 

A number of these updates cross-reference with SA1.5

Environment 
  • The Pembrokeshire Eco Park project has progressed well in 2023/24, with construction in its final stages at the end of the financial year. The Eco Park replaces the interim waste and recycling facility at the Port of Pembroke. The move to the Eco Park is due to take place in 2024/25.
  • For the fourth year running, the Council will exceed the Welsh Government Recycling target for Wales of 64%. For the first the quarters 2023/24, Pembrokeshire’s average recycling performance was approximately 72%.
  • There has been an increase in fly-tipping incidents in 2023-24 when compared with 2022-23 predominately due to an increase in fly tipped bagged waste. During this time there has been a significant move to source segregated recycling and move to 3 weekly residual collections to the 4% of households remaining on comingled collection service i.e. flats and housing estates. Work has been undertaken with the Enviro-Crime contractor to commence fly tipping environment work in conjunction with education and compliance work undertaken by the Local Environment Advisors to improve this.
  • A new trade waste service has been developed and rolled out in line with the Welsh Government Workplace Recycling Regulations, enabling the segregation of recycling from businesses across Pembrokeshire. This is in addition to the commencement of an initiative fund project surrounding compliance with Businesses duty of care including holiday homes across Pembrokeshire.
  • Our 2023-24 street cleansing survey has found 98% of streets were awarded a B grade or above, which is generally considered to be an acceptable level of cleanliness by members of the public.  The all-Wales percentage of streets graded B and above was 95.68%, so the Council’s performance is above the Welsh average.  The grades awarded for litter to calculate an overall cleanliness score for the county was 70.6, exceeding the all-Wales Cleanliness Indicator of 69.41.
Infrastructure
  • The Council has carried out Welsh Government’s default speed limit of 20mph on restricted roads, which came into force on 17th September 2023. A public consultation was undertaken from 17th May to 7th June 2023, asking for feedback on 27 proposed ‘exceptions’ to the 20mph speed limit. On 3rd July 2023, Cabinet agreed that exceptions should be made but with minor alterations to reflect public feedback.  There has been considerable pushback nationally against this initiative and Welsh Government will be providing new guidance to local authorities to address some of these concerns.
  • Pembrokeshire is a leader in coastal adaptation, and significant work has been undertaken in 2023/24 for coastal adaptation schemes. For the Newgale Coastal Adaptation Scheme, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was under final preparation at the end of the financial year, in advance of the pre-application consultation which will be submitted to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority by the end of 2024. Engagement with landowners, business owners and the public remained ongoing as of the end of 2023/24, including the final stages of the on site ecology studies. A significant challenge to ongoing coastal adaptation schemes is the need to convince people of the imperative to address the issue, as seen by the concerns and pushback we have experienced in areas like Newgale and Amroth.
  • The Local Toilet Strategy (LTS) was approved by Cabinet on 24th April 2023, aiming to support the provision of public toilets in Pembrokeshire whilst reflecting the difficult financial situation the county is experiencing. Following concerns raised by Policy and Pre-decision O&S Committee, the LTS was re-approved by Cabinet in May 2023, granting Officers discretion to continue funding facilities where negotiations with partner organisations were ongoing. The LTS sets out the Council’s plan to meet current and future needs for public toilets, prioritising the importance of: funding availability; usage levels; effect on tourism; proximity to other alternatives; disabled provision; effect on economy; frequency of misuse; and the condition of property.
  • In December 2023, Cabinet was asked to consider 6 exception requests received by Town and Community Councils, who indicated that they were financially disproportionately affected by toilet closures. It was agreed that some facilities would be closed unless alternative funding was found by 8th April 2024, albeit there has been some more positive progress in some of these such as Carew (being funded for 1 year by CC, awaiting info if they will fund going forward), Moylegrove (going through a CAT (125 year lease) with slight delay due to land registry requirements), Newgale South (agreed to a short term lease for this summer and will be an annual rolling lease going forward), and Nolton Haven (agreed to a short term lease for this summer, CAT (125 year lease) being put in place).
  • In 2023/24, the Council had an inventory of roughly 2489.2km of road, 609.5km of footways, 810 bridges, 235 retaining structures, and 15,756 streetlights.
Culture, leisure and registration
  • Solutions relating to ageing pools at Tenby and Pembroke leisure centres have been progressed in 2023/24. On 11th March 2024, Cabinet approved the undertaking of a feasibility study for Tenby pool, following a structural report which indicated that the lifetime of the pool can be extended for a further 10 years or more. In Pembroke, a facility condition was completed, and a final report with recommendations was received in April 2024.  Further feasibility work is ongoing at both sites at the time of writing this report.
  • Performance of leisure and library services was scrutinised by Services O&S in January 2024, and through the Corporate Scorecard which was reviewed at Cabinet in March 2024. Leisure centre usage surpassed 19/20 usage (pre-Covid) in the year 2023/24, and memberships also exceeded pre-Covid levels, with over 10,000 members. The total monthly visits to libraries in 2023/24 was 348,471, significantly exceeding the target of 289,779.
  • To meet efficiency targets for leisure services, the Council is focused on increasing usage and income rather than reducing availability of leisure e.g. cutting opening hours.  Early indications are that this approach has been positive and we intend to continue to expand membership and income as a way of meeting future savings targets.
  • Work was underway to deliver the new Narberth Library on the old school site in 2023/24. Planning permission for this site was approved in December 2020. As of the end of 2023/24, the new library was complete pending gas heating installation. The library closed in its previous location in May 2024, in preparation for opening at the new site scheduled for September 2024. 
Public protection
  • A new suite of performance measures was created for Public Protection (PP) in 2023/24, including high level generic indicators capturing all elements of the service, and a comparable series of team-based indicators. Data collection, validation and reporting was achieved for quarter 1 and quarter 2, but stalled for the second half of the year due to loss of business unit support and technical problems.
  • Work commenced in 2023/24 to review the approach to triaging and response to service requests across the PP division. This will ensure that: resources available across the services are utilised to best effect; that tasks are delegated was far as reasonably practical; that common principles and criteria are agreed that can be applied in a consistent way across the service; that officers have a clear and consistent framework for assessing complaints and incidents; and that decisions are recorded appropriately. Further work on this has remained on hold pending the establishment of new Business Support Unit structures, and clarification or resolution of capacity issues.
  • In summer 2023, Animal Health and Welfare Officers were involved in various multi-agency meetings concerning the significant mortality in sea birds, due to Highly Pathogenic Influenza. Officers had to consider the potential implications to poultry keepers, keepers of backyard flocks and those rearing game birds, as well engaging in briefings and discussions with Government vets and others on the disease risk and guidance to be offered. PP officers were also asked to provide information on the risk to human health and on the proportionate advice for the public over the period of this heightened risk.

 

Evidence - how do we know?

Environmental
Infrastructure
Culture, leisure and registration 
Public protection
  • Housing, Building Maintenance and Public Protection Service Plan 2024/25
  • Corporate Scorecard

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how? 

Environment
  • Conduct a review of net zero and decarbonisation options, in conjunction with Fleet Management.
  • Continue work with the Enviro-crime contractor to try and reduce fly tipping in 2024/25.
Infrastructure
  • Continue to lead in coastal adaptation in the 2024/25 financial year.
  • Continue to develop and produce the Regional Transport Plan, in preparation for sign off in June 2025. 
Culture, leisure and registration
  • Commence delivery of works to enhance the lifespan of pools in Tenby and Pembroke.
  • Produce a new library needs assessment and use it to develop firm proposals for short-, medium- and long-term change.
Public protection
  • Resume collecting, validating and reporting on Public Protection performance measures.
  • Oversee delivery of an Empty Property Action Plan, and implementation of empties back into use.

 

SA1.9 - We will develop a startegy to reduce poverty and inequality

 

Assessment of current performance - how well are we doing?

  • Reducing poverty and inequality is a key priority for both the Council and the Public Services Board.  In early 2022, the Council established a working group, led by the Head of Children’s Services, to begin the process of developing a Poverty Strategy for Pembrokeshire.  In early 2023, membership of this group was expanded to include multi-agency PSB partners.
  • The focus of this group was to produce an evidence-based Strategy and action plan which was outcomes-based, appropriately aligned to the Programme for the Administration and which took account of local, national and international obligations.
  • On publication of Pembrokeshire PSB’s Well-being Plan in May 2023, this group became the main delivery group for the Reducing Poverty and Inequalities priority within the Plan.  Over the past 12 months, the group has supported a wide range of work focused on the poverty agenda.
  • From winter 2022-23 onwards, the group has utilised available funding from a number of sources to support poverty-focused initiatives in Pembrokeshire, including providing assistance to food banks and to support the local Warm Spaces campaign, which is part of Pembrokeshire’s Keep Warm, Keep Well initiative.
  • The Pembrokeshire Keep Warm, Keep Well initiative was established in October 2022 for residents of Pembrokeshire, to help people connect with local information, support and services throughout the coldest months of the year.  This work has been led by the Council and PAVS with support from organisations such as Hywel Dda University Health Board and also local voluntary groups.  
  • Following completion of a draft strategy in July 2023, a Pembrokeshire Tackling Poverty Strategy was published in early 2024.
  • The Strategy considers the priority issues that people in the county face when experiencing hardship, and identifies ways in which individuals can help to navigate themselves into better circumstances.
  • The Strategy was published in advance of an inaugural Poverty Summit, which was held in February 2024 in Pembrokeshire College and included contributions from The Bevan Foundation, National Energy Action and a local research project looking at the lived experience of poverty in Pembrokeshire (led by PAVS).  This Addressing Poverty research was an integral part of the development of the Tackling Poverty Strategy.
  • The Poverty Summit brought together a cross section of professionals and local leaders from a variety of organisations, alongside PSB members, to explore solutions to alleviating poverty in the local area.  The event highlighted the need for everyone to work together, across statutory, voluntary and community sectors, in order to alleviate the effects of poverty.  Attendees at the event were asked to develop their own individual Poverty Pledges, to demonstrate a shared sense of responsibility and to show their commitment to making a difference in Pembrokeshire.
  • A video was also filmed at the event where PSB members provide an introduction to the work of the PSB and explain how by working together with communities, the PSB hopes to make a difference to the lives of people living in Pembrokeshire.
  • The intention is for a Poverty Summit to be held annually, to share learning and experiences, with the aim of demonstrating how collective action can bring about change and alleviate hardship in Pembrokeshire.

 

Evidence - how do we know?

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how?

  • Review the Tackling Poverty Strategy on an annual basis to ensure the content is relevant and up to date and that the lived experiences of people are appropriately reflected.
  • Expand the membership of the Poverty Group, or establish a separate group, so that those with lived experience of poverty who are happy to get involved and provide their insights can challenge leaders to review and reflect on their work.
  • Further strengthen the membership of the Poverty Group by inviting representation from schools onto the group - school staff are often the first to see how poverty affects children and young people in our communities.

 

SA1.10 - We will build a culture of good governance in the Council to enhance trust and confidence in our decision-making processes

 

Assessment of current performance - how well are we doing?

  • The context to our well-being objective for good governance is a report that Audit Wales issued in the public interest in 2022.  Our response to this also incorporated actions to address recommendations made in a number of external reports that were commissioned around the time the Audit Wales report was published in 2021-22.
  • Progress on the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan is monitored by both the Governance and Audit Committee (April 2023, July 2023, Sept 2023, and January 2024) as well as Council.  Audit Wales completed the first phase of its follow up review report published in July 2023, with an additional recommendation to the original eight, namely that our actions should be sustainable, and we should ensure they will achieve the intended impacts.  As a result, the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan was revised to describe how we intended to assess the impact of our actions and assure ourselves that we are delivering sustainable change. This report, originally considered by Council at its October 2023 meeting, was updated and presented to Governance and Audit Committee at its January 2024 meeting.  The latest version was considered by Council at its May 2024 meeting.
  • Many of Audit Wales’ recommendations were best addressed by revising and clarifying our Constitution. The Council adopted a new Constitution (our ‘rule book’) at its October 2023 meeting.  The new Constitution is based on the best practice national model constitution and has been amended to reflect Pembrokeshire’s specific arrangements where appropriate.  The detailed line by line amendment and development of the Constitution was undertaken by a Working Group, necessitating long meetings and huge commitment from both Officers and Members.  Whilst adopting a new Constitution is not necessarily of direct interest to our residents, it underpins how the Council will represent the interests of Pembrokeshire and make decisions in an open, transparent and effective way.  It is also a direct response to one of Audit Wales’ recommendations.  The Constitution continues to evolve and the section on resources references a working group that has been convened to look at further refinements.
  • The Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2022-23 was considered by the Governance and Audit Committee in July 2023 and approved by Council at its 12 October 2023 meeting.  The AGS complements the self-assessment, and its conclusions are part of the evidence for this assessment.  The 2023-24 AGS is due to be considered alongside this document at Council’s October 2024 meeting.
  • On 9 January 2023, Cabinet approved the Participation Strategy and Action Plan for 2022-2027.  A Working Group tasked with developing and monitoring the action plan was established, and throughout 2023-24 and this has reported to both the Policy and Pre-decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Democratic Services Committee.  This Working Group has produced a more focussed Action Plan which was presented to Democratic Services Committee at its 20 February 2024 meeting.
  • The 2022-23 Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report was considered by each of our five O&S Committees during their June 2023 cycle, and the 2023-24 report will be considered in the September 2024 cycle.  The draft Annual Report shows how our five Overview & Scrutiny Committees have added insight into how our wellbeing objectives are being delivered.  Examples include: the development and retention of staff, the costs analysis of the climate emergency and provided direction on future challenges facing the Council, regular review and scrutiny of the Medium-Term Financial Plan, development of strategic housing policies. 
  • The draft Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report details how the Council has developed and improved the effectiveness of the scrutiny function by addressing the recommendations of the Corporate Peer Review, self-evaluation exercises and encouraging public engagement.  The Democratic Services team undertook targeted communications which informed the public of scrutiny topics to improve engagement. There has been an increase in public correspondence and submissions, particularly for contentious issues such as the air quality campaign “Stop the Stink” relating to Withyhedge landfill site where a petition received from residents was discussed, and the outcome was to make a number of recommendations back to Council.  This was one of ten petitions processed in 2023-24, with six of these either discussed or dealt with by a senior officer.
  • An analysis of activity on the Democracy web pages for the period of the report indicated that there have been 119 tags (mentioning someone in a post) an increase of 422% over the previous 12 months; with 119 people receiving these tags; 129,195 impressions (someone viewing the post on their screen) an increase of 456% over the previous 12 months; and 5091 post engagements, an increase of 356%. 
  • Overview and Scrutiny Committees called-in four Cabinet/Individual Cabinet Member decisions during 2023-24, the highest number in any one year since the Cabinet system’s creation in 2002.  The items called in were procurement of hybrid mail, local toilet strategy, Haverfordwest Transport Interchange (increased cost), and Haverfordwest Footbridge and Western Quayside Phase 2 Tender Award.
  • A programme of Member training and support is in place. The draft Annual report (Sept 2024 cycle) contains a section on member training undertaken in 2023-24, as well as on the workshops that were held to explore issues in more depth.  Of note was a series of workshops in Sept 2023, facilitated by the Welsh Local Government Association and Democratic Services Officers, to assess and evidence how effective our scrutiny arrangements were and what can be done to improve them.
  • Standards Committee continue to monitor complaints about members (including complaints about the conduct of Community Councillors) that are dealt with by the Council’s Monitoring Officer and/or the Public Services Ombudsman.  Of the 65 complaints received between April 2023 to May 2024, 35 did not require action or a formal investigation.  Of the interventions, the majority have been dealt with by the monitoring officer talking to the member. However, two resulted in referrals to Standards Committee.  A little over half of the total complaints made each year relate to community councillors.
  • In 2023-24, we commissioned the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission to undertake a community boundary review; the Council has a duty to undertake one every ten years.  A key part of the terms of reference of this review is the council size policy.  At its meeting in October 2023, Council agreed a council size policy whose practical implication is that any proposal to merge smaller councils will be undertaken on a voluntary basis.  The Commission consulted with stakeholders, including town and community councils, but it is not bound by our council size policy.  The Commission’s draft proposals (published in July 2024) are to reduce the number of communities in Pembrokeshire from 77 to 63 and to reducing the number of Community and Town Councillors from 689 to 597.

 

Evidence - how do we know?

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how? 

  • Phase 2 of Audit Wales’ Review of our progress against their Public Interest Report will be undertaken in 2024-25.  Any recommendations from their report will be built into this year’s work-programme.
  • Throughout 2024-25, the Constitutional Review Committee will be refining elements of the Constitution relating to: the budget-setting process; the Reserve List Protocol; approval of the Statement of Accounts; access to and speaking at meetings.
  • Our Participation Strategy contains actions around encouraging participation in the planned 2027 local government elections, and the start date of many of these is 2025.  Work on communication will feature and this will be guided by Democratic Services Committee.
  • Although public participation has increased at Overview and Scrutiny Committees, we will consider whether an overhaul of the current structure would increase engagement.
  • Continue Member training and encourage members to complete learning needs assessments
  • Complete the community boundary review which has been undertaken on our behalf by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission.  Whilst any change would not take effect until May 2027, a considerable amount of work will be needed in order to introduce change effectively.

 

 SA1.11 - We will be a financially sustainable and resilient Council managing our resources and assets effectively and efficiently, for instance by reviewing and optimizing our corporate estate

 

Assessment of current performance - how well are we doing? 

  • This section covers financial resources as well as commenting on how we have managed land and buildings, our property resources.
  • The context for resources in the 2023-24 year was continued increases in the cost of living.  Inflation in April 2023 was 7.8% which continued to fall throughout the year to 3.8% in March 2024.  Although Welsh Government increased our funding for 2023-24 by 7.9% (this pays for 74% of our net expenditure), the combined impact of continued inflation and a significant growth in demand and costs for social care, education and homelessness have reduced resources in real terms.
  • 2023-24 was one of the most difficult years for the Council’s financial position since its creation, and the quarterly financial monitoring reports considered by Cabinet tracked the growing in-year overspend and the measures taken to mitigate this.  In 2023-24 (once appropriations to and from reserves were taken into account), services overspent by £9.0m. 
  • The 2023-24 Total Net Expenditure Outturn deficit (which takes into account movements in non-service budgets) was £3.0m, an improved position from the projected £6.6m overspend reported at Quarter 3.  The reasons for the reduced overspend include continued vacancy savings, the moratorium on non-essential expenditure, and additional income (including grants) received during the final quarter of the year.  A one-off MRP adjustment relating back to 2020-21 when tolls were removed from the Cleddau Bridge and the collection of Council Tax arrears from previous years reduced this deficit to £253k, which was funded from the initiative fund. 
  • The services that overspent by the largest percentage amount are also those with some of the largest budgets, amplifying the effect.  Details are in the July 2024 Outturn report to Cabinet, and the largest percentage overspend is for Children’s Services £4.238m (21.3%) with a further £3.634m relating to Children’s Residential Placements being shown within the Education Services budget.  Although the percentage overspend for Adult Social Care overspent was smaller at 6.3% this represents an overspend of £4.536m. Adult Social Care has seen increases in client numbers and complexity of need across the main types of care we provide, and there has been a significant rise in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities clients / packages of care.  Whilst Education overspent its budget, the majority of this is related to Children’s Residential Placements.  The overall position for schools’ balances is more positive than predicted in Q3 and 49 of our 60 schools have surplus balances.  The Housing General Fund overspent its rolling budget of £2.284m by £0.664m (29.1%), lower than predicted in Q3 due to flexibility on using grant offset the increased demand for Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
  • Looking forward, the current Medium Term Financial Plan currently projects a funding gap of £78.2m (most likely scenario) between 2024-25 and 2028-29.  This is a result of the difference between the funding the Council expects to receive, and the increased costs of continuing to deliver services at the current level.  This figure will be revised in the light of the most recent information available and is likely to change.
  • The budget process for 2024-25 commenced in June 2023, some eight months before it was agreed at March 2024 Council.  The timetable and key actions are in a report to Cabinet in October 2023.  The budget process involved staff (at all different tiers in the organisation), members (as individuals in seminars, via committees, Cabinet, and political group leaders), trade unions and wider stakeholders via a public consultation.  The likely funding gap for 2024-25 was calculated and savings proposals were identified and ranked in order of achievability/likely negative impact on residents. In order to better inform stakeholders, we developed a web-hosted budget modelling tool to help illustrate the impact that different levels of Council Tax and Council Tax premiums would have on the type and number of savings proposals needed to close the funding gap.  February 2024 Cabinet recommended an increase of Council Tax for a Band D property for county council purposes of 16.31%, but at Council this increase was reduced to 12.5% with consequential amendments to the budget to make up the funding shortfall and a recommended council tax increase in a future year.
  • The 12.5% increase in Council Tax was the highest increase in Wales, but was in line with the medium term financial plan which seeks to move to a Band D Council tax around the Welsh average.  As a result of this increase, Pembrokeshire now has the fourth lowest Band D Council Tax for County Council purposes.  The process in the Constitution that describes how budgets will be set will be reviewed – see Governance section.
  • In parallel to the budget setting process, at its December 2023 meeting, Council decided to increase the council tax premiums for second homes and empty homes, to 200% for second homes.  Premiums for empty homes are tapered and a range of premiums applicable from two years, rising to 300% for a property that has been empty for five years or more.  In setting this premium, Council considered a wide range of evidence on the impact of second homes, empty homes and holiday homes on housing affordability as well as the views of people directly impacted.
  • The focus of the budget process tends to be on revenue spending; however, the Council has an ambitious capital programme and it is critical that its financial management is effective.  New methodology for governance arrangements for the Capital programme and looking at affordability over a 15 year period were agreed by Cabinet at its 6 November 2023 meeting. Cabinet also decided not to progress with Mutual Investment Model as a method of funding capital investment in new schools.
  • The Statement of Accounts, which also contains information on the Council’s assets, is published on our website.  The 2022-23 accounts were considered by Council at its 9 May 2024 meeting, later than the publication deadline of 31 December 2023.  Audit Wales issued an unqualified opinion on the Statement of Accounts, but made a number of recommendations relating to the delay in publication (the root cause of which is staff vacancies).  Audit Wales noted that the publication of 2021-22 accounts was delayed for similar reasons.  The publication of the 2023-24 draft Statement of Accounts has been delayed beyond the statutory deadline of 30 June 2024 due to delays in receiving the Property Asset valuations.
  • The 2022-23 self-assessment recognised that capacity issues are an issue for the Property service and the Council’s ability to progress its Strategic Asset Management Plan. A significant number of people left the property team over the previous few years, exacerbating existing vacancies.  A new Chief Property Officer has since been appointed and vacancies are now being filled.
  • The property service plays a key role in the acquisition of affordable homes to add to our stock paid for out of the Housing Revenue Account.  Despite a severe lack of capacity, during 2023-24, the service worked on the acquisition of around 50 properties into the HRA stock, a mix primarily of ex-council stock and other suitable acquisitions
  • Throughout 2023-24, following consideration by Cabinet in July 2023, we worked to develop options that will allow Haverfordwest Airport to continue to operate, but at no cost to the Council (the airport cost £119k in 2023-24, around half of the 2022-23 figure of £238k, but this level of spend cannot be justified in the current financial climate).  The development of options was scrutinised by Services O&S Committee, who undertook a site visit as well as considering option reports.  In May 2024, following a meeting with stakeholders at the airport the previous month, Cabinet agreed that a lease for Haverfordwest Airport should be negotiated and completed that will allow the airport to continue to operate at no cost to the Council.
  • The Social Partnerships and Public Procurement Act received Royal Assent in May 2023 and along with the Procurement Act, necessitates a change to our Contract Procedure Rules.  The Review was postponed due to Welsh Government delaying new procurement Regulations.  These were published in June 2024 and we are now working to implement the new requirements by the deadline of February 2025.
  • Our Revenues and Benefits service is one of the areas where investment in IT can save costs and allow customers to access services on-line.  During 2023-24, we restructured the Revenues and Benefits service and continued to Implement Citizens Access a module within our revenues and benefits software.  This is currently at the testing stage and translation and is ongoing.  This investment will allow customers to apply for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, or make changes to circumstances on-line.
  • Our Council Tax collection rates declined in 2023-24 in part due to the increased amount of funding due as a result of the second and empty homes council tax premiums.

 

Evidence - how do we know?

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how? 

  • Systemic under-funding of council services is a problem for all of local governments in the UK and is at its most extreme. Since 2020 a growing number of councils in England have issued Section 114 notices (akin to bankruptcy).  The high cost of delivering education, social care and housing services is often driving these financial difficulties.  Whilst UK and Welsh Governments have recognised this problem, there are not any firm proposals to tackle it in the short term.  For instance, whilst the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill, if enacted, will bring about some reform of Council tax, the earliest key aspects of the Bill (such as a regular cycle for revaluations) has been put back to 2028.
  • Although inflation is expected to fall further during 2024-25 towards its Bank of England target of 2%, we are expecting future increases in funding to be near zero, which will maintain a squeeze on resources in real terms.  The Medium Term Financial Plan is a live document and we will continue to assess the size of future funding gaps.
  • Although the 2023-24 budget setting process was more structured and transparent than in previous years due to the large funding gap and the need for consensus across the chamber, the recommended Council Tax increase for 2024-25 was changed at very short notice.  See section on Governance and budget setting procedures.
  • Clarifying roles and responsibilities of finance and service departments through implementation of Finance Business Partnering.  This will require buy-in across the Council.
  • Recruitment and retention of staff continues to be challenging.  A high turnover of staff over the past three and a half years has resulted in loss of knowledge and expertise within the service which will take time to recover.  A highly competitive recruitment market also means that vacancies can take months to fill, with a lack of suitably qualified Accountants in the market combined with a comparatively low salary offering by Pembrokeshire County Council. This slows our progress and frustrates our efforts to achieve our service objectives as quickly as we would like. 
  • It is essential that Financial Services have the necessary capacity and capability to support the Council to plan and manage its budgets effectively. The new FIMS system has been in place now for over two years and is becoming fully embedded with Accountants and services. This will be a key tool to streamline processes, analyse and support change.
  • The improvement actions identified for Property in our last self-assessment are still relevant, though progress was made for some actions, such as reviewing and updating the Council’s Community Asset Policy, a new strategy for allotments and implementing recommendation for Haverfordwest airport.  Although agreed in February 2023, our Strategic Asset Management Plan still requires more work.

 

SA1.12 - We will enhance the development of our workforce, improving skills and opportunities as well as tackling issues of recruitment and retention

 

Assessment of current performance - how well are we doing? 

  • A Future Workforce Plan (FWP) was developed in 2023/24. It was considered by Policy and Pre-Decision O&S in January 2024 before final agreement by Cabinet on 12th February 2024. The FWP aims to ensure that a strategic, targeted workforce planning approach is in place, by setting out known challenges to the workforce that may arise over the next five years. It will allow the Council to anticipate and plan for potential challenges in a less reactive and more proactive way.
  • The HR team have conducted an audit on the Council’s recruitment approach and are working through a set of key actions. The focus has been on improving how the Council attracts to roles, creating a total reward package, working on the appeal of roles, the use of social media and how the Council promotes itself as an employer of choice.
  • The Learning and Development team have continued spearheading the leadership and management programme in 2023/24. The programme has developed 31 emerging leaders and 24 aspiring managers, and a new cohort of 25 aspiring managers are due to enrol in 2024.
  • Various actions for Human Resources, based on recommendations from Audit Wales, have continued to be monitored under the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan (CGIP) in 2023/34. These have included: Undertaking a full staff survey; embedding a new annual performance and wellbeing appraisal system for all officers; developing core management competencies and incorporating them into the performance and wellbeing process; putting in place arrangements for ELT to ensure that all managers have regular performance development and wellbeing related conversations with their staff; developing a long-term workforce strategy; and reviewing and adjusting staff resources. Some actions, such as developing a long-term workforce strategy (FWP), have now been completed as of the end of the financial year. 
  • In 2023/24, the Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing team have been focussed on working on the safety data system and its implementation. As a result, the new Evotix health and safety system is close to being fully implemented. The team have also been busy with occupational health interventions, with 1004 screenings and 431 appointments.
  • Performance measures for HR have continued to be monitored via the Corporate Scorecard and are particularly focused on absence and employment. Absence data for 2023/24 shows that mental health continued to be the biggest cause of sickness and was responsible for a large percentage of Occupational Health referrals. As a result, the Council now has 49 mental health champions funded through the Welsh Union Learning Fund.
  • A guaranteed interview scheme was launched in late 2023/24 for Veterans and members of the Armed Forces. This will help progress the Council’s aim of achieving Gold status under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).
  • Staff well-being events have continued to be promoted through the weekly Pembrokeshire Focus newsletter, including the Winter Wellness event held at Pembrokeshire Archives on 16th November 2023. Staff attending the event were able to: receive a free flu vaccination; see a demo of the new Evotix health and safety software; receive menopause at work information and support; receive a Boditrax body composition scan; and find out about what support is available for staff who are informal carers. Other well-being events that have been promoted to staff in 2023/24 include well-being walks from County Hall, and express indoor cycling twice a week at Haverfordwest Leisure Centre.
  • Staff volunteering and fundraising have also been promoted throughout 2023/24 in the Pembrokeshire Focus newsletter. This has included bake sales raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, and the promotion of opportunities like volunteering for ASD Family Help youth clubs. 

 

Evidence - how do we know?

 

Improvement actions - what can we do better and how? 

  • Increase awareness of both physical and mental health issues within the workplace, and review all health and wellbeing strategies and policies to ensure that they are in line with legislation and best practice guidelines.
  • Develop a new Voluntary Severance Scheme policy, taking into account the changes necessary following the change to the Local Government Discretionary Pay calculation, and subject to decision by Council.
  • Undertake an annual review of the Future Workforce Plan.
  • Continue to support the case for the Council to achieve the Gold award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme.
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ID: 12564, revised 09/01/2025
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