Prepared in line with Welsh Government statutory guidance on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, Shared Purpose: Shared Future.
Reviewed by Pembrokeshire Public Services Board on 28th June 2022.
Pembrokeshire Public Services Board or PSB (“the Board”) is a statutory board established by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The purpose of the Board is to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Pembrokeshire.
In pursuing this purpose the Board will contribute to the national well-being goals. These are
In conducting its business the Board will act in accordance with the ‘sustainable development principle’, that is, acting in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This will mean taking decisions and working in ways that take the following into account:
The Board has four main functions:
The statutory members of the Board are:
A nominated representative may be designated to substitute for any of the named persons above. The Leader of the Council may only designate another member of the Council’s Cabinet.
Any designated representative must have the authority to make decisions on behalf of their organisation.
The Board must invite specified statutory invitees to participate in the Board’s activity. These are:
The Board may invite any other bodies / persons who exercise functions of a public nature to participate in the Board’s activity. The current non-statutory invitees are:
Invited participants are not required to accept an invitation. However, once an invitation is accepted, invited participants are expected to participate fully in the activities of the Board and to work jointly with the Board in order to meet its Well-being duty, including in delivering the functions stated
The Board will also engage as appropriate with other key partners who have a material interest in the well-being of the area, or who deliver important public services, in the preparation, implementation and delivery of the work of the Board. These partners include but are not limited to:
The Board can require invited participants and other partners to provide information about any action they take that may contribute to achieving the Well-being goals. However, they are not required to provide information if:
If a participant or partner decides not to provide information the Board has requested it must provide the Board with written reasons for its decision.
The term of office of the Chair and Vice-Chair is three years and for a maximum of two terms.
The Board must hold a meeting, chaired by Pembrokeshire County Council, no later than 60 days after the date on which the Board is established. The Board must also hold a “mandatory meeting” no later than 60 days after each subsequent ordinary election of councillors, an ordinary election being one where all seats on a council are up for election or re-election. At a mandatory meeting the Board must:
There will be at least five meetings of the Board each calendar year, at an agreed time and venue. The agenda and invitation for each meeting will specify if the meeting will be held in person or virtually. Other meetings may be held as appropriate.
The protocol for meetings will be as follows:
Meeting dates for the following year will be circulated in August. Statutory and non-statutory members of the Board are asked to prioritise PSB meetings and diarise them as soon as possible to ensure consistency in representation and attendance.
The quorum of a Board meeting is all four of its statutory members (or designated representative with the authority to make decisions on behalf of their organisation).
Board decisions (for example the agreement of the Well-being Assessment and Well-being Plan) are only valid when made jointly by the Board and with all statutory members present.
In the event of a vote the Board will operate on the principle of one vote per organisation / agency regardless of the number of representatives from an organisation / agency present at a meeting.
In the event of a disagreement between members, it is the responsibility of the Chair to mediate a resolution and to present this to the next available meeting of the Board or to a special meeting if required.
Members of the Board are required to let the PSB know of any conflicts of interest and should be aware of their own organisation’s policies and procedures around issues such as whistleblowing.
The Board will prepare and publish an annual report no later than 14 months after the publication of its first Well-being Plan. Subsequently, an annual report will be published no later than one year after the publication of each previous report.
A copy of the annual report must be sent to Welsh Ministers, the Future Generations Commissioner, the Auditor General for Wales and the Partnerships Panel of Pembrokeshire County Council (see point 26).
In order to provide democratic accountability, the local authority must designate one of its overview and scrutiny committees with responsibility for scrutinising the effectiveness of the Board and its work. The local authority has established a Partnerships Panel for this purpose, which is a standing panel of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The designated scrutiny committee and/or panel can require any member of the Board to attend one of its meetings to give evidence but only in respect of the exercise of joint functions conferred on them as a member of the Board. This includes any person or body that has accepted an invitation to participate in the activity of the Board.
The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires partners to work differently and the Board is committed towards changing behaviours and implementing different ways of working from that which existed under previous partnership arrangements. The Board recognises that there is no one-size fits all model to delivery and that a mixed approach, which allows the Board to remain agile and to retain flexibility around utilising different methods or mechanisms, will provide a more dynamic means of delivering on its objectives.
Meetings of the Board are open to members of the public to observe and to ask questions on any substantive agenda item with the prior consent of the Chair.
The Board will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the public voice is heard and helps to shape both the Well-being Assessment and the Well-being Plan. The Board is committed to engaging with people and communities in its area, including children and young people, Welsh speakers, and those with protected characteristics, in all aspects of its work.
The Board will liaise with those town and community councils subject to the well-being duty when setting objectives in its Well-being Plan.
A copy of the Well-being Assessment, the Well-being Plan and annual report will be sent to the Welsh Ministers, the Future Generations Commissioner, the Auditor General for Wales and the relevant scrutiny committee of the local authority.
Administrative and secretariat support for the Board is provided by Pembrokeshire County Council. This support will include:
The Board must review its terms of reference at a mandatory meeting. The Board may also review and agree to amend its terms of reference at any time as long as all statutory members are in agreement.