On and Off

It was one of those months when a lot of meetings got crammed into the same week.  Four of my ‘regulars’ took place, namely Democratic Services, Audit, Trustees & Licensing, but also others that I have take on voluntarily.  This month saw the quarterly meeting of the Financial Inclusion group, where we meet up with representatives from all other relevant organisations to share information & good practice in supporting those who need financial and other help & advice.  Plus we are aiming for Swansea to be recognised as a Human Rights City, which would be the first in Wales, and I have been attending sessions to hear various forums give their thoughts as to how we can get there, such as Swansea Disability, and LGBTQ+.

The weeks before & after were a little bit less crowded but I still managed to have my say at full council, speaking to a motion agreeing to a partnership with unions on achieving greater diversity across both councillors and the council workforce.  And before the end of the month I’d been to all three of my chosen policy committees, another dose of licensing, plus the AGM of our Friends of Group.  So encouraging that this group is still going strong after a number of years, keeping the Mayhill pond & picnic area looking tidy, and continuing to develop the community food garden.

Les

The usual plus another first

At Audit – now renamed Governance & Audit (what a mouthful!) – had an interesting debate on how many there should be on the committee when from next May a third of them will need to be ‘lay’ members ie not councillors.  The Senedd has been advocating smaller committees for a while now, but you need to balance that with having enough to cover unavoidable absences to ensure each meeting has enough in attendance to go ahead.  We settled on the same number as now, 15, which will mean 5 lay & 10 councillors.

The first of two very useful meetings in the last week, Recovery & Future Generations Policy Development Committee (another even bigger mouthful!!) had a topic on the agenda which I had asked for, looking at how the council carries out consultation & engagement.  The relevant department officers were reviewing the current strategy so it was an opportune moment for me to have my say.  I’m a process person so it’s always good to get my teeth into stuff like that.

And I also joined in a trialling session for online training module on Social Media, another first for me.  It wasn’t to do with how to get set up on it but how to make good use of it as a councillor, and what pitfalls to avoid.  It was both interesting from my perspective, and again the king of thing that I felt I could give useful feedback on.

On a lighter note the community choir Voices on the Hill restarted, which I’m happy to support as something that goes on in the ward, and also whilst it’s not really my kind of music it’s great to be singing again.

Les

A quiet month?

Supposedly the month when few meetings but I still kept myself busy.

Starting with Financial Inclusion group’ quarterly dip into helping support those to make as best use of the money.  It’s always encouraging to see just how many organisations are out there who care about others.

Then an excellent Community Day on Long Ridge for families to both have some fun after the awful night in May where antisocial behaviour of a few wrecked cars and houses for no good reason.  But also plenty of agencies were on hand if anyone affected need to ask questions, or just talk to someone.  Best stand though was the one where owner’s bicycles could get checked over, which was busy all day!

The Debt Recovery working group has been looking at putting together a policy for a while now to help get money into the council owed by residents.  But we all realise that many can be in quite dire straights so it’s a balancing act between treating people sensitively whilst still maximising income.  A light tread for most, but a firm hand with some.

Another working group I attended has been looking at reviewing past induction processes for councillors who get elected.   We are making an early start in readiness for next year’s local elections.

Also had a couple of regulars despite it being August, the usual Audit, including about 200 pages of light reading which is the draft annual accounts (!), and just the one case coming up at General Licensing.


fun after the awful night in May where antisocial behaviour of a few wrecked cars and houses for no good reason.  But also plenty of agencies were on hand if anyone affected need to ask questions, or just talk to someone.  Best stand though was the one where owner’s bicycles could get checked over, which was busy all day!

The Debt Recovery working group has been looking at putting together a policy for a while now to help get money into the council owed by residents.  But we all realise that many can be in quite dire straights so it’s a balancing act between treating people sensitively whilst still maximising income.  A light tread for most, but a firm hand with some.

Another working group I attended has been looking at reviewing past induction processes for councillors who get elected.   We are making an early start in readiness for next year’s local elections.

Also had a couple of regulars despite it being August, the usual Audit, including about 200 pages of light reading which is the draft annual accounts (!), and just the one case coming up at General Licensing.

Les

Summer already!

The last two months have whizzed by so here’s a double dose …

A couple of committees that I am on don’t necessarily meet that often, one being Trustees.  As a council we ‘look after’ and deal with dishing out money on behalf of a number of trusts.  It’s very satisfying to be able to give students and community groups a helping hand.

Another is Democratic Services which is basically there to provide support to all of us councillors.  It’s likely that we’ll be meeting more often leading up to the local elections next year as one of our tasks will be to plan the induction for new councillors.  Whilst we can base this on previous years it’s always worth checking to see where we can lessen the steep learning curve, but at the same time make sure the essentials are covered as soon as possible after councillors are elected.  And of course it’s still very useful for returning councillors, as there’s always something new to come across, or maybe a different way of looking at some aspect of our work.

Talking of ‘new’, I yet again did something for the first time when I attended the Scrutiny Committee to report back on the work being done by the Digital Inclusion working group.  I first chaired this 4 years ago, looking into how well the council supports the public in being able to access IT, whether on a laptop, smart phone, pad or whatever.  We had agreed we would revisit this, and finally managed it earlier this year.  And as technology keeps marching forward at such a pace we will be taking a regular check, probably once a year.  No doubt I’ll keep you posted!

Les

Following after Election Time

Resumed some of the usual meetings in May, including a double dose of licensing.  The cases that come before us mostly concern taxi drivers, and to help us make the right decision in we have a set of guidelines to refer to.  And whilst on the face of it so often the circumstances are similar there always seems to be something slightly different to get our teeth into.

The Bad News …
Sadly an incident occurred during the month where a number of residents in that area of Townhill ward were badly affected by the stupid actions of some very selfish individuals.   
But then the Good News …  
Absolutely amazing how neighbours from not just the immediate area but all across Swansea have got together offering help, gifts, and general support.  And I am proud of the immediate response from the council officers, our leader Cllr Rob Stewart, and all local councillors.  Whilst the consequences won’t miraculously go away overnight at least measures put in place are trying to address the issues and I sincerely hope this will give some comfort to those living there.

Les

Leading up to Election time

With Senedd elections on the horizon all parties have been campaigning during April, Covid restrictions permitting.  But of course council business still goes on.

As it happens I personally didn’t have that many of my regular committee meetings, but did attend a useful webinar looking at ways of encouraging everyone to ‘have the jab’.  It took a particular look at countering some of the scare stories about side effects. 

Of course it’s totally understandable that there have been concerns raised and that these shouldn’t just be dismissed out of hand.  Fortunately there is plenty of data around to show that it’s far more likely a person will get Covid if they don’t have the vaccine, than getting a blood clot if they do.

And at long last I have been able to get going again on litter picking by restarting our Friends of group’s monthly session at the pond, Mayhill.  And from I’ve got quite a long list, provided by feedback from residents, of spots in Townhill which will certainly keep me busy in the coming months!  

Les

The Budget can be fun!

The annual budget council meeting is generally considered the most important one of the year. This year’s was three times the ‘fun’ with two meetings in the same week, plus another a week or so later to mop up an item that somehow got mislaid!

From time to time a Scrutiny Workshop comes up that I want to give by input and this month we looked at how well we have supported the workforce during the last year’s pandemic.  Interestingly I think we all acknowledged just how much the workforce had supported us, so many going way beyond the call of duty.

At the end of March the legal Socio-Economic Duty came into force.  Like all my fellow councillor colleagues I attended a session on this.  It’s a mouthful I know but all it means is that we need to deliver better outcomes for those people who experience disadvantage with access to enough money to live on, and other resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control.  I like to think that as a council we have always endeavoured to do this.

And during the month some of the usual committees made an appearance such as Audit, PDCs, and two lots of Licensing.  Plenty to keep me busy!

Some old, some new

On the very first day of February we had a special council meeting to appoint a new Director of Education.  Whilst of course it’s only right that any job vacancy is open to all that have the right skills, knowledge & experience, it’s gratifying when the person covering a post has been doing a good job, that they then get offered the post.  And I’m pleased to say that was the case here.

I’m also pleased that I managed to attend the Financial Inclusion group for the first time in a good while.  It’s good to know that there are so many organisations who care enough about supporting people financially, and in other practical ways, when they need it.  And it was Dylan Thomas Spring term governor’s meeting, where I was welcomed back for another 4 years, having just had my role on the board renewed.  

As well as a lot of the usual meetings, such as Audit, Licensing, plus all the policy groups I’m on, I went to a webinar looking at how we can all encourage the public to complete the census.  This is held every 10 years and due on 21st March.

Oh, and my first covid jab.  Hopefully not too long a wait before the second.

Les

And still carrying on

As you will all know we have been in Alert 4, the most serious Covid level, for a number of weeks now but meetings still go on, a mixture of MS Teams & Zoom.  These meetings on the whole have gone quite smoothly, which when you consider how many things could go wrong – lose sound, picture disappears, recording won’t work – I for one am pleasantly surprised.

So in fact have had most of the ‘usual suspects’ with Audit, all 3 policy development committees that I’m on, full council, plus regular updates from the Leader to keep us aware of the situation with Covid, both the infection rates, and vaccinations being done.

With regard to council meetings the latest development has been getting used to voting on line.  This again has been OK for me on my laptop but I get the impression that it’s more temperamental when using a pad or phone.  So far so good but better not shout too loud!

Les