The start of a new term

 Well I am back but not quite as soon as I had hoped.  As it was 5 years ago since the last time I began a new term as a councillor, its really not that surprising that I’ve forgotten just how much induction training – or in my case re-training – takes places in the first couple of months.  And this is on top of the usual statutory meetings.  But it’s a bit ‘calmer’ now it’s August so time for a quick roundup …

As is often said you never stop learning so even the longest serving councillors are expected to attend a number of induction sessions.  And of course it’s also means those of us returning councillors can help others new to the role.  I’m pleased to be on the same committees as before so not had to go through a huge learning curve but it’s amazing how there’s always something new that you haven’t come across before.

Apart from that there has been a smattering of meetings, like Audit, and two Councils including our annual general meeting.  I’ve also attended Armed Forces Day, held this year outside the Guildhall building at the rotunda, a drop-in session on the housing development of the former Townhill Campus, a ceremonial council to award the Freedom of the City to the Merchant Navy Association, and most recently an Open Day at TOPIC House to inspire volunteers to help with the raised beds and polytunnel to grow their own food.

And I’ve been able to restart my monthly surgeries in the Phoenix Centre, which I link up with Cuppa with a Copper.  Whilst I don’t get many takers I still feel it’s a useful way of showing myself in the community should a resident need me, and get an update from the police at the same time.  Hopefully we will get Street Surgeries up and running, where we go doorknocking and ask if there are any issues that we can help with, either late August or early September, and my mini litter picks.  Apart from anything else I need the exercise!

Les

An end to another era

Lots of the usual meetings over the last month and a half, but also attended some one-offs such as
- recognising the amazing life of Norma Glass, of Race Council Cymru, with a civic reception given in her honour
- meeting with officers to look at how to carry out refurbishments to improve the environmental impact of all the shops across the ward, something we have long been aiming for.

But the highlight has to be the recent official open day of the new play equipment in Mayhill Park.  It’s been a long time coming, with a phenomenal amount of work behind the scenes, all made worthwhile by the fact it’s been used every day since its completion, and often to capacity.   And an additional positive is seeing the community getting involved not only in the deciding on the current play equipment but also in looking to provide other improvements for the park.  Exciting times!  

Well it’s time for a break now that election time is round, but I do hope to be back after the May 5th!

Les

From Quiet to Busy

 Leading up to Christmas the Phoenix Centre gets very busy, what with preparing for a number of events including the Lantern Parade, Christmas Breakfasts, and so on.  On 3rd I was happy to join staff and Swansea West MS, Julie James, in launching the Supporting Our Community campaign which was able to supply food hampers to those families across the ward who needed them.  The rest of the month was much quieter on the meeting front, with my usual three policy development committees, and licensing.

Things have definitely picked up during January, and alongside the ‘usuals’ I attended quite a few one-offs ;
- a good seminar on Swansea’s local health board; the presentation itself was a bit dry but the questions afterwards were all very pertinent, and helpful
- really positive site visit to discuss the refurbishment of Gors Avenue shops; we intend giving other shops in the ward a similar facelift
- electric bike trial at the Phoenix Centre, where I sensibly left it to Jeff to do the ‘trialling’!

I also managed two litter picks, a new bi-monthly meeting with the police, Friends of Washing Lake AGM, and door knocking on Longridge & Highview to see what the residents would like to see the green space used for.

The best news of the month has to be that the play areas for Mayhill Park have at long last been constructed.  A formal launch is planned in February but apparently by the afternoon of the day it opened the area was jammed full of children, so it looks like they have definitely given it the thumbs up!


Les

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