The Chief Executive presented a report, the purpose of which, was to seek approval from Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) of the Well-being Plan for Cwm Taf Morgannwg Public Services Board (PSB).

He confirmed that, changes to the health board footprint created the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board covering Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and Bridgend local authority areas.  It was agreed that the two PSBs covering that area, should merge to become a single PSB to reduce duplication and enable more effective joint working to improve well-being for people in the area.

He added that following publication of the Well-being Plan, Cwm Taf and Bridgend PSBs will merge to form Cwm Taf Morgannwg Public Services Board. 

The Chief Executive advised that, the overarching theme of the Well-being Plan is ‘A More Equal Cwm Taf Morgannwg’ that drives every aspect of the Public Services Board’s work.  The Well-being Assessment informed that the communities in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf have a lot to be proud about. However, not all communities have fair access to opportunities and face different challenges that impact on well-being.

The Well-being Plan attached at Appendix 1 to the report has two objectives and these were outlined in paragraph 4.3 of the report.

The Well-being Plan makes five commitments for the way the single PSB will work and these will be the core principles for the PSB that will guide and challenge activity throughout the PSB structure. These commitments were shown in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

The Chief Executive then alluded to the 12 week consultation that the final draft Plan had been subject to that included an on-line survey, which generated 238 responses.

The Chief Executive concluded his submission, by confirming that in addition to the Public Services Board collectively approving their well-being plan, the six statutory partners must also approve the plan for publication.

The statutory partners are:

•           Bridgend County Borough Council,

•           Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

•           Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

•           South Wales Fire and Rescue Services

•           Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

•           Natural Resources Wales

A member asked if there was a proposal for the Plan to be made fully accessible to all, as the copy before Council she noted, did not meet all the necessary accessibility requirements.

The Public Service Board (PSB) Officer confirmed that this would be the case, through the Council’s Design Team.

A member making reference to the evidence base of the EIA, noted that the document reflected that there were 238 on-line survey responses in respect of the consultation process. There had also been further engagement sessions that took place at certain public visited establishments within the County Borough, including at Sarn Library. He asked what the attendance had been in respect of the latter.

The PSB Officer confirmed that she did not have the specific levels of attendance at each of the consultation sites, however, the results of all engagement sessions had been fed into the on-line survey. She added, that a more detailed report was planned to be prepared in respect of the engagement sessions undertaken as part of the overall wider consultation.

The Deputy Leader asked for some further details to be shared in respect of the governance arrangements for the PSB, to include details regarding accountability and finance arrangements. Members if furnished with this information, would have a better level of understanding who is responsible for what in the overall set-up.

The Chief Executive agreed that it would be useful to circulate some further information regarding the PSB to all members, including who is represented on this body in terms of organisations, stakeholders and statutory partners etc, including its terms of remit and aims and objectives.

A member made reference to the Welsh Language Standards and asked for some reassurance that the Plan supporting the PSB would be made available in a bi-lingual format.

The Leader advised that in line with all main BCBC strategic documents, that this would be produced in both welsh and english versions.

A member sought assurance that the PSB would align with certain other major plans and policies of the Council/its partners, such as for example, the Local Development Plan (LDP).

The Chief Executive confirmed that this would be the case.

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RESOLVED:                                That Council approved the Well-being Plan attached at Appendix 1 to the report, for Cwm Taf Morgannwg Public Services Board.