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IMPROVEMENT

plan

Where to get more information and compliance statement

This plan discharges our duties under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009to produce an Improvement Plan.

For a copy of this document in large print, Braille, audio tape or an alternativelanguage please contact: Jackie Meskimmon on 01437 776613

For further information please contact:Dan Shaw, Corporate Planning Manager, Pembrokeshire County CouncilCounty Hall, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire SA61 1TPTel: 01437 775856policy@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Foreword ...................................................... 031. Introduction ............................................ 042. Our principles .......................................... 063. Sustainability and equalities .................... 084. Developing our Improvement Objectives 105. Children .................................................. 146. Economy.................................................. 177. Environment ............................................ 208. Health ...................................................... 229. Safeguarding .......................................... 2611.Reporting back ........................................ 2912.Glossary .................................................. 30

Contents

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I am pleased to introduce Pembrokeshire County Council’sImprovement Plan for 2013/14.

This Plan is our main forward looking document and sets out ourobjectives for the coming year. It provides us with an opportunityto spell out our understanding of the issues that are important toyou and share how we propose to address them.

The past year, the first of this new Council, has been challenging.We have worked hard to address the concerns raised about oursafeguarding arrangements and education services. We haveacknowledged our areas of weakness, appointed key members ofstaff, actively engaged with our schools and targeted ourresources more effectively. I am pleased to say that these effortshave now begun to have a positive impact and, furthermore, thatthis is beginning to be recognised by our regulators. Clearly, wehave more to do, but I am confident that we will continue to makeprogress during 2013/14.

foreword Achieving this against a backdrop of increasing financial pressurehas not been straightforward. Though we continue to manage ourbudget effectively, and have once again set the lowest CouncilTax in Wales this year, it is clear that this pressure will grow overthe coming years.

We have recently published a medium term financial planindicating our intention to save £8.6m over three years. This willundoubtedly mean that we will face some difficult and, onoccasion, unpopular choices over the coming months.That said, the requirements to make savings will also provide uswith opportunities. It can sometimes be difficult to accept changeand prioritise the services we value most. It may well be that thechoices we make over the next two to three years begin toredefine the role Council service provision plays in Pembrokeshire.

There will always be critical services delivered by this Council thatwe will endeavour to protect – social services, child protection andeducation services, for example. However, there may be otherservices where adopting a different approach to delivery mayactually be beneficial – perhaps by sharing some responsibilitieswith local communities or by delivering a greater proportion of ourservices in partnership with other agencies.

In spite of our necessary focus on finance during 2013/14, we willbe seeking to take forward exciting opportunities concerning ourschool improvement service, safeguarding, town centreregeneration, waste management and a review of our adult socialcare services. We will also continue to develop our plans toimplement one of the most ambitious school building programmesin Wales. Though the financial climate will inevitably haveconsequences in some areas, it is critical that we retain ourcommitment to delivering the best possible outcomes forPembrokeshire and its residents.

Cllr. Jamie Adams, Leader

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1. Introduction1.1 The purpose of this Plan is to describe what

we will be doing to deliver on our duty tosecure continuous improvement . It sets outthe areas of improvement we will befocussing on during the coming year andexplains our rationale for doing so.

1.2 The Plan has been written with residents,businesses and visitors to the County in mind.All of these stakeholders use our servicesand have an interest in our approach todelivering continuous improvement.

1.3 The Plan is the public facing expression ofour approach to performance management.Our performance management frameworkdescribes the annual cycle we follow inplanning, monitoring and reviewingeverything we do.

1.4 Broadly speaking, there are four steps in ourframework. Between December and Marcheach year we focus on identifyingobjectives for improvement. During March

and April we finalise our objectives and setout our plans for delivery during theforthcoming year. We monitor performancethroughout the whole year and seek toidentify what impact our service delivery hashad on the community. Finally, duringSeptember and October we begin to reviewour progress so that we are in a position torefine our objectives for the following year.

1Section 2 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 places alllocal authorities in Wales under a general duty to “make arrangementsto secure continuous improvement in the exercise of [their] functions”.

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1.5 The Improvement Plans we have publishedpreviously were structured around the eightthemes identified in the Pembrokeshire CommunityPlan 2010 - 2025. This year’s Plan has beenstructured around the six key outcomes includedin Pembrokeshire’s new Single Integrated Plan,which has replaced the former Community Plan asthe most important strategic planning documentfor the County. The six key outcomes identified inthe Single Integrated Plan are:

• Children: Children, young people and familieshave the opportunity to fulfil their learningpotential and to live healthy and happy lives

• Economy: Pembrokeshire has a competitive,productive and sustainable economy

• Environment: People in Pembrokeshire enjoyan attractive, sustainable and diverseenvironment

• Health: people in Pembrokeshire are healthier• Safeguarding: Children and adults are

safeguarded• Safety: Communities in Pembrokeshire feel safe

1.6 In addition to identifying our contribution to theachievement of these key outcomes, this Plandescribes:

• our principles as an organisation,• our approach to sustainability and equalities,• our Improvement Objectives for 2013/14, and• how we will report on and review our progress in

the future.

How our plans fit together

1.7 This Improvement Plan fits within a hierarchy ofplans, all of which play a significant role in ourservice delivery arrangements. It is goodpractice to be able to draw a ‘golden thread’between the plans and identify how individualmembers of staff, teams, service departmentsand whole agencies will work towards the keyoutcomes set out in the Single Integrated Plan2.

2 Though not featured on the diagram, we are also committed to delivering an Estyn Action Planduring 2013/14. Our Estyn Action Plan describes the actions we will be taking to respond to therecommendations published by the inspectorate in December 2012. These actions are alsocovered in our Service Improvement Plans.

Single Integrated Plan

Improvement Plan

Service Improvement Plans

Team Plans

performance appraisals

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2. OUR PRINCIPLES2.1 Since the inception of Pembrokeshire County

Council in 1996, we have worked to three crosscutting principles.

2.2 Treating customers courteously and fairly is aprinciple that has served us well. We take noteof and monitor the basics; issues such as howquickly phone calls and letters are respondedto, as well as how complaints are handled andwhat lessons might be learned.

2.3 We aim to administer simple and straightforwardopportunities for customers to access ourservices. As information technology hasdeveloped, we have been able to broaden thechannels through which customers are able tocontact us. For example, we offer a range ofopportunities for customers to access services

and information via the internet. We will bedeveloping work in this area further over thecoming year.

2.4 We were one of the first local authorities inWales to have a dedicated customer contactcentre, and though the vast majority of ourcustomers continue to use this channel inpreference to face-to-face contact, we havemaintained a range of facilities that enablecustomers to access services over the counter.

2.5 Like all public bodies we are committed toensuring our customers do not experiencediscrimination. Our Strategic Equality Plan setsout our plans for ensuring our customers haveequal access the services they require.

2.6 Many of our services provide direct support tocustomers who might otherwise bemarginalised within society. For example, asignificant proportion of our spend on adultsocial care is dedicated to assisting peopleliving with a disability or a limiting long-termillness. Furthermore, well over half of our totalbudget is spent on services that supportchildren and young people to help them toreach their potential.

Single Integrated Plan

CUSTOMER FOCUS

VALUE FOR MONEY

ONE TEAM

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2.7 Achieving good value for money has alwaysbeen important to us. For many years we haveset the lowest Council Tax of any local authorityin Wales. Our Band ‘D’ Council Tax during2013/14 amounts to £741.17, which is about£250 less than the average for Wales.

2.8 While we are not immune to the pressures onpublic expenditure, the fact that we have alwaysprioritised value for money has meant that thescale of savings we need to make during2013/14 is smaller than for many other localauthorities. During the coming year we plan tosave approximately 0.5% of our total budget.The average saving requirement for localauthorities across Wales during 2013/14 isapproximately 2.5%.

2.9 Achieving value does not always mean limitingour expenditure. There are occasions wheninvesting in services will help us to deliversavings in the longer term. For example, ourplanned investment in school buildings underthe 21st Century Schools Programme will resultin the construction of more efficient facilities(through lower energy costs). By analysing thelonger term impacts of our spending, we areable to improve the sustainability of the serviceswe provide.

2.10 Our final principle is that of working as oneteam for the benefit of all people inPembrokeshire. Local authorities are large andcomplicated organisations, but we havealways tried to minimise internal divisions forthe benefit of our customers.

2.11 For example, the governance of our servicesis organised in such a way that it cuts acrossdepartmental boundaries. This enablesElected Councillors to look beyond parochialissues and retain a broad strategicperspective.

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3.1 Sustainability and equalities are both important cross cuttingthemes that help define how we want to improve. Elements ofboth agendas can be seen in much of the work we do, andboth feature in the impact assessments we undertake inrelation to new policies and major decisions.

3.2 We seek to promote sustainable development, whereverpossible, by supporting projects that address social,economic and environmental considerations simultaneously.This helps to ensure that the decisions we take today do nothave an unfair impact on future generations. Like othercouncils across Wales, we have a good track record ofimproving our practice in this area.

3.3 Many of the Objectives described in this plan demonstrate ourcommitment to sustainability. For example, we are committedto managing our waste in such a manner that we avoidburdening future generations with excess costs andenvironmental consequences.

3.4 Over the coming year we will be implementing a number ofprojects that will help to reduce our carbon footprint. We willcontinue to reduce the amount of energy we use (innon-domestic public buildings) by 3% a year. We will sourceas much of our electricity as possible from renewable or cleanelectricity sources. All of the new builds we commission willmeet high environmental standards and will be designedusing methods that take the views of stakeholders intoaccount.

3.5 We will continue to run the sustainable schools awardsprogramme during 2013/14 and encourage schools to meetsuccessively higher standards of the scheme. This work willhelp schools to integrate sustainable development into allaspects of school life. Much of the work we will undertake todevelop the local economy will also support the principles ofsustainable development – high employment underpinswellbeing and the vibrancy of local communities.

3. Sustainability and equalities

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3.6 In order to embed improvement further, we haveestablished a ‘Green Team’ chaired by a seniormanager to develop and disseminate goodpractice within the Authority. One of the challengeswe will face in the coming year will be to preparefor the introduction of a new duty on localauthorities in Wales to embed sustainabledevelopment as their central organising principle.

3.7 Much of the work that we do to promotesustainable development also supports theequalities agenda. Our equality objectives aredescribed in our Strategic Equality Plan. Achievingthese objectives will help us to meet our duties toensure the groups identified in the Equality Act2010 do not suffer discrimination, have equalaccess to services and live in communities wheregood relations are promoted.

3.8 The objectives in our Strategic Equality Planhighlight areas where we need to focus ourattention. For example, a relatively high proportionof Pembrokeshire’s population are elderly. As aresult, Pembrokeshire has a higher than averageproportion of people living with a disability orcaring for someone with a disability. During2013/14, in partnership with the Local HealthBoard, we will improve the range of servicesthat we offer to carers, thereby removingsome of the barriers that carers face inaccessing services or employment.

3.9 During 2012/13, Welsh Government increased ourcapacity to address community cohesion issuesby funding the appointment of a CommunityCohesion Officer (a resource we share withCarmarthenshire County Council). During2013/14, we will implement an action plan toaddress the relevant issues and foster goodrelations between communities (includingcommunities of interest) in Pembrokeshire.

3.10 Another of the key tasks we will be focussing onduring the coming year will be the improvement ofour evidence base in relation to equalities issues.We will conduct this work in the light of thedetailed information that is now being publishedfrom the 2011 Census, and ensure that ouranalysis is widely understood throughout theorganisation.

3.11 We will monitor and report our progress in relationto our equality objectives through our CorporateEquality Steering Group. We will prepare anupdate on this work as part our ImprovementReview, which we will publish in November.

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4. Developing our Improvement Objectives

4.1 The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009requires us to publish a list of ImprovementObjectives each year. Welsh Government hasproduced statutory guidance to help usachieve this. We have used this framework toidentify Improvement Objectives that areambitious, but also achievable.

4.2 The guidance describes how ImprovementObjectives should be worked up in greaterdetail. For example, it makes reference to theneed to balance national and local priorities,to take note of the results of inspectionreports, to build in the need for efficienciesand to exploit opportunities arising from thedevelopment of new technologies.

4.3 Our choice of Improvement Objectives for2013/14 reflects this advice. For example,though crime and community safety is a highpriority across Wales as a whole, it is less ofan issue in Pembrokeshire. Two of ourImprovement Objectives are a direct responseto inspection reports. The efficiencies agendaunderpins our adult services ImprovementObjective. Our waste Objective reflects theopportunities that technologicaldevelopments have afforded us to managewaste more sustainably.

How we consulted on ourImprovement Objectives

4.4 We took advantage of a variety ofopportunities to generate interest in ourImprovement Objectives. These includedencouraging press coverage and using maillists. We also undertook direct consultationwith liaison groups, voluntary organisationsand town and community councils. The mostpopular method of engagement with ourcustomers was via our website.

4.5 We canvassed views on nine proposedImprovement Objectives. The list of proposedObjectives covered areas such as:

• school improvement and inclusion,• town centres,• adult social care,• safeguarding,• waste and recycling,• crime and community safety,• leadership and management,• planning school places, and• corporate and political change.

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4.6 The feedback we received during consultation, alongsidedevelopments in our thinking regarding the key priorities forthe Council, helped us to narrow down this list

4.7 For example, we had considered setting ImprovementObjectives relating to management and leadership andcorporate and political change. The actions we had in mind inthese areas included implementing improvements to ouroverview and scrutiny arrangements, implementing a revisedapproach to corporate planning and developing a revisedself-evaluation framework. Though we have opted not toinclude these as Improvement Objectives for 2013/14, we willstill be seeking to make progress in these areas. Indeed, anumber of related actions will be monitored by ourDemocratic Services Committee and our independentlychaired Audit Committee.

4.8 As a result of our consultation we have also opted to mergethe proposed Objective on planning school places with abroader Objective relating to school improvement. Thisdecision was informed by the fact that though we intend tomake progress in relation to our 21st Century SchoolsProgramme during 2013/14, it is unlikely that we will begin tosee an impact for another two to three years.

4.9 For different reasons, we also decided not to develop anImprovement Objective relating to community safety. Thoughsome respondents to our consultation suggested that crimeand anti-social behaviour were issues that concerned them,the evidence indicates that Pembrokeshire remains one of thesafest places to live in the U.K.

4.10 The Objectives we have selected this year reflect our learningfrom previous years and the advice we have received fromour regulators. We have opted for a narrower range ofObjectives so as to focus our improvement effort moreeffectively. Our improvement objectives for 2013/14 are:

io1 : School Improvement• We will improve learning outcomes to help children and

young people reach their potential

io2 : Town Centre Improvement• We will enable, facilitate and deliver schemes to improve

the viability and vitality of our town centres

io3 : Waste Management• We will continue to increase the proportion of waste that is

recycled in order to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill

io5 : Safeguarding• We will strengthen our safeguarding arrangements in schools

to ensure that children and young people are not put at risk

io4 : Reviewing Adult Social Care Services• We will reconfigure the provision of our adult care services to

improve efficiency and sustainability

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4.11 In identifying our Improvement Objectives it is important that weare able to draw strong links with Pembrokeshire’s SingleIntegrated Plan. With one exception, and for the reasons alreadydescribed, we have identified an Objective to contribute to eachof the key outcomes described in the Single Integrated Plan. Therelationship between the Objectives and these key outcomes isdepicted below:

KEY OUTCOME IMPROVEMENT OBJECTIVE

Children: children, young people and families havethe opportunity to fulfil their learning potential andto live healthy and happy lives

School improvement: we will improve learningoutcomes to help children and young people reachtheir potential

Economy: Pembrokeshire has a competitive,productive and sustainable economy

Town centre improvement: we will enable,facilitate and deliver schemes to improve theviability and vitality of our town centres

Environment: people in Pembrokeshire enjoy anattractive, sustainable and diverse environment

Waste management: we will continue to increasethe proportion of waste that is recycled in order toreduce the amount of waste sent to landfill

Health: people in Pembrokeshire are healthier Reviewing adult social care services: we willreconfigure the provision of our adult social careservices to improve efficiency and sustainability

Safeguarding: children and adults aresafeguarded

Safeguarding: we will strengthen our safeguardingarrangements in schools to ensure that children andyoung people are not put at risk

Safety: communities in Pembrokeshire feel safe No Improvement Objective

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4.12 We have also changed the emphasis of our ImprovementObjectives for 2013/14. Our Objectives this year are morespecific, with more clearly identified and outcome-focussedmeasures of success. To clarify this point we have included adirect comparison with the equivalent Objectives from last year’slist below.

4.13 The remainder of this document describes each ImprovementObjective in greater detail and explains what else we will be doing tocontribute to the key outcomes identified in the Single IntegratedPlan.

Improvement Objective 2013/14 Equivalent Objective 2012/13

School improvement: we will improve learningoutcomes to help children and young people reachtheir potential

We will continue to develop the high qualityeducation services we provide

Town centre improvement: we will enable,facilitate and deliver schemes to improve theviability and vitality of our town centres

We will work with partners to improvePembrokeshire’s economy

Waste management: we will continue to increasethe proportion of waste that is recycled in order toreduce the amount of waste sent to landfill

We will reduce our carbon footprint and operatemore sustainably

Reviewing adult social care services: we willreconfigure the provision of our adult social careservices to improve efficiency and sustainability

We will take action to support independentWell-being and healthy living

Safeguarding: we will strengthen our safeguardingarrangements in schools to ensure that children andyoung people are not put at risk

We will work with our partners to ensurePembrokeshire remains a safe place

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5.1 Our services for children and families account of just over40% of our total spend each year. Although we provide manyservices ourselves, we do a considerable amount of work inthis area in partnership with other agencies. Attainment andattendance are critical issues for the County as a whole, butthese challenges are even more acute for children andfamilies on low incomes.

5.2 We chose this Objective because we want children and youngpeople in Pembrokeshire to achieve the very best results theycan and be amongst the highest performers in Wales. Estyn’slast inspection report concerning our educationservices highlighted our need to makeimprovements across the board; this ImprovementObjective complements the actions we have agreedin response to Estyn’s recommendations.

5.3 The consultation we undertook on our proposed ImprovementObjectives highlighted school improvement and inclusion, aswell as the planning of school places, as being important tolocal residents. Ninety-five percent of respondents to ourconsultation indicated that they thought school improvementand inclusion needed to be addressed. However, only 50% ofrespondents agreed that planning of school places should bea priority. In response to this, and for the reasons set out insection 4 of this Plan, we have combined these two proposedImprovement Objectives.

5. CHILDREN

Improvement Objective 1 - wewill improve learning outcomesto help children and youngpeople reach their potential

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5.4 We have set ourselves six actions under this Objective:• Working with schools to analyse data and deliver targeted

interventions that will increase attendance rates.• Working with schools and Pembrokeshire College to

provide a curriculum that meets the needs of all learners.• Improving the use of data and performance management to

enable timely, evidenced based support and challenge toschools.

• Implementing a shared school improvement service withCarmarthenshire County Council, which will provideadditional capacity to support and challenge schools.

• Increasing the capacity that schools have to improvethemselves.

• Making progress with our plans to improve learningenvironments as part of the 21st Century SchoolsProgramme.

5.5 In addition to the actions described above, we will beundertaking a range of activities to strengthen the leadershipof the education service. These will include recruiting anentirely new management team for the service by May 2013.

5.6 The impact of achieving this Objective will be that schoolleavers from Pembrokeshire would achieve their potential andbe better prepared to make a positive contribution to society.

5.7 We will measure the impact of our progress under thisObjective by monitoring a number of key indicators. One ofour key measures of success will be the percentage ofstudents achieving the level 2 threshold, includingEnglish/Welsh and Maths at Key Stage 4. This indicator isfrequently used to compare levels of attainment at a nationallevel. Attainment at Key Stage 4 in Pembrokeshire increased

from 51% to 56% between 2009/10 and 2011/12. Ourambition is to maintain this rate of increase, and we have set atarget of 59% for 2013/14.

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

June 2008 June 2009 June 2010 June 2011 June 2012 June 2013 June 2014

KS4 Level 2 incl English/Welsh & Maths

Pembrokeshire Wales

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Success measures Target 2013/14

Foundation phase indicators, which analyse theoutcomes of pupils at Years 1 and 2LLC=Language Literacy & CommunicationMD=Mathematical DevelopmentFPI=Foundation Phase Indicator

LLC=87%MD=90%FPI=84%

Key stage 2 core subject indicators, whichanalyse the outcomes of pupils in Year 6

Key stage 3 core subject indicators, whichanalyse the outcomes of pupils in Year 6

86%

80%

Key Stage 4 level 1 monitoring how manyyear 11 pupils achieve 5 GCSEs

94%

Key Stage 4 level 2 including English/Welshand Maths

59%

Monitor attendance rates in Primary andSecondary Schools

95%; 94%

Percentage of 16-18 year olds are not ineducation or employment (NEET)

3.5

5.8 There are a range of other actions we will take during 2013/14that, though not directly relevant to this ImprovementObjective, will contribute towards the related key outcomeidentified in the Single Integrated Plan: children, youngpeople and families have the opportunity to fulfil theirlearning potential and to live healthy and happy lives.

5.9 For example, we will be pursuing a range of actions toimprove our services for young people with additionalneeds or that require additional support. We will bedeveloping a single, co-ordinated referral pathway forinclusion and wellbeing services and will also beexpanding our counselling service.

5.10 In order to deliver a better service to young people withmore significant needs, we will be improving theeffectiveness of our education psychology service, andreconfiguring specialist educational facilities for youngpeople who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

5.11 We will be developing and implementing a strategy toidentify and meet demand for Welsh medium education.Although we are meeting the preferences of young peopleand their families for Welsh medium education, this workwill give us confidence that latent demand is also beingmet.

5.12 We also aim to improve attainment for the communityeducation courses provided by Learning Pembrokeshire,and maintain high course completion rates.

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6.1 Pembrokeshire’s economy reflects itsperipheral geography; wages and skilllevels tend to be lower than elsewhere.Developments in the energy sector havehelped Pembrokeshire’s economy to bemore successful over the past decade.However, due to continuing globaluncertainty, the rate of growth inPembrokeshire (along with the rest of theU.K.) is likely to be slower in the futurethan was the case throughout much of thelast 10 years.

6.2 We chose this Objective becausePembrokeshire is a rural county in whichtown centres play a critical role as servicehubs and visitor destinations. There isevidence that a combination of therecession, changing consumer behaviourand increased local competition has had anegative impact on our town centres.

6.3 Eight out of ten respondents to ourconsultation agreed that improving towncentres should be an ImprovementObjective. We received a relatively largenumber of detailed comments concerningthis area. Many of those who commentedrecognised the competition that town

centres face from out of town shoppingdevelopments as well as other towns andthe internet. Several respondentshighlighted the importance of working inpartnership with local businesses andnoted the contribution that town centresmake towards the tourism industry.

6.4 We have set ourselves four actions underthis Objective:• Providing a planning context that

balances retail policies with uses thatassist vitality.

• Accessing external funding to supportand deliver physical improvements totown centres.

• Promoting and delivering a two yearprogramme of branding initiatives toimprove the profile of our town centres.

• Working with developers to ensureprivate sector schemes contribute toand complement our town centres.

ImprovementObjective 2 - we

will enable,facilitate and

deliver schemesto improve theviability andvitality of ourtown centres

6. Economy

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6.5 The impact of achieving this Improvement Objective will bemore retail spend being retained within the local economy,more employment opportunities being generated and towncentres becoming more vibrant.

6.6 We will measure our progress in relation to this Objective bymonitoring a number of key indicators. Foremost of thesewill be the rate of shop vacancies in our town centres inSeptember each year. The vacancy rates in our key townsas at September 2012 are shown below.

6.7 In addition to the success measures described above, wewill also be developing our use of town centres performancebenchmarking tools over the year. This will enable us to rankthe performance of our town centres against similar sizedtowns in England and Wales. We will report our findings andan evaluation of our progress in next year’s ImprovementReview. The review will also draw on case studies whichillustrate the improvements that we have made to our towncentres and the impact this has had.

6.8 There are a range of other actions we will take during2013/14 that, though not directly relevant to thisImprovement Objective, will contribute towards the relatedkey outcome identified in the Single Integrated Plan:Pembrokeshire has a competitive, productive andsustainable economy.

6.9 For example, we will continue to explore opportunities tosupport regeneration more generally. Our focus on towncentres does not supplant the need for regeneration in otherareas, it complements it.

Success measures Target 2013/14

Developing an action plan for the 6 largesttowns in Pembrokeshire

All 6 completed

Monitoring shop vacancies in town centresVacancy rateremains staticor improves

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Fishguard Haverfordwest Milford Haven Narberth Pembroke Pembroke Dock Tenby

2012 Vacancy rate

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6.10 We will work with partners in the private sector and WelshGovernment to maximise the opportunity that Enterprise Zonedesignation presents for employment areas and businessesaround the Haven waterway and Haverfordwest Airport. Weanticipate that the main opportunities will be enhancedcapital allowances and business rate relief, which in turn willresult in a growth in high skilled jobs. We will measuresuccess through the number of businesses that attract raterelief.

6.11 Although the size of our capital programme is reducing, weanticipate that we will continue to manage a significant capitalprogramme. Through effective management of theprogramme, we will ensure that benefits to the local economyare realised in relation to construction works. We will measuresuccess through the implementation of community benefitclauses.

6.12 The tourism sector is a significant employer inPembrokeshire. Along with our partners, we have adopted acomprehensive tourism destination management plan toincrease the benefit that we derive from the industry. During2013/14 we will be implementing the actions described in theplan, such as refocusing our marketing effort on digital mediaand developing an on-line County-wide calendar of events.

6.13 Pembrokeshire has benefited from the current round ofEuropean funding. This round will wind down from 2014, butPembrokeshire will be eligible for the next round of structuraland investment funds. We will undertake preparatory work withkey stakeholders in order to maximise the opportunities thatthis funding will offer from 2014 to 2020.

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7.1 Like all areas, Pembrokeshire’s environment faces significantchallenges. One of the most critical of these is the risk thatour climate is becoming less predictable and more extreme.While many of the factors that are likely to contribute toclimate change are beyond our direct control, some riskfactors can be tackled locally; especially those relating to howwe manage the waste we produce.

7.2 Welsh Government has set challenging targets for wastereduction that must be met in order to avoid significant fines.Although the percentage of waste we re-use or recycle hasgone up considerably (in the past seven years the proportionof waste we recycle has gone up five fold), the targets weneed to achieve in future years are extremely challenging.

7.3 We chose this Objective because land filling waste is notpermissible over the long term. Land filled waste emitsharmful greenhouse gasses. The targets set by WelshGovernment are becoming more challenging; we need toretain a focus on this area to ensure that targets are met.

7.4 A relatively small number of respondents to our consultationagreed that waste and recycling should be a priority. Many ofthose who commented agreed with the thrust of actions weintend to take, such as raising awareness of the recyclingservices we provide and encouraging people to recycle awider range of materials. Some respondents commented thatmore use should be made of energy from waste facilities.

7.5 Respondents to our consultation did not highlight broaderenvironmental issues such as sustainable development orclimate change, though these issues are covered at length inPembrokeshire’s Single Integrated Plan.

7.6 We have set ourselves three actions under this Objective:• Improve public participation in recycling initiatives through

public engagement activities.` • Considering the introduction of fortnightly collections of

black bags (residual waste) to encourage customers torecycle a greater proportion of their waste.

• Introducing recycling for additional material streams suchas mattresses or carpets.

7. Environment

Improvement Objective 3 -we will continue to increasethe proportion of waste thatis recycled in order toreduce the amount of wastesent to landfill

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7.7 The impact of achieving this Improvement Objective will be areduced proportion of waste being sent to landfill, therebyreducing negative effects on the environment.

7.8 We will measure our progress in relation to this Objective bymonitoring a number of key indicators. One of these is ofparticular importance; the total amount of biodegradablewaste sent to landfill. This is the measure which would beused to calculate the fines we would be charged should wefail to achieve our targets.

7.9 In addition to the success measures described above we willalso be evaluating the impact of a range of specific eventsand school visits during to promote recycling. We willprovide feedback on these events and their impact when wereport on our progress in next year’s Improvement Review.Furthermore, we will obtaining feedback from our customersconcerning the barriers to recycling.

7.10 There are a range of other actions we will take during2013/14 that, though not directly relevant to thisImprovement Objective, will contribute towards the relatedkey outcome identified in the Single Integrated Plan: peoplein Pembrokeshire enjoy an attractive, sustainable anddiverse environment.

7.11 Pembrokeshire is generally very clean and tidy, but like allareas, fly-tipping, where it occurs, is still a problem. We willdevelop a fly tipping strategy which will strengthen ourenforcement arrangements.

7.12 As a result of changes to legislation, we now have a leadrole in managing flood risk and we will be developing floodrisk strategies during the year. These will be of use inhelping to manage the predicted increase in flooding (bothfrom rivers and surface water) that will result from apredicted increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall.

7.13 We will take steps to promote sustainable and active travel.These will include enhancements to bus stops alongparticular routes, as well as the development of cycle routes.Alongside this investment, we will also undertake afundamental review of the support we offer public andcommunity transport. We will consult widely on theseissues during 2013/14.

Success measures Target 2013/14

Tonnage of bio-degradable waste sent to landfill 18,667

Increase in the percentage of waste that is recycled 55%

Reduction in the percentage of waste sent to landfill 43%

Recycling participation rate 70%

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16

Tonnage of bio-degradable waste sent to landfill

Target Actual (estimate for 2102/13) tonnes of Biodegradable Municipal Waste

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8. Health8.1 Life expectancy in Pembrokeshire is

improving and is close to the Welsh average.However, there is a difference in lifeexpectancy between deprived andnon-deprived areas of Pembrokeshire(particularly the number of years thatsomeone can expect to live in good health).This increase in life expectancy is resulting inan increase in demand for social care services

8.2 The Improvement Objective we haveidentified for this area focuses on how we willensure the cost of providing high quality adultsocial care services remains affordable. Wechose this Objective because high qualityadult social care services are vital to ourcustomers’ quality of life. The number of olderpeople living in Pembrokeshire is increasingrapidly. Current models of service delivery willneed to adapt in order to meet this increase indemand. Like many local authorities, we

overspent on our adult social care budgetduring 2012/13.

8.3 Just over three quarters of respondents to ourconsultation agreed that adult social careshould be an Improvement Objective. Thecomments we received suggested thatresidents value services for vulnerable adultsas being just as important as those forchildren. Other people commented that thegrowth in the elderly population underlinesthe need to take action.

8.4 Some of the general comments onImprovement Objectives we receivedhighlighted other areas that have an impacton health. These included the adverse impactthat changes to benefits may have on mentalhealth, ensuring quality in the private rentedsector and the role that lower levelpreventative services can play in reducingisolation among older people. We alsoreceived a range of comments relating to theproposed changes to local health services.

Improvement Objective 4 - we willreconfigure the provision of our adult socialcare services to improve efficiency andsustainability

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8.5 We have set ourselves eight actions under this Objective:• Reviewing the capacity and effectiveness of the

management and governance of adult social care andLocal Health Board partnerships and agreeing proposals toenhance such arrangements.

• Integrating existing commissioning plans within oneover-arching document focussed on sustainability andcontaining the overall cost of the service.

• Agreeing clear protocols to ensure social care assessmentsare sustainable, robust, fair and offer best value forproviders and clients.

• Carrying out value for money reviews of all high costpackages of care (over £500) in domiciliary and learningdisability services.

• Developing alternative care models to ensure that all clientsare effectively supported through service arrangementsthat are both affordable and appropriate.

• Implementing resource targets for all key commissioningactivities within the service:o Elderly (Residential / Domiciliary)o Learning / Disabilityo Mental Healtho Physical Disability

• Reviewing Adult Protection arrangements and ensuringthat we comply with best practice.

• Providing a reablement service designed to supportcustomers when they need it most with a view to makingthem as independent as possible following their treatment.

8.6 The impact of achieving this Improvement Objective will bethat greater numbers of older people living in settings that areappropriate to the level of care they require, thereby

improving their quality of life. The overall cost of providingadult social care services will be managed more effectively.Customers will also benefit from reablement packagesdesigned to help them to gain all or some of theirindependence.

8.7 We will measure our progress in relation to this Objective bymonitoring a number of key indicators. One of the mostsignificant of these measures is the amount of money wespend on adult social care. The graph below indicates thesavings we have predicted.

£20,000

£25,000

£30,000

£35,000

£40,000

£45,000

£50,000

£55,000

Adult Social Care Spend (£ thousand)

actual or anticipated spend Indicative expected saving if project is successful

24

Success measures Target 2013/14

Limit increase in growth of adult services budget (13/14budget is 6.7% above 12/13 revised)

No overspendon 13/14 budget

The percentage reduction in planned domiciliary carehours of customers who have completed a period ofreablement

40%

The percentage of customers who have completed acourse of reablement with no further need for long termdomiciliary care

37%

The rate of delayed transfers of care for social carereasons per 1,000 population aged 75 or over(partnership working with NHS)

1.0%

High cost cases reviewed 25%

The rate of older people (aged 65 or over) supported inthe community per 1,000 population aged 65 or over at31 March

70

Care services annual questionnaire testing whethercustomers agree that their care plans meet their needs 85% agree

8.8 There are a range of other actions we will takeduring 2013/14 that, though not directly relevant tothis Improvement Objective, will contribute towardsthe related key outcome identified in the SingleIntegrated Plan: people in Pembrokeshire arehealthier.

8.9 We will continue to develop actions to help keeppeople fit and active. We will develop active travelprojects and develop Scolton Manor as a venue forpeople to take outdoor exercise. We will expand theDragon Sports Programme, which helps youngpeople to develop agility, balance and coordination,to the whole County and pilot ‘healthy hubs’ inlibraries.

8.10 During 2013/14, our leisure services will be puttingadditional emphasis on promoting swimming, as wellas less popular sports such as rowing and climbing.In all cases, we will be working with local clubs toembed increased interest at a community level. Wewill also improve our on-line booking systems forleisure centres. We will measure our improvementthrough usage figures and customer quality measures.

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8.11 Healthy eating is a key component of public health. During2013/14, we will continue to meet the appetite for lifestandards in our primary and secondary schools. Inresponse to recent issues concerning the contamination ofmeat products, we will be reviewing our tenderingprocedures to include traceability requirements for meatproducts and map supply chains. We will know whether wehave been successful by monitoring appetite for lifenutritional standards and by testing food for horse meat andother contaminants.

8.12 Housing plays a very important role in health and changes tobenefit rules during 2013/14 will place additional strain onour services. We will improve the processes we use to re-lethomes and reduce the time they stand empty. We willmonitor void times to see how successful we have been.

8.13 We provide specialist housing support services for peoplewho find it difficult to live independently. Based on theneeds mapping exercises that we have already undertaken,we will develop additional support for young people andtheir families.

8.14 In common with all Welsh local authorities, the proportion ofpeople living in accommodation provided through theprivate rented sector in Pembrokeshire has increased overthe past decade. We will develop existing links with privatelandlords to explore how the sector could play a part in thepractical discharge of our duties in relation to homelessness.We will also redesign our approach to homelessnessprevention by engaging customers and by piloting a revisedservice.

8.15 We will continue to maximise the amount of affordablehousing provided in Pembrokeshire. As capital grant levelsreduce, we will be increasingly dependent on affordablehousing being delivered through section 106 agreements.We will monitor the viability of such agreements closely toensure developers are making a reasonable contribution tothe overall stock of affordable housing.

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9. Safeguarding

9.1 We have undergone significant scrutiny and challenge in respectof our safeguarding arrangements since summer 2011.Inspection reports published at that time by Estyn and Care andSocial Services Inspectorate Wales identified clear shortfalls inpractice and standards. As a result we implemented a range ofimprovements, overseen by the Pembrokeshire MinisterialBoard. Recent reports from the Board recognise the progress wehave made. However, we recognise that we need to retain afocus on this area to ensure that the improvement becomesembedded.

9.2 We chose this Objective because we are committed to ensuringthat children and young people in our care are safe and becausewe have received critical reports from national inspectorates.

9.3 A very high proportion of respondents to our consultation agreedthat safeguarding should be a high priority (this received the jointhighest rating). The detailed comments we received madereference to the critical inspection reports. Others identified a linkbetween safeguarding, improvement in educational attainmentand corporate governance more generally.

9.4 We have set ourselves seven actions under this Objective:• Review our methods of providing advice to schools and

establish a new team bringing together all safeguardingexpertise into one service.

• Undertake a systematic audit of safeguarding in allschools.

• Create a single point of contact for advice and referral forschools on safeguarding, which will enable schools tohandle allegations appropriately.

• Develop an advocacy and participation service to ensurethe child’s voice is heard.

• Improve the consistency and clarity of information heldon our personnel files to ensure that when an allegation ismade against an individual, a summary of the allegation,the outcome of its investigation and any necessary followup with professional bodies are consistently documented.

• Implementing a cross authority Quality AssuranceFramework for safeguarding.

• Ensuring that key personnel in schools responsible forrecruitment undertake the Safer Recruitment trainingcourse.

9.5 The impact of achieving this Objective will be that childrenin Pembrokeshire’s schools will be safer. In addition, wewill be more able to manage information relating toindividuals who have had an allegation made against themeffectively.

Improvement Objective 5 - wewill strengthen our safeguardingarrangements in schools toensure that children and youngpeople are not put at risk

27

9.6 We will assess our progress against this ImprovementObjective by monitoring a range of measures. Unlike our otherImprovement Objectives, there is no single quantitativemeasure that can legitimately be used as a headline indicatorto chart progress.

9.7 There are a range of other actions we will take during 2013/14that, though not directly relevant to this ImprovementObjective, will contribute towards the related key outcomeidentified in the Single Integrated Plan: children and adults aresafeguarded.

9.8 We will ensure that the children’s services workforce has thecapacity to deal safely with demand by implementing a socialworker recruitment and retention plan. This will addresslong-standing recruitment problems that have led to anover-reliance on relatively costly social work agency staff.

9.9 We will improve the quality and consistency of ourassessment, care planning and review arrangements.Although the timeliness of assessments and reviews oflooked after children and child protection plans is good, weneed to improve consistency as well as strengthen reviewsof children in need (the largest group of children we have astatutory duty to provide services for). Tackling ourrecruitment issues within social care is one of the ways inwhich this will be tackled. We will monitor our progress byreporting the results of file audits to the Children andFamilies Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

9.10 In order to strengthen our preventative work to stopfamilies’ needs reaching the level where statutory servicesare required, we will implement Integrated Family SupportServices and Team Around the Family projects. This willmean that fewer families reach crisis point. As a greaterproportion of families under stress live in deprived areas, itis also practical way in which we will mitigate the impact ofchild poverty. We will use the existing mechanisms linkedto the funding of these teams to generate the performancedata required to measure our success.

9.11 In order to improve the protection of vulnerable adults, wewill ensure that we improve the capabilities within ourorganisation to undertake and manage adult protectionreferrals and investigations. By making the requiredchanges, we will help providers deliver a better service. Wewill also minimise the risk of abuse taking place. We willmonitor these actions by tracking the number of peoplewho have been trained in aspects of adult protection, aswell as by analysing contract monitoring information.

Success measures Target 2013/14

The percentage of schools completing the Safer Schoolsaudit which evidences areas that require improvement 100%

Improved levels of assurance reported through theSafeguarding in Education Quality Assuranceframework

- 3

Number of education personnel attending the saferrecruitment training course

100

The percentage of relevant children involved ininvestigation(s) of professional abuse who were:• Offered advocacy• Offered and took up the offer of advocacy

100%30%

3 It is not legitimate to set a quantitative targetfor this type of measure.

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10.1 Pembrokeshire is one of the safest places to live in England andWales, with very low levels of crime and disorder compared toother areas. Despite the low levels of actual crime, fear of crimeis still a significant concern for some residents.

10.2 Activity to promote community safety is heavily dependent onpartnership working and the bulk of relevant services areprovided by the police, as opposed to ourselves. The way inwhich organisations work together to tackle communitysafety has been influenced by the election of the Police andCrime Commissioner who may, in due course, re-commissionthe way in which services to support the crime andcommunity safety agenda are provided.

10.3 Following consultation, we decided not to set anImprovement Objective for this area. This was primarily dueto the relatively low levels of crime in Pembrokeshire.

10.4 The results from our consultation indicated that fewer peopleagree that crime and community safety should be a priority (itwas the third lowest). Several respondents indicated that thecurrent system appears to work well or that it was a lowerpriority than other areas. Two respondents commented onthe impact of spending cuts upon the police service itself,something that is beyond our control.

10.5 Though we have not set an Improvement Objective for thisarea, there are a range of other actions we will take during

2013/14 that will contribute towards the key outcomeidentified in the Single Integrated Plan: communities inPembrokeshire feel safe.

10.6 For example, we will continue to tackle anti social behaviourat the earliest possible stage and provide prevention servicesfor young people to help reduce the numbers entering thecriminal justice system. We will take this work forward inpartnership with other criminal justice agencies.

10.7 In order to address the behaviour of people who regularlyoffend, we will work through a multi agency framework toensure that interventions are co-ordinated. We will assess theeffectiveness of this approach by monitoring reoffendingamongst offenders within the Cleddau Project.

10.8 We will continue with the action planning approach toaddress anti-social behaviour and violent crime associatedwith excessive alcohol consumption we have adopted inTenby, Saundersfoot and Haverfordwest. We will measure theimpact of this by monitoring rates of violent crime.

10.9 Pembrokeshire has a number of petro-chemical facilities thatare of national importance. During 2013/14, we will work inpartnership with other agencies to enhance our preparednessfor any related major incidents.

We have not set anImprovement Objective forthis area10. Safety

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11.1 Improvement planning does not stopwith the implementation of actions.As was indicated in the introductionto this Plan, it is a cyclical processduring which we constantly revisitand revise our plans in light of thechanging circumstances in which wework.

11.2 Later this year, we will publish ourImprovement Review. This documentwill describe, in broad terms, whetheror not we achieved the Objectives weset ourselves for 2012/13. It willinclude important evidence such asperformance statistics and progressreports on the completion ofprojects. It is an opportunity for us toassess our own performance and toshare that evaluation with ourcustomers and regulators.

11.3 The Improvement Review also helpsto plan our activity for future years. Ithelps us to establish whether or notwe are tackling the right issues andwhether we are going about this inthe right way.

11.4 Finally, the review process willprovide us with a further opportunityto reflect on the comments we havereceived from individuals andcommunity groups. We are alwayshappy to receive comments aboutour objectives; we have included ourcontact details on page 1 of this plan.

11.5 We will not publish the Reviewrelating to this Plan until November2014. However, the actions andperformance measures set out in thisplan will be monitored on a quarterlybasis by Senior Officers andCouncillors. For example, ourOverview and Scrutiny Committeeswill review the areas that are relevantto them. Dates of meetings, agendasand all relevant papers are publishedon our website.

11. REPORTING BACK

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12. Glossary

Affordablehousing

BiodegradableWaste

Carbonfootprint

Care & SocialServicesInspectorateWales (CSSIW)

21st CenturySchools Programme

Cleddau Project

Core subjectindicator

Any housing (e.g. for rent, for purchase,or for part rent, part purchase) that isavailable at less than market rates.

This is waste which breaks down androts, such as food waste.

An estimate of the total amount of carbondioxide produced by a person,organisation, event or product.

CSSIW encourages the improvement ofsocial care, early years and socialservices in Wales. It also inspects publicand private care providers and localauthorities.

A Welsh Government scheme to invest inschool building stock.

The Pembrokeshire Cleddau is anIntegrated Offender Management project,which is a partnership involving Police,Probation, Youth Offending Team, LocalAuthority and many other agencies thatoffers the clients support andencouragement to stay out of trouble.

The percentage achieving the expectedlevel in English or Welsh (first language),Mathematics and Science at Key Stage1-3 and at least GCSE Grade C at KeyStage 4.

Delayedtransfersof care

Domiciliary care

Enterprise Zone

Estyn

Federationarrangements

This is sometimes called bed-blocking.This can happen when someone hasbeen in hospital and no longer requiresmedical services, but requires additionalservices to be in place before they cango home. It is often our responsibility toensure that these services are in place.

Care provided to people within their ownhomes, such as help with washing,dressing or other personal needs.

A UK Government economicdevelopment designation thatencourages growth by providingincentives for businesses in a particulararea.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Educationand Training in Wales. The purpose ofEstyn is to inspect quality and standardsin education and training in Wales.

An arrangement between educationproviders to increase the range ofqualifications available to young people.In Pembrokeshire this project requireslocal schools and Pembrokeshire Collegeto coordinate the provision of somecourses.

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LocalGovernment(Wales)Measure 2009

Looked afterchildren

Municipalwaste

Professionalabuse

Protectedcharacteristics

Power to legislate for communityplanning and local improvement in Waleshas been devolved to the NationalAssembly for Wales. A Measure is theterm used to describe legislation drawnup by the National Assembly for Wales.

Children that the Council has taken intocare. Looked after children are placedwith either foster carers or adoptiveparents. However, the Council retains alegal responsibility for their welfare (astheir ‘corporate parents’).

Waste collected directly fromhouseholds, through civic amenity sites,from litter bins or through street cleaning.

Incidents where someone employed byus or acting on our behalf takesadvantage of their position to abuse orharm children or vulnerable adults.

The Equality Act 2010 gives protection tovarious groups. These are: Age; Race;Disability; Religion and Belief; GenderReassignment; Sex; Marriage and CivilPartnership; Sexual Orientation; andPregnancy and Maternity.

Reablement

SustainableDevelopment

S106 agreement

A package of services for people whoneed support to live in their own homes.These services encourage and supportpeople to do as much as they can forthemselves, doing tasks with them ratherthan for them.

A document which publicises anorganisation’s commitment to makingdecisions that take long term social,economic and environmental issues intoaccount.

These are legally binding financialagreements entered into between a localplanning authority and a developer tomake a contribution to local infrastructureor to offset the external effects ofdevelopment.