Council's Annual Report 2022-2023

OUTCOME: Improved availability of early years education and childcare settings across the county, particularly in rural areas; with a particular focus on providing and strengthening Welsh-medium childcare. 

PROGRESS: ⇑ We are continuing to support and encourage the childcare and early years sector to develop Welsh language opportunities and providers have been made aware of all avenues where staff can access Welsh language courses and resources. The expansion of Flying Start programme will also encourage new providers who specialist in Welsh-medium provision. Progress has been slow due to pandemic aftermath and increasing living costs impacting on the viability of the sector. The sector remains under constant pressure to maintain their services for working parents and early years child development experiences for children. There were 90 childminders with 791 childcare places at 31/3/23 (a reduction compared with the same time last year which was 102 childminders with 781 childcare places.

OUTCOME: Pupils with Additional Learning Needs are fully supported.

PROGRESS: ⇑ Carmarthenshire has expanded workforce capacity to meet the demands of delivering the new ways of working, especially to support the provision of additional learning provision in mainstream schools. However, the duty to favour mainstream provision will necessitate further growth in central services to strengthen and build capacity in all areas and limit the requirement for growth in specialist setting provision and reconsiderations of school decisions

OUTCOME: Increased school attendance rates and access to education for vulnerable pupils.

PROGRESS: ⇑ In the current academic year attendance levels in both sectors are above the level of 2021/22 by 1.6 percentage points in primary and 3.9 percentage points in secondary schools. This highlights that attendance is generally improving, including an uplift of improvement for eFSM learners. There is variation between schools in both sectors with some making considerably more progress than others.

OUTCOME: Deliver a rounded curriculum raising educational standards.

PROGRESS: ⇑ Support provided to schools for developing the curriculum has improved considerably since January 2023, with the Education and Children’s Services department now playing a lead role in the design and delivery of the curriculum professional learning offer.
Engagement of schools has increased substantially from 5 schools per session to 55 +. As a result, there is greater collaboration on understanding the curriculum for Wales, improved sharing of effective practice and a stronger link to authentic learning experiences.
Working alongside local developments and businesses we continue to enrich our learning offer to schools, for example, extracting carbon, alongside Swansea University or focussing on the development of the Pentre Awel site.

OUTCOME: Nutritious free school meals for all primary school pupils.

PROGRESS: ⇑ Universal Primary Free School Meals (UPFSM) are being rolled out across the county in line with Welsh Government targets. All pupils up to year 2 currently receive UPFSM meals, with year 3 & 4 going live September 2023 and years 5 & 6 in April 2024.

OUTCOME: Increased bilingual and Welsh medium education.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Authority successfully identifies the demand for Welsh medium education and meets this demand and provision in all phases reflects the Authority’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). Carmarthenshire's WESP is innovative and ambitious and is effectively focused on ensuring Welsh medium education is available to all learners, within reasonable distance from their homes.
The plan focusses rigorously on proactively ensuring that all schools can move along the language continuum, specifically focusing on the advantages of access to learning during the Foundation Phase through immersion methodology. As a result, the supply and demand for Welsh medium education across the authority continues to increase.

OUTCOME: Improved opportunities for all residents in literacy, numeracy and digital skills to upskill for employment.

PROGRESS: ⇑ We have trained and supported more than 330 people by improving their digital skills (one of the key areas of targeted intervention), in order they are well equipped with better employment prospects.

OUTCOME: Schools for sustainable community learning that are fit for 21st Century.

PROGRESS: ⇑ Carmarthenshire County Council has clear priorities for investment via its Modernizing Education Programme (MEP). The Programme is a strategic investment and rationalisation plan to transform school provision. It is kept under review to ensure that its school reorganisation and investment proposals retain flexibility at their core to reflect changing circumstances in a continually developing society and be responsive to changes in the education policy framework.

OUTCOMES: Keeping children at home with their families whenever possible.

Reducing the inequalities faced by children from disadvantaged backgrounds which may affect their later life chances.

Families facing difficulties are supported to provide stable, safe and secure home environments for their children.

PROGRESS: ⇔ Children’s services provide a range of services and support whose overall aim is to enable children and young people to reside within their own families and within their own communities wherever it is safe to do so, working with others to prevent the number of children who suffer adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and prevent the need for statutory involvement. Despite an increase in the number of looked after children Carmarthenshire still has one of the lowest compared to the rest of Wales per 10,000 of the population. Families have struggled in the aftermath of the pandemic and cost of living crisis which has added stress, issues arising increasing risks of abuse and neglect and mental health. Requests for accommodation are made through our accommodation panel to try and ensure alternative support options are considered through teams such as edge of Care, Integrated Family Support team (IFST) and Family Intervention Teams and other preventative services. We are reviewing EOC and IFST to ensure families receive the right help at the right time within their local communities. We are also developing parenting programmes.

OUTCOME: Families from disadvantaged backgrounds are able to access health and well-being provision within their local areas.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Local Authority has a broad range of services that support families to access health and well-being provision. Including:

• The Family Information Service (FIS) is central resource for providing information on services for families and professionals. The Right Help, Right Time Framework helps to navigate the service available across different levels of need. FIS Facebook page has 1,195 followers and 34,390 website hits.

• Early Years services include the Flying Start programme and Early Years Cwm Gwendraeth Pathfinder Pilot. These provide multiagency and integrated working in targeted deprived communities, improving health and well-being outcomes for families. A total of 2,356 children received support during 22/23 through the Flying Start programme. The Phase 1 expansion led to a further 127 children benefitting from the service.

• Services 0-25 years. The Families First programme is accessible across the County, and provides parenting support, support for young people and disability support. A total of 9,230 individuals received a meaningful intervention in 22/23. Demand and complexity have increased, and the programme is responding positively, 94% of 789 cases closed reported a forward movement .

As a Council we focus on the following thematic and service priorities:

• WBO1a Thematic Priority: Healthy Lives – prevention /early intervention
• WBO1b Service Priority: Early years
• WBO1c Service Priority: Education

Why this is important?

Giving every child the best start in life, improving their early life experiences, and ensuring they live healthy lifestyles will reduce their risk of facing inequalities later in life and support them to reach their full potential. We recognise that early childhood is a time of great opportunity but also great risk as every interaction helps to shape the way children develop. We will therefore strive to protect children and young people from harm and work to ensure their emotional and physical well-beings are protected and nurtured.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

In their last Assurance Check, Care Inspectorate Wales found Children’s Social Services had-

• Approachable and supportive leaders
• A Culture of co-production and personal outcomes being developed with people
• Clarity in operational methodology
• Strong multi-agency cooperation
• Positive integrated approach to a culture of prevention through joint working
• Low children looked after population

Makes a positive contribution to the well-being of people in the pandemic period.

We are continually working to reduce the number of children becoming looked after utilising specialist and preventative teams such as Edge of Care (EOC), Integrated Family Support Team (IFST) and Family Intervention Team (FIT). We continue to face challenges to maintain children safely at home as families have struggled following the aftermath of the pandemic and cost of living crisis with increased hardship with issues arising where risks are high in relation to abuse and neglect, mental and emotional health issues. We work in partnership with families and other agencies to provide the right support at the right time to prevent the need for children to become looked after and to rehabilitate them safely at home wherever possible.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 25-31 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

Protecting children who are experiencing, or are at risk of abuse, neglect, or other kinds of harm is our priority. Our focus is on early intervention / prevention to ensure all children can reach their full potential and be healthy, happy, and safe. Helping to give every child the best start in life and improve their early life experiences is our key aim.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Flying Start is expanding in a phased approach across the county.

Phase 1 of the expansion is already complete, and Phase 2 is due to commence in April 2023 to reach a target of 249 children aged 2-3 years by 31st March 2025. Once fully rolled out all families with children aged 2-3 years will be eligible for 12.5 hours of funded, high-quality childcare for 39 weeks of the year.

The ‘Summer of Fun’ and ‘Winter of Well-being’ funding enabled approximately 15,000 children and young people aged 0-25 to benefit from free activities across the county.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 32-34 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

We will support all Carmarthenshire learners. The future direction of Education Services will focus on supporting learners to become:

• Ambitious, capable learners, ready to learn throughout their lives.
• Enterprising, creative contributors, ready to provide a full part in life & work.
• Healthy and confident individuals, ready to learn fulfilling lives as valued members of society.
• Ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Overall, pupils are happy, safe, thriving and are fulfilling their personal, social, and learning potential.

Pupil surveys show Health and Wellbeing is generally good across all our schools.
Overall, outcomes for GCSE in 2022 are higher than 2019 when exams were last sat.
We have enhanced support for pupils with Additional Learning Needs and vulnerable learners.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 35-43 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

OUTCOME: Help and support to alleviate the effects of the ‘cost of living’ crises and poverty in the County.

PROGRESS: ⇔ Cross departmental work to tackle the Cost-of-Living crisis has developed a stronger more integrated approach within the Council and has better consolidated and identified what we are doing, can do and need to do. At a household level the most recently available paycheck data suggests that 34.5% of all households in Carmarthenshire are living in poverty , this translates to around 28,730 households. This is a slight decrease of 1.1% since last year which mirrors trends seen nationally.

OUTCOME: Seamless integrated services between Health and Social Care.

PROGRESS: ⇑ We continue to have an integrated service between the Health Board and Carmarthenshire County Council for older people and people with physical disabilities. Over the last year, we have relooked at our integrated management structure to ensure that our services can benefit all Carmarthenshire residents equally regardless of where they live.

We have continued to develop our Home First approach to help those in hospital get home quicker and support those in crisis in the community to prevent them going to hospital in the first place. We now have a multi-disciplinary team based at our offices at Eastgate made up of a range of health, social care and third sector professionals to support those leaving hospital and those in crisis in the community. This team includes an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner who can support with diverting ambulances from the Emergency Department and Llesiant Delta Well-being (our council owned arms-length company) who are able to provide short term support for those in crisis through their rapid response service. Llesiant Delta Wellbeing are now supporting thousands of elderly people with proactive digital support in their own homes.

To support this approach, we have further developed our 14-bed unit Ty Pili-Pala, attached to Llys Y Bryn care home, where patients leaving hospital can benefit from a period of assessment and rehabilitation. This development has proved highly successful with 70% of people leaving the service with no need for ongoing formal care. We have also launched our integrated reablement home care service, to provide short-term care to those leaving hospital and 90% of people accessing this service have no long-term care requirements on leaving the service.

Our overall approach has led to a significant decrease in the number of patients in hospital waiting for care, which is particularly important at the moment with all of the challenges relating to securing care and support at home due to the ongoing recruitment and retention issues in the care sector. This approach has led to a significant decrease in the number of patients in hospital waiting for care.

OUTCOME: Accessible, inclusive, sustainable services, which promote and facilitate learning, culture, heritage, information, well-being and leisure.

PROGRESS: ⇑ We are progressing an ambitious programme of change in our learning day services provision; buildings are now being utilised for those with the most complex needs and we are working with colleagues in leisure and environment to offer community activities which promote independence and social inclusion.

OUTCOME: Improved preventative services to meet the demands of an ageing population.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A multi-agency Prevention Board has been established comprising of representatives from the Council, Health Board, Public Health and the Third Sector. This Board will start to map existing preventative services in the County, with a view to identifying key gaps and an action plan for development.  A new Senior Delivery Manager for Prevention is also in the process of being recruited who will provide leadership across agencies to drive this action plan forward.  We have established well-being pathways within the Community Mental Health Teams. 

OUTCOME: A reduction and working towards an end to homelessness.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A Rapid Re-Housing Plan has been developed which outlines the vision on how we intend to transform the homeless service.

Workstreams as part of the Rapid Re-housing plan have been established to look at key areas which include: The Allocations Policy; Reviewing and Developing housing related support; Temporary accommodation; Developing settled accommodation

We have improved the Prevention of Homelessness by: Developing the Housing Hwb Team; Reviewing and Developing the Emergency Allocations Policy; Utilising the Discretionary Housing Prevention Fund

The Pre-tenancy team has: Provided more support to new tenants by maximising their benefits/income to help them maintain tenancies; Expanded the support available to tenants in the private rented sector; Re-introduced training packages for young people to help them maintain tenancies; Pilot training program with the DWP as part of the claimant commitment.

OUTCOME: Availability of good quality and energy efficient affordable homes in the County.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Housing Regeneration and Development Delivery Plan confirms our commitment and approach to increasing the supply of good quality and energy efficient affordable homes throughout the county. In 2022/23 we delivered an additional 323 affordable homes (exceeding our target by over 100 homes), using a range of solutions including: building new Council homes; bringing empty homes back into use; increasing our housing stock by buying private sector homes on the open market; working with our Housing Association partners and supporting them to build more homes in the County; managing private homes through our inhouse Simple Lettings Agency; delivering affordable homes for low-cost home ownership through the planning system.
Since the beginning of our affordable housing programme, we have now delivered an additional 1,760 homes, creating homes and communities for local people

OUTCOME: Recognise and seek to limit the disproportionate barriers faced by marginalised groups in accessing services and support which allow them to live and age well.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Age-friendly Communities approach was developed by the World Health Organisation in 2007, in consultation with older people around the world. It is built on the evidence of what supports healthy and active ageing in a place and supports older residents to shape the place that they live.

By following this approach, local groups, leaders, councils, businesses and older residents will all work together to identify and make changes in both the physical and social environments. This includes improving transport, outdoor spaces, volunteering and employment, leisure and community services.

All Local Authorities in Wales have received funding from Welsh Government in order to become members of the Age-friendly communities’ programme. During 2022/23, we have undertaken a detailed mapping exercise against the domains of the programme and this evidence will form basis for our future action planning.
In recognising that some people groups may face difficulties accessing services and support, we have put a number of things in place to mitigate this. Some examples are as follows: Carmarthenshire is part of a regional independent advocacy scheme which supports people to access services, and as part of their ongoing support; Information is provided in easy read format and in language of choice; Interpretation can be facilitated where necessary.
For individuals with hearing impairments requiring TEC services and alarm monitoring, we can use SMS as means of communication and email/home visits to gather necessary information to enable us to set the service. There is also a lot of TEC available to support individuals with visual and hearing impairments

OUTCOME: Improved opportunities for all residents in literacy, numeracy and digital skills to upskill for employment.

PROGRESS: ⇑ We have established a skills hub for people with disabilities which will provide opportunities for accredited learning and digital skills to upskill them for volunteering and ultimately employment.

OUTCOME: People are supported to take advantage of local opportunities whether it be through starting a business, gaining qualifications or gaining meaningful employment.

PROGRESS: ⇑ he Employability Programmes in Carmarthenshire support individuals who are unemployed or who have been made redundant. The support includes one to one mentoring; training; confidence building; helping with CV’ writing and finding suitable employment and volunteering opportunities. The programmes (C4W plus and Workways +) have both helped secure employment for individuals from Carmarthenshire as well as offering training to meet the needs of employers.

As a Council we focus on the following thematic and service priorities:

• WBO2a Thematic Priority: Tackling Poverty
• WBO1b Service Priority: Housing
• WBO1c Service Priority: Social Care

Why this is important?

Poverty and deprivation have serious detrimental effects across all aspects of wellbeing. It limits the opportunities and prospects for children and young people and damages the quality of life for families and communities.

Poverty can be a barrier to full participation in society and is too often an intergenerational experience which poses a significant threat to experiencing positive well-being both now Andin the future.

With the added pressures of the cost of living crisis impacting residents, businesses and organisations there is a need for a fully integrated and collaborative approach to responding and supporting in the areas that we can influence.

In addition, 34.6% of children in Carmarthenshire are thought to be living in poverty, this translates to around 11,247 children. This exceeds national levels and is the 12th highest level of all local authorities in Wales and the joint sixth highest rate of change over the last five years.

To corroborate this a large proportion of respondents to a recent consultation agreed that poverty is a problem in their respective area. In addition, the vast majority of the respondents highlighted the cost of living crisis and themes aligned to this as being one of the main challenges being faced by them and their families at the time of survey.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

4.5% (28,730) of households are living in poverty , a slight decrease of 1.1% since last year.

Whilst this is the case Carmarthenshire still exhibits the 8th highest level of all local authorities in Wales and poverty levels remain higher than the Welsh average by 1.1%.
Cross departmental work to tackle the Cost-of-Living crisis has developed a stronger more integrated approach within the Council and has better consolidated and identified what we are, can and need to do.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 52-62 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

Good quality affordable homes as well as continued significant investment in existing homes promotes health and well-being, meeting the individual needs of the residents, building resilient and cohesive communities and places where people want to live. Investment in existing and the additional supply of homes in our rural and urban communities across the County will be key to enabling community resilience and cohesion.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

We have delivered over 1,000 additional affordable homes over the last four years
Good quality affordable homes are the bedrock of healthy and sustainable communities. Delivery through our plans and our new Housing and Regeneration and Development Delivery Plan continues to exceed targets.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 63-67 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• Social care services across a range of client group areas are likely to see an increase in demand over coming years and with the sector facing significant pressures in terms of workforce capacity there is a need to focus attention and respond innovatively.
• The further development of collaboration and integration with health will be essential in order to deliver the key principles and standards relating to prevention, system flow, proactive care and planned care, and long-term care. The long-term aim is to wherever possible help people to maintain their independence at home for as long as possible, prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital and support timely discharge home from hospital to ensure that those that need good hospital care can access it.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Following the pandemic, we have seen increased demand for all social care services, made more challenging by the increasing complexity of cases, however, we have continued to innovate, develop and protect the most vulnerable. We are also clear regarding priorities and service improvements going forward.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 68-72 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

OUTCOME: Businesses supported and employment provided.

PROGRESS: ⇑ 1,237 businesses supported and 1,350 direct jobs created via Carmarthenshire Rural Enterprise Fund, Property development Fund, Pendine attractor, Llandeilo Market Hall, Ammanford Regeneration development fund, CRF - Towns and Growth, Carmarthen Town Regeneration Activity, Ammanford Town Regeneration Activity, Parry Thomas centre, C4W+/C4w+ YPG, RLSP, Workways/STU, CRF - Iaith Gwaith, BREF, Transforming Towns, Progressive Procurement, Business growth & Start Up, targeted business Engagement, CRF Business Llanelli.

OUTCOME: People are supported to take advantage of local opportunities whether it be through starting a business, gaining qualifications or gaining meaningful employment.

PROGRESS: ⇑ 14 individuals supported to establish a new business under the Business Start Up fund and 619 individuals have been helped into employment via C4W+ C4W YPG, Workways / STU and linked activity with Job Centre Plus. Through the employability programmes within Carmarthenshire 463 individuals have been supported into meaningful employment, with Workway+ working with people with multiple barriers.

OUTCOME: Businesses are supported to take advantage of local supply chains and procurement opportunities.

PROGRESS: ⇑ 303 businesses have received support under the Progressive Procurement Initiative. In addition, funding has been secured under the Shared Prosperity Fund to deliver a business engagement project to promote the Think Carmarthenshire First approach to encourage spend within County development of Carmarthenshire inter-trading – linking businesses to each other to support local supply chains. Progressive procurement initiative within Carmarthenshire to increase local spend.
As part of Procurements engagement with suppliers for our tendering activity in 2022-23: 28 suppliers were met with on a 1-2-1 basis; 4 Early Market Engagement Events were held with 151 attendees; 6 Live Tender Workshops/Webinars were held with 125 attendees; 9 Tender Briefing Sessions attendees 434; 2 Getting Tender Ready Events, 67 attendees; 3 Consortia/Joint Bidding Events, attendees 101.

OUTCOME: People feel empowered to lead active and healthy lives through access to fit for purpose services and provision

PROGRESS: ⇑ We have re-established public confidence in engaging in exercise, with attendances returning to pre-pandemic levels (over 100,000 pcm) by the end of the year. This included demonstrating exemplary health & safety standards by winning RoSPA’s international ‘Leisure Trophy’ award.
Over £300k of additional external funding leveraged to increase and broaden the activity programmes available, from free swim lessons for children living in deprivation and 61,000 participations in our ‘couch to 2km’ schools programme, to Actif legacy for youths, to walking sports and pre-diabetes activity for adults, to ‘curling and a cuppa’ for older adults to Beat the Street for the whole community of Llanelli that engaged almost 7,000 of the town’s population who actively travelled over 43,000 miles over 6 weeks and created a step-change in people’s activity levels.
Particular improvements made to the welcome areas at Carmarthen and Amman Valley Leisure Centres, further digitalising access to enable customer service staff to have additional capacity to improve customer interaction. Digitalisation Across Actif Sport & Leisure also progressed in terms of functionality and popularity of Actif App, doubling the number of App downloads compared to 2021-22 (downloaded by 46,000 people) with an average of 230,000 module uses / 28,000 transactions per month (70% of all transactions).
Average reach across all digital platforms (web/social media/app) of 406,000 per month.
Enhancing sustainability/active travel by installing and activating car and e-bike parking and charging points at various leisure centres and taking activity to communities via our Actif van and establishing activity programmes in 3 community halls in Cwmaman, Kidwelly and Whitland. Amman Valley Leisure Centre/Ysgol Dyffryn Aman astroturf resurfaced, with brand new 3G pitch and synthetic track installation to commence imminently.

OUTCOME: On track to meet the national recycling targets.

PROGRESS: ⇑ This year we have exceeded the statutory target with a performance of 65.25% which is currently being verified by NRW before official recycling rates are released for 2022/2023 nationally. Following the changes, the recycling performance in Q4 has significantly improved from last year from 2022 Q4 - 60.03% to 2023 Q4 - 67.69%.

OUTCOME: Continue to work towards becoming a Net Zero Carbon Local Authority by 2030.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Council demonstrates a strong organisational commitment to carbon reduction and was the first local authority in Wales to publish net zero action plan and has reported annually against the plan. In the absence of guidance on a cost model the plan and annual updates have not indicated the total cost of the plan to meet the Council’s net zero objective. In 2023 the council has developed methodology for estimating the cost of meeting the Council’s net zero target by 2030. The model requires further refinement to provide consistency of approach across local authorities in Wales. The authority is pressing the Welsh Government for guidance while working with partners in the SBCR to develop the model. 

OUTCOME: look to improve the availability and affordability of early years education and childcare settings across the county, to address one of the common barriers faced by individuals looking to return to, or find employment.

PROGRESS: ⇑ 30 hours Childcare Offer National Digital Service - promotion and support has continued to ensure eligible parents and childcare providers are familiar with the process. 522 parent applications were received and processed between 1st January to 31st March 2023 and 149 childcare providers have completed their on-line registration. Just under £1.7M has been paid to local childcare providers in Carmarthenshire to eligible children during the year (1st April 2022 – 28th February 2023).

Our most recent Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2022-27, which was submitted to Welsh Government in June 2022, did not indicate any quantitative or qualitative sufficiency pressures for Foundation Learning funded 3-year-old places within approved Childcare settings across Carmarthenshire. Several approved Childcare Providers reported having vacant places in Autumn 2021 which would suggest we had surplus places in certain locations throughout Carmarthenshire.

OUTCOME: Look to improve access to services through enhanced transportation networks and infrastructure.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The aspiration for modal shift has influenced our investment in infrastructure particularly around our major population centres where we have built new infrastructure to support more sustainable travel journeys

OUTCOME: Improve current and explore new developments to limit the effects of flooding and other environmental threats which affect our residents and service users.

PROGRESS: ⇑ We have delivered 12 schemes within our capital works programme, 4 of these schemes are estimated to deliver flood reduction benefit to 112 residential and 13 business properties.
We utilise telemetry at some of our assets, affording us live data on river levels at high-risk area. It is hoped that this will better inform our operational response, allowing us to target areas at greatest risk.
We are in the process of developing our Flood Risk Management Plan 2024-2030 which will set out our FCERM# priorities over the next 7 years.
^{#National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management}

OUTCOME: Sustain low crime rates whilst continuing effective partnership working to address increasing rates evident in some areas of the county.

PROGRESS: ⇔ Low crime rates have been sustained through effective partnership working. There has been a slight increase in the number of crimes reported in 2022/23 – 16,381 – which is 3% (497) higher than the previous year. However, the county remains one of the safest areas in the UK and Dyfed-Powys the safest Police Force area in England and Wales with the lowest crime rates.

OUTCOME: Increase in the number of Welsh speakers.

PROGRESS: ⇓ The latest Census data for 2021 indicates that Carmarthenshire is home to 72,838 Welsh speakers. This translates to 39.9% of the county’s total population. This figure has decreased by 5,210 since the last Census in 2011, which translates to a percentage point decrease of 4.0. This is the largest percentage point decrease of all local authorities in Wales.

OUTCOME: Increased confidence and use of Welsh as a thriving language.

PROGRESS: ⇓ The number of people able to speak, read and write Welsh in the county has decreased by 1.9 percentage points or 1,828 people. This is a considerably lower decrease than the figures for those only able to speak Welsh.

As a Council we focus on the following thematic and service priorities:

• WBO3a Thematic Priority: Economic Recovery and Growth
• WBO3b Thematic Priority: Decarbonisation and Nature Emergency
• WBO3c Thematic Priority: Welsh Language and Culture
• WBO3d Thematic Priority: Community Safety, Resilience, and Cohesion
• WBO3e Service Priority: Leisure and Tourism
• WBO3f Service Priority: Waste
• WBO3g Service Priority: Highways and Transport

Why this is important?

The strength of our local economy is central to our communities’ wider well-being and going forward we will focus our regeneration efforts on developing our businesses, people and places. In our future plans we will enable Carmarthenshire to become more productive whilst being more equal, greener and healthier and supporting business and community resilience and growth.

Providing secure and well-paid jobs is central to everything we are seeking to achieve.

Increasing employability is fundamental to tackling poverty and the cost of living reducing inequalities and has a dramatic impact on our health and ability to function in everyday society.

We need to build a knowledge rich, creative economy by maximising employment and training places for local people through creating jobs and providing high quality apprenticeships, training and work experience opportunities, to have an ongoing skilled and competent workforce to face the future.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

There are positive signs emerging from the local economy, but some challenges remain.

Building upon the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP), we have secured and are delivering the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) in Carmarthenshire. The £38.68m fund will help to deliver against some of Carmarthenshire’s key strategic objectives. The Shared Prosperity Fund will provide new opportunities for local communities, support the development and growth of local businesses as well as supporting the recovery of our town centres and is a mix of revenue and capital funding that can be used to support a wide range of interventions to build pride in place and improve life chances. We’ve also launched the second phase of the £11 million ARFOR Programme, which aims to deliver an economic boost and strengthen the Welsh language across counties Gwynedd, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Anglesey.

In addition, significant regeneration capital schemes have been delivered, most notably, the redevelopment of Llandeilo Market Hall and the Pendine Tourism Attractor Project. Both projects illustrate the Authorities ambition to invest in infrastructure which will stimulate and support the local economy.

Whilst positive, the County continues to face challenges:

• Positively, unemployment rates are falling, and employment rates are increasing. However, the County still exhibits a higher-than-average level of people (aged 16-64) who are economically inactive. This can restrict labour supply and stunt economic growth.
• Carmarthenshire continues to lag behind national averages with regards to the proportion qualified to level 4 or above. Developing skills and qualifications improves employability and career prospects and creates a well-skilled and able labour market.
• Continue to exhibit a significant and persistent productivity gap with the rest of the UK.
  Reliance on micro and small businesses, coupled with relatively high employment in the public sector which can make the economy more susceptible to threats.
• The cost-of-living crisis fuelled by the significant increase in inflation and energy prices is having an impact on businesses. As such business support grants through the Shared Prosperity Fund have been introduced to assist businesses and stimulate growth.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 81-96 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• The Natural Environment is a core component of sustainable development. The Council has already declared its commitment to addressing the climate and nature emergencies and will continue on its route towards becoming a Net Zero Carbon Local Authority by 2030 and addressing the issues that are driving a decline in our biodiversity and support nature recovery.
• Route Towards becoming a Net Zero Carbon Local Authority by 2030
• A biodiverse natural environment, with healthy functioning ecosystems, supports social, economic and ecological resilience. Carmarthenshire’s natural environment is the natural resource on which much of our economy is based – tourism, farming, forestry, and renewable energy. It is a major factor that attracts people, both young and older to live, work and visit the county, bringing inward investment with them.
• The conservation and enhancement of biodiversity is vital in our response to climate change and key ecosystem services such as food, flood management, pollination, clean air and water.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

We have significant environmental challenges to address
We have a strong organisational commitment to carbon reduction and were the first local authority in Wales to declare a climate emergency, publish an action plan and report annually against progress made within the plan. Since 2016/17 to 2021/22 we have reduced our carbon emissions by nearly a third (-31.7%) (-8,418 tCO2e).

This is strong progress in the pathway to meeting our commitment to Welsh Government’s ambition for net zero Welsh public sector by 2030 | Legal commitment to achieve a net zero Wales by 2050. We are also committed to playing our part in achieving the wider public sector obligation to become net zero by 2050 and our progress in achieving significant reductions to date in our own emissions plays an important part in achieving that wider obligation.

We are proactively working with national government, public, private and third sectors to mitigate against the impacts of climate change through for instance the WLGA Climate Change Strategy Panel and in leading the commercial and industrial workstream of the regional and local energy action plans. While significant early progress has been made, innovative work to develop carbon trajectories has been developed this year which will assist us in targeting activity to meet the more challenging circa 60% residual carbon savings. In 2022, we became one of a few authorities to declare a nature emergency and convene a cross party climate change and nature advisory panel (CCNEAP) recognising the close relationship between the two areas of work. Work to deliver actions and report on the delivery of the Environment Act plan is progressing well, of the 38 actions, 26 are progressing well, and 12 have been completed and we are moving to review the content of the plan with the advice of the CCNEP, to reflect the declaration of the nature emergency.

We are making a difference to many communities with our flood risk analysis and business case developments works, we have a better understanding of risks in many communities. All new developments must have sustainable drainage which is managing flooding for both new developments and the surrounding community.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 97-109 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• Carmarthenshire is a stronghold for the Welsh language and is considered to be of high strategic importance in its future. Bilingualism is beneficial to both the economy and individuals through cognitive and social benefits. We will work towards increasing the number of Welsh speakers and supporting the regular use of the language across all aspects of our daily lives.
• Engaging in cultural activity has demonstrable positive impact on starting well, living well and ageing well. We want our future generations to be immersed in a strong, intriguing, wholly unique Carmarthenshire Culture, which reflects our past and shapes our future.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

The 2021 Census results published in December 2022 saw a further decline in the number of Welsh speakers in Carmarthenshire, down to 39.9% of the population, which is equivalent to 72,838 Welsh speakers. However, the Welsh Language County Strategi Forum is developing excellent co-operation approaches and has worked together to co-produce the new Welsh Language promotion Strategy. The Council is also developing its ethos and culture in terms of use of the Welsh language within the organisation and this will be further developed over the next few years.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 110-116 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• Safety and a feeling of belonging are important to personal well-being.
• More people now appreciate the value of kindness and being part of a community. Supporting cohesive communities and ensuring those from different backgrounds share positive relationships, feel safe in their neighbourhood, and have a sense of mutual respect and shared values is central to having active and thriving communities.
• Community Resilience is also essential to enable communities to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations. When communities work together to support each other it builds a sense of pride and belonging which is key for social well-being

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Despite a slight increase in crime rates, Carmarthenshire remains one of the safest places in the UK.
Partnership working with Dyfed Powys Police and other agencies remains strong and continues to develop as new issues arise.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 117-121 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• Sport and leisure, culture and outdoor recreation are the heartbeat of our communities. These services provide a range of health and well-being activities, facilities, and programmes in order to support our residents and communities to lead healthy, safe and prosperous lives.
• In a similar way the promotion of our County as an attractive and commercially viable place to visit and invest in is a key economic and well-being factor.
• We will continue to develop these services in response to the need of our residents, businesses and visitors.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Leisure Attendance Almost Back to Pre-Covid Levels

Attendances have recovered across the year as more people are engaged in physical activity opportunities across the county, with figures almost back to pre-Covid levels. Our key challenges over the past 12 months have been around managing post pandemic participation and income recovery, along with the cost of living and energy price crises.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 122-125 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

We recognise the importance to a shift towards a truly circular economy, where waste is eliminated, and resources are kept in use for as long as possible.

As well as being good for the environment, a fully circular economy could create employment.
In our county, more people recycle every day.

If recyclable items end up in landfill their value is lost forever.

Recycling also reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying, and logging), refining and processing raw (or ‘virgin’) materials, all of which create substantial air and water pollution. This helps to save energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping to tackle climate change.

Whilst recycled materials are valuable commodities in the worldwide market and are financially important, recycling is good for the environment too. It makes best use of our limited natural resources. We need to remember how we act now will have an impact on future generations.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Recycling Change Brings Improved Performance

We undertake waste and recycling kerbside collections to 91,000 households with over 8.5m interactions per annum. During this year we made significant changes to our suite of waste services, implementing a move to weekly food and dry recycling, reducing the frequency of our residual waste collections and rolling out new separate kerbside glass and nappy recycling collections. Any change in waste service delivery is difficult and bring its own challenges, however, the strategic success of the service change has led to a significant improvement in our recycling performance, and we have exceeded the Welsh Government Statutory Recycling target with a performance of 65.25%.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 126-130 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

Why this is important?

• The Transportation and Highway system role has never been more important than today when society continues to recover from worldwide events and addresses the key challenges of decarbonisation, inequality, developing housing and sustainable communities, education, health, well-being and the local economy.
• Our highway and transportation networks underpin the economic prosperity of Carmarthenshire, facilitating access to employment and learning opportunities, social connections, health, leisure, active travel and delivering services that touch every home every day. Connectivity and accessibility are central to facilitating economic and social well-being and we will continue to develop and enhance our local infrastructure in order to support our communities.

Our Overall Self-Assessment:

Delivering key services & projects through strategic challenges

The aspiration for modal shift within the Wales Transport Strategy has influenced our investment in infrastructure particularly around our major population centres where we have built new infrastructure to support more sustainable travel journeys. The Division has continued to work through the strategic challenges influenced by macro influences that include the economy, resulting in reductions in income, both revenue and capital funding, the development of the Corporate Joint Committee with specific responsibility for transport planning, changes to the default speed limit in September 2023, the Wales Transport Strategy and climate change. The service has been proactive in delivering change however the constant reduction in resource levels, rising public expectation, supply chain pressures and deteriorating asset condition is leading to a difficult operating environment for services.

For progress and data on this service priority see pages 131-134 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?

OUTCOME: To further modernise and develop the Council’s ways of working.

PROGRESS: ⇑ One of the key aims of the Transformation Programme is to develop smarter and more efficient ways of working, especially through the use of technology. A programme of work is already underway to automate a number of paper-based processes.

OUTCOME: Support the development of the Council as a modern, diverse, inclusive and responsive organisation and be an ‘Employer of Choice’.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A Workforce Strategy has been developed during the year, and this will provide the strategic framework to support in delivering on a number of workforce related priorities and to become an ‘Employer of Choice’.

OUTCOME: Listen to our staff through regular staff engagement and empower them to improve their own service areas.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A Staff Survey was undertaken during 2022/23 and a summary report on findings and actions has also been communicated to staff. These findings have also been used to inform the work of an Employee Engagement Task & Finish Group who have developed a Corporate Communications Plan which outlines a range of staff communication and engagement initiatives.

OUTCOME: Ensure local and regional partnership working is efficient and effective and adds value to the work of the Council.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Carmarthenshire Public Services Board has worked well during the year to develop its new Well-being Plan for the period 2023-28. Collaboration with regional colleagues in Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have also worked well with sharing of resources to progress certain elements.
The Safer Communities, Serious Violence & Organised Crime and Contest Boards have also worked well at a Carmarthenshire and Dyfed Powys basis with collaboration with a range of partners on a range of community safety focused activity.

OUTCOME: Increased public engagement through engagement, participation and consultation.

PROGRESS: ⇑ Increased numbers of respondents to Council consultations is a positive indicator of progress. There is further work to be done to improve our feedback methods post-consultation and to broaden our early engagement and participation methods. This is identified as an action for 2023-24.

OUTCOME: A more commercial approach to the delivery of Council services with a view to increasing the level of income generated.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A dedicated workstream has been established within the Transformation Programme to identify opportunities to generate more income through adopting a more commercial approach to the delivery of Council services. Discussions are being held with services to inform the development of a Commercialisation business case and delivery plan which will be considered by Cabinet in September 2023.

OUTCOME: Embrace and promote agile working, hybrid meetings and new ways of working across the organisation, by being more sustainable and creative to improve Council services.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The Transformation Workplace workstream has been examining how we can rationalise our accommodation portfolio, whilst modernising and improving the workspaces in our retained core buildings. Since the pandemic, most offices have been less than a third full, with staff increasingly needing different types of space to meet, work and collaborate. In the current financial climate building rationalisation is an effective way to save money while protecting front line services. Reducing the Council’s estate will also help save spends on utilities and contribute to us achieving our net zero carbon objectives. A successful rationalisation pilot has already taken place with Housing and Education & Children’s Services (E&CS) staff in Llanelli. The number of staff based at Parc Dewi Sant in Carmarthen will be reduced over the next 12 months. Staff will be relocated to Spilman Street and County Hall.

OUTCOME: Deliver organisational change that supports key Net Zero Carbon targets.

PROGRESS: ⇑ A Net Zero Carbon Plan will be developed by April 2023 which will set out how the Council intends to meet its carbon reduction targets by 2030. The Transformation Programme will have a key role to play in facilitating the organisational change required to deliver the commitments within the NZC Plan.

OUTCOME: Ensuring the Council is using its resources economically, efficiently and effectively.

PROGRESS: ⇑ During 2022/23, the Council was one of the first authorities in Wales to produce its 2021/22 statement on accounts and receive an unqualified audit report.
Against an extremely challenging economic backdrop of high inflation and unprecedented wage growth not seen for a generation, the council delivered a small underspend against budgets.
The council met its target to pay 95% of suppliers within 30 days, but narrowly missed its treasury investment returns goal due to the nature of rising interest rates.
Departmental Self Assessments have been introduced which include an evaluation of economy, efficiency and effectiveness

OUTCOME: Embedding the sustainable development principle in all that the Council does.

PROGRESS: ⇑ The requirements of the Well-Being of Future Generations Act have underpinned the approach to both the development and implementation of the Transformation Programme. Development work on the Integrated Impact Assessment during the year will be implemented during 2023-24 and will ensure the sustainable development principle is fully embedded.

Eight Workstreams have been established to progress the key priorities outlined within the Transformation Strategy, they are:

• Efficiencies and Value for Money
  To continue to deliver financial savings through efficiencies or cost reductions and smarter ways of working.
• Income & Commercialisation
  To develop a more commercial approach to the delivery of Council services with a view to increasing the level of income generated.
• Workplace
  To exploit the opportunities presented by a move to hybrid working and to further rationalise the Council’s accommodation portfolio and modernise and improve the working environment within the remaining core buildings
• Workforce
  To oversee the development of a Workforce Strategy and delivery of key workforce priorities to enable the Council to become a more modern and responsive organisation and an ‘Employer of Choice’.
• Service Design & Improvement
  To provide for a more sustainable and creative approach to the review, remodelling and improvement of Council services.
• Customers & Digital Transformation
  To continue to make better use of technology to deliver smarter, efficient service processes and to deliver a better experience for customers.
• Decarbonisation and Biodiversity
  To support the Council in delivering transformational change in support of key decarbonisation objectives and targets.
• Schools
  To assist schools in identifying cost reductions and better ways of working and support the development of more sustainable school budgets and help protect front line academic provision.

Following the Local Government elections in 2023, it was agreed that this would be an opportune time to review the Council’s approach to transformation and ensure that the programme was fully aligned with the aims and objectives of the new Corporate Strategy.

This would also look to build on the work of the Council’s TIC Programme which had been the main vehicle for delivering on organisational support for transformation and change since 2012 and allow the Council to maximise the opportunities presented by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic to further transform and modernise our ways of working, especially using technology.

The roll out of this new approach would be underpinned by the development and implementation of a Transformation Strategy. This is the first time that the Council that has produced a Transformation Strategy, and it is intended that this will provide the strategic framework to drive a programme of significant change and transformation across the organisation over the next 5 years.

The Transformation Strategy was reported to Cabinet in February 2023 and launched in March 2023 and now provides the strategic framework to support the delivery of eight thematic priorities:

• Efficiencies and Value for Money
• Income & Commercialisation
• Workplace
• Workforce
• Service Design & Improvement
• Customers & Digital Transformation
• Decarbonisation and biodiversity
• Schools.

Workstream Delivery Groups have now been established to support the implementation of each of the transformation priorities and these will be led by a Director/Head of Service.

For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 139-143 - how well are we doing (and how do we know)?