Council's Annual Report 2023-2024
Well-being Objective 2
Enabling our residents to live and age well (Live & Age Well)
Overview of Progress
Enabling our residents to live and age well is a priority for the Council in recognition that the County’s greatest asset is the people who live here. Whilst gross weekly income has improved substantially in the County, over a third of households are still thought to be living in poverty and material deprivation is rising. Considering this, the Council recognises the need to support households to alleviate the effects of poverty and the rising cost of living. Our dedicated Tackling Poverty Plan details the wide- ranging support initiatives and our commitment to doing all that we can to ensure residents access the support they are entitled to and access appropriate services.
Good quality affordable homes as well as continued investment in existing homes promotes health and well-being and forms the foundation of improved living standards. Housing affordability in the County compares positively with national averages, however, we recognise that more can be done to improve access to suitable housing allowing residents to live in the area of their upbringing. We continue to deliver against our Affordable Homes Delivery Plan and our Housing Regeneration Development Programme. In addition, to address the second home crisis, we will be charging a premium on second homes and long-term empty properties. Our work on existing homes and improving the availability of new provision across our rural and urban communities will be key to enabling community resilience and cohesion. Positively, our continued efforts have seen sustained improvement in the percentage of households successfully prevented from becoming homeless.
With people living longer, services will see increased demand in coming years. There are also variations in healthy life expectancy between males and females with Carmarthenshire levels below the Welsh average. In recognition of this the development of a prevention strategy substantiates our commitment to a whole population approach to prevention, which is expected to reduce demand for statutory intervention. Our long-term aim is to help people to maintain their independence at home for as long as possible, prevent unnecessary admissions to hospital and support timely discharge from hospital to ensure that those that need good hospital care can access it. Positively, there has been a notable improvement with fewer people waiting in hospital for domiciliary care. Collaborative efforts and integrated services between Health and Social Care have also been strengthened, which is positively impacting hospital flow and reducing waiting lists.
In recognition that Adult Mental Well-being scores are on a downward trend, investments have been made in Mental Health Services to deliver a well-being pathway across the County, focussing on early intervention and prevention.
The number of adults with two or more Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours has increased slightly, which is positive and is reflective of the number of health and well-being services available to our residents. In providing these services recognition has been given to accessibility with many activities delivered in an innovative way. The National Exercise Referral Scheme Wales has seen a dramatic increase in referrals, with 1,537 received during 2023/24, and a high completion rate of over 70% for the 16-week program.
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
In Summary
Over a third of Carmarthenshire households are living in poverty and most residents agree that poverty is a problem in their area. Our Tackling Poverty Plan aims to address and alleviate the pressures and challenges caused by poverty for local residents and communities. However, there is recognition that many of the contributory factors to poverty are complex and deep-rooted.
Housing affordability in Carmarthenshire compares positively with other local authorities. This is important as access to affordable and appropriate housing is crucial to maintaining a good quality of life. In line with this, homelessness prevention has also improved.
Gross weekly income has improved substantially in the County. However, this does not always translate to an improved standard of living when considered against inflationary pressures and a general rising cost of living. This is corroborated by Disposable Household Income data which provides an indication of ‘material welfare’ and remains below the Welsh average.
How are we doing?
34.6% of all households in Carmarthenshire are living in poverty, this translates to around 28,700 households. This is a slight increase since last year which mirrors trends seen nationally.
There has been a significant increase in the average Gross Weekly earnings in Carmarthenshire, from £617.80 (2022) to £678.60 (2023) with the second highest figures in Wales.
Carmarthenshire figures have been higher than the Welsh average for the last few years. We continue to be below the UK average of £681.70.
Our 2023 residents survey indicated that there was overall agreement to the statement; ‘Poverty is a problem in my area’.
For progress and data on this thematic priority see pages 4-14 -
In Summary
The average time to complete council housing repairs increased significantly during 2023/24 due to a backlog from the Covid period, lack of materials, and contractor capacity. However, these issues have been addressed, and the long-term backlog has mainly been cleared.
The percentage of rent lost due to council properties being empty has significantly reduced, which is an improvement. This was achieved through various changes, including a new letting standard, with further improvements planned.
We continue our pro-active approach to housing advice, options and prevention of homelessness. We are facing unprecedented housing pressures and whilst we have done well to respond quickly to the increasing demands, we need to continue to make sure we make this response sustainable for the long term. Significant housing pressures in a range of areas remain e.g. Welsh Government’s “No one left out” approach, introduction of Renting Homes Act in July 2022, delivering our resettlement commitments and on-going concerns in relation to asylum seekers, particularly unaccompanied children. We also need to increase our options for Temporary Accommodation in and around our main population centres of Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford.
The housing regeneration development programme continues to deliver a significant amount of more affordable homes for rent and sale, this will not only support the increasing housing demand but also contribute to economic growth, sustainable communities, and the green economy. In 2023/24, the program focused on buying private sector homes, bringing empty homes back into use, and developing new homes. Developments at Spilman Street, Carmarthen and the old YMCA building in Llanelli are examples of this.
To address the second home crisis, the Council has decided to charge a premium on second homes and long-term empty properties, with the rates set to increase over the coming years.
How are we doing?
- It took an average of 27.6 calendar days to complete all council housing repairs during 2023/24, this was a significant increase on the previous year’s average of 6.3 days. The main reason was the active targeting and clearing the backlog of oldest jobs occurred from work that was unable to be completed during Covid, as well as lack of materials and contractor capacity. The number of repairs completed has also risen significantly with an increase of 52% from under 21,000 jobs in 2022/23 to over 31,000 jobs in 2023/24. The backlog of old jobs has mainly been cleared and a new Property Works Framework and our plans to increase capacity to undertake more responsive work in-house should help us improve turnaround times.
- The % rent lost due to council properties being empty has now reduced to 2.2%, compared to 3.5% the previous year. This now means that nearly £1m per annum additional rent is being generated from the additional 250 homes that are now available. There have been several changes introduced over the last 21 months to drive improvement e.g. a new letting standard and introduction of an in- house team of operatives to undertaken void works in addition to external contractors. We will continue to implement further improvement actions over the months to come.
- We have been able to house over 1,000 households into existing or new affordable homes during 2023/24.
For progress and data on this service priority see pages 15-18 -
In Summary
There has been a notable improvement with fewer people waiting in hospital for domiciliary care.
The National Exercise Referral Scheme Wales has seen a significant increase in referrals.
The delivery time for Disabled Facilities Grants has slightly improved, and the number of adaptations completed has increased.
Collaborative efforts with health colleagues have been strengthened, particularly through the Home First team, which has won several awards and is positively impacting hospital flow and reducing waiting lists.
A Prevention Strategy is being developed across our Communities Department, focusing on a whole population approach to prevention, which is expected to reduce demand for statutory intervention.
Investments in Mental Health Services have established a well- being pathway across Carmarthenshire, focusing on early intervention and prevention.
How are we doing?
- As at the end of March 2024 there were 7 people waiting in hospital for domiciliary care, this is an improvement on the figure of 35 as at end of March 2023.
- The number of referrals to the National Exercise Referral Scheme has increased significantly, with 1,537 received during 2023/24, which is the highest level since the scheme started. Over 70% (316/450) of those that started the scheme completed the 16-week programme during 2023/24, this is the highest rate of completion since data recording commenced.
- The average number of calendar days taken to deliver a Disabled Facilities Grant continues to be high at 273 days during 2023/24, although this is a slight improvement on 277 days the previous year. There was a 14% increase in the number of adaptations completed in the year compared to 2022/23. The backlog of oldest jobs which occurred from work that was unable to be completed during Covid, as well as lack of materials and contract capacity have now improved, but the demand for adaptations are high, with work required for more complex needs.
For progress and data on this service priority see pages 20-25 -
