Well-being objective report 2022/23

Section 1: introduction

We have a five-year Plan 2018-2023 which has six Well-being Objectives. They are:

• WBO 1:Improve education opportunities for all
• WBO 2: Enabling employment
• WBO 3: Address the supply, condition and sustainability of homes throughout the county borough and provide advice, assistance or support to help improve people’s health and well-being
• WBO 4: Promote a modern, integrated and sustainable transport system that increases opportunity, promotes prosperity and minimises the adverse impacts on the environment
• WBO 5:Creating a county borough that supports a healthy lifestyle in accordance with the Sustainable Development Principle within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
• WBO 6: Support citizens to remain independent and improve their well-being

The Well-being Objectives are how the Council contributes to making the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of our communities better, and they are based on the areas that our communities told us mattered to them and their well-being.

This section describes how we have performed in delivering our Well-being Objectives in the last year of the five-year Plan.

You can find more detail and background to the Well-being Objectives in the Corporate Plan (2018 to 2023) at the link Caerphilly - Caerphilly County Borough

We would welcome your feedback and opinions and if there is any further content you would like to know about. You can find contact details at the bottom of this page.

Section 2: annual report on the well-being objectives 2022/23

Well-being objective 1

IMPROVE EDUCATION FOR ALL

The outcomes we wanted to achieve were:

1. Aim to reduce the impact of poverty in the early years.
2. Raise standards of attainment (connects to priority 1,2,3 &5)
3. Reduce the impact of poverty on attainment for both vocational and non-vocational qualifications to provide equality of opportunity.
4. Help those who are not able to follow a traditional attainment path.
5. Support learning that enables young and adult employment opportunities including a focus on future skills
6. Improve digital skills for all ages.
7. Improve the learning environment.
8. Safeguard all children and young people in order to create a climate for learning particularly those most vulnerable.

General Summary on our performance over five years

The pandemic and its legacy impact can be seen in recent data presented from our schools. Whilst we are generally performing well and progressing the national education curriculum reform across all our schools, pupil attendance remains a key priority for us. Whilst this is a national trend, there has been some improvement in this area over the past 12 months, however, our figures remain below pre-pandemic levels. This is an area we are managing and monitoring closely. School exclusions and NEETS (children not in education, employment and training) are other areas of concern, and we continue to work with our schools to provide various forms of alternative interventions to improve current performance.

The disruption caused by the pandemic and subsequent impact on children, learners and young people across Wales led to the development of the revised education strategy, ‘Pursuing Excellence Together’. Our own self-evaluation processes, in alignment with national trends, indicates that the pandemic has affected some groups of learners more than others.

In particular:

• vulnerable or disadvantaged learners, and learners with ALN have not necessarily had access to the support they need; some may have faced challenges with distance learning, and some with readjusting to face-to-face learning. We need also to support those learners whose circumstances have changed during the pandemic, who may not have previously fallen into this category.
• learners in Early Years education are at a critical stage for language, social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Pupils risk missing key development milestones, which could impact on their emotional wellbeing, communication, and learning development. They may have specific challenges in finding a sense of belonging in their schools or settings, or in being away from their families.
• an understanding that families may also be anxious to be separated from their children as they return to school and supporting well-being of both children and their families is paramount in a successful return to education with consistent attendance.
• learners in post-16 and transition and those moving into post-16 provision will be concerned with progressing to their next steps, as well as with their longer-term employability and skills. These learners will have experienced pressures and uncertainty, and their confidence will have been affected.
• specific challenges for Welsh immersion learners in English-speaking households, and learners transitioning from Year 6 to Year 7.

The nature of our Education Strategy reflects these concerns, recognising and supporting different groups of learners in the appropriate way.

Despite the challenges from the pandemic, stakeholders involved in education have remained resilient, motivated and committed to restoring standards to pre-pandemic levels committed to effective provision, strong support for wellbeing, and therefore, ensuring learners make accelerated progress.

What went well this year and why

Details against our specific outcomes include:

Safeguarding

Prioritisation of safeguarding remains a key priority and support for schools is effective. For example:

• Ongoing evaluations from practitioners suggest that the quality and content of training for Head's/Governors/Designated Special Provision etc is 'very good'.
• Safeguarding audits evidence robust safeguarding arrangements in schools and identifies support where there are gaps.
• Six monthly check-ins provide evaluation and analysis of the impact of support for learners who reside in households where domestic abuse is prevalent.
• Secondary schools are developing their action plans to enable them to identify and respond to incidents of peer-on-peer sexual harassment.

Most schools are confident that online safety is embedded in their safeguarding policies and practice and a few schools were very confident.

Standards and progress of learners

By August 2023, 23 schools had been in receipt of an Estyn Inspection following the re-starting of the framework following the pandemic. This represents approximately 26% of all schools across Caerphilly county borough. Outcomes from Estyn inspections are positive overall. A number of schools were also invited to present case studies of best practice.

At the end of the academic year, 17 schools had engaged in ‘Team Around the School’. This process identifies specific barriers to progress and identifies the required support. There is good evidence to suggest that the Local Authority (in partnership with the Education Achievement Service) provide effective help to schools.

Curriculum

Feedback from headteachers in 2021-22 indicated that the pandemic had slowed preparations for Curriculum for Wales. However, Estyn inspections have reported that, overall, schools have responded well.

In general, the vision for the Curriculum for Wales is developing effectively across schools, allowing for new ideas and initiatives. Leaders ensure that staff benefit from professional learning that has a positive impact on teaching and learning.

In most schools, teachers plan purposefully in line with the six areas of learning and experience and refer to the principles of the four purposes. Schools provide a broad and balanced curriculum that builds effectively on pupils’ prior learning. In addition, Estyn have noted that the curriculum is enhanced well through regular enrichment activities. Some schools have been asked to submit best practice case studies to be shared with peers.

However, in the ‘pursuit of excellence’, we want to reduce any variance across schools ensuring that pupils’ acquisition of skills is strong across all settings.

Vulnerable Pupils

Effective provision provided by the Inclusion and Youth Service Teams across the county borough continue to provide both universal access and more targeted support for young people and their families. Officers also continue to increase homelessness prevention work via the addition of a dedicated project located within the Youth Service.

Estyn inspections have identified Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision as strong overall. Only one school in the current cycle has had a recommendation relating to ALN provision.

However, we continue to recognise the increasing challenges for vulnerable learners, and/or those identified as ALN following the pandemic.

Post-16 provision

A number of strategies have continued during the 2023-24 academic year to strengthen the post-16 partnership. Partnership collaboration has resulted in a broad curriculum offer that meets the requirements of Welsh Government’s Learning and Skills Measure with a minimum of 30 subjects including 5 vocational courses.

Schools and the Local Authority collectively agreed to extra funding to support minority provision that, therefore, enhanced the options available and allowed more students to get their preferred choice of subject. Through collective agreements with headteachers all post-16 students will also have access to enrichments such as Unifrog and the Brilliant Club. The Caerphilly Pathways website will continue to receive funded support.

The Upper Rhymney Valley Partnership held a successful joint 6th form open evening.

Work has continued on developing the post-16 Caerphilly Pathways website that is designed to support young people with impartial information on progression routes post-16; in the past year almost 7,500 individuals accessed the site over 10,500 times and viewed over 48,000 pages. The site offers support for parents in choosing the right vocational or non-vocational accreditation and/or course for young people and feedback on the website has been favourable.

The Youth Service has increasingly focused on a range of vocational local and national accreditations as part of their curriculum offer.

Our Adult Education provision delivers quality learning opportunities across the county borough for individuals beyond school age.

Support for disadvantaged learners (formerly known as pupils in receipt of Free School Meals)

There remain significant levels of deprivation within the Local Authority with around 30% of statutory school age pupils living in disadvantaged areas in the top 20% in Wales. 14 of the 110 areas in the Caerphilly county borough are in the top 10% of the most disadvantaged areas in Wales. 26.4% of Caerphilly pupils of statutory school age on roll are entitled to free school meals (taken from Pupil Level Annual School Census 2022).

The Welsh Government initiative, ‘Community Focused Schools’ has increasingly played a prominent role in supporting pupils and their families negatively impacted through poverty.

The implementation of the Foundation of Community Engagement accreditation that encourages family and community engagement has been successful, and we are witnessing positive outcomes across various aspects of our community, whilst also identifying the further work needed to strengthen our schools to become the ‘heart of the community’.

Officers for Music have also developed a range of family and community engagement initiatives, for example stay and play sessions for children and parents, a wind instrument band that includes pupils, staff members and parents.

Digital skills

A thematic review of digital skills, undertaken by the Local Authority and Education Achievement Service, shows that schools are using Welsh Government Edtech funding appropriately to enhance their digital provision and learning. Nearly all schools in Caerphilly have a digital IT policy. The majority of schools have an effective digital vision where the headteacher and senior leaders share a clear strategic vision that is shared with all stakeholders.

In the schools where good practice was identified, staff have high expectations of learners. They plan appropriate tasks and activities which use IT to enrich the curriculum. Where digital provision and skills are strong, learners talk with confidence about their use of IT. Most learners are able to provide examples of how digital skills are important for school and for their future. Most learners are able to articulate what it means to be digitally competent, explaining that it develops problem solving skills and the ability to move from device to device as it gives a common set of skills. They are able to identify that digital skills are developed across most lessons.

Where digital learning is strong, learners enjoy the opportunities to use IT and are able to access digital tools and platforms with confidence. They have a good understanding of how ICT can be used to present their work and enhance their learning. Many learners develop and use their digital skills effectively as they move through school and they the use of an increasing range of software and digital equipment with confidence.

However, again in the ‘Pursuit of Excellence’, the Local Authority wishes the best practice described above to exist in all schools. Therefore, a programme of support will be implemented to reduce variance across settings.

Early years provision

The pandemic increased the potential risk for some children who may miss key development milestones. This could impact on emotional well-being, communication and learning development.

The Early Years and Childcare Team in education works effectively in partnership with the Health Board, voluntary organisations and others as part of a broader Early Years Team across the county borough. The team supports registered childcare providers, and commissions contracted childcare and education placements, as well as providing early intervention support for children and families with emerging needs.

Flying Start phase 1 is complete in New Tredegar area with all families being offered all elements of support. However, to increase the availability of childcare places in the area, the Local Authority will need to progress a capital project with the school to move their nursery provision into the main school area.

There are 71 childcare settings now able to deliver Flying Start childcare places across the county borough including childminders and day nurseries to offer flexibility to families. Of the 71, 8 are Welsh medium, 4 are Welsh and English (Cylch), 57 are English with some elements of Welsh and 2 are English medium. More childcare settings are being supported to meet quality criteria to deliver the additional places needed.

A digital platform has also increased accessibility to working families and students of three-year-olds. The Childcare Offer saved working families and students just under £3.9million during 2022-23 financial year on childcare costs.

The new Early Years Hub Officer has taken responsibility to increase the information on Welsh activities and provision for children with disabilities. This work is ongoing to map, and make more accessible, information for families. However, this remains a focus of work currently, and a task group has been set up to take this forward.

Sustainable communities for learning

The Sustainable Communities for Learning investment programme remains a major, long term capital programme jointly funded with Welsh Government that aims to create a generation of 21st century schools. Band A of the Sustainable Communities for Learning programme is nearing its end with three new schools built and three schools improved. Work is currently underway to deliver the equally ambitious Band B programme.

Good progress has been made in delivering the Band B Programme. There are six active school proposals at various stages of development.

• Ysgol Gymraeg Cwm Gwyddon
• Trinity Fields School
• Centre for Vulnerable Learners
• Llancaeach Junior School/Llanfabon Infants School
• Plasyfelin Primary School
• Ysgol Y Lawnt / Upper Rhymney Primary School

Consideration of further proposals under Band B are currently being reviewed.

What did not go so well and why

Standards and progress of learners

Following Estyn inspection, four schools were identified as requiring follow-up monitoring and support. Schools identified as requiring ‘follow-up’ support are working actively with the Local Authority and EAS to address recommendations in respective reports.

There are some common themes for improvement identified by Estyn. This includes:

• School self-evaluation
• Providing appropriate challenge
• Progress of learners.

Vulnerable Pupils

The numbers of pupils identified as elective home education (EHE) increased to 91 in 2020, 136 in 2021 and to 176 in 2022. Our current (Jan 2023) number of EHE pupils is 209.This is a significant increase in EHE numbers compared to the pre-pandemic trends. Parental reasons for electing to home educate were varied. These included the pandemic, mental health issues, school-avoidance, medical reasons and the statutory implementation of the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum. The Local Authority has developed a robust system to ensure that parents who have notified their school that they wish to educate their child at home will provide suitable education.

Data for pupils identified as NEET (Not in education, employment or training at the end of Year 11) are as follows:

• 2018/19 – 2.2%
• 2019/20 – 1.7%
• 2020/21 – 2.2%
• 2021/22 – 2.8%

To further reduce the number of NEET pupils, a number of initiatives have been introduced to tackle the issues arising from the pandemic. These include:

• Strengthening multi-partnerships across the LA including the Education Welfare Service, Family Liaison Officers and Youth Workers.
• More effective use of data to track and intervene, providing targeted support.
• Increasing the participation of external providers.

Collated from the responses of 24 primary schools, the School Health Research Network identified a range of priorities for the Local Authority. Fewer than half of pupils reported eating a portion of fruit or vegetables every day. Only 50% of pupils reported drinking water every day, despite this being the only drink encouraged in Primary schools (except milk/juice at lunchtimes). Only 46% of pupils reported exercising four times a week.

As a result, the Healthy Schools team are working closely with Community Focused Schools to promote The Daily Active whereby all pupils are physically active for 10 minutes during every school day. In addition, the Community Focused Schools’ Officer for sports and well-being has worked begun to work closely with the cluster of schools this term to develop effective teaching of physical education in primary schools. However, both initiatives are in the early stages of implementation and need time to embed.

The gender gap continuously to be a challenge locally and nationally. The School Sport Survey indicated that 41% of boys participated in organised sport outside of the curriculum three or more times a week, compared to 34% of girls.

Attendance and exclusions

Improving pupil attendance and reducing exclusions remains a significant priority for the Local Authority. At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, primary attendance was 90.9% for all pupils. This is an increase of 2% on the previous year. Attendance for pupils in receipt of free school meals (FSM) attending primary school was 86.5%. This is an increase of 2.2% on the previous year. However, Primary attendance is still 3.8% below pre-pandemic data (2018-19).

At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, secondary attendance was 86.8% for all pupils. This is an increase of 3.6% on the previous year. Attendance for FSM pupils attending secondary school was 79.3%. This is an increase of 3.4% on the previous year. However, Secondary attendance is still 7.2% below pre-pandemic data (2018-19).

% Pupil Attendance in Caerphilly Schools

	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Primary Schools	94.7	94.5	94.7	94.8	88.9	91.1
Secondary Schools	93.3	93.4	94	93.5	83.2	86.8

At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, persistent absenteeism at primary schools was 8.9% for all pupils. This is an improvement of 2% on the previous year. However, persistent absenteeism in 2018-19 was 1.8%

Similarly persistent absenteeism in secondary schools was 2022-23 was 20%. This is an improvement of 3.1% on the previous year. However, persistent absenteeism pre-pandemic (2018-19) in Secondary schools was only 4.2%.

Estyn inspections over the last 12 months have indicated that overall processes to promote regular attendance are good. However, there remains some variance in approach and strategies are in place to ensure consistency across all schools. The data, which mirrors national trends, demonstrates, that improving attendance continues to be a challenge in the post-pandemic period, particularly in the secondary sector.

Exclusions:

At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, there were 305 fixed term exclusions in Primary (650 days lost / 134 pupils). This is a 4% increase on the previous year. Out of 305 fixed term exclusions, 197 were FSM pupils = 64.59% of the total number of exclusions. The number of FSM pupils receiving exclusions has increased by 14.76% on the previous year.

At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, there were 1566 fixed term exclusions in Secondary (3940.5 days lost / 709 pupils). This is a 17% increase on the previous year. Out of 1566 fixed term exclusions, 855 were FSM pupils = 54.6% of the total number of exclusions. The number of FSM pupils receiving exclusions has increased by 2.94% on the previous year.

At the end of the 2022-23 academic year, there were 32 permanent exclusions in Secondary. This is a 10% increase on the previous year. Out of 32 exclusions, 23 were FSM pupils = 71.88% of exclusions. The number of FSM pupils receiving exclusions has increased by 27.05% on the previous year.

However, Estyn inspections over the last 12 months have not indicated any recommendations for reducing exclusions. The data, which mirrors national trends, demonstrates, that reducing exclusions continues to be a challenge in the post-pandemic period, particularly in the secondary sector.

What difference did we make

In the early years work, case studies have shown positive impact of changing the way services are delivered to a more bespoke approach to tackle root issues to resolve ‘What Matters’ for the family. It has taken time to align funding streams and develop appropriate data reporting to meet the needs of all funding bodies / funding requirements. However, the teams have found it more rewarding to not have to think of which funding stream or criteria would fit and to focus on working with the families to meet ‘What Matters’ aims.

What did we learn for future objectives

As a result of the above, the revised objectives in the ‘Pursuing Excellence Together’ strategy remain relevant. The objectives are listed below:

• Continue to provide robust approaches to safeguarding of children and young people based on emerging needs and demands as an outcome of the pandemic.
• Equip leaders with the skills to have a significant impact on progress, attainment and provision and wellbeing.
• Ensure the effective implementation of Curriculum for Wales.
• Accelerate the progress of vulnerable learners.
• Improve pupil attendance and reduce exclusions, with particular focus on vulnerable groups.
• Further improve provision and support for young people (post-16)
• Close the gap in attainment between those learners from low-income backgrounds and those who do not live in poverty.
• Improve digital skills for all learners.
• Reach the target of 26% of year 1 pupils in Welsh medium by 2031.
• Support pupil wellbeing by improving attitudes to healthy food choices and active fitness.
• Ensure the most vulnerable families including those in poverty, can access support to give their child the best start in life.

Through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme ensure that the county borough provides sufficient school places to meet demand as well as upgrading/replacing school accommodation, as appropriate, so that schools are fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Well-being objective 2

ENABLING EMPLOYMENT

The outcomes we wanted to achieve were:

1. Aim to reduce the impact of poverty by supporting people intobetter employmentprospects.
2. Meet the targets of the European Social Fund programmes of getting people skilled and intowork.
3. The Council will use the value of its third party spend to bringgreater social and economic regeneration to the communities weserve.
4. Use investment in new and existing Caerphilly Homes to deliver social value outcomes designed to tackle poverty and worklessness by providing sustainable, quality employment opportunities, apprenticeships, training and work placements within our in-house workforce and supply chain partners.
5. Ensuring local delivery of work programmes align andmaximises opportunities from the Cardiff Capital Region CityDeal

General Summary on our performance over five years

The last five years have been challenging in terms of the direct delivery of employment support and enabling employment. Whilst employment opportunities themselves have improved significantly, the legacy of the pandemic was such that, many of the complex barriers to gaining employment that people face, such as physical or mental health issues, were directly exacerbated by the pandemic and have resulted in many potential participants moving further away from the labour market. The temporary move away from face-to-face support for many of our participants proved difficult and required an alternative way of working to support participants into employment and gain suitable work-related qualifications.

Following on from this, the cost-of-living crisis has seen our participants demonstrate additional barriers that our Mentors have worked tirelessly to overcome. They have excellent links to local provisions and regularly refer customers to other services, to address some of their varied and complex needs prior to being fully able to access employment. Our support was welcomed as a positive means of increasing their income.

We have been working with services across the Council to support their participants to access foodbanks, arrange debt advice outreach services etc.

Referrals by the Jobcentre Plus (JCP) to alternative statutory provision such as Restart serving as the default referral destination for work coaches had a visible impact on outcomes in related geographical areas for a period, however we are beginning to a positive shift in work coaches referring to us.

Despite some of the ongoing challenges, the objective progress has been good with Communities for Work (C4W) engaging with 576 participants aged 25+ and supporting 209 into employment alongside C4W engaging with 705 participants aged 16-24 and supporting 376 into employment to the end of March 2023.

C4W+, which began delivery in 2018 has engaged with 1882 participants and from 2020 to March 2023 has supported 502 into employment.

More recently, with the end of the European Social Fund (ESF) funding and the CFW provision in March 2023, we have undergone several changes locally.

A new management structure has seen the merger of the two Employment programmes from different service areas (due to the end of ESF CfW provision and ESF Bridges into Work / Inspire 2 Work and Working Skills for Adults, and NurtureEquip-Thrive under the Education Directorate) and the introduction of the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) People and Skills Pillar funding to replace the ESF provision.

	Communities for Work (CfW) is a Welsh Government and European Social Fund programme co-sponsored by Department of Work and Pensions.
	Communities for Work Plus (CfW+) is a Welsh Government funded programme that acts as wraparound support for the Communities for Work project. Both projects work side by side to support those who are unemployed across the county borough, and those who need to break down barriers to get back into work.

Number of young people supported into employment by BRIDGES INTO WORK (aged 25+)

	Q1 20/21	Q2 20/21	Q3 20/21	Q4 20/21	Q1 21/22	Q2 21/22	Q4 21/21	Q1 22/23	Q2 22/23	Q3 22/23	Q4 22/23
Amount	103	109	120	106	151	165	186	191	199	213	215
Target	67	71	77	83	89	93	10	113	116	118	119

Number of young people supported into employment by Inspire 2 Work (aged 16-24)

	Q1 20/21	Q2 20/21	Q3 20/21	Q4 20/21	Q1 21/22	Q2 21/22	Q4 21/21	Q1 22/23	Q2 22/23	Q3 22/23	Q4 22/23
Amount	135	137	141	144	151	165	176	180	184	188	189
Target	115	121	127	133	140	148	161	174	180	188	191

This is already proving to be a successful transition with the move towards a ‘single employability programme’ offer in Caerphilly with no postcode restrictions or difficult eligibility issues, with the team able to support residents with all aspects of employability for both unemployed and employed ‘in-work’ support.

What went well and why

Details against our specific outcomes include:

1. Aim to reduce the impact of poverty by supporting people into better employment prospects

2. Meet the targets of the European Social Fund programmes of getting people skilled and into work

Across the Communities for Work Plus (CfW+) programmes during the 2022/23 we supported 198 residents into employment.

There were positive outcomes for the 16-24 age group with young people being supported into employment. Delivery of Priority 3 which focused on (16–24-year-olds) within the ESF funded Communities for Work programme ended in October 2021 owing to exceeding programme profiles but continued its’ support as part of Welsh Government (WG) funded, Communities for Work Plus programme via the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG) funding. Skilled Youth Mentors were transferred from CfW to CfW+ to continue to provide support to young people aged 16–30. At the end of 2023 this funding continued as part of the overall CfW+ WG funding offer.

Our employment programmes continue to provide excellent support for those with disabilities and work limiting health conditions. In particular, the CfW+ programme was able to further increase the proportion of customers with a disability or work limiting health condition that were supported into employment, with 23% (46 people) of job entries relating to participants with either a disability or work limiting health condition.

We have sustained levels of engagement activity during the reporting year 2022/23 by operating several weekly outreach sessions or drop-ins around the county borough, in addition to using staff as Single Points of Contact (SPOCs) to engage more effectively with internal and external partners. We continued to use social media to expand our reach promoting the employment projects and activities through our social media platforms.

Partnership work with internal and external agencies and promoting their services on our social media page, is well established, some of these include our own internal departments, cost-of-living projects, Citizen’s Advice outreach surgeries, Parent Network Group, Go Connect and Gwent Association Voluntary Organisation (GAVO). By working in partnership with these organisations, it gives the local community further information on where they can access help.

The team delivered two large scale events - the first in Caerphilly Town Centre – Careers Roadshow – arranged by the Caerphilly Basin Team and Business Liaison Officer. We took over the town centre bandstand and shopping centre to promote support into specific sectors. We also arranged a large-scale community event in Cefn Hengoed – Mid Valleys West Fest. Over 400 community members attended.

During the pandemic the Caerphilly Academy supported individuals into several Kickstart positions which were available as paid placements to promote support for young people to find employment during the pandemic via local businesses. The Academy Mentor support proved central to the success and retention of these placements in many cases. This type of specific mentoring support continued throughout 2022/23 with the Academy Mentor supporting several housing apprenticeships via Caerphilly Homes. Towards the latter part of 2022/23 the Academy is now being funded via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with a focus on support for young people encouraging paid placements via internal departments with a view to leading to more sustainable employment.

We have focused on increasing recruitment in areas which have been historically difficult to fill. During the latter part of 2022/23, the employment team supported the Transformation Team to deliver a streamlined recruitment process targeting care vacancies within the organisation. This pilot recruitment supported priority areas within the Council, including Homecare & Reablement and Residential Care. The campaign lasted for a period of 6 weeks, pre- and post-Christmas and generated 197 expressions of interest, 68 interviews were held and 43 people were offered a position.

The pilot has highlighted the importance of advertising and positioning, the power of collaborative working and the time constraints facing recruiting managers where mass recruitment is involved.

	Supported Living	Homecare	Residential Care
Expressions of interest	17%	15%	11%
Interviews attended	35%	19%	14%
Appointments Offered	48%	66%	75%

3. The Council will use the value of its third party spend to bring greater social and economic regeneration to the communities we serve

Procurement (purchasing) is a key factor in enabling the delivery of wider social, economic and environmental well-being for the community and our partners, during FY22/23 25% of the Council’s total third party spend was with contractors/suppliers based within the county borough. A key driver for the team is to use the local supply chain which provides the opportunity to create apprenticeships and employment opportunities within the community. Through engagement with the local supply chain and the inclusion of Social Value in procurement processes in line with our ‘Social Value Policy’ several key initiatives linked to local and national policy drivers, which includes the Well-being of Future Generations Act, have been delivered.

Social Value is a broad term used to describe social, environmental, or economic impacts (or benefits) of actions we take, for example using our ‘purchasing power’ to work with those we purchase from to recruit apprentices, where relevant to the purchase

In order to identify social value commitments, the Council uses the Welsh National Themes Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) to engage contractors/suppliers to commit to social value measures and a mechanism to measure commitments has been identified which provides a consistent approach to measuring and reporting social value which includes but is not limited to outcomes such as creating training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities through the use of local supply chains.

The TOMs methodology is included in all appropriate procurement processes; during the financial year 2022/23 a total of £1.9m of ‘social value’ has been delivered this includes outcomes linked to employment opportunities, supply chain initiatives & spend and education & community initiatives.

A total of fifty-three (53) contracts have been awarded to contractors/suppliers based within Caerphilly which equates to one hundred and sixteen (116) contractors/suppliers, engagement with these suppliers is on-going to ensure knowledge and understanding of the Council’s objectives around the application of social value is developed and that our third party spend is being used to bring greater social and economic regeneration to the community. Feedback from the supply chain has been positive on the Council’s approach and the flexibility it provides. Ongoing contract management and continuous improvement is being developed to ensure the supply chain deliver their targets and bring new initiatives.

Through investing in our educational and housing stock, and providing apprenticeships, training opportunities and work placements within our organisation, we will increase the number of local citizens who are skilled and qualified workers and contributing to community benefits.

4. Use investment in new and existing Caerphilly Homes to deliver social value outcomes designed to tackle poverty and worklessness by providing sustainable, quality employment opportunities, apprenticeships, training and work placements within our in-house workforce and supply chain partners

5. Ensuring local delivery of work programmes align and maximises opportunities from the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal

What did not go so well and why

1. Aim to reduce the impact of poverty by supporting people into better employment prospects

Within the initial part of the year, the council employment programmes suffered from a significant drop in referrals due to the introduction of UK-wide Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) programmes (JETs and Restart), which diverted referrals away from council programmes, whereby there was pressure on work coaches to refer to the DWP programmes as a first option. This has improved as the team worked hard to increase the amount of time spent in the job centres promoting the support, we offer to the job coaches.

2. The Council will use the value of its third party spend to bring greater social and economic regeneration to the communities we serve

There is still some ambiguity within the wider organisation on the Council’s approach to social value, however the more commodity areas we are introducing into the methodology, the more understanding and learning is being developed by staff within individual service areas. Even though we incorporated several TOMs within procurements, it became apparent that the supply chain (outside of construction) also didn’t fully understand the concept. To overcome the barriers our Supplier Relationship Officers held specific forums and dedicated procurement clinic appointments to support the supply chain and to develop knowledge and understanding. As part of our consultation with the supply chain some concerns have been raised regarding the cost of third-party applications required to measure social value, therefore the team are considering our options and approach to measuring social value without the use of third-party applications.

What difference did we make

As part of our Housing Stock Investment, we continue to employ apprentices to support our in-house delivery team who have all settled in well and are developing their skills.

We have supported local employers to grow through provision of workforce, via our employment support programmes. Employers we have supported locally include to recruit/generate opportunities include: Mekatek, Vetro Recruitment, Matcon, TSS Balustrade, Proctor Brothers, Euroclad, Distinct Crystals, Toybox Project, Pier Consulting, CB Refridgeration, QDL, Evolution Fitness, PMP Recruitment, QDL.

Other employers engaged and supported to recruit/generate opportunities include Iceland, Robert Price, Dragon Recycling, Alfa, David Lloyd Window Cleaners, Moira Print, Newbridge Memorial, Andrew Scott, Celtic Manor, Hotset, B&M Bargains, Baileys Rendering, Aneurin Bevan Health Board (and many more)

As a further element in this support our Academy Mentor was able to offer additional support to applicants where required, to ensure their progression into these opportunities, for example by supporting them to access the additional qualifications and collate the necessary paperwork to enable them to start in the role.

In addition, training pathways (including Construction, Hospitality, Call Centre, and HGV) have been delivered to support the upskilling of local people to meet demand in local businesses, via relationships formed by the Business Liaison Officer.

Through continuous engagement and by supporting the local supply chain to tender for Council opportunities provides a greater opportunity for social and economic regeneration to be delivered. Our data provides evidence that several outcomes have been delivered within the community which relate to training, apprenticeships, employment opportunities, development of the local supply chain and education initiatives. We will develop specific case studies for these projects that we can learn from and share with others.

What did we learn for future objectives

• The Caerphilly Academy programme aims to develop a graduate scheme for the organisation, an entry route for ex-forces personnel, an early careers network and an expansion of the mentoring/support for apprentice recruitment and retention.
• Continue to grow our engagement capacity to ensure we are truly reaching the hardest to reach communities. This will become increasingly important with the transition to Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) funding owing to increased targets around engaging customers and increased focus on ‘in work’ support.
• Grow our Single Point of Contact (SPOC) network to raise awareness amongst potential referral partners, with a return to larger scale events to raise the profile of our employment programmes
• Deliver successfully against the agreed outcomes of the CfW+ programme to ensure future funding.
• Effectively close the ESF funded CfW programme, and develop succession plans to ensure maintenance of staff following the end of the ESF funded CfW programme, working with the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) to access replacement funding and ensure a seamless transition from one programme to the next.
• Early effective collaboration and engagement with the supply chain presents greater opportunities to deliver social and economic regeneration to the communities we serve. Feedback from the supply chain confirms that the approach needs to be flexible, and the use of the TOMs methodology provides contractors/suppliers with the ability to commit to social value measures that are proportionate to their business and the procurement opportunities they are bidding for and enables them to deliver the objectives set by the Council linked to local and national policy drivers.

Well-being objective 3

Address the availability, condition, and sustainability of homes throughout the county borough and provide advice, assistance, or support to help improve people’s well-being.

The outcomes we wanted to achieve:

• 1A. All council housing is improved to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) by 2020 (extended to December 2021 due to the pandemic.
• 1B. Implement an asset management strategy to maintain the condition of the housing stock following WHQS attainment (December 2020).
• 2.Increase the provision of new, affordable, social housing that meet the ‘Lifetime Homes’ principles and identified needs, whilst supporting the governments’ innovative housing programme.
• 3.Deliver adaptations to support the health and wellbeing of people in their homes and maximise the delivery and appropriate use of accessible homes.
• 4. Increase the supply of housing by supporting opportunities to bring longterm, empty homes in the private sector back into use.
• 5.Tackle the determinants of poor health and wellbeing by improving housing conditions in the private sector.
• 6.Prevent homelessness and tackle rough sleeping.
• 7.Sustaining tenancies by providing a range of housing related services help reduce fuel poverty by making homes more energy efficient and providing people with advice on how best to heat their homes.

General Summary on our performance over five years

During the Well-being Objective period from 2018–2023, Caerphilly Homes has delivered outstanding achievements and exceeded expectations through a volatile and unprecedented period.

Good progress was being made to address the supply, condition, and sustainability of homes throughout the county borough and provide advice, assistance, or support to help improve people’s health and well-being.

In 2020/21 the pandemic and national lockdowns that followed had a significant impact on our communities and we urgently had to re-shape how we delivered services. Despite the pandemic, many of the actions we took helped us achieve successful outcomes and perform well, making a difference to the lives of Caerphilly’s residents and tenants.

Following the pandemic, we have continued to work hard, but in a more agile way. We have adapted some of the ways in which we deliver services, but we continue to make a positive impact, ensuring our customers are at the heart of everything we do.

Overall, Caerphilly Homes has exceeded expectations. We, however, acknowledge there are areas where we need to improve. We will continue to learn, adapt, and will continue to deliver an outstanding high-quality service for all customers of Caerphilly Homes.

What went well this year and why

We successfully implemented a new IT system which will enable us to improve the type and level of data we collect, which will improve the services we provide to both tenants and residents.

We also submitted the 2022/27 Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment to Welsh Government for approval and we are awaiting ministerial approval.

Details against our specific outcomes include:

1A. All council housing is improved to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) by 2020 (extended to December 2021 due to the pandemic

WHQS was met on all eligible housing stock by December 2021. Only 5% of the properties were classified as acceptable fails, under the Welsh Government criteria being tenants’ refusal of the work. The delivery of the environmental programme is ongoing. The consultation and engagement element of the programme has ended and all 82 communities throughout the county borough participated. The programme will continue to be delivered throughout 2022/23 with some of the larger schemes being delivered by Parks and Engineering Services. The programme is on track to spend circa. £13m on delivering new amenities and improvements throughout the county borough.

1B. Implement an asset management strategy to maintain the condition of the housing stock following WHQS attainment (December 2020)

A post asset management programme was developed, and following significant delays, several contracts commenced. The asset management strategy has been held back due to the impending release of WHQS23.

2. Increase the provision of new, affordable, social housing that meet the ‘Lifetime Homes’ principles and identified needs, whilst supporting the governments’ innovative housing programme.

A Housing Strategy has been successfully completed. The Housing Strategy was agreed by Cabinet in October 2021. We produced a delivery plan to deliver the strategy, and this became operational during 2022/23. Work on the new Local Housing Market Assessment continues and although there has been issues around accessing data, these issues have been resolved and completion of the Local Housing Market Assessment is anticipated for 2023/24.

The demolition at Ty Darren has been completed and an application has been submitted to start building a new later living complex in Risca. This will add a much needed more appropriate and suitable accommodation to the Caerphilly stock.

3. Deliver adaptations to support the health and well‐being of people in their homes and maximise the delivery and appropriate use of accessible homes.

The delivery time of private sector adaptations remains significantly affected due to matters relating to contractor availability and the huge increase in material costs. Delivering works of an external nature such as extensions and ramps as well as level access showers have been particularly impacted. 1217 minor works of adaptation have been delivered at a cost of £330,614.36. 164 major works of adaption delivered at a cost of £845,164.00. Satisfaction relating to adaptations delivered remains high. Continued partnership working with Care and Repair has assisted residents to receive additional assistance via a range of initiative including the Rapid Response Adaptions Programme and Independent Living Grant.

We have initiated working in partnership with the Supporting People team to develop the Housing First initiative for people with complex needs. Supporting People sit within the Housing Solution team and provide support with housing, homelessness, debt, benefits, arrears & employment. This project provides an inclusive approach to helping people obtain safe and secure accommodation with a package of support from a dedicated team.

4. Increase the supply of housing by supporting opportunities to bring long‐term, empty homes in the private sector back into use

The Empty Homes Team successfully continue to increase the supply of housing bringing empty homes in the private sector back into use. The Valley Task Force grant has been finalised with 66 grants being completed; achieved at an approximate total cost of just under £1.5 million. The team continue to engage with as many empty property owners as possible to give support, advice, and encouragement to being their property back into use. Welsh Government approved a 5-year Empty Property Action Plan which is being taken forward by the team and in partnership with relevant staff from other service areas. The Empty Homes Strategy ‘No Use Empty’ was approved by cabinet on the 7 March 2023 and is being implemented.

We completed 66 Valley Task Force Grants, bringing long-term empty homes back into use with a total spend of just under £1.5m.

The Empty Homes Strategy, ‘No Use Empty’ has been approved and is being implemented to bring empty properties back into use and during the year 105 properties we brought back into use. Between April 2018 – March 2023 there have been 257 empty properties returned to use.

Empty private properties back in use through direct action by the local authority

2018-2019	36
2019-2020	36
2020-2021	5
2021-2022	76
2022-2023	104

A report has also been approved to offer National Empty Home Grants over the next two years. The grant is launching in April 2023 with £2.62 million spend available.

We contacted over 500 owners of empty homes to engage with as many property owners as possible to provide support, advice and encourage bringing their property back into use.

One owner occupier loan has been approved in respect of an empty home, and a conversation grant has provided 9 additional units of accommodation, 5 of which are occupied.

5. Tackle the determinants of poor health and wellbeing by improving housing conditions in the private sector

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) project has been extended and the team continue to attend workshops and information events in the community to provide energy advice and support. Working in partnership with Nest a targeted mail drop resulted in 58% increase in Nest referrals and consequently 88 new boilers were installed within homes throughout the county borough. The MEES enforcement project was successful with most private sector landlords now fully in compliance.

6. Prevent homelessness and tackle rough sleeping

The Rapid Rehousing Plan was approved by Cabinet in September 2022 and subsequently submitted to Welsh Government. A strategic group and action plan is now being implemented; with a strategic Co-ordinator being employed to take the plan forward which will include a Housing First model. Supporting People now sit within the Housing Solutions service to enhance partnership working and the support available to those within the community who are most vulnerable and in need.

We supported 3940 people to prevent homelessness and 18 new homes built to Passivhaus standard.

The new local authority Homelessness Strategy ‘The Rapid Rehousing Plan’ has been approved and submitted to Welsh Government. A strategic group and action plan is being developed, with additional resources being employed to take forward the strategy.

We continued the development the Caerphilly Keys project which plays a crucial role in ourplan to prevent homelessness. Caerphilly Keys is a project led by our Housing Solutions team which helps private landlords find long terms tenants for their properties, whilst also preventing homelessness, by providing access to good quality, affordable accommodation in the private rented sector. Applicants who may become homelessness may be provided with accommodation through Caerphilly Keys. Those who are rehoused through the project will be offered tenancy support which is provided by Pobl Group.

We are continuing to provide various forms of support to people who are either potentially homeless or homeless including rough sleepers to secure safe and affordable homes, with access to support services and financial assistance.

7. Sustaining tenancies by providing a range of housing related services help reduce fuel poverty by making homes more energy efficient and providing people with advice on how best to heat their homes.

Caerphilly Homes continues to assist tenants to enable them to budget effectively, to claim the correct welfare benefits and mitigate the consequence of welfare reform. The team refers tenants to agencies such as Citizen’s Advice for tenants in need of money, debt advice and energy advice, developing excellent working relationships and ensuring the referral process for tenant and residents is robust. The tenancy support team has increased providing the team with the ability to offer a person-centred approach to tenants. In 2022/23 the team achieved an additional £3.02m for tenants.

We maintained and enhanced the levels of support we provide to help people manage their accommodation and their money. Providing financial support and advice to tenants and residents across the county borough, helped to mitigate the effects of welfare reform.

We supported tenants to ensure that they are maximising benefit claims, and as a result financial savings of £3,023,474.65 were achieved for our council tenants.

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) project has been extended, assisting and raising awareness of private sector landlords of energy initiatives; the project has been very successful with an overall compliance rate of 91%.

We generated additional income for people of £5,854,908.70 using Housing Support Grants.

What did not go so well and why

Due to substantial issues with the availability of contractors and materials, the Private Sector Housing Team were unable to process and deliver the amount of grants and loans we intended to this year. Additionally, the cost of materials has increased significantly, which has affected the number of private sector homes we were able to support.

Work begun on a Local Housing Market Assessment, however significant IT issues resulted in delays to the draft, which is now expected in 2023/24.

All licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s) inspections are up to date; however, work continues to catch up with the backlog of inspections linked to HMO’s that do not require a licence.

We need to improve how we advertise and recruit staff as we have a skills shortage in emerging areas for the business in the future and need to attract talent.

We have identified a lack of data collection due to issues around IT and resources which prevents business performance or other outcomes to be analysed and does not allow Caerphilly Homes to predict future trends and identify business improvement opportunities.

3. Deliver adaptations to support the health and well‐being of people in their homes and maximise the delivery and appropriate use of accessible homes

We want to know how much of our housing stock is accessible, but currently not all of our stock is categorised, therefore we do not know what percentage of our stock is not accessible. As a result, limited progress has been made to increase the percentage of social housing stock that has an accessibility code. The Housing Occupational Team has recently recruited additional officers which will enable them to carry out more proactive work in the future.

What difference did we make

We supported 3,602 council tenants, generating more than 3 million pounds in savings, minimising the effects of welfare reform, and helping them claim the benefits they are entitled to.

We helped residents to reduce their debt by accessing £935,510.83 of Housing Support Grants, with a further £5,854,908.70 of additional income. This has a significant impact on the daily lives of Caerphilly’s residents.

We delivered 18 new apartments which were built to Passivhaus standard, not only increasing housing stock but assisting tenants financially.

We delivered 1217 minor and 164 major works of adaptations allowing residents to remain living safely and independently in their own home.

We delivered 105 disabled facilities grants at a cost of £659,798.64 increasing levels of independence.

We continued working in partnership with Care and Repair facilitating 10 Independent Living Grant’s and 226 Rapid Response Adaptations to be completed at a cost of £105k improving homes and changing lives.

We improved the accessibility at several sheltered schemes, by implementing ramped access and handrails within a communal area encouraging residents to use communal areas to tackle loneliness and social isolation.

11 priority home repair grants are being processed helping improve living conditions for homeowners and 105 long term empty homes have been returned to use by the Empty Property Team and engagement with owners.

The Private Sector Housing team continues to work in partnership with Rent Smart Wales to identify substandard properties; out of 1226 properties identified as breaching the legislation, 1142 are now in full compliance. This is assisting to drive-up standards and improving living conditions for those living within the private rented sector.

Through the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme, we have purchased 5 properties to provide accommodation quickly to enable people to move on from temporary accommodation.

We continue to provide floating and tenancy support to those residents and homeless households within the county borough assisting with tenancy sustainability. During the year £5,854,908.70 of additional income was generated for people by Housing Support Grant funded projects and 3940 people were supported to prevent homelessness.

We continue to run 8 community surgeries at different locations across the county borough giving residents the chance to access Caerphilly Homes teams face to face. They provide a range of support services such as financial help and housing advice.

Engagement with private rented landlords continues to raise awareness of the energy efficiency standards. Supporting their tenants to save money and working with landlords to increase the amount of environmentally friendly homes within the county borough.

Housing association partners delivered 174 new affordable homes, increasing housing opportunities across the county borough.

We will continue to work closely with our Occupational Therapy Team and housing association partners, and we have already negotiated 5 accessible bungalows that will assist in delivering more accessible housing.

What did we learn for future objectives

• Continuing with the roll out of a new IT system which will enable us to improve the type and level of data we collect, which will improve the services we provide to both tenants and residents.
• Continue to adjust to the implementation of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, which will ensure compliance with new housing law; making it easier for tenants to rent their homes, ensuring tenants know their rights and responsibilities.
• We need to complete a second Tenant Satisfaction Survey in Autumn 2023 to get valuable feedback from our tenants.
• We will embark on the associated work following the response to the consultation of WHQS2023 focusing on decarbonisation of the housing stock by 2035, aligning with Planned Asset Management Strategy.
• Introduce a new Local Housing Strategy and Delivery Plan, which will provide the context for the provision of housing and housing related services throughout the county borough.
• Complete the new Local Housing Market Assessment, to provide an updated picture of housing need throughout the county borough.
• Adopt a Rapid Re-Housing Strategy and ensure that our Common Allocations Policy is reflective of any new priorities. This will ensure a reduction in the time spent in emergency accommodation, preventing accommodation breakdown, repeat presentations and relapses into substance misuse or offending.
• Continue to expand the engagement with landlords to maximise Caerphilly Keys to successfully discharge statutory Homelessness duties into the private rented sector.
• Achieve full planning permission and start on site at Oakdale Secondary school.
• Identify sites as part of the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme which could be used for modular homes to assist with the homelessness crisis.
• Bring forward further sites as part of the Council's development programme in order to meet the target to build 400 new affordable, low carbon homes by 2025.
• Continue to drive forward the Empty Property Action Plan bringing empty properties back into use because ‘doing nothing is no longer an option’.

Well-being objective 4

Promote a modern, integrated, and sustainable transport system that increases opportunity, promotes prosperity, and minimises the adverse impacts on the environment

The outcomes we wanted to achieve were:

• Work with the delivery of the South East Wales Metro, aiming for the Valley Lines Electrification programme as part of the delivery of the wider South East Wales Metro scheme.
• Develop the CCBC Regeneration Strategy and Delivery Plan with connectivity at its heart, promoting accessibility, the Metro and digital and broadband improvements that support innovation and improves accessibility for all.
• Promote the reinstatement of passenger services to the Nelson to Ystrad rail line under the Metro programme.
• Promote improvements to the Caerphilly to Newport transportation network links as part of the Metro programme
• Promote a sustainable bus network that supports accessibility and connectivity both locally and regionally through a road network that encourages efficient bus operation.
• Maximise transport connectivity within and between modes by integrating the delivery of the Caerphilly county borough Active Travel Plan with the Metro to improve bus, rail, walking and cycling provision to increase accessibility and add value to the Metro proposals.

General Summary on our performance over five years

The pandemic has significantly impacted on progress over the last 5 years but, despite this, key strides have been made with the South Wales Metro Core Valley Lines transformation programme, Active Travel, Caerphilly Interchange and ‘Caerphilly 2035’ placemaking plan.

As we turn our attention to preparing a new Regional Transport Plan, this will provide an opportunity to breath new impetuous in the Council’s transport priorities and further progress and promote the specific priorities identified above.

What went well this year and why

Details against our specific outcomes include:

1. Work with the delivery of the South East Wales Metro, aiming for the Valley Lines Electrification programme as part of the delivery of the wider South East Wales Metro scheme.

Welsh Government approved the Council's adopted Active Travel Network Map (ATNM) in August 2022 and 7 Welsh transport appraisal guidance (WelTAG) studies were completed that developed concept designs for the proposed Active Travel routes in those areas and they will feed into the ATNM delivery programme. Over the coming years a pipeline of schemes will be developed, designed and delivered for the programme to achieve the Active Travel Network for the use and benefit of our local communities,

2. Develop the CCBC Regeneration Strategy and Delivery Plan with connectivity at its heart, promoting accessibility, the Metro and digital and broadband improvements that support innovation and improves accessibility for all.

Work to develop a delivery programme is ongoing. The Architect appointed for the Caerphilly Interchange project has completed the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stage 3 design. There are formal design stages set down within this profession around which services are procured and delivered. Stakeholder and public consultation were undertaken to inform the design. The supporting WelTAG Stage 2 study was also completed. Public consultation and submission of the planning application will be undertaken in 2023/24.

3. Promote the reinstatement of passenger services to the Nelson to Ystrad rail line under the Metro programme.

Following completion of the WelTAG study for the Central Rhymney Line commissioned via Transport for Wales, proposals to develop preliminary design options for Ystrad Mynach station were commenced. This will be developed and consulted upon as part of the South Wales Metro programme.

4. Promote improvements to the Caerphilly to Newport transportation network links as part of the Metro programme

The Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bid submitted to UK Government for Caerphilly Interchange was unsuccessful. Alternative sources of funding will be explored.

There was further progress of the Phase 1 jointly funded investment package with Welsh Government for Metro plus schemes across the region. The key project for the Council within this programme is the Caerphilly Interchange.

5. Promote a sustainable bus network that supports accessibility and connectivity both locally and regionally through a road network that encourages efficient bus operation

Improvements to a further 23 bus stops across the county borough area were delivered in 2022/23.

6. Maximise transport connectivity within and between modes by integrating the delivery of the Caerphilly county borough Active Travel Plan with the Metro to improve bus, rail, walking and cycling provision to increase accessibility and add value to the Metro proposals

Transport for Wales (TfW) have commenced physical works to deliver the Core Valley Lines Transformation Programme in accordance with their revised delivery programme. This included the introduction of new rolling stock on the line.

Additional RTA funding was used to deliver EV chargers at a further 11 sites across the county borough. Additional in year funding was secured to undertake a WelTAG study and feasibility design for the proposed Ystrad Mynach Park & Ride extension. Good Asset Management principles are being rolled out to assist in management of the highway network in general and to also focus on the SAB drainage infrastructure. Drainage and the impacts of climate change are being considered in the review and development work for the Flood Strategy work that is ongoing to counter the climate change impacts.

What did not go so well and why

Develop the CCBC Regeneration Strategy and Delivery Plan with connectivity at its heart, promoting accessibility, the Metro and digital and broadband improvements that support innovation and improves accessibility for all.

No funding has been confirmed to take forward the park and ride proposals for the Central Rhymney rail line. We will continue to liaise with Transport for Wales to promote these proposals for further development funding.

Promote improvements to the Caerphilly to Newport transportation network links as part of the Metro programme

The Levelling Up Fund bid for Caerphilly Interchange was unsuccessful. Alternative sources of funding will need to be explored including a further Levelling Up bid in the next expected round 3.

Promote the reinstatement of passenger services to the Nelson to Ystrad rail line under the Metro programme

There have been no further discussions for the consideration of the Nelson to Ystrad Mynach passenger services. They are expected to be reviewed as part of the wider strategic proposals being developed for the south Wales Metro under the Regional Transport Plan to be prepared.

What difference did we make

Development of the Active Travel designs puts the Council in a positive position to engage with local communities as and when detai proposals are developed throughout 2023/24. There were also a few minor works improvements delivered for uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and the removal of barriers to improve access to the network.

The new rolling stock introduced by Transport for Wales on the Rhymney line has dramatically improved the quality of rail services for passengers. The TfW Annual Report for 2022/23 outlines some of the work carried out during the year Transport for Wales: Annual Report 2022/23 (tfw.wales)

We have delivered chargers at another 11 sites and although we have some usage data to measure user satisfaction, we need to work on making it more user friendly.

What did we learn for future objectives

• Early engagement with the various partners involved in delivering transport improvements is key to setting realistic delivery programmes and securing resources as projects become more complex in their delivery and more time consuming to develop.
• Further research is required into on street EV charging options to identify the most viable and deliverable options for the Council that will meet the needs of our local communities.
• We are well placed to contribute towards the dialogue with Welsh Government (WG) and TfW for the Regional Transport Plan to be prepared by the new Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) for South East Wales. CJCs were established on the 1April 2021 through WG legislation for the four regions of Wales, made up primarily of the local authorities in each region (10 for southeast Wales).
• CJCs will provide a more consistent approach by local government for strategic regional governance, planning and service delivery; offering a mechanism in which principal councils can work collaboratively and at scale to plan and deliver the key strategic functions that will be needed to respond to and recover from the recent pandemic.

The key functions of the CJC are:

• The function of preparing, monitoring, reviewing and revising of a Strategic Development Plan (SDP). These functions are set out in Part 6 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Bill).
• The function of developing a Regional Transport Plan – that is the functions of developing policies for transport in, to and from the CJC area and developing policies for implementing the Wales Transport Strategy. These functions are set out in the Transport Act 2000.
• The economic well-being function as provided for in Part 5 the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill. That is the power to do anything which the CJC considers is likely to promote or improve the economic wellbeing of its area. This will enable the principal councils, should they wish, to evolve the current regional approaches to the City and Growth deals into the CJC structures.

Well-being objective 5

Creating a County Borough that supports a healthy lifestyle in accordance with the sustainable development principle within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

The outcomes we wanted to achieve were:

1.Aim to reduce inequalities in health across the county borough

2.Creating a place that supports a healthy lifestyle.

Including:

• Contributing towards the Welsh Government target to reduce smoking prevalence rates to 16% by 2020
• Reducing the overweight and obesity rates in children
• Understand and address what helps to encourage people to become more physically active

3.Increase awareness and availability of local and affordable healthy food by working across sectors to develop and deliver a joint vision for a better food system to support the health and prosperity of residents, communities, and environment.

General Summary on our performance over five years

The impact of the pandemic from February 2020 presented a range of unprecedented challenges for the residents of the county borough and for several of the programmes that contributed to this objective. To this day the impacts of the pandemic on health and well-being have continued to be felt by our communities and new challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis have further tested this. Whilst the need to support our communities remains, a lot of good progress has been made against this Well-being Objective over the last 5 years.

What went well this year and why

Details against our specific outcomes include:

1 & 2. Aim to reduce inequalities in health across the county borough and create a place that supports a healthy lifestyle

The National Survey for Wales 2022/23 reported that 11% of adults in Caerphilly County Borough said that they currently smoked, the national average was 13%. This meant that we were below the Wales target of 16% by 2020 and are now working our way towards achieving the ambition for Wales to become smoke-free by 2030.

The Council’s Sport and Leisure Services have secured £20m Levelling Up Funding, with an additional £13.5 million committed by the Council, to support a new Caerphilly Leisure & Wellbeing Hub. The new facility, which will be constructed close to key public transport facilities in the heart of Caerphilly, will become the flagship leisure and wellbeing hub for the whole county borough.

The new centre will boast a new swimming pool, as well as a wide range of fitness and well-being facilities for use by the whole community including a state-of-the-art fitness suite, and active Play Centre for young children and teenagers, spa and well-being facilities, community rooms to support health, well-being and community cohesion and a multi-purpose sports hall. The development is a key part of the Council’s ambitious Sport and Active Recreation Strategy which aims to get more people, more active, more often.

There has been strong growth in leisure centre memberships leading to increases in participation and there has been particular focus on targeted training and development programmes leading to a more sustainable and secure workforce.

% children age 11 -Able to swim 25 meters

	2017/2018	54%
	2018/2019	47%
	2019/2020	36.5%
	2020/2021	-
	2021/2022	66%
	2022/2023	47%

As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to deliver against the vision and ambitions set out in the Sport & Active Recreation Strategy to ensure we have a county borough that supports a healthy lifestyle. The closure of leisure centres during lockdown had an adverse effect on the number of children aged 11 years who were able to swim 25m. As a priority when restrictions eased, we developed an appropriate ‘catch–up’ programme and we were able to achieve 66% in 2021/22 and 47% in 2022/23 of children aged 11 years that we able to swim 25m, which is a similar to pre-pandemic levels.

Fixed Penalty Notice – Fly Tipping & Householder duty of care

	Q1 2021-2022	7
	Q2 2021-2022	17
	Q3 2021-2022	19
	Q4 2021-2022	26
	Q1 2022/2023	10
	Q2 2022/2023	14
	Q3 2022/2023	3
	Q4 2022/2023	19

3. Increase awareness and availability of local and affordable healthy food by working across sectors to develop and deliver a joint vision for a better food system to support the health and prosperity of residents, communities, and environment

The Food Development Team have been very busy in setting up the Caerphilly Food Network and making it fit for purpose. We have now set up a steering group which is made up of private sector, third sector and food organisations throughout Caerphilly who will be taking a lead on Developing the Network to work cohesively and for the benefit of all. The network includes 23 established food organisations such as Fare Share members, Food Co-ops, Food Banks and Food pantries.

We have targeted the social food organisations and brought them together at a social event so they could learn from each other and share ideas and suggestions. This was very successful and was held in a social enterprise which is also a food hub and cafe in Caerphilly Town Centre.

We held a food sustainability lunchtime event in the local College which was targeted at food producers, growers and manufacturers. The food was cooked and served by the students at the college which gave them an opportunity to showcase their skills to potential employers and also allow the college to provide information on education and training opportunities for both employer and employee. The event stirred a lot of discussion around collaborative working and will form the basis of the next event.

We are very lucky to have the support of the Morrisons Supermarket as part of our Community Cooking Champion which has proved to be a great success providing 8-week cooking courses to learners through the Caerphilly Cares programme they attend one day a week and learn how to cook nutritional and healthy meals. Participants will receive a slow cooker upon completion of the course and will hopefully move on to other learning opportunities offered by our partners in Community Education and the Multiply project.

The Food Development Team are continuing to attend business clubs and promote the work of the Caerphilly Food Network to potential supporters.

Food Poverty and Insecurity has become a major issue in our communities throughout Caerphilly. The need for foodbank support has increased in the Upper Rhymney Valley area alone by 95% in the first 3 months of this year from January to March 2023.

We have a well-established Food Co-operative, the ‘Michael Climer Trust’ operating from the Holy Trinity church in Ystrad Mynach which offers access to food bags at £2.50 per bag. They offer a place to have chat, seek advice and gain access/referral to the Caerphilly Cares Team as well as haircuts and manicures for the most at need by linking with volunteers through hairdressing and nail salon businesses. Along with the support of the local schools, the project is an amazing example of community pulling together and making a real difference. The number accessing the project has increased to 100 people from 30 at the beginning of the year.

We will be recruiting five Food Development Officers who will work one day a week over 5 geographical locations and will provide support by linking into the network to feedback on the progress of projects. They will also be trained to deliver cooking classes for healthy low-cost meals.

Trading Standards contributed to the further development of the Greater Gwent Food Group multilingual allergen resource. Four more languages were added and launched at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute Conference in June 2022. We also produced an allergen awareness document of particular interest to schools which was posted on the internal Health & Safety portal. We carried out a joint food allergen survey with Torfaen Trading Standards to assess the provision of allergen information to consumers and the presence of allergens in non-prepacked food. Results were shared with the Food Standards Agency and anaphylaxis charities. The work stream supports businesses in complying with food hypersensitivity and help prevent avoidable deaths.

What did not go so well and why

1 & 2. Aim to reduce inequalities in health across the county borough and create a place that supports a healthy lifestyle

Within Leisure Services there have been issues in training, recruiting, and retaining swimming tutors which lead to a disruptive and inconsistent programme. We are taking a targeted approach to workforce development and exploration of alternative job roles.

The Oakdale Athletics Hub did not attract the level of usage anticipated, so we will be developing new programmes to support a broader range of access and engagement that will hopefully increase the level of usage.

Challenges remain in respect of encouraging membership and support of Community Centre Management Committees and a link to council volunteer programme is being explored.

Across Sports Development participation levels have increased, and we have now increased opportunities since the return of sport post pandemic, but the overall target has not been met since the pandemic. There has been a clear focus and drive in developing our leadership pathway which has involved upskilling volunteers, leaders, and coaches in leadership/coaching courses to enable them to meet the demands of our sporting provision landscape. Whilst this is not perfect, there has been significant improvement in the recruitment of paid casual coaches which has increased our sports camps provision during October, February and April and the support we can provide to extra-curricular sport.

There has been particular focus on our Coaches of the Future programme with mentoring from Sports Development Officers and our workforce support officer which has also created a high standard of coaches for our future provision of sport.

Our primary and secondary school pupils took part in the Sport Wales 2022 School Sport Survey. The release of this data was made available in September 2022 and the results have enabled us to make a national and regional comparisons to children and young peoples’ views around participation levels and their well-being. This data has informed and guided us to future plan 2023/24 provision of sport in county borough alongside our Sport and Active Recreation Strategy.

The anticipated reduction in backlog of modifications to the Public Rights of Way network did not happen this year, but the system is reactive to both claims made and complexity. Little can be done to manage the claims being made as control lies beyond the Council and some form of reprioritisation could be of benefit.

It has been a disappointing year for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly at Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve. Good and bad years are very weather dependent and largely beyond our control, however the habitat required for recovery is both in place and managed well.

3. Increase awareness and availability of local and affordable healthy food by working across sectors to develop and deliver a joint vision for a better food system to support the health and prosperity of residents, communities, and environment.

In food development we have learned to concentrate on small areas to build up our capacity and to encourage the voluntary organisations to contribute to the delivery of projects and lead on what works well in their specific areas.

The Healthy Schools Scheme is undergoing a major transformation phase which will hopefully be finalised in January 2024. As a result, schools have not been able to achieve accreditation this year.

What difference did we make

Within Leisure Services, we have made it easier for residents to access relevant information through continued improvements in digital developments. We have also continued to provide high levels of free and discounted access to sport and leisure opportunities through targeted programmes and initiatives. As a service, we have provided a range of opportunities for our communities to engage in volunteer opportunities, supported by training and upskilling and have delivered a pilot Bank Holiday opening project at Newbridge Leisure Centre to support families to engage in sport and active recreation for additional periods.

A wide range of differences have been made, protecting, maintaining, and enhancing our environment, however many of these differences are long term and cumulative, not being readily apparent. These range from the effects of strategic policy through to practical works on the ground that may benefit a specific species, for example introducing swift boxes. The areas where a difference has been made include decarbonisation, wildlife and landscape protection, recreation and public health benefits, maintenance of facilities along with the active management of invasive species and pathogens. The public have benefitted from the significant amount of grant aid attracted that helps support and improve facilities for example allotments, public access, country parks and rural businesses all of which benefit the quality of life of residents. A full range of facilities from Nature Reserves to cemeteries have remained open, maintained, and well used. Whilst acting primarily at a local level our involvement, both at a regional and national level, in the development of policy will have a long-lasting effect and legacy that can be built upon as demonstrated by the increasing recognition of blue/green infrastructure in a range of legislation, primarily in the Planning and Agricultural Acts and initiatives. Locally this is supporting all wellbeing objectives and under the sustainability themes supports all the pillars of environment, economic, social, and cultural.

The Enforcement Team have helped to ensure there is clean and safe areas for adults and children to enjoy sports and exercise with continued enforcement and education around the latest Public Spaces Protection Order for dog control. Caerphilly was the third highest local authority in Wales for successful fly tipping prosecutions, this Increased enforcement action for cases of fly tipping and advertising these successes, this will help advertise that Caerphilly is a council that will always aim to take enforcement action for matters such as fly tipping. This will act as a deterrent for potential fly tippers and householders looking to dispose of waste illegally in the future.

Through the administration of various grants including Isolation and Loneliness and Housing Support Fund/Direct Food Support we have helped support community groups and volunteers delivering support across the county borough. We have encouraged and instilled confidence in our learners through the Community Cooking project to empower them to move on to education and volunteer in their communities.

We have attracted support from the private sector and third sector and informed them of the challenges people face in the cost-of-living crisis. The Food Development Network have also encouraged a collaborative strategy that ensures we tackle food waste and decrease food poverty and insecurity.

What did we learn for future objectives

• We will continue to support secondary schools with sport and leisure facilities to maximise use for community benefit together with exploring options to generate additional revenue through maximising identified facilities for sponsorship and advertising. We will continue to support Community Centres to create stronger, more engaged, and sustainable management committees.
• The demand for sports provision for 3-6- and 7–11-year-olds still continues to increase. Our tots programme for 3–6-year-old provision is fully subscribed, and we are planning to further expand this into more areas of the county.
• There remains a lot of potential for the natural environment within the county borough, activities will be particularly focussed on key facilities. The move towards whole ecosystem management will continue in policy and practical terms, helping protect green infrastructure and wildlife. It is anticipated that future focus will remain a combination of meeting both long term objectives and more immediate practical actions which help meet the former. At the fore of this is ensuring that residents and visitors access improved facilities and appreciate and enjoy the experience.
• The ability to retain a knowledgeable and dynamic service will allow focus on education and advice to others, something the service cannot provide in isolation. Country parks and other facilities will remain the hubs for this, and the aim is to increase usage, provide a stimulating environment and build appreciation of these whilst the Rural Development Plan will concentrate on the traditional rural/agricultural sector which is likely to be in a state of flux.
• Efforts to attract external funding to support the service and facilities will be on going although perhaps more targeted. This will be reflected in partnership working, particularly with neighbouring Gwent authorities. It is also hoped to increase the number of projects where volunteers assist and foster closer links with GAVO and other bodies.
• As well as the provision of specialist support to others the service will be developing and initiating works from a new Rights of Way Improvement Plan, Aberbargoed Grasslands Management Plan, Green Infrastructure Strategy and undertaking a feasibility study on the operation of potentially commercial elements of Parc Cwm Darran. The service will take a leading role in the implementation of elements of the Decarbonisation Strategy and the Valleys Regional Park initiative. There will be ongoing and significant input to the Caerphilly Local Development Plan amongst other plans and strategies. It is hoped that the Caerphilly Local Access Forum will develop further.
• We will continue to support walking groups in Caerphilly where needed, support volunteers with training, and a complete review of all walking routes. We also aim to deliver the Caerphilly Challenge Series (CCS). The Caerphilly Challenge Series has routes that are suitable for all fitness levels and abilities and in 2024 we be throwing down a serious challenge for walkers and runners of all abilities in a challenge called The Wild Boar 2024.
• We will continue to improve the use of technology such as CCTV and social media to further assist in enforcement and education regarding environmental crime.
• Preparing and giving presentations to schools in the county borough about environmental crime matters to educate the children on the issues that littering, dog fouling and fly tipping etc can cause and things they can do to help.
• We need to build on the sustainable Caerphilly Food Network to encourage collaborative working and engaging with hard-to-reach groups such as young carers and lone parents to teach them healthy cooking on a low costs budget.
• We are focussed on delivering the £33.5m Caerphilly Leisure & Well-being Hub. We are committed to continued development of collaborative approaches to service delivery where there is an identified need and continued delivery of employee training and development opportunities in support of employee personal growth, recruitment, and retention.
• In Healthy Schools our focus is to work intensively with our schools on the whole school approach to Emotional Mental Well-being toolkit to achieve the Welsh Government target of 75% of Primary Schools and 100% of Secondary Schools engaged with the toolkit. We will continue to work intensively with our schools to support the implementation of the new Welsh Government Relationships and Sexuality Education code and guidance and to analyse the School Health Research Network data for both Primary and Secondary schools and develop plans to address common themes.

Well-being objective 6

Support citizens to remain independence and improve their well-being

The outcomes we wanted to achieve:

1. Supporting people to ‘help themselves’ by providing comprehensive advice and information including signposting to other services; and having ‘meaningful conversations’ to help people identify ‘what matters’ to them to inform ‘outcome focused’ planning.
2. Providing support to reduce the need for higher tier statutory interventions.
3. Identifying and supporting carers.
4. Improving the recruitment of foster carers and Shared Lives carers.
5. Continuing to identify opportunities to work collaboratively wherever appropriate.

General Summary on our performance over five years

Our performance in relation to achieving the agreed well-being outcomes has been strong throughout this period. This is due to the outcomes being considered as ‘core business’ across service areas which in turn means they continue to be current. Despite the pandemic, the provision of frontline social care services had to be maintained and therefore continued to run throughout the various lockdowns. Services were able to flex up and flex down in response to restrictions being imposed and being lifted and this is credit to the commitment and resilience of all staff. As a result, overall performance across all services has been maintained and the annual performance returns to Welsh Government demonstrate this, as has the feedback from our Regulator, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW).

What went well this year and why?

Overall performance across the Directorate has been strong despite significant pressures emerging from the NHS in terms of hospital discharge and pressures in children's services relating to both the complexity of needs and the non-availability of services.

The work of the statutory Regional Partnership Board (RPB) covering the five Gwent Local Authorities and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) continues to expand with priority given to the implementation of Welsh Government policy and ensuring a consistent approach to service delivery across the region including the utilisation of various grant funding streams.

Demand for Adult Services has increased throughout the year whilst Children’s Services has remained relatively stable. However, the challenges and complexities of the workload, together with the costs of providing services have increased significantly across the Directorate.

Referrals made to Adult Services

	2018-2019	1578
	2019/2020	1787
	2020/2021	1816
	2021/2022	1303
	2022/2023	1954

The Social Services underspend in 2022/23 was largely attributable to in-year short term Welsh Government grant allocations combined with temporary reductions in service provision due to staffing shortages which is affecting the whole social care sector. These short-term savings mask an underlying increase in demand for care and support particularly in terms of residential care placements for both children and older people. Despite the additional funding provided during 2023/24 to address these underlying pressures, the situation will continue to be volatile and will require close monitoring.

Home First is a dedicated team of professionals that can quickly access ongoing support and arrange care packages for patients assessed as medically fit discharge across ABUHB hospitals. Additional Welsh Government funding has been utilised to expand the service to Prince Charles Hospital to reduce the numbers of patients having to be transferred to Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr in order to access the service. Ongoing funding for the service has been agreed by the Regional Partnership Board utilising the Regional Integration Fund (RIF) which is a Welsh Government programme aimed at improving the integration of health and social services.

Details against our specific outcomes include:

1. Supporting people to ‘help themselves’ by providing comprehensive advice and information including signposting to other services; and having ‘meaningful conversations’ to help people identify ‘what matters’ to them to inform ‘outcome focused’ planning’.

We continue to have an effective Information, Advice and Assistance (IAA) Service in place that fully meets the requirements of the Social Services & Well Being (Wales) Act 2014. All staff have received ‘collaborative communication’ training in line with a national programme supported by Social Care Wales and Welsh Government aimed at supporting citizens to help themselves by facilitating conversations that both identify ‘what matters’ to the individual but also what support networks they may already have in place or that could be accessed to reduce the need for the provision of care and support services. Whilst we are confident that our IAA Service is effective, given this outcome is a statutory requirement for all Councils in Wales, it will continue to be a priority.

2.Providing support to reduce the need for higher tier statutory interventions.

Home First, Emergency Care at Home and Discharge to Assess Schemes are all now fully operational and contribute to both preventing unnecessary admissions to hospital and to supporting speedier discharges from hospital wherever possible.

Welsh Government has confirmed grant funding to provide preventative services and to offset the increased demands on services as a result in part, of the pandemic. These demands will continue, structured work plans and commissioned services are in place to ensure all funding and resources are maximised. All services have been reviewed by the Programme Management Team to ensure positive outcomes and value for money.

The Intensive Support Team (IST) provides the edge of care support* for Children’s Services and using grant funding, was expanded to include a Child Psychologist, Education Worker, Health Visitor, a Family Meeting Service, and additional Family Support Workers. Children looked after numbers were predicted to continue to rise but the number has remained stable over the last three years.

*Children for whom entry into care had been considered by the local authority, either on a voluntary basis or through legal proceedings, but who are supported to not enter care.

3. Identifying and supporting carers

A significantly enhanced range of support is now available to all carers including individual support, groups and leisure and social activities. These are all publicised through a regular newsletter. In partnership with the four other local authorities, we have introduced Bridging the Gap a new innovative project to support carers for all ages, by giving them voice and control over how they receive support. A directory of services has been launched and carers are allocated a notional amount of money to book services as and when they require them for example, a sitting service to attend a wedding. We continue to provide access to the carers small grant scheme which can be used to purchase washing machines etc.

4.Improving the recruitment of Foster Carers and Shared Lives carers

10 new Shared Lives Carers and 15 new Foster Carers have been assessed and approved in the past 12 months.

The current advertising campaign to recruit carers is being revised to include reference to the My Support Team (MyST) therapeutic fostering service. MyST is a specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) within Children’s Services which supports children to remain within their families or within foster care and avoid high-cost residential care. The service also supports children already in residential care to step down to foster care or return to their families.

Contacts to social services by adult carers

	2018/2019	-
	2019/2020	-
	2020/2021	94
	2021/2022	200
	2022/2023	148

5. Continuing to identify opportunities to work collaboratively wherever appropriate

As noted above, the Regional Partnership Board provides strategic direction for the Gwent region in terms of developing and maintaining health and social services across the 5 Local Authorities and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

Welsh Government requires each of the collaborative regions in Wales to deliver statutory advocacy services for children and young people. The Gwent region is acknowledged to be leading the work in Wales and, within the region, Caerphilly has led the development of Parent Advocacy to support families through child protection planning and decision-making processes which is now being adopted across Wales.

Existing collaborations include the South-East Wales Safeguarding Board for both Adults and Children, hosting the West Safeguarding Hub with Gwent Police, the South-East Wales Adoption Service, Foster Wales, Shared Lives and the South-East Wales Emergency Duty.

What did not go so well and why?

Some of the most significant challenges we faced were in response to the increasing pressures within the health system, including hospitals and the ambulance service. Ongoing problems around ambulance response times and hospital discharge mean people are waiting for care in their own homes for longer than we would want. Increasing demand for services and increasing complexity of cases being presented result in enhanced packages of care and support with the increased costs that this incurs. This is a UK wide challenge and not unique to Caerphilly.

Recruitment and retention of social work and care staff across the Directorate continues to be problematic as it is in all social services departments across Wales. However, the positives in relation to flexible, agile, hybrid, blended approaches to operational service delivery adopted in response to the pandemic are positive and will be maintained going forward.

Identifying and supporting carers

Difficulties in delivering packages of home care due to the national shortage of domiciliary care workers, led to representations being made by service users and their families. The review of the way day services was delivered, moving to an individual outcome-based service also led to a number of complaints or representations being made at the time of the changes. All change can create anxieties but now that the new model has bedded in, feedback from users and their families has been extremely positive.

What difference did we make?

Despite all the challenges faced by our communities, society, and the world as a whole, Social Services has continued to safeguard and support the most vulnerable and most in need children and adults. As a result, overall levels of complaints have not increased despite restrictions to services having to be imposed and compliments continue to significantly outnumber complaints, with some positive comments recorded across all service areas.

Children Looked After and child protection register numbers have remained static evidencing that the range of preventative measures and services that are in place are effective.

		Looked After Children	Children on Protection Register
	2018-2019	436	105
	2019-2020	451	143
	2020-2021	456	142
	2021-2022	464	169
	2022-2023	467	198

The Council’s response to the cost-of-living crisis has made a significant difference to some of the most vulnerable citizens.

What did we learn for future objectives?

We want to development of a Council wide Learning Management System (LMS) to record safeguarding training attendance and completion. This development links directly to recommendations made by Wales Audit following a review of Corporate Safeguarding arrangements. The model was initially developed by Social Services but has been adopted by the whole Council and through working in collaboration with Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Carmarthenshire Councils, investment has been secured from Welsh Government to commission the new system.

Recruitment and retention of qualified Social Workers remains a constant challenge to operational service delivery. We have a successful secondment programme that supports experienced unqualified staff already working within the Service to undertake the Social Work Degree whilst also working. So, we will work on the continuation of the secondment scheme for support staff to undertake the Social Work Degree.

learning from the experiences of having to deliver services during the pandemic has allowed the Directorate to take stock of the way day services can be and should be delivered going forward. The findings of an independent review of services to identify options for future delivery are being implemented.

his long-standing commitment to develop new, purpose-built short breaks provision for disabled adults and children continue to progress with the site for development now identified.

Demand for services, post pandemic, continues to increase. NHS pressures are now having a direct impact both as a result of the Government's prioritisation of hospital discharge and in terms of the needs of people who have been waiting for NHS treatment. Future budget settlements will be very challenging given increases in demand particularly in children's services.

Section 3: how to contact us.

You can contact us by:

Email: BIT@caerphilly.gov.uk or via the Council Performance webpage and follow the instructions on screen.

Alternatively, please contact:

ROS ROBERTS

Business Improvement Manager

Caerphilly County Borough Council

Penallta House

Ystrad Mynach

Hengoed

CF82 7PG

Tel: 01443 864238

E-mail: roberr@caerphilly.gov.uk

You can contact us via social media.

www.caerphilly.gov.

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