LSB3
Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee
Association of Chief Police Officers in Wales response to the call for evidence: Local Service Boards
I write on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Wales (WACPO), in my capacity as the chair of WACPO, in response to the announcement of The Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee calling for evidence relating to the progress of the six Local Service Boards (LSB) pilots in Wales.
WACPO welcomes the opportunity to participate in this inquiry process and acknowledges the need for the early examination of progress of such LSB’s and to assist in their future development.
The Inquiry, within its terms of reference, details a number of issues that the Committee invite responses to, in advance of taking oral evidence. In order to provide a coherent 'site’ specific response from across the principality in relation to such issues, this WACPO paper concentrates on those sites as they fall in within the respective police service area.
South Wales Police
Local Leadership Teams.
The implementation of the 2 Local Service Board (LSB) Pilots within the South Wales Police area have been very positive in terms of their early development, although there are clearly two very different models between the Cardiff and Neath & Port Talbot sites.
The Leadership Teams that have been established are made up of the appropriate local agencies and bodies and have the correct senior level of representation.
Whilst the inevitable settling in of a newly formed body of this nature both have now established effective relationships and collaboration between core bodies and stakeholders.
Monitoring and evaluation of progress and the 'Action Learning’ process in their development.
The 'Action Learning’ process of the LSB development projects has allowed the boards and its partners to look for new ways of working and to be more analytical of themselves and the way they interact. This process has facilitated a more open and effective relationship between partners.
In terms of evaluating the progress each has made to date, this is something which may prove difficult to determine an objective view. Both have set out their agreed 'priority’ projects and developed Local Delivery Agreements and accompanying Action Plans to achieve them. These are underpinned in most cases by joint performance arrangements between some or all of the partners.
In relation to the governance and accountability of these priorities and plans, the LSB’s not having any formal decision making powers and proper accountability structures may prove a barrier to effective performance.
The agreement of Local Delivery Agreements in the pilot areas, including the extent to which local citizens have been involved.
The Local Delivery Agreements have been developed as collaborative actions between partners to achieve their 'priority’ projects. Both have consulted widely using existing local citizen and community groups as well as partnership mechanisms. The 'pilot’ LSB’s have determined a number of specific 'priority’ projects, different in each area and this will no doubt be positive in terms of maximising the 'Action Learning’ concept.
An issue for consideration is the identification of priorities and LDAs post the pilot, given the competing demands and the many local and national plans that all or some of the partners will have a responsibility to deliver and be held accountable to.
The relationship between LSBs and existing partnership structures.
The LSB’s have during their early development been very beneficial in terms of strengthening the already good partnership relationships across our force area. Whilst joint performance management arrangements have been developed there is still an issue of accountability.
The future relationship of the LSB’s and local partners should be formalised so that it becomes a strategic forum that sits above the existing partnership structures, with a responsibility for direction and control in some predetermined areas over other local partnership forums such as the Community Safety Partnership.
The Scrutiny and Accountability of LSBs.
The accountability of the LSB’s is something that will need in depth consideration during the review. There is no doubting the enthusiasm and commitment of the LSB’s during the pilot phase, particularly taking into account that each is leading on their own 'priority’ projects. As LSB’s spread to the whole of the principality there needs to be an agreed transparent process of accountability.
In terms of governance, the relationship with the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) will be key in terms of the future priorities set by the LSB’s and how WAG holds them to account.
How partners that cover several unitary authorities engage with multiple LSBs.
There have been difficulties in respect of some of the partners who cover a number of LSB’s. This is perhaps something that could have been expected during this 'Action Learning’ pilot phase, where there was always going to be a need to establish clear organisational structures. Two areas that this has been evident are the pooling of resources and data-sharing where the wider authority issues will need to be balanced against the need of a specific LSB. Good progress and established working practices have been achieved in this area, and when the position is reached of each area formally having an LSB with more commonality across priorities, the position will be easier to manage.
The role of Local Authorities in relation to LSBs
The Local Authorities have fully embraced the implementation and development of the LSB’s. This is evidenced by the use of their existing resources in many cases to drive the agenda and priorities of the LSB’s. Within some of the smaller Local Authorities and partner agencies the capacity to fully engage as the LSB business grows may prove difficult. If in the further development of LSB’s they are given more of a strategic responsibility over local partners, there will need to be more clarity in respect of this relationship in terms support and engagement.
The role of Assembly Officials in respect of LSBs
The priority and support that the LSB pilot programme has been given by WAG has been most beneficial in achieving partnership engagement and the progress made to date. In terms of future relationships a more formal arrangement may be beneficial, together with a shared message across policy areas where there have been some examples of varying degrees of support for LSB’s.
The role of "Spatial Plan” Ministers to LSBs in their areas.
It will be important, in order to maintain local ownership and accountability, that WAG Ministers do not become a formal part of the LSB structures. However Ministers with specific responsibilities should be welcomed in supporting and advising LSB’s in relation to specific policy development and implementation.
Dyfed Powys Police
The general progress of the pilot LSBs and how the roll out of LSBs to other local authority areas is proceeding;
The relationship between LSBs and existing partnership structures, in particular the community strategy partnerships and sub-regional structures such as the WLGA Regional Boards;
'The Carmarthenshire’s Local Service Board is, as outlined in the document entitled 'Written evidence on the Carmarthenshire Local Service Board’,
based upon what was already a very strong Community Planning Partnership in the county, which has been built on the foundation of several years of partnership working’.
As a result, there is indeed a certain "maturity” in the relationships within this group. From a police perspective there has been considerable investment, in opportunity terms, that has resulted in the breaking down of barriers which has contributed to this achievement, and the position reached in terms of the 'maturity’ of the group and the partnership working that now exists.
The role and composition of "local leadership teams” that have been assembled in the pilot areas and how effective collaboration has been between core bodies and stakeholders;
There is an element of partners around the table 'holding each other to account’. Previously it had been difficult to engage with health organisations; the Trust did not attend, and attendance by the LHB was intermittent. Since becoming a pilot, representation from all these areas have been consistent and productive and it is argued that, without the status and profile conferred on the LSB by the Assembly, the involvement of these bodies at this level would have proved difficult. Members are required to deliver a presentation to the group on their area of work and performance against targets set.
How progress of LSBs is been monitored and evaluated and what has been learnt so far through the "action learning” process?
The scrutiny and accountability of LSBs - how are they scrutinised and to whom are they accountable?
How Local Delivery Agreements (LDAs) were reached in the pilot areas and priorities identified, including the extent to which local citizens have been involved?
Work is currently ongoing to pilot ways of increasing the accountability and transparency of the LSB as a whole - either through each of the themes reporting in to the appropriate Scrutiny Committee of the Council, or through the six local Community Networks which are open to everyone in the area, or through the Annual Forum, which is also an open event which regularly attracts several hundred people and which is, in some ways, the "sovereign body” of the LSB / Community planning process. The police have access and input on all of these areas.
As the Board has no legal basis with no formal constitution, each of the partners is accountable to their own organisational and public accountability systems. However it is expected that members attending the meetings have a mandate from their organisation, or partnership, and have a level of delegated authority in order to agree strategic direction and are responsible for ensuring appropriate scrutiny arrangements.
Council Scrutiny Committees has been ongoing for some time. This links the work of individual partners and the strategic (thematic) partnerships with the council. The Community Safety Partnership regularly reports to the council’s Social Justice Scrutiny Committee on progress.
Investigative Task and Finish Groups have been established, which have either co-opted partners onto the Group or received evidence from partner organisations or interested parties, examples of where this method has been used include Migrant Workers which saw the Social Justice Scrutiny Committee work with Dyfed Powys Police, Further Education and Health Partners.
Work undertaken by a joint meeting of the Social Justice and Environment Scrutiny Committee which included Dyfed Powys Police, Countryside Council for Wales and communities of interest, facilitated a recent WAG Review on cockle gathering and the role of the Sea Fisheries Committee.
Arrangements are made for the Chairs of the Strategic Partnerships to report progress on an annual basis to Council Scrutiny Committees.
The LSB will report on an annual basis to the Community Planning Annual Forum which is considered the 'sovereign body’ to which the LSB is accountable. This Forum receives an annual report from the LSB, and is attended by up to 300 stakeholders. This meeting receives feedback on performance on the previous year and sets the direction for future priorities.
How partners, such as fire and police authorities, that cover several unitary authorities engage with multiple LSBs;
Carmarthenshire is a single LSB area
Other examples of policing benefits found within Dyfed Powys as a result of the LSB:
Development of inter-personal relationships - You only need to look at the attendance list to see that representatives at the group have a level of delegated authority from their respective organisations and that they are people who have the power to make things happen. One example of this in action being the longstanding problem of police not being able to access information and data from accident and emergency departments in the county with regards to incidents involving young people and drugs and alcohol misuse being admitted to A+E Departments. This was raised as an issue and as a result an action was requested to share A+E data with Dyfed Powys Police to support their work on alcohol and substance misuse. This is now work in progress between the Central Intelligence Unit at Llanelli and the Health Authority.
Environmental Issues - As part of the partnerships initiative of 'Care for the county of Carmarthenshire’ through environmental volunteering, 3.5 tonnes of waste and litter has been collected. As part of our community intelligence process, police are able to influence action areas via the partnership, which contributes to the architectural and street improvement work being done by neighbourhood policing teams, which in turn contributes to reducing crime and disorder issues.
Police Bases - Again through networking at these meetings, Dyfed Powys Police have discussed with the Principal of Coleg Sir Gar, Llanelli, the possibility of neighbourhood policing teams having access to the campus as part of their patrols. The campus has approx 2000 students and they are keen to make inroads with this college as part of their youth interaction initiatives across that county. The Principal gave his consent for the local neighbourhood policing team to have access to a shared police office facility on the campus, plus free access throughout the campus whenever we want.
North Wales Police
The general progress of the pilot LSBs and how the roll out of LSBs to other local authority areas is proceeding.
Gwynedd LSB - pilot site
Gwynedd was an initial pilot and built upon the considerable amount of work already undertaken by the Gwynedd Together (Gwynedd ar y Cyd) Community Strategy.
The Gwynedd LSB has two main projects: namely
Reviewing local health provision
Reducing carbon the carbon footprint.
These are clearly not closely aligned to policing objectives but work is on-going to develop further collaborative work.
A Welsh Language Plan has been agreed.
Wrexham LSB - pilot site
Two areas of work have emerged in the Wrexham LSB, namely:
Third party reporting of racial crime
Gaining a better understanding of mental health issues
Other issues are being considered following a "Wrexham Vision Day” which encouraged the community to put forward ideas for the LSB to consider.
The work on the Wrexham LSB has improved working relationships and partnerships at the senior level in the County.
The role and composition of "local leadership teams” that have been assembled in the pilot areas and how effective collaboration has been between core bodies and stakeholders;
Collaboration is developing and becoming more effective in Gwynedd and Wrexham. The new Flintshire LSB has a far smaller in membership and is looking at areas where there is an overlap of work between organisations and considering the joint training of middle managers to gain a better mutual understanding and remove barriers to effective co-operation between organisations.
How progress of LSBs is been monitored and evaluated and what has been learnt so far through the "action learning” process;
It is too early to show effective monitoring and evaluation.
How Local Delivery Agreements (LDAs) were reached in the pilot areas and priorities identified, including the extent to which local citizens have been involved;
Gwynedd LSB
These have been in place from the previous Community Strategy
The relationship between LSBs and existing partnership structures, in particular the community strategy partnerships and sub-regional structures such as the WLGA Regional Boards;
Gwynedd LSB
This has not been established although there would appear to be advantages in terms of governance if the LSB had oversight of the outcomes of other partnerships.
The scrutiny and accountability of LSBs - how are they scrutinised and to whom are they accountable?
Gwynedd LSB
The Political leader of the Local Authority sits on the group; new scrutiny mechanisms are being developed.
How partners, such as fire and police authorities, that cover several unitary authorities engage with multiple LSBs;
Police authorities not generally represented but in some cases briefed by the Divisional Commander, fire authority not generally represented.
The role of Local Authorities in relation to LSBs;
Very supportive and in some areas have taken the lead.
The role of the Assembly Government officials in respect of LSBs;
Minimal role for Assembly Government officials to date
The extent to which Local Public Service Boards and Local Area Agreements in England have informed the development of the Welsh model.
The LSB are slowly developing across North Wales. Each is different in approach and although this does give scope to deal with local needs there is a danger of six very different LSBs with no common agenda, structure or processes.
It is clear that bringing the senior people from public service organisations together has brought benefits in terms of building working relationship and mutual understanding.
One issue that needs consideration is the number of partnerships now active in each Local Authority Area. Each Divisional Commander in North Wales needs to ensure representation on the following groups:
Two Local Service Boards
Two Community Safety Partnerships
Two Children and Young Persons Framework Groups
Two Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards
This is a heavy commitment for each Division in addition to the attendance at other Force meetings.
There is also no identified role for Chief Officers or for the Police Authority in the current structure.
Gwent Police
The general progress of the pilot LSBs and how the roll out of LSBs to other local authority areas is proceeding;
Within Gwent progress has been made within each of the five Local Authority areas. Although given the local flexibility allowed by the current arrangements none have developed in the same way.
The role and composition of "local leadership teams” that have been assembled in the pilot areas and how effective collaboration has been between core bodies and stakeholders;
Each LSB has a different membership in terms of the organisations involved and political involvement varies significantly depending on local need and circumstances. Each of the five LSBs’ has senior police representation at Chief Superintendent level. These police officers are currently performing the role of BCU Commanders and are well known in these local areas. Police Authority representation is however varied.
How progress of LSBs is been monitored and evaluated and what has been learnt so far through the "action learning” process;
Both Chief Officers and the Police Authority receive regular updates on progress from the BCU Commanders’. Where represented, Police Authority members are also able to exercise direct oversight.
How Local Delivery Agreements (LDAs) were reached in the pilot areas and priorities identified, including the extent to which local citizens have been involved;
Gwent has one pilot area in Caerphilly and a copy of the Local Delivery Agreement can be forwarded if required.
The relationship between LSBs and existing partnership structures, in particular the community strategy partnerships and sub-regional structures such as the WLGA Regional Boards;
It would be fair to say that the relationship between the pilot and emerging LSBs’ and other Partnerships is still under development.
The scrutiny and accountability of LSBs - how are they scrutinised and to whom are they accountable?
Accountability arrangements appear to be unclear.
How partners, such as fire and police authorities, that cover several unitary authorities engage with multiple LSBs;
Gwent Police Authority is not yet represented on each of the LSBs’ although senior police officers are.
The role of Local Authorities in relation to LSBs;
From a Gwent Police perspective local authorities are heavily involved in LSB development.
The role of the Assembly Government officials in respect of LSBs;
Clearly, it is the role of the Assembly Government officials to provide advice and guidance and to enable the sharing of Best Practice.
The extent to which Local Public Service Boards and Local Area Agreements in England have informed the development of the Welsh model.
LSBs’ in Gwent, to our knowledge, are following the WAG guidance.
In Conclusion WACPO fully supports and shares the determination of the Welsh Assembly Government in the establishment of the Local Service Boards in response to the Delivering Beyond Boundaries. We are keen to pursue joint action where better outcomes for our citizens are achieved through ambitious joint planning and integrated delivery of services.
WACPO welcomes the opportunity to support the Committee in this inquiry process and ask that if further assistance is required, this can be facilitated via the Police Liaison Office at Cathays Park, Cardiff.
Barbara Wilding
Chairperson Wales A.C.P.O
