Since the 2008 recession town centres around the UK have been hit with the hardest trading conditions for generations. There have been a number of high profile retailers reporting extreme financial pressures as well as the negative impact on small independent businesses. Swansea City Centre is no different with decreasing levels of footfall over the […]
Looking Back, Looking Forward
October 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Last week, to mark European Local Democracy Week, we were tweeting the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2011/12. If you want to see the full report you can find it here. If you are not a tweeter then don’t worry – all it boils down to is that we have summarised the annual report in to ten short statements […]
European Local Democracy Week
October 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This post is us doing our bit for European Local Democracy Week which starts today. We wanted to mark it because we think that local government scrutiny makes an important contribution to local democracy. First and foremost scrutiny can make a real difference to people by working to improve policies and services. To show this we will […]
Working to improve the City Centre
September 15, 2011 by 1 Comment
The Environment & Communities Overview & Scrutiny Board is carrying out an in-depth review of the issues facing the City Centre. The problems of the City Centre have been widely publicised lately and it is a high priority for the Council and its partners. The Board have a detailed evidence gathering plan which will take them up […]
Leaving Care – Review Update
September 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Board is still working on its in-depth Review of the Support for Care Leavers. Evidence gathering for this review commenced back in February. The Task & Finish Group carrying out this work, led by Councillor Paxton-Hood Williams, is now expected to deliver a final report to the Board, with conclusions and recommendations, in November. […]
Making a Difference to Corporate Parenting
September 7, 2011 by 5 Comments
The Board recently followed up on its review of the role of councillors as corporate parents, to assess progress and the impact of its work. Considering the various recommendations made by the Board the Cabinet Member for Social Services, Councillor Nick Tregoning presented an action plan. The Board also heard from the Chair of the […]