Terms of Reference and Membership
Pembrokeshire Public Services Board
Terms of reference
Prepared in line with Welsh Government statutory guidance on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, Shared Purpose: Shared Future.
Reviewed by Pembrokeshire Public Services Board on 28th June 2022.
Status
Pembrokeshire Public Services Board or PSB (“the Board”) is a statutory board established by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
Purpose
The purpose of the Board is to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Pembrokeshire.
In pursuing this purpose the Board will contribute to the national well-being goals. These are
- A prosperous Wales
- A resilient Wales
- A healthier Wales
- A more equal Wales
- A Wales of cohesive communities
- A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
- A globally responsible Wales
In conducting its business the Board will act in accordance with the ‘sustainable development principle’, that is, acting in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This will mean taking decisions and working in ways that take the following into account:
- Long term: the importance of balancing short term needs with the need to safeguard the ability to meet long term needs.
- Prevention: how acting to prevent problems occurring or getting worse may help public bodies meet their objectives.
- Integration: considering how the public bodies well-being objectives may impact upon each of the well-being goals, on their other objectives, or on the objectives of other bodies.
- Collaboration: acting in collaboration with other public bodies to help meet well-being goals.
- Involvement: the importance of involving people with an in achieving well-being goals and ensuring that those people reflect the diversity of the area which the body serves.
Functions of the PSB
The Board has four main functions:
- To prepare and publish an assessment of the state of economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Pembrokeshire.
- To prepare and publish a Well-being Plan for Pembrokeshire setting out local objectives and the actions it proposes to take to meet them.
- To take all reasonable steps to meet the local objectives it has set.
- To prepare and publish an annual report that sets out the Board’s progress in meeting the local objectives.
Membership
Statutory members
The statutory members of the Board are:
- Pembrokeshire County Council (represented at meetings by the Leader and CEO)
- Hywel Dda University Health Board (represented at meetings by the Chairman or CEO, or both)
- Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (represented at meetings by the Chairman or Chief Officer, or both)
- Natural Resources Wales (represented at meetings by the CEO)
A nominated representative may be designated to substitute for any of the named persons above. The Leader of the Council may only designate another member of the Council’s Cabinet.
Any designated representative must have the authority to make decisions on behalf of their organisation.
Invited participants
The Board must invite specified statutory invitees to participate in the Board’s activity. These are:
- The Welsh Ministers
- The Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police
- The Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner
- Chief Officer, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services
- National Probation Service
The Board may invite any other bodies / persons who exercise functions of a public nature to participate in the Board’s activity. The current non-statutory invitees are:
- Public Health Wales
- CEO, Port of Milford Haven
- CEO, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
- CEO, PLANED
- Regional Jobcentre Wales representative, Department for Work and Pensions
- Pembrokeshire College
- Chair, One Voice Wales
- West Wales Care Partnership
Invited participants are not required to accept an invitation. However, once an invitation is accepted, invited participants are expected to participate fully in the activities of the Board and to work jointly with the Board in order to meet its Well-being duty, including in delivering the functions stated
Other partners
The Board will also engage as appropriate with other key partners who have a material interest in the well-being of the area, or who deliver important public services, in the preparation, implementation and delivery of the work of the Board. These partners include but are not limited to:
- Community Councils
- Community Health Councils
- Further or Higher Education Institutes
- Arts Council for Wales
- Sports Council for Wales
- National Library of Wales
- National Museum of Wales
Providing information
The Board can require invited participants and other partners to provide information about any action they take that may contribute to achieving the Well-being goals. However, they are not required to provide information if:
- they consider that it would be incompatible with their duties, or
- it had an adverse effect on the exercise of their functions, or
- they were prohibited from providing it by law
If a participant or partner decides not to provide information the Board has requested it must provide the Board with written reasons for its decision.
Chairing arrangements and frequency of meetings
Term of office
The term of office of the Chair and Vice-Chair is three years and for a maximum of two terms.
Mandatory meetings
The Board must hold a meeting, chaired by Pembrokeshire County Council, no later than 60 days after the date on which the Board is established. The Board must also hold a “mandatory meeting” no later than 60 days after each subsequent ordinary election of councillors, an ordinary election being one where all seats on a council are up for election or re-election. At a mandatory meeting the Board must:
- appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair
- determine when and how often it meets, and
- review and agree Terms of Reference
Ordinary meetings
There will be at least five meetings of the Board each calendar year, at an agreed time and venue. The agenda and invitation for each meeting will specify if the meeting will be held in person or virtually. Other meetings may be held as appropriate.
The protocol for meetings will be as follows:
- The agenda and papers will be circulated no later than five working days in advance of the meeting.
- Urgent items may be permitted at the discretion of the Chair.
- Each substantive item on the agenda will be supported by a paper and clear recommendation(s).
- Observers may contribute to relevant topics of business on the agenda, or ask relevant questions on the Board’s work, given the prior consent or specific invitation of the Chair
- The agenda, minutes, papers and other outputs from a meeting of the Board will be made publically available on PLANED'S website (opens in a new tab). Minutes and Agendas only will be made available on the Board’s website.
Governance and accountability
Decision making
The quorum of a Board meeting is all four of its statutory members (or designated representative with the authority to make decisions on behalf of their organisation).
Board decisions (for example the agreement of the Well-being Assessment and Well-being Plan) are only valid when made jointly by the Board and with all statutory members present.
In the event of a vote the Board will operate on the principle of one vote per organisation / agency regardless of the number of representatives from an organisation / agency present at a meeting.
In the event of a disagreement between members, it is the responsibility of the Chair to mediate a resolution and to present this to the next available meeting of the Board or to a special meeting if required.
Members of the Board are required to declare any conflicts of interest and should be aware of their own organisation’s policies and procedures around issues such as whistleblowing.
Delivery and Reporting
In May 2023, the PSB agreed a delivery and reporting structure based around a Gold/Silver/Bronze approach, with each level having its own specific role as outlined below;
GOLD – PSB – Strategic direction, support and challenge / Oversight of project progress and delivery / Shared responsibility and accountability
SILVER – Project Groups – Identifying and allocating organisational resources / Delivery of project plans / Monitoring and measuring of progress / ‘Spotlight’ reporting (see below) and escalation of concerns and issues to PSB (GOLD) / Identification of cross-cutting themes across project areas / Leading on engagement for each project area
BRONZE – Supporting/Operational Groups – Supporting project groups (SILVER) with delivery of project plans / providing community intelligence / escalation of concerns and issues to SILVER
The role of the three co-ordinating Silver level groups is to ensure there is PSB accountability and ownership of delivery of the Plan. Each of these project groups will therefore be Chaired by PSB members who will provide updates at each PSB meeting. To ensure this focus on delivery is maintained, at each meeting one group will provide a more in-depth update, or ‘spotlight’ session, on their project area, providing detailed information on progress, achievements, aspirations and concerns. PSB partners will then have the opportunity to ask questions and provide support to resolve any issues.
Annual report
The Board will prepare and publish an annual report no later than 14 months after the publication of its first Well-being Plan. Subsequently, an annual report will be published no later than one year after the publication of each previous report.
A copy of the annual report must be sent to Welsh Ministers, the Future Generations Commissioner, the Auditor General for Wales and the Partnerships Panel of Pembrokeshire County Council.
Scrutiny
In order to provide democratic accountability, the local authority must designate one of its overview and scrutiny committees with responsibility for scrutinising the effectiveness of the Board and its work. The local authority has established a Partnerships Panel for this purpose, which is a standing panel of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The designated scrutiny committee and/or panel can require any member of the Board to attend one of its meetings to give evidence but only in respect of the exercise of joint functions conferred on them as a member of the Board. This includes any person or body that has accepted an invitation to participate in the activity of the Board.
Delivery
The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires partners to work differently and the Board is committed towards changing behaviours and implementing different ways of working from that which existed under previous partnership arrangements. The Board recognises that there is no one-size fits all model to delivery and that a mixed approach, which allows the Board to remain agile and to retain flexibility around utilising different methods or mechanisms, will provide a more dynamic means of delivering on its objectives.
Wider engagement
Meetings of the Board are open to members of the public to observe and to ask questions on any substantive agenda item with the prior consent of the Chair.
The Board will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the public voice is heard and helps to shape both the Well-being Assessment and the Well-being Plan. The Board is committed to engaging with people and communities in its area, including children and young people, Welsh speakers, and those with protected characteristics, in all aspects of its work.
The Board will liaise with those town and community councils subject to the well-being duty when setting objectives in its Well-being Plan.
A copy of the Well-being Assessment, the Well-being Plan and annual report will be sent to the Welsh Ministers, the Future Generations Commissioner, the Auditor General for Wales and the relevant scrutiny committee of the local authority.
Support
Administrative and secretariat support for the Board is provided by Pembrokeshire County Council. This support will include:
- Ensuring the Board is established and meets regularly
- Preparing the agenda and commissioning papers for each meeting
- Inviting participants and managing attendance
- Preparing and co-ordinating a forward work programme
- Preparing the annual report
- Preparing evidence and co-ordinating attendance for the designated scrutiny committee
Review
The Board must review its terms of reference at a mandatory meeting. The Board may also review and agree to amend its terms of reference at any time as long as all statutory members are in agreement.