Involvement Strategy 2025-27

5. How does Carmarthenshire County Council involve its residents and stakeholders

Due to the diversity of our Council, we will need to utilise various strategies and tools to involve our residents and stakeholders. There will be areas where we have statutory responsibilities, and these are outlined below. 

Public Participation Strategy
 
The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 requires local authorities to publish, consult on, and regularly review a Public Participation Strategy aimed at encouraging residents to engage in the decision-making processes that affect them. The strategy aims to raise awareness among local people of the principal council’s functions and how local people can become a member of the principal council. This also extends to decisions made in partnership with other councils, or in collaboration with other bodies such as local health boards or other public service organisations. 

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Public Participation Strategy is closely aligned with the priorities outlined in our Corporate Strategy 2022-27 and to our Well-being Objectives, those being:

1. Enabling our children and young people to have the best possible start in life (Start Well).
2. Enabling our residents to live and age well (Live & Age Well).
3. Enabling our communities and environment to be healthy, safe and prosperous (Prosperous Communities).
4. To further modernise and develop as a resilient and efficient Council (Our Council).

At the heart of this approach is integration and collaboration across the Council and with our stakeholders, and our focus going forward will be on:
 
Developing Carmarthenshire Together: One Council; One Vision; One Voice
Our Public Participation Strategy provides clear information on how residents can influence decisions and outlines our commitment to ensure that these processes are accessible, transparent, and meaningful. 

It is based on five key requirements outlined in the Statutory Guidance on Public Participation Strategies, which demonstrate how Carmarthenshire County Council will: 

• Promote awareness of the council’s functions: 
We are committed to raising awareness among local people about the range of services and functions the Council provides. This includes making information more accessible and ensuring the public understands how the Council’s work directly impacts their everyday lives, from education and housing to transportation and environmental management. 

• Promote awareness of how to become a council member: 
Carmarthenshire County Council will actively encourage local people to engage in the democratic process by raising awareness of how to become a member of the Council. We aim to demystify the role of a councillor by providing clear information on what membership entails, the responsibilities involved, and how individuals from all backgrounds can contribute to local government. 

• Facilitate access to information about council decisions: 
Transparency is at the heart of our approach. We are dedicated to providing easy access to information regarding Council decisions, ensuring that residents are well-informed about the choices being made on their behalf. We will use a variety of channels, including online platforms, public notices, and community engagement events, to keep the public updated. 

• Promote processes for public representation before and after decisions are made: 
One of our key goals is to ensure that local people can voice their opinions and influence Council decisions both before and after they are made. This includes creating more opportunities for public consultation, forums for debate, and open meetings where residents can provide input on issues that affect them. Our processes will ensure that public feedback is not only heard but also acted upon in a meaningful way. 

• Provide opportunities for the public to engage with overview and scrutiny committees: 
We will establish robust mechanisms to ensure that the views of the public are brought to the attention of our Overview and Scrutiny Committees, which are responsible for holding the Council to account. This may include public submissions, participation in committee meetings, or providing direct feedback on the Council’s performance. 

Social Services and Well-being
 
Population needs assessments under Section 14 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 requires local authorities and the local health board to jointly assess:

(a) the extent to which there are people in the local authority's area who need care and support;
(b) the extent to which there are carers in the local authority's area who need support;
(c) the extent to which there are people in the local authority's area whose needs for care and support (or, in the case of carers, support) are not being met (by the authority, the Board or otherwise);
(d) the range and level of services required to meet the care and support needs of people in the local authority's area (including the support needs of carers);
(e) the range and level of services required to achieve the purposes in section 15(2) (preventative services) in the local authority's area;
(f) the actions required to provide the range and level of services identified in accordance with paragraphs (d) and (e) through the medium of Welsh.

A new population needs assessment must be completed in each local government electoral cycle. Following the population needs assessment a report must be prepared and an area plan setting out its plans for responding to the issues identified in the population needs assessment.

Education

School admission for parents and guardians
The School Admissions code 2013 imposes requirements on all Admission Authorities to annually consult on their admission policy 18 months in advance of the start of the academic year.  

The consultation states all parents and guardians are consulted where a significant change is proposed, parents/guardians of children likely to be affected. 

Modernising Education Programme
The Modernising Education Programme are required to follow the statutory procedures outlined in the School Organisation Code (2018) to make significant changes to schools and their provision. Consultation is a key element of the procedures required to be followed with prescribed guidelines provided by the Code. 

Similarly, the Modernising Education Programme are also required to follow the Federation Process of maintained schools: guidance for governing bodies and local authorities for establishing school Federations which includes procedures for consultation.

Our Staff
 
Our Workforce Strategy supports the Council’s vision and defines how we will build the resilience, capability, skills, and culture we need for our workforce. It not only meets our present needs but also the needs of our future workforce. This will involve strategies for employee development, succession planning, recruitment, and retention, promoting a positive culture of health, safety and wellbeing, to consider long-term sustainability and the impact on future generations.
 
One of the objectives of the strategy is to Improve Workforce Engagement. We will give our workforce a voice. Employee voice is vital in helping us make real and positive changes. We will work to create a culture where our people are seen as central to the solution, to be involved, listened to, and invited to contribute their experience, expertise, and ideas. We will build on our existing mechanisms and put in place a framework that makes sure we have ongoing two-way conversations with our people in different ways, to make sure every voice is heard. We will embrace the principles of social partnership to develop and sustain positive relationships with our recognised trade unions as well as strive to achieve consensus or compromise when setting out well-being objectives.

Housing and our tenants
 
We aim to empower residents living in Council owned homes to work with us as their landlord to achieve shared aims. 

Tenants need to know that we are a reliable, trustworthy service and that the view of every tenant and leaseholder counts. 

We are committed to improving communication and interaction, strengthening engagement, as well as increasing participation and empowering tenants. We are also open to being challenged and held accountable. 

Our tenants are at the heart of the housing service we provide and we want to ensure they have an effective voice. We must collaborate to drive positive changes in our communities, consulting with residents to help our decision making. We want to listen to our tenants needs, acting effectively and making them feel safe, secure and well looked after in our homes and estates.

Local Development Plan
 
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Local Development Plan (LDP) Regulations 2005 requires local authorities to prepare a Local Development Plan (LDP). Throughout any future revisions of the Local Development Plan, the plan will be subject to numerous engagement and consultation exercises at various stages. Alongside the rLDP a Consultation Report is prepared iteratively detailing the consultation taken place with various stakeholders, groups and organisations. 

As part of the engagement and consultation, we are committed to facilitating a:
 
• Key Stakeholder Forum, which includes representation from a number of organisations and groups who are invited to represent a cross-section of the County’s communities in relation to specific considerations or topics. We will work closely with Planning Aid Wales who are a charitable organisation with expertise in community engagement. 
• Developer Forum which includes representatives from the development industry primarily including developers, builders and planning agents. The Forum gives members the opportunity to voice their views and concerns.