Our Well-being Plan

Foreword by the Chair of the PSB:

This is the Vale Public Services Board’s (PSB) second Well-being Plan and sets out the focus for the PSB over the next five years.

I am proud to be the Chair of ‘Ein Bro – Our Vale’, the PSB for the Vale of Glamorgan, which brings together a range of partners to focus on what matters for the Vale and what we need to do for our residents of today and for future generations. In this Plan we have set out three Well-being Objectives and the steps we will take to deliver them. Our Well-being Objectives are:

• A more resilient and greener Vale
• A more active and healthier Vale
• A more equitable and connected Vale

In the past five years the PSB has grown into a partnership of strength. The pandemic brought many challenges. By working together across the Vale and the wider South Wales region we have demonstrated the innovation and agility that exists across the public sector, the importance of the third sector and the spirit and resilience of our communities. We will build on these strengths as we take forward the commitments in this plan and ensure that we are meeting the needs of current and future generations.

This Plan reflects the extremely challenging times we are in.  Our residents, businesses and many third sector and community organisations are facing uncertainty as we deal with the current cost of living crisis and the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Many of us are also determined to make the changes necessary as a result of the climate and nature emergencies.  When faced with challenges of this magnitude it is clear that we must work in partnership and move forward as a community. This plan articulates our commitment as partners to work together and take action to improve well-being across the Vale and in particular to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, reduce inequalities and make the Vale more Age Friendly. 

Councillor Lis Burnett - Chair of the Vale of Glamorgan Public Services Board 

A New Well-being Plan

This section of the Plan provides an overview of the key details of our Well-being Plan for 2023 – 2028. Further detail (such as on how we work as a PSB, our achievements to date, our engagement and consultation work, our Objectives and how we will deliver them) are provided throughout the Plan and are also available below. Together these form our Well-being Plan.

• Making a Difference
• What we have achieved
• Our Challenges
• What you’ve told us
• Delivering Our Well-being Objectives

We are fortunate to live and/or work in the Vale. The Vale has significant assets; we have relatively low levels of unemployment; we have a thriving voluntary sector, and the Vale is a beautiful area where residents and visitors can appreciate and enjoy our stunning landscape. Our local environment is important for our physical and mental well-being but is also important to the economic and cultural well-being of the area. However, there are inequalities across the Vale and important issues that need to be tackled. It is within this context that in our first Well-being Plan the PSB set an ambitious vision for a Vale of Glamorgan in 2050.

Our Vision
'Everyone will have a sense of belonging and be proud to be part of the Vale, recognising their contribution to the success of the region and Wales. Our impact on the environment, both local and global, will be understood, and public services, communities and businesses will work together to protect the environment and our natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations. The Vale will be an area of optimism and aspiration , where we work together to ensure that young people achieve their individual ambitions and are supported through the early years, childhood and teenage years. The positive attributes of our ageing population will be recognised and respected and the contribution of older people to the vibrancy and resilience of the Vale will be valued. Residents of all ages and backgrounds will participate in community life, helping to shape services and taking pride in the area the live in. Working together for the benefit of current and future generations will be the norm, and residents will have confidence in the services they receive and in their ability to effect change to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of the area. Educational and health inequalities will be a feature of the past as we work together for a Vale where everyone has access to the service and support they need to live healthy, safe and fulfilling lives.'

This vison remains true and over the past five years we have ben guided by this vision in delivering the commitments in our first Well-being Plan. Our ‘What have we achieved’ section sets out some of our key achievements in working towards this vision, these achievements are also captured in our Annual Reports. As part of the development of this Plan we have debated our vision and how we can encapsulate it in a more concise sentence to reflect our aspirations for the Vale whilst retaining the spirit of what we committed to in 2018.  We believe our vision for the Vale can be summarised in the following aspiration, we want:

'Happy and healthy communities working together to create a fair and sustainable Vale for everyone'  

Through this Plan we set out how we will work to achieve this vision, our objectives and the steps we will take to improve well-being and address the findings of our Well-being Assessment. Our journey from Well-being Assessment to this Plan can be summarised through ten key steps:

We have considered the evidence, we have engaged, consulted, revised and drafted our priorities for the next five years. We are now at stage 9 in the development of our Plan.

Our Well-being Objetives

To achieve our vision of the future of the Vale, we will work over the next five years to deliver our three Well-being Objectives:

• A more resilient and greener Vale - by understanding and making the changes necessary as individuals, communities and organisations in response to the climate and nature emergencies.
• A more active and healthier Vale - by encouraging and enabling people of all ages to be more active and to promote the benefits of embracing a healthier lifestyle.
• A more equitable and connected Vale - by tackling the inequities that exist across the Vale, engaging with our communities and providing better opportunities and support to make a lasting difference.

These Objectives have been set in the context of the findings of the Assessment, the key challenges we currently face together with longer term needs including those of future generations and the ongoing work by partners, locally and regionally. The above diagram illustrates the interconnectivity between our thee Well-being Objectives and how different programmes of work and partnership activity (existing, new and revised) will contribute to delivering our Objectives. This demonstrates the breadth of activity being undertaken in partnership across the Vale.

We are confident that through these Objectives we can make a positive difference to social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being and maximise our contribution to the National Well-being Goals. The ‘Our Well-being Objectives’ and ‘Delivering Our Well-being Objectives’ sections of this Plan provide further detail on how we have developed these Objectives, our priority workstreams and the range of activities and projects as detailed above that make up the steps that will contribute to the delivery of these Objectives. The image below shows in more detail how our objectives contribute to the national Well-being Goals. The matrix at the end of this section also details how the steps outlined below will deliver our priorities and Objectives and contribute to the national Well-being Goals.

 Cultural Well-being and a thriving Welsh Language

The PSB is mindful that it is clear throughout the Plan how we will contribute to economic, social and environmental well-being but more work is needed to conisder how we embed work to promote cultural well-being and the Welsh Language. This needs to be integral to the delivery of our Well-being Objectives and priority workstreams and one aspect partners are keen to explore is how cultural activities can assist in our engagement activities, particularly to help us reach those who are seldom heard. We are also keen to explore how we can link work on climate change to different cultural activities.  One example of our innovation is the work of Food Vale who in 2023 will be hosting a pilot Vale Food trail and we will be linking this to the impact our food choices have on the environment and our well-being. Cultural activities will also form part of our work to be more Age Friendly recognising the contribution they have to tackling loneliness and isolation and to overall well-being.  

The PSB will also continue to promote the Welsh language through its work. According to the Census 2021 results, the Vale of Glamorgan is one of just four local authority areas where Welsh Language skills have increased since the Census 2011. The Vale PSB will continue to ensure that as it delivers the commitments in the Well-being plan that it is promoting the Welsh language and is contributing to Cymraeg 2050 and the vision of a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Priority Workstreams

There is a wide range of work detailed in this Plan that will contribute to the delivery of our Objectives and the PSB has identified three priority workstreams where specific and additional shared  focus is needed. These bring together a range of existing work but recognise the need to build momentum and challenge current ways of working to meet the needs and challenges highlighted in the Well-being Assessment. These priority workstreams are relevant to delivering all of our Objectives and will also contribute to all of the national Well-being Goals:

Responding to the climate and nature emergencies - Through this Well-being Plan the PSB is reiterating its commitment to lead by example to address the climate and nature emergencies, recognising our global responsibility to respond to both of these emergencies. The Well-being Assessment sets out some of the key issues for the Vale in terms of the climate and nature emergencies and partners recognise that the changes needed across our organisations and communities can best be achieved by working together. This will include consideration of transport, energy, food, biodiversity and how we use our buildings and land.

Working with people who live in our communities that experience higher levels of deprivation - The Well-being Assessment has highlighted the differences across the Vale and how these inequities have been exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic. In addition, the current cost of living crisis, particularly the increase in energy and food costs will impact even more on those already in poverty. There will be a particular focus on these areas of the Vale.

Becoming an Age Friendly Vale - Age Friendly Communities are defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a place where 'policies, services, settings and structures support and enable people to age well'. The population aged 65-84 is projected to grow between 2019 and 2039 by 5,266 people and the population aged 85 and over by 2,904 people. Work to make the Vale more age friendly and a better place for people to grow old will make the Vale a friendlier place for all and will help ensure we continue to respect and value older people within our communities recognising their contribution, needs and aspirations. We will also recognise the role of cultural activities in bringing different generations together. This work will align to the Regional Partnership Board’s work on ageing well and will also have a strong preventative focus as partners work together to ensure services meet the diverse needs of the community, providing support and opportunities for residents of all ages.

Delivering our Objectives and Priority Workstreams

Through the PSB a great deal of work is already being undertaken and the steps below reflect what we will be focusing on to deliver our Objectives. This includes continuing to deliver programmes of work already in place, for example the Move More Eat Well Plan, taking forward our priority workstreams, changing how we work and aligning our activities with the work of other partnerships for example the Cardiff and Vale Regional Partnership Board and Cardiff Capital Region. The steps below are a combination of activities that are about how we work, for example. improving the use of data and engagement and these will impact on all PSB activities. Other steps are more specific to particular areas of focus, for example delivery of the Climate Emergency Charter. More information about the steps is detailed in the sections of the Plan on Making a Difference and Delivering our Well-being Objectives. 

The 19 steps we will take which together will help us to deliver our priority workstreams and our Well-being Objectives and maximise our contribution to all of the national Well-being Goals are detailed below. In delivering all of these steps we will be mindful of the diverse needs of the community, the importance of the Welsh Language and the need to consider how we can ensure that we strengthen our work around promoting cultural well-being as part of our work:

1. Develop a better understanding of and respond to the diverse needs of our communities, including those living in more rural or more deprived areas, to ensure that services and facilities are accessible in terms of design, transport, affordability and technology and are available when people need them to prevent needs escalating.
2. Support the third sector and promote volunteering opportunities recognising the multiple benefits for individuals and our communities. 
3. Increase the use of local, regional and national data and take a more evidence-based approach to inform decision-making and service reform across the work of the PSB including the development of the PSB evidence base.
4. Utilise models such as the 3H model to support longer term thinking and system change across the activities detailed in the Well-being Plan.
5. Increase levels of engagement and involvement at all ages, particularly with those who may be disengaged and those who may be seldom heard, including through cultural activities.
6. Maximise opportunities to access funding and align activities to increase capacity, skills and resource to deliver priorities within Vale and the wider region.
7. Engage with and involve our children and young people to better understand their concerns and aspirations for the future and ensure that services reflect their views and needs.
8. Promote positive behaviour changes and enable a greater understanding of our impact on the environment across our organisations and communities with a focus on energy, the circular economy, food, biodiversity and travel.
9. Deliver the commitments in the Climate Emergency Charter including decarbonising our assets, procurement processes and services.
10. Demonstrate leadership and take action to reduce our communities’ exposure to environmental risks e.g. the impact of extreme weather and pollution.
11. Improve the health of our eco systems and recognise the importance of biodiversity and the need to raise awareness and understanding about the nature emergency.
12. Participate in a more integrated approach to the public sector estate (buildings and land holdings) to improve service delivery and our work on climate change and nature.
13. Improve health and well-being across the Vale with a particular focus on prevention and levels of physical activity, diet, vaccine take up and screening.
14. Tackle health inequities as part of an integrated and collaborative programme of work, ensuring greater engagement and a more targeted preventative approach to reach those most in need.
15. Work in partnership to make the Vale more Age Friendly, ensuring older people have access to the right services, support and opportunities locally and are able to engage and participate in activities and events, influence service design and improve well-being.
16. Provide information and support to assist our communities and our staff to deal with the impacts of the costs of living e.g. rising food, energy and travel costs.
17. Maximise opportunities through existing programmes of work and funding streams to address inequities and improve opportunities for those living in areas of deprivation e.g. Flying Start and employability and training programmes.
18. Engage with the community and map assets to better understand our most deprived communities and involve the people who live there and local organisations to identify opportunities for change and improvement.
19. Support work to tackle food poverty recognising and raising awareness about the close links to environmental well-being and health.

In delivering these steps we will embed the five ways of working.  We are confident that we have made significant progress with regards to collaboration, integration and prevention but recognise that there is a need to strengthen our preventative work and also how we think more long-term.  A number of the actions outlined above will assist with this e.g. work around health inequities, futures thinking and engagement and mapping. In particular the actions which are detailed in the Making a Difference section of this Plan will support the PSB to work differently and challenge existing practices.

Details on how each of these 19 steps contributes to the priority worksteams, well-being objecitves and national well-being goals is available thorugh the Understanding how our steps contribute to the well-being goals table.

Monitoring and Reporting Progress

The PSB will continue to publish Annual Reports setting out what the PSB has achieved each year and the focus for the coming 12 months. The work of the Board will be scrutinised by the Council’s Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee and other committees as appropriate.

The PSB will receive regular progress reports on the key activities detailed in this Plan to ensure that the issues highlighted in the Well-being Assessment are being addressed, the Well-being Objectives are being delivered and that the PSB is contributing to the national Well-being goals.

The Full Well-being Plan

If you'd like to read the Plan in full, please follow the below link: 

Vale of Glamorgan Public Services Board Well-being Plan 2023 – 2028