The Gwent Public Services Board Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Gwent Well-being Plan Annual Report 2024-2025 and receive an update on the Best Start in Life Area of Focus. The committee approved the Gwent Well-being Plan Annual Report 2024-2025 for publication and noted the progress detailed within it, and also noted and discussed the progress update relating to the Best Start in Life Area of Focus.

Gwent Well-being Plan Annual Report 2024-2025

The committee approved the Gwent Well-being Plan Annual Report 2024-2025 for publication. The report details the progress made against the Gwent Well-being Plan, which was established in 2021 to bring together the five existing Public Services Boards (PSB) in the region. The plan has two interconnected key objectives:

• To create a fairer, more equitable and inclusive Gwent for all.
• To create a climate-ready Gwent, where the environment is valued and protected, benefitting well-being now and for future generations.

The plan sets out five interrelated steps to support the delivery of these objectives:

• Take action to reduce the cost of living crisis in the longer term.
• Provide and enable the supply of good quality, affordable, appropriate homes.
• Take action to reduce carbon emissions, help Gwent adapt to climate change, and protect and restore the natural environment.
• Take action to address inequities, particularly in relation to health, through the framework of the Marmot Principles.
• Enable and support people, neighbourhoods, and communities to be resilient, connected, thriving and safe.

The PSB has identified four areas of focus:

• That every child has the best start in life
• That everyone lives in a place they feel safe
• That everyone has the same economic chances
• That everyone lives in a climate ready community where their environment is valued and protected.

The report includes case studies from across Gwent, including:

• Blaenau Gwent: The Blaenau Gwent Local Well-being Partnership and the Blaenau Gwent Food Partnership are working to ensure that all residents have equitable access to healthy, affordable food.
• Caerphilly: Caerphilly County Borough's Local Delivery Group's Net Zero 2050 Strategy demonstrates how local collaboration can support the legally binding target to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050.
• Monmouthshire: Operation Lumley, a community/youth-led approach to safer streets in Caldicot.
• Newport: Supporting learners with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) within the Library Service.
• Torfaen: The Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) is a significant initiative to boost research capacity and capability within Torfaen County Borough Council.

The report also highlights the Gwent Flood Awareness Social Media Campaign, the Collaborative Approach to Home Fire Safety by the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and the Serious Violence Duty.

Best Start in Life: PSB Progress Update

The committee noted and discussed the progress update relating to the Best Start in Life Area of Focus. The Best Start in Life (BSIL) refers to the crucial period from pregnancy to age seven, a time when the foundations for lifelong health, learning, and wellbeing are established. A Best Start in Life Leadership Group is being formed to drive meaningful, system-wide change. The group will lead the development of a BSIL delivery plan for Gwent, which will be grounded in the findings of the Building a Fairer Gwent (Marmot) Report and the Gwent Best Start in Life Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (0–4 years), and actioned by the Regional BSIL Management Group.

The report also details the 'Ready to Learn, Ready to Grow' School Readiness Project, a project that is now ready to accept referrals for families who would benefit from the intervention.