The Healthier Merthyr Tydfil Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the annual reports on social services complaints and the Local Authority Social Services, as well as the committee's forward work programme. The committee will also receive an information report on adult community learning.

Here are the main topics that the Healthier Merthyr Tydfil Scrutiny Committee is expected to discuss:

Social Services Complaints

The committee is scheduled to consider the Annual Report Social Services Complaints, Representations and Compliments 2024/2025. The report pack includes the annual report, which Local Authorities are required to produce under the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2014 and the Representations Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2014.

The annual report is scheduled to provide a summary of statistical information relating to complaints and representations dealt with between April 2024 and March 2025. The report pack notes that Merthyr Tydfil Social Services adopts a positive attitude towards complaints and views them as a valuable form of feedback, which assists in the development and improvement of services.

The report also categorises all social services complaints received, using the Annual Council Reporting Framework (ACRF). The categories are:

• Access
• Assessment
• Care Management and Review
• Range of Services
• Quality of Service
• Promoting Independence and Social Inclusion

The report pack notes that the MTCBC Compliments and Complaints Team aims to limit the number of stage one complaints that escalate to stage two, and that it aims to support the service to prevent complaints happening in the first place, considering the sustainable development principle set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015¹. The report pack indicates that the committee will explore the findings of the annual report and offer suggestions to strengthen future reports.

Local Authority Social Services Annual Report (LASSAR)

The committee is scheduled to discuss the Local Authority Social Services Annual Report (LASSAR) 2024-25. The report pack states that the Director of Social Services is responsible for publishing an annual report on the performance and effectiveness of social care services across the County Borough. The annual report is intended to provide an overview of performance between April 2024 and March 2025, highlighting achievements, areas for improvement and priorities for the next 12 months.

The report pack notes that a workshop took place with scrutiny members on 24 July 2025 to explore the summary of the report, looking at the progress that had been made on last year's priorities and consulting on the priorities set for the year ahead.

The report is structured as follows:

• Director's Summary
• Context
  • Leadership
  • Workforce
  • Financial Resources
• Performance Assessment
  • Children's Services
  • Adult Services
• Other Information
  • Inspections and Reviews
  • Complaints and Representations
  • Other sources of Information
• Glossary of Terms

The report pack states that the report focuses on wellbeing in line with the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014². The report pack indicates that the committee will note and debate the contents of the Social Services Annual report for 2024-25.

Forward Work Programme

The committee is scheduled to discuss and agree its Forward Work Programme (FWP) for 2025/2026. The report pack notes that the FWP identifies topics for consideration at scrutiny meetings, and that these were discussed and developed following a planning session with Councillor Gareth Richards, Chair of Healthier Merthyr Tydfil Scrutiny, the vice-chair, the cabinet member, the director, and officers from the Policy and Improvement Section.

The report pack states that the Scrutiny FWP is subject to change with the development of the Cabinet Forward Work Programme and any emerging issues, and that quarterly technical meetings will enable scrutiny to build in items for pre-decision scrutiny.

Adult Community Learning

The committee is scheduled to receive an information report on Adult Community Learning (ACL). The report pack states that the purpose of the report is to correct errors within the report dated 1 November 2024.

The report pack notes that post-16 learning is a statutory requirement for all Local Authorities in Wales and is governed by the Inspection of Adult Learning under Section 77 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000³. The report pack states that the Adult Community Learning Partnership includes Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, The College Merthyr Tydfil, and Adult Learning Wales.

The report pack indicates that the committee will note the updated report.