Latest news with #ConwyCouncil
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
North Wales council to benefit from £136m social care investment
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Conwy Council will benefit from a £136m investment in social care across Wales as part of an IT systems upgrade – but future funding for the expensive scheme is yet to be confirmed for the authority. Conwy councillors will this week be updated on the rollout of 'Mosaic' - a system designed to make it easier for social care workers to support residents. The new IT system will also improve the service and how information is shared with other health services. The system is being brought in as part of the Connecting Care programme - a Welsh Government-backed scheme aimed at modernising social care systems in all local authorities. A business case was submitted in the autumn on behalf of all Welsh councils for £136.8m to fund the programme for the next eight years. But whilst Welsh Government funding has been approved retrospectively for 2024/2025, funding for 2025/2026 and beyond is yet to be confirmed for Conwy. Sign up for the North Wales Live newslettersent twice daily to your inbox. According to the report, the council has estimated an 'actual capital cost' of over £500K (£508,454.45), with the 'in house costs – additional staff resource' totalling at £623,454. A capital cost of £815K was agreed last year 'to allow Conwy to participate in the national procurement of a Connecting Care system, recognising that this may not be needed, in part or in full, if funded from Welsh Government'. The new system will also handle case files and manage payments, such as those that are made to foster carers, as well as day care and domiciliary care. The authority signed up with the Access Group software supplier in January after a tendering process at the end of last year. Conwy has been 'twinned' to work with Wrexham in the rollout. The matter is set to be discussed on Wednesday at a social care and health overview and scrutiny committee at the council's Coed Pella HQ. Public notices in your area
North Wales Live
3 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Live
North Wales council to benefit from £136m social care investment
Conwy Council will benefit from a £136m investment in social care across Wales as part of an IT systems upgrade – but future funding for the expensive scheme is yet to be confirmed for the authority. Conwy councillors will this week be updated on the rollout of 'Mosaic' - a system designed to make it easier for social care workers to support residents. The new IT system will also improve the service and how information is shared with other health services. The system is being brought in as part of the Connecting Care programme - a Welsh Government-backed scheme aimed at modernising social care systems in all local authorities. A business case was submitted in the autumn on behalf of all Welsh councils for £136.8m to fund the programme for the next eight years. But whilst Welsh Government funding has been approved retrospectively for 2024/2025, funding for 2025/2026 and beyond is yet to be confirmed for Conwy. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. According to the report, the council has estimated an 'actual capital cost' of over £500K (£508,454.45), with the 'in house costs – additional staff resource' totalling at £623,454. A capital cost of £815K was agreed last year 'to allow Conwy to participate in the national procurement of a Connecting Care system, recognising that this may not be needed, in part or in full, if funded from Welsh Government'. The new system will also handle case files and manage payments, such as those that are made to foster carers, as well as day care and domiciliary care. The authority signed up with the Access Group software supplier in January after a tendering process at the end of last year. Conwy has been 'twinned' to work with Wrexham in the rollout. The matter is set to be discussed on Wednesday at a social care and health overview and scrutiny committee at the council's Coed Pella HQ.
North Wales Live
17-05-2025
- General
- North Wales Live
Water quality ratings at 44 North Wales beaches show best and worst for swimming
Record rises in consumer water bills could lead to improvements on Welsh beaches, according to Natural Resources Wales. The environment regulator wants to see better water quality for swimmers and is pressing water companies for a share of the spoils. Many beaches in Wales already meet stringent standards, with 75 out of 110 designated bathing sites rated 'excellent' (68%). However, among the designated bathing beaches in North Wales, this proportion falls to 52%. Some Welsh beaches don't come up to scratch at all. Two have 'poor' ratings – Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan and Rhyl Central beach in Denbighshire. Rhyl Central suffers for being next to the mouth of the River Clwyd, where sewerage outfalls and livestock pollution are a constant challenge. NRW has already spent heavily on preventative measures here, such as livestock fencing, and it is now promising further 'targeted action'. Another sub-par beach is Llandudno's North Shore. - the scene of a 12-year battle to restore sand to a foreshore now mostly covered by stones. Its water quality is rated only 'sufficient' - just one grade above Rhyl Central, where a no-swim warning has been issued. Trace amounts of sewage debris and animal faeces are occasionally found on the North Shore, while small amounts of litter are observed regularly. A recurring issue at the prestige resort is 'misconnections' – when waste water pipes from toilets and washing machine are plumbed into surface drains instead of the sewage system. This effluent is then discharged directly to the environment. After years of work with local property owners, NRW believes misconnections no longer threaten bathing water quality. Neither are local farms and campsites thought to be sources of sea pollution. Nevertheless, NRW said it is continuing to work with Conwy Council to improve matters. Also considered merely 'sufficient' was Cemaes, Anglesey. Testing found high bacteria loads and monitoring identified the possible source as Afon Meddanen, a tributary of the River Wygyr. As a result, extra fencing has been added to nine riverside farms and more fencing work on the Meddanen was completed earlier this year.. Beach water quality ratings are compiled using four years of testing data. By averaging out the figures over four years, the idea is to give a truer picture for swimmers. At the start of each year, beach waters are checked for obvious signs of pollution, and to ensure any permitted discharges are operating correctly. Ceri Davies, NRW's interim CEO said: 'Much progress is being made, and after securing record levels of investment for the environment from water companies through the price review process, we will be pressing for investment in assets affecting our bathing waters, to safeguard their future health.' Wales now has 112 designated bathing sites – last week, Lisvane and Llanishen reservoirs in Cardiff were added to the list. They join another reservoir used by swimmers, Rhyl's Marine Lake. Poor Rhyl Central, Denbighshire Sufficient Llandudno North Shore, Conwy Cemaes, Anglesey Good Denbighshire Prestatyn Central Rhyl East Marine Lake, Rhyl Kinmel Bay (Sandy Cove) Conwy Abergele (Pensarn) Colwyn Bay Llandudno West Shore Anglesey Llanddona Benllech Traeth Lligwy Trearddur Bay Borth Wen Gwynedd Porth Nefyn Abersoch Criccieth Excellent Conwy Colwyn Bay (Porth Eirias) Penmaenmawr Llanfairfechan Anglesey St David's - Benllech Porth Swtan (Church Bay) Porth Dafarch Silver Bay, Rhoscolyn Rhosneigr Aberffraw Llanddwyn, Newborough Gwynedd Find the weather forecast where you live
Wales Online
14-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Technical problems at council's new HQ will 'take time' to resolve
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Conwy Council said it will take time to adapt to its new council chamber after the move to its Coed Pella HQ after 30 years at Bodlondeb – following official complaints from councillors about technical issues. Earlier this week, despite spending around £700K on kitting out Coed Pella and its new council chamber with modern equipment, the first council meeting was plagued with technical issues. The Welsh-to-English translation suffered from interference, meaning councillors could not be heard, whilst microphones completely dropped out. This meant those watching online had no idea what was being said at the public meeting. Councillors, including Cllr David Carr, have since complained, calling the problems "not good enough". Conwy County Council has now said "refinements" are needed. A council spokeswoman commented: 'We've had feedback from Cllr Carr and other councillors following the first meeting at Coed Pella. Sign up for the North Wales Live newslettersent twice daily to your inbox. 'This has included positive comments as well as highlighting some issues, so we're aware that some small refinements to the new systems may be necessary. It must be remembered that adapting to a new system takes time for everyone. "The meeting was open to the public to attend at Coed Pella. The statement on the front of agendas states: 'WEBCASTING This meeting will be filmed for live and/or subsequent broadcast on the council's website'. 'The legal requirement is to offer hybrid meeting arrangements for formal democratic meetings (allowing councillors to choose whether to attend in person or remote in). There is a difference between holding a hybrid meeting and livestreaming. There is a statutory requirement to broadcast full council meetings only, but Conwy aims to livestream all its meetings.' She added: 'The guidance issued by Welsh Government recognises that on occasion there could be instances where livestreams fail and local authorities should have arrangements in place to upload recordings if at all possible.' Cllr David Carr was one of the councillors who complained about the issue. He said: 'I was disappointed that my comments weren't heard online. "The people in the room, I think, heard me. When I watched what I'd said online, a lot of what I said the microphones didn't pick up. It is absolutely not good enough. "Really, we've got to get these things right. I've flagged it up with democratic services. All members need to be heard. It should have been tested before the meeting, and I've asked them to look and find a solution because it is not acceptable.' He added: 'Obviously, you might get teething problems, but they've put it out online with large chunks of what I've said missing. Cllr Cheryl (Carlisle), her microphone wasn't working. "Cllr Louise (Emery), some of what she said, the microphone wasn't working. Anybody watching that online would think what did those people say? "Well, I'm not making any allegations, but it was opposition members that it happened to. I'm not making any allegations. It's obviously technical problems. But the way it worked out was opposition members (comments) weren't online.' Cllr Carr said his comments that went unheard online related to his opinion that the council had spent money on "a pointless communication strategy". The Old Colwyn councillor explained he told the chamber that the council were investing in "non-essential services" when there were issues with frontline services, such as bin collections. 'The communication strategy, if you go onto the council website, most of it (the information) is pointless,' he said. 'There is information like close the gates when you are in the countryside and it is national tea day today on the website. "The council are spending on that. It is not relevant to what we do as a council. Something that is relevant is when we had problems with the blue bin collections. I did ask them to use the website to let residents know what to do with the nappies. But they wouldn't use it for that because it is bad publicity for the council.' Public notices in your area
North Wales Live
14-05-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Live
Technical problems at council's new HQ will 'take time' to resolve
Conwy Council said it will take time to adapt to its new council chamber after the move to its Coed Pella HQ after 30 years at Bodlondeb – following official complaints from councillors about technical issues. Earlier this week, despite spending around £700K on kitting out Coed Pella and its new council chamber with modern equipment, the first council meeting was plagued with technical issues. The Welsh-to-English translation suffered from interference, meaning councillors could not be heard, whilst microphones completely dropped out. This meant those watching online had no idea what was being said at the public meeting. Councillors, including Cllr David Carr, have since complained, calling the problems "not good enough". Conwy County Council has now said "refinements" are needed. A council spokeswoman commented: 'We've had feedback from Cllr Carr and other councillors following the first meeting at Coed Pella. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. 'This has included positive comments as well as highlighting some issues, so we're aware that some small refinements to the new systems may be necessary. It must be remembered that adapting to a new system takes time for everyone. "The meeting was open to the public to attend at Coed Pella. The statement on the front of agendas states: 'WEBCASTING This meeting will be filmed for live and/or subsequent broadcast on the council's website'. 'The legal requirement is to offer hybrid meeting arrangements for formal democratic meetings (allowing councillors to choose whether to attend in person or remote in). There is a difference between holding a hybrid meeting and livestreaming. There is a statutory requirement to broadcast full council meetings only, but Conwy aims to livestream all its meetings.' She added: 'The guidance issued by Welsh Government recognises that on occasion there could be instances where livestreams fail and local authorities should have arrangements in place to upload recordings if at all possible.' Cllr David Carr was one of the councillors who complained about the issue. He said: 'I was disappointed that my comments weren't heard online. "The people in the room, I think, heard me. When I watched what I'd said online, a lot of what I said the microphones didn't pick up. It is absolutely not good enough. "Really, we've got to get these things right. I've flagged it up with democratic services. All members need to be heard. It should have been tested before the meeting, and I've asked them to look and find a solution because it is not acceptable.' He added: 'Obviously, you might get teething problems, but they've put it out online with large chunks of what I've said missing. Cllr Cheryl (Carlisle), her microphone wasn't working. "Cllr Louise (Emery), some of what she said, the microphone wasn't working. Anybody watching that online would think what did those people say? "Well, I'm not making any allegations, but it was opposition members that it happened to. I'm not making any allegations. It's obviously technical problems. But the way it worked out was opposition members (comments) weren't online.' Cllr Carr said his comments that went unheard online related to his opinion that the council had spent money on "a pointless communication strategy". The Old Colwyn councillor explained he told the chamber that the council were investing in "non-essential services" when there were issues with frontline services, such as bin collections. 'The communication strategy, if you go onto the council website, most of it (the information) is pointless,' he said. 'There is information like close the gates when you are in the countryside and it is national tea day today on the website. "The council are spending on that. It is not relevant to what we do as a council. Something that is relevant is when we had problems with the blue bin collections. I did ask them to use the website to let residents know what to do with the nappies. But they wouldn't use it for that because it is bad publicity for the council.'
