cultural well-being in Neath Port Talbot and was published by the Public Services Board on 2nd May 2017 (available ). The assessment was informed by extensive engagement and survey work with residents and stakeholders, and consideration of relevant information such as existing data, evidence and research. The published assessment captures the strengths and assets of people and communities across Neath Port Talbot and describes the challenges and opportunities Neath Port Talbot faces now and into the future. The second piece of work required by the Act is the preparation and publication of this Well-being Plan. The Plan must set out how we intend to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Neath Port Talbot by setting local well-being objectives which will maximise our contribution made to achieving the seven goals outlined earlier. The Well-being Assessment identified 75 issues for the Board to consider when developing its well-being objectives for inclusion in this plan. At a workshop in June 2017, the Board undertook a series of prioritisation exercises which drew out key themes: Physical health – physical activity, life expectancy and chronic conditions; Mental and emotional health – mental ill health, bereavement and suicide; Crime and community safety – recorded crime, cyber-crime and drug offences; Employment – sustainability of large scale employers, inequality in earnings and public spending cuts; Poverty – welfare reform, households with dependent children with no adults in employment; Transport – poor access to services and employment from our valley communities; The physical environment – poor air quality, flood risk and the decline of biodiversity; Services and facilities – lack of fixed substance misuse services in remote communities; After developing these themes, the Board applied a set of tests to identify which of the issues would benefit from the collective action: Does the issue affect the whole population or specific groups within the population? being
The number of children and young people displaying challenging behaviour is forecast to increase by 28.6% by 2030. Why is this well-being objective important? It is obvious that not all children get an equal start in life and many are affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These children often come into contact with the Education Service, Social Services, Health Service, Police and Voluntary Services during their childhood and beyond, as difficulties and challenges impact negatively on their mental and physical well-being, and invariably leads to increasingly challenging and risky behaviour. As a result, services begin to struggle to meet the increasingly complex demands presented by these vulnerable children. Intervening earlier in the lives of these children has been the ambition of service providers for many years. Not only is there a moral imperative, there is also very much an economic imperative for this approach. Education, Social Services, Health and the Police are increasingly struggling to manage both the volume and complexity of demand emanating from inadequate parenting, inter-family abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health and domestic abuse. The has shown that suffering four or more harmful experiences in childhood increases the risk of vulnerability and harms many aspects of children’s lives. Data reveals that 14% of adults in Wales have experienced four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences during their childhood, making them four times more likely to be subject to alcohol problems, six times more likely to smoke and 14 times more likely to being involved in violence in the last year. The report highlighted the short, medium and long term benefits of prevention and early intervention to support children and their families, illustrating that this methodology is also more cost effective as less cases progress to acute and chronic states.
and how partnerships can be strengthened 3 Consider and map current initiatives addressing loneliness and isolation and explore opportunities for improving effectiveness Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Services 4 Working with the Neath Port Talbot Learning Partnership and CVS we will map existing provision and community assets and assess need. Department for Work and Pensions 5 Assessing what support is currently available to maximise income. Map need to identify where it is with the support of the Welfare Reform Groups Tai Tarian/Department for Work and Pensions 6 Liaise with the Community Safety Partnership to assess current levels of reported crime amongst older people and how future safety can be improved South Wales Police Short Term (1-2 years) Within the short term the Board will aim to support existing Ageing Well initiatives and develop future collaborative interventions in order to ensure a cohesive and partner based approach. In order to achieve these aims the Ageing Well work stream will include the formation of a Practitioners’ Group to provide challenge and scrutiny of the delivery plans. Whilst these plans will be developed over the coming months it is anticipated that the Ageing Well Strategy Group will recommend the development of a ‘Making Every Contact Count (MECC)’ methodology as the vehicle for delivering local interventions. The MECC aims to empower staff working in public and third sector organisations, to recognise the role they have in promoting healthy lifestyles, supporting behaviour change and reducing risk within our communities. Initially the delivery of these interventions will be based on a pilot scheme within a local area. This will