Do you have a question for Councillor Ryland Doyle, Cabinet Member for Target Areas?

The Scrutiny Programme Committee has made holding Cabinet Members to account for their work and decisions paramount in its work plan this year. The Committee meets again on 25 November and will be holding a question and answer session with Councillor Ryland Doyle who is the Cabinet Member for Target Areas.

The committee will explore the work he has done in his role, looking at priorities, actions, achievements and impact. They would welcome your ideas for questions.

Cllr Ryland Doyle

The Target Areas portfolio is based upon developing a targeted approach to tackle poverty and inequalities, working across organisational boundaries to tackle the trans-generational causes of poverty and deprivation. This work is initially focussing on the three most deprived areas of Swansea, namely Townhill, Penderry, and parts of Castle, to tackle issues ranging from worklessness and health inequality to income and debt and improve housing, education and the environment.

Cllr Doyle’s report to Cabinet on 28 February 2013 established the principles for Target Areas, identified those areas spatially, identified the service areas where there was potential for focussing effort more specifically on target areas and brought forward proposals to make an immediate start in those areas.

Among the key initiatives being proposed for the programme are:

• housing improvements over the next two years in Townhill and Castle.
• enhancing services which support families and increasing financial support for services aimed at supporting children in their early years.
• challenging payday loan companies and promoting alternatives
• creating apprenticeships, engaging excluded children and strengthening family support.

What questions do you think the committee should ask him?  The committee would welcome your suggestions.  Any suggestions made before 25 November will be looked at by the committee in developing its questioning strategy and the key ones will be put to Councillor Doyle.

Let us have your ideas by adding a comment to this post, by email to scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk or tweet us at @swanseascrutiny.

The committee meeting will take place on Monday 25 November at 4.30 pm in Committee Room 2 in the Civic Centre, Swansea and the public are welcome to attend.

The Scrutiny Programme Committee has scheduled a session with all cabinet members over the course of the year in order to ask questions on their work. These sessions enable scrutiny to raise issues, give advice and influence cabinet members as a ‘critical friend’.