The length of time it takes for a report providing assurance on safeguarding work within Powys County Council to arrive in front of the Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet has been criticised.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Health and Care Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, November 11, councillors were given an update on discussions at the Corporate Safeguarding Board, which came from a meeting held in September.

The report will actually finish its journey through council committees in January, when it is due to be on the agenda for a Governance and Audit Committee meeting.

It is also not planned to be presented to the Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet until a meeting on December 15.

This is more than three months after the safeguarding board meeting took place and actually follows the latest board meeting, which is set to take place on December 10.

Cllr Gareth E Jones took issue with the pace of presenting the report.

Cllr Jones (Powys Independents – Llanelwedd) said: “Why is this paper not going to Cabinet before December 15 when there is a (Cabinet) meeting in November?

“The 15th is actually after the next safeguarding board. The timing doesn’t seem appropriate to me, if there are any comments the Cabinet was to make.”

Comments made by Cabinet members would be too late to be considered by the board ahead of the next report.

Cabinet member for legal and regulatory services, Cllr Richard Church (Liberal Democrat – Welshpool Castle), is responsible for safeguarding.

Cllr Church said: “To be honest, I don’t know the answer.”

Cllr Jones said: “I think you should.”

Cllr Church said: “I don’t know why it doesn’t go to an earlier Cabinet meeting. That’s not my decision as to when it goes, but I can certainly raise it, as you make a valid point.

“It (the report) goes to this committee and also the Governance and Audit Committee and Cabinet, and I don’t know whether there is a particular need for the sequencing of that to happen.”

Director of Social Services and Wellbeing Nina Davies said she would “double-check” the scheduling.

“There is a Cabinet at the end of November, and I’ll check if there’s a particular reason why it hasn’t been put on that agenda,” said Mrs Davies.

Councillors noted the report.

The Corporate Safeguarding Board was set up by the council back in 2023 in a bid to turn around historic corporate safeguarding issues dating back to 2014.

This had been criticised by Audit Wales when it published a report at the end of 2022.

An Audit Wales review published in November 2024 concluded that the council had taken decisive action and achieved a good level of control over its corporate safeguarding arrangements.

The board meets every three months, with reports on its discussions taken to the three committees to keep councillors and independent lay members abreast of its work.