Well-being Objective 9

Digital-First Customer Strategy

• Supported 128,955 customers to access information around the clock online
• Increased footfall in our libraries to 79,996 in 2021/22 and issued over 100,000 books
• Helped residents to access library resources online at a time of their choosing, growing the number of books issued digitally to 30,000
• Answered over 134,000 queries from our residents, with an average response rate over 70%
• Helped our residents to use our self-service facilities, with over 45% of customers now opting to self-serve

• Involve customers in the design of our services
• Improve content on the council’s website so it becomes much easier to find information and complete services online
• Increase transactions on our website by extending the functionality of our “chat bot”
• Work closely with the community to provide advice, assistance and support to residents close to where they live
• Provide residents with information, advice and guidance in community venues to increase the percentage of enquiries self-served at those venues

Equal

Cohesive

Equalities

• Produced a mandatory e-learning module on Equality and Diversity for all staff

• Provide an equalities induction and training to Elected Members
• Deliver equalities training to the council’s Leadership Team
• Deliver an equality and diversity e-learning course to staff within the council

Equal

Cohesive

Public participation strategy

• Supported our 50+ Forums to re-establish themselves coming out of the Covid 19 pandemic
• Supported development of a disabled people’s forum focussed on the accessibility of public services and our communities
• Engaged the public on a Public Participation Strategy to help people understand the various ways to influence decision making and engage in conversations about service delivery

• Support conversations around developing an Age-Friendly Plan and exploring the extent to which our services meet the needs of all older people
• Engage with Torfaen Access Forum to speak directly with disabled people and charities, to agree changes that will make our services, green spaces and built environments more accessible
• Publish our Public Participation Strategy and promote this internally and externally
• Develop relationships with groups that share protected characteristics to encourage their involvement in consultations, to help develop our services and communities

Equal

Cohesive

Healthier

National participation standards

• Established opportunities for youth voice in key areas of decision making across the Local Authority and with partner organisations
• Supported young people supported to attend the Torfaen Corporate Parenting panel
• Supported young people supported to attend Torfaen Public Service Board
• Supported 5 Young people to work with the Regional Partnership Board
• Supported Torfaen Young People’s Forum to work with Torfaen Social Services to review and update key resources such as; ‘My Review’, the ‘Complaints Process for young people’ and a ‘Leaving Care’ survey. The purpose of this is to ensure resources are accessible and interesting for young people
• Torfaen Young People’s Forum have commented on the new Children’s Plan and have identified opportunities for young people’s voices to be heard

• Increase opportunities for young people to have a say on decisions that affect them by embedding the principles of the new Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act into the way we work
• Continue to identify opportunities for young people to be involved at all levels of decision making within the local authority
• Deliver 12 training sessions for staff and volunteers on how to effectively engage children and young people in service design and delivery
• Create a resource package for staff and volunteers to support quality child and youth engagement that upholds the National Participation Standards for children and young people (Wales)

Equal

Cohesive

Registrars

• Registered over 4000 civil registration events and completed background processes for 4300 partnership working events that occurred within the Torfaen borough

• We will register all births, deaths and notices of marriage and civil partnerships within the statutory timeframes

Equal

Cohesive