Issue - meetings

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance welcomed Mr Huw Lloyd-Jones and Mr Paul Goodlad from the Wales Audit Office (WAO) who were in attendance to present the WAO Annual Improvement Report 2013-14 for Flintshire County Council.

The Chief Executive explained that an updated version of the Executive response had been circulated which included details on schools maintenance backlog and out of county places.

Huw Lloyd-Jones introduced the Report which was in three sections:

1.    The delivery and evaluation of services at Flintshire County Council in 2012-13 (updated where possible to reflect more recent developments)

2.    Flintshire County Council’s planning of improvement for 2013-14 and

3.    Whether the Auditor General believed that the Council would make arrangements to secure continuous improvement for 2014-15

Huw Lloyd-Jones made the following comments, full details of which were contained the Report:

·         The Council had made good progress against the improvement priorities and improved its overall performance against the national indicators

·         The Council had taken action to strengthen its approach to performance evaluation, but further work was required to harmonise its improvement planning and performance reporting arrangements

·         The Council had enhanced its arrangements for planning and supporting improvement, but further action was required to provide the rigour necessary to cope with the challenges ahead

·         The Council was likely to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement for 2014-15

In conclusion, Huw Lloyd-Jones said this was the best Report that had been presented to Flintshire County Council to date and that the Auditor General believed the authority was likely to meet the requirements of the Measure in making arrangements to secure continuous improvement.  There were no new recommendations or proposals for improvement.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance thanked Huw Llloyd-Jones and Paul Goodlad for their attendance. 

The Chief Executive added that the financial challenge facing the authority was not underestimated however Flintshire County Council had made progress in this difficult challenging time.  Also, CIPFA had been invited to work with the authority on the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the longer term. 

On the Improvement Plan, the Chief Executive said this was a constantly evolving document which had focused officers and Members.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment asked if the WAO made representations to Welsh Government (WG) on the importance of local authorities receiving timely information on budgets to enable them to plan for the future.  Paul Goodlad acknowledged the difficulties faced by local authorities but the extent to which the WAO could influence WG was limited, which had been recognised in the Annual Improvement Report.

The Chief Executive explained that the Annual Improvement Report would now be submitted to Audit Committee and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

            RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Council’s Annual Improvement Report 2013-14 published by the Auditor General for Wales be received; and

(b)       That the report be noted and the Council’s response be received and agreed.