Agenda item
Improvement Assessment Letter from the Auditor General for Wales
Decision:
That the report and letter be received and the Council’s response be noted.
Minutes:
Mr. H. Lloyd Jones from the Auditor General’s office introduced a report to advise Members of the Council’s Improvement Assessment Letter October 2012 from the Auditor General for Wales. He detailed the background to the report and explained what had been summarised in the letter, highlighting in particular the Council’s arrangements for developing, using and supporting technology and the positive assessment of the Council’s services for children and family published by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW).
He went on to comment on the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and the introduction of a ‘benefits realisation approach’ to all projects which had the potential to improve the Council’s medium term financial planning. He drew Members’ attention to the final paragraph in the letter where it was reported that the Auditor General for Wales was grateful to the Council for the way in which it had helped to facilitate the work of the Auditor General and that he hoped to see even more effective and efficient arrangements developing over time.
The Chief Executive said that the Council’s response to the letter was included as appendix 2. The draft response would be submitted to the meeting of Cabinet the following day and included comments about Single Status; a separate report to Cabinet would provide Members with an update including a revised timetable for Single Status. He did not agree entirely with the comments about the use of consultants and said that the MTFP would always be an interactive document due to the number of national economic and other variances which impacted upon it.
Councillors P.J. Curtis and C.A. Thomas expressed their concerns about being asked to comment on a report which had only been circulated at the start of the meeting, without Members having the chance to read it. The Chairman responded that because it was being considered by Cabinet the following day, he felt that it should also be submitted to this Committee and was therefore deemed to be an urgent item. The Chief Executive said that the Authority was not required to publish the document or make a response, but to ensure a transparent process, it was felt that it should be submitted to this Committee and Cabinet together.
The Leader of the Council recognised the concerns made by Members about not seeing the report until the start of this meeting and said that he had shared the concern about openness during the previous administration when he had been in opposition. He said that the letter was a continuation of comments made in previous letters and reminded Members about consistent comments from the Auditor General in previous letters about political fragility being a significant risk. The Leader welcomed the comments about the ‘benefits realisation approach’ and the need to have efficiency planning and modelling for future years.
The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management highlighted the comments on Single Status and said that there was now an amended timetable in place which would allow the continuation of the work which had already taken place to enable the project to move forward.
In response to a question from Councillor Curtis on the process to assess jobs of equal level were assessed, the Chief Executive said that a pay and grading model would include all Green Book posts and would provide equality.
Councillor G.H. Bateman referred to the Council’s response where officers had estimated that between £7m and £8m of efficiencies were
required to balance its 2013-14 budget. The Head of Finance responded that this figure had been included in a report on the MTFP to Cabinet in June 2012 and had been an estimate based on work done at that point. The Chief Executive commented on the extensive financial modelling that had been undertaken and which was ongoing.
RESOLVED:
That the report and letter be received and the Council’s response be noted.