To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Minutes:
Documents:
· Report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Discussion:
· Audit Wales reported that there had been limited progress since the original report in 2018 and work was still required to address the recommendations made at that time
· The difficulties encountered due to the pandemic were acknowledged, for example committees had been unable to commission their own reports due to the Council operating under business continuity
· Audit Wales had not found clear or shared understanding of roles which they believed was the root cause and was hindering effective scrutiny
· It was noted that the recommendations regarding Finance Panel had already been addressed but there was scope to improve work plans and the role of the Co-ordinating Committee
· There was further scope to improve public involvement and for scrutiny to become more innovative
· It was considered that the Council could do more to support scrutiny
· 10 recommendations have been made which, if implemented, will support scrutiny
· The Head of Legal and Democratic Services recognised the substance of the report and intended that progress would be embedded before the next council term
· Improvements have been introduced including a pro forma for completion by Heads of Service indicating the reason a report is being considered by scrutiny – this has been in place since June and will be evaluated in December
· External providers have been engaged to train Chairs and Vice Chairs. A recent session had had to be cancelled at short notice and would be rearranged
· The WLGA have been engaged to undertake one to one sessions with Chairs and to provide feedback. Mentoring commenced in July and recommendations are expected for consideration in December
· Training has been provided on the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act
· Engagement is being strengthened with a page on the website inviting public suggestions
· A proforma has been designed to present scrutiny recommendations to Cabinet which enables the Cabinet to record its acceptance or rejection of a recommendation and the reasons for the decision
· Committees have recently started a reflection session at the end of each formal meeting and a mechanism for self-assessment will be completed at the end of each year
· A number of recommendations relate to the ability of Chairs and Members to put forward matters for consideration. The Co-ordinating Committee has been abolished which enables Committees to have greater control over their own work programmes.
· A number of working groups were operating prior to the pandemic and these will recommence as business returns to normal.
· Scrutiny now have access to data provided by research and analytics officers
· A restructure of the section is being revived and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services indicated that he would consult with Scrutiny Chairs on the new model. The Committee had been aware that savings from the section had been expected for some time and questioned whether the restructure would be compatible with meeting the requirements of the audit. The Head of Legal and Democratic Services indicated that the predicted savings may not be achievable in full.
· Clarity regarding whether the Governance and Audit Committee was considered to be a scrutiny committee was sought. The Constitution had been amended with the Governance and Audit Committee becoming a regulatory committee. Members were of the opinion that some scrutiny training would be beneficial to ensure that the role of the scrutiny committees was fully understood and duplication was avoided.
· The Chair was of the opinion that a cultural change was needed to ensure scrutiny could develop and questioned how the Action Plan would be monitored. The Head of Legal and Democratic Services indicated that it would be a continuous improvement process and the Plan would be monitored.
· All Action Plans can be monitored by Members through the Regulatory Tracker which is available online. If recommendations are closed down, the Committee will be asked for formal agreement and this will provide assurance.
Outcomes:
· The report and Action Plan were noted
Supporting documents: