Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer.

It was resolved to make the following recommendations to Full Council –

·      That it approves the constitutional changes required to reflect the merging of the Annual Self-Assessment Report and the Annual Performance (Wellbeing) Report into a single integrated document called the Annual Self-Assessment and Performance (Wellbeing) Report.

·      That it approves changes to the Constitution to reflect that the merged report referred to above shall be a function of the Executive.

·      That it authorises the Monitoring Officer to make the constitutional changes required to implement paragraphs 1 and 2 above.

The report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring recommending an amendment to the Council’s Constitution to merge the Annual Self-Assessment Report and the Annual Performance Report into a single integrated document was presented for consideration. The proposed change would designate the Executive as responsible for the merged report.

Councillor Carwyn Jones, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report noting that the publication of both an Annual Self-Assessment report and an Annual Wellbeing Report are statutory requirements under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 respectively. Although the two reports derive from different legislation, they contain common ground relying on similar data and analysis to demonstrate compliance with two different sets of statutory requirements. To reduce duplication and to ensure the Council’s resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible, it is proposed that the two reports be merged under the title Annual Self-Assessment and Performance (Wellbeing) Report and the Constitution amended to reflect that the merged report shall be an Executive function. The merged report would remain subject to scrutiny by the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and oversight by the Governance and Audit Committee under its statutory terms of reference .

The Executive welcomed the proposal as a practical and positive step that supports the efficient use of resources while maintaining scrutiny and accountability and noted that the statutory guidance that accompanies the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 encourages integrated reporting where possible.

It was resolved to make the following recommendations to Full Council –

·      That it approves the constitutional changes required to reflect the merging of the Annual Self-Assessment Report and the Annual Performance (Wellbeing) Report into a single integrated document called the Annual Self-Assessment and Performance (Wellbeing) Report.

·      That it approves changes to the Constitution to reflect that the merged report   referred to above shall be a function of the Executive.

·      That it authorises the Monitoring Officer to make the constitutional changes required to implement paragraphs 1 and 2 above.