Agenda item

To submit a report by the Head of Profession, HR and Transformation.

The report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Self-Assessment 2021/2022 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Robin Williams, Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Satisfaction presented the report, saying that the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act requires each council in Wales to keep its performance under review, that is the extent to which it is exercising its functions effectively; it is using its resources economically, efficiently and effectively and its governance is effective for securing the first two matters. Each council is expected to undertake this duty through self-assessment and must publish a report on the outcome of the self-assessment. In keeping with this requirement the Council’s first self- assessment for 2021/22 has been prepared. The report reflects the output of the corporate planning and performance management framework and provides an evidential basis of how the Council has performed using its available resources whilst managing and mitigating associated risks during a challenging and uncertain period for local government in its response to the pandemic. 

Councillor Robin Williams said that each of the Council’s nine services was asked to complete a self-evaluation scoring their performance on identified areas deemed important as “Excellent”, “Good”, “Adequate” or “Unsatisfactory.” To complement the evaluation of performance each of the Services were also asked to highlight where they believed the service to be in terms of the prospects for improvement into the future using the same criteria. Together the evaluation of performance in addition to the realisation of prospects for improvements provide a current and accurate picture of where services see themselves and provides part of the evidence for the corporate self-assessment. The Council has been continuously improving and maturing its evolvement of the performance management framework throughout the last nine years. The self-assessment by way of a Position Statement summarises the conclusion of that work for 2021/22 and finds that the Council’s Performance management; its overall use of resources and its risk management are “Good” and the narrative provides the rationale and reasoning for this conclusion. The self-assessment has also identified areas where performance might be improved and these are highlighted under each individual section and are brought together in a programme of improvement at the end of the report which also shows the source of assurance for each area of improvement.

The Chief Executive said that the report as well as providing assurance about the Council’s performance should be seen as a source of pride. The Self-assessment has been informed by service performance reviews; performance reports; the Annual Governance Statement, external reviews; staff survey and stakeholder engagement which are all ongoing processes within the Council’s working life  which support continuous improvement. He agreed that there is always room for further improvement and aspects of performance that can be bettered are highlighted and set out within the self-assessment. Resources and resource management are closely linked to performance and these are likely to prove challenging over the next year; risk management is an integral part of the Council’s processes and decision-making. The Chief Executive said he would like to thank the Council’s Transformation team both for the report and for managing the performance processes that underpin the report as these involve a significant amount of work.

The Executive collectively acknowledged the work involved in producing the report and also the day to day work that forms its basis. The Executive recognised that self-assessment is a continuous process of seeking to improve while making the best of the resources available. This being so, Councillor Ieuan Williams proposed that for assurance purposes the Executive be provided with quarterly update reports on progress against the areas identified for improvement.

It was resolved –

·         To accept the Assessment and associated programme of improvement as a draft document which recognises and communicates the current position in the County Council.

·         To invite the Governance and Audit Committee for further comments at its meeting on 26 July, 2022, and

·         To invite the Governance and Audit Committee to present the Assessment to the County Council on 13 September, 2022.

·         That the Executive be provided with quarterly update reports on progress against the identified areas for improvement.