Agenda item

To present the report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation.

The report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Self-Assessment 2022/23 was presented for the Committee’s consideration.

The Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation presented the report as the second self-assessment undertaken by the Council following the adoption of its first in September, 2022 in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.The report evidences the output of the Council’s corporate planning and performance management framework and is the end of a process that brings together several different aspects. During its discussion of the progression of the self-assessment improvement actions for 2022 the Corporate Scrutiny Committee supported the proposal that certain improvement actions that had not been completed during the year should be continued into the 2022/23 draft report. The Full Council at its meeting held on 23 May, 2023 adopted the report as presented as a working draft.

The Programme, Business Planning and Performance Manager advised that the report provides an evidential basis of how the Council has performed in 2022/23 using its available resources whilst managing and mitigating associated risks. Based on the evidence provided by service performance reviews, performance reports, external reviews, stakeholder engagement and the Annual Governance Statement, the Council assesses its overall performance, use of resources and risk management as Good. Also provided is the Council’s Service Position Statement 2023 which reflects the response of each service against the categories of evidence for 2022/23 as noted.

Despite the evaluation of the Council’s performance as good, it recognises that there are areas in which it can do better and those have been identified and are as listed within the document. All improvement actions are expected to be completed by the end of March, 2024.

In considering the self-assessment report, the Committee made the following comments and suggestions –

·      Including comparative information about the previous year’s performance e.g. where a service in the position statement has assessed its performance as Adequate against a particular category does that represent a decline in performance on that of the previous year? Comparing this year’s performance with that of the previous year would help highlight any issues and/or trend in performance.

·      Providing examples to support and illustrate assertions about performance e.g. where it is stated that the Council is able to evidence that the customer experience is improving across a range of services an example or comment/quote to demonstrate the improvement in practice would be useful.

·      Putting dates to Regulators’ reports.

·      Providing an explanation of all acronyms

·      Including more quantitative data where that would help understanding e.g. where it says that staff attendance levels have been benchmarked to be amongst the best for local authorities a figure/percentage would show how good the attendance level is compared to other authorities.

·      The Committee also sought assurance that the elements of the service position statement which had been self-assessed as “Adequate” are covered by the list of improvement actions to be implemented in 2023/24

In a separate query, the Committee sought clarification of the arrangements the Council has put in place to support staff recruitment.

The Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation confirmed that of the 18 authorities that have so far reported the Council remains at the fore for staff attendance. She further advised with regard to recruitment that additional capacity had been established to focus on recruitment. The employee benefits which the Council is able to offer have also been looked at to see whether they are marketed clearly enough. It is considered that the work put in is beginning to yield results, the retention rate stands at 8% compared with 10% the previous year and 14% as the average rate for local government. Significant investment has also been made in traineeships over the past year across a range of Council services and the Council continues to market the “Denu Talent” programme which is scheduled to run again next year and provides school-leavers with twelve weeks work experience within the Council and is an initiative which has attracted interest from further afield. The Council will continue to keep alert to challenges to recruitment and will seek to ensure that it remains as good an employer as it can be within the limitations of local government resources.

The Programme, Business Planning and Performance Manager confirmed that the Committee’s comments would be presented with the draft Self-Assessment report to Full Council for approval in September, 2023 and if so approved would be incorporated within the finalised document.

Having reviewed the draft Self-Assessment, it was resolved that the Governance and Audit Committee agrees with the contents of the self-assessment report for 2022/23 subject to consideration being given to the comments and suggestions made as outlined.