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 draft Annual Governance Statement for 2023/24 was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The Governance Statement shows how the Council is complying with the core and supporting principles contained within CIPFA/Solace’s Framework for Delivering Good Governance in Local Government 2016 in having proper arrangements for the governance of its affairs, facilitating the effective exercise of its functions including arrangements for the management of risk together with adequate and effective financial management.

The report was presented by the Corporate Planning, Performance and Programme Manager who provided an overview of the conclusion of the assessment of the effectiveness of the Council’s Governance arrangements against the core principles of the CIPFA/Solace Framework as per the table at page 5 of the document. The report also contained a summary of progress against the governance matters identified last year as well as governance matters identified by the assessment process for 2023/24.

The following were points of discussion by the Committee –

• The discrepancy between the timeline of March 2026 which the Council has set for complying with the requirements of the new Procurement Act 2023 and the date on which the provisions of the Act will come into effect which is 28 October 2024.
• With regard to governance matters identified in 2022/23 in relation to the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, it was suggested that the statement that the Council did not undertake the planned training on the General Power of Competence and has no plans to undertake this training is an unsatisfactory response and leaves the matter unresolved and requiring explanation especially as it relates to legislation which it might be inferred requires the training to be undertaken.
• With regard to managing and rationalising the Council’s assets to ensure they are fit for purpose and if not, identify the work required to bring them up to standards, how success against this objective will be measured given that upgrading the Council’s assets requires significant investment which is unlikely to be realised.
• Whether with regard to the financial resilience of the Council, the processes requiring review and streamlining to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services and reduce the impact of reduced funding have been identified and a schedule compiled, whether there is capacity/expertise to undertake the task and whether the Committee will be party to that work.

The Committee was further advised as follows –

• That the Procurement Act 2023 provides a transition period for local authorities to comply with its requirements. The Council has put in place a strategic plan and work programme to ensure that it is in a position to meet the new requirements.
• That the training on the General Power of Competence is no longer offered by the WLGA due to the emergence of other priorities. The Local Government and Election (Wales) Act 2021 affords local authorities in Wales general powers of competence and it is a matter for the Council to decide whether and how the power is to be used.  It was agreed that the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer be asked to clarify the requirements with regard to the General Power of Competence.
• That the Council has adopted a Capital Strategy 2024-29 along with an Asset Management Strategic Plan where it is recognised that the investment required to bring the Council’s assets up to standard is beyond the resources available to the Council. The lack of investment means that the condition of assets continues to deteriorate creating further costs in terms of repair and maintenance. The capital funding which the Council receives from Welsh Government in grant and core funding is insufficient to meet the Council’s capital requirements and any borrowing to that end would have implications for the revenue budget and thereby for Council Tax. The situation will be kept under review going forward.
• That the Council has commenced the work of reviewing its processes and is moving towards increased use of digital technology in its operations and in how it communicates and engages with residents with the introduction of the CRM and a new telephone system. Most services have their own Business Manager role to review the effectiveness of the service’s business processes and each service produces an annual service delivery plan which identifies the service’s priorities for the year including process review; those plans feed into the Annual Delivery Document which sets out the annual priorities for delivering on the Council’s strategic objectives as defined by the Council Plan. While large scale projects are managed by the Transformation Boards, work to improve the efficiency of business processes takes place on multiple levels.

It was resolved to approve the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2023/24 that will form part of the 2023/24 Statement of the Accounts.

Additional Actions –

• That the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer be asked to clarify the requirements with regard to the General Power of Competence.
• That the Committee be provided with an update at its December 2024 meeting on progress against the governance matters identified by the 2023/24 assessment process.