Pembrokeshire governance ‘too informal’, says auditor

31 Jan 12
The Welsh auditor general has criticised a climate of informality and failure to effectively challenge decision-making at Pembrokeshire County Council.

By Vivienne Russell | 31 January 2012

The Welsh auditor general has criticised a climate of informality and failure to effectively challenge decision-making at Pembrokeshire County Council.

But the council says it has been reducing red tape to concentrate on frontline services.

In a special inspection report, Huw Vaughan Thomas recommended that the authority improve some of its management practices, but stopped short of calling for wholesale reform.

The special inspection was launched following critical reports from Welsh education watchdog Estyn and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. These found an absence of effective governance in relation to the protection of children.

The Wales Audit Office was asked to determine whether these weaknesses occurred more widely throughout the council.

Publishing his findings yesterday, Vaughan Thomas said: ‘I am satisfied on the evidence of our inspection that Pembrokeshire County Council does not need to overhaul its systems of governance and management and the public can be confident that the council is complying with its statutory requirements to make arrangements to improve.

‘Having said that, there is a need for the council address some management practices.’

The report made seven recommendations. These included clarity over the various decision-making and scrutiny roles at the councils, as well as the role of the corporate management team.

It also called on the authority to ensure proper documentation is kept for meetings, proposals and decisions and that councillors are clear what is expected of them.

Pembrokeshire County Council leader John Davies said the WAO’s investigation had been ‘extremely thorough, searching and challenging’.

He added: ‘Over the lifetime of this council, we have been encouraged to simplify our processes and to work to cut bureaucracy and red tape. We have sought to do this to ensure that our resources are targeted at frontline services and this has resulted in the report's finding that the council needs more formality.

‘The council has been absolutely committed to continuous improvement since its inception and we accept the auditor general's recommendations. We shall be taking forward the issues from this report.’

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