Agenda item

To inform Members of the District Auditor's conclusions and report on proposed next steps

DECISION:

·         To accept the report

·         To agree to establish a Task and Finish Group to collaborate with the Chief Executive to carry out a review of how and to what extent the principles of the 'Ffordd Gwynedd' way of working are embedded across the Council

·         To elect Councillors John Pughe Roberts, Medwyn Hughes, Selwyn Griffiths, Peredur Jenkins and Sharon Warnes as members of the Task and  Finish Group

·         That the Task and Finish Group submits a report of the review's findings to the Committee when it is completed

Submitted - a report by the Cabinet Member for Corporate Support, Councillor Nia Jeffreys, presenting the Audit Wales conclusions to a review undertaken of Ffordd Gwynedd.   It was reported that Audit Wales had undertaken a review of the Wellbeing of Future Generations in adult social care within the Council in 2019, and as a result of this review it was agreed that it would be beneficial to undertake a follow-up review of the progress of Ffordd Gwynedd across all Council services.

It was added that the Audit Committee had also highlighted a wish to establish a Task and Finish Group to review the progress achieved in the name of Ffordd Gwynedd and following a discussion at a Scrutiny Working Group (4/5/21) it was agreed to schedule the work during autumn of this year.

In accordance with the Chief Executive's wish to undertake a review to identify how and to what extent the principles of the Ffordd Gwynedd way of working are embedded across the Council, it was considered that the establishment of the Task and Finish Group was timely and the Chief Executive would work jointly with Members to produce a brief for the review. It was considered that the letter received from Audit Wales, summarising the conclusions of their review, set an initial work programme for the Task and Finish Group.

Reference was made to some of the review's conclusions. Although the Council had transformed elements of the way it works, it was considered that there were some common misconceptions and barriers that hindered further progress and limited the way in which 'Ffordd Gwynedd' embeds and becomes part of the subconscious way of working.

Alan Hughes (Audit Wales) added that he welcomed the Council's response to the review and to the intention to establish a Task and Finish Group as a means for further review.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by members:

·         That the result of the Auditors' report summarised the practical issues well that need to be revisited. 

·         The report was welcomed and there was a positive response to promoting the next steps.

·         It was possible to make better use of data

·         There was a need to support officers to commit to their work

·         There was a need to ensure that 'Ffordd Gwynedd' was embedded. 

·         The findings of the Task Group would be submitted to the Audit Committee once they had completed the review.

·         There was concern in the response of some members of staff to enquiries from Gwynedd residents.

In response to the observations, the Head of Corporate Support noted that he welcomed the observations accepting that 'Ffordd Gwynedd' was an ongoing task and any concerns regarding the lack of action should be referred in order to improve the situation. He added that it was proposed to conduct an information sharing session with the Task and Finish Group members as they were fully familiar with the basics of Ffordd Gwynedd. It was noted that there had been good examples recently of using data effectively, however, it was reported that the Council's Management Team had already recognised that there was room for improvement with further work to embed the fundamental principles across the Council.

RESOLVED

·      To accept the report

·      To agree to establish a Task and Finish Group to collaborate with the Chief Executive to carry out a review of how and to what extent the principles of the 'Ffordd Gwynedd' way of working had embedded across the Council

·      To elect Councillors John Pughe Roberts, Medwyn Hughes, Selwyn Griffiths, Peredur Jenkins and Sharon Warnes as members of the Task and Finish Group

·      That the Task and Finish Group submits a report of the review's findings to the Committee when it is completed