To inform Members of the District Auditor's conclusions and report on proposed next steps
Decision:
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
Minutes:
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
Supporting documents: