Agenda item

To consider the update on report(s) recently published by Audit Wales - Use information about performance: perspective and results of service users - Cyngor Gwynedd

DECISION

·         To accept the report, for information

·         To welcome Managers' response

Alan Hughes and Lora Williams (Audit Wales), Geraint Owen (Corporate Director) and Dewi Wyn Jones (the Council's Business Support Service Manager) were welcomed to the meeting.

A report was presented by Audit Wales highlighting their findings on how the Council uses information about performance. A response document was also presented by Cyngor Gwynedd, outlining what the Council intends to do to respond to Audit Wales' recommendations.

The Audit Wales Officer noted that each Council uses performance information, but that there was a need to consider whether the information delivered the aims and ensured value for money. He reiterated that Cyngor Gwynedd shared a lot of good examples - provided much information about performance to senior leaders to help them understand service users' perspective and use the feedback from improving services' customers that reflected on recent performance arrangements. However, it was reported that there was less evidence regarding data verification arrangements and that information about results were limited.

In response to the report, the Supporting Business Service Manager noted that the report appeared to be negative in its nature, but after discussing further with Audit Wales' officers, the concerns had been alleviated and most of the steps offered were things that the Council were already working on or had now realised. He referred to examples of including more people in the challenging performance process, establishing a cross-departmental engagement group to encourage managers to engage / consult with different groups, to identify specific milestones in projects; was confident that current arrangements existed within the services to verity data quality and the information presented to senior leaders, Committees and the Cabinet.

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

·         Correct and good data was integral to make decisions.

·         There was a need to consider measuring results instead of measuring actions - for the future, this would be a way of referring resources to the correct place and seeing investments having an impact.

In response to a comment regarding whether Audit Wales was happy that some of the recommendations had already been completed, it was noted that Audit Wales' code of practice was to accept that appropriate consideration had been given to the recommendations and that there was no formal threshold to approve the progress report. In response to a further comment about how Cyngor Gwynedd compared to other Councils, it was noted that the priority was how each Council compared to the criteria, and not to each other. However, it was noted that not every Council's report had been published so far, so it would be unfair to report on that, but that findings would be included in the national report.

In response to the observation regarding past experiences of putting too much emphasis on activity instead of results, the Business Support Service Manager noted that work had been made to review the first round of the Council Plan's projects by setting key milestones to realise projects, asking the project leaders to report on the progress and the steps that were in place. The Corporate Director reiterated that there was a readiness to refine arrangements where measures were reviewed regularly.

RESOLVED

·         To accept the report, for information.

·         To welcome Managers' response.