Agenda item

Cyngor Gwynedd's Annual Performance Report and Self-Assessment 2023/24 was approved and it was recommended that it be adopted by the Full Council.

The report was submitted by Cllr. Nia Jeffreys  

DECISION

Cyngor Gwynedd's Annual Performance Report and Self-Assessment 2023/24 was approved, and it was recommended that it be adopted by the Full Council.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted to Cabinet for approval before being presented to the Full Council in October. It was explained that the report provided information on the progress against that set out in the Cyngor Gwynedd Plan 2023-2028 during the year 2023/24. It was also explained that the report looked back at the Council's performance in 2023/34 and all Council employees were thanked for their work over the year.

It was reported that the recent period had been a very difficult one for Local Government with demand rising on several priority areas as well as having to cope with a reduced budget. It was noted that there were two parts to the report with the first part, the annual performance report focusing on Council Plan projects and the day-to-day work. It was explained that the second part which was the self-assessment of the Council's performance was a new statutory requirement under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

It was explained that the draft self-assessment had been reviewed by the Governance and Audit Committee on 5^⁠ September and generally received positive comments. Some suggestions were received to improve the procedure such as Members' desire to be included sooner in the process of producing the report. Further comments were received on the impact the priority projects within the Council Plan were having on the residents of the county and that more attention needed to be paid to this element.

It was noted that the report was full of figures and statistics but behind the statistics were encouraging stories of the experiences of the people of Gwynedd and the support they had been given. Reference was made to an example under the A Prosperous Gwynedd priority area of how the work of officers in this area had changed the lives of the people of Gwynedd for the better. A local man who had been unemployed and homeless was mentioned and details were given of the support he had received from Gwaith Gwynedd such as help securing an interview, benefit support and support to buy clothes suitable for his new job. The Gwaith Gwynedd team were thanked for the support, and it was noted that the person in question was now in a full-time job, had a home and felt financially stable. It was noted that there were a range of similar examples under the priority areas of the Council Plan.

It was emphasised that it was important to recognise success and all Council staff were thanked for their work. It was recognised that there was a long journey to reach the goal in all priority areas.  The Council's Business Support Service Manager added that there was some further design work to be done before formally submitting the document to Full Council on 3 ⁠October. Reference was made to the comments of the Governance and Audit Committee and the suggestion to consider the consultation arrangements for the self-assessment part. It was explained that that was something that had been addressed and appropriate steps would be put in place to ensure appropriate feedback to feed into the self-assessments in the future.

Observations arising from the discussion

·       Members gave thanks for the work to produce the report and members of the Governments and Audit Committee were thanked for their constructive comments. The comment about measuring impact was highlighted as a comment that would be implemented but it was recognised that it was difficult to see an impact in a year.

·       The intertwining between the ambition of the Council's Plaid Cymru Group for the Council Plan to act and now to report on progress was welcomed.

·       It was noted that the report was not too lengthy and easy for the people of Gwynedd to follow. The design and the way the information had been laid out was welcomed.

·       The Deputy Leader was thanked for recognising the work of the Council staff and it was noted that this message of thanks would be passed on to staff. 

·       Attention was drawn to the serious financial situation that posed a threat to the Council's core services and highlighted that a £14 million funding gap was forecast for next year. It was added that this may require a second look at the Council Plan to reflect what the Council's ability to deliver would be. It was hoped that the financial outlook would improve so that efforts could be put into achieving the ambition for the good of the people of Gwynedd without having to worry about maintaining the Council's basic services.