Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed the attendees to the virtual meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee. No apologies of absence were received.  

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.   Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting of the Audit Committee held on 6^th December 2021.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the 6^th December 2021 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

Agenda Item no.32: The Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services confirmed that Audit Wales have provided feedback to the Chair and relevant Member around the national case review of Children Services in England, indicating that Audit Wales see no direct implications for its work as a result of this review. 

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (Quarterly update: 31st December 2021).

Mr M Gibson, Audit Wales provided Members with a brief overview of the report. He advised that as part of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, the Auditor General is required to produce a timetable for each Local Authority that also covers both Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn. To discharge this duty, a single collective timetable is provided each quarter and the Audit Wales Officer referred Members to the quarter 3 update to 31^st December 2021.

A Member requested further information around timescales for issuing Audit Wales local reports in respect of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Mr M Gibson, Audit Wales, indicated the quarter 3 update provides the current position statement for each study with completion timescales dependent on clearance, publishing and translation processes.

One Member sought further information regarding whether follow-up work is required from the previous year. Mr M Gibson, Audit Wales, advised that the review relating to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Partnership is a study from the 2020/21 work programme that is being delivered during the 2021/22 financial year.

Following discussion, it was RESOLVED:

-        To note the content of the report.

The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services provided a brief introduction on the purpose of the presentation to be delivered by the Data Protection and Improvement Officer. The Service Director noted the role of the Committee in overseeing the Council’s risk management arrangements, one aspect of which is the on-going review of the Strategic Risk Register that includes Information Management. The Service Director added that the presentation will provide Members with an overview of the area of Information Management together with key risks and arrangements in place to manage and mitigate these.

The presentation was delivered under the following key headlines: -

-        Strategic Risk Register- Information Management

-        The Role of the Information Management Team

-        Information Management Team – Who we support

-        Legal Drivers

-        ICO ‘GDPR Accountability Framework’

-        How we comply

-        Key priorities for 2022-23

The Data Protection and Improvement Officer provided context by informing Members of the significance of managing personal data in accordance with legislation to avoid financial penalties and sanctions, and support the overall effective delivery of services by the Council.

The Data Protection and Improvement Officer outlined to Members the role of the Information Management Team which focuses on the Council and Service Level Agreements in place with external bodies to ensure compliance with data protection legislation. Members were provided with an overview in relation to supported organisations under the Information Management team and included: all Council Services, 113 Schools, Elected Members (Ward Cllr & Representative), Central South Consortium Joint Education Service, South Wales Central Area Coroner’s Services, South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee and the public (citizens, service users, visitors).

In relation to Legal Drivers, the Data Protection and Improvement Officer highlighted to Members the changes made in relation to the data protection legislation over recent years. Members were made aware that based on the introduction of the EU GDPR legislation on the 25^th May 2018, this resulted in greater obligations on organisations, along with enhanced mandatory requirements in addition to those which were in place under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Data Protection and Improvement Officer highlighted the significant increase in the monetary penalty notices from £500,000 under the Data Protection Act 1998 to a maximum of £17.5 Million for large organisations under UK GDPR & Data Protection Act 2018 and issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The Data Protection and Improvement Officer informed Members of the ICO introduction of the GDPR Accountability Framework and Members were made aware that under the new legislation, compliance is significant and demonstration of compliance is vital. The accountability framework is an opportunity for Local Authorities to assess compliance of an organisation in line with the requirements of GDPR and the Data Protection and Improvement Officer informed Members of the 10 key categories for accountability, as set out in the accountability framework.

The Data Protection and Improvement Officer continued by highlighting to Members how compliance is achieved surrounding the 10 key categories of accountability. 

To ensure compliance with the GDPR  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

The Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services provided a brief introduction on the content of the presentation and Members were reminded that in line with the Local Government Elections (Wales) Act 2021, the responsibility of the Governance and Audit Committees is to evaluate and assess the Local Authority’s ability to review and handle complaints effectively and to make recommendations on the same. The Service Director added that the presentation will aim to update Members on the Council’s complaints handling arrangements in readiness for the Committee’s responsibilities under the Local Government Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

The presentation was delivered under the following key headlines: -

-        Customer Feedback & Engagement Team

-        Legislative Requirements

-        Principals of an effective complaint handling process

-        How are complaints regulated

-        How well are we doing?

-        Priorities for 2022/23

To begin the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided a brief overview of the roles and responsibilities of the team that cover overseeing the management of complaint handling across the Council; dealing with complaints that are crosscutting two or more service areas;  providing training and good practice guidance on complaints management; processing subject access requests and all external information requests; facilitating Social Services Survey; advising on the management of unreasonable customers; facilitating complaint network groups at a local and national level; and supporting Adult Services and Children’s Services with their legislative duties to provide advocacy services.

It was highlighted to Members the requirement for local authorities to establish procedures for dealing with complaints regarding Social Services functions including the representations relating to children. These requirements are set out in the Representation Procedure (Wales) regulations 2014 in relation to children and in the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) regulations 2014 for adults.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager informed Members of new powers afforded to the Public Service Ombudsman Wales (PSOW) which requires local authorities to operate complaint handling procedures in compliance with PSOW statement of principles and their model complaints handling policy. Based on the powers adopted, the PSOW introduced the Complaints Standards Authority (CSA) which monitors compliance based on the principles of effective complaints handling. The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager also informed Members of an approved complaints handling policy issued by the Ombudsman as a result of meeting requirements.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager referenced the principles of effective complaint handling processes set by the PSOW. These ensure complaints are compliant focused (flexible & addressing need), simple (2 Stages), fair, objective, timely, effective, accountable (clear & honest) and committed to continuous improvement (analysis & improvements). It was highlighted to Members that the overall priority is to ensure a good outcome for the person making the complaint, where possible.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided insight into the two complaints handling processes within RCT, these being Statutory Social Services Complaints (SSSC) and Customer Feedback Scheme (CFS). The Statutory Social Services process is a legislative requirement that deals with all Social Services complaints functions which fall under the Social Services Well-being Act (2014). It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.