Agenda item

The Governance and Audit Committee were provided with the Audit Wales report in respect of the Council’s ‘Use of Performance Information: Service User Perspective and Outcomes’and the actions to be taken by the Council to implement the recommendations.

Mr I Phillips from Audit Wales informed the Committee that the work was undertaken with all 22 Local Authorities and that the intention was to publish a national report in March 2024, to outline the common themes identified.

Audit Wales took the opportunity to outline the scope of the exercise and to explain why this was an important area of consideration. Audit Wales stated that providing services is a key role for a Council, and as such, performance information helps the Council understand outcomes from the perspective of the service users and whether the work its doing is achieving its objectives. Audit Wales noted that this was not a review of the Council’s consultation and engagement activity, but about the performance information that the Council uses to help understand the perspective of its service users.

Audit Wales’ findings highlighted that the performance information provided to Senior Leaders did not generally enable them to understand the service user perspective and the outcomes of the Council’s activities, apart from a  few limited examples. It was explained that, generally, reports did not include performance information from the perspective of service users and that the information provided in respect of service users was limited. Examples had been found within service self-evaluation reports, whereby service user information had been captured but the breadth of information was variable. In respect of outcomes, Audit Wales’ findings highlighted that the performance information to Senior Leader was largely focussed on outputs rather than impact and evaluative. In relation to the accuracy of the data relating to the service user perspective and outcomes, it was found that the Council did not have arrangements in place to routinely ensure the data quality of performance information relating to service user outcomes. Finally, in relation to reviewing and learning, Audit Wales noted that the Council recognises that it needs to make better use of the data available to it and to strengthen its engagement with service users.

Audit Wales assured the Committee that its findings were fairly consistent with other Local Authorities and advised that the full comparison could be found in the National report, once published.

Audit Wales had made three recommendations to the Council and was satisfied with the Council’s organisational response to its recommendations, which was documented in the papers before Members.

One Member queried which service areas were covered during the exercise and what methodology was used to gather the information. Audit Wales explained that information was obtained through published performance reports and the service self-evaluations from across the Council.

The Service Director of Finance and Improvement Services took the opportunity to inform the Committee of the Council’s organisational response to the recommendations made by Audit Wales. The Service Director fed back that the Council’s has comprehensive performance management arrangements in place and acknowledged that there was opportunity to use information more effectively to better demonstrate impact. It was noted that there were areas of good practice within the Council and that this needed to be applied further to enable a more consistent approach. The Service Director also noted that this was an area for improvement, identified within the Council’s service self-evaluation process, which aligned to the feedback from Audit Wales.

In respect of the recommendations identified by Audit Wales, the Service Director fed back that work is on-going to focus on the impact of the Council’s work from the perspective of the service user and indicated that case studies are being incorporated into quarterly Performance Reporting arrangements to help demonstrate impact.

With regard to the recommendation to strengthen the information provided to Senior Leaders to help determine whether the Council is delivering its objectives, the Service Director fed back that Corporate Plan action plans are focussed on evaluative actions to strengthen this area and updates will be reported via Performance Reporting arrangements.

In terms of the recommendation relating to arrangements to check the quality and accuracy of the information it provides to senior leaders relating to service user perspective and outcomes, the Service Director fed back that designated Data Teams are in place across the Council with updated arrangements being introduced to evidence the data assurance checks that are completed alongside support by corporate officers, as appropriate.

One Member spoke of the information gathered through the customer complaints and compliments arrangements, and asked if this information plays a part in the process. The Service Director fed back that customer complaints and compliments are captured via the Council’s Customer Relation Management System and are taken into account as part of service delivery and planning processes, alongside direct engagement with service users.

The Chair thanked Audit Wales and the Service Director for the update and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the findings and recommendations within the Audit Wales Local Report – ‘Use of performance information: service user perspective and outcomes’ and the Council’s response to the recommendations;

2.    To consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention by the Governance and Audit Committee; and

3.    To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require review by the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.

N.B – Mr J Roszkowski left the meeting during this item.