Pembrokeshire County Council has a positive culture of trust and respect that has delivered benefits; however, too much informality and lack of consistently effective challenge has weakened accountability, leaving the council open to unnecessary risk. That is the conclusion of a special inspection report, published this week, by the Auditor General for Wales.

His special inspection was launched in response to two critical reports on the council by Estyn and the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales. Both reports focused on children and young people, but also pointed to failures within the culture of the authority and the absence of effective governance in relation to safeguarding and protecting children.

The Auditor General's inspection looked into whether the weaknesses identified in both reports were more widespread, particularly whether weaknesses in democratic accountability and governance were systemic.

The inspection found that there were some very positive aspects of the council's culture and the way that it operates, but it needs to improve some management practices and councillors need to be better engaged. The inspection did not find a need to introduce wholesale changes to models of governance and management.

However, the review did find that improvements were needed. Too much informality within the council was a particular issue because the unintended consequence of this is weakened accountability. For example, not enough attention is paid to appropriately documenting discussions, actions, decisions or results. Keeping appropriate written records is an effective way of assuring people that trust is well placed and that policies or instructions are being followed as intended. Without this, the council is exposed to risk because it makes it more difficult to hold people to account.

There is also a lack of clarity and understanding in relation to some roles and responsibilities, along with some lack of transparency which means that effective challenge and scrutiny of policies and decisions is inconsistent.

In all, the report makes seven recommendations for improvement, including: clarify in an easily understandable format, governance and decision-making roles, such as the cabinet and scrutiny committee, and the role of the corporate management team; ensure that appropriate documentation is kept for meetings, proposals and decisions and made readily available; take steps to ensure that councillors are clear about what is expected of them and are effectively supported in whatever role they perform, such as setting role descriptions and delivering role specific training; and put quality assurance arrangements in place to ensure that mechanisms of management and supervision are effective.

Auditor General for Wales, Huw Vaughan Thomas, said: "I am satisfied on the evidence of our inspection that Pembrokeshire council does not need to overhaul its systems of governance and management and the public can be confident that the council is complying with its statutory requirements to make arrangements to improve. Having said that, there is a need for the council to address some management practices, like introducing more formal mechanisms to properly hold itself to account for decisions made and actions taken."

LEADER RESPONDS

TO REPORT

The leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, Clr. John Davies, said: "The independent investigation carried out by the Wales Audit Office (WAO) was extremely thorough, searching and challenging and I would like to thank the team for the professional way they carried out their task.

"We welcome the report and the comments by the Auditor General. Successive inspections by the WAO and others have indicated that the systems of governance and management at Pembrokeshire County Council are in good health.

"Over the lifetime of this council, we have been encouraged to simplify our processes and to work to cut bureaucracy and red tape. We have sought to do this to ensure that our resources are targeted at frontline services and this has resulted in the report's finding that the council needs more formality.

"The council has been absolutely committed to continuous improvement since its inception and we accept the Auditor General's recommendations. We shall be taking forward the issues from this report," he added.

Councillor's comment

County Clr. Sue Perkins, who represents Pembroke Dock's Llanion ward and is leader of the Labour Group and vice-chair of the children and families overview and scrutiny committee, said: "It's very sad that it has taken the disastrous and unsettling CSSIW report last summer to force the county council to take stock of its responsibilities. There are some positive things to be taken from the auditor's report and I want to build on the work we have started.

"But the section on the shocking lack of transparency and scrutiny in the council makes very sombre reading. It echoes what I and others have been saying in this council for many years - the need for scrutiny minutes to go to full council so that every councillor knows what's going on; cabinet members to be accountable and to answer questions put to them by committee members; that councillors responsible for scrutinising executive decisions are given the full information they need to do their jobs properly.

"Accepting the auditor's criticisms and putting things right is a must if we are to see openness and transparency in Pembrokeshire. The Labour Group has always fought for this as the basis for honest government."