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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the update in respect of actions arising from the last meeting and recent Committee referrals.
RESOLVED That the Committee submit a request to the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting a review of the Licensed Deficit Agreement (LDA) between Ysgol Harri Tudur, in Pembroke Dock, and the Council. Councillor Michael Stoddart Moved the recommendation to note the report; Seconded by Councillor Aled Thomas. The vote, by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report to the 31 December 2023.
RESOLVED a) That the Committee noted the update provided on Business Risk Management and contents of the Corporate Risk Register. b) That the Committee decided not to refer any matter contained within the report to Overview and Scrutiny Committees at this time.
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the updates to the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan.
RESOLVED That the Committee noted that: a) The Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 have been published. b) That the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 Committee were currently available for inspection and were being audited by Audit Wales.
RESOLVED a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising. b) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2024- 25 to 2027-28 and considered the main issues arising. c) That the Committee scrutinised theProvisional Local Government Settlement for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising.
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the findings of the Audit Wales Local Report ‘Digital Strategy Review – Pembrokeshire County Council’ and considered the Council’s response to the recommendations made.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Michael James and Steve Alderman and they were replaced by reserve Members Councillors Huw Murphy and Pat Davies respectively.
There were no declarations of interest made. .
The Committee considered the Minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2023. In respect of Minute 30 concerning Follow-Up Actions, Councillor Michael Stoddart requested an update on the outcome of December’s Full Council meeting on the implications of a £300K loss in rental income on the Authority’s rent setting policy in future years. An update on the item was recorded as an action for the next meeting. Moved by Mr. John Evans; Seconded by Mr. Martin Veale. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 30 November 2023 be approved as a correct record, in both English and Welsh.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the update in respect of actions arising from the last meeting and recent Committee referrals.
The Head of Democratic Services introduced her report that provided an update on the status of action points from the previous meeting and on recent Committee referrals. She then summarised the action taken by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees in response to the referrals made by the Governance and Audit Committee as follows: · A referral regarding the recruitment and retention challenges faced by the Council was received and considered by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 12 September 2023. The Head of Democratic Services directed Members to the Minutes and webcast of that meeting online for more information. · Referral of the financial challenges in meeting the requirements of the Council Housing Stock Decarbonisation programme to the Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 6 July 2023 was due to be discussed by that Committee at its meeting in March 2024; and, · The Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee was yet to allocate a time on their Forward Work Programme to debate the Audit Wales’ Time for Change Poverty in Wales report, which was referred to that Committee on 28 September 2023. Moved by Councillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded by Dr Norma Barry. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the update in respect of actions arising from the last meeting and recent Committee referrals.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee submit a request to the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting a review of the Licensed Deficit Agreement (LDA) between Ysgol Harri Tudur, in Pembroke Dock, and the Council. Councillor Michael Stoddart Moved the recommendation to note the report; Seconded by Councillor Aled Thomas. The vote, by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report to the 31 December 2023.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager provided a quarterly update on the progress made by the Internal Audit team in delivering the Internal Audit Plan, the outstanding recommendations and challenges faced within the team. He outlined the main points of his report, which included: • The impact of losing a Principal Auditor, who had left to work for a local authority in England, on the Service at a time when the audit profession was struggling to recruit. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager hoped to recruit to that position in the middle of February in readiness for the start of the 2024-25 financial year. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised that during the final quarter of the 2023-24 financial year, the Internal Audit team will provide internal audit services to the Council’s strategic partners, specifically Partneriaeth, Swansea Bay City Deal and the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee. In order to carry out these duties it has been planned that a Principal Auditor will undertake the assurance work in order to fulfil the obligations provided to each strategic partner. • Two internal audits had received a ‘limited’ assurance rating, with copies of these reports being shared by the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager with the Governance and Audit Committee and the relevant Cabinet Member. The Committee were advised that both these reviews would be followed up within the next six months to ensure progress had been made to strengthen the existing arrangements in place and would be reported back to Committee should improvements not have been made. • The number of recommendations remaining outstanding for longer than 30 days had significantly reduced. Of the 16 outstanding recommendations falling into the 90+ day category, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager confirmed he was aware of the current status of these recommendations and was expecting to mark them as completed by the end of this financial year. • An online Fraud Referral Form for reporting purported fraud or irregularity had been made available on the Council’s website since November 2023. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager revealed his team had started to receive a small number of reports relating to benefit fraud through this medium and had referred the allegations to the Department for Work and Pensions. He added the Authority has a joint working arrangement with the DWP and had been working closely with the government department to investigate several cases of Council Tax Reduction Scheme fraud. • Finally, new Global Internal Audit Standards were released by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) on 9 January 2024 and would become effective on 9 January 2025. While the IIA Standards had not yet been applied to UK Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager made a commitment to align the Council’s internal audit activities with the IIA Standards. He also proposed to undertake a gap analysis to ensure conformity with those Standards. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · With regard to staffing, Mr Martin Veale asked whether the Council was involved in discussions with any other local authority in the South West Wales region about sharing resources. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager explained a benchmarking exercise to compare the number of staff working at each auditor job grade with comparable roles in other local authorities across Wales had been carried out. Of the 22 councils, only 14 responded. He advised that Pembrokeshire‘s Internal Audit team is composed of six staff members, which was small in comparison. There had been discussion within local authorities on ‘growing their own’ and developing a talent pathway and theAudit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager was due to meet with Learning and Development about the possibility of introducing a graduate scheme. · In response to a question from Councillor Pat Davies regarding Ysgol Harri Tudur operating with a Licensed Deficit and was at risk of not being able to set a balanced budget for 2024-25, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager replied that the Committee could refer the matter to the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration. • Dr Norma Barry, making reference to the management and administrative issues uncovered in the audit of Children’s Complex Care Packages, sought clarification as to whether the limited assurance review could be followed up sooner than six months. While a repeat audit could be arranged within three months of the completion of the original audit, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager explained each assurance review has scheduled follow-up within six months to allow time for recommendations to be embedded. Additionally, if the date was brought forward by three months, he admitted he did not have the capacity within the team to undertake that review before the end of this financial year and not until early 2024-25. • Following on from this discussion, the Director of Resources gave an assurance that he and the Chief Executive had consulted with the Director of Social Care and Housing and the Head of Children’s Services and further controls had been put in place. Authorisation for all Children’s Complex Care Packages, of which there were about 30, would now need to be given by the Director of Resources, or one of his direct reports, before placement. Although the Director of Social Care and Housing had been conferred additional powers under the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules, the Director of Resources understood that the audit highlighted some cases where power had been delegated down, however, had not been formally recorded as a delegated Director’s decision. • Councillor Aled Thomas drew attention to the increased spending on Children’s Complex Care Packages and asked for confirmation whether the level of spending was affected by demand or the misposting of account entries, which resulted in a high volume of adjustments being required. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised that expenditure had been posted to incorrect budget codes which was supported by the Chief Executive, who stated it was his understanding that there had not been an improper spend against the absolute, statutory requirement to place certain children into care. He indicated that an inappropriate mechanism of tracking delegated decisions appeared to have been in place. However, a new system had now been implemented where decisions rested with the Director of Social Care and Housing and were being referred to him and the Director of Resources for tracking, he added. • In response to a further question raised by Councillor Thomas, the Director of Resources advised as the budget for Children’s Complex Care Packages was split between the Education and Social Care departments, which explained why mispostings could occur and the movement of values from one budget code to another. Councillor Thomas commented he would seek further explanation from the Directoroutside of the meeting. • Councillor Michael Stoddart updated Members that the investigation into alleged irregularities in the Pembroke Dock Commercial Property Grant Scheme was expected to be referred to the Committee for consideration at a later date. The Chair responded that the matter would be added to the Agenda as a separate item and following clarification that it would fall within the scope of the Committee’s current Terms of Reference. Councillor Pat Davies Moved that a referral be made to the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee to add the limited assurance review for Ysgol Harri Tudur to their Forward Work Programme; Seconded by Councillor Aled Thomas. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll-call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Mr. John Evans, Dr Norma Barry, Mr. Martin Veale, Councillors Pat Davies, Michael Stoddart, Aled Thomas, Jacob Williams and Guy Woodham [8] Abstain: Councillor Huw Murphy [1] There were no votes against. RESOLVED That the Committee submit a request to the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting a review of the Licensed Deficit Agreement (LDA) between Ysgol Harri Tudur, in Pembroke Dock, and the Council. Councillor Michael Stoddart Moved the recommendation to note the report; Seconded by Councillor Aled Thomas. The vote, by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report to the 31 December 2023.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED a) That the Committee noted the update provided on Business Risk Management and contents of the Corporate Risk Register. b) That the Committee decided not to refer any matter contained within the report to Overview and Scrutiny Committees at this time.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager presented his report on the Council’s business risk management position for Quarter 4 as at the end of December 2023. At its meeting on 7 December 2023, he reported that the Council’s Corporate Risk Management Group (CRMG) agreed to add two risks within Children’s Services, specifically the increase in demand for children’s social care and the increase in the number of children requiring specialist placements, to the Corporate Risk Register. He welcomed the Head of Children’s Services to the meeting to provide a brief overview of the current challenges faced by the Service and more detail of the identified risks. Since publication of the Committee report, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised a number of risks had been updated and he would provide further information on these at the April 2024 meeting. He then summarised an email he had forwarded that morning to Committee Members informing them of a course being offered in March by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) on risk management, corporate governance and the role of a Governance and Audit Committee in terms of risk management. The Committee proceeded to debate the report. • On the increase in the number of children requiring specialist placements, Dr Norma Barry queried whether any representations had been made by the Council, or at a group level, to Welsh Government, as the issue was affecting all local authorities across Wales. The Head of Children’s Services advised the All Wales Heads of Children’s Services (AWHOCS) Group has very close links to Welsh Government and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Group meet with senior officials on a monthly basis to update them on the latest position. Furthermore, a wide-scale project by the Welsh Government to radically transform the way Children’s Services is delivered in Wales was underway. In Pembrokeshire, the Head of Children’s Services expected the Council’s in-house residential four-bedroom unit to open in the coming months, which would limit the number of children being placed outside of the area or outside of the country. He explained staff had already been recruited to posts within the unit and the Manager had started work developing policies and procedures and an operating manual for staff. • The Chief Executive further advised that since 2019, the number of referrals into Children’s Services had almost tripled. In 2019, the Authority was receiving 3,000 referrals a year into its Assessment Team, and at the end of 2023, that figure had reached 8,000. He continued that the number of looked-after children in all forms of care had doubled during the same period, without significant increase in resource to Children’s Services, and warned that the Service was under risk of not being able to meet demand. Apart from the new residential home, the Chief Executive revealed the Council was actively looking at whether it needed to build additional capacity and to bring other Social Care service areas back in-house, such as putting extra resources into the Commissioning Team and into the Assessment team to deal with referrals. He stated his intention to bring a report to Cabinet in February 2024 to highlight what the Authority was doing in the short term to address the capacity shortfall. Finally, the Chief Executive concluded that the Leader was to write to the Finance Minister in response to the annual settlement increase of 2.5% that was below what the Council was expecting, and in particular, set out his concerns in Social Care and Children’s Services, as well as in some other areas. Without additional central government funding, the Chief Executive predicted the Authority would struggle in the forthcoming years. The Minister for Health and Social Services had also been briefed about the pressures faced by the Council in the last 12 months. • In response to a further question from Dr Barry, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager agreed to follow up the start date for the development of the Empty Property Action Plan with the Head of Housing and Public Protection Services and report back to the next Committee meeting. • Councillor Michael Stoddart, making reference to the Corporate Risk scores for the Council Housing Stock Decarbonisation Programme and Supply of Affordable Housing, explored why they had not been given the same rating as they were funded from the same pot of money. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager responded that Residual Ratings were determined by the risk owners, therefore, the Head of Housing and Public Protection Services was responsible for categorising the risks in these cases. He undertook to return to the next Committee with an update from the Head of Housing and Public Protection Services. • In connection with this discussion, Councillor Aled Thomas read an email to the meeting he had received that morning from the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regulatory Services that suggested if the Council owned more properties on its estates, achieving decarbonisation targets would become more straightforward. He asked for further information with regard this to be included in the update from the Head of Housing and Public Protection Services. • In response to a question from the Chair about the recruitment of an Empty Property Officer to deal with problematic empty properties, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager understood an appointment had been made, adding that he would confirm with the Head of Housing and Public Protection Services. The Chair also took the opportunity to express his disappointment with the level of attendance, particularly of Senior Officers, at CRMG’s meeting in December. Moved by Dr Norma Barry; Seconded by Mr. Martin Veale. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried RESOLVED a) That the Committee noted the update provided on Business Risk Management and contents of the Corporate Risk Register. b) That the Committee decided not to refer any matter contained within the report to Overview and Scrutiny Committees at this time.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the updates to the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan.
The Committee considered a joint report by the Assistant Chief Executive and the Head of Law and Governance outlining progress against the revised Corporate Governance Improvement Plan 2022-24. The Assistant Chief Executive introduced the Improvement Plan, declaring the Council remained on track for completing the actions against the recommendations issued in Audit Wales’ Public Interest Report by the end of March 2024. In respect of Chief Officer exit payments, the Council had seen the departure of a Chief Officer within the past 12 months and much work had been done to get the right processes in place. The Assistant Chief Executive went onto say that the procedures would be assessed as part of the Statement of Accounts at the end of this financial year. In considering the report, the following key points were made: · Clarification was sought by Dr Norma Barry relating to the full staff survey, contract procedure rules, the communication and management strategy, staff appraisals and regular performance development, the Council’s internal recharging arrangements and asset management arrangements. In addressing the points raised in turn, the Director of Resources expanded on some of the explanations given by the Assistant Chief Executive, stating a lot of work was being carried out within the Directorates following the staff survey and action plans were in place. The outcome of this work would then be used to inform the next survey. In terms of the contract procedure rules, the Director of Resources was anticipating new public procurement legislation to come into effect in Wales, however, in the meantime, existing rules were still effective. · The Assistant Chief Executive apologised on behalf of the Head of HR for not being able to attend the meeting due to an unplanned absence for family reasons. He informed the meeting that the Head of HR had been working with the Communications Manager on the communication and management strategy to improve the cascade system from managers to staff and to facilitate a two-way flow. In addition, she was drawing up a proposal for a new method of appraisal for Chief Officers. · On the Council’s asset management arrangements, the Assistant Chief Executive explained that the Corporate Asset Management Board was established some time ago for the purpose of reviewing those arrangements. The Strategic Asset Management Group composed of Elected Members had reconvened in the last three months and was considering a range of issues. An Accelerated Disposal Programme had been set up to review the future all of the Council’s assets and to assess the disposal of any assets that were no longer useful to save maintenance costs. Following the departure of the Chief Property Officer, an interim was appointed to fill the position and started to carry out condition surveys of buildings. The Assistant Chief Executive had hoped the work would have been completed by the end of March, however, the interim postholder had left the Authority. · Dr Barry also suggested that the following action items in the Improvement Plan required updated deadlines: o E5 Staff appraisals o E5 Regular performance development o E7 Review and adjust staff resources o F6-8 on implementing a business partnering model and developing Finance and Human Resources o F11 reviewing the Council’s internal recharging arrangements. · In response to a question raised by Mr. Martin Veale, the Assistant Chief Executive answered he would consider reintroducing RAG (Red-Amber-Green) ratings to monitor performance against each action. · The Chair requested an update on the percentage completion rate of mandatory training modules for all Managers, to which the Director of Resources agreed to make statistics available at the next Committee meeting. On the long-term workforce strategy, the Director of Resources stated this was considered by the Policy and Pre-decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January and was due to be discussed by Cabinet at its next meeting when he hoped it would be approved. Moved by Mr. Martin Veale; Seconded by Dr Norma Barry. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the updates to the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee noted that: a) The Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 have been published. b) That the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 Committee were currently available for inspection and were being audited by Audit Wales.
The Director of Resources introduced his report that provided an update on the position of the Council’s draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and Tenby and Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23. He explained that the Council was required by the Welsh Government to produce, sign and date its draft Statement of Accounts by the deadline of 31 July 2023 and complete the audit and approval of accounts by 31 December 2023. However, a number of factors had contributed to delays in the production and audit of the Statement of Accounts, primarily due to setbacks in the completion of asset valuations, a loss of staff in that area and in financial services generally and budgeting challenges in-year and for the year ahead. Both Statement of Accounts were published on 21 December 2023 and were available for public inspection from 8 January 2024 to 2 February 2024. Furthermore, Audit Wales had commenced the external audit of the Statement of Accounts and it was hoped that the audited accounts would be presented to Committee on 18 April 2024 before being submitted to Full Council for approval on 9 May 2024. He stated a notice of delayed audit was published on the Council’s website in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014. The Chair then opened up discussion of the report and the key points were noted as follows: · In response to a question from Mr. Martin Veale, the Director of Resources replied, of the 22 Welsh Local Authorities, Pembrokeshire was the last Council to publish its draft accounts and acknowledged there were delays by the Council and by Audit Wales in the auditing of accounts. The plan next year would be to meet the statutory deadlines, he added. · Following a question by Councillor Huw Murphy, the Director of Resources undertook to check the position with slippage in subsidy for Tenby and Lower Fishguard Harbours and circulate a response outside of the meeting. Moved byDr Norma Barry; Seconded by Mr. Martin Veale. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted that: a) The Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 have been published. b) That the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 and the Draft Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbours’ Authority Accounts for 2022-23 Committee were currently available for inspection and were being audited by Audit Wales.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising. b) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2024- 25 to 2027-28 and considered the main issues arising. c) That the Committee scrutinised theProvisional Local Government Settlement for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising.
The Chair introduced a report by the Director of Resources, which outlined the following elements: • Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2024-25 • Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2024-25 to 2027–28 • Provisional Local Government Settlement for 2024-25. Councillor Alec Cormack, the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance, then went through the report and gave his personal feedback on the scale of the financial challenges faced by the Council in developing the Budget and the MTFP. He summarised the main points as set out in the paper, which included: • The Provisional Local Government settlement for Pembrokeshire in 2024-25 would be increased by 2.5% which was less than anticipated • A projected funding gap of £32.5m • The cumulative funding gap over the Medium Term Financial Plan of £80.8m • Inflationary pressures of £23.5 million in 2024-25 • Demand pressures of £11.9 million for 2024-25 in relation to Social Services • The need to increase the Council Tax up to the Welsh average level. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: • Councillor Aled Thomas sought clarification on the reasons why the draft Budget was only considered by the Policy and Pre-decision and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committees, to which Councillor Cormack advised this was as a result of a change to the Council’s Constitution. The Director of Resources reinforced this advice, pointing out that the Policy and Pre-decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee has the responsibility for considering the draft budget whereas the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee had requested to scrutinise it, which any of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees could have done. In response to a suggestion made byCouncillor Huw Murphy in later discussion, the Director of Resources stated any request to put the Budget as a standing item on the Agenda relevant to the portfolio of each Overview and Scrutiny Committee would necessitate a change to the constitution. • Councillor Michael Stoddart discussed at length the accumulated funding gap with the Cabinet Member, who Councillor Stoddart quoted as saying it totalled £96m at a recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. The Chair suggested that Councillors Stoddart and Cormack may want to pick up this discussion offline as he wished to focus on questions related to the proposed draft budget. · Councillor Thomas, making reference to the UK Government’s announcement of an additional £500m to its local government settlement in England, with a consequential allocation of around £25m for Wales in 2024-25, asked whether any representations had been made to Welsh Government to ensure that the funding would be made available to Councils. The Director of Resources confirmed he had been involved in discussions on the matter with Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). · On the percentage of properties charged the Council Tax Premium for Second Homes, the Director of Resources replied to Councillor Thomas that the in-year collection rate of 98% collection rate was included in the Council Tax base. • Councillor Thomas then expressed concern that the Council Tax Premium for Second Homes could lead to an increase in the number of owners putting their properties on the market and suggested a reduction in the collection rate of 60%. The Director of Resources explained while the Council had to make a number of assumptions were made for the number of properties that may be sold, there was potential for the number of second homes to increase in these circumstances: owners of long-term empty properties deciding to furnish their homes, and following the change to legislation in the number of letting days for holiday rental homes, some self-catering properties would no longer be eligible for non-domestic rates. · In response to a further question from Councillor Thomas, the Director of Resourcesagreed to ascertain the number of second homes subject to the Council Tax premium in 2023-24 and in 2024-25 and to share his response with the Committee outside of the meeting. • The Chair drew attention to the £2.2m proposed budget savings rated as Red and Amber in Adult Social Care and reduction in the Council’s workforce, with a 42% decrease being planned in Adult Social Care, and sought assurance that the impact of these proposals was given due consideration by Elected Members. Councillor Cormack responded that both Cabinet and Full Council agreed at their last meetings that the Chief Executive start implementing the green and amber savings that had been approved. He understood that some measures would have ‘a significant impact on Council services’ that would ultimately be considered at Full Council on 7 March 2024. Moved byCouncillor Jacob Williams; Seconded byCouncillor Pat Davies. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED a) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft County Council Budget for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising. b) That the Committee scrutinised the Outline Draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2024- 25 to 2027-28 and considered the main issues arising. c) That the Committee scrutinised theProvisional Local Government Settlement for 2024-25 and considered the main issues arising.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Committee noted the findings of the Audit Wales Local Report ‘Digital Strategy Review – Pembrokeshire County Council’ and considered the Council’s response to the recommendations made.
Gareth Lewis, Senior Auditor at Audit Wales, presented the findings of the regulatory body’s thematic review of digital strategy across all 22 Welsh Councils. Once the reports for each local authority area had been finalised, Audit Wales hoped to provide a summary at a national level in March 2024. Mr Lewis explained the focus of the review on the Council’s strategic approach to digital was two-fold: to assess the Council’s arrangements to secure value for money and that they were in accordance with the sustainable development principle under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Audit Wales found that the Council was developing a strategic approach to digital, yet had not clarified the resources required to deliver it or its monitoring arrangements. There were weaknesses, too, in the Council’s approach to partnership working and auditors had arrived at that conclusion because the Council was drawing on a wide range of evidence to inform its digital strategy, but had not yet involved residents. To address these findings, Audit Wales made five recommendations to the Council and stated their intention to follow-up on the progress of their implementation in a future audit programme. The Head of ICT then set out the Council’s response to the recommendations on page 240 of the Committee report. Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussion were: · With regard to the fourth recommendation on resources, Mr Martin Veale asked whether the 31 March 2024 deadline for completing planned actions was realistic, to which the Head of ICT declared he was confident that they would be delivered by this date. Given the current economic climate, pressures on the ICT service, including budget reduction and staff retention, and wider pressures on the Council, he advised that he was unable to confirm whether the strategy could be fully costed in the way Committee would like as components of the digital strategy use a lot of internal developer time. · The Chair, making reference to a recurring theme in the meeting of partnership working across the 22 local authorities in Wales to reduce duplication and overlap, questioned whether there was a reluctance to work together. The Head of ICT indicated a lot of collaborative work was taking place across the country through the Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation (SOCTIM) representative body and the Centre for Digital Public Services. He illustrated with an example of Pembrokeshire working in partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to develop web pages and resources on the cost of living crisis, which were then shared with other councils in Wales. · Councillor Michael Stoddart, queried whether the advancements in ICT had led to similar improvements in productivity across the Authority, to which the Head of ICT elaborated on the introduction of the hybrid work structure and digitisation of the Housing Service that was expected to go live in April 2024. The advantage of digitising this service would allow the customer to start transacting digitally with the Council that would, in turn, alleviate pressure on the Contact Centre and release capacity to serve other areas of the business. Moved byCouncillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded byCouncillor Guy Woodham. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Committee noted the findings of the Audit Wales Local Report ‘Digital Strategy Review – Pembrokeshire County Council’ and considered the Council’s response to the recommendations made.
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