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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report; 2. To review the Council’s draft response to the areas for improvement / recommendations included within the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report and provide recommendations on the draft response, as deemed appropriate; and 3. To note that the Final Report, the Council’s response to the areas for improvement / recommendations and recommendations from the Governance and Audit Committee, as deemed appropriate, will be presented to a future meeting of Full Council and thereafter published in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee and apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillor A Ellis and Mr J Roszkowski.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report; 2. To review the Council’s draft response to the areas for improvement / recommendations included within the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report and provide recommendations on the draft response, as deemed appropriate; and 3. To note that the Final Report, the Council’s response to the areas for improvement / recommendations and recommendations from the Governance and Audit Committee, as deemed appropriate, will be presented to a future meeting of Full Council and thereafter published in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Chief Executive and the Service Director of Audit, Performance and Transformational Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with the key headlines and areas for improvement following the Panel Performance Assessment (PPA), which took place in October 2025. The Chief Executive informed the Committee of the Panel’s overall conclusion that Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council was a well-run and ambitious Local Authority, with a strong and effective leadership and a committed and capable workforce. The Panel further concluded that the Council is exercising the functions against the performance duties within the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. In terms of the three areas for improvement / recommendations reported as part of the PPA, Members were informed that these had been fully accepted by the Council, and detailed responses on actions to be taken to support implementation were set out in Appendix B to the report for consideration. The Chair thanked officers for the report and having reviewed the findings and conclusions, the Chair felt that the picture presented was consistent with key updates presented to the Governance and Audit Committee during the year covering the Council’s Annual Government Statement, Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report and the draft Statement of Accounts. The Chair stated that the updates from Officers had set out evidenced based conclusions of robust governance and internal controls being in place across the Council, with this position correlating with the Panel’s conclusions and findings in terms of there being no recommendations to report for effective governance; the Council is effectively utilising its resources and there being strong financial management and budgetary planning in place; and in overall terms that the Council is exercising its functions against the performance duties as per the Local Government and Elections Act. With regard to the areas of focus identified by the Council for the Panel to look at in more detail and the Panel’s three areas for improvement and recommendations, the Chair was satisfied that the detailed responses set out by the Council would support implementation of the recommendations and was assured that these areas were already key priorities for the Council as identified within its Annual Self-Assessment report. One Member noted the excellent feedback from the Panel and commended the Local Authority for its work. The Member questioned what arrangements will be in place to implement and monitor the actions to be taken by the Council in response to the report’s recommendations. The Director of Financial Services and Transformation advised that, as part of the Council’s arrangements to compiling the response, relevant officers had been engaged to ensure that appropriate and timely actions will be taken, and this will help and inform the Council in its delivery of the recommendations set out in the PPA report. The Director added that the actions and timescales will be incorporated into the Council’s service delivery planning and monitoring arrangements to enable progress to be monitored and reported. One Member spoke of the positive messages contained within the report and commented that it had been pleasing and reassuring. In terms of the recommendation made in respect of resources, the Member questioned what part workforce, digital and data need to play to support transformation change across the Council. The Member also questioned if, based on the conclusions, there would be any changes made to the Council’s Strategic Risk Register. In terms of the Council’s Strategic Risk Register, the Service Director of Audit, Performance and Transformational Services advised that it is kept under on-going review and, where required, updated, and the Member was assured that as part of the arrangements to implement the PPA recommendations risk owners will be engaged to consider any changes to the Strategic Risk Register, as deemed appropriate. In respect of the resources recommendation which had arisen from the Panel Performance Assessment, the Director of Financial Services and Transformation advised that the approach would focus on building upon the solid foundations put in place over several years and the positive track record of service delivery and service transformation, during a prolonged period of very challenging funding settlements. The Director went on to relay the need to continue to learn from experiences gained alongside on-going engage with residents and communities and also utilising the Council’s evaluative approach to inform medium to long-term service planning and delivery. In terms of workforce, digital and data, the Director spoke of the Council’s robust strategies in place, which would be kept under on-going review and updated where required. The Director then provided further information in respect of the workforce and explained that a key area of focus would be around further reinforcing resilience as services manage increased demand, complexity of need and increasing emergency incidents, such as adverse weather events, and also continuing to address challenges to recruiting to specialist roles and succession planning. In respect of digital and data, the Director spoke of the need to support services to identify and further optimise the benefits from digitisation, from both a resident and Council perspective, and the need to continue to develop arrangements as part of being a data led organisation to further enhance service planning and management. The Director advised Members that the Council would seek to refresh its Digital Strategy in 2026, to underpin the on-going programme of transformation work across the Council. The Vice-Chair echoed the sentiments of other Members and took the opportunity to thank all involved in the process. The Vice-Chair noted that the Council’s updated Transformation Plan would be a key strategy and programme of work to support the delivery of on-going transformation of services for residents and communities and queried the key risks to delivering such work. The Vice also questioned what part the Internal Audit Service would play in contributing to this key area of work. In terms of the key risks faced by the Council, the Chief Executive spoke of the uncertainty around National and Welsh Government settlement levels and anticipated that the challenging financial climate would be ongoing for a number of years, set in the context of the current National political environment. The Chief Executive went on to note the on-going impact of cost-of-living pressures across services and communities, and demand led pressures and increases in complexity of need, particularly in areas such as social care, homelessness and education. The Chief Executive added it was reassuring to note the PPA report had concluded that the Council was in a strong position to address these significant challenges. The Chief Executive then spoke of the robust and disciplined financial management and service planning arrangements in place within the Council, which provide opportunity for officers to plan ahead, manage change and transformation and carefully manage risk. Referring to the outcome of the PPA, the Chief Executive noted that the planning and performance framework enables the Council to know itself well and to have a clear understanding of its future opportunities and challenges. Furthermore, the Chief Executive spoke of the Council’s open and transparent and ‘Team RCT’ approach to tackling challenges, clear decision making, leadership and inclusive culture, all of which the Chief Executive felt placed the Council in a positive position to managing such risks. In terms of the role of the Internal Audit Service, the Service Director of Audit, Performance and Transformational Services advised that the service would provide an objective opinion in respect of how well each risk is managed and would utilise the Strategic Risk Register to inform its work for the year. In terms of the final Panel Performance Assessment report, the officer advised that the document would be used as a source of information during the planning stage for next year’s internal audit plan. Following the response from the Service Director, one Member questioned what role the Governance and Audit Committee would have in scrutinising the Council’s progress to implement the recommendations. The Service Director informed the Committee that at year-end, the Council would compile its Annual Self-Assessment report as required by the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and present it to the Governance and Audit Committee for review prior to it being presented to full Council for consideration and, if appropriate, approval. As part of the report, officers would incorporate a progress update on the areas for improvement / recommendations contained within the PPA report. One Member sought further clarity in respect of the impact and outcomes arising from the assessment and noted that the report recognised the commitment in place across the Council to support the well-being of its residents, and the on-going focus to engage with communities. The Member questioned what the next stage of work would be, to make this more effective and if there were any key risks or challenges. As a Member of the HDRC, the Member suggested that this was an area in which the Committee could link into and focus on to support the Council. The Director of Financial Services and Transformation advised that the approach would build upon the strong arrangements already in place and emphasised the importance of planning a programme of on-going work that ensures the Council continues to engage and work side by side with its residents and communities; understand their current and future needs and develop shared outcomes; and to help them to develop the means and resilience to do as much as possible for themselves, in line with the Council’s Corporate Plan well-being objectives. As part of this, the Director spoke of the need for focus on preventative activity and evidencing outcomes; data / information that helps the Council to plan ahead and evaluate the impact of service delivery; continued open and transparent service delivery and decision making; and sound scrutiny arrangements. In terms of the HDRC, the Director was in agreement in respect of its role and on-going close working across Council services on a number of projects. Appreciating that there may not be a definitive answer, the Chair questioned if there were any thoughts on where the Council would be in five years’ time, when it embarks on its next PPA. The Chief Executive provided feedback and indicated that the Local Authority would continue to be ambitious, innovative and forward thinking and the focus would continue to be on ensuring that the Council is a financially stable organisation that uses its resources efficiently and echoed earlier comments in relation to helping to ensure Rhondda Cynon Taf communities are resilient and are able to thrive. The Chief Executive agreed with earlier comments in that the HDRC had been a key driver for the Council in terms of providing evidence-based research, which would be invaluable in supporting the development of a best practice approach. Furthermore, the Chief Executive spoke of taking the time and changing the conversation with the Council’s partners in terms of the definition of a resilient community to ensure a cohesive approach going forward. The Chair thanked the officers and Members for the robust discussion and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report; 2. To review the Council’s draft response to the areas for improvement / recommendations included within the Panel Performance Assessment Final Report and provide recommendations on the draft response, as deemed appropriate; and 3. To note that the Final Report, the Council’s response to the areas for improvement / recommendations and recommendations from the Governance and Audit Committee, as deemed appropriate, will be presented to a future meeting of Full Council and thereafter published in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
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