The constitution, councillors' conduct, audit, performance and complaints.
What councils do
How the council itself is run: its constitution, staff, buildings, IT, complaints, and how councillors behave.
Who decides
The full Council agrees the constitution. A standards committee deals with councillors' conduct; the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales investigates complaints.
Having a say
Complain to the council first; if you're not satisfied, you can go to the Ombudsman. Council meetings are public, and many are broadcast.
In numbers
Welsh councils plan to spend £67 per person on this in 2026-27.
It ranges from -£4 in Monmouthshire to £167 in Blaenau Gwent.
Council tax collected: 95% across Wales (2025-26).
Council tax unpaid at the end of the year: £119 million across Wales (2025-26).
Council tax still owed from earlier years: £199.3 million across Wales (2025-26).
Council tax written off: £9 million across Wales (2025-26).
RESOLVED – T H A T the Scrutiny Committee Annual Report be amended to
reflect the Committee’s satisfaction, following assessment, that the statutory duties
placed on Group Leaders have been met.
Reason for decision
Having regard to discussions held at the meeting with political Group Leaders on
the completion of the Group Leader code of conduct compliance pro-formas, the
Vale of Glamorgan Political Group Leader Threshold Criteria, and the proposals
set out in paragraphs 2.3 to 2.8 of the Part I report.
Minutes - AR
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T the recruitment and selection arrangements as described for the
three positions in the body of the report be approved.
(2) T H A T delegated authority be granted to the Chief Executive, in
consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, Service Director and Head of
Human Resources and Organisational Development to progress:
• advertising the positions;
• progressing the necessary arrangements for long-listing and any necessary
assessment of candidates in advance of shortlisting;
• drawing up a final short-list for interviews, the interviews of which would be
undertaken by future meetings of this Committee, and to;
• agree costings and resource requirements relating to the processes
required to pursue the recruitment and selection processes.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To ensure the appointments are progressed in accordance with the
requirements of the Council's Constitution.
(2) To allow matters to be progressed in advance of the final stage of
recruitment.
RESOLVED – T H A T the comments of the Governance and Audit Committee be
referred to Cabinet alongside the comments from the Corporate Performance and
Resources Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 17th April, 2024. The key comments
of the Governance and Audit Committee being:
• Projects could be impacted, and costs increased if the Council did not have
adequate resources and capacity.
• Members of the public required greater accountability around the challenges
that the project faced, and greater Scrutiny should have been carried out.
• At the start of any project, the Council needed to ensure that it had the right
expertise in place from all relevant service areas, including Commissioning,
Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance and Legal.
• The proposed budget for the Oracle system at its inception appeared
insufficient as it did not include archiving, contingency etc.
• The Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee and the
Governance and Audit Committee should have been made aware of issues
sooner and provided assurance in respect of the control environment.
• The Lessons Learnt review document needed to the cascaded widely
throughout the organisation.
• A workshop for members should be arranged to understand how the 59
recommendations would be implemented.
Reason for decision
Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.
RESOLVED – T H A T the contents of the report be noted.
Reason for decision
Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.
RESOLVED – T H A T the relevant Directors / Heads of Service for the three limited
assurance audits (Debtors, Residential Homes – food stock control and Leisure
Centres – contract and performance management) be requested to provide an
update report in six months’ time.
Reason for decision
Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.
RESOLVED – T H A T the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure (Cabinet Minute
No. C260, 29th February, 2024 (as set out in Section 15.14.2(ii) of the Council’s
Constitution) be noted.
Reason for decision
The reporting of the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure is a requirement of the
Council’s Constitution.
CAPITAL STRATEGY 12024/25 AND FINAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME PROPOSALS 2024/25 TO 2028/29 (REF)
RESOLVED – T H A T the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure (Cabinet Minute
No. C261, 29th February, 2024 (as set out in Section 15.14.2(ii) of the Council’s
Constitution) be noted.
Reason for decision
The reporting of the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure is a requirement of the
Council’s Constitution.
TREASURY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY 2024/25 AND UPDATE 2023/24 (REF)
RESOLVED – T H A T the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure (Cabinet Minute
No. C262, 29th February, 2024 (as set out in Section 15.14.2(ii) of the Council’s
Constitution) be noted.
Reason for decision
The reporting of the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure is a requirement of the
Council’s Constitution.
STRATEGIC EQUALITY PLAN 2024-25 (REF)
RESOLVED – T H A T the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure (Cabinet Minute
No. C292, 21st March, 2024 (as set out in Section 15.14.2(ii) of the Council’s
Constitution) be noted.
Reason for decision
The reporting of the use of the Urgent Decision Procedure is a requirement of the
Council’s Constitution.
RESOLVED – T H A T the use of the Chief Executive’s Emergency Powers as
contained within the report be noted.
Reason for decision
Having regard to the Council’s Constitution.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T interviews be undertaken under Part II of the agenda in relation to
the post of Head of Legal and Democratic Services / Monitoring Officer and for
Elected Members of the Committee to make a final determination to appoint a
suitable candidate.
(2) T H A T residual appointment details be delegated, as appropriate, to the
Chief Executive, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, should
a suitable applicant be confirmed by Elected Members of the Committee.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To ensure an appointment to the post was conducted in accordance with
the Council's Constitution.
(2) To ensure that all Council functions were met within this area.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T interviews be undertaken under Part II of the agenda in relation to
the post of Director of Learning and Skills and for Elected Members of the
Committee to make a final determination to appoint a suitable candidate.
(2) T H A T residual appointment details be delegated, as appropriate, to the
Chief Executive, in consultation with the Director of Corporate Resources, should
a suitable applicant be confirmed by Elected Members of the Committee.
Reasons for decisions
(1) To ensure an appointment to the post was conducted in accordance with
the Council's Constitution.
(2) To ensure that all Council functions were met within this area.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T the contents of the report and the provisional final position of the
2023/24 Internal Audit Annual Risk Based Plan, be noted.
(2) T H A T the relevant Directors / Heads of Service for the three limited
assurance audits identified within paragraph 2.6 of the report relating to Leisure
Centres, Debtors and Residential Homes, be requested to attend the next meeting of
the Governance and Audit Committee to provide a report and update on the actions
being taken in response to the recommendations following the review of Internal
Audit.
Reasons for decisions
(1) Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.
(2) In order for the Governance and Audit Committee to be provided with an
update in relation to the three limited assurance audits highlighted within paragraph
2.6 of the report.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T the Statement of Compliance with the Financial Management Code
and the contents of the review, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be noted.
(2) T H A T Cabinet be advised of the view of the Governance and Audit
Committee for the current financial position of the Council, as well as the possible
implications and future challenges facing the Council in achieving a balanced budget
for forthcoming years, be highlighted.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.
RESOLVED –
(1) T H A T the findings arising from the review of the Council’s Digital Strategy
(Appendix A to the report), the response of the review findings and Audit Wales’
recommendations (Appendix B to the report) be noted.
(2) T H A T the Governance and Audit Committee receive an update report in six
months’ time as part of the revised monitoring schedule and for any issues and
areas of slippage to be highlighted within the report.
Reason for decisions
(1&2) Having regard to the contents of the report and discussions at the meeting.