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MINISTERS SHOULD INTERVENE INANGLESEY COUNCIL
Auditor General calls for urgent action to address
serious problems
PRESS RELEASEEmbargoed until 00:01 hrs, 15 July 2009
The Isle of Anglesey County Council has a long history of not
being properly run,which has had a corrosive effect on the way it
delivers its work and leaves it poorlyplaced to meet future
challenges. That is the conclusion of the Auditor Generalscorporate
governance inspection report, which is published today. It details
long-standing problems at the Council and makes a number of
recommendations forimprovement including a call for Assembly
Government Ministers to intervene inthe affairs of the Council
under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999.
Even though there are good features in the performance of many
services, todaysreport highlights internal issues such as weak
self-regulation, inappropriate behaviourand conflict at the Council
which have been left largely unaddressed since it wasestablished
1996 despite a number of previous external reviews.
There is a history of personality politics based around
mistrust, suspicion andpersonal animosity. Attempting to deal with
it saps a huge amount of energy anddistracts people, including
successive Managing Directors, from the major issues ofproviding
the Council with a real sense of direction, a strategy for
continuousimprovement and a means of achieving efficiency savings
at a time of increasingfinancial constraint.
While the former Managing Director made efforts to reduce
conflict and improvebehaviour, there has been no consistent
corporate focus on addressing these issuesand the approach has been
reactive. The majority of councillors are well motivated intheir
approach to Council business and it important to recognise their
contribution,but their efforts have not been enough to counteract
poor behaviour by a smallnumber of councillors over a significant
period of time.
Conflict has led to a rift between political and managerial
leadership, preventing thecorporate management team from exercising
its legitimate role of challenging andsupporting members in
developing policy and direction. Also, twelve months after the
current Executive came into power there is still no agreed sense
of direction orcomprehensive and consistent policy framework.
Successive administrations havebeen characterised by the pursuit of
a number of internally focussed issues.
Weak political group structures contribute to a lack of control
and sanction at theCouncil. Weak self regulation has also created a
culture that not only toleratesinappropriate behaviour but is seen
by some to reward it. The Councils reputation
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has been seriously damaged by these problems, which has
undermined publicconfidence in the Councils ability to run its
affairs properly.
The Auditor General makes seven recommendations directly to the
Council forimprovement, including calls for it to:
Amend its political arrangements within 12 months, setting clear
strategicpriorities and direction;
Re-structure senior management within 6 months to address
deficiencies withcorporate leadership;
Take immediate steps to restore trust between some members and
somesenior officers;
Improve planning decisions within three months; Make
arrangements for improving citizen engagement by the end of 2009;
Improve the way it responds to complaints by 31 March 2010; and
Make arrangements for strengthening corporate services within six
months.
Auditor General, Jeremy Colman, said today:Serious, persistent
problems at the Isle of Anglesey Council urgently needaddressing
now if it is to restore its reputation, win back public trust and
set a positivecourse for the future. But its history convinces me
that it will be unable on its own todeliver the scale and pace of
change that is needed. That is why I am calling onAssembly
Government Ministers to intervene and to provide the necessary
externalsupport and challenge that Anglesey Council needs to help
place it onto a firmer,more successful, footing.
Notes to Editors:
This corporate governance inspection report sets out to answer
the questionIs the Isle of Anglesey Council properly run? The
inspection was carried outduring April 2009.
The Auditor General decided to carry out this inspection
following arecommendation from the Appointed Auditor in the January
2009 AnnualLetter.
The inspection was carried out under section 10A of the Local
GovernmentAct 1999. The Act enables the Auditor General to
recommend to the WelshMinisters to give a direction to a council
where he believes as a result of aninspection that the council is
failing to comply with the requirements of Part I
of the Act to secure continuous improvement in the way in which
its functionsare exercised, having regard to a combination of
economy, efficiency andeffectiveness.
The Wales Audit Office is independent of government and is
responsible forthe annual audit of some 20 billion of annual public
expenditure.
The Wales Audit Office was created on 1 April 2005 following the
passing ofthe Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004, which expanded the
functions of theAuditor General for Wales and enabled the transfer
of staff from the AuditCommission in Wales and National Audit
Office in Wales to his employment.
EndsFor more information please contact Rachel Moss on 029 2032
0521 or [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
