Isle of Anglsesy County Council Preliminary Corporate Assess Rnglish

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Isle of Anglesey County CouncilReport by the Auditor General for WalesPreliminary Corporate Assessment –

September 2010



Isle of Anglesey County Council has responded

positively to Ministerial intervention but much

work remains to implement plans and thenembed the modernisation of its corporate

arrangements and to assure the sustainability

of improvement.

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This document has been prepared for the internal use of the Isle of Anglesey County Council as part

of work performed in accordance with statutory functions, the Code of Audit Practice and the

Statement of Responsibilities issued by the Auditor General for Wales.

No responsibility is taken by the Wales Audit Office (the Auditor General and her staff) and, where

applicable, the appointed auditor in relation to any member, director, officer or other employee in

their individual capacity, or to any third party.

In the event of receiving a request for information to which this document may be relevant, attention

is drawn to the Code of Practice issued under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The section 45 Code sets out the practice in the handling of requests that is expected of public

authorities, including consultation with relevant third parties. In relation to this document, the Auditor

General for Wales (and, where applicable, her appointed auditor) is a relevant third party. Any

enquiries regarding disclosure or re-use of this document should be sent to the Wales Audit Office at

[email protected].

Wales Audit Office

24 Cathedral Road

Cardiff

CF11 9LJ

Tel: 029 2032 0500

Fax: 029 2032 0600

Textphone: 029 2032 0660

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.wao.gov.uk



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Summary 4

Part 1: How the Council has approached improvement over

time 7

Many of the foundations are in place to address

longstanding weaknesses but the sustainability of

improvements remains in doubt 7

Following a long history of not being properly run, Welsh Ministers issued

a direction in 2009, appointing an Interim Managing Director to lead the

Council’s response and a Recovery Board to monitor its compliance 7

The Council has responded positively to the externally-imposed agenda

for change and is putting in place the foundations for improvement but

much work remains 8

Tensions between councillors continue to emerge and it is too soon to be

confident that the Council will make a sustainable recovery 9

Part 2: Analysis of the Council’s arrangements to help itimprove 11

Decisive leadership is beginning to improve governancebut much work remains to implement plans and then embedthe modernisation of the Council’s corporate arrangements 11

The Interim Managing Director, supported by the Recovery Board, is

promoting structural and cultural improvements to the Council’s

governance, but it is too early to judge whether these will be sustained 11

The Council generally works well with partners to deliver a wide range of

services but has limited information about the costs and benefits of

partnership working 13

The Council’s policy and strategy framework is not yet sufficiently clear

and consistent to support the coherent planning of staff and resources,

and the introduction of better business processes 14

The Council acknowledges that people management is weak and is

hindering improvement, and has begun to address the issue 16

Contents



Summary

1 The Auditor General is required by theLocal Government (Wales) Measure(2009) (the Measure) to undertake anannual Improvement Assessment for each improvement authority in Wales,that is local councils, national parksand fire and rescue authorities.

2 In order to fulfil this requirement theWales Audit Office will undertake:

a Corporate Assessment –an assessment of an authority’sarrangements to secure continuousimprovement; and

a Performance Assessment –an assessment of whether anauthority has achieved its plannedimprovements.

3 The approach is designed to enablea whole organisation assessment at

each council to be undertaken in astandardised way. Taken together these two assessments will form thebasis of an annual report to citizens,known as the Annual ImprovementReport.

4 The Auditor General has broughttogether her work, that of the Appointed Auditor, and that of other relevant regulators, to inform theCorporate Assessment. As this is thefirst year of a new approach theassessment is a preliminary one andthis report should be viewed as aprogress report. The AnnualImprovement Report will also serveas an update for the Corporate Assessment.

5 In March 2010, the Auditor Generalidentified the scale of the financialchallenge facing public services inWales in a report to the National Assembly ‘A Picture of PublicServices.’ The potential impact of spending reductions on localgovernment has also been highlightedby the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), the CharteredInstitute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Societyof Local Authority Chief Executives(SOLACE). In evidence to National Assembly Public Accounts Committeein June 2010, the WLGA noted, ‘thereis no escaping the fact that all parts of the public sector will have to examinecurrent expenditure and serviceprovision – the shortfall cannot besolved by efficiencies alone’. To meetthis challenge, local authorities mustfundamentally review the services they

provide and how they are delivered,including considering options for working in collaboration and increasingthe commissioning of services rather than their direct provision. It is in thiscontext that the corporate assessmenthas been prepared.

6 This report sets out the findings of theCorporate Assessment only and isdesigned to answer the question:

‘Are the Council’s arrangements likelyto secure continuous improvement?’

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7 As this is our Preliminary Corporate Assessment, there are several areaswhere only limited work has beenpossible. We will continue to build on

this report by monitoring progress incoming months to provide an update inour Annual Improvement Report to beissued in November.

8 The conclusion arising from our firstCorporate Assessment is that:

The Council has respondedpositively to Ministerial interventionbut much work remains toimplement plans and then embedthe modernisation of its corporatearrangement and to assure thesustainability of improvement.

9 We based our conclusion on our assessment of the Council’s progressover time and an analysis of thestrengths and weaknesses of itsarrangements to support improvement.These conclusions are explained indetail in Part 1 and Part 2 of the reportrespectively. We found that:

many of the foundations are in place toaddress longstanding weaknesses butthe sustainability of improvementremains in doubt; and

decisive leadership is beginning toimprove governance but much workremains to implement plans and thenembed the modernisation of theCouncil’s corporate arrangements.

Special inspection

10 Based on the Corporate Assessment,the Auditor General does not, at

present, intend to carry out a SpecialInspection of the Council under section21 of the Measure or to recommendthat Welsh Ministers should provideassistance to the Council by exercisingtheir power under section 28 of theMeasure or give a direction under section 29 of the Measure. However,the Auditor General may review thisdecision at any time should there beevidence that the Council’s recoveryhas stalled. In light of the findings of

this Preliminary Corporate Assessment, the Auditor General is of the view that the existing Ministerialdirection should remain in force.

Recommendations

11 The Wales Audit Office CorporateGovernance Report, issued in July2009, included a number of significantrecommendations. The Council hasmade significant progress in

addressing these recommendationsbut much remains to be done toimplement plans in full. There willsubsequently need to be a period inwhich changes are embedded acrossthe Council so that they result insustainable improvement. We do notrepeat these recommendations in thisreport but note that responding to themremains a priority for the Council. The Auditor General has not made anyfurther formal recommendations for

improvement for the Council under section 19 of the Measure.

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Areas for improvement

12 Our assessment has identified areaswhere we propose that the Council

should consider taking action. We notethat the Council’s 2010-11Improvement Plan, published in July2010, includes actions that mayaddress some of these areas for improvement.

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Exhibit 1: Areas for improvement

P1 The Council should improve public access

to its proceedings by:publishing on its website well in advance

of each meeting the agenda and all non-

exempt papers for meetings of the

Council and its committees; and

ensuring that minutes of such meetingsare published without delay.

P2 The Council should develop and implement

consistently across all services a clear

approach to risk management that is linkedto its performance management

arrangements.

P3 The Council, both singly and with its

partners, should define clear sets of

measures in order to assess more robustly

its progress in addressing its improvementobjectives.

P4 The Council should better integrate the use

of financial and performance information inorder to provide a more comprehensive

picture of service performance.

P5 In order to ensure that those representingthe Council in positions of responsibility are

accountable for their performance, the

Council should:

develop and implement consistentlyacross all services a system for the

appraisal of officers; and

implement the emerging arrangements

for the appraisal of elected members,

focusing predominantly on their

performance in carrying out their specificroles and more generally as committee

members.

P6 The Council should develop and implement

a strategy before the 2012 elections to

inform citizens about the role andresponsibilities of the modern councillor

and, in so doing, promote greater diversity

within the Council.



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Many of the foundations

are in place to address

longstanding weaknesses

but the sustainability of

improvements remains in

doubt

13 There has been substantial progresssince the publication of the CorporateGovernance Inspection report in July2009 in terms of improving theeffectiveness of the Council’sdemocratic functions, but this progresshas not been smooth. The work of addressing some other key areas isonly just beginning. Interruptionsabsorb officer time and set back theCouncil’s real purpose, that of securinghigh quality services for Angleseyresidents, in line with clearly defined

policies. At a time of severe financialconstraint, it is even more importantthat the Council is sufficiently settled tobe able to focus clearly on the difficultchoices that lie ahead.

14 The Council’s political leaders andsenior managers should therefore drawsome satisfaction from the progressmade to date, but should be under noillusion that most of the improvementagenda lies ahead; structural and

cultural changes remain to be tested intaking the difficult decisions needed inorder to address that agenda.

Following a long history of not

being properly run, Welsh Ministers

issued a direction in 2009,

appointing an Interim Managing

Director to lead the Council’s

response and a Recovery Board to

monitor its compliance

15 Following a breakdown of

communication and trust between thethen Executive and CorporateManagement Team, and a poor trackrecord in terms of responding toprevious recommendations, the Wales Audit Office conducted a CorporateGovernance Inspection of the Councilin 2009. The inspection found that theCouncil had a long history of not beingproperly run. The resulting reportincluded seven recommendations tothe Council, relating to longstandingissues of governance and weaknesses

in corporate arrangements that theCouncil had failed to address over many years.

16 As a result of the inspection, andacting on the recommendation of the Auditor General, the Minister for SocialJustice and Local Government issueda direction to the Council in August2009. The direction will remain in forceuntil September 2011, but may beextended or curtailed by the Minister.

A highly experienced Interim ManagingDirector took up post in October and aRecovery Board, appointed by theMinister, began its work of monitoringthe Council’s progress.

Part 1: How the Council has approached

improvement over time



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17 Since 2 October 2009, the RecoveryBoard has met on seven occasions,reporting after each meeting to theMinister. The Board has also

conducted individual interviews withalmost all councillors, observed arange of Council and committeemeetings and held discussions withsenior officers. The Wales Audit Officehas been represented at all RecoveryBoard meetings as an observer. Inorder to avoid duplicating the work of the Board, we have drawn heavily onthe evidence submitted to it inproducing this report.

18On 30 September 2009, the Appointed Auditor issued an unqualified auditor’sreport on the financial statements,confirming that they had been preparedin accordance with statutoryrequirements and that they presentedfairly the Council’s transactions and itsfinancial position.

19 In December 2009, the Auditor Generaland the Appointed Auditor issued an Annual Letter on the Council’s financialstatements, corporate arrangements

and performance. The Letter drew onthe findings of the earlier CorporateGovernance Inspection and other work,and concluded that:

reviews of services and corporatearrangements indicated that theCouncil needed to address manysignificant weaknesses and had apoor record in responding to therecommendations of externalregulators; and

the Council had appropriatearrangements to administer andreport financial matters but did nothave appropriate arrangements tosecure value for money in its use of resources in 2008-09.

The Council has responded

positively to the externally-imposed

agenda for change and is putting in

place the foundations for improvement but much work

remains

20 With the support of the RecoveryBoard and the WLGA, the Council hasbegun to address systematically all therecommendations made in the 2009Corporate Governance Inspection. Inparticular:

the working relationship between

the Executive and senior management has been restored;and

procedural improvements to thework of the Planning Committeehave increased the transparency of decision-making.

21 The work of addressing other recommendations is well underway;the Council has developed proposalsfor improvement, as required, but it is

too early to evaluate the impact andsustainability of the work. In addition,the Interim Managing Director hasanalysed the issues the Council facesand has identified a clear programmeof priorities to improve the Council’sgovernance and management.

22 The conduct of councillors in meetingshas generally improved, with lesspersonalised animosity than in thepast. Group Leaders have accepted

responsibility for the behaviour of their members and have acted robustlywhen necessary. The action of GroupLeaders introduces a necessaryelement of self regulation into theconduct of Council business.



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23 There have also been constitutionalchanges, including the formation of anew scrutiny committee structure andagreement that opposition groups

should chair certain committees. Thisagreement has the potential to reducethe ‘winner takes all’ culture that hadpreviously tended to marginaliseopposition groups and had contributedto the frequent realignment of politicalallegiances in order to gain power.

24 There have also been improvements inbusiness planning and in beginning toclarify the Council’s priorities. However,much remains to be done in

completing the implementation of plansand in embedding these improvementsin the Council’s day-to-day work. Therehas been much preparatory work, for example, in order to improve the rolesof corporate functions such as HumanResources (HR) and in extending theeffectiveness of senior managers interms of their corporate leadership.Further plans are in place. However,such work requires significant culturalchange and it is too early, therefore, toevaluate its impact.

Tensions between councillors

continue to emerge and it is too

soon to be confident that the

Council will make a sustainable

recovery

25 While there has been progresstowards improving the way in whichcouncillors fulfil their roles, there havealso been setbacks which have

undermined the Council Leader’sposition. For the most part, thesesetbacks have been handleddecisively, with two councillors beingexpelled from what was, until June2010, the Leader’s group. Other GroupLeaders have supported the Leader and the improvement programme byagreeing not to accept the expelledcouncillors as members of their groups.

26 However, in June 2010, the largestpolitical group within the Council brokein two, with only a small minority of itsmembers remaining loyal to the

Leader. This rift suggests that theproblems of the past are not yetresolved. Thirty-six of the Council’s 40members now form six political groups,with the remaining four members beingunaffiliated. Four of the six groups nowcomprise competing factions of independent councillors.

27 A new ruling alliance of four groupshas formed but, with only 20 members,the alliance is necessarily fragile,

especially in view of the Council’shistory of frequent politicalreconfigurations in the pursuit of power. Though he has retained thesupport of other groups within thealliance and remains in post, theLeader’s group now comprises onlyfour members.

28 The Terms of Engagement for the newpolitical alliance set out as its keyprinciple the wish to marginalise thetype of conduct that has, in the past,

hindered the Council’s progress. Whilethere is little proposed change in theCouncil’s strategic direction, the Termsof Engagement focus heavily on therequirement of its members to putaside all historical issues, and to‘...isolate those who have consistentlyblocked progress and, by their actions,have refused to embrace new ways of working.’ The Terms of Engagementalso require members of the alliance to‘publicly and robustly condemn’ two

named councillors by supporting theCouncil in reporting these members tothe Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for alleged breaches of theMembers’ Code of Conduct.



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29 These Terms of Engagement haveproved controversial. Members of theopposition groups have reported thatthey are reluctant to express views that

are contrary to those of the Executivein case they are branded astroublemakers. Opposition groupleaders have received assurance thatthe aim of the Terms of Engagement isnot to stifle legitimate political debate.However, it is too soon to be confidentthat these new political arrangementsare sustainable. The continuedoversight of the Recovery Board andthe possibility of further Ministerialintervention promote stability but,

without these, there is a significant riskthat there would be further politicalchanges, absorbing more officer timeand deflecting the Council fromaddressing the issues it faces inmodernising its services.



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Decisive leadership is

beginning to improve

governance but much

work remains to

implement plans and then

embed the modernisation

of the Council’s corporate

arrangements

The Interim Managing Director,

supported by the Recovery Board,

is promoting structural and cultural

improvements to the Council’s

governance, but it is too early to

judge whether these will be

sustained

30 The Interim Managing Director hasbrought a great deal of knowledge andexperience to the role. Selected by theMinister and appointed by the Council,he is perceived as being independentand therefore removed from theCouncil’s troubled history. Councillorsand senior officers alike haveacknowledged the positive role he hasplayed in setting in motion theCouncil’s recovery.

31The Interim Managing Director hasshown both shrewdness and tenacityin his approach to his task. Though ledby the recommendations of the 2009Corporate Governance Inspection, hehas added his own analysis of theissues the Council faces and hasidentified a clear programme of priorities to improve the Council’sgovernance and management.

32 The Council has established arecovery plan to address thesepriorities and has implemented five of the seven recommendations from theCorporate Governance Inspectionreport in full. However, the leadershipacknowledges that considerably morework remains in order to ensure thatthe proposals developed in responseto the recommendations are fullyimplemented in a way that achieveslasting impact, though many importantbuilding blocks have been put in place.The proposed timescales for someaspects may be over-ambitious,particularly in the light of the Council’sfinancial constraints. Nevertheless, thework of improving the corporateleadership role of the CorporateManagement Team has begun, withsignificant implications for the roles of other service managers.

33 In beginning to implement its recoveryplan, the first priority has been theneed to improve the effectiveness withwhich councillors conduct their business. The Interim ManagingDirector has rightly identified the needfor councillors themselves to takeownership of this process if improvement is to be sustained, andthat the role of the leaders of politicalgroups in maintaining momentum isthe key to success. In doing so, he has

provided strong support to thecomparatively inexperienced CouncilLeader. With this support, the Leader has taken decisive action against twoof his group members and has gainedthe support of other group leaders tohelp enforce his decisions. Cross-partysupport for difficult decisions such asthis represents significant progress indeveloping a Council with the capacityto regulate the conduct of its ownmembers.

Part 2: Analysis of the Council’s arrangements to

help it improve



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34 The improved group discipline hascontributed to better standards of behaviour and quality of debate in theCouncil chamber, even on potentially

controversial issues such as theagreement of the budget. However,there remains some resentment amongmembers of the opposition. Thisresentment has contributed to thefracturing of the largest political group,with only a small minority remainingloyal to the Leader. As a result, a newbut fragile ruling alliance has formed,as reported in Part 1 of this PreliminaryCorporate Assessment. The stabilityand sustainability of the initial

improvements therefore remain indoubt.

35 Members of the Recovery Board haveinterviewed almost all councillors andhave found that many of the views andperceptions that prevailed at the timeof the Corporate GovernanceInspection persist. Most councillorscontinue to see their primary role asrepresenting their wards rather thantaking a wider, more strategic view of the island as a whole. At the time of

the interviews, there remained awidespread perception that councillorswere selected for positions of responsibility and the associatedallowances on a ‘grace and favour’basis and without due regard for their skills and experience. The subsequentdecision to allocate the chair of somescrutiny committees to oppositionmembers goes some way towardsaddressing this perception.

36 The Interim Managing Director hasidentified that the induction process for new councillors has been ineffective. As a result, many councillors havebeen unclear about committeeprocedures and standing orders, andchairing skills have often been weak.These weaknesses have beencompounded on occasion by

reluctance on the part of officers tointervene as necessary in order toensure that meetings follow proceduralprotocols.

37 In addition to the enforcement of better discipline, the Council has also agreedconstitutional and structural changeswith the aim of improving thepreviously weak role of scrutiny andreducing the ‘winner takes all’ culturethat has prevailed in the past. TheCouncil has agreed a new scrutinycommittee structure, increasing thenumber of committees from three tofive. The introduction of a Scrutiny

Manager has added valuable resourceand momentum to the development of scrutiny and to committee members’understanding of the role.

38 Further steps to improve self-regulationby councillors and better governanceinclude:

The introduction of pre-Councilmeetings, in which Group Leadersmeet with the Chairman before themeeting to consider how best to

manage sensitive agenda itemswithout damaging the Council’sreputation.

An enhanced role for the StandardsCommittee in the process of member development. GroupLeaders have now nominatedcouncillors to be members of theStandards Committee, bringing theCommittee in line with other Standards Committees in Wales.

The introduction of Group Leaders’meetings, chaired by the InterimManaging Director, as a means of improving information flows and, inconsequence, the management of committee meetings.



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39 It is too early to evaluate the long-termimpact of these changes but theCouncil has worked with the WLGA toprovide an intensive member

development programme that includesa specific element designed topromote more effective scrutiny.Further training is planned, and work isin hand to develop further protocols toguide the ways in which councillorsundertake key roles. Councillors’attendance at training sessions has sofar been good and their feedback hasbeen positive. In the light of thistraining, we suggest that electedmembers should develop and agree a

framework against which theperformance of each councillor mightbe assessed each year. Such aframework should focus mainly oncouncillors’ work as committeemembers and in carrying out anyspecific responsibilities they hold rather than on their roles as ward members.

The Council generally works well

with partners to deliver a wide

range of services but has limited

information about the costs andbenefits of partnership working

40 The Council has an extensive trackrecord of working with others in order to deliver services. For example, theCouncil has worked with neighbouringGwynedd Council since 1996 toprovide extensive school improvementservices and services for children withSpecial Educational Needs. TheCouncil also uses private sector

contractors to deliver its school mealsand waste collection services.

41 More recent examples of partnershipwork include the Council’s involvementin the North Wales Regional WastePartnership, which has secured

significant Assembly Governmentfunding to procure a facility for treatingresidual waste, thereby improvingprospects of meeting future nationaltargets. The Council has also agreedwith Gwynedd Council to work together on the production of a LocalDevelopment Plan.

42 The Council plays a full part in Anglesey’s Local Service Board which,after a slow start, is beginning to

contribute usefully to its priority of tackling poverty. The Council is alsomaking a full contribution to the NorthWales Regional Partnership Board,which is taking a strong lead indelivering its vision for increasedcollaboration between all six localauthorities in North Wales or subgroups among them.

43 Relationships with the Police, Fire and Ambulance services are positive, andthere is a willingness to develop further

collaboration. While the recentreorganisation of Local Health Boardshas caused some uncertainty in therelationships with councils, there aregood examples of ‘frontline’ jointworking between the health serviceand the Council’s only special school.

44 Despite the many examples of partnership working, the Council tendsto promote partnerships at adepartmental level rather than a

corporate level. There is limitedcollective understanding of what theCouncil is trying to achieve with itspartners, and of the costs and benefitsof its engagement in partnerships.



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The Council’s policy and strategyframework is not yet sufficientlyclear and consistent to support thecoherent planning of staff and

resources, and the introduction of better business processes

45 The Council has, for many years, failedto establish a clear and consistent setof policies and strategies that reflectthe needs and aspirations of citizensand which guide decision-making andservice planning. The CommunityStrategy similarly provides only limitedsense of direction.

46 In January and February 2010, thethen Executive held a number of ‘roadshows’ across the island in order toengage with the public with the aim of establishing a set of corporate prioritiesin a climate of financial austerity. Theseevents were well-run and, in somecases, reasonably well-attended.Subsequently, the Council adopted fivestrategic priorities. These are to:

enhance the reputation of theCouncil and island;

protect and develop the island’seconomy;

build and support sustainablecommunities;

promote healthy, safe and fair communities; and

secure businesslike and affordableservices.

47 These strategic priorities encompassthe Council’s Recovery Plan and its Affordable Priorities programme, whichaddresses the need to find anestimated £10 million reduction inspending over the next three years. Tounderpin the five priorities, the Councilhas defined a total of 24 broadly-defined objectives.

48 Together, the strategic priorities andtheir associated objectives provide abroad direction. However, they are notyet sufficiently specific and focused on

outcomes to guide the planning of staff and resources within the difficultfinancial climate that lies ahead.

49 The engagement of the public indetermining the Council’s prioritiesrepresents a step forward but muchremains to be done to involve citizensto a greater extent in the Council’swork. Election results suggest that, likemany of its councillors, the island’spublic also has a traditional view of

local government. There are only twowomen among the Council’s 40members. The predominance of independent councillors grouped inincreasing numbers of small factionshinders the development of a moremodern view because voters have littleknowledge of what the various groupsstand for at election time or betweenelections. Voters appear to rewardthose councillors who have a trackrecord of delivering benefits for their wards and for individuals within it. The

Council therefore has work to do topromote the relevance and importanceof local government and the role of themodern councillor, and to reinforce thefact that councillors should not be seenas an alternative to the formalchannels for accessing Councilservices.

50 Public involvement in the Council’swork is hampered by the fact that itdoes not routinely publish agendas and

papers for Council and committeemeetings on its website. Members of the public are not, therefore, easilyable to find out in advance when itemsof interest to them will be discussed,and to consider beforehand theinformation contained in the paperssupporting the debate. While theCouncil publishes the minutes of meetings, many include unnecessary





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perspective to inform decision-making.These weaknesses reflect, in part, thelack of clarity that has existed for manyyears between individual services and

corporate property services in terms of responsibility for the identification andprioritisation of repairs andmaintenance to the Council’s propertyportfolio.

58 Despite recent improvements to theCouncil’s website, too much of itscontent is out-of-date and cumbersometo use for members of the publicwishing to access services or to makecomments or complaints on-line. The

Council has identified the need toimprove its website as a corporatepriority.

59 The Interim Managing Director, with thesupport of the Executive, hasintroduced a number of changes aimedat improving the Council’s businessprocesses. In particular, he hasstrengthened the Council’s corporatemanagement capacity in order tointroduce a standardised approach tobusiness planning across all services.

Unlike previous attempts, there areclear expectations that the newplanning template should be followed,and arrangements are in place for draftplans to be reviewed and challengedbefore being finalised. Thesearrangements have helped to ensurethat business plans are more likely tobe comprehensive and of acceptablequality. Relevant portfolio holders areappropriately engaged in the process.

60 Performance and risk managementremain key areas for improvement,having been highlighted in the last two Annual Letters and in the CorporateGovernance Inspection report.Councillors have had only a limitedgrasp of the data that supports their perceptions of service quality. Therehas been a lack of corporate guidance

on target-setting and arrangements tosupport the quality of data have beenweak. Though there are firm plans toimprove, there is no corporate risk

register and the principles of riskmanagement are not yet embedded.

61 The new business planning frameworkprovides a basis for improvement inperformance management, with plansbeing linked to the newly determinedcorporate priorities. An InterimProgramme Manager is in place andthere are plans to increase theCouncil’s project managementcapacity. Project management has

been an area of weakness in the past,reflected in the slow pace of progressin work that affects most services suchas asset management planning andworkforce planning.

The Council acknowledges that

people management is weak and

is hindering improvement, and has

begun to address the issue

62 The Council acknowledges that it has

faced longstanding HR issues.Despite having made an early start indeveloping a Single Status Agreement,the process remains as ‘work inprogress’. There has been littleprogress on workforce planning.The staff element of performancemanagement has been weak, with aninconsistent approach to appraisal bydifferent services and managers.

63 Since the arrival of the InterimManaging Director, there have been

changes in the management of the HRfunction. The role of councillors in theappointment of staff and in decisionsas to whether or not to fill vacant postsis also clearer and more appropriatethan in the past.



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64 The work of developing officer capacityand capability has thus far takensecond place to the need for member development. However, detailed work

is now in hand to better define the roleof the HR service and the roles of managers in relation to HR matters.The plans include the development of a competency framework and newperformance appraisal arrangementsacross the Council’s workforce. Suchwork is important in building theCouncil’s resilience to any future returnon the part of elected members toinwardly-focused personality politics.

Documents

Isle of Anglsesy County Council Preliminary Corporate Assess Rnglish