LEADER of Carmarthenshire County Council Emlyn Dole agreed to write to the Wales Audit Office to ask for ways in which the council could improve at a meeting of the Executive Board on Monday (May 23).
The Annual Improvement Report, which emphasised the findings of the recent corporate assessment, was described as ‘very much the same in terms of its findings’. Introducing the report, Wendy Walters said that the council would now add in any extra details to the action plan which had already been agreed. “I think, and I hope members will agree, that the report reads very well and is a positive annual report,” she added. Cllr Dole asked for any comments on the 26 recommendations made in the report. Cllr Jane Tremlett took this opportunity to point out that the county’s adult and child services were ‘among the best in Wales’ according to the report, which she described as a ‘good recommendation from CSSIW.’
However, Cllr Meryl Gravell queried whether the WAO could offer more constructive advice: “Where they see some weaknesses, should we be asking them for examples of how we can do things better, because there doesn’t seem to be anything in the report which says ‘we have found other authorities which do this better,’” she remarked. “It’s all very well to say ‘it’s a bit weak here’, but it’s for them then to perhaps give us suggestions, but I can’t see that in the report.” Cllr Dole agreed: “They are the people who are seeing best practice across Wales, you would expect them to include an example or two… that’s a perfectly reasonable request,” he added. Mark James said that he had asked ‘year after year after year after year’ for examples.
“I’m afraid they are quite happy to say there are weaknesses, but it’s very difficult to get out of them, what do we do better, or who elsewhere does it better – particularly around some of the financial things,” he added. “They are always criticising for one thing or another, but when I’ve asked them to point us to someone who does it better we don’t get much response, I’m afraid.” Cllr David Jenkins pointed out that in some instances CCC could be used as an example of best practice. “We always get a very good report from them on the accounting aspects of our performance,” he added. Cllr Dole agreed to write to the WAO asking for examples of best practice from other local authorities. The final word went to Cllr Jim Jones, who pointed out that it was a ‘very expensive report’.
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