Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Gwyneth Ellis, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s review and approval of the Council’s statutory response to the PPA report and actions it intends to take and recommendation of the same to Council for approval.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      note and welcome the Panel Performance Assessment Report (Appendix 1 to the report);

(b)      reviewed and approves the statutory statements (Section 4.7 and 4.8 in the report) the Council was required to make in response to the Report and the action the Council intended to take, the ‘Action Plan’ (Appendix 2 to the report), and in doing so reviewed and approves the response to recommendations for change provided by the Governance and Audit Committee (Appendix 2 to the report), and

(c)      recommend approval of the Statements and Action Plan to Council on 20 February 2025.

Councillor Gwyneth Ellis presented the report seeking Cabinet’s review and approval of the Council’s statutory response to the Performance Panel Assessment (PPA) report and actions it intended to take, and recommendation of the same to Council.

It was now a statutory requirement for local authorities in Wales to undertake such an assessment every five years.  The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) conducted the PPA in September 2024 – the first PPA in Wales.  The report was positive overall and set out 9 recommendations for improvement and identified 8 areas of strength and innovation.  Cabinet was asked to consider the PPA final report, response statements and action plan responding to recommendations together with further changes recommended by the Governance and Audit Committee.

The Lead Member and Head of Corporate Support Service: Performance, Digital and Assets highlighted the thorough and comprehensive process undertaken by the Independent Panel, the wealth of evidence gathered, and the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. Cabinet’s attention was draw to the key findings, overall conclusions, and their review of the statutory response statements, action plan, and 11 recommendations of the Governance and Audit Committee (proposed to accept 10 recommendation and partially accept 1 recommendation for the reasons set out in the report).  The final report would be submitted to full Council for approval following which the actions would be tracked on a quarterly basis and reported through the committee process.  Tribute was paid to the tireless work of the Council’s staff and the valuable work they carried out which had been reflected in the report.  Appreciation was also shown for the work of all those involved in the PPA process with particular mention to the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer.

Cabinet welcomed the positive report and feedback received, which recognised the Council’s strengths and effective processes in place when evaluating key areas of performance, particularly in the current context of high demand and financial pressures and provided recommendations for further improvement going forward.  Cabinet members reflected on their own experiences of the assessment and areas of key findings which particularly resonated with them including the positive working relationships between officers and members; pride, commitment and dedication of staff, and positive relationships with partner organisations.  The report reflected well on staff and members over a period of time and the feedback was welcomed with the lessons to be learned, and the actions would be progressed and embedded to secure further improvement and continue the Council’s learning and improvement journey.

In addition to the above, main points of discussion focused on the following –

·       Cabinet accepted the Governance and Audit Committee’s recommendations as set out in the report and thanked them for their work in that regard

·       Councillor Julie Matthews referred to recommendation 9 Equalities highlighting the work of the Strategic Equality and Diversity Group and action being taken

·       noted the PPA allowed for an in-depth analysis which included lived experiences in addition to data analysis to provide a broader overview of performance

·       advocated the use of continual performance assessments and monitoring to identify good practice and areas for improvement, and for continual learning

·       explained the independence of the Panel in carrying out the assessment based on specific criteria and skills set with no ongoing relationship to the Council and included an independent chair, two senior peers from other Welsh local authorities and two peers from the wider public, private, and voluntary sector

·       a range of partners had been engaged in the process including Destination Partnership; Ambition North Wales; Housing Associations and Public Service Board partners such as Natural Resources Wales and Health.

The Leader also highlighted reference in the report that the Council had been steered well through over a decade of austerity and he paid tribute to the leadership of his predecessor Councillor Hugh Evans and previous Cabinets during that time.

At this point the Leader opened up the debate to non-Cabinet members.

Councillor Bobby Feeley referred to her last two years as a councillor being the most difficult and anxious time and she believed the Council’s reputation to be low and therefore found it difficult to digest such a positive report with little reference to any failings and the setting of an unbalanced budget the previous year.  She also asked whether Denbighshire Leisure Limited had been engaged in the PPA process.  The Lead Member was disappointed with the negative response to such a positive report which found the Council had been well-run over many years despite the challenges faced and through difficult times, and the recent rollout of the waste service had also highlighted strengths in working together through adversity.  It was also made clear that the Council had set a legal and balanced budget for the current financial year 2024/25 and it was untrue to say it was not balanced because there had been £3m savings unidentified.  It was confirmed that DLL were part of the Destination Partnership and had been invited to attend that session to contribute.  Cabinet members sympathised with the situation councillors faced during the rollout of the new waste service with lessons learned and much work carried out to address the problems which had been acknowledged in the report.  However, the report had a much wider scope and reflected a successful Council, and the focus should be on progressing the recommendations for further improvement.  It was also noted that the PPA was one element in a much wider performance management framework.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts congratulated the Leader and Chief Executive on the report.  However, he asked that it be recorded in the minutes that he had been interviewed as part of the process as Leader of the Opposition and had been disappointed that there had been no reference to any of his comments in the report.  The Head of Service agreed to report that back to the Panel.  She explained the absence of comments in the final report could be due to the triangulation process used in the assessment which required the same reference from three sources.

In bringing the debate to a close, the Leader reiterated the hard work and dedication of the Council’s staff which had been reflected in the report, and stressed the importance learning lessons and progressing the recommendations.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      note and welcome the Panel Performance Assessment Report (Appendix 1 to the report);

(b)      reviewed and approves the statutory statements (Section 4.7 and 4.8 in the report) the Council was required to make in response to the Report and the action the Council intended to take, the ‘Action Plan’ (Appendix 2 to the report), and in doing so reviewed and approves the response to recommendations for change provided by the Governance and Audit Committee (Appendix 2 to the report), and

(c)      recommend approval of the Statements and Action Plan to Council on 20 February 2025.

At this point (11.30 am) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.