LG 12 - SOLACE Cymru

Proposed Local Government Measure Committee – consultation

(Saesneg yn unig)

Written evidence from SOLACE Wales

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SOLACE Wales, the professional society that represents the most senior managers working in Welsh Local Government welcomes the opportunity to respond to the above consultation.  

Is there a need for legislation to reform:

- the statutory basis for service improvement by local authorities; and  
- community planning and strategies?

- The Society recognises the need for legislation and is supportive of the proposed Measure’s aim to strengthen and enhance the statutory basis of the Wales Programme for Improvement and redefine it more broadly than the ‘best value’ regime.  The aim to better integrate community planning with service improvement is also strongly supported.  However, the proposed Measure still considers the two areas separately and steps should be taken to further strengthen the links between them.  Greater importance could have been accorded to the need to focus on outcomes and on engaging with citizens to ensure that the needs of local communities are met would have helped to make the link as it should underpin both the improvement agenda and community planning.

How will the proposed Measure change what organisations do currently and what impact will any such changes have in terms of service improvement and community planning?   

- The Measure will not significantly change the current approach to service improvement and community planning but it will strengthen and support existing activity.  It will also help local authorities and their partners to build on the work they already do and put collaborative working and partnerships on a ‘firmer footing.’
- However limited resources mean that, despite the provisions of the proposed Measure and best efforts of local authorities, it is not always possible to achieve continuous improvement.  Service improvement usually requires investment, and in a challenging financial climate local authorities may have to make disinvestment as well as investment decisions.

Are the sections of the proposed Measure appropriate in terms of reforming the statutory basis for service improvement by local authorities and reforming community planning and strategies? If not, how does the proposed Measure need to change?

What are the potential barriers to implementing the provisions of the proposed Measure (if any) and does the proposed Measure take account of them?  

- SOLACE Wales welcomes the majority of the proposals outlined in the proposed Measure.  However, the Society does have some comments about the appropriateness of specific proposals within the measure and some of the potential barriers to implementing them.   

Local Government Improvement

- While SOLACE Wales recognises the importance of good performance management it wishes to emphasise the need to keep the number of performance indicators to a proportionate and manageable level.  It is also important to strive, wherever possible for consistency in performance indicators between improvement authorities, with key local partners and also over time:  In order to ensure that reliable and useful information can be derived from the data and used to drive further service improvement.

- The Society believes that more debate is needed concerning the power provided to Ministers in Section 8 to specify performance indicators (factors of performance) and performance standards.   The setting of performance indicators and standards should be part of a wider process of agreeing priorities and targets in order achieve the outcomes that are important to citizens and local stakeholders.  This should be achieved by local and central government working in partnership to agree the priority outcomes, and targets and performance indicators to support them, rather than through Ministers prescribing by order.

- The Society would propose that the requirement for a separate improvement plan published annually is reviewed, as some members of the local government community are increasingly questioning whether this plan is necessary.   Improvement objectives and performance data should be included in corporate plans and service plans and statutory reporting requirements can also be incorporated within corporate plans.  This would mainstream improvement priorities them within the authority and help reduce the burden of preparing and publishing plans.

- The Society particularly welcomes section 24 of the proposed Measure to increase the level of coordination and collaboration between auditors, regulators and inspectors by introducing a statutory role for the Auditor General to draw up a regulation and inspection timetable for each Welsh improvement authority.  The Society suggests that the Measure should also require the Auditor General to consult with the improvement authority in the preparation of this timetable.

- The powers given to Welsh Ministers in sections 29 to 31 remain a cause of concern for SOLACE Wales members.  As stated in the SOLACE Wales response to the consultation on Delivering a Shared Responsibility – Performance Improvement and Community Planning, any ministerial intervention must be based on a credible evidence base, and compatible with the Welsh Assembly Government intervention protocol.  

- The Society also reiterates its position in questioning the breadth of a power that allows ministers to “do anything which they consider is likely to assist a Welsh improvement authority to comply with the requirements of this Part” (section 29).   Similarly the Society also questions the breadth of the power that allows Ministers to direct an improvement authority “to take any action which the Welsh Ministers consider necessary or expedient” (section 30(5)).    

- SOLACE Wales does not necessarily believe there will be any notable benefit in terms of service improvement as a result of the introduction of the power to direct collaboration set out in sections 30 (2)(c) and 31.  

- Whilst the general power to collaborate is welcomed, local authorities in Wales are increasingly undertaking a great deal of formal and informal activity in collaboration with each other.  Such collaborations are based on good working relationships with mutual trust with the commitment of local politicians and officers.  Joint projects are established on the basis of this relationship as well as thorough analysis of the costs and benefits in order to establish whether or not there is a good business case for going ahead.  Where these preconditions are not met, directing collaboration is highly unlikely to lead to a productive relationship or any service improvement.

- Mutual and collaborative support for improvement is already common practice within local government in Wales.  The power to direct an authority to provide collaborative support for another, weaker authority (Section 31) is therefore not considered necessary.  Although the Measure requires Ministers to consult the authority first, the authority is likely to provide the support if it is able to without being directed.  

- As well as the risk of not succeeding for practical reasons these powers have the potential to be employed to the detriment of local decision making and accountability.  The Society is concerned that their use would be viewed by the local government community as an interference in the local democratic process and as micro-management of local service delivery.

Community planning

- The duty to participate and assist in community planning for ‘community planning partners’ in section 37 is welcomed by SOLACE Wales.  However, it is noted that some important partners are not named in the list in section 38, such as voluntary and community groups, universities, housing associations and WAG departments.  It will also be necessary to ensure these partners are engaged in community planning.  

- The key challenge will be to ensure this duty will be interpreted in practice as meaningful collaboration.  The community planning process and co-ownership of the resulting Community Strategies would be enhanced by further aligning the performance and regulatory frameworks of public sector partners of ‘improvement authorities’ in order to ensure that the activities prioritised by all partners working within an area are focused on delivering a shared set of outcomes.  Currently the policy context and direction for key partners including Health and Police are not aligned creating a potential barrier to the effective implementation of the Measure.  For example, the current re-structuring of the Health Service will mean that NHS Trusts are no longer coterminous with local authority boundaries and will place an additional demand on their capacity to engage meaningfully across several local authority areas.

What are the financial implications of the proposed Measure for organisations, if any?  

- The Society does not agree with the statement in the Explanatory Memorandum that “the provisions in the proposed Measure do not give rise to any administrative, compliance or other costs.”  Many aspects of the Measure will incur a cost for local authorities.  For example; the monitoring and reporting of performance information, publishing improvement plans, leading the process of community planning, and meaningfully involving and engaging with residents and the stakeholders listed in Section 44 and publishing Community Strategies.  Collaboration and service improvement may lead to some longer term efficiencies but will still be costly in the short term and some projects will require significant resources upfront to be successfully implemented.  There is also significant cost associated with ensuring service improvement and making the changes necessary to continuously drive up standards.