Wales Audit Office and Co-production

Editor's Notes

1. 1. Who are the Wales Audit office? We work to support the Auditor General as the public sector watchdog for Wales Our aim is to ensure that the people of Wales know whether public money is being managed wisely and that public bodies in Wales understand how to improve outcomes. We do this on behalf of the Auditor General in: Auditing the financial accounts of public bodies Reporting on how services are being delivered Assessing whether value for money is being achieved Checking how organisations are planning and delivering improvements We are also committed to identifying and publicising good practice, to help public bodies deliver better services.
2. 2. Resources? Friday - PC Annual Network, Society of Welsh Treasurers in Llandrindod Wells.
3. Meeting the Financial Challenges Facing Local Government in Wales This report provides an overview of the extent to which councils in Wales are responding to the financial pressures they face. It explores the effectiveness of their financial planning, their approach to financial decision making and the actions they are taking to minimise the impact of significant budget cuts. It also considers the extent to which councils understand the impact of their actions and provides some early thoughts on the implications of the 2013 Spending Review for local government in Wales. "Many councils have not engaged effectively with others or have not taken appropriate account of the results of their engagement in their financial planning. Ineffective stakeholder engagement means that some councils may not be adequately reflecting the needs, priorities and expectations of their citizens." Many public services are still delivered from the perspective of single service deliverers. The leads to citizens experiencing multiple, fragmented approaches that can result in: Contradictory and conflicting interventions; Poor outcomes for the service user; and A waste of valuable resources and poor value for money.
4. The “graph of doom” has been used increasingly regularly in respect of the future of local council spending. First used by Barnet Council in May it’s now being applied to the whole of local government. Principally this is the view that if spending projections are accurate and if councils statutory responsibilities are the same then within the near future statutory services and social care costs will swallow up most local council spending leaving very little for other services to the community such as libraries, parks and leisure centres.
5. Add my own caveat to using co-production as a way to save money - it needs resources to work.
6. 3. Council 2025: A vision for local government in Wales Auditor General for Wales spoke at the Welsh Local Government Association’s Annual Conference in Llandudno and examined re-organisation of local government. “Form follows function: where is the debate in Wales about what local government should be about? Where is the debate about what services should be done at particular levels so we can design what kind of structure we need?” “Where are the models of delivery and enablement that will help us deliver the value and quality that Wales needs, the people of Wales need over the next 10 years?” “I carried out as you may recall a study on public engagement in local government a couple of years back. That found few practical examples of collaborative forms of engagement. Since then, I’ve seen very little evidence of a shift towards co-production, or as it’s often described, working with and not to.”
7. 4. Re-shaping services with the public We are holding a free seminar on Re-shaping Services with the Public: Changing the relationship between those who deliver and people who use services. This seminar is run by the Wales Audit Office, Welsh Government, Welsh Local Government Association, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, WPS 2025, 1000 Lives Improvement Service, Wales Co-operative Centre and Good Practice Wales. This seminar will provide examples of how the relationship between those who deliver and people who use services has changed, including examples of co-production and social enterprises. The emphasis will be on sharing practical experiences of how different relationships can help re-shape public services to deliver better outcomes. This seminar is aimed at public and third sector managers and officers responsible for delivering public services. The seminar will consist of a showcase plenary session: Presentation by Professor Tony Bovaird – Birmingham University Reshaping services with the public: Co-producing public outcomes that really matter And a choice of attending two of the following workshops: Workshop by Cardiff Third Sector Council – Kerrine Phillips Co-creating healthy change Workshop by Vanguard – Simon Pickthall Radically re-shaping services at a locality level Workshop by Torfaen Leisure Trust – Sally Church and GLL - Jon Argent So why social enterprise? Workshop by Barod CIC – Alan Armstrong Meeting at the centre Where and when The Cardiff version is now fully booked. Thursday 17 July 2014 A second seminar will be held in North Wales in September, with an amended agenda based on experiences at the Cardiff seminar. 0900 - 1300 Thursday 18 September 2014 Glasdir, Plas yn Dre, Llanrwst, Conwy, LL26 0DF