Good Governance Diagnostic Bridgend County Borough Council Key messages Jeremy Saunders & John Dwight November 2009

Good governance Good governance in the public sector leads to sustainable, better outcomes for citizens. It is about organisations doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people – in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable way The Welsh Assembly Government has developed seven citizen- centred governance principles and gave a One Wales commitment to review the governance arrangements of public service organisations in Wales Good governance diagnostic developed, based on a similar exercise being undertaken in England Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 2

Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 3 Good Governance Diagnostic The good governance diagnostic is based on the Assembly Government’s citizen-centred good governance principles: – Putting the Citizen First – Knowing Who Does What and Why – Living Public Service Values – Fostering Innovative Delivery – Being a Learning Organisation – Engaging with Others – Achieving Value for Money

Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 4 Aim of the diagnostic The diagnostic is designed to help the Council evaluate governance arrangements in the context of the seven principles and to identify the potential for further development of arrangements. This is achieved by means of: – analysing the responses in questionnaires returned by members and officers; – undertaking interviews with members and officers; – running focus groups and observing meetings and other Council activities; and – having regard to previous audit and inspection experience.

Key question and overall conclusions Key question: Is the Council embedding the good governance principles in the way it works, in order to achieve better outcomes for citizens and service users? Overall conclusion: The good governance principles are mainly embedded in the way the Council works, although there remains room for further improvement Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 5

Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 6 We found a range of positive characteristics (1) The corporate ‘culture’ underpins governance arrangements: mature political relationships, with mutual trust between members and officers; strong leadership from cabinet, chief executive and corporate directors with clear sense of direction; absence of a blame culture and a developing appetite for innovation and appropriate risk taking; more effective partnership and joint working, through a maturing LSB; some good examples of community engagement on high profile issues; and an openness to learning from others.

Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 7 We found a range of positive characteristics (2) Other formal corporate and management arrangements also contribute clear values in place for officers and members with an up-to-date constitution and scheme of delegation; a strengthening performance management framework that is increasingly linked with business planning; an evolving scrutiny function that is beginning to be effective in contributing to policy development better management of external communications; and a new, user friendly Civic Centre reception area indicating a greater awareness of service users’ needs.

Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 8 There are some particular areas for development and further consideration Particular areas for development have been identified as: utilise the new citizen engagement contract to better seek citizens’ views, use these to inform improvements in service delivery, and address concerns raised by the citizens we spoke to; make better use of ward councillor knowledge and expertise to inform improvements in service delivery; ensure performance management arrangements lead to better outcomes for citizens; replicate the new ‘reception ethos’ at other public interfaces including telephone contact; and cascade the collaborative culture at the top of the organisation down to front line services, through improved engagement with staff. collect more consistent information to fully understand whether all services provide quality and value for money Slide 8

The Council has put in place the building blocks for putting the citizen first Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 9 Positive indicators: Corporate and political priorities linked to business plans Citizen’s panel in place, but use of contract being reconsidered Youth Mayor and Youth Council in place Civic centre reception Good work with community groups.

The Council has put in place the building blocks for putting the citizen first Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 10 Areas for development and further consideration: Single contact number Other reception areas (Sunnyside) Need for earlier engagement with (and feedback to) citizens and users (over 70% of officers believe that only sometimes do they receive useful information on quality of services for users or that the Council is good at using information on stakeholder satisfaction to improve value for money) Citizens confirmed need for better using feedback on services.

There is a good level of understanding in terms of knowing who does what and why Good Governance Diagnostic Positive Indicators: Mature relationship – senior officers and cabinet members understand each others roles Strong leadership from leader, cabinet and Chief Executive Corporate directors and Management Board collectively have a clear sense of direction Improve quarterly business review and planning processes, aligned with Improvement Plan Role of scrutiny in policy development is beginning to evolve. Slide 11

There is a good level of understanding in terms of knowing who does what and why Good Governance Diagnostic Areas for development and further consideration: Collaborative culture at the top of the organisation needs to be cascaded down to and become evident in all service areas Major changes are communicated to staff well, but smaller ones are not, leaving staff unsure of what’s happening, why and when. With such an ambitious change programme underway this could hamper progress. Slide 12

Members and officers actively promote living public sector values Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 13 Positive Indicators: Openness and transparency runs throughout the organisation Council values are clear (FACE values for staff) – 90% of members and staff believe that the Council’s values are clearly set out Collaborative leadership approach Culture of leaks to press has been addressed Some examples of whistle-blowing being used effectively to highlight concerns standards committee members well used to support code of conduct training.

Members and officers actively promote living public sector values Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 14 Areas for development and further consideration: Need to clarify and reinforce benefits of effective whistle-blowing arrangements (24% of members and 27% of officers don’t know whether staff can whistle-blow without fear of reprisal, although 82% of officers believe that always or usually bullying by staff is not tolerated)

There are examples of the Council fostering innovative delivery Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 15 Positive Indicators: Council has shown an appetite for challenging and improving services 95% of members and 82% of officers believe the Council always or usually strives to achieve more innovative ways of delivering services Early decision to outsource some services (stock transfer and waste) Collaborative working with health and the third sector, through Local Service Board developments.

There are examples of the Council fostering innovative delivery Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 16 Areas for development and further consideration: Still some way to go on children’s services, managing sickness absence and shared services Not all proposed changes and improvements have been managed successfully - should reasons for decisions be more clearly explained to improve understanding of why changes are being made? Scrutiny could be more effectively used to develop innovative ways of delivery.

The Council embraces being a learning organisation Good Governance Diagnostic Positive Indicators: Some members and senior officers are open to and clearly benefiting from learning (IDEA training and management development training programme) 100% of members and 91% of staff believe the Council always or usually seeks to promote good practice in all its activities Internal and external recruitment processes used to good effect Officer performance management system links to FACE and business plans but limited member performance appraisal. Slide 17

The Council embraces being a learning organisation Good Governance Diagnostic Areas for development and further consideration: Wider member performance appraisal (at individual and committee levels) Is there a capacity concern – managing internal changes and roll out of performance appraisal (55% of officers believe the Council only sometimes has effective arrangements to consult staff) Slide 18

The Council has a track record of engaging with others Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 19 Positive Indicators: Council has community leadership – through ‘visibility’ of leader and chief executive Effective partnerships and joint working – strategic delivery board established.

The Council has a track record of engaging with others Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 20 Areas for development and further consideration: There remains scope for improving stakeholder (partner and user) engagement – involvement in service reviews and clarity about decisions and proposed outcomes

The Council has a good approach to achieving value for money Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 21 Positive Indicators: Clarity on finances – 100% of officers and 95% of members are always or usually clear about how the Council spends its money Some positive views on achieving value for money – 90% of members, 73% of officers believe the Council always or usually delivers economic, efficient and effective service

The Council has a good approach to achieving value for money Good Governance Diagnostic Slide 22 Areas for development and further consideration: Need for more consistent information to fully understand whether all services provide quality and value for money There are still significant challenges arising from the need to: – clarify priorities (& non-priorities) from increasingly limited resources. – make and implement further difficult and politically sensitive decisions to re-shape & target services