The Carmarthenshire Governance & Audit Committee met on Friday, 20 December 2024, to review a series of Audit Wales reports and internal council updates. Key discussions included the follow-up review of waste services, the use of brownfield land, financial sustainability of local government, the National Fraud Initiative, the council's corporate risk register, and the annual complaints report. The committee also received updates on the internal audit plan, progress on regulatory recommendations, and minutes from relevant sub-groups.

Audit Wales Reports

Follow-up Review of Waste Services: Audit Wales confirmed that Carmarthenshire County Council had successfully met all eight recommendations from their 2021 report on waste services. These recommendations covered areas such as the garden waste service, CWM Environmental Ltd, fly-tipping, and the council's waste strategy. The follow-up review found improved arrangements for performance measures, risk management for CWM, oversight of CWM's activities, contingency planning for CWM's financial viability, fly-tipping management, corporate reporting on fly-tipping, and the council's waste strategy.

Sustainable Development: Making Best Use of Brownfield Land and Empty Buildings: This all-Wales review by Audit Wales examined how Welsh councils are supporting the repurposing and regeneration of vacant properties and brownfield sites. The report concluded that while councils are delivering brownfield developments, regeneration could be significantly increased with a more systematic, interventionist, and collaborative approach. Key findings indicated that councils have a broad but not comprehensive understanding of the built environment's regeneration potential, often focus on easier projects, struggle to overcome long-standing barriers, and face challenges in measuring progress due to data weaknesses. The report made three recommendations for councils: to create a systematic process for finding and publicising suitable sites, increase community involvement in regeneration, and review regeneration approaches to set clearer, more ambitious policies and targets. Carmarthenshire County Council has outlined planned actions to address these recommendations, including expanding the remit of the Strategic Land Use Group and exploring community engagement in plan-making.

Financial Sustainability of Local Government: Audit Wales conducted a review of financial sustainability across all 22 Welsh local authorities. The national overview report highlighted that while most councils have arrangements to support short-term financial sustainability, they have yet to fully develop longer-term plans. The review of Carmarthenshire County Council specifically found that its embedded transformation approach provides a strategic framework for financial resilience. However, the council's financial reporting is clear but not regularly integrated with reporting on the delivery of its corporate objectives. The report made one recommendation for Carmarthenshire: to fully integrate financial planning with the delivery and reporting of wider corporate and transformation objectives.

The National Fraud Initiative in Wales 2022-23: This biennial UK-wide exercise uses data matching techniques to detect fraud and error. For Wales, the 2022-23 exercise recorded outcomes of £7.1 million, an increase from the previous exercise, primarily due to rises in housing benefit and council tax single person discount fraud. Local authority data accounted for 97% of these outcomes. The report highlighted that while financial savings are significant, the NFI also provides assurances on internal control systems and can identify areas for improvement. Audit Wales plans to increase engagement with participating bodies in the next round to promote active participation and understand variations in outcomes.

Budget Workshop

A budget workshop was held on 8 November 2024, following a request from the committee. The workshop provided an update on the current year's budget monitoring position, highlighting areas of concern, particularly in Children's Services and school budgets. Specific details were provided on increased service pressures and overspends in Children's Services, including the allocation of additional funding. For schools, the workshop reviewed school balances, in-year expenditure, and forecast deficits, discussing the sustainability of the current school footprint and potential rationalisation benefits. Actions taken by officers to raise awareness and provide financial support were also outlined.

Internal Audit Plan Update 2024/25

The committee received an update on the progress of the Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25. As of 11 December 2024, 54% of the plan was complete. The report detailed the status of various audits, including fundamental audits, corporate reviews, corporate governance assurance, counter-fraud work, and grants and certification. Assurance ratings and engagement types were provided for each audit.

Carmarthenshire County Council's Corporate Risk Register 2024/25

The committee reviewed the council's Corporate Risk Register for 2024/25. The register identifies key strategic risks facing the authority, with a heatmap illustrating the probability and impact of each risk. Several risks were discussed in detail, including those related to schools' financial management, cyber security, extreme weather events, increasing sickness absence, highways infrastructure deterioration, children's services demand, economic recovery, housing pressures, and the delivery of the Pentre Awel project. The register also detailed control measures and action items for each identified risk.

Council Complaints Annual Report 2023-24

The annual report detailed corporate and social services complaints received and closed between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. Corporate complaints saw an increase to 1,855, with the highest numbers occurring in the Place and Infrastructure and Communities departments. Response times for Stage 1 complaints were met within statutory timescales 63% of the time, while Stage 2 response times averaged 74 working days. The report also noted 309 recorded compliments across departments. The report highlighted service improvement areas, including the need for timely data access for officers, improved communication with customers, better management of service requests, and enhanced support for Stage 2 investigations. For Social Services, 66 complaints were received for Adult Services and 35 for Children and Families Services. The report also detailed the council's engagement with the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, noting 69 complaints received and 60 closed, with an intervention rate of 13%.

Ombudsman's Annual Letter 2023/2024

The committee received the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales' (PSOW) Annual Letter for 2023/24. The letter provided an update on the PSOW's work, highlighting an increase in contacts and a reduction in aged cases. For Carmarthenshire County Council specifically, 69 complaints were received by the PSOW's office, and 60 cases were closed, with an intervention rate of 13%. The council complied with 52% of the 25 recommendations made by the PSOW within the agreed timescale. The letter also noted an increase in Code of Conduct complaints nationally and provided figures for Carmarthenshire, indicating no referrals to Standards Committees or the Adjudication Panel. The PSOW requested the council present the letter to Cabinet and the Governance and Audit Committee and consider the data to understand performance and compliance.

Progress on Regulatory Report Recommendations

This report outlined the progress on recommendations from various regulatory reports, including those from Audit Wales. Of the 41 ongoing and completed recommendations, 16 (39%) were completed, 18 (44%) were on target for completion, and 7 (17%) were off target. Recommendations from the Cracks in the Foundation - Building Safety in Wales report were discussed, with the council's response noting that one recommendation was completed and three were aimed for completion by April 2025. Building Control was to be incorporated into the Corporate Risk Register. The report also covered recommendations from the Review of Risk Management Arrangements, Direct Payments for Adult Social Care, Review of Scrutiny, and Springing Forward – Workforce Management reports.

Governance & Audit Committee Action Log

The committee reviewed its action log, noting progress on actions arising from previous meetings. Internal audit reports on safeguarding and welfare cards were nearing finalisation. Assurance was provided that the management team in Education and Children's Services had considered the Care Inspectorate Wales report and was using its findings.

Minutes of Relevant Groups

The committee received the minutes from the Grants Panel meeting held on 12 September 2024 and the Risk Management Steering Group meeting held on 24 September 2024. The Grants Panel minutes detailed updates on audits, the Shared Prosperity Fund, and the grants register. The Risk Management Steering Group minutes covered discussions on meeting frequency, business continuity plans, and various risk areas including cyber security, fleet management, and highways infrastructure.

Minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee Held on 27 September 2024

The committee formally approved the minutes of its previous meeting held on 27 September 2024. Key discussions from that meeting included Audit Wales reports on building safety and National Park Authorities, the draft Annual Report for 2023/24, the Internal Audit Plan update, the Annual Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Report, the Statement of Accounts 2023/24, the Burry Port Harbour Financial Statement, and the Dyfed Pension Fund Statement of Accounts. The committee also noted the Governance & Audit Committee Action Log and minutes from relevant sub-groups.