Pembrokeshire County Council receives positive report from independent panel

The Council is required through Welsh Government legislation to undertake a PPA once every electoral cycle.  The purpose of the PPA is to provide independent, expert opinion on if the Council is using its functions effectively, how it uses it resources, and whether governance arrangements are effective.

The four-member Panel was led by Phil Roberts (Independent Chair and former Chief Executive of Swansea Council) and also consisted of Cllr Anthony Hunt (Leader of Torfaen Council), Emma Palmer (Chief Executive of Powys Council) and Andrea Street OBE (representing the broader public, private and voluntary sector).

The Council is pleased to note that the Panel’s final report concludes that the Council is meeting its statutory performance requirements and comments favourably on many aspects of the Council’s work, recognising an effective Council which has shown improvement across a number of key areas and which has responded well to a challenging financial position.

In particular, the Panel identified “a cohesive cabinet, which despite its rainbow coalition arrangements, exercises a model of distributed leadership which is particularly effective” and “a committed Senior and Extended Leadership Team who recognised the journey of improvement the council has been on under the Chief Executive’s strong leadership”. 

In addition, the Panel noted “a broad set of values and behaviours consistently demonstrated across the organisation, from the Senior Leadership Team to frontline staff… and a genuine desire to work in the interests of the communities and residents of the county.” 

The Panel’s report offers valuable insight and perspectives around areas where the Council can continue to improve and further strengthen by way of seven recommendations, which cover areas such as the scrutiny function, corporate capacity, collaborative leadership, economic regeneration capacity, resource prioritisation, communications, and transformation and innovation.

Cllr Jon Harvey, Leader of the Council, said: “This was an extremely positive experience for the Council, and an opportunity to learn and benefit from the views and perspectives of independent experts from outside the Council.  We welcome the assurance provided by the Panel that we are on the right track, and the feedback which has helped to identify the opportunities and areas for improvement.”

“I would like to put on record our thanks to the Panel members for their work, and also to officers from the Welsh Local Government Association who provided valuable support to ensure the whole process ran smoothly.”

“We accept the Panel’s findings in full and I am convinced that the action plan we have developed in response the Panel’s recommendations will enable us to further strengthen key areas of our work so we can continue to provide quality services to our residents and communities.”

In line with the relevant legislation, the Council has developed a formal response and action plan to demonstrate how it will respond to the Panel’s recommendations, and these conclusions will be presented to Cabinet on 9 February, and to full Council on 5 March for formal approval.