Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Wales Audit Office has given Carmarthenshire a clean bill of health and praised the council for its ambitious vision. Auditors undertook a corporate assessment of the council at the end of last year which is aimed at providing a clear picture of the authority’s capacity and capability to drive continuous improvement. Their report stated: “Carmarthenshire County Council, demonstrating ambition in its vision, with collective leadership and more robust and transparent governance, is delivering improved outcomes for its citizens although some outdated approaches may limit the speed of progress.” Chief Executive Mark James said: “It is a good report for the council, giving assurance generally that the council is performing very well, and has a good vision and preparedness for the future. Officers are continuing to work hard in the face of declining budgets to ensure the council provides quality services and an exciting agenda to invest and improve further in future.” The report also recog...

Carmarthenshire Council chief executive Mark James has stepped down while a police investigation is carried out over ‘unlawful’ payments – 15 days after reports by the Wales Audit Office were published. Mr James said he is absolutely certain that neither he nor any of his officers had done anything wrong. However, he said it was only right and proper that he should not be in the office while the police concluded their enquiries. The council said it would “avoid any perception of undue influence being brought to bear”. For more on the story, click on the link in the headline.

Strange days at County Hall in Carmarthen. They have taken to using the council website to lob hand grenades at all-comers. Here's the latest volley issued as a press release . . . make of it what you will. ----------------------------------- Many councillors and officials at Carmarthenshire County Council say they are bitterly disappointed and frustrated at misinformation being circulated around the recent public interest report issued by the Wales Audit Office. As such, they have today published correspondence between themselves and the Wales Audit Office in order for people to judge for themselves as to what has actually taken place, ahead of the extraordinary council meeting which has been called to debate the Public Interest Report later this month (February 27). Whilst the intention had been to present this information to councillors at the meeting, the scale and persistent nature of the misinformation in circulation has led the council to publish it earlier and s...

Plaid Cymru issued the following press release on Friday -  Plaid Cymru politicians Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM and Jonathan Edwards MP have contacted the Wales Audit Office expressing their concern that Carmarthenshire County Council cannot properly account for how public money is spent. In their letter to the Auditor General for Wales, the Party of Wales duo point out conflicting information they have seen from the council as to how much the Chief Executive was paid for duties as the Returning Officer during last year’s local council elections. Less than a month ago Mr Thomas and Mr Edwards exposed that Carmarthenshire Council’s Chief Executive, Mark James received a £20,000 cash advance for election activities a minimum of five week before the election actually took place. Following this revelation, the Carmarthenshire politicians submitted Freedom of Information requests to all Welsh Councils to find out when council’s paid their Returning Officer. In response, not only did Carmar...

Councillors have praised the council’s performance and agreed on areas for improvement in the coming year. The council’s Annual Report and Improvement Plan was presented to full council. The report provides a balanced view on the council’s performance and compares it to the performance of other Welsh local authorities. Last year, the council improved in 71 per cent of the measures used to compare and evaluate the performance of all 22 Welsh local authorities – the highest percentage of improvement for all Welsh councils. The report also highlights the challenges the council faces in order to deliver better services with limited resources. Council Leader, Cllr Kevin Madge, said the report shows that the council is making a difference. “We’ve made savings in the last year of £10million,” he said. “We’ve made progress, and made a difference. We are creating jobs, doing better in social services and giving houses to people who need our support.” Leader of the opposition, Cllr Peter Hughes ...

Carmarthenshire Planning Problems and more: A chat with the Wales Audit Office I ventured out into the monsoon this morning to have a meeting with the Wales Audit Office. For those who have been following things, the WAO preferred to discuss the matter in person prior to writing a reply. The matter is of course, the use of your money (Carmarthenshire taxpayers) to fund the Chief Executive's counterclaim for libel. So armed with some general questions, and acting strictly on behalf of the taxpayer,  I headed down the M4 to a bleak looking business park/Industrial estate on the outskirts of Swansea. More on the blog . . .

The Wales Audit Office has praised Carmarthenshire County Council for the way the local authority goes about its business. The WAO has sent the council its Corporate Assessment Letter for 2011/12 which confirms that the local authority’s Improvement Plan submitted to County Council on June 8, 2011, meets the statutory requirements and that the Auditor General is satisfied that the council is discharging its duties to secure continuous improvement. Wales Audit Office Group Director Alan Morris told a meeting of the full Council: “We have concluded that the council is clearly committed to driving improvements forward and that there are processes in place to achieve this such as your Improvement Plan. “You have effective arrangements for consulting widely with stakeholders and the public. You are well placed to meet the financial challenges the council is facing.” The Corporate Assessment Letter sent by Auditor General for Wales Huw Vaughan Thomas said: “Good progress is being made on the...

Carmarthenshire County Council has been given a clean bill of health by the Wales Audit Office. The external regulator has presented its Annual Report for 2008/09 on the way which the council discharges its responsibilities and manages public funds. The Relationship Managers Annual Audit Letter is an important external regulatory assessment of the council’s corporate management, improvement, performance management framework and financial arrangements. It also incorporates the Improvement Plan audit. Auditors found that: • The 2008-09 Statement of Accounts were prepared in accordance with statutory requirements and presented fairly the financial position and transactions. • The Improvement Plan for 2009-10 meets statutory requirements and provides a balanced view of its performance in 2008-09 which again shows general improvement. • The council has a robust performance management framework including risk assessment arrangements. • The assessment of the improvement agreements show that ...