Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee Inquiry into Local Service Boards

Evidence from Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS)

I write on behalf of the Wales Branch of the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS) whose members comprise the Monitoring Officers of all the Welsh Unitary Authorities, the Fire & Rescue Authorities and the National Parks. Most Monitoring Officers are also heads of Legal Service. 

As a group we would wish to put forward a combined view in your call for evidence in relation to Local Service Boards. 

Some of our members have been involved directly with the six pilot boards and others are increasingly involved in the Local Service Boards that are being established in their locality. 

We have agreed that it is extremely important not only that we respond to this particular call for evidence to inform your Committee’s deliberations, but also that we are recognised as a useful consultative group whose experience can inform future Local Service Board development.

The main points we would wish your Committee to have regard to are as follows:

Governance

Whilst we recognise the need for LSBs to be flexible, there must be some regard to appropriate governance arrangements. If statutory provisions are unlikely, then we wonder what guidance WAG may issue to ensure some degree of consistency in the basic arrangements under which LSBs would operate. Paragraph 41 of the paper by the Department for Public Services and Performance to WAG only makes a brief reference to the Local Authority taking the lead in practical arrangements for the LSBs. Also, in the study Local Service Boards :A Baseline for Evaluation Section IV ( Findings: questionnaire responses), respondents have (in para 4.1) raised concerns about the need for appropriate governance arrangements, whilst not suggesting how these arrangements might be strengthened We feel there should be more emphasis on the importance of good governance arrangements. 

It may be helpful if I refer you to an extract from Advice & Guidance by the Ombudsman in England on Local Partnerships and Citizen Redress which sets out some principles which you could take into account in recommending issuing such guidance. 

 Extract from special report by the Commission for Local Administration in England on Local Partnerships and Citizen Redress:

Principles of good governance within local partnerships

• A clear statement of the partnership’s principles and objectives.

• Clarity regarding each partner’s role and responsibility within the partnership.

• Definition of the roles of partnership board members.

• Adequate specification of line management responsibilities for staff who support the partnership.

• A statement of funding sources for joint projects and clear accountability for proper financial administration.

• A protocol for dispute resolution within the partnership.

• Principles of good governance within local authorities

• Coherent standards and principles governing the way in which the council, its members and officers operate within a partnership setting.

• A clear, consistent and comprehensive governance code relating to partnership working, closely linked to or forming part of the council’s constitution.

• A specification of the key factors and considerations to be addressed in the design of any partnership governance arrangements in which the council takes part.

• Arrangements to ensure that an agreement, contract or protocol is in place for every partnership to which the council belongs.

• Arrangements for regular review and scrutiny of partnership governance and activity.

Scrutiny Arrangements

There is concern that the scrutiny arrangements currently in operation in Local Authorities are not replicated in many of the partner organisations with LSBs. It may be that some of the partner organisations will not be entirely comfortable with scrutiny as understood by Local Government and there will need to be a consensus on scrutiny standards.

Resources

The LSBs will require resource intensive arrangements not only in their governance and administrative support (which are likely to come from Local Authorities) but also in the capacity of Senior Officers to participate in the various LSBs which may operate within one area. It is clear that without statutory force, the LSBs will draw their integrity and impact from the seniority of the Officers who attend on behalf of each of the partners. If this is likely to be at first or second tier level then, given the other demands of such senior Officers, it may be difficult to maintain such senior involvement.  This is particularly difficult for Fire & Rescue Authorities who cover large areas and may have a significant number of LSBs to attend. 

Democratic Accountability

Local Government has strict standards of public access to meetings and arrangements in relation to agendas, minutes and reports etc. which are not replicated in partner organisations.  Local Government also has clear and timely reporting arrangements back to its own members and again, these are not necessarily followed by each partner organisation. It is important to inform each partner organisation of the work of the LSBs so that it is clear that each partner organisation is up-to-date on what is intended and what is being achieved. The majority of the business of public bodies is conducted openly & in the public domain. We would like to see more emphasis on the importance of LSB meetings also being open to the public & reported back into partners’ organisations. There is still a marked lack of knowledge by both members & officers of the role & remit of an LSB & how it fits in to the other public sector structures   

Support of Elected Members

With the pooling of budgets and the delivery of services through LSBs, it is important to gauge accurately the support of Elected Members within Local Authorities for the work of the LSBs so that there can be certainty of commitment to LSBs.

Complaints

It is clear that the Ombudsman in England believes that if local authority services are delivered through a partnership organisation then the responsibility for complaints is likely to lie with the Local Authorities.  It is important that there are clear arrangements in place as to where responsibilities lie for any failure of service delivery within Local Service Boards. To-date, we cannot see that any regard has been had to exploring this. 

We hope the points raised will inform the Committee’s deliberations on the future development of LSBs.

Yours sincerely

Lynda Willis
Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer
Torfaen County Borough Council