A
RESPONSE FROM WCVA
2. We thank the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee for the chance to offer our thoughts on this important consultation. We also thank the voluntary sector organisations who engaged with us and provided vital intelligence for our response.
PRINCIPLES AND BEST PRACTICE FOR SCRUTINY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
3.
There is
a need for greater co-ordination and joint understanding across
government portfolios of the role of the voluntary sector and its
interactions with the public sector. More clarity is required
within those portfolios and divisions as to how those relationships
are established, grown and maintained. This is necessary for
effective scrutiny of public services provided by the voluntary
sector, whether independently or in coproduction with the public
sector.
4. Regarding the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act: while the Code of Practice sets out what is expected of organisations and bodies, and the duties placed on them, these organisations and bodies are often not held to real account. There are inspection reports, of course, with a list of recommendations, but how can we be sure that these recommendations are effectively considered and carried out? Accountability and transparency is key here.
5. How the Act’s principles of coproduction and service user voice and control are implemented across health and social care must be scrutinised closely.
6.
The
voluntary sector, via individual charities, experts by experience,
and people with lived experience, can all offer excellent insight
in relation to situations when public administration may fall short
of certain standards or have failed in any way. Being able to
comment on complaint themes or trends and give practical advice on
how public administrators can really show that they have learned
lessons and will not make the same errors in the future is
beneficial to the scrutiny process. The opportunity to work with
the various inspectorates, regulators, commissioners and ombudsmen
is something that it would be useful to consider in the course of
this work.
7.
Procedural rules must
be made available in a wide variety of formats and languages, not
just English and Welsh.
8.
When
citizens and organisations contribute to consultations, engagement
events and so on, participants should be kept up to date on how
their contributions have been used and the differences they have
made.
9.
It
is important that minutes from strategic partnership
meetings are made available in a timely and accessible manner for
transparency and clarity.
10. It would be useful if
the Committee could publish some case studies showcasing what it
considers to be best practice in public administration.
INFORMATION AND EVIDENCE THE COMMITTEE NEED TO MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE OVERSIGHT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
11. When public bodies
work together, they must understand and document the likely
long-term impacts of the decisions they make on Wales’
progress towards the seven wellbeing goals of the Future
Generations Act, with this information available to all, including
the Committee. Openness and
transparency in evaluating the differences that scrutiny has made
in improving public services and practice is vital.
12. Equality Impact
Assessments must be co-produced with service users, with clear
mechanisms to challenge decisions. There are reports this is not
happening consistently. The
Locked
Out report has more on
the impact of this on disabled people.
13. The success, or
otherwise, of steps taken to involve a diversity of voices, along
with the difference citizen’s contributions have made, must
also be documented.
14. The Voluntary Sector Data Hub
contains
a wealth of statistical information about voluntary sector
activity, funding and income, going back a number of years. This
would be an invaluable tool for the Committee if considering the
impact of voluntary sector services.
15. WCVA’s National Principles for Public Engagement, endorsed by Welsh Government, are a useful tool for bodies to ensure they are effectively engaging with communities and individuals.
PRIORITY ISSUES THEY MAY WISH TO CONSIDER
16. As a priority, the committee should look to examine the ongoing delivery of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, in terms of both monitoring progress against the national milestones and indicators, and in terms of how it is applied by public bodies at various levels. The committee’s report Delivering for Future Generations: The story so far from March 2021 is a valuable starting point here, but noting that this work is still being embedded across public bodies. Its implementation also varies across Wales.
17. Openness and transparency in evaluating the differences that scrutiny has made in improving public services and practice is vital. The success, or otherwise, of steps taken to involve a diversity of voices, along with the difference citizen’s contributions have made, must be documented.
18. Regional Partnership Boards are invaluable for scrutiny of the Social Services and Wellbeing Act, but it is important the Committee is aware of issues facing voluntary sector and citizen representatives on these Boards. Across many RPBs, sector representatives are hugely outnumbered by statutory representatives. Often, one person is expected to be a voice for the whole of the voluntary sector – which is impossible for as diverse a sector as ours – and reports suggest that person is often made to feel very much the junior partner on the Board. Similar issues arise for citizen and carer representatives. Citizen representatives and voluntary representatives require greater support to achieve the stated requirement that RPBs ‘demonstrate citizen engagement and co-production’. Other partners on RPBs must also be helped to understand the importance of these particular representatives.
19. Corporate Joint Committees will be important in shaping how local government collaborates regionally. It is vital that high quality scrutiny mechanisms are put in place so that we can be sure that CJCs are encouraging coproduction of public services.
20. Once the Race Equality Action Plan and LGBTQ+ Action Plan are launched, bodies must be scrutinised as to how they are meeting the aims of these documents.
DISCUSSION
21. WCVA will be pleased to discuss these or any other points relating to this consultation response with officials, committees, Members of the Senedd or Ministers if requested.
David
Cook,
Policy Officer,
WCVA
December 2021