Council told to give residents more say in policies and decision-making

Residents should have more chances to scrutinise Caerphilly County Borough Council policies, national auditors have recommended.

“Minimal” public engagement was found, and “confusion” over the role of scrutiny committees led to misunderstandings for supporters of Llancaiach Fawr and a meals on wheels service, which were both at risk of closure last year.

“Some members of the public were under the impression that because the scrutiny committee had recommended that both services should continue, the decision had been made,” Audit Wales said in a new report.

“Therefore, they were disappointed and confused when [the] cabinet subsequently agreed with scrutiny’s recommendation to retain the meals on wheels service, but not to keep Llancaiach Fawr open.”

The auditors recommended that “proactively seeking the views of the public at an earlier stage gives the council more opportunities to clarify expectations and avoid misunderstanding”.

The council should “proactively explore opportunities to engage the public in scrutiny that are not restricted to participation in formal committee meetings”, they added.

The role of scrutiny committees is to analyse council reports and offer views and recommendations on proposals, helping shape decisions.

They also have the power to “call-in” proposals if they feel decision-makers should reconsider or amend their plans.

Caerphilly Council has a joint scrutiny committee made up of all backbench councillors, as well as specialist scrutiny committees for various policy areas such as education or housing.

The auditors described the council’s approach as “traditional” and said there was “infrequent” public participation in committee meetings.

“Engaging with topics at an earlier stage of development would give scrutiny more opportunities to gather evidence from a range of organisations and individuals,” they said. “This would help ensure that a range of voices are heard and reflected in the council’s decisions.”

Audit Wales said the council’s overall process for scrutinising decision-making had a “limited impact”, and while it is understood by councillors and officers, “in practice responsibilities are not always applied”.

The auditors recommended committee members ensure they are reading reports before meetings, and are “holding cabinet to account” by “addressing cabinet members directly in their questioning”.

Council officers should only be asked to provide “factual clarification” at meetings.

Commenting on the report, a council spokesman said: “We note the findings of the Audit Wales report and we will consider the key points that have been raised. The council has robust and effective scrutiny arrangements in place, however we welcome this external review which will enable us to strengthen these arrangements further.”