Agenda item

The Leader presented the report, the purpose of which was to present Cabinet with the Wales Audit Office (WAO) report and management action plan on how the Council is embedding the Well-being for Future Generations Act in the delivery of the Council’s Well-being Objective ‘To promote economic growth and regeneration whilst protecting the environment’ and the Step to ‘Maintain our focus on regenerating the city centre to become one of the UK’s top cities.’

The Leader set out the background to this and highlighted the following points:

·      In 2015 the Welsh Government delivered the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act enabling all public bodies in Wales to create a Wales, and Newport, that we all want to live in now and in the future.  This administration has an ambition to be one of the top cities.

·      As an effective Cabinet and Council there is a need to ensure that the decisions made today consider the impact of current and future generations.

·      The Well-being Act also places a duty on the Council to have regard for sustainable development and ensure throughout all of the Council’s activities and decisions made that the principles of the five ways  of working are considered: Long Term; Collaboration; Involvement; Prevention; and Integration.

·      The Corporate Plan 2017-22 has four Well-being Objectives and the Steps that will be taken to deliver these objectives in support of the delivery of the Public Services Board’s Well-being Plan 2018-23 and the Well-being Act. 

·      The review undertaken by the Wales Audit Office examined the extent to which Newport City Council has acted in accordance with the Well-being Act and how the Council has adopted the five ways of working in delivering the Well-being Objectives and Steps in the Corporate Plan.

The Leader set out the summary of findings contained in the report, namely:

·      ‘In taking steps to regenerate the city centre the Council has many positive examples of how it has taken account of the sustainable development principle (SDP).  However, the Council recognises that there is more to do for it to consistently embed all of the five ways of working across its ambitions for the regeneration of the city centre.’   

The Leader noted the huge pressures imposed on staff to implement this within the authority and the Leader welcomed the findings of the report; in the decade of austerity to receive such a positive outcome is testament to members and officers alike.

In their report, WAO acknowledged the work taken to embed these principles of the five ways of working into decision making processes, notably:

·        How the Council’s Economic Growth Strategy will enable an opportunity to extend a longer term vision for the city 20 years and beyond;

·        The way that the Council uses current and forecasted data to improve its understanding of preventative measures and how this can be used to improve its long term environmental aspirations for the city centre;

·        The Council is using its position to collaborate and integrate with other public sector, third sector and private sector partners to support the delivery of the Corporate Plan and the opportunities that the Council has to build on these arrangements;

·        The improvements the Council has made to involve citizens, businesses and other stakeholders in the decision making process and the need to build on its approach to ensure the full diversity of the city is captured in these processes.

As a result of the findings the report identified ten ‘areas for development’ to help further embed the five ways of working principles into the governance and delivery of the Corporate Plan.

The Leader noted that management responses have been provided to the Wales Audit Office on how the Council will action and deliver improvements as outlined in the report, which has also been considered by Scrutiny.

In conclusion, the Leader asked Cabinet to note the outcomes of the report from the Wales Audit Office and to ensure as Cabinet that regular updates will be provided on the implementation of the management actions and delivery of the Corporate Plan in all service areas.

The Cabinet reinforced the Leader’s positive comments and commended the report.

Decision:

Cabinet agreed the outcomes of the report and asked to be provided with regular updates on the progress of the service area implementing the necessary management actions.