In response to the report ‘A Picture of Public Services 2011’ published today by the Auditor General, Steve Thomas, WLGA Chief Executive said:
“The WLGA welcomes today’s report from the Auditor General. Whilst we will need to study the report in detail, we would endorse a number of the headline conclusions. The Auditor General has recognised that the public sector faces unprecedented challenges, but he also recognises that progress and transformation takes time. Critically, the report recognises that Welsh councils and the police and fire and rescue authorities are making progress and are well placed to meet these challenges.”
“Welsh councils are committed to collaboration where it saves money and leads to improved outcomes, and the Auditor General agrees that collaboration is not an end in itself but that it must be for a purpose. We would however challenge the Auditor General’s assertion that there is ‘uncertainty’ about how councils plan to increase collaboration; councils are well advanced in negotiating a new ‘compact’ with the Welsh Government which will outline which services we will collaborate around and by when.”
