A Welsh Government report entitled Local Authority Service Performance 2012/13 shows that key services in Monmouthshire are often delivered at a lower cost than in many other areas.
Council leader Peter Fox who was present when Wednesday’s cabinet meeting examined the report said:
“Variation in the quality of services between local councils is not headline news. This data was first published in September 2013. But this report looks at what some services achieve alongside how much councils are spending to deliver them.”
The report shows that:
- Local environmental services in Monmouthshire perform above the Welsh average but spend below the average
- The same is true of roads and transport which are also evaluated by Welsh Government as delivering above average achievement from a below average spend
- Monmouthshire spends more than the average for Wales on its primary schools and for this it delivers above average achievement – although it recognises that more needs to be done to improve attainment in secondary schools
- Spending is also above average on culture and sport and these services are also showing above average achievement
Councillors will look at performance measures for Monmouthshire’s three priorities of education, support for vulnerable people and enterprise and job creation. In around half of the published measures Monmouthshire’s performance is among the best in Wales. The council must now focus on raising attainment in areas where standards are below that which residents expect.
The recent Williams Commission report argues that local authorities need to be merged to save money; this data shows that small can also be efficient and effective.
Cllr Fox added:
“We receive by far the lowest funding per head of population of any local authority in Wales. So the fact that spending is sometimes below average is not surprising. There is always room for improvement and we continue to work hard to deliver improvement. But it is encouraging that despite our small size we’re managing to punch above our weight in delivering good quality, value for money services.”
