Scrutiny in Local Government

The Public Accounts Committee received a briefing from the Auditor General for Wales to compliment the work the Committee undertook on the financial challenges facing local government.

In his report, published in May 2014,  the Auditor General states that while councils are actively working to improve scrutiny the outcomes are not always clear, despite significant investment of time and resources in the scrutiny process. The report found that there is a clear enthusiasm from councils to learn and improve their approach, it also highlights that councils are struggling to demonstrate the impact of scrutiny. This, together with some lack of clarity around the role scrutiny plays in holding the executive to account, can lead some people to question the importance and value of scrutiny.