MINISTERS SHOULD INTERVENE IN

ANGLESEY COUNCIL
Auditor General calls for urgent action to address
serious problems
PRESS RELEASE – Embargoed until 00:01 hrs, 15 July 2009
The Isle of Anglesey County Council has a long history of not being properly run,
which has had a corrosive effect on the way it delivers its work and leaves it poorly
placed to meet future challenges. That is the conclusion of the Auditor General‟s
corporate governance inspection report, which is published today. It details long-
standing problems at the Council and makes a number of recommendations for
improvement – including a call for Assembly Government Ministers to intervene in
the affairs of the Council under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999.

Even though there are good features in the performance of many services, today‟s
report highlights internal issues such as weak self-regulation, inappropriate behaviour
and conflict at the Council which have been left largely unaddressed since it was
established 1996 – despite a number of previous external reviews.

There is a history of personality politics based around mistrust, suspicion and

personal animosity. Attempting to deal with it saps a huge amount of energy and
distracts people, including successive Managing Directors, from the major issues of
providing the Council with a real sense of direction, a strategy for continuous
improvement and a means of achieving efficiency savings at a time of increasing
financial constraint.

While the former Managing Director made efforts to reduce conflict and improve
behaviour, there has been no consistent corporate focus on addressing these issues
and the approach has been reactive. The majority of councillors are well motivated in
their approach to Council business and it important to recognise their contribution,
but their efforts have not been enough to counteract poor behaviour by a small
number of councillors over a significant period of time.

Conflict has led to a rift between political and managerial leadership, preventing the
corporate management team from exercising its legitimate role of challenging and
supporting members in developing policy and direction. Also, twelve months after the
current Executive came into power there is still no agreed sense of direction or
comprehensive and consistent policy framework. Successive administrations have
been characterised by the pursuit of a number of internally focussed issues.

Weak political group structures contribute to a lack of control and sanction at the
Council. Weak self regulation has also created a culture that not only tolerates
inappropriate behaviour but is seen by some to reward it. The Council‟s reputation
has been seriously damaged by these problems, which has undermined public
confidence in the Council‟s ability to run its affairs properly.

The Auditor General makes seven recommendations directly to the Council for
improvement, including calls for it to:

 Amend its political arrangements within 12 months, setting clear strategic

priorities and direction;
 Re-structure senior management within 6 months to address deficiencies with
corporate leadership;
 Take immediate steps to restore trust between some members and some
senior officers;
 Improve planning decisions within three months;
 Make arrangements for improving citizen engagement by the end of 2009;
 Improve the way it responds to complaints by 31 March 2010; and
 Make arrangements for strengthening corporate services within six months.

Auditor General, Jeremy Colman, said today:

“Serious, persistent problems at the Isle of Anglesey Council urgently need
addressing now if it is to restore its reputation, win back public trust and set a positive
course for the future. But its history convinces me that it will be unable on its own to
deliver the scale and pace of change that is needed. That is why I am calling on
Assembly Government Ministers to intervene and to provide the necessary external
support and challenge that Anglesey Council needs to help place it onto a firmer,
more successful, footing.”

Notes to Editors:

 This corporate governance inspection report sets out to answer the question
„Is the Isle of Anglesey Council properly run?‟ The inspection was carried out
during April 2009.

 The Auditor General decided to carry out this inspection following a

recommendation from the Appointed Auditor in the January 2009 Annual
Letter.

 The inspection was carried out under section 10A of the Local Government
Act 1999. The Act enables the Auditor General to recommend to the Welsh
Ministers to give a direction to a council where he believes as a result of an
inspection that the council is failing to comply with the requirements of Part I
of the Act to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions
are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and
effectiveness.

 The Wales Audit Office is independent of government and is responsible for

the annual audit of some £20 billion of annual public expenditure.

 The Wales Audit Office was created on 1 April 2005 following the passing of
the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004, which expanded the functions of the
Auditor General for Wales and enabled the transfer of staff from the Audit
Commission in Wales and National Audit Office in Wales to his employment.

Ends
For more information please contact Rachel Moss on 029 2032 0521 or email
rachel.moss@wao.gov.uk