investing to maximise its impact - wales audit office€¦ · 8 scrutiny in the spotlight:...

Scrutiny in the Spotlight: Investing to maximise its impact 1

Scrutiny in the spotlight: Investing to maximise its impact

Conference Brochure

Thursday 28 November 2013

SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff

Scrutiny in the Spotlight: Investing to maximise its impact2

Foreword

The title of this conference, ‘Scrutiny in the spotlight – investing to maximise its impact’, truly reflects the importance being placed on the role of public service scrutiny in Wales during these challenging times. Scrutiny has a pivotal role in promoting improvement, efficiencies, and collaboration across public services, and to hold to account those responsible for delivering those services. This is increasingly the case in responding to the challenge of financial constraints whilst continuously seeking to improve services in response to rising public expectations, and in developing effective joint scrutiny arrangements for new, and emerging, collaborations. We are at a watershed moment for Welsh public services with the imminent publication of the report of the Commission on Public Service Delivery and Governance. It is already clear public services will no longer be able to rely on historic service delivery models, and there will be some difficult decisions to be taken which will have significant implications for how the people of Wales receive their services. Never before has scrutiny had such a vital role in delivering effective oversight and challenge to ensure decisions are taken with rigour; decision-makers are properly held to account; and decisions taken are sustainable for future generations.

With well over 250 delegates in attendance today, including both Members and Officers, strategic and operational, it is clear the appetite to drive the scrutiny agenda forward is strong. This conference is designed to deliver a balance of keynote addresses and interactive opportunities to allow delegates to share and learn from each other, as well as hearing from a range of expert contributors. The agenda reflects the direction scrutiny must take; scrutinising collaborative working and engaging in joint scrutiny; being ever more transparent and engaging more effectively with the public; being evidence-based in recognition of the importance of good data and meaningful evaluation.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the conference, and are able to take away some important learning points both for you and your organisation, and that you are inspired to take scrutiny to another level.


Contents

Agenda 4

Workshop Outlines 5

Venue Plan 6

Speaker Biographies 7


Agenda

9.15 Registration and refreshments

10.20 Opening remarks and housekeeping Jessica Crowe, Conference Chair – Executive Director, Centre for Public Scrutiny

10.30 Keynote speaker Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Local Government and Government Business, Welsh Government

10.50 Improving Scrutiny – Good Scrutiny? Good Question! Wales Audit Office Scrutiny Improvement Study Part 1 – Huw Vaughan Thomas, Auditor General for Wales, Wales Audit Office The Auditor General will share the key findings of the All Wales Local Government study and his thoughts on improving scrutiny

Part 2 – Video feedback from peer learning review team members

Part 3 – Examples of how Scrutiny has made an impact: •CllrPeterFarley,ScrutinyChair,MonmouthshireCountyCouncil; •AlisonWard,ChiefExecutive,TorfaenCountyBoroughCouncil; •DaveMcKenna,ScrutinyManager,CityandCountyofSwansea; •DrHelenPaterson,ChiefExecutive,WrexhamCountyBoroughCouncil.

12.00 Workshop session 1 – A choice of attending one of the following workshops:

1 Role of the Networked Councillor in Scrutiny Catherine Howe, Public-i Group Ltd

2 Public Engagement in Scrutiny VirginiaHawkinsandKevinDavies,NationalAssemblyforWales

3 Evidencing the Impact: Getting a return on investment in scrutiny Brenda Cook, Centre for Public Scrutiny

4 Taking the Fear out of Budget Scrutiny John Dwight, Wales Audit Office and Chris Tidswell, CIPFA

5 Use of Information/Evidence-based Scrutiny HuwRees,WalesAuditOfficeandSimonBrown,ClivePhilips,GerardKerslake and Huw Davies, Estyn

6 Doing Collaborative Scrutiny: Reflections from Practice James Downe and Rachel Ashworth, Cardiff Business School and representatives from Prosiect Gwyrdd

13.00 Buffet lunch and networking

14.00 Workshop session 2 – A second chance to attend one of the above workshops

15.10 Accountability through listening – Lessons learnt from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry Peter Watkin Jones, Eversheds (Solicitor to the Inquiry Team)

16.00 Delegates perspectives on the day

16.20 ‘What might the future hold?’ Tim Gilling, Deputy Executive Director, Centre for Public Scrutiny

16.45 Close

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Workshop Outlines

1 Role of the Networked Councillor in ScrutinyWorkshop outcomes: Appreciation of why social media is not just another communication channel. Delegates will gain an understanding of why scrutiny is a perfect place to start developing the relationship between the networked councillor and the public.

Workshop Presenter: Catherine Howe, Public-i Group Ltd

2 Public Engagement in Scrutiny Workshop outcomes: Virginia Hawkins has developed a Public Engagement tool for Assembly Members. This workshop will highlight the benefits of the tool and how it can be adapted to suit the needs of Local Government Members.

WorkshopPresenters:VirginiaHawkinsandKevinDavies,NationalAssemblyforWales

3 Evidencing the Impact: Getting a return on investment in scrutiny Workshop outcomes: This workshop will help delegates develop their understanding of a ‘Return on Investment’ model of scrutiny developed by the Centre for Public Scrutiny; why it was developed, how and where it has been used and the impact of using the model to improve public health and tackle health inequalities.

Workshop presenter: Brenda Cook, Centre for Public Scrutiny

4 Taking the Fear out of Budget Scrutiny Workshop outcomes: Understanding the budget scrutiny process better and providing you with confidence in questioning, building resilience into questioning and seeking to understand budget proposals.

Workshop presenters: John Dwight, Wales Audit Office and Chris Tidswell, CIPFA

5 Use of Information/Evidence-based Scrutiny Workshop outcomes: This workshop will assist participants in identifying the usefulness of data and information contained in reports and equip them to ask relevant questions.

Workshoppresenters:HuwRees,WalesAuditOfficeandSimonBrown,ClivePhilips,GerardKerslakeand Huw Davies, Estyn

6 Doing Collaborative Scrutiny: Reflections from Practice Workshop outcomes: This workshop will share learning from a recent study on collaborative scrutiny and improve understanding of the benefits and challenges of joint working through a case study of Prosiect Gwyrdd.

Workshop presenters: James Downe and Rachel Ashworth, Cardiff Business School and representatives from Prosiect Gwyrdd

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Speaker Biographies

Jessica CroweCentre for Public Scrutiny

Jessica Crowe is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Scrutiny, an independent charity founded in 2003 to promote better scrutiny and accountability in public services. Prior to joining CfPS in 2006, she was a councillor for eight years in the London Borough of Hackney, where she was Deputy Mayor. In 2010 she became a government-appointed Intervention Commissioner to oversee the governance of Doncaster Council, and in 2013 she was appointed by the Welsh Government to the Recovery Board for Pembrokeshire.

In 2007-08 she was on the independent Councillors Commission, which investigated the barriers and incentives to becoming an elected councillor. From 2004 to 2008 she was a non-executive director of Homerton University Foundation Hospital Trust. She has also worked for a Government Minister and a number of local government organisations. Jessica has a BA (Hons) in Modern History from the University of Oxford and an MSc in European Social Policy from the London School of Economics. She lives in Hackney with her partner and two children.

Lesley GriffithsMinister for Local Government and Government Business

Lesley Griffiths was brought up in North East Wales and has lived and worked in Wrexham all her adult life. She has two daughters and has served as a school governor and community councillor. She worked at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital for twenty years. Prior to her election she worked as constituency assistant to Ian Lucas, MP. As a strong supporter of devolution for Wales, she played an active role in the 1997 ‘Yes for Wales’ campaign. She is a member of Unison.

She was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2007 and served on several Assembly Committees. She set up and chaired the Cross Party Hospice Group. In December 2009, she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills. Following re-election to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2011, Lesley Griffiths was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services and in March 2013 was appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business.

Outside of politics, her main hobbies are music, walking and watching Wrexham Football Club. Lesley was formerly an elected director of the Wrexham Supporters Trust.


Huw Vaughan ThomasWales Audit Office

Huw Vaughan Thomas was educated at the University of Durham and CityUniversity in London. Following a career in the Civil Service, he was appointed the Department of Employment’s Regional Director and Director for Wales in 1988.

In 1991, Huw became Chief Executive at Gwynedd County Council. After localgovernment reorganisation, he moved as Chief Executive to DenbighshireCounty Council. During this time, he also served as Assistant National Secretaryof SOLACE (the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives), and undertookexchanges with chief executives in Tasmania and New Zealand.

In 2001, Huw joined Taro Consultancy with a wide range of public and privateclients. He was a member of the Richard Commission, looking into the powers andelectoral arrangements of the National Assembly for Wales; chaired the Big LotteryFund in Wales and served on the Parole Board for England and Wales.

He has been a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, theLaw Society Council, the Hearing Aid Council and the Olympic Lottery Distributor.Huw has also undertaken extensive voluntary work as a Trustee for charities for thedeaf and hard of hearing. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel andDevelopment, and in 2001 was awarded Companionship of the Chartered Instituteof Management for his contribution to public sector management in Wales.

Huw was appointed as the Auditor General for Wales from 1 October 2010.

Catherine HowePublic-i Group Ltd

Catherine is an expert in digital media and eDemocracy, with a background in technology delivery. She has worked with online communities and social networking tools for over 15 years.

Since2001CatherinehasworkedwithLocalGovernmentacrosstheUKandEurope, looking at how new technologies can deliver innovative democracy and engagement solutions for the Networked Society, helping clients understand the strategic and organisational implications. Working closely with Police Forces and the APCC, she is also currently providing key strategic advice, guidance and research around the new Police and Crime Commissioner roles.

She was recently elected onto the Guardian Public Leaders board, a high profile network which advises on policy and leadership issues for senior leaders of all public services. She is also a Governor of the Portslade Aldridge Community Academy (PACA), a Governor of The Democratic Society (Demsoc) and one of the core team running CityCamp Brighton.

Her research interest is the social impact of Web 2.0 tools in a democratic context and the creation of online civic spaces. She is currently writing up her doctoral thesis on the civic impacts of new technologies.


Virginia HawkinsNational Assembly for Wales

Virginia has worked for the Assembly for 10 years, supporting the scrutiny function of the Assembly’s cross party committees for most of that time. As well as being a committee researcher and clerk to many of the Assembly’s committees, she has spent time working with the Assembly’s Communications Team helping them to develop an engagement toolkit for committees. More recently Virginia has been a member of the Assembly’s senior management team and Head of Assembly Committees. She has helped to develop the scrutiny function within the Assembly as the role and remit of its committees have changed, leading work on reviewing the functioning of committees and the support given to them.

Virginia has had a particular interest in how the public can be more engaged with the Assembly’s work and has led a number of pioneering initiatives with her committees over the years to increase public participation in scrutiny inquiries.

With many years’ experience in delivering training courses in a number of organisations and academic institutions, Virginia has developed and delivered sessions for various Welsh local authorities examining the scrutiny function of the Assembly and earlier this year worked with the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago to deliver training workshops on effective scrutiny for their parliamentary staff.

Kevin DaviesNational Assembly for Wales

KevinjoinedtheAssemblyin2009,initiallymanagingthetoursteamattheSenedd,before joining the Outreach team in 2011, as an Outreach and Liaison Manager for South Wales. In that time he has led on developing the Outreach team into a service whose main objective is to attract a wider variety of people to get involved in legislative and policy inquiries; giving members of the public, community and interest groups and organisations the ability to have their say on issues that affectthemonadaytodaybasis.Indoingso,Kevindevelopedaninternalonlineresource called the Communications Toolkit, which outlines different techniques his team are able and experienced in utilising whilst engaging with a variety of audiences for committee inquiries.

The Outreach team’s work largely focuses on speaking with harder to reach groups; those who are not traditionally engaged with the work of the Assembly, and therefore rarely contribute in scrutiny activity.

Kevinisexperiencedindeliveringtrainthetrainerstyleworkshopsandpresentations to a variety of audiences including newly elected local councillors, as well as project managing communications campaigns for committee inquiries, with the primary objective of increasing participation in scrutiny.


Brenda CookCentre for Public Scrutiny

Brenda Cook has worked with CfPS since it was established. She is currently Regional Advocate for the East Midlands and East of England and a CfPS adviser with expertise in working with NHS organisations, local authorities and the voluntary sector.

Brenda brings her own experience of working at local, regional and national levels within the public sector to the support that she provides to Members, committees, networks and officers within local authorities and NHS bodies and other stakeholders. Brenda is considered to be an expert in health overview and scrutiny legislation, policy and practice. She is a skilled facilitator and trainer, and an experienced coach for both individuals and groups. Recent projects undertaken include facilitating action learning sets, working with the Board of ân NHS Trust, supporting scrutiny development areas focussed on health inequalities and on the health reforms, producing checklists and guidance documents, and providing one to one leadership coaching.

John DwightWales Audit Office

John Dwight is an Audit Manager with over 15 years’ experience in the Wales Audit Office and its predecessor bodies. His role as a financial audit manager includes responsibility for reviewing financial reporting and governance structures across a wide range of audited bodies. This includes a significant level of engagement with members and senior officers, particularly at audit committees.

In recent years, John has led on a number of local government corporate governance reviews.

John is also the current secretary of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Cymru-Wales branch which involves liaison with CIPFA qualified finance professionals in public sector organisations across Wales.


Chris TidswellCIPFA

Chris is the Head of CIPFA in Wales. Chris works across the public sector in Wales undertaking a variety of roles. This involves working with the Welsh Government, National Assembly and a number of key public sector stakeholder organisations and professional groups.

Chris has responsibility for the strategic direction and delivery of services in Wales by CIPFA which include its policy and technical role, the professional qualification, training and support.

Chris has 30 years’ experience working in and with the Public Sector as both a practitioner and advisor in England and Wales. During this time Chris has delivered advice, support and undertaken roles and projects for Local Government, Central Government, Health and the broader sector. Chris has worked for professional services organisations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and RSM Robson Rhodes, the IT industry and consulting companies as well as being a practitioner in accounting and auditing.

This experience has resulted in a wealth of knowledge of the challenges facing organisations, their operation, best practice and an ability to contribute to their effective leadership and development. This has involved working from board level to service delivery and front line functions developing and delivering solutions and providing external review and challenge.

Huw ReesWales Audit Office

Huw Rees is the Wales Audit Office’s Local Government Manager with responsibility for developing audit and assessment approaches for local government performance audit. Huw has 13 years’ experience of working in audit and inspection bodies dating back to 2000 when he was appointed as one of the first best value inspectors.

Before joining the Audit Commission Huw was Senior Recreation Manager for Cardiff Council overseeing the contracting of Cardiff’s network of leisure facilities. Huw’s passion for sport and recreation is both professional and personal and in addition to having a paper published in the journal of the Institute for Leisure and Amenity Management in 2004, Huw authored the 2007 Wales Audit Office report on Increasing Physical Activity in Wales.

In recent years, Huw has undertaken a number of corporate governance inspections and led on the development of the Wales Audit Office local government national studies programme.


Simon BrownEstyn

Simon is a Strategic Director in Estyn, leading on the corporate business of Estyn, Estyn’s work with local authorities and the inspection of post-16 sectors including further education (FE), work-based learning (WBL), careers, adult community-based learning (ACL), offender learning, Welsh for adults (WfA) and youth and community work training. He also has lead responsibility for the delivery of Estyn’s strategy for building capacity in education and training in Wales and for joint working with other inspection, audit and regulatory bodies.

Simon joined Estyn in 2001 as an HMI, subsequently working as Managing HMI for the work of local authorities and later as Head of Directorate for post-compulsory education. He was educated at Bristol University, followed by a Master’s degree from the University of Wales, Cardiff.

Simon has worked at school and local authority levels, as well as an education consultantforBecta(UKeducationITagency)andasadirectorofasoftwarecompany. He was also an OFSTED and OHMCI school inspector before joining Estyn and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and a graduate member of the British Psychological Society, both in 1989.

Clive PhilipsEstyn

Clive Phillips is an Assistant Director at Estyn. He is responsible for the delivery of Local Authority inspections. He also has responsibility for best practice and Welsh language policy within Estyn.

Clive joined Estyn in 2010 and has worked mainly in the primary and local authority sectors. He has also inspected non-maintained nursery schools, special schools and independent schools. He has worked as a primary school headteacher and as a local authority school improvement officer.

Clive was educated at Ysgol Gynradd Eglwyswrw, Ysgol y Preseli, Crymych and Aberystwyth University.


Gerard KerslakeEstyn

GerardKerslakeisanHMIandLeadOfficerforSafeguardingmattersinEstyn.Hisresponsibilities also include Link Inspector for Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and the Vale of Glamorgan. Gerard is also the Link Inspector for the Central South regional Consortium.

Gerard has been an HMI for over 10 years, and during that time he has also been the link inspector for Caerphilly, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, and Swansea. Since joining Estyn Gerard’s lead responsibilities have included Youth Policy; Youth and Community Worker Education and Training; and the training and development of Additional Inspectors, Peer Inspectors and Nominees for youth support service inspections. Gerard’s Inspection work has included Youth Offending Teams; Prisons; Adult and Community Learning; Work Based Learning and most local authority and youth support services.

Prior to joining Estyn, Gerard has worked for the Civil Service (Navy); a National Voluntary youth work organisation; for Berkshire County Council LEA and Wokingham District Council LEA.

Gerard’s professional qualifications include a BEd and a BD both from London University; a post graduate diploma in youth and community work from Thames Polytechnic; a diploma in the accreditation of prior experiential learning from Goldsmiths London and a Diploma in Counselling from Leeds University.

Huw DaviesEstyn

Huw Davies is an HMI and Lead Inspector for Additional Learning Needs at Estyn. Huw works in the local authority, special schools (maintained and independent), pupil referral unit and secondary school sectors.

Prior to joining Estyn, Huw worked as a school improvement officer with responsibility for inclusion. His professional experiences span; social services, teaching in mainstream and specialist provision, lecturing in FE/HE and the management of PRUs and Behaviour Support Services.

He has been a governor of a primary school and a trustee of a national children’s charity.

Huw’s initial degree was awarded by the University of Wales. He holds a Master’s degree and post graduate qualifications from the Universities of Glamorgan and Leicester. Upon completion of a qualification with the Chartered Management Institute, Huw was admitted as a Fellow of the institute.


Dr James DowneCardiff Business School

James is a Reader in Public Policy & Management in the Centre for Local & Regional Government Research. His current research interests are in local government performance regimes, political accountability, sector-led improvement, public trust and the ethical behaviour of local politicians.

He has more than ten years’ experience of conducting evaluations on local government policy for government and has published widely in journals including: Public Administration Review, Public Administration, Policy & Politics, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Public Management Review and International Review of Administrative Sciences.

He has taught a range of undergraduate modules in political science and research methodology. Before joining Cardiff Business School, he was Academic Director of a Postgraduate Diploma in Local Government Management and taught students on the Warwick MPA. James is currently the co-facilitator of the Leadership Academy in Wales (a training course for local councillors) which is part of Academi Wales (national centre for leadership excellence to support the delivery of efficient and effective public services in Wales).

Rachel AshworthCardiff Business School

Rachel is a Reader in Public Services Management. Her research can be viewed in relation to four key themes: organizational and institutional change in the public sector; scrutiny and accountability in public services, equality and diversity in public services and public service performance.

She has published in journals including Journal of Public Administration, Research and Theory, Journal of Management Studies, British Journal of Management, Public Administration, Policy and Politics and Public Management Review. She recently co-edited ‘Theorising Contemporary Public Management Research: International and Comparative Perspectives’, a special issue of the British Journal of Management and also co-edited ‘Public Service Improvement: Theories and Evidence’ (Oxford University Press, 2010).

Rachel’s teaching profile includes BSC Business Management Year 1: Business Environment and Year 3: Management and Public Policy in the EU. She is also an external examiner for public management PG programmes at Warwick Business School.


Peter Watkin JonesEversheds LLP

Peter Watkin Jones is a Partner and Head of the Inquiries and Investigations Team at Eversheds LLP. Eversheds has recently been awarded Public Sector: Firm of the YearintheLegal500UKawards.

With a background as a commercial litigator in the public sector, he developed a specialism in public inquiries, following involvement in a large scale inquiry into child abuse. He led a 100 strong team for 7 years acting for Lord Saville’s Bloody Sunday Inquiry. He led the team acting for the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry and a team acting as solicitor agents for the Shipman Inquiry. He has advised on safeguarding issues and abuse at schools. He recently acted for the Metropolitan Police Authority on the Leveson Inquiry. Most recently, he was the Solicitor to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.

Luisa GibbonsEversheds LLP

Luisa Gibbons is a Senior Associate in Eversheds Inquiries and Investigations Team. She was one of the Senior Lawyers instructed as part of the team acting as Solicitor to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.

She has previously worked on behalf of Lord Saville’s Bloody Sunday Inquiry and The Shipman Inquiry. Luisa has special expertise in public law issues, having advised in a number of judicial review challenges and in challenging regulators. Luisa is recognised for her professional discipline work having acted for the General Medical Council and having been appointed to the Care Council for Wales’ panel of Presenting Officers.


Tim GillingCentre for Public Scrutiny

Tim has been supporting local authority councillors and the democratic process for over 30 years. He has worked at County and Unitary Councils and rural and urban District Councils, implementing and supporting revised political management arrangements for nearly 15 years. Before joining the Centre for Public Scrutiny nearly 10 years ago, Tim developed the framework for health scrutiny in Middlesbrough and across the Tees Valley.

As the Centre’s Deputy Executive Director, Tim manages the Centre for Public Scrutiny’s work promoting accountable health and social care services and tackling health inequalities. Building on the success of our popular health scrutiny support programme, Tim helps CfPS to work with others to develop future policy around accountability and patient and public involvement in health, care and well-being.

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