Annual Self-Assessment 2021-22

Annual Self-Assessment 2021-22

This is Pembrokeshire County Council’s first annual self-assessment as required under the Local Government and Elections Act. The Act introduces new performance requirements for local authorities and central to this is a duty to report annually on performance through a process of self-assessment. The Act requires each council in Wales to keep under review, through self-assessment, the extent to which it is meeting the ‘performance requirements’, that is the extent to which:

• It is exercising its functions effectively
• It is using its resources economically, efficiently, and effectively
• Its governance is effective for securing the above

A self-assessment report must be produced in respect of each financial year and published as soon as is reasonably practicable after the end of the financial year on which it is reporting. As such this is the Council’s self-assessment report for the 2021-22 financial year.

The report sets out the Council’s conclusions on the extent to which it has met the performance requirements during that financial year, and any actions it intends to take, or has already taken, to increase the extent to which it is meeting the performance requirements.

There are a number of broad overarching principles which have informed the Council’s approach to undertaking this self-assessment:

• Corporate leadership and ownership is key to developing a culture of improvement.
• Self-assessment process needs to be embedded into the Council’s corporate planning, performance and governance processes – it is not a one-off event or standalone process. There is further work to do in this regard over the next 12 months to meet this requirement.
• There is acceptance that the self-assessment process will evolve and be continually refined. The important point is to establish a starting point for the process which can then be adapted from learning the lessons from going through that process.
• This is not necessarily about introducing new systems and processes – rather this is about utilising what is already in place in a more coherent, integrated and effective way.
• The legislation states that this is a corporate self-assessment, not an assessment of individual service performance.