Commissioning monitoring methods in Powys Adult Social Services to change following internal audit criticism
Social Services chiefs in Powys say that they are improving the way Adult Services are commissioned after an internal audit found “weaknesses” in the approach
At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Governance and Audit committee on Wednesday, September 10, councillors and independent lay members received an internal audit report by South West Audit Partnership.
SWAP had evaluated the current monitoring arrangements in place for commissioning practices in Adult Social Services and had found “significant gaps, weaknesses or non-compliance.”
SWAP said that: “Improvement is required to the system of governance, risk management and control to effectively manage risks to the achievement of objectives in the area audited.”
The most serious recommendation of the six put forward by SWAP was around the oversight for commissioning services.
The report said: “Currently, there is no clear picture of the overall performance of all contractors, as their records are maintained by individual teams.
“While managers can request this information, delays can occur if staff are unavailable.
“An overarching report is needed that can provide senior managers with assurance or to highlight any issues clearly.”
SWAP senior auditor Kate Ryde: “The approaches were fragmented – a more coordinated and streamlined process would help improve visibility into both.
The department has put an action plan in place to address the report findings.
Head of Adult Services Sharon Frewin said: “A report bringing all the contracts into one place has been achieved.”
Ms Frewin explained that “fragmentation” within the department is “natural” as staff are spilt into two functions – one which deals with older people and the other with working-age people.
Ms Frewin said: “They are separated, and the different funding streams often require different compliance and methodology, but we absolutely recognise the need for consistency.
“And in doing so, we have established one centralised site.”
She added that the department is currently transferring its records to that software.
Ms Frewin said: “So we’ve got a new dashboard that’s being tested at the moment so that we have that oversight at our fingertips.”
Independent lay member Gareth Hall asked if there was a timescale or “dead date” for when all the changes will be fully implemented.
He pointed out that the dates set out in the report were about when the work started.
SWAP assistant director Ian Halstead said that in some instances the finish point may be years in the future,
Mr Halstead said: “Maybe we can think about adding something in the internal audit report to show the completion date as well.”
Committee Chairwoman and independent lay member Lynne Hamilton believed this “would be helpful.”
The committee went on to note the report.
