Auditor General asks public to help shape his reports

The Wales Audit Office is looking for people to join an audience panel to help shape the Auditor General for Wales’ annual reports on local councils.

The Annual Improvement Reports, which were last published in January 2011, set out the Auditor General’s view on whether councils in Wales are well managed and serving people well. They look at how councils support people in need, help people to develop and help create a safe, prosperous and pleasant place to live. The reports focus on each council’s own priorities for improvement, and examine how they are going about making those improvements.

The Wales Audit Office is setting up the audience panel to help it understand what members of the public want from the reports. The panel will convene on Tuesday 30 August 2011 at the head offices in Cardiff. Panel members will not be paid, but reasonable expenses will be reimbursed and lunch will be provided.

Anyone interested in being a member of the audience panel should visit the Wales Audit Office website at www.wao.gov.uk for more details before Saturday 20 August 2011.

We will be using video conferencing from our Cathedral Road office and will be arranging video conference locations for people based in North Wales who are chosen for the panel.

Notes

• The Wales Audit Office is independent of government and is responsible for the annual audit of some £20 billion of annual public expenditure.
• Its mission is to promote improvement, so that people in Wales benefit from accountable, well-managed public services that offer the best possible value for money. It is also committed to identifying and spreading good practice across the Welsh public sector.
• The Annual Improvement Report’s were prepared by the Wales Audit Office on behalf of the Auditor General for Wales as required by the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009. The Auditor General for Wales assesses the compliance of Welsh improvement authorities (county councils, county borough councils, national park authorities and fire and rescue authorities) with the improvement requirements of Part 1 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009
• Please visit www.wao.gov.uk for copies of all Annual Improvement Reports