The report pointed to an ‘unhelpful blame culture’ and ‘personal confrontation’
Satellite view of Wrexham(Image: Google Earth)
A watchdog has found “fractures and distrust” between councillors and officers at a Welsh council. The report from Audit Wales points to “ongoing tensions” involving the planning committee at Wrexham council.
Recent years have seen significant turbulence over planning issues in the county, not least when Plaid Cymru councillor Marc Jones launched a legal challenge against the council’s local development plan – a strategy that outlines areas where development is appropriate. Councillors initially voted the plan through but the Supreme Court later ruled in favour of Mr Jones and there was then a vote in which councillors backed the scheme’s withdrawal. You can read more about the row here.
Auditor general for Wales Adrian Crompton wrote in his report: “Despite improved relationships in planning committee since our previous audit some members continue to express a lack of trust in some officers and in the advice they provide.” For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter.
Mr Crompton pointed to “ongoing tensions between some members [councillors] and officers” as well as “excessive” communication from some councillors. This has included “requests for access to information that aren’t always appropriate”, he added.
The auditor found it was “clear” councillors had been involved in “personal confrontation” linked to the tensions. “This behaviour not only goes against the council’s constitution and its vision,” he wrote. “It creates an unhelpful blame culture.”
He continued: “Since our fieldwork has concluded there have been further examples of fractures and distrust between some members and officers.
“These include press interviews which continue to publicly erode relationships between members, officers, and the public and continued suggestion of legal action at public committees. This does not encourage cohesive working relationships.”
The report also criticises councillors’ attendance levels at training sessions, stating: “Almost half of Wrexham’s members did not attend refresher training on their code of conduct including two of the group leaders.”
Training modules with low attendance figures included those on Welsh language standards, violence against women, domestic abuse, sexual violence, data protection, corporate complaints procedure, and diversity.
Only 12 out of 56 councillors took part in crucial safeguarding training in 2023-24. The same number attended the same module the following year.
Mr Crompton described the module as “an essential arrangement to reduce safeguarding risks and raise member awareness to ensure the council complies with its various statutory duties”.
The report pointed to a lack of digital skills as one of the issues behind poor attendance but found there were “broader” factors at play. “Reasons included a lack of awareness that they were expected to attend training sessions and limited interest in the training topics,” wrote the auditor.
Mr Crompton said the council must urgently address its “governance failures” and councillors’ “engagement”, adding: “Despite previous recommendations, and statements of good intent from the council, insufficient progress has been made in addressing critical governance issues.”
He went on: “This is our second review of values and behaviours in Wrexham since 2023. Our previous audit, which focused on the planning service, found that ongoing delays in adopting key strategic documents have created significant risks for the council and relationships between some members and officers were fractured.
“We found that the planning service was hindered in fulfilling its role as a key enabler across the council.
“This follow-up review, which examined values and behaviours at senior level across the council, found that the council has not fully addressed our previous recommendations. We continue to have concerns about fractured relations between some members and officers. The council demonstrates limited awareness of expected roles and responsibilities.”
Audit Wales made formal recommendations that the council improve relations between councillors and officers, improve councillors’ “knowledge and skills”, and ensure “proper governance”.
Mr Crompton said: “The greatest concerns for the effective performance of the council are the ongoing strained relationships and distrust between some members and senior officers. Unless addressed urgently and genuinely this will undermine the positive work of the wider council and its workforce.”
In July Mr Jones was cleared by the public services ombudsman of breaching the members’ code of conduct. He had been hit by a complaint after he brought the legal challenge against the local development plan.
After the ombudsman decided to take no action against Mr Jones the “relieved” councillor said: “We stood up for what we believed was the right thing for Wrexham communities and the right of councillors and local democracy to be heard.”
Mr Jones had taken legal action largely because of what he called “an excessive allocation of housing on greenfield sites”.