Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 Explanatory Notes

Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009

2

COMMENTARY ON SECTIONS

Section 15 - improvement planning and publication of improvement information

26. Section 15 requires a Welsh improvement authority to make arrangements to publish specified information relating to its performance.

27. The information to be published for a financial year includes:

• the authority’s assessment of how it has performed in a financial year in relation to discharging its duty under section 2;

• the authority’s assessment of how it has performed in a financial year in relation to achieving its improvement objectives;

• the authority’s assessment of how it has performed in a financial year in relation to meeting local performance indicators and standards set by the Welsh Ministers and self imposed indicators and standards;

• the authority’s assessment of how it has performed in a financial year in comparison with a previous year’s performance;

• the authority’s assessment of how it has performed in a financial year and in previous years in relation to the performance of another Welsh improvement authority.

• details of the ways in which it has exercised its powers of collaboration; and

• details of the information collected under section 13 and what the authority has done to discharge its duties under section 14.

28. The information should be published before 31 October immediately following the financial year to which it relates by the relevant authority.

29. Under this section a Welsh improvement authority must ensure they publish a summary of any report relating to a special inspection.

30. This section also requires a Welsh improvement authority to publish an ‘improvement plan’ which sets out its plans for discharging its duties under sections 2(1), 3(2) and 8(7) for a financial year and, if appropriate, subsequent years. This must be published as soon as practicable after the start of the financial year to which it relates.

31. Section 15(8) provides that a Welsh improvement authority must have regard to any guidance published by the Welsh Ministers in relation to this section.