The public engagement scrutiny inquiry has changed the way the Council engages and consults with different groups of people.
- The Local Service Board, a group of Swansea’s main public service providers, now holds its meetings in public
- Providing feedback to people that took part in consultations will now be a requirement in the new consultation & engagement strategy
- A new employee engagement strategy will strengthen the Council’s commitment to staff engagement, communication, involvement and feedback
Councillor Joe Hale, led the panel over 9 months from September 2013-June 2014 to gather evidence for the inquiry, the final report was presented to Cabinet in October 2014 and the Cabinet Member responded with his action plan in early 2015.
When the Cabinet Member, met with the panel last week to talk about the inquiry’s impact, he said that the inquiry had helped bring focus to delivering better customer satisfaction for residents, improving Swansea Voices by using a reputation tracker and quicker analysis of the data and improving engagement with councillors, staff and residents.
Sometimes scrutiny can struggle to show where it has added value, had the greatest impact or where it has prompted change. But in this case the Cabinet Member pointed to demonstrable change as a direct result of the panel’s work. When this happens, it bolsters the confidence of scrutiny councillors because they can see the visible difference their work has made. This is just one of many factors that can make scrutiny effective.
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