The next item is a statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services on Powys County Council—an update on support under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009. I call on the Cabinet Secretary, Alun Davies.

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Following a critical inspection by Care Inspectorate Wales of Powys County Council’s children’s services, my colleague Rebecca Evans, the then Minister for Social Services and Public Health, issued a warning notice to the council under Part 8 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. On 16 April, my colleague Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for Children and Social Care, provided an update on progress on the actions arising from the warning notice.

Earlier today, Care Inspectorate Wales published their report of their inspection of Powys’s adult services. The inspection highlights areas of significant concern for Powys to address. It was clear in the previous report on children’s services and in today’s report on adults’ services that improvement in the authority as a whole is necessary to enable improvement in social services.

In November last year I received a request for formal support from Powys’s leader, Councillor Rosemarie Harris. I subsequently exercised my powers under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 to provide Powys with a comprehensive package of support to assist with corporate improvement. This was developed in partnership with Powys County Council and the Welsh Local Government Association.

In December 2017 I appointed Sean Harriss, an experienced and well-respected local authority chief executive, to carry out a rapid review of the council. I tasked him to scope the main challenges facing the council and to provide a report setting out his findings and the steps required to address them. His report, 'Review of Leadership, Governance, Strategy and Capacity', was published in February 2018, and I provided an update to the Members on his key findings. The report highlighted that the council had made progress but still faced significant challenges in strengthening its corporate leadership and capacity. The report also stressed that those challenges could be overcome with, and I quote, an 'increased capacity and capability in the local authority coupled with an enhanced and intense package of sector led improvement’.

To ensure continuity and consistency, I asked Sean Harriss to continue his work with Powys County Council and oversee a second phase of support. He has provided them with support in the following key areas: performance and quality, vision, organisational change, and, finally, strengthening the budget position.  

We met again, yesterday, and he provided an update on progress at the end of his second phase of work. His assessment was that progress is evident, but significant challenges remain, and enhanced corporate leadership capacity is necessary to deliver and sustain the level of change required. This requirement was reflected in his February report, which recommended the appointment of an experienced interim chief executive with a proven track record of transformational change.

Powys council has been following up this recommendation and I would like to congratulate Mohammed Mehmet, previously chief executive of Denbighshire County Council, on his appointment as the interim chief executive of Powys County Council. His track record in Denbighshire speaks for itself, having led the council through a period of significant challenge to being one of the best performing authorities in Wales. With the appointment of a new acting chief executive, Mr Harriss’s time and work with Powys will now draw to a close. I would like to thank him for his work with the council, but also, Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to recognise the work of David Powell, the interim chief executive, and also the positive way in which the council, its staff and members have responded to these challenges.

The leader of the council and the new acting chief executive will be supported by the new improvement and assurance board, which has been established with a broader remit and replaces the former social services improvement board. I am pleased to say that Jack Straw, who chaired the social services improvement board, is continuing as chair. 

The Welsh Government and Powys County Council have appointed Bozena Allen, a former director of social services, to the role of the social services external member, and Jaki Salisbury, a former chief executive and director of finance, to the corporate role on the board. They will provide support, challenge and guidance to the council. They are experts in their field, with a proven track record of successfully implementing and leading organisations during periods of transformational change. The board held its first meeting on Wednesday, 25 April, and the board will provide regular updates on progress and will advise on where further sector-led or Welsh Government support is required.     

Deputy Presiding Officer, I believe the actions for the council are clear. They must deliver the social services improvement plan they have in place for children’s services and ensure a similar plan is delivered for adult services. They must also follow through on the recommendations in Sean Harriss’s review of leadership, governance, strategy and capacity. I will expect the council to implement an up-to-date, robust and sustainable medium-term financial strategy that prioritises its spending in key services and can deliver the package of measures needed to transform the council. I have provided some investment to assist with this.

I have met the leader of the council today, and she has assured me of her commitment to driving through progress and ensuring Powys County Council is able to offer the same high-quality services that people have a right to expect. The Minister for social services also joined us in that meeting. Both I and my colleague the Minister for Children and Social Care will continue to update Members on progress. Thank you.  

Diolch. Russell George.

Diolch, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement this afternoon? Can I also thank and put on record my thanks to Huw Irranca-Davies and his predecessor Rebecca Evans for being very open to providing briefings for relevant Members and keeping us updated, following the inspection of Powys children's services? Also, I appreciate the Cabinet Secretary's offer, as well, to meet for a briefing. I appreciate that. It's also encouraging, I think, that Powys County Council themselves have provided the opportunity for briefings for Assembly Members with regard to the recent issues.

I am pleased to learn that the actions seem to already be taking place by the local authority to implement the recommendations, and that the leadership of the council seem to be positively taking forward the recommendations in a transparent and positive way.

You stated, Cabinet Secretary, or you started your statement, by referring to the Care Inspectorate Wales report published today, which highlights areas of significant concern for Powys to address with regard to adult services. I was pleased, looking at that, that it does highlight the fact that the morale of staff has been boosted now. That wasn't the case some time ago, so I think that's positive. Can I ask you: how are you going to measure the improvements that the local authority are required to make? Ultimately, improved outcomes will determine, of course, whether adult services are sufficient enough to no longer need such a high level of intervention from Welsh Government. So, could you outline some specific targets for improvements and clarify what work is currently being undertaken with Powys to develop these?

The report published today also repeatedly highlights the fact that the workforce delivering adult services has a high sickness and absence rate, high turnover and inconsistent levels of supervision. So, I wonder what role the Welsh Government will play in establishing a workforce strategy that is able to build strength in the workforce and deliver a timely, informed and effective service.

You have congratulated Mohammed Mehmet on his appointment as the interim chief executive. It's my understanding he's the acting chief executive, rather than the interim—if you could clarify that. But I have picked up myself very positive feedback on his appointment. You referred, yourself, to his track record in your statement. Are you confident that the new chief exec or the acting chief exec is the correct appointment? It perhaps would be useful to know, as well, what the recruitment process is—what Welsh Government's role is in that recruitment process.

Finally, do you recognise that, in order to build capacity and to ensure that these improvements are lasting, that stability to the political landscape is important? Therefore, do you agree with me that the proposals in the Green Paper on the local government reform to preserve Powys as a single local authority on the same footprint as the health board contributes to the stability and gives that best possible chance for lasting improvements to be made?

I'd like to thank the Conservative spokesperson for his kind words at the beginning of his contribution, and also on his ingenuity at engineering local government reform into the final contribution of that speech.

I'll start, perhaps, most easily, by answering some of your final questions first. The Welsh Government does not have a role in appointing the chief executive of Powys or any other authority. It's a matter for the authority to take those decisions. Clearly, the Welsh Government stands ready to assist and to support, but it is right and proper that the local government itself takes these decisions. The appointment of Mohammed Mehmet was made by Powys County Council, in line with their procedures, and I welcome the appointment. I have absolute confidence in him and his ability to lead the professional workforce in Powys County Council and to deliver the professional leadership that is required in order to restore the council to where we all wish it to be in the future.

In terms of the role of Welsh Government, the Conservative spokesperson has, Deputy Presiding Officer, asked a number of questions that refer to the potential role of the Welsh Government, in terms of workforce strategy and delivering against a series of interventions. Let me say this: I think one of the positives, looking at the interventions that have been delivered to Powys and with the support of Powys, has been that this has been very much led by people who have experience of and are rooted in the delivery of social services and also local government. This is local government sustaining and supporting local government. I hope that we will be able to put in place, over the next few years, more structures that will enable local government to sustain and support local government services.

I hope the days of interventions from Welsh Government will soon be at an end, in fact. I hope that we will be able to put in place structures and means and processes by which local government will be taking responsibility for the improvement of services delivered to and by and for local government. That is how it should be. It's right and proper that local government has those structures in place and, certainly, Welsh Government will seek to do all it can to provide the help and support required to reach that point.

The Conservative Member has asked a number of questions on how we will measure improvements and the high level of intervention required in order to deliver on our targets and objectives. I will say to him that I expect the improvement board to publish its objectives and to publish its work streams in due course, and we will all be able to hold the improvement board to account for how it achieves and delivers on those ambitions.

But let me also say this: like him, I've read the report on adult services, which was published at lunch time today. We see the failings there. We recognise the failings, but we also recognise what has been said about the service delivery there. The point that was made by Russell George in his contribution, about staff and workforce morale, I believe, is absolutely central to everything else we're seeking to achieve here. We are putting in place the structures and the people who can help ensure that we have the technical skills and the managerial skills to deliver the services that we require and that the people of Powys have a right to expect. But more than that, we need to address issues of corporate culture; we need to address corporate culture in Powys, and sometimes elsewhere as well.

I hope that the wider changes, which the leader absolutely recognises are being made, will deliver that change in culture within the organisation as well. I will say, Deputy Presiding Officer, to Members that the meeting that I had with Councillor Harris this afternoon was a very good and very positive meeting. The Minister for Children and Social Care and I left the meeting feeling very positive about the commitment that Councillor Harris was making to improvement and the journey that she is leading within Powys. And it is certainly a matter for myself and all ministerial colleagues involved in this that we will ensure that Welsh Government provides all the support that Powys requires in order to complete this journey.

I'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement and for the opportunity to discuss many similar issues in the past, with the Minister too. May I just start with the point that the Cabinet Secretary finished with? I'm pleased to hear that he's confident that things have improved in Powys, but in looking at three issues—the report on children's services, the report today on adult services and, of course, the work that he has done on governance within Powys council—we do see that, broadly speaking, it's the same people who are improving the service now who were responsible for the initial problems. Although they've changed their functions, they are still part of the same group, to all intents and purposes, who have been there since some of the decisions were taken, particularly the budgetary decisions that led us into these particular problems.

So, may I start with that overview by welcoming Mohammed Mehmet and wishing him well as he starts in his role as interim chief executive, and may I say that myself and other Members met, about a week ago, with senior officials and the council leader? We were certainly impressed with the answers given by the senior officers. I think they have a grip on the situation now, but as the Minister with responsibility for local government, are you of the opinion that the lack of capacity that had been highlighted has now been addressed in terms of senior staff, in terms of the Cabinet's understanding of their role in driving this work forward in Powys, and in terms of the funding allocation to address these problems? So, in terms of the lack of capacity and those three specific issues, are you now content, in the light of your meeting today, with those areas?

If I could turn to the report published today, of course, we're discussing that in the context of a far worse report in the context of children's services, which will colour our response. It's difficult to know how we would have responded to today's report if we hadn't seen the earlier report. Because, as Russell George mentioned, many of the things that should have happened are now in the pipeline, and we welcome that, of course, but one of the things that both reports have in common is a lack of understanding—and not just a lack of understanding, but the absence of any understanding—of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Are you of the opinion that the training is now in place in order to ensure that every officer in Powys who has responsibilities under that Act is now getting that necessary training?

The second thing that both reports have in common is the staff turnover—with staff moving, churn, a lack of continuity in terms of staff. It's been suggested to me that the more stringent regime has driven some staff to decide that they want to leave the service, but it's still staff turnover, and staff do need to understand the situation in Powys and be clear about their responsibilities. So, what's responsible for this lack of understanding? Is it the natural turnover of staff—the natural churn? Is it the nature of Powys as a rural authority? Is it the fact that they are dealing with cross-border issues in England too? Are you now content that that issue has been addressed, particularly in relation to training?

One of the other things that emerges from the report today is that deferred care for adults is having an impact on broader services in Powys, in hospitals and care specifically. So, I would like to know whether you have more to say about tackling that particular issue too.

Finally, one of the things that I think has brought us to this situation in Powys is the political culture that's existed in the council in the past: a lack of challenge, a problem in terms of sharing information, a lack of transparency among some senior cabinet members. That may be changing. I am aware that some political groups are now more eager to hold people to account and, in that context, are you of the view that the council itself is giving sufficient support and training, and support in the broadest sense, to the opposition parties and to individual councillors so that they can hold the current cabinet to account, and that they have the necessary tools to understand those problems and to be part of the solution to those problems too?

I'm grateful to the Member for the way that he has given his contribution this afternoon—a very constructive and positive contribution, and I very much hope that there is the agreement across the Chamber that we do need when we are dealing with some of these issues in Powys, to have that kind of approach.

Now, you've asked several questions, and, unfortunately, I think I'm going to answer most of them in the same way. Yes, the situation has improved, and there is improvement happening in Powys, but that doesn't mean that we can step back and think that we've reached the kind of ambition and objectives that Russell George suggested in his contribution. So, I agree with you that we need an overview of the situation in Powys, and not just to look at children's services or adult services or governance alone and individually. We need to look across those services and all the reports and the analyses that have been made.

I'm not sure that I agree that, in your words, the same people who caused the problems are the ones who are trying to solve them. We have seen new appointments, as I suggested in my statement, and I do hope that they will be able to change the way that the council is run and the style and culture that you have mentioned. You talked about the culture in the council and I agree with you on that. We do need to change not just the way that people are working, but how they work as well, and that means that we need a change of culture. I believe that all Members in the Chamber acknowledge that that takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. Also, we need to ensure in all parts of the Chamber that we do give some support to the leadership to enable them to do that, whilst at the same time ensuring that the appropriate tensions in terms of scrutiny and accountability still take place within the council. I do acknowledge that it's a balance we have to strike, but it's a difficult one to strike sometimes.

I do think that there is capacity within the council, as it stands today, and that that's sufficient to enable the council to meet the objectives that we've set for them. I do believe that they have the current capacity to do that. Of course, if we do find, over the next few months, that they require additional support, the Welsh Government is willing to ensure that they do receive the support that they need. Our objective is to enable Powys to improve Powys. Our objective is to ensure that Powys can move forward on this journey with our support, and to ensure that they have all of the resources that they need in order to do that.

I agree, and I do see, that there is a lack of understanding sometimes about—. You've named the social services and well-being Act, and I agree with you on that; I think it goes further than that sometimes as well, but we also need to ensure that people do receive the training that they need to enable them to do the work that we're asking them to do, and I'm confident that that can happen and that that is going to happen.

You asked about staff turnover and morale amongst the workforce in Powys, and in the social services workforce specifically. I acknowledge the point that you make. It's not for me to give my opinion on the nature of Powys as a council that serves a rural region. I wouldn't agree that there is a problem in that regard. I think that the problems that Powys has experienced have been problems within the council itself, and they've been problems that have arisen because of the culture within the council. I do hope, as we improve the way that services are run in Powys, that we will see a better culture in Powys as well. We need to ensure that we understand the impact on additional services within the council, I agree with you on that, and I'm confident that the new chief executive and leadership will be able to do that.

To conclude, the political culture in Powys has been a very Powysesque one over the years, and all of us who have represented the county in this place, and those who represent the county today, understand that. We also see, sometimes, that the political culture—I'm being very careful with my words here, but it hasn't been a culture that has encouraged scrutiny and has promoted the kind of vital tension that any democratic institution needs. I think that is changing, and the councillors on all parts of the political spectrum in Powys need to take responsibility for improving Powys, improving the way that they run the council and also improving how they scrutinise the executive in Powys. I have seen this happening in my council in Blaenau Gwent, and I'm confident that the change of political culture that is required—and I agree with you on that—is possible in Powys as well.

Can I also commend the Cabinet Secretary and his two colleagues for the way in which they have been open and transparent—[Inaudible.]—tragic affair. This isn't a subject out of which anybody is trying to make any party political points, for it would be quite wrong, and I think the sensitivity that the Government Ministers have brought to this difficult task is highly commendable. Because you certainly don't want to reduce morale still further in Powys County Council and we all appreciate the difficulties of local administration in a county that is so extended and where transport links are difficult and the population is highly dispersed. In rural areas, social problems are often much more difficult to solve than they are in concentrated urban areas. So, we all have tremendous sympathy for the county council and the difficulty of the tasks that they have to perform. But, ultimately, as in all these kinds of cases, it's down to a failure of leadership and I do take the point that Simon Thomas made, that a lot of the same people who were involved in the decisions that brought us to where we are now are still in place. The question is to what extent they have the capacity to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them. That is, at the moment, something that we have to take on trust, and I appreciate the Cabinet Secretary's difficulty in making a statement like this today. All that's happened, fundamentally, is that we've put new people at the top in these places who have to take the fundamental decisions that are going to, we hope, sort things out in the future. And I certainly wish Mr Mehmet well in his difficult task.

What I reflected on most in the original report about the children services was the bald statement that

'the most significant challenge appeared to be the simplest, namely that of good communication and coordinated planning, based on a thorough understanding of Child A’s daily lived experiences and the significant impact of serious early childhood trauma.'

It was the professionals who, paradoxically, had the difficulties in communicating. The child himself was very eloquent in being able to describe his needs. And that is a most extraordinary situation to be in. I'm sure it's been a traumatising experience for those who are on the staff of Powys County Council. Nobody should underestimate that and one should be sympathetic. I don't like pointing the finger of blame in these circumstances except with the aim of having some positive outcome. And I think the approach that the Government has taken to this, with the Cabinet Secretary in the position of—well, akin to the one described by Walter Bagehot in The English Constitution about Queen Victoria, that he has the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn. He very properly, I think, in answer to Russell George, pointed out the separation in functions between the Welsh Government on the one hand and local authorities on the other. I do think, though, as one of the more combative Members of this place, that he does have the necessary skills to draw people along as well. He has the leadership skills, which, without wishing to be too heavy-handed about it, give us the opportunity, I think, of making the best out of the bad job that has been inherited from the past. 

One of the extraordinary things, I felt, in Sean Harriss's report was where he says: 

'there is some lack of understanding of “what good looks like” in the organisation' and that

'the Council at times was “insufficiently daunted” by the size, scale and nature of the change required.'

I hope that that has now been addressed. He also said:

'The Council is insufficiently clear about what needs to be done and how to do it.'

I do hope the new appointments will address that lacuna as well. Although Sean Harriss's report was strong on management speak, we all, I think, know what needs to be done. And it's got to be a co-operative enterprise. There is a peer group that has been put together to co-ordinate things. Can the Cabinet Secretary tell us how often he's going to be able to report to us on the progress that is being made by these new individuals and organisations? Because at the moment everything is being taken on trust; nobody has any alternative to that. But we will I think very soon be in a position to ask are the right decisions being taken, are the new management teams being put together, and be able to draw some conclusions as to the lessons that have been learned from the past. 

The conclusion of Sean Harriss's report was that, in five years' time, all the residents of Powys should be assured that the management of the county council and provision of all its services are being provided to the highest possible standard. So, I think that we need to be assured in a relatively short time frame that the remedial decisions that are essential have been taken. So, I wonder if the Cabinet Secretary could reassure us on those points.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm grateful to the leader of UKIP for his kind remarks and the tone in which he's addressed the Chamber this afternoon. I seem to be starting every contribution today by answering the final questions first. How often will we report? I think I'm very happy to report on a termly basis to Members here, and I'm sure that the Minister for Children and Social Care, who also of course has a remit in these matters, will be content and happy to do so on a similar basis. I do see he's nodding from his seat so we will assume that is now a commitment on behalf of us both to do that. We will find a way of ensuring that those reports are made available to Members, whether it's a formal statement on the floor or whether it's through committees or through a written statement. But we certainly will look towards discussing with Members how they would wish to receive those updates.

I will again emphasise that Ministers are always available to particularly those Members representing Powys constituencies to speak to privately and to have conversations, if that is needed or necessary, and we're very happy to continue to do that. I think when my colleague Rebecca Evans first raised these issues she was very, very clear about where the issues lay. I think it's also fair to say that she was clear in how she wanted to see the Government and the local authority work together to resolve some of those issues. Clearly, those issues were seen to be wider later than at first, and it's right and proper that we take a wider view of these matters as a consequence of that. 

I don't wish to provide a commentary this afternoon, or at any other time, on some of the reasons—and the leader of UKIP, Deputy Presiding Officer, talked about a failure of leadership. I think that's clear at some levels; I think that is absolutely clear. However, what I would like to be able to do today is to ensure that we have a focus on taking the authority forward, rather than looking backwards to the reasons for and why that happened. There may well be a time and it may well be appropriate for a committee of the council or of this place to take a look at those matters, and I would certainly wish to co-operate with any inquiry that does take place into those matters, but, for me, I'm anxious that we do now deliver leadership and deliver leadership that the people and staff of Powys want, need and deserve, and we will do that through working together. We will do it through learning from each other and, I hope, as the leader of UKIP has said, learning from potential mistakes that have been made in the past.

He is absolutely right in what he has said about issues around communication and planning. Those are serious issues and they are matters that will be and must be addressed. I am absolutely confident that the people who have been appointed to leadership positions within Powys have the skill base to be able to do it, but they also have the understanding of what leadership means and what transformational leadership means. This isn't a matter of steady as she goes, it's not a matter of ticking boxes, and it isn't a matter of simply remedial action to address individual issues within an individual department. This is about transformational change within an authority to address the culture within the authority, how that authority runs itself, and then to be held to account for those changes by the people they represent in Powys.

I recognised a great deal of what Sean Harriss wrote in his report. You've quoted him saying that there was a lack of understanding of what 'good' looks like, and a lack of understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it. I have to say to Members that that is not the first time I've read those sentences in a report of this sort. I know that there is some reticence in different parts of the Chamber about some of the proposals that I've made to address some of these matters, but I will say to Members that it is incumbent upon all of us to look seriously at the structures we have in place, and to ensure that we are able not just to address individual issues in individual authorities when they arise, but that we put in place structures that are more sustainable in the future.

Members will have seen the press coverage today of social services functions in local authorities, and what is being said by the WLGA. I will say here that I agree with the comments made by the WLGA today. I do not believe that the structures we have in place are sustainable for the future. I've made that very, very clear. It is for each individual party represented here to then consider their response to those challenges, and I hope that we will be able, over the coming weeks and months, to look towards an agreed vision of the future, where we have strong, robust local authorities able to take responsibility for improvement of services for local government, delivering within local government. And I hope that we will be able to do that in a co-operative spirit and a co-operative approach, which is exactly what the leader of UKIP has suggested this afternoon. That is what I seek, and I think there is great agreement for that not only in this Chamber, but throughout local government as well.

I just want to pick up on the very last point that the Cabinet Secretary made, and that's one about co-operation. We all know that, over the years—and we've heard it being asked for—there are many, many examples of best practice in local government. We have asked over the years, when we have reports like this, about the sharing of that information. So, it's not new, it's not rocket science, we know it's out there, Powys council would have known that it was out there, because other authorities have gone through the same problems and come to some resolution. So, I suppose, in a way, that is my first question. 

The other thing that may be useful—and maybe the Cabinet Secretary might think of it, and it has been done before, certainly in child protection—is to ensure that the councillors, when they are challenging this improvement within their authority, understand the questions they ought to be asking, rather than simply scoring political points against each other. Because we all know—and I don't want to look back in history—but we do know, some of us, the history of the failure to work together politically in Powys, and the disruption that that causes because there is no overall leadership. And I have very often struggled with the reconfiguration of who is in charge and who is supporting who, why and how. And, you know, I'm pretty educated in political configurations, so if I'm struggling with it, I'm fairly certain that the public would have been struggling with it too. So, I suppose my plea today here, above everything else, is that the councillors and the political leaders in the council put the politics aside, put the people first and that they drive change and step up to the challenge that they now have to face. And that challenge, it is fairly clear, is political leadership, it is about putting the right policies together, and it is about ensuring the implementation of those policies in an agreed forum with our support.

So, I suppose my question to you will be: will the improvement and assurance board continue to co-ordinate the improvements in both adult and children's social services in Powys, and will Welsh Government continue to support that process until a time when you feel that they can continue without that support? And also, where I started, will it be the case that local government in and of itself will start to help local government improve, and can you somehow help ensure that best practice is emulated and is learnt from?

Some fascinating questions. Yes, I hope that we can ensure that best practice—. You know, local government delivers some fantastic services. We tend to debate these issues when there are issues with those services, and I think we should also celebrate the successes of local government in delivering services to millions of people day on day. And we should recognise that, where there are issues, the people who are best placed to resolve those issues happen to be in local government as well, in my view—people who are experienced professionals at delivering high-quality services and who are able to identify the weaknesses that we have described this afternoon and debated today and identify solutions to those areas. So, I hope that best practice will be able to be understood throughout local government and that we can help local government, if necessary, put in place the sorts of structures required in order to make best practice something that is seen and witnessed across local government throughout the whole of Wales year on year.

In terms of where we're going with the improvement and assurance board, we put in place the board under the leadership of Jack Straw, the former chief executive of Swansea, in order to deliver the assurance we require that the lessons have been learnt and that the improvements are being delivered. I have provided funding for that board in order for it to be able to pursue its work. I have given an undertaking this afternoon and the Minister for Children and Social Care has also given an undertaking that we will report back regularly to Members on the improvements as they're taking place.

The improvement and assurance board is there to improve not just social services but wider corporate issues within the council. I'm absolutely confident that we have the structures in place that will ensure that those improvements take place and do so in a timely manner. I will ensure that we have all the information made available to Members so that Members on all sides of this Chamber can hold us to account for those commitments and those assurances that I give today, this afternoon.

In terms of the political culture within any institution, it is very much in the hands of the members. The members do need to fulfil the roles of accountability and scrutiny. It is absolutely clear and right that opposition members and members representing the executive have to hold the executive to account. That is true here, it is true in Powys, it is true in any democratic institution. But how the authority leadership is held to account is a different question. I hope that all members of all political parties and no political parties represented in Powys will do so in a way that is constructive and that is positive. I perhaps don't share entirely your optimism, Joyce, that politics will be put to one side—we've said that before on other occasions—but I do hope, and I do know the opposition leaders in Powys—. I know Matt Dorrance, James Gibson-Watt and Elwyn Vaughan, and I know that they're all deeply committed to the people of Powys and to serve the people of Powys. I know that all of the opposition leaders will work hard to ensure that Powys is put back on the right tracks and will work with the executive to ensure that that happens, whilst at the same time, holding the executive to account in the way that they're elected to do. That is a difficult balance to find, but I'm absolutely confident that the members of Powys County Council are able to do that.

Thank you very much, Cabinet Secretary.