Council's Annual Report 2023-2024
In this section
- Introduction by Cllr. Darren Price, Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council
- Introduction to Our Annual Report
- Measuring Progress and Self-Assessment
- Well-being Objective 1
- Well-being Objective 2
Measuring Progress and Self-Assessment
Measuring Progress
Our well-being objectives are firmly rooted in a principle which promotes a focus on all public bodies working together to progress outcomes that improves the quality of life of citizens and communities, both now and in the future.
To effectively measure our progress against achieving our objectives we look at a range of data and evidence including the findings of our self-assessment and the findings of regulatory reports to build as comprehensive a picture as possible of our progress both in terms of trends over time and in relation to how we compare with other local authorities in Wales.
For us to do this effectively we have developed a data suite of indicators and measures, which, when considered together cover a wide range of different sources allowing us to reflect on the evidence available to us in the round. The range of data covers the following and will be referred to throughout this report and can be viewed in full in Appendix 5:
Population Indicators
In the main include publicly available data that have been identified to develop an understanding of trends and Carmarthenshire’s position relative to the other local authorities in Wales. Sources include (but are not limited to): National Survey for Wales, Annual Population Survey, Public Health Wales, Welsh Government, Department for Work and Pensions.
Performance Measures
Inclusive of statutory returns, internal Council measures and primary intelligence in the form of consultation findings that we utilise to measure and monitor performance on a regular basis. These are the direct responsibility of the Council. Our well-being objectives also frame our approach to self-assessment. This approach provides the context within which we exercise our functions, use resources, and ensure governance is effective:
- It ensures that our self-assessment is strategic, focusing on the organisation, rather than individual services and on the extent to which the Council is achieving its well-being objectives and intended outcomes.
- It allows us to reflect at a strategic level on how all our functions (including corporate activities) are contributing to the achievement of our well-being objectives, how we are operating and what action we need to take to improve further and continue to provide effective services now and for the long-term.
- Using well-being objectives as the overarching framework encourages a more holistic view of Council performance, recognising that many services ‘join-up’ and contribute to one or more well-being objective. We continue to manage individual service performance via Divisional Business Plans. This forms an important part of the Council’s approach to performance management as detailed in our Performance Management Framework which is based on a Plan/Do/Review cycle.