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The Auditor General is the statutory external auditor of most of the Welsh public sector.
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The Auditor General is responsible for auditing most of the public money spent in Wales.
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National review calls on Welsh Government and Fire and Rescue Authorities to address weaknesses in the governance model
The governance model for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) provides a clear framework for decision making. However, the model does not ensure that those who are responsible for governing these important bodies reflect the specialist nature of their work.
Fire and Rescue Authorities are responsible for providing key services, including:
All members of FRAs are councillors, nominated by their host authority. Whilst this recognises the importance of community representation, there is a risk that the elected members who are nominated do not have the skills and knowledge that reflect the specialist nature of the sector and its important role in community safety.
Coupled with a relatively high turnover rate of members, this means that FRAs need to provide significant training to members to enable them to undertake their roles. However, we found that training and development activity is limited – for example, it is not always informed by members’ needs. We also found that the understanding of key roles and responsibilities within the governance structure is not always demonstrated in practice.
The national review, which was part of the Auditor General’s 2023-24 local government studies programme, focused on the governance arrangements across the three Fire and Rescue Authorities in Wales – North Wales, South Wales and Mid & West Wales. Our review considered five key elements:
Fire and Rescue Authorities provide vital services and it’s important that they are governed in a manner reflecting the public and environment that they serve. I call on Welsh Government and Fire and Rescue Authorities to strengthen their governance arrangements and address the weaknesses highlighted in my report.