Leighton Andrews, Minister for Public Services
This was published under the 2011 to 2016 administration of the Welsh Government
Today, I am publishing the final report on Phase 1 of the Review of Audit, Inspection and Regulation in Wales.
The Review fulfils the commitment in our Programme for Government to “review the framework for the external scrutiny of public services and the work of auditors, inspectors and regulators”. We commissioned external independent researchers to carry out work on Phase 1 of the Review – to establish by consensus the purpose of audit, inspection and regulation.
The draft report on Phase 1 was published for consultation in January 2014. This coincided with the publication and consideration of the findings of the Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery.
Consequently, we asked the researchers to undertake further work on the Review with key stakeholders to ensure it took account of the Commission’s findings. This work has been completed and the results are summarised in the report published today.
The Report identifies a framework for external review which sets out the core purpose and attributes of external review and the key contributions from the functions of audit, inspection and regulation..
I have also published today our White Paper, Reforming Local Government – Power to Local People. This sets out our vision for the future of scrutiny and review, internal and external, in improving local services in Wales. As such, future work on the role of audit, inspection and regulation in Wales will be taken forward through the implementation of the proposals set out in our White Paper