Today’s report highlights the key issues facing public services in Wales and sheds light on the lessons learned in the five years since the Wales Audit Office (WAO) was created. The WAO’s work covers most public services in Wales so it is in a unique position to be able to look across the public services and highlight the common challenges and opportunities that public bodies need to address and take account of in the future.

Over recent years, spending on public services has risen substantially. The work of the WAO shows a story of incremental improvement in Welsh public services over the past five years. But significant progress is still needed and this trend of gradual improvement will not be enough in the future. Major reductions in budgets and rising demand for services mean that a much more radical approach will be required.

Being more efficient must be part of the solution. But today’s report warns against a narrow approach to efficiency based on doing more, or the same, with less money, fewer staff and less time. This can ultimately result in a squeeze somewhere else, such as poorer quality services. Today’s report says the public sector really needs to focus on achieving more, or the same, for less money. So, rather than focusing on cost savings alone, what is needed is a clear link between efficiency and better outcomes for citizens. This approach requires a focus on innovative approaches and reshaping services based around what the citizen really needs and demands.

The report identifies key areas for public services to focus on – including strategy and planning, financial management, collaborative working, using performance data more effectively, staff management, and making better use of assets. These are important areas for the entire public sector.

To help support public services cope during the harsh economic times, the Wales Audit Office is also launching a set of materials today to help public bodies to achieve efficiency through innovation:

• A report featuring commissioned academic research and case studies on how to improve public services and reduce costs using a Systems Thinking approach
• An online self-assessment checklist on efficiency, developed jointly with the Northern Ireland Audit Office and Audit Scotland.
• A new section on the Wales Audit Office’s Good Practice Exchange website featuring materials relevant to innovation and efficiency

Auditor General for Wales, Gillian Body, said today:

“There are tough times ahead which require tough decisions. And, in order to deal effectively with these challenges, the public sector needs to change and innovate. It needs clear strategies and plans, based on good information to support difficult choices. Risk should be managed but the public sector must not be risk averse. Better use should be made of staff, resources and assets. And the public sector needs to work together more, in a joined up way. But, most importantly, it’s about finding new ways of working based around what matters for citizens.”

Notes to editors:

• This report looks at some of the key issues that public services are currently facing in Wales.
• Part 1 highlights the scale of the financial pressures for Welsh public services as they experience the most difficult economic conditions for a generation.
• Part 2 identifies some of the key lessons from our work over the past five years and how they can help public services to prepare for future challenges.
• To access the Wales Audit Office good practice materials on innovation and efficiency, visit our website http://www.wao.gov.uk/
• The Wales Audit Office promotes improvement, so that people in Wales benefit from accountable, well-managed public services that offer the best possible value for money. It is also committed to identify and spreading good practice across the Welsh public sector.