Introduction

The twenty-two councils in Wales are responsible for:

• planning social services for people who live in their area
• making arrangements for the delivery of social services.

This means that councils have a key role in protecting the most vulnerable people in the community.  They provide care and support to children and young people, older people, people who have a mental health problem, people who have a learning disability and people who have a physical disability or sensory impairment.  Social services also help those who take on a caring role for others, including young carers.

 

 

A joint review is an examination of all areas of the social services work done by the local authority.  It takes place every five years. 

 

The review is carried out jointly by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and the Wales Audit Office (WAO).

 

A team of two or three reviewers spends about one month in the area to examine the services.  The reviewers are people who have wide experience of social services across Wales.  The team also includes a lay assessor - a member of the public with an interest in social services.

 

 

The purpose of joint reviews is to:

• tell the public how well people are being served by their local social services
• help these services to improve
• help safeguard the interests of service users and carers
• get better value for money in the provision of social services.

At the end of each review, the reviewers publish a report.  This describes what is good about social services locally and where improvement is most needed.

 

The council then produces a plan, saying how it intends to make the changes needed.