Council not ensuring value for money when commissioning services

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

A report has said that a Welsh council does not have “consistent and robust arrangements” in place to ensure value for money when it comes to commissioning services.

The report from Audit Wales was heard by Neath Port Talbot Council bosses at a governance and audit committee in July of 2025, following the audit which was published by the organisation earlier in the year.

Commissioning is the process by which a local council designs and sets up the services it wants to deliver either internally or by procuring an external supplier.

Audit Wales said after looking at a small sample of services they felt the authority lacks “consistent and robust arrangements to ensure value for money in its commissioning of services”.

The report, which focused on the pre-procurement part of the process highlighted an inconsistent use of options appraisals, as well as there being limited consideration of long-term value for money and the wider impacts.

However, it did emphasise that the council was taking steps to improve with the development of a new procurement strategy approved, and prompts to consider a range of options when services are being commissioned.

Summary

The executive summary of the report said: “The review found that while the council has a clear rationale for commissioning, it lacks consistent and robust arrangements to ensure value for money.

“Key issues included inconsistent use of options appraisals, limited consideration of long-term value for money and wider impacts, and a lack of mechanisms to monitor and evaluate value for money over time.

“However, the council is taking steps to improve, including the development of a new Procurement Strategy (2024–2028), which was approved in late 2024 and early 2025.”

A representative speaking for Audit Wales said they gave two recommendations to help the authority.

These looked at putting arrangements in place to make sure options appraisals were consistently undertaken and wider impacts and opportunities were considered.

Accountability

They added that they were satisfied with the response from the authority which showed how they intended to address the recommendations.

Officers said their aim was to embed the steps and make sure there was a culture of continuous improvement and accountability across all service areas.

The report came as part of a national thematic review being carried out by Audit Wales for each of the 22 councils, with results expected before the end of the year.