'Unclear' third sector can run council services in Wales

Public toilets are among the services councils have offloaded

It is unclear whether getting voluntary and community groups to manage council-run services will work, Wales' spending watchdog has warned.

Welsh ministers aim to increase the role of third sector bodies as council budgets continue to be squeezed.

Auditor General Huw Vaughan Thomas's report said it was "unclear if these aspirations are deliverable".

A Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesman called the third sector a "key and valued partner".

Mr Thomas's report said the Welsh Government envisaged "a growing role for the third sector in delivering services," but poor arrangements for awarding money "currently impose heavy burdens on organisations".

Third sector organisations are neither state run, nor part of the private sector and include voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises.

There are about 32,500 different third sector organisations, 230,000 trustees, 1.3 million volunteers and 51,000 employees in Wales.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We are currently preparing guidance on good practice in relation to third sector compacts between third sector organisations and local public services. We will look carefully at the recommendations of the report in relation to the guidance."

Huw Vaughan Thomas said more consistency was needed when assessing the performance of third sectors organisations

With ever tighter budgets, councils across Wales have turned to alternative providers to run services such as leisure and libraries.

Mr Thomas said: "We found that performance management arrangements are too inconsistent to provide an adequate level of assurance that services are working well and resources are being used effectively."

On Thursday a £1.5m mental health centre developed by charity Hafal will open in Swansea.

Local government funding of the third sector rose from £154.1m in 2009-10 to £248.8m in 2013-14. Welsh Government grant funding was £240m in 2013-14 and £208m in 2014-15.

Recommendations include clarifying expectations of local authorities and AMs playing a key role in ensuring any gaps or weaknesses are identified and addressed.

A WLGA spokesman said the report showed "more needs to be done to engage earlier and more strategically with third sector organisations in terms of funding decisions and service redesign".

Chairman of the public accounts committee, Nick Ramsay, said a self-evaluation system Mr Thomas included in his report for councils to help make funding decisions would "go a long way to help address the findings of the review and will strengthen current performance".