In response to the report from the Wales Audit Office on the Integrated Care Fund, the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Nick Ramsay AM, has issued the following statement.
Mr Ramsay said:
“The Integrated Care Fund is now in its sixth year. It is encouraging to see that the fund has helped to bring organisations together to plan services that can make a real difference for those in need, although some Regional Partnership Boards appear to have embraced regional working more than others.
“Disappointingly, some of the issues raised in the Auditor General’s report about the way the fund has been managed are symptomatic of concerns that the Committee has considered previously in the context of the Supporting People Programme.
“We note also that there is little evidence yet of public bodies mainstreaming successful initiatives rather than relying on the fund to support them.
“We support the Auditor General’s call for the Welsh Government to get things right from the outset when planning future funds of this nature and to ensure that it can tell a clear and coherent story about the impact of its investment.
“The Committee will consider the Auditor General’s report and the Welsh Government’s response in due course.”
The full report is available from the Wales Audit Office.