Second Public
Sector Performance Report 2004
Report No 4 -
June 2004
This Second Public Sector Performance
Report for 2004 brings to notice
issues associated with legislative
compliance, fi nancial management
and control and the results of
a Follow-up Examination that
assesses agency responses to
previously reported matters.
LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE
Management of Food Safety
in Western Australia by the Department
of Health
The Department of Health (DoH)
has overall responsibility for
administering and coordinating
food safety in the State. This
includes responsibility for monitoring
the activities of local governments
which ensure regulatory compliance
through on-ground monitoring
and surveillance programs within
their districts. Whilst Western
Australia (WA) has a good safety
record compared to other States,
we found that the Department
should provide greater support
and coordination of food safety
activities of local governments.
The examination of the operations
of DoH found:
- Only about eight per cent
of local governments are consistently
submitting required food safety
reports to DoH. The sampled
local governments commonly
questioned the value of food
safety indicators they are
required to report on. Without
consistent and meaningful reporting
from local governments, DoH
is unable to provide assurance
that food safety standards
are being applied consistently
across the State.
- There is no coordinated approach
or guidance given to local
government on when, what or
how often food samples should
be tested for contamination.
Despite all local governments
participating in and paying
for an analytical service scheme,
about 44 per cent fail to conduct
any food sampling and analysis.
- Less than half of the 142
local governments have had
their food surveillance programs
assessed by DoH since 1995.
DoH has not used risk based
criteria when selecting local
government food surveillance
programs for assessment (such
as the lack of food sampling
and analysis).
- DoH's assessment of local
government food surveillance
programs is undermined by lengthy
delays in reporting the fi
ndings to the local governments
and by a failure to monitor
and/or enforce implementation
of the recommendations.
Records Management in Government
- A Preliminary Study
The State Records Act 2000 aims
to strengthen public sector accountability
through effective recordkeeping.
Government agencies were required
to submit a Recordkeeping Plan
(RKP) for the approval of the
State Records Commission by March
7, 2004 and thereafter to manage
their records in accordance with
the plan. The preliminary study
has looked at the progress that
four agencies are making towards
the implementation of their RKP.
These four agencies were amongst
the fi rst to take up the challenge
to adopt better recordkeeping
practices.
The key findings were:
All four agencies are making
progress towards the implementation
of good recordkeeping practices
though some key steps still need
to be taken:
- Training of staff about records
management had been provided
at three of the four agencies.
Nevertheless, employees were
not consistently applying the
required procedures particularly
in regard to emails.
- Only limited formal monitoring
of compliance was undertaken
and little specifi c feedback
was given to management and
employees.
- Varying levels of improvement
to user access, passwords and
monitoring of the network and
document management system
were required at three of the
four agencies in order to maintain
the integrity, confi dentiality
and availability of the system.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
The Administration of Grants
State Government agencies provide
grants to individuals and organisations
for purposes consistent with
their role and objectives. Whilst
the actual yearly amount is unknown,
it is estimated that it would
be in the hundreds of millions
of dollars. In providing these
grants, agencies need to ensure
that grant moneys are provided
for the correct purpose, funds
are provided equitably and accountability
requirements are met.
The key finding was:
- All four agencies were adequately
managing their grant schemes.
Availability of grant funding
was properly publicised, applications
were impartially assessed against
clear eligibility guidelines
and grant moneys were being
suitably acquitted.
FOLLOW-UP PERFORMANCE EXAMINATION
A Tough Assignment - Teacher
Placement in Government Schools
This report is a follow-up to
the October 2000 performance
examination A Tough Assignment:
Teacher Placements in Government
Schools. This follow-up focused
on four main areas; the response
to A Tough Assignment, developments
in staffing since 2000, key staffing
issues and trends and variations
in school staffing.
The key findings were:
- It is not possible to conclude
whether the overall staffing
of schools has improved or
deteriorated. Detailed objectives
and measures that were recommended
in the 2000 A Tough Assignment
report have not yet been developed
by the Department of Education
and Training.
- The Department has made some
useful changes to staffi ng
practices since 2000. However,
for greater effectiveness these
need to be linked to system
wide goals and performance
objectives.
- The future staffi ng of schools
will depend heavily on how
the Department addresses a
number of key issues, such
as centralised or school based
selection, tenure and incentives
to work at less favoured schools.
- There are large variations
between schools in age profi
le, gender balance, turnover
rate and other factors that
are likely to affect school
performance.
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