Innovation is synonymous with Flintshire County Council.

Here in Flintshire, we are committed to the provision of local services for local people and work closely with communities, partners, businesses, and employees to provide a range of new, innovative and sustainable services.

For over a decade Flintshire County Council, along with every Council in the UK, has been managing the consequences of year-on-year reductions in UK and Welsh Government funding.

Even during these austere times, the Council has remained ambitious. 

• Strategic Housing and Regeneration Programme
• School Modernisation Programme
• Extra Care supporting independent living
• Marleyfield House Care Home
• Croes Atti Newydd, Residential Care
• Development of children’s residential care
• Micro care
• The protection of valued local services such as Theatr Clwyd

Flintshire provides local public services for 155,100 people who live in 71,267 households.

With 6,113 staff we are the largest employer in the County and provide services including, education, housing, planning, refuse collection, environmental health, recycling, roads, social services, trading standards, transport and tourism.

Flintshire has 78 schools (64 Primary, 11 Secondary, 2 Specialist, 1 PRU) attended by 23,716 pupils.

Social services support over 5,000 adults and 2,000 children each year.

Flintshire has seven libraries, ten sports and leisure centres (eight of these are managed by Aura Wales and two are Community Asset Transfers), we also have three country parks and maintain 1174.8 km of county road.

We have retained our own Council Housing stock and manage and maintain approximately 7,312 council owned properties which includes 1,460 sheltered properties.

Flintshire is one of 22 unitary authorities in Wales and is the largest in population in North Wales and the sixth largest in Wales. Flintshire is an active member of the Welsh Local Government Association and a number of our senior officers and members have high profile national roles working in a devolved country. 

Flintshire is the lead or co-lead for a number of collaborative strategies and services in the region including autism services, services for those at risk of domestic abuse, community safety, emergency planning, economic growth and waste treatment and disposal.

We are seen as a positive collaborator with an openness to partnership working to secure public value.

Flintshire County Council has 67 Councillors who are democratically elected normally every 5 years.  It is currently run by a minority Labour administration with a political make up of: Labour 31, Independent 26, Conservative 2, Liberal Democrats 4, Eagle 3, and 1 non-aligned member. 

The Council has a Cabinet and a Scrutiny function, decisions are, in the main,  made by the Cabinet. The role of Overview and Scrutiny Committees is to hold the Cabinet to account and to assist in the improvement and development of the Council’s policies and services. 

Flintshire has five Overview and Scrutiny Committees covering:

• Community and Housing
• Corporate Resources 
• Education, Youth & Culture
• Environment & Economy
• Social & Health Care

For more information on the Council's governance arrangements, view the Council and Democracy Homepage.

The Council has recently reviewed and republished its Council Plan.  Through streamlining and resetting its priorities, the Plan provides clear direction for the future aims of the Council and the work needed to make it happen.  

The Social Services Annual Report 2022/23 not only evaluates performance against the previous year’s improvement priorities it also outlines its priorities for 2023/24. 

As a public organisation the Council is regularly inspected to examine and challenge its performance and effectiveness.

The Council received a favourable Annual Audit Summary from the Audit Wales in September 2021. 

“The Auditor General certified that the Council had met its remaining Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 duties for the financial year 2021-22, as saved by an order made under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.”

During its 2021 inspection, Care Inspectorate Wales (CSIW) inspection found that the Council has good corporate and political support for both adults and children’s services and a thorough and well-developed understanding of their strengths and challenges and have worked hard to ensure that prevention is an inherent part of its business.  People are involved in the planning and delivery of their care and support services. They are supported to identify what matters to them and how they might achieve their personal well-being outcomes. In most of the cases we reviewed, outcomes are clearly described and the actions to achieve them are identified.

Partnerships were found to be working well at all levels and are delivering an integrated sustainable approach to meeting need and promoting well-being in line with legislation and expectations. In the cases we reviewed we saw evidence of practitioners developing a professional working relationship with people built upon co-operation to promote independence and developing a shared understanding of what matters.

A recent review undertaken by Estyn identified that the Council have ambitious aspirations for all its children and young people, knows its schools well and provides effective challenge and support for them.   It acknowledges that Leaders collaborate well to coordinate support for children and young people across its services, with learner well-being as a priority. There is a suitable range of appropriate cross directorate support for vulnerable learners within the authority and in collaboration with the regional school improvement service and that there is a clear commitment to modernisation investment programme including the development of Welsh-medium provision in response to the WESP.

The Council ranks highly not only against its peers, but also other public sector companies, for its achievements. 

This is recognised by several regional and national awards spanning education, social services, housing and other portfolios.

Flintshire has a longstanding and proud track record of partnership working.

Flintshire and Wrexham Public Services Board (PSB) is at the heart of promoting a positive culture of working together and concentrates energy, effort and resources on providing efficient and effective services to local communities.

The Voluntary Sector Compact is a partnership between the Council, the Health Board and Flintshire Local Voluntary Council. Its aim is to ensure the role of the voluntary sector is properly understood by public services and opportunities to work in partnership are fully exploited.

Flintshire is a leading partner in a number of regional partnerships including the influential North Wales Economic Ambition Board. 

Our ambition to shape the future of public services sees us involved in many national and regional pieces of work. We are the host and/or are represented on several regional collaborative services including:

• North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project
• North Wales Councils - Regional Emergency Planning Service
• North Wales Minerals and Waste Planning Service
• North Wales Integrated Autism Service (co-host with Betsi Cadwaladr UHB)
• NW Safeguarding Adults and Children’s Boards 
• NW Adult Services Heads
• NW Heads of Children’s Services
• NW Commissioning Board
• NW Workforce Board
• Flintshire and Wrexham Safeguarding Delivery Group
• Outgoing chair of the NW Contest Board
• NW Prevent Delivery Group and NW Channel Chairs

We engage fully with a range of national professional bodies such as:

• Welsh Local Government Association
• Solace
• Association of Directors of Education Wales
• Association of Directors of Social Services