Covid Perspectives

Two years into the pandemic, we have been talking to colleagues to share a range of perspectives on the impact the pandemic has had on public services in Wales.

What are the major challenges for organizations in dealing with the long-term effects of Covid-19 in communities? What opportunities are there to transform services, building on the strengths that have emerged in Wales' response to the pandemic?

Over the coming months we will be sharing a number of good practice resources including videos, podcasts and blogs to help build understanding and awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing public services in Wales.

Making sense of a crisis: Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic

Access all our updates and articles around Coronavirus, including challenges and changes, as well as our ongoing learning project.

  • Icons of a plate, piggy bank, laptop and smartphone
    Cost of Living and Putting Away the Bayonet
    We are looking at the impact of the cost of living crisis on communities in Wales. This is the first in a series of blogs looking at how audit can help public services respond to the crisis.
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  • Icons of a plate, piggy bank, laptop and smartphone
    Cost of Living and Putting Away the Bayonet
    We are looking at the impact of the cost of living crisis on communities in Wales. This is the first in a series of blogs looking at how audit can help public services respond to the crisis.
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  • Report front covers
    Why and how did the Welsh Government provide additional support to the Third Sector in Wales during COVID-19?
    Our memorandum focuses on the £41.79 million allocated by the Welsh Government through its Third Sector COVID-19 Response Fund during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
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  • Report front covers
    Why and how did the Welsh Government provide additional support to the Third Sector in Wales during COVID-19?
    Our memorandum focuses on the £41.79 million allocated by the Welsh Government through its Third Sector COVID-19 Response Fund during 2020-21 and 2021-22.
    view
  • Icon of a speech bubble with the words The Exchange Podcast - Podlediad y gyfnewidfa
    COVID-19 and Behaviour Change
    The COVID-19 Pandemic has required governments and the wider public to change their behaviour in both significant and small ways.
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  • Icon of a speech bubble with the words The Exchange Podcast - Podlediad y gyfnewidfa
    COVID-19 and Behaviour Change
    The COVID-19 Pandemic has required governments and the wider public to change their behaviour in both significant and small ways.
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  • Adrian Crompton, Auditor General
    How the pandemic is driving innovation in audit
    Auditor General reflects on auditing during the COVID-19 pandemic with ACCA and INTOSAI
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  • Adrian Crompton, Auditor General
    How the pandemic is driving innovation in audit
    Auditor General reflects on auditing during the COVID-19 pandemic with ACCA and INTOSAI
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  • Icons about Test, Trace and Protect, Personal Protective Equipment and Vaccinations
    How are we managing the pandemic in Wales?
    We look at public services’ response to the challenges of Test, Trace, Protect, Personal Protective Equipment and Vaccinations. 
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  • Icons about Test, Trace and Protect, Personal Protective Equipment and Vaccinations
    How are we managing the pandemic in Wales?
    We look at public services’ response to the challenges of Test, Trace, Protect, Personal Protective Equipment and Vaccinations. 
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  • Virus icons
    We reflect on the past year on all things COVID-19 and the public sector
    Join us for our COVID-19 learning week
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  • Virus icons
    We reflect on the past year on all things COVID-19 and the public sector
    Join us for our COVID-19 learning week
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  • 'Thank you key workers' rainbow projected onto a bridge at dusk
    Part 2: COVID-19 a catalyst for positive change?
    Recovering with ambition: How COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst for positive change, some examples from outside Wales.
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  • 'Thank you key workers' rainbow projected onto a bridge at dusk
    Part 1: COVID-19 a catalyst for positive change?
    How COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst for positive change, a framework for evaluating and moving forward with some examples from North Wales.
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  • Illustration of houses and roads as in a town
    My perspective: #YourTownYourFuture survey
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  • Illustration of houses and roads as in a town
    We need your views: #YourTownYourFuture survey launched
    Help your local town by completing our survey
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  • Illustration of houses and roads as in a town
    We need your views: #YourTownYourFuture survey launched
    Help your local town by completing our survey
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  • writing notepad
    The Warm Light of Autumn
    How creative writing helps make sense of the world and improve mental health, from prisoners to the public service workforce.
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  • Blog text
    Cyber resilience is everybody’s business (even Billy Idol!)
    A follow on from our Cyber Resilience webinar in September. 
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  • Four icons showing a closed book, an open book, a laptop, and a virus
    Powys Library Services during COVID-19 – what we’ve learned
    Our Good Practice Team recently interviewed Powys Library Services about how they have responded to lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic.  
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  • Photograph of a workman facing away from camera and looking at a large pile of rubbish
    Can Wales cope with the financial impact of the pandemic on local government?
    We’ve published three pieces of work around Local Government finances in Wales
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  • Photograph of a bridge lit up with neon rainbow lights
    Volunteering is a two-way process that makes a difference to everyone involved
    My recent experiences have deepened my personal learning; in governance, communication, control and the hidden talents within a community. Let me explain.
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  • Photograph of a bridge lit up with neon rainbow lights
    Libraries - it's not just about the books
    Since our Twitter thread about library services back in July, lots of things have changed. 
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  • The words 'cyber resilience' next to an icon of an open laptop dispaying a picture of a virus
    Our webinar on public bodies’ cyber resilience during lockdown
    Join us for our free webinar on 23 September.
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  • Postcards from around Wales
    Leaving the cave...
    The outdoors boosts our wellbeing and helps us cope with the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but how easy is it to get out and enjoy open spaces?
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  • White background and orange social media icons in a row - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram - and an icon of a virus
    Foot and Mouth Disease 2001 vs. COVID-19
    Does social media make a difference to how we learn?
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  • Photograph of a bridge lit up with neon rainbow lights
    International lessons for Welsh public bodies in responding to and recovering from COVID-19
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  • Photograph of a young man in a blue shirt holding pen and paper
    Remote auditing (a trainee’s perspective)
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  • Photograph of a young man in a blue shirt holding pen and paper
    Hitting our accounts deadlines whilst working from home
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  • Photograph of smiling young woman wearing a headset sat at a laptop
    Final Accounts auditing from home
    Lucy Herman recounts her experiences leading the audit of Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
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  • Photograph of a bridge at night lit up with neon rainbow coloured lights
    International lessons around COVID-19
    We look at how other countries and their public bodies have dealt with the pandemic
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  • Photograph of two pairs of feet in black socks and black trousers, lifted from the ground and dancing
    Dancing to a new beat: the next phase of public services’ response to COVID-19
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  • Photograph of two pairs of feet, male, in mid-air, dancing
    Dancing to a new beat with COVID-19
    We look at the next phase of public services’ response to the pandemic
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  • aaa
    Local council democracy – coming out of lockdown
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  • Photograph of a bridge at night lit up with neon rainbow coloured lights
    Governance arrangements at a local level during a pandemic
    We look at how councils have had to make some rapid decisions about how best to run their services during COVID-19.
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  • Photograph of a bridge at night lit up with neon rainbow coloured lights
    The impact of COVID-19 on our mental health
    We discuss the mental pressures and challenges we face during the pandemic and share some learning in our latest blog around COVID-19.
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  • Photograph of a bridge at night lit up with neon rainbow coloured lights
    Welsh Government COVID-19 funding
    The Coronavirus has had a profound impact on life in Wales and across the world. Public finances are no exception.
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  • aaa
    Welsh Government COVID-19 funding
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  • aaa
    COVID-19: Test, Trace and Protect – councils and local health boards signposting
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  • Photograph of a bridge at night lit up with neon rainbow coloured lights
    COVID-19: Test, Trace, Protect – how easy is it to access information?
    We look at how councils and health boards have been signposting people
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  • AAA
    COVID-19 learning project – some emerging themes on re-introducing service delivery
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  • A
    Our response to COVID-19 – an update from the Auditor General
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