The focus of this inaugural conference is on improvement and efficiency in relation to the Making the Connections agenda - the Assembly Government's vision for public service in Wales. The strategy sets out a clear direction for delivering better public services to the people of Wales, making them more efficient, more joined-up and more responsive to people's needs.

Rhodri Morgan said: "The creation of the Wales Audit Office is an important illustration of our approach to public service delivery in Wales. It has the potential to become a real force to bring real benefits in improved services and improved value for money for our citizens in Cardiff.

"The main feature of our reforms has been to stress collaboration rather than competition and on integration rather than separation.

"Our public services reforms are not just about institutional change; they are not just about merging together bodies which had previously been separate. We are about changing the way we work, the way we relate to each other - and primarily the ways in which we relate to the citizens and communities that we seek to service.

"Our Reform Agenda starts with the objective of putting citizens at the heart of public service delivery: creating forms of delivery and forms of accountability which allow public services to respond to the different needs of different individuals and communities whilst at the same time responding to the genuine demand for consistent levels of service quality.

"We can be proud of the improvements: in waiting times, in the number of older people helped to live at home, in public transport, in schools and in local services generally."