Agenda item

Purpose:  To publish the results of the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge for West Berkshire Council and an action plan to address the recommendations within it.

Resolved that the report be noted and the actions that are being taken to address the recommendations within the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Report be approved.

This decision is eligible to be ‘called-in’.  However, if the decision has not been ‘called-in’ by 5.00pm on 7 May 2020, then it will be implemented.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 6) concerning the results of the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge for West Berkshire Council and the action plan produced to address the recommendations within it.

Councillor Lynne Doherty explained that the LGA Peer Challenge of the Council was undertaken in November 2019 and was scheduled after the Council invited the LGA to conduct the Peer Challenge.

In summary, the report highlighted that the Council had much to shout about in terms of its successes and in its provision of services to residents, but there was always room for improvement. These areas for attention were detailed within the action plan. However, predominantly the report painted a positive picture which highlighted strong governance, strong leadership and sound financial controls.

Councillor Jeff Brooks agreed there were many positives in this report. However, some areas for attention had been highlighted previously, i.e. the Council needing to do more to promote its good work. He sought an assurance that this area would be taken forward.

Councillor Brooks also reflected on comments made about the Council being risk averse. In some ways this was a positive, but he queried whether the Council could be more ambitious in some areas.

In response to these questions, Councillor Doherty acknowledged that the Council could improve upon the promotion of its good work. This would be taken forward by the Customer First Programme Board. Councillor Doherty felt that the Council was ambitious, as evidenced in the Council Strategy, but it needed to be realistic.

Councillor Lee Dillon gave thanks to Councillor Brooks for his involvement in the Peer Challenge on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group.

Councillor Dillon then referred to the action plan and noted that the timescale for some of the actions was in the relatively near future. He queried whether this was realistic alongside the Covid-19 response and recovery work.

Councillor Doherty agreed that the Council was very busy in its response and recovery work. However, much good work had come out of the Council’s activity in relation to Covid-19 that would help to meet some of these actions, for example it had helped to move community engagement work forward. There would however still be a need to review timescales in some areas.

Councillor Adrian Abbs also queried timescales, specifically the December 2020 timescale for recommendation three: ‘to determine West Berkshire’s housing, economic growth and environment priorities, how they need to inter-relate and reflect them in the emerging respective strategies’. Was this a realistic target when the Council was also responding to Covid-19?

As explained to Councillor Dillon, Councillor Doherty advised that there was a need, as part of the Covid-19 recovery process, to look at the impact of the crisis on the 2036 Vision. A key piece of work to be undertaken as a priority was to review the timescales for some areas including the priorities listed in recommendation three.

Councillor Erik Pattenden referred to paragraph 4.2 of the Executive Summary and the first bullet point in relation to engaging with residents. He offered his assistance in this work. The Liberal Democrats had made a proposal at the Council meeting in March 2020 to set up community forums and this could be a way of taking this forward.

Councillor Doherty thanked Councillor Pattenden for his offer and advised him that he could be involved. The starting point on which to try and improve this was to liaise with residents to understand how they wished to be involved. A survey would be conducted to this end.

Councillor Hilary Cole agreed this was a positive review. She felt that it demonstrated that the Council had built on the peer review of four years ago. The very sound action plan would help to address those areas identified as needing attention.

RESOLVED that:

·         The report be noted.

·         The actions that were being taken to address the recommendations within the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Report be approved.

Other options considered: The Council found valuable the Corporate Peer Challenge process which reflects on the strengths recognised by fellow experienced Councillors and officers and also recommendations for further improvement. A careful consideration of the feedback, resulting in an action plan to address the recommendation, is the option that will achieve the maximum benefit from undertaking the corporate peer challenge.