Corporate peer challenge: Central Bedfordshire Council

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) is an ambitious unitary authority. The geography of Central Bedfordshire is seeing significant population growth, is largely rural with 11 market towns, and is one of the top ten fastest areas of growth in the country.

The most recent residents’ survey suggests perception of the council is at a similar level to the national average, with 63 per cent of residents satisfied with the way the council runs things compared to a national average of 62 per cent.

Satisfaction with value for money is 49 per cent, above the national average of 46 per cent. Many CBC services have satisfaction levels above the national average, such as refuse collection, library services, street cleaning and support for older people. Children’s Services was rated as ‘Good’ during the last inspection, with the council working towards achieving an ‘Outstanding’ judgement.

Peers were made to feel very welcome by the council. The Leader and Chief Executive used their respective leadership effectively to strongly encourage all members and staff to speak openly and honestly during the process.

The timing of the Corporate Peer Challenge was scheduled to provide the new administration, with the opportunity to reflect on its first four months of political leadership, and to feed into the next stage of organisational development, learning and the council’s strategic planning (formation of the Council Plan).

The council through its financial stewardship, has achieved significant financial savings (£185M) since its formation following a reorganisation in 2009. Since the formation of CBC, the council had been under a Conservative administration until a change of control following the May 2023 local elections. The council does not have a party with a working majority. The largest group are the Independents who have formed an administration referred to as the ‘Executive’. The second largest group are now the Conservative party, which makes up the majority of the opposition along with other multi-member opposition groups which are the Liberal Democrats, Labour and non-networked Independents.

The council has an additional dynamic where more than half the members have never been a CBC ward councillor before; members with Executive responsibilities are working hard to orientate themselves with their respective portfolio areas.Relationships across the Executive and with officers are in a work in progress, with some positive examples shared demonstrating the steps being taken to ensure members are supported in understanding their portfolios, statutory services and more broadly how the council operates, functions and governs. Officers are also developing their understanding of the new Executive’s preferred ways of working, and adapting to different work patterns, changed desires for levels of detailed information and levels of control. CBC is working towards being more joined up and better equipped to take the opportunities for efficiencies and new ways of working.

Peers recommend further joint work between members and officers to establish working protocols, setting out clear working practices to ensure there is clarity and a joint agreement on how officers can best support the political objectives of the Executive. There was recognition from members and officers that new ways of working are still being explored and in development as relationships build and mature.

Peers have recommended the council establishes and rolls out an all-member development programme that supports members beyond the initial well-received induction programme. A further programme of development is recommended, with internal and external support to help Executive members with the continuing practice of understanding their respective roles and accountabilities to ensure there is robust governance and oversight. This support should include both individualised programmes and collaborative working between the Executive and senior officers, and for Overview and Scrutiny chairs (OSC).

Strengthening corporate governance will ensure the Executive have the necessary checks and balances in place to ensure robust oversight and scrutiny of decision-making, performance, and outcomes for residents.

There are ‘choppy waters ahead’ financially. A range of national economic conditions, together with an increase in service demand are putting increased pressure on the budget, which has been exacerbated by a previous decision not to raise council tax in 2023/2024. Despite being one of the minority of councils to achieve publication of its unaudited accounts for 2022/23 on time, with a history of sound operational financial management on a year by year basis, navigating through the months ahead will require a joined-up corporate response to how budget gaps can be addressed through delivering transformation, efficiencies, and savings.

Failure to deliver cross-cutting efficiencies is leading to a draw down on reserves which is not sustainable. This situation will worsen if efficiencies continue not to be achieved in future years. The messages around financial challenges have not consistently found their way down the organisational staff structure , or with external partners. External partners are more than willing to help and offer potential solutions to how services can be delivered.

The corporate management team (CMT) work well together and is recognised as a safe place for constructive challenge. The CMT are collaborative, addressing problems and aspiring to deliver a corporate response to bigger issues. Further work is however required to ensure silo working is reduced further down the organisational structure to enable more cross-team working and less duplication.

The council’s policy on external investment has meant there are no significant commercial investments and hence no current commercial risks. Investment in the two new companies should however be monitored closely.

Through speaking with a broad range of members, officers, and partners there is an urgent need to agree the strategic priorities of the Executive and to develop a new Council Plan. There is a consistent view that the political priorities need to be agreed and communicated urgently to provide leadership and a clear direction across the organisation and outwards to strategic partners and communities. It was recognised by peers that work has begun with the Executive members producing a list of political priorities, so now officers need to work with the Executive to help turn these into a full Council Plan. There was a strong ask from staff and partners to clearly communicate at pace the council’s future vision and priorities so support and resources can be aligned to deliver these objectives. In the absence of a new set of agreed political priorities, many officers are continuing to work on the objectives agreed in the previous Council Plan.

The development and communication of the council’s priorities will enable the Council Plan to be aligned to the medium-term financial plan (MTFP) and ensure the Executive are collectively accountable for the financial planning, governance, and performance of the council.

Peers heard how the Executive was effective in the elections through working closely at ward level to understand the local ward issues that were most important to the electorate. The Independent members do not formally operate as a political group, although they do hold regular meetings to discuss decisions and strategy, and were described to peers as a ‘network’ which at the time of the elections did not therefore have a party manifesto. Peers urge the Executive to develop the right balance between delivering necessary outcomes at local level and more broadly across the geography of Central Bedfordshire by prioritising engagement with partners to support the development of strategic priorities and an agreed narrative for place shaping.

There are several observations and suggestions within the main section of the report. The following are the peer team’s key recommendations to the council:

Recommendation 1

Agree key strategic priorities and communicate them urgently and finalise a full Council Plan.

Recommendation 2

Develop the MTFP developed and aligned to the strategic Council Plan, with clear understanding and collective accountability from the Executive. 

Recommendation 3

Political leadership to engage with partners to support the development of the strategic priorities for the place. 

Recommendation 4

Establish and roll out a member development programme.

Recommendation 5

Strengthen corporate governance arrangements.

Recommendation 6

Establish working protocols between officers and members. 

Recommendation 7

Prepare the organisation and partners for medium-term financial challenges.

Recommendation 8

Continue to reduce silo working across the council and establish collective responsibility. 

The peer team

Peer challenges are delivered by experienced elected member and officer peers. The make-up of the peer team reflected the focus of the peer challenge and peers were selected on the basis of their relevant expertise. The peers were:

• Lead Officer Peer: Jane Portman, LGA Associate Peer and former Managing Director of Bournemouth Council
• Member Lead Peer: Councillor Liz Green, former leader at RB Kingston Upon Thames
• Officer Peer: Roger Goodes, Service Director Partnerships, Policy and Communications, Buckinghamshire Council
• Officer Peer: Anna D'Alessandro, Director of Finance, Corporate and Commercial, Surrey County Council
• Officer Peer: Carol Valentine, Business Innovation and Technology Manager, Kent County Council
• Shadow Peer: Susmita Dave, NGDP Graduate, Oxfordshire County Council
• James Mehmed – LGA Peer Challenge Manager
• Onyekachi Abajingin – LGA Project Support Officer

Scope and focus

The peer team considered the following five themes which form the core components of all Corporate Peer Challenges. These areas are critical to councils’ performance and improvement.

• Local priorities and outcomes - Are the council’s priorities clear and informed by the local context? Is the council delivering effectively on its priorities?
• Organisational and place leadership - Does the council provide effective local leadership? Are there good relationships with partner organisations and local communities?
• Governance and culture - Are there clear and robust governance arrangements? Is there a culture of challenge and scrutiny?
• Financial planning and management - Does the council have a grip on its current financial position? Does the council have a strategy and a plan to address its financial challenges?
• Capacity for improvement - Is the organisation able to support delivery of local priorities? Does the council have the capacity to improve?

The peer challenge process

Peer challenges are improvement focused; it is important to stress that this was not an inspection. The process is not designed to provide an in-depth or technical assessment of plans and proposals. The peer team used their experience and knowledge of local government to reflect on the information presented to them by people they met, things they saw and material that they read.

The peer team prepared by reviewing a range of documents and information to ensure they were familiar with the council and the challenges it is facing. The team then spent four days onsite at Central Bedfordshire Council, during which they:

• Gathered information and views from more than 50 meetings, in addition to further research and reading.
• Spoke to more than 150 people including members from across the Council, a wide range of council staff, together with external stakeholders.

This report provides a summary of the peer team’s findings. In presenting feedback, they have done so as fellow members and local government officers.

CBC refreshed its strategic plan and adopted the new plan in February 2022. The plan is designed to connect the high-level vision (Central Bedfordshire 2050) ‘to be a great place to live and work for everyone’, with the day-to-day work of the council.

The strategic plan adopts guiding principles and values with five priorities and outcomes: The principles of fairness, economy, sustainability, and a place-based approach will guide the way in which the council will operate.

The priorities and outcomes that it is focused on are:

• Enabling people to live their best lives and supporting people to be independent, ensuring that we keep focused on improving health and wellbeing and supporting independent living.
• Improving educational achievement and progress, to improve social mobility and the life chances for all.
• Delivering quality housing, to meet the growing need for quality housing, including affordable housing where needed, for our residents.
• Creating opportunities for rewarding work, to address the challenges faced by more and more of our residents in work poverty.
• Making best use of resources, working efficiently, and having the most positive impact on residents’ lives.

Organisational and place leadership

This new plan, however was adopted by the previous administration and does not necessarily reflect the priorities of the new Independent Administration.

As a result, the new Executive has recently engaged with residents, via a survey, about what they consider to be the most and least important services CBC provides in order to inform a revised Council Plan, along with a list of their priorities for the next 4 years.

The Peer team were informed that the new plan is planned to be recommended to Council for adoption in January 2024, with key political priorities agreed before then.

There is a high level of interest and widespread anticipation of the political priorities of the new Executive, which is leading to a feeling of uncertainty. Whilst officers and partners understand the Executive is still in its early stages of formation, and work is ongoing to develop new priorities, they continue to work on the current priority areas.

In developing the new priorities, the Peer team identified a need to ensure there was a balance between delivering ‘hyper-local’ ward-based outcomes and the aspirations for Central Bedfordshire as place.

Peers strongly recommend the Executive to communicate the Council Plan and work with officers to understand and embed the priorities to support realigning service plans, budgets, resources, and performance management systems at the earliest possible opportunity.

Performance management

There is a strong performance management ethos across the council with robust processes in place. Peers heard how Portfolio Holders discuss performance each month with their appropriate Director, before formally reporting to Overview and Scrutiny and to the Executive. A portfolio office has been implemented to improve the quality and consistency of project management, monitoring benefits realisation and regular reporting. To ensure all new projects are working towards objectives of the strategic plan the portfolio office ensures there is a direct objective link ensuring resources are directed to those projects that will deliver impact in key priority areas.

An additional report with a broader set of measures and a priority projects progress report is regularly reviewed by CMT and the Executive. The regular reporting enables both CMT and Executive to have oversight and discuss issues that are likely to impact delivery and develop appropriate mitigation.

Performance reporting includes 42 key performance indicators which are reviewed by the Executive and Overview and Scrutiny committees each quarter. The latest council performance report details CBC’s most recent resident research (conducted October 2022). For comparative purposes the grid featured in the latest linked report also includes national results from the LGA’s most recent survey (February 2023).

In all except one instance, CBC’s local performance is either in line with or exceeds national comparisons and there are no indicators that are significantly below the national comparators. The results for CBC show significantly greater satisfaction for residents compared to the national results for libraries (24%), sports and leisure facilities (13%), street cleaning (11%), the local area (11%), waste collection (9%), feeling safe after dark (8%) and in daylight (6%) and trust in the council (6%).

The suite of performance management reports support members with making comparisons between CBC’s latest responses on key questions (gathered by the survey run by CBC every other year) with national results (gathered three times a year by the LGA), so members can track the council’s performance against national comparators.

To demonstrate how performance management data and insight can positively impact communities, peers were informed of an example case study MANOP – (Meeting the Accommodation Needs of Older People). The programme is delivering several solutions to meet the accommodation needs for older people. The impetus to improve accommodation needs for older people, through KPIs identified a challenge in meeting targets which were identified through to 2035. One intervention involved the inclusion of policy requirements for all developments over 100 dwellings to provide suitable accommodation within the local plan. This demonstrated a clear link between performance data, KPIs and policy change.

In the context of upcoming reforms to both Adult Social Care and Social Housing, the council acknowledges additional indicators may emerge and be recommended for regular reporting later in the year. The imminent development of refreshed service plans aligned to the emergent Council Plan outcomes, may also lead to proposed additional performance indicators. Peers met with colleagues responsible for the performance management frameworks and recognised the evolving nature of performance management, including the need to re-evaluate performance indicators when further details are communicated about the Executive’s council priorities.

Peers heard how officers with a technical lead for performance management come together as a specialist technical group to network, share learning and discuss the evolving nature of performance management to ensure the systems in place are impactful, providing members and CMT with information and evidence to ensure governance and oversight of council performance.

CBC’s Children’s Social Care Services are rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted following the January 2022 inspection and the service aspires to become ‘Outstanding’. During the annual conversation with Ofsted (July 2023) the council was recognised for understanding the areas for improvement and for building on the foundation for good work to ensure the best outcomes for children. The councils most recent Ofsted SEND inspection conducted in July 2022 identified progress since the initial Joint Area Send Inspection conducted in November 2019. Progress has been made with three of the six areas for improvement; co-production, local offer and SEND strategy. The remaining three areas for improvement; education, health and care plans have plans in place within the Accelerated Progress Plan (APP).

To be in a position of strength when the council is subject to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) framework, CBC took the opportunity to undertake a LGA peer challenge of Adult Social Care during November 2022. The review outcomes have led to the identification of strengths and areas for improvement. The council has produced an action plan in readiness for full inspection. Peers heard how the pre-CQC inspection outcomes are on the ICB agenda to secure engagement from all health partners as a key stakeholder.

CBC’s Highways service was subject to an independent review in 2021 with a brief to improve the management of the service contract. The review outcomes were shared on CBC’s website and during two Overview and Scrutiny committees. Following a recent community engagement survey commissioned by the Executive, this has provided further evidence to focus on a specific pothole strategy. Highways is a high priority area for residents.

The Executive is in its early stages of formation and needs to move at pace from its current list of ideas to set strategic priorities, vision, and the Council Plan. The Executive has an increased emphasis on local voices through community engagement and has already run an engagement survey to inform identification of local priorities to provide an evidence base on residents wants and needs. Place is important to the Executive however this now needs to be clearly articulated into a vision and narrative that describes their ambition for place and sets the direction internally and with partners. Members of the Executive have begun reaching out to neighbouring council leaders and those keen to collaborate, as well as opposition leaders.

New working relationships are being formed between members and officers, between Executive members and across the Independent administration network. CMT and staff are supporting the Executive through the early stages of transition into administrative control and working protocols are in early stages of being established and need to be further developed and embedded.

The CMT works well together as a relatively new top team and has created a team culture where it is safe to have constructive challenge. Officers in the CMT are actively working to support each other through ensuring there is a collective corporate response to issues that go beyond a specific service area. These new work practices at the most senior level of the organisation are demonstrating a commitment to reduce service and departmental specific silo working, increasing the opportunities to look at new ways of delivering services, drive innovation and identifying opportunities for cross-cutting efficiencies. This approach to joined up working was seen as positive by peers given there will need to be increased creativity and exploration of solutions for balancing future budgets.

CBC is considered a trusted partner, with excellent operational engagement. Peers heard many examples of great working relationships with a range of partners including town and parish councils, health, local businesses, the VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) and neighbouring Local Authorities. CMT has hosted meetings at some town and parish councils which have been positively received, together with monthly topic sessions provided by the community and engagement team. Peers heard partners from all sectors are very keen to engage more on strategic place making with the council, to build on the operational good practice.

There are some good examples of place-based partnership working with the Dunstable Leisure Centre, Integrated Health Care Hub in Dunstable and Biggleswade library. Peers were informed of a place-based pilot underway that will work in five town centre locations with a joint committee using UK Shared Prosperity Funding to generate place-based evidence to inform local decision-making and place shaping outcomes. The concept is to start small, evaluate and take the learning into a longer-term vision for place.

Place leadership will be further strengthened through direction set in the new Council Plan and by the effective engagement by the Leader and Executive members with local strategic partners. Peers recommend the Executive should consider how best to engage with identified priority stakeholders to start the collaboration and development of a place narrative and vision, as well as provide visible leadership across the council area.

There is a current opportunity to build further place-based leadership through discussion regarding the transition of the SEMLEP (South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) with the six neighbouring authorities.

There are positive relationships developing between officers and members, as well as trust and respect between members. Regular feedback should occur to ensure all key relationships (member to member and member to officer) are having a positive impact and working towards the political objectives and protocols set by the Executive and CMT. Executive members and the Leader know they have the full support of CMT. The Leader, from the outset of their tenure, has sought to work consensually with Opposition groups and backbenchers which has been welcomed and appreciated. The post-election cross party, political working is to be commended and demonstrates the positive focus on Central Bedfordshire the place rather than the politics of the area.

The peer team welcomed that scrutiny in CBC is led by Opposition members. The role of Overview and Scrutiny is valued by the Executive. Chairs of scrutiny report feeling supported in their roles, with productive relationships and are well briefed. Peers however heard an example where scrutiny could be improved further to inform early-stage policy development and decision-making.

Some scrutiny items are reportedly coming too late in the process to allow for sufficient time for consideration and reflection of new policy proposals. The current process could fall foul of ‘rubber stamping’, as opposed to providing the necessary challenge and critical friend feedback to improve decision-making and shaping of policies. Peers heard from a scrutiny chair who recommended that the council should be more outward facing and using the links with the LGA and other external bodies to lobby for national policy change. The Executive should reflect whether the role of scrutiny is sufficiently defined and effectively supports a system of governance that is congruent with political priorities and improves value to policy and outcomes for residents. Additional training opportunities for OSC chairs may help address some of these concerns.

The Executive is actively considering and adjusting governance to ensure it aligns to its priorities. One example of this is the establishment of two new sub-groups which focus on SEND and Police and Crime: two areas the Executive wishes to strengthen with increased scrutiny and challenge. Peers saw this as a positive addition to existing scrutiny committees. Peers were also informed how investment had been made with a new role focused on SEND which was actively seeking to upskill all members cross party in understanding the legislation, co-production, and the role of scrutiny. This was seen as a positive intervention for improving governance as well as the new Executive ensuring there is increased oversight in a priority service area.

In terms of audit and risk, CBC does not have a specific risk manager. The Head of Internal Audit regularly attends service area meetings to inform and discuss audit requirements and the risk register. Risks are detailed in committee reports. Peers saw little evidence of how risk management is being embedded across the organisation and strongly recommend further work in this area, along with more early engagement with internal audit on transformation activity. There is an opportunity for the newly formed transformation team in the Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) to ensure their work programme is discussed early with internal audit. Peers were informed how recent internal audit plans had not all been fulfilled, with 57% of the last audit plan being completed. This could add risk to CBC. Peers understand that internal audit is trying to increase capacity in the team through a ‘grow our own’ internal development approach and peers recommend reviewing this approach to be certain the right level of capacity and skills are delivered in an acceptable timeframe.

Members highlighted to the peer team that the approach to ward case management is not as developed as they wish, often leaving members chasing queries they have raised. A new system and process for case management and reporting may be required, which would give members more confidence in how issues and queries raised are being dealt with, enhancing the communities’ experience of engaging with CBC. Peers heard how an existing FOI system could be configured to fulfil this requirement and should be developed at pace to give members increased confidence in case management.

Peers noted the council’s constitution was written 14 years ago with minor amendment since, and peers endorse the review which is currently underway to ensure the constitution is fit for purpose, whilst supporting all members to understand better the governance and decision-making framework.

Peers recommend arrangements for securing effective corporate governance need strengthening to manage governance risks across the council. Reviewing all processes, policies and resources are aligned to deliver the council priorities will be prudent to ensure the council has a model of strong governance.

The initial member induction programme was well received by members, although many members work fulltime and attending all the development sessions was a challenge for some. Peers recommend developing and rolling out a further development programme to ensure members are further supported in understanding their roles and accountabilities. A regular review of learning and development requirements would be a supportive intervention to ensure knowledge and skills gaps are regularly addressed. The member development programme should involve member training, coaching, and mentoring to meet individual and collective needs, and be reviewed and refreshed regularly.

Members and officers described to peers how since the election outcomes in May, a reset has taken place, new relationships are being formed and new patterns and norms are starting to be established. There is an acknowledgement that the Executive and some other members are in full-time employment and therefore peers recommend new working protocols should be established between members and officers to clarify roles and working practices, including scheduling of meetings and increased response times to requests. Peers consider that externally facilitated top-team training involving Executive members and CMT could help to establish successful working protocols.

The culture of the organisation is likely to be impacted by the change of administration as new norms are explored and evolve over the coming months. The adaptability of the organisation is likely to be supported by the positive will of staff who remain passionate and focused on delivering public services that support residents and communities. Staff will require support to understand how the council will navigate the ‘choppy waters’ ahead, putting more emphasis on impactful communication and staff engagement. CBC can effectively use the outcomes of the most recent staff survey as well as ongoing engagement with the established staff network groups.

Peers noted CBC’s membership to the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion and the role an annual assessment will play in benchmarking EDI performance and developing actions for further improvement. This demonstrates a commitment to improve EDI working practices for staff and communities.

A new people strategy being developed will be helpful in ensuring there is a comprehensive joined up strategy pulling together all organisational development, workforce, learning and equalities, diversity and inclusion activity.

Financial management and stewardship of CBC’s finances have been strong and stable over the last few years. Since the councils’ inception in 2009 savings have amounted to £185m. CBC has worked hard over many years to put the council on a strong financial footing. For the current financial year (2023/24) the council has an efficiency target of £9.5m and a further target of £19m over the duration of the MTFP to 2026/27.

There is now an urgent need to ensure the Executive’s political priorities are built into the budget planning process. Peers recommend the MTFP is developed and aligned to the strategic Council Plan, with clear accountability from the Executive.

CBC is in the minority of councils to have met the statutory deadline of 31^st May 2023 to publish its unaudited accounts for 2022/23. External auditors provided an unqualified opinion on the 2021/22 accounts and on the council’s arrangements for securing value for money in 2021/22.

The new Executive is looking to ensure residents have longer to be engaged and consulted over the draft budget by bringing the process forward, which is very positive.

The council is self-aware that there are financial challenges impacting this current financial year and over the life of the MTFP. Senior leaders refer to “choppy waters ahead”. In practice this means the previous stability and organisational response to financial planning is changing, requiring a more robust approach than has been needed in recent years. The narrative of “choppy waters ahead” and the context of requiring financial efficiencies and savings is not widely understood throughout the council. Peers heard how staff have been used to delivering ‘gold plated services’ and this may now need to be challenged; a potentially difficult message for staff to reconcile. Peers identify this as a risk and recommend a whole council response will be needed to ensure the approach to setting a balanced budget is managed and collectively owned by the Executive and officers, with support from partners.

The newly elected Executive understands the need to take ownership of the budget and there is strong evidence that officers are supporting each Portfolio Holder to understand their areas of accountability, and this is work-in-progress. This process will be ongoing and develop further as confidence grows in understanding the complexity of each portfolio area, and the need to make difficult decisions throughout the budget setting process.

The lack of a clear plan to deliver cross-cutting efficiencies is leading to a draw down on reserves which is unsustainable. Peers were told that the planned cross-cutting efficiencies were being reviewed and reset as part of the 2024/25 budget setting process. Whilst this is positive, it will mean additional pressures and add to the budget gap. Cross-cutting efficiencies are notoriously difficult to deliver unless there are robust mechanisms for governance and accountability. Revenue earmarked reserves are currently £86m and the General Fund reserve is £26m. Although General Fund reserves as a proportion of the overall net revenue budget is good (c10%), as the council is moving into greater medium-term uncertainty and risk it would be prudent to consider a higher proportion (12%-15%) to minimise the impact on reserves. In 2022/23 reserves were used to balance the outturn position due to the cross-cutting efficiencies which were not delivered. This current financial year (2023/24) the budget was predicated on the use of reserves to balance the budget, especially since a council tax freeze was agreed. This could be exacerbated at outturn if the council is in an overspend position, having applied a £6.2m contingency. The only viable option will to be use reserves. The council has a contingency as part of its base budget, which it recently increased. This is a hallmark of good budget planning and should be commended. If there is opportunity to increase this further, then it should be considered. A decision was made to use reserves to invest in specific transformation and change capacity for one year to allow time for benefits to be realised. This one-off use of reserves is appropriate as they should not be used to cover ongoing pressures and efficiencies which may not be achieved.

The current capital programme is potentially unaffordable due to economic instability due to rising interest rates and inflation. Given the multi-year nature of capital spend, this commitment should therefore be reviewed and reduced as a priority. Peers understand discussions are already underway as part of the 2024/25 budget and MTFP setting process.

The council has no significant commercial investments and hence no current commercial risks. CBC has avoided speculative investment through a commercial policy that only supports investment which is aligned to the councils’ core purpose which is to provide efficient and effective services to residents. CBC have created two council-owned companies, ‘Care is Central’ and ‘New Vista Homes’. The shareholder group reviews the financials of both companies on a quarterly basis. The shareholder group should consider reviewing the finances at a summary level including Profit and Loss, cashflow, risks and issues monthly, especially when the activities of the companies gain momentum.

Peers were invited to observe a CMT budget challenge session and were impressed by the comprehensive discussion that explored keys areas such as risk and opportunities, demand management through prevention, benchmarking, demographic analysis, pressures, investment in technology, efficiencies, and cost drivers. The budget challenge session also explored models of service delivery, horizon scanning and the role of partnerships.

There is positive work with the Portfolio Holders in resetting relationships and working closely with officers to ensure they are learning and understanding their areas of accountability. Good progress is being made, although there is recognition that this work will be ongoing and needs to develop further over time.

Budget monitoring is discussed monthly by CMT, where updates on the overall finance of the council is considered, including details of the council’s position on revenue, capital and the HRA (Housing Revenue Account). The financial position is also reported to the Executive on a quarterly basis. CBC should consider reporting this more frequently, especially as the financial position becomes more challenging, to allow for more speedy decision-making based on the most up to date information. CBC should also consider making improvements to its budget monitoring report to CMT and the Executive by including greater variance analysis, mitigations for overspends, use of graphs, charts and trajectory analysis which more easily highlight areas of financial challenge, monitoring, tracking, and reporting of efficiencies (on a gross and not net basis) and weighting risks and opportunities by probability and impact. The Executive and Overview and Scrutiny committees also receive an update each quarter.

Peers were consistently met by staff who were passionate about providing positive public services and are enthusiastic to support the Executive and CMT in delivering the council priorities. Staff gave peers a strong message that the council priorities need to be communicated effectively and with pace. Whilst discussing the effectiveness of organisational communications staff were quick to praise both the Leader and Chief Executive for their open and honest discussion during live webinars. They would like more opportunities to engage in this way.

Staff would like to see more of the Executive and CMT. It was suggested that this could be through being more visible in the office accommodation and attending more virtual and face-to-face events. Peers heard how CMT had been attending parish council meetings which is positive, and staff would like CMT to increase further their connectivity with frontline operational services. Staff want to develop trusted and respected relationships with members and are seeking to avoid a simple transactional relationship for one that is more mature and person centred.

As the council works out a plan to navigate future challenges and seek future efficiencies and manage demand even more effectively, future transformation can be enhanced through staff being more engaged in potential solutions. Staff want to help and be part of the solution to future challenges. Peers recommend CMT responds to the clear ask from staff for senior management to spend more time with frontline, operational services to experience their working context and use the perspectives gained to inform how service delivery could be enhanced and improved.

The Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) includes a new organisational change team of nine colleagues seconded from across the organisation. The team will be developed in change management principles and in time return to their substantive roles with their new skills and then take another incoming cohort of secondees.

The objective is over time, build the capacity and skills in the change management and transformation skills to be deployed across the council. The team has started two major reviews covering customer service and support functions including IT, HR, finance, procurement, commissioning, and business administration.

There is currently a project in early stages seeking to clarify the roles and accountabilities of managers at different grades. Peers understand the project will identify specific skills sets, learning and development requirements, ensure there is an equitable ask from managers across the levels of management ensuring capacity is more evenly distributed across the service areas.

Peers heard examples of silo working and where potential duplication of effort could have been avoided if there had been a better join up across the council. Peers recommend taking further action to reduce silo working to help the council with future cross-cutting efficiencies and support more joined up delivery. The CMT is actively working towards a culture of taking collective responsibility for working through the bigger corporate issues. Peers saw evidence of this with the budget challenge workshop for Adult Social Care, Health, and Housing where all participants were actively engaged in understanding the current and future challenges and discussing the potential strategic response. This culture needs to work its way through the structures to all staff.

The council’s approach to workforce development has some excellent noteworthy practices. For example, CBC has established a multi-disciplinary, award winning Place Academy which has been nationally recognised as best in class in workforce development. This has recently expanded beyond planning to provide a talent pathway for roles within the Place and Communities service area that require specific technical skills. This model also equips trainees with soft skills and provides some initial steps into management for the mentors. Trainees are developed, measured, and reviewed against a structured career graded development programme alongside the completion of an apprenticeship which creates and monitors expected levels of performance. CBC has shared its learning and experience on its Place Academy model at the LGA 2023 conference earlier this year, a welcomed contribution to sector led improvement given so many councils are faced with similar resourcing challenges.

Peers heard from staff and managers that workforce plans are developed for each service area and are supported by a workforce planning toolkit which sets out a template for a three to five-year plan.

Peers were informed by some managers that recruitment processes are hard to navigate and consume significant amounts of management time and capacity. Peers recommend assessing if the recruitment processes can be improved and made more efficient.

Improvement and capacity for transformation and support to communities will come from all members as well as the Executive understanding their respective roles. A member development plan should be developed and rolled out to all members with internal and external support. This should be reviewed regularly to ensure members are receiving the right development at the right time as their experience and understanding of council services and governance matures. All Executive members should be strongly encouraged to participate.

Peers heard a positive example of organisational learning where last year’s highways winter performance and data has been reviewed with key learning points examined and built into future operational delivery for performance improvement.

CBC has an established an evolving approach to hybrid-working. Staff were complimentary about the resilience that was experienced during the pandemic enabling a rapid response to homeworking. The council has policies in place that define a hybrid-worker and now include this worker status within employment contracts.

CBC will be assessing the impacts of hybrid working on service delivery and exploring good practice. The council has a model of successful hybrid working featuring eight core areas, e.g., Leadership development, maintaining customer and member contact, and performance management by outputs. The next staff survey will capture data from staff on their experience of hybrid working and be an evidence base for any future changes to working practices. Peers were informed that some staff believe informal knowledge sharing has been lost; this factor could be built into the next staff survey and impact further understood.

The council strongly supports equality and inclusion through established network groups with strong leadership from the CMT. Staff members from the EDI network groups presented to CMT with staff saying, “It was fantastic, felt like the doors were being opened”. The EDI work is informing policy development, for example the staff bereavement policy has been changed following feedback from networks.

The council’s sustainability plan is being updated by a strong sustainability team with a supportive and enthusiastic Portfolio Holder. Peers identify this policy area as a good example of joint working across the organisation. 

It is recognised that senior political and managerial leadership will want to consider, discuss, and reflect on these findings.

Both the peer team and LGA are keen to build on the relationships formed through the peer challenge. The CPC process includes a progress review within twelve months of the CPC, which provides space for the council’s senior leadership to update peers on its progress against the recommendations from this report.

In the meantime, Rachel Litherland, Principal Adviser for the East of England Region, is the main contact between your authority and the Local Government Association. Rachel is available to discuss any further support the council requires. [email protected] or 07795 076834.