Runnymede Borough Council – Progress Review

Runnymede Borough Council undertook an LGA Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) in October 2024 and promptly published the full report with an action plan. 

A Progress Review is an integral part of the Corporate Peer Challenge process.  Taking place approximately ten months after the CPC, it is designed to provide space for the council’s senior leadership to:

• Receive feedback from peers on the early progress made by the council against the CPC recommendations and the council’s CPC action plan.
• Consider peers’ reflections on any new opportunities or challenges that may have arisen since the peer team were ‘on-site’ including any further support needs
• Discuss any early impact or learning from the progress made to date 

The LGA would like to thank Runnymede Borough Council for their commitment to sector led improvement. This Progress Review was the next step in an ongoing, open and close relationship that the council has with LGA sector support.

The Progress Review at Runnymede Borough Council took place on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 September 2025. 

The Progress Review focused on each of the recommendations from the Corporate Peer Challenge: 

• Keep up the good work! – there is already clear activity and significant momentum around most of the key areas we have touched upon
• Central to this obviously is maintaining the very constructive response to the Non-Statutory Best Value Notice
• Ensure the council has the necessary expert capacity to deliver the asset management strategy and, within this, undertake the on-going management of the related assets and regeneration activity
• Revisit the corporate business plan to ensure it reflects the priorities and political narrative of the Alliance
• Ensure the necessary progress is made in relation to key areas of performance that are below target
• Publish and be seen to respond to the findings of the staff survey
• Keep the committee and working group arrangements under review – they have to be fit for purpose and strike the right balance
• Meet the developmental needs around ‘change of control’ both through the council’s own activity and the LGA’s sector-led improvement offer

The following members of the original CPC team were involved in the Progress Review: 

• Neil Taylor, LGA/SOLACE Associate and formerly substantive Chief Executive of Bassetlaw District Council
• Councillor Alan Connett, Devon County Council (Liberal Democrat)
• Shiraz Sheikh, Monitoring Officer and Assistant Director (Law and Governance), Cherwell District Council
• Chris Bowron, Peer Challenge Manager, Local Government Association 

One of the peer team’s recommendations from the corporate peer challenge was for the council to keep up the good work. It is clear that this has, indeed, been the case, with the most recent Standards and Audit Committee, in September 2025, being updated as follows on the 20 objectives in the council’s action plan relating to the recommendations:

• Eight actions have been completed
• Six actions are core activity, meaning they have been embedded in the day-to-day activity of the council and monitored as part of team and individual performance reviews
• Three actions remain in progress and are due to complete within a few weeks of the Progress Review
• Two actions were terminated in light of local government reorganisation (LGR)
• One action is not yet due 

Since the corporate peer challenge, LGR for Surrey has been announced. This is being delivered in the county on an accelerated timetable, which is intended to see unitary local government implemented on 1 April 2027. This very major change is understandably taking a lot of attention in the council and clearly forms a key part of the context for our follow-up visit. 

The council received a non-statutory Best Value Notice from government in December 2023. This was issued to express concerns that emerged following a Capital Review by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) in the financial year 2022/23. These concerns included the council having significant debt relative to its size and commercial income, as a substantial revenue source for the council, being used to support both core and discretionary services.  

The council very much approached the non-statutory Best Value Notice as an additional driver of continuous improvement and provided a very constructive response to it, focused on enhancing organisational insight and learning; providing transparency; and ensuring stakeholder confidence. The Notice was not extended or re-issued, with the council demonstrating effectively to government that it is fulfilling its Best Value Duty. This is an extremely significant achievement and testimony to the hard work and dedication of all involved in the council.

The council is maintaining a regular dialogue with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government around its financial context and continues to be very cognisant of the importance of maintaining stakeholder confidence in the organisation. The relationship that has been established with government in the light of the non-statutory Best Value Notice and the on-going engagement is not insignificant in a wider context of LGR.

The corporate peer challenge outlined the importance – which the council itself recognised – of ensuring the organisation has the necessary expert capacity to deliver its asset management strategy and, within this, undertake the on-going management of the related assets and regeneration activity. This is fundamental in a context of the borrowing undertaken and the income anticipated to be generated through the assets base. The council has dedicated the time and effort to working through how to ensure this capacity and expertise is embedded in the Assets and Regeneration Team and, also, that this is ‘scalable’ in a context of LGR, where the future unitary council may well benefit from such a resource. The resulting proposals were externally validated through work commissioned by the council from the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE). The team structure and related additional funding have been approved subsequently by councillors and organisational confidence around the approach is high as things move to implementation in the coming weeks.

The Runnymede Alliance and the Co-Leaders model have gone from strength to strength in the period since the corporate peer challenge. There is a real maturity in relationships and the approach, with good dialogue that is open, constructive and, whenever necessary, robust – with a ‘united front’ having been maintained throughout.

There is a strong feeling of pride on the part of the Co-Leaders in the impacts of the administration and the council in a number of priority areas. These include:

• The purchase of around thirty properties to extend the stock of council housing
• The progression of the Hythe Health Hub project, which it is intended will come to fruition ahead of the implementation of LGR
• The council’s financial inclusion policy and related set of initiatives that have supported more than 1,000 residents
• The successful disposal of certain assets, including property owned within Addlestone and Chertsey
• The delivery of a number of biodiversity projects

There is confidence within the council that Runnymede, through playing a leading role in LGR preparations and the approaches it is adopting, has growing influence and is becoming held in increasingly high regard by peer councils as the transition to unitary local government moves nearer. Runnymede is ‘leading’ the programme management office for LGR for the Surrey district and borough councils, in the form of the secondment of one of its senior officers. The council is also bringing valuable learning and insight to the discussions and preparations through its chief executive, who experienced the same process in Somerset in a previous role. Also, the council’s Digital Team has taken the lead on creating and maintaining an on-line ‘LGR portal’ on behalf of the district and borough councils, which is acting as a key information source for the public.    

There is a strong commitment amongst the political and managerial leadership in Runnymede to ensuring that the council that is ‘handed over’ under LGR is in the strongest and ‘healthiest’ possible position. This is testimony to their mindset, commitment, dedication and integrity. Our view is that external-facing ‘legacy’ ambitions – focused on delivering tangible benefit that will be clear to Runnymede’s communities – might usefully and more clearly supplement the ambitions around the state of the organisation. This would entail such ‘legacy’ initiatives being more strongly articulated and having a higher profile. 

In our discussions with the Co-Leaders, they spoke passionately of their desire to see this ‘legacy’ coming in the form of a borough where the desire to ‘take pride in our appearance’ is being translated into reality more and where greater investment in public space, whether in the form of refurbishment or on-going maintenance, can clearly be seen. The emergent corporate business plan provides a vehicle for the outlining of the administration’s ambitions. It must clearly reflect the political priorities of the Alliance – such as those highlighted here – with which the organisation and resources can then align.

The corporate peer challenge outlined a degree of ‘clunkiness’ in the council’s governance system, involving reports destined for elected members ‘passing around the system’, being seen multiple times and absorbing extra time and effort. Officers indicated that this has been reduced to an extent. Some frustrations remain around the length of time taken in some decision-making, with the comparatively low threshold for officer delegations at the heart of that. We fully understand that, in the context of the timescale for LGR and the demands of the preparations it is generating, the council has opted not to prioritise significant revisions to formal governance arrangements. That hasn’t, however, precluded change in relation to elected member working parties. Both the Regeneration and Major Projects and Property and Assets forums have been discontinued. The Service Review, Communication and Transformation body has refined its focus and become the Digital Transformation Member Working Party.

Externally-facilitated ‘Top Team’ development work supporting the senior political and managerial leadership has been taking place in recent months and is continuing. This has seen separate activity with each of the two collectives of the co-leaders and the corporate leadership team, plus joint activity across both. One of the reflections from our discussions during the Progress Review with the co-leaders was the benefits derived 

from such activity. Learning emerges here, which is highly pertinent in a context of LGR and the establishment of new councils, around ensuring early support for councillors through the related periods of transition. 

An opportunity feels as though it exists currently to develop improved relationships, founded upon clear understanding of roles, between the opposition and administration. This ‘moment in time’ should be capitalised upon. Some external support may be beneficial in seeking to enable this.

The financial savings agenda continues to be delivered in the organisation. There is confidence that measures to address the funding gaps – including one of £2.1m in the next financial year – will be identified through the tried and tested mechanisms established in the council. These include the Savings and Efficiencies and Service Review Programmes and the ‘budget challenge’ approach. Delivery of the latter is anticipated to secure a net saving in the current financial year of £325,000 and a further net saving of £220,000 in 2026/27. In the light of LGR, some savings proposals are likely to be deferred for decision by the new unitary council.  

It feels as though the council has done all that it reasonably can in relation to Audit, with a strengthening of the Internal Audit function and activity taking place with the council’s former External Auditors to resolve outstanding matters relating to the accounts for 2019/20. This latter aspect has impacted the set of accounts for each of the subsequent years. The council’s new External Auditors have issued a draft disclaimer for the first set of accounts they are covering – for the financial year 2023/24 – with these expected to be finalised when the former Auditors have completed their activities.

The corporate peer challenge highlighted important areas of council performance, particularly in relation to council house provision, that were below target at that point in time. These included:

• The number of outstanding high risk Fire Risk Assessment actions
• Satisfaction with the overall reactive housing repairs service received
• The proportion of non-emergency housing repairs completed within target timescale
• The average number of days to re-let a void housing property

The council has reported some progress in performance around the council’s housing stock, but issues remain. The undertaking of a self-assessment against the Housing Consumer Standards is evidence of the council’s commitment to ‘continuous improvement’. The forthcoming visit by the Regulator of Social Housing will help to crystallise the improvement agenda Runnymede faces in this sphere and the council will need to demonstrate a strong response to that.

At the time of the corporate peer challenge, the council had recently undertaken a staff survey, which attracted a response rate of 51 per cent. The peer team outlined the importance of the council publishing and being seen to respond to the findings and then going on undertake further such surveys on a regular basis. The council has effectively communicated the findings of the initial survey and adopted a ‘you said, we did’ approach in responding. The ways in which the findings were communicated included online webinars open to all staff and recordings of these, along with the detailed results, being made available through the Intranet. The survey will be repeated in November this year and it can reasonably be anticipated that the council’s sharing of, and responsiveness to, the findings from the initial survey will encourage an increase in the proportion of staff participating. That said, the council will first need to address questions on the part of some staff, where they form part of a small team, around how the guarantee of anonymity can be fulfilled.

Internal communications have been noticeably enhanced in response to the survey findings. This has seen the staff forums, led by the chief executive and with input each time from one of the co-leaders and members of the senior managerial leadership, increase in their frequency to monthly. The senior leadership also deliver equivalent sessions for staff based at the depot who struggle to attend the staff forums due to working patterns. The ‘Team Talk’ newsletter has been created and there is a weekly Friday blog from one of the members of the corporate leadership team.

The council is committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported and celebrated and has worked hard to improve the organisational culture. Rooted in the council’s organisational development strategy and employee wellbeing strategy, the ‘Belong@Runnymede’ programme is designed to promote inclusion and belonging at work, celebrate diversity and improve wellbeing across the workforce. 

At the time of the corporate peer challenge, the council was about to embark upon an organisation-wide job evaluation programme. This work has been delivered both quickly and smoothly and has again seen the council commission external support in order to provide for both expertise and objectivity. All job descriptions have been updated and reviewed and, as a result, a new pay and grading structure is emerging in support of a proposal to adopt a formal job evaluation scheme. Consultation with the council’s recognised trade union on the potential to implement the scheme and the revised pay and grading structure will commence, subject to consideration by elected members at corporate management committee, in the coming weeks. Following consideration of the consultation outcomes, elected members will then determine whether to implement the proposals. The outcomes for staff will be shared with them on a related timescale.

There is confidence that having undertaken the job evaluation process will prove beneficial in a context of LGR – with all job descriptions and job roles having been so recently reviewed and key objectives having been to establish greater pay and grading consistency internally and ensure effective competitiveness as an employer. 

Good examples exist of the council continuing to invest in its staff. This includes the council having signed up to, and having staff participate in, the ‘Surrey Learn Partnership’ which exists across all councils in the county. This provides access to a wide range of training and development activity, whether face to face or online. The council has also demonstrated an innovative approach to apprenticeships, opting to maximise its use of the Apprenticeship Levy and, in doing so, channelling opportunities to existing members of staff to support progression and retention. This has seen fifteen apprenticeships being embarked upon, across such fields as project management; legal; housing and property management; horticulture; and team leadership. Participation in leadership development activity has also been supported for some through the District Councils’ Network. 

The appraisal process, whilst not yet perfect, has been digitalised. This is delivering standardisation and supporting both the improved monitoring of take-up and the provision of access to training and development opportunities. The introduction of the ‘My View’ App has been very much welcomed by staff. This enables them to more easily and conveniently undertake a range of HR and personnel activity such as requesting annual leave; recording flexi-working hours; submitting expenses; and accessing their appraisal documentation.

The drive and expertise of the council’s digital team – and its ‘build versus buy’ approach – is central to the continuous improvement agenda and supporting cultural change. Amongst other things, they have delivered the work on the appraisal system; created the on-line ‘LGR portal’ on behalf of the district and borough councils; established a new complaints management system; designed a new on-line bookings system for the public to arrange the use of and pay for the likes of sports pitches and day centres; and digitalised the council’s procurement activity. The team are also supporting resident engagement through the digitalisation of elements of the Citizens’ Panel, including data capture; providing digital skills training to the organisation, including ‘drop-in sessions’; and supporting the embracing by the organisation of the use of artificial intelligence.

The Digitalisation Programme forms, along with the Service Review and Savings and Efficiencies Programmes, part of an enhanced alignment of continuous improvement activity under the officer-led ‘Continuous Improvement Programme Board’. This is aiding the co-ordination and focus of improvement effort across the council.

Continuous improvement comes through as a very strong driver for the organisation. The commissioning of the corporate peer challenge is an example of the commitment and desire to improve and we have already highlighted the undertaking of self-assessment against the Housing Consumer Standards. The council repeating, in 2025, self-assessment against the Best Value Duty is a further example of the embedding of the commitment to continuous improvement within the organisation and its culture.

The senior political and managerial leadership in Runnymede comes across as self-aware, thoughtful, emotionally intelligent and positive. The leadership is seeking to put Runnymede and its approaches – as seen with the factoring in of ‘scalability’ to the design of the Assets and Regeneration Team and enabling Surrey’s other district and borough councils to benefit from the skills and expertise of the Digital Team – in the strongest possible position in a context of the transition to another organisation under LGR.

The council’s managerial leadership “knows what it needs to get done”. A note of caution may be appropriate here, however.  The demands being generated for officers right across the organisation in getting so much done are significant and the time is right, now, to consider how these pressures on the organisation might be alleviated to an extent. Even greater rigour in prioritisation setting and ensuring resources are fully aligned to meet them is clearly crucial in the 18 months to the assumed ‘Vesting Day’ of a new unitary local authority.

The LGA would like to thank Runnymede Borough Council for undertaking an LGA CPC Progress Review.

We appreciate that the senior managerial and political leadership will want to reflect on these findings and suggestions in order to determine how the organisation wishes to take things forward.

Under the umbrella of LGA sector-led improvement, there is an on-going offer of support to councils. The LGA is well placed to provide additional support, advice and guidance on a number of the areas identified for development and improvement and we would be happy to discuss this.

Will Brooks (Principal Adviser) is the main point of contact between the authority and the Local Government Association (LGA) and his e-mail address is [email protected]

Information, support, and resources on LGR/Devolution can be found on the LGA’s devolution and LGR Hub website.