Ashfield District Council - Progress Review

The council undertook a Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) from Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 June 2024 and promptly published the full report with an action plan. 

The progress review is an integral part of the CPC process. Usually taking place approximately ten months after the CPC, the review provides space for the council’s senior leadership to:

• receive peers’ feedback on the council’s early progress against the CPC’s main recommendations and the council’s RAG (red, amber, green) rated CPC action plan
• consider peers’ reflections on any opportunities or challenges arising since the peer team were previously onsite including any further support needs
• discuss any early impact or learning from the progress made to date. 

The LGA would like to thank Ashfield District Council (Ashfield) for their commitment to sector led improvement. This progress review is the next step in an ongoing, open and close relationship that the council has with LGA sector support.

The progress review at Ashfield took place onsite on Tuesday 15 July 2025. 

The review focussed on each of the CPC’s main recommendations, under the following theme headings: 

Theme 1 - governance and culture

• Recommendation 1 - commit and invest to address the long-standing issues around member/officer relationships once and for all, and work to secure clarity around their respective roles, and model behaviours necessary to embed and normalise best practice.
• Recommendation 5 - strengthen your audit committee’s capacity to provide constructive and rigorous challenge through the co-option of individuals with specific finance and commercial property skills, in line with best practice.

Theme 2 – decision making accountability and human resources

• Recommendation 6 - invest time to drive out the benefits of the DMA model, and use this to embed a culture of empowerment, accountability, and compliance.
• Recommendation 7 - review your human resources (HR) arrangements to ensure access to timely, quality advice and support required, to match the pace and scale of your ambitions.

Theme 3 - performance management and performance information

• Recommendation 8 - embed consistent performance management practice across the council and replicate your approach to publishing your housing performance to improve the public accessibility of performance information.

Theme 4 - regeneration and potential synergies

• Recommendation 3 – enhance internal governance arrangements for your major regeneration schemes, including progressing your formal programme and project management arrangements, to provide more robust assurance around the delivery of this ambitious programme and associated risks.
• Recommendation 4 - ensure potential synergies between your approach to commercial investment, asset management, regeneration including climate change and planning are maximised and exploited for resident benefit.

Theme 5 - East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA)

• Recommendation 2 - establish a proactive role with EMCCA to demonstrate how you can deliver for EMCCA locally across agenda such as inclusive growth, skills, destination management, deprivation, health inequalities, transport and housing.

Through the scoping meeting for this progress review, the council also invited the peer team’s reflections on any new opportunities and challenges for Ashfield since the last CPC relating to the council’s progress towards local government reorganisation as follows: 

Theme 6 – local government reorganisation (LGR)

• ensure existing regeneration projects continue, for example parks, social cohesion, town centres and social housing as future assets
• be ready generally but particularly for shadow authority arrangements. 

The following CPC original team members were involved for this progress review: 

• Cllr Adam Paynter, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources and Group Leader - Independent Group, Cornwall Council
• Martin Hamilton, Former Council Chief Executive
• Vicki Goddard, Peer Challenge Manager, LGA
• Suraiya Khatun (and Onyekachi Abajingin), LGA Project Support Officer (offsite). 

The council’s RAG rated action plan reports that 100 per cent of actions against the CPC’s eight main recommendations are completed/progressed. 

Overall comments

The peer team was impressed with Ashfield’s progress generally, implementing not only the main but other recommendations from the previous CPC report, via the council’s action plan. As part of its approach, Ashfield has considered and tailored actions against the recommendations so they align with other related council, Nottinghamshire-wide and EMCCA programmes and how the council works, rather than just implement the recommendations at face value. 

Ashfield has notably progressed its corporate agenda and services for its residents through the CPC’s recommendations. This could have been easily derailed by the council’s priority work on Nottinghamshire LGR. Ashfield has however maximised opportunities from the CPC’s recommendations to enhance its strategic, regional, LGR as well as more local and operational agendas.

The council is politically led by its strong Ashfield Independents majority administration and is working in a locally complex and dynamic political environment. Prior to the May 2025 county council elections for example, Ashfield Independent district councillors held all ten Ashfield county divisions. Following the May 2025 county council elections, one Ashfield Independent district councillor retained their county seat, and Reform UK councillors - two of whom are also district councillors - gained the other nine Ashfield county divisions. This has reduced Ashfield District Council’s previous political presence and influence at various county-level meetings. 

Nevertheless, Ashfield continues to work with Nottinghamshire County Council’s new Reform UK administration, Nottingham City Council’s continuing Labour administration, EMCCA’s Labour Mayor and other Nottinghamshire councils.

Within this complex political environment across the county, including anything that may be happening within the council as a result, there was very little political involvement from senior councillors in this progress review process. This is despite the peer team’s various requests for the council to include its councillors in the progress review timetable. The peer team did however speak with a small number of councillors outside the formal timetable.  

3.1. Recommendation 1 - commit and invest to address the long-standing issues around member/officer relationships once and for all, and work to secure clarity around their respective roles, and model behaviours necessary to embed and normalise best practice

Ashfield’s work around this recommendation includes:

• reviewing its case management system for councillors with its Executive Lead Member for Customer and Digital Experience, incorporating councillor and officer feedback, to devise a new, improved internal system. This will enable Ashfield to effectively co-ordinate and progress councillors’ casework, if all councillors use it. The council needs to monitor the new system’s take up and encourage and respond to feedback, so that the system best works for councillors and officers
• reviewing and amending the council’s Member/Officer Communication Strategy (protocol) at the beginning of 2025. Ashfield aims to update the strategy from September 2025 to incorporate requirements relating to the new councillor case management system, which will go live that month after testing
• ongoing review, implementation and monitoring the take up of its councillor development programme, including ethical governance training
• work with the LGA and the council’s managerial and political leaders to support and improve member/officer relationships.

The peer team heard via officers during its visit that there are:

• initial signs of improvement regarding member/officer relationships, especially through related joint work between councillors and officers
• no indications of these relationships declining since the previous CPC report. 

The peer team heard little about these issues from councillors’ perspective but did hear how at least some Ashfield councillors have taken a step back from engaging with their officers on operational matters after being advised to do so. The peer team did not have the opportunity for a wide-ranging discussion on this with members. It therefore was not clear whether this change received universal member support. So the council needs to remain alert to the risk of these changes not being sustained, and promptly address any related issues that may emerge, especially given how difficult this issue has been in the past.

To ensure therefore the council addresses this issue ‘once and for all’, the peer team strongly advises Ashfield to continuously monitor and actively address any member/officer relationship issues. This will help the council identify, learn from and embed what is working well. The council will also need to call out and address any member/officer behaviours, as its Member/Officer Communication Strategy as a protocol document alone will not guarantee the expected, agreed behaviours of all. 

3.2. Recommendation 2 - establish a proactive role with EMCCA to demonstrate how you can deliver for EMCCA locally across agenda such as inclusive growth, skills, destination management, deprivation, health inequalities, transport and housing

The peer team heard during its visit that since the previous CPC report, EMCCA’s focus has mainly been on its own structural development, with LGR being another key issue. This has meant less EMCCA time to work with Ashfield. This in turn is reducing the council’s ability to influence and work with the combined authority, especially to benefit all their residents. Ashfield has however approached and worked with EMCCA in various ways to progress significant issues, including:

• homelessness and rough sleeping work including data - the council leads on this for the Nottinghamshire county area, is supporting EMCCA’s objective to set up a homelessness taskforce, and has strong, direct relationships with EMCCA
• political and senior managerial input and influence via its membership on various EMCCA committees and working relationships with senior EMCCA colleagues. 

Ashfield has and should further share and progress its learning on such work with EMCCA to enhance other key, joint priorities. This will not only benefit both their agendas but enable EMCCA to make the most of Ashfield’s political, strategic and operational leadership, and geographical location within the East Midlands. A key such opportunity is for EMMCA and the council to work together on the proposed Maid Marion Line to re-open an existing freight train line to passenger trains.

3.3. Recommendation 3 – enhance internal governance arrangements for your major regeneration schemes, including progressing your formal programme and project management arrangements, to provide more robust assurance around the delivery of this ambitious programme and associated risks

Ashfield has undertaken much positive work in this area, notably:

• re-establishing its internal Regeneration and Capital Board (RCB) to monitor, report on and progress all the council’s capital projects and programmes. This complements the governance of Discover Ashfield’s work – the external local partnership and board of various stakeholders, including the council. The RCB acts as a gateway for new such projects and considers each through at least five core enabling areas. The RCB meets every six weeks, receives quarterly formal assurance reports, holds other meetings as it requires, and regularly updates key members of the council’s cabinet and the Discover Ashfield board
• reviewing and currently redrafting its project and programme management framework, via its enhanced and passionate officer team for this work, as part of Ashfield’s developing change management strategy. This will ensure robust decision making for any project via four phases and appropriate gateways. Other benefits include opportunities to align and work with other projects.

This work will add value to, and ensure, effective operational, strategic and political governance of all its major projects, especially towards LGR. Ashfield should therefore continue these activities to reap the maximum rewards as soon as possible.

3.4. Recommendation 4 - ensure potential synergies between your approach to commercial investment, asset management, regeneration including climate change and planning are maximised and exploited for resident benefit

The council has made a good start on this in various ways:

• appointing a new Corporate Property Lead responsible for identifying, mapping and ensuring, via a property portfolio, the best use of all Ashfield’s assets and investments, and working with councillors to do so
• identifying areas for improvement through its assets function service review
• intending to use the RCB’s work to align all council projects and programmes relating to this recommendation.

All this work will particularly enhance Ashfield’s LGR activities. It will for example help avoid disputes about who owns what assets, and the transfer of any assets to communities. This work will also however assist the council’s approach more generally, by clarifying what all its assets are and how best to use them.

The council did not mention how it has approached commercial investment since the previous CPC visit. It also acknowledged that climate change is not currently a high Ashfield priority. The peer team recognises though that Ashfield is having to prioritise LGR, deciding on and negotiating the next stages, with the other Nottinghamshire councils. Ashfield has however done what it can on this CPC recommendation, for example bringing in external support to work on its new economic investment strategy, and it should continue to do so for the key reasons outlined above.

3.5. Recommendation 5 - strengthen your audit committee’s capacity to provide constructive and rigorous challenge through the co-option of individuals with specific finance and commercial property skills, in line with best practice

With Audit Committee approval, Ashfield developed a co-optee role description and undertook a recruitment process for in Spring 2025. The process did not result in any co-optee appointments but the council intends to run another recruitment drive to hopefully make the most of the benefits of doing so. Ashfield also wants to liaise with other local councils, for example to encourage potential candidates to apply. 

Honest discussions within the council about the committee’s membership, activities and progress has led to a new committee chair. This chair acknowledges the committee’s effectiveness needs to improve, having worked with Ashfield’s external auditors, looked at the committee and the roles within it afresh, and worked with the Central Midlands Audit Partnership to deliver training to the committee.

The council clearly sees the benefits of all this work, so needs to continue with it.

3.6. Recommendation 6 - invest time to drive out the benefits of the DMA model, and use this to embed a culture of empowerment, accountability, and compliance

DMA type projects can dissolve over time. So with LGR a key priority for the council, the peer team was impressed with Ashfield’s continuing work and outcomes on this to date. This includes the council cascading and embedding DMA at service manager level, whilst continuing to support and develop its Assistant Directors DMA wise for example with Solace and through the council’s appraisal process. Resultingly, Assistant Directors have positively developed and worked together at that level, including through their Corporate Leadership Forum. In turn, Ashfield intends to develop an Executive Leadership Forum for its service managers in due course. All this is enabling managers across the council to deliver their best, from day-to-day services and activities, and LGR process specific activities, to what will ultimately be further delivery and hopefully transfer of LGR legacy projects. Other local councils are recognising this work and seeking Ashfield’s advice and learning. The council should therefore progress its continuing DMA work to make the most of it.

3.7. Recommendation 7 - review your human resources (HR) arrangements to ensure access to timely, quality advice and support required, to match the pace and scale of your ambitions

Ashfield potentially faced a range of difficulties in negotiating its future HR arrangements with its existing service provider Mansfield District Council (Mansfield). Ashfield’s approach however, including its research, options appraisal and work with Mansfield, enabled the councils to agree for Ashfield to take on the delivery of this shared service. Challenges may yet appear but this approach enables Ashfield to address its previous concerns regarding this shared service, especially to meet its own needs, including progressing its economic growth and transformation agendas. This is timely given increasing demand for HR support from both councils regarding LGR. Ashfield is therefore continuing this work to transfer from and enable its new shared HR service with Mansfield to go live from October 2025.

Additionally, Ashfield has evaluated its job evaluation scheme, which will go ‘live’ on first December 2025 to enable smooth digital and system transitions to the new scheme. Recognising the scheme was not effective, the council set up an internal working group to identify and present ‘quick wins’ to its Corporate Leadership Team. These included solutions to myth bust and manage expectations, which Ashfield intends to implement. 

The council has also progressed with its trade unions its work on job families, identifying themes, descriptors, and how DMA principles have helped embed these families at different levels. Ashfield recognises that these families must be fit for purpose and avoid potential appeals. So it is undertaking additional checks and balances work to address these issues. This has delayed the families’ implementation but ensures better success when the families go live. 

3.8. Recommendation 8 - embed consistent performance management practice across the council and replicate your approach to publishing your housing performance to improve the public accessibility of performance information

Ashfield’s considerable work on this has resulted in a new comprehensive framework, linking the council’s most high-level strategic goals, to those of its individual services and staff. In implementing the framework, Ashfield is already enhancing performance management across the council. This includes regular reporting to Ashfield’s cabinet and principal select committee (overview and scrutiny) to recognise success, explore and agree how to improve at all different levels. 

The council acknowledges there is more work to do, for example through the staff appraisal process, to fully embed the framework. This however is a positive sign of self-awareness and wanting to improve, which the council should continue. 

Ashfield has further enhanced this work by developing it in Ashfield specific/cultural ways. Examples of this include aligning it with related work on other CPC recommendations, such as DMA and member/officer relationships. In doing so, councillors and staff have worked together and supported each other, as critical friends, and with service teams – not just their managers - producing service plans. 

In summary, this whole framework will improve the council’s day to day work towards its overall objectives and keep it on track as LGR progresses. Ashfield therefore needs to continue this work to maximise its rewards.

3.9. LGR - 1) ensure existing regeneration projects continue, for example parks, social cohesion, town centres and social housing as future assets, and 2) be ready generally but particularly for shadow authority arrangements

Ashfield originally agreed to work with the LGA to explore how the council can: 

• ensure existing regeneration projects continue, for example parks, social cohesion, town centres and social housing as future assets
• be ready generally but particularly for shadow authority arrangements.

The council and peer team agreed onsite however that Ashfield would best benefit from a general discussion on its LGR progress. This is because much has changed within the county since the original scoping of this review, including related work on recommendations outlined in this report. The key points therefore of this revised LGR discussion were for the council to: 

• have faith in all its latest governance arrangements, for example those through its new RCB, Corporate Property Lead and performance management framework
• maintain a live, active risk assessment of major projects that may attract comments/criticism from other organisations, such as what Ashfield should or not be doing in light of LGR. This will help the council address potential issues at the earliest stage
• develop resources for major and all other delivery focused projects and services – alongside LGR progression – to ensure Ashfield delivers its corporate plan for its communities, and its regeneration projects continue post LGR, such as parks, town centres and social housing as future assets
• explore options for useful/necessary community bodies. This could be where there are notable local gaps that need filling, for example to transfer community assets from the council to localities
• beyond its physical legacy, for example the new planetarium and the automated distribution and manufacturing centre, explore what Ashfield’s performance and service legacy could look like, and consequently should be. This will make it clear, and offer, the range of practical support the council has achieved and can transfer to any new council(s) to support their new and ongoing agenda.

The LGA would like to thank Ashfield for undertaking this LGA CPC progress review. 

We appreciate that senior managerial and political leadership will want to reflect on these findings and suggestions to determine how the council 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 areas identified for development and improvement and we would be happy to discuss this. 

Mark Edgell, Principal Adviser, is the main point of contact between the council and the LGA and his e-mail address is [email protected].