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Bassetlaw District Council – Progress Review

Feedback: 5 to 9 September 2024  


1. Introduction

Bassetlaw District Council (Bassetlaw) undertook a Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) from Tuesday 28 November to Friday 1 December 2023 and promptly published the full report with an action plan.

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

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

The LGA would like to thank Bassetlaw 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.

2. Summary of the approach

The Progress Review at Bassetlaw took place onsite on Thursday 5 September 2024 with a further online session on Monday 9 September 2024.

The Progress Review focussed on each of the main recommendations from the CPC, under the following themes:

Theme 1 – recommendations:

1) undertake a ‘root and branch’ process to redesign Bassetlaw’s operating model, structures and plans to achieve Vision 2040

4) become a strategic council. This includes you producing and agreeing internally a clear set of offers and asks, as key propositions to your partners, which outline the scale, scope and impact of each proposal as relevant to the future growth of Bassetlaw, quality of life and opportunities of its residents

5) strengthen the council’s internal capacity and capability specifically linked to sub-regional collaborations and partnerships

Theme 2 – recommendations:

2) commission independent expertise and support to produce corporate transformation/change and workforce plans, focusing most immediately on lifting barriers to recruitment – to address capacity issues

10) embed a new values programme and refresh people performance management, coupled with a keen focus on turning Vision 2040 into a well understood and owned delivery programme that highlights any capacity gaps that need resolving

Theme 3 – recommendations:

6) establish clear, shared leadership to drive the design, development and delivery of regeneration and growth plans, linked to the £60+ million of national funds

7) clearly set out your milestones for change on a range of day-to-day issues that are equally as important to your communities and stakeholders in the here and now

8) communicate Vision 2040 clearly, consistently and in a disciplined way to all the audiences you need to, to continue to build on the support you have already generated

9) update your internal strategy and business planning approach

Theme 4 – recommendations:

3) tackle your budget gap now; sharpen financial controls and embed budget ownership across the council, articulate at granular level options to close the gap, set targets, resource, implement, monitor and manage this work. This includes prioritising and clearly planning your commercial strategy, its workstreams - including your S80 Partnership Limited - and implementing and monitoring these plans with SMART objectives and clear risk mitigation.

The following members of the original CPC team were involved:

  • Member Peer – Cllr Peter Mason, leader of the Council, Ealing Council
  • Chief Executive Peer – Duncan Sharkey, chief executive, Somerset Council;
  • LGA peer challenge manager – Vicki Goddard

3. Progress Review - Feedback

Of the CPC report’s 10 main recommendations, the council’s RAG rated action plan reports that 97 per cent of actions to address these recommendations are completed/are progressed, and three per cent have not yet been progressed.

The peer team was impressed by the amount of work Bassetlaw has planned, delivered and is continuing via its action plan since the CPC in 2023, which is already making improvements across the council. This report does not reference every action Bassetlaw has taken in response to the CPC but highlights notable examples. All this work however, with the council’s open, upbeat discussions during the Review and supporting documentation beforehand, is strong evidence that Bassetlaw has fully embraced the CPC process and other LGA support it has taken up. This is no mean feat whilst, amongst other issues, organising its arrangements for the General Election of 4 July 2024 in a matter of weeks.

Via its action plan, the council’s progress against the CPC’s main recommendations was clear to the peer team but the impact less so. Bassetlaw did nevertheless explain much of the impact throughout this Review’s discussions. The learning from this was that the more Bassetlaw continually, openly and consistently identifies and explains the difference its work is making and next steps, the more strategically and effectively it can consider, progress and finish future work.

To yet strengthen Bassetlaw’s impact and narrative, the council could further constructively challenge its work internally. Bassetlaw has recently recruited strong external appointments, including from the private sector, to senior, strategic posts. This is enabling Bassetlaw to consider and progress work differently for the better. The council is working with, learning and applying change from other councils such as Cumberland, Nottinghamshire county and districts/boroughs. It is benchmarking with others, including the private sector, on a range of issues, and is using the LGA’s Transformation Innovation Exchange and the council’s recently commissioned LG Improve financial health check to self-assess its performance including that with others. The peer team heard less about how Bassetlaw is using benchmarking to improve. The council should therefore fully utilise its benchmarking results to ensure maximum benefit from this work. The peer team also heard less about scrutiny of council workplans, and how Bassetlaw’s service teams, and scrutiny function, could consider and challenge each other’s plans more, and seek opportunities to work closer together, to make the most of internal ideas and resources.

Using the July 2024 General Election, cost of living issues and the pandemic as recent examples, the council knows anything could happen any time and already responds to such issues effectively. As Bassetlaw works more strategically, it should further consider, and address if needed, if it has sufficiently robust, collective, agreed consent for any required change that might be immediately required in such exceptional circumstances. This is to strengthen resilience across the council whilst keeping to Vision 2040 – the council’s corporate plan.

The peer team’s key reflections on Bassetlaw’s progress against each main CPC recommendation, shortened here for brevity, are:

Recommendation 1 - undertake a ‘root and branch’ process to redesign Bassetlaw’s operating model, structures and plans to achieve Vision 2040

As part of this work, Bassetlaw has recruited new capacity into priority areas such as housing, planning, transformation and communications. It has also reviewed and aligned its service and corporate budgets, refreshed its service planning process, and since reviewed almost all its service plans consistently across the council. In doing so, Bassetlaw identified and reallocated £2.5 million of efficiencies. The council’s new transformation team, set up as a result of the CPC, and due to be fully recruited to in September 2024, has greatly supported all this work. Bassetlaw’s finance team also has new transformation and other additional capacity to embed financial transformation and strengthen work on big infrastructure projects.

Bassetlaw is also planning budget engagement and consultation work. This will indicate what matters most locally to its residents, businesses and other stakeholders. In turn, this work will generate ideas and plans for which services need to ‘change, continue, start and stop’ and feed into Bassetlaw’s transformation strategy, goals and future action plans.

Whilst positive work, this current approach to transformation risks the council undertaking a budget and service planning process that identifies financial efficiencies without focusing enough on genuinely transforming services and the council. The peer team also heard less about how Bassetlaw is consolidating its service planning and budgetary work at the corporate level to strategically redesign the council’s operating model, structures and plans to achieve Vision 2040. This includes which services to change, continue, start and stop.

The transformation team therefore needs to work with Bassetlaw’s senior management, using the council’s latest service and budget plans, to develop, agree and progress Bassetlaw’s forthcoming transformation strategy, goals and action plan. This includes deciding the roles of the transformation team and senior management’s role in this work, and that of anyone else who should be involved. Such an approach will help ensure the council genuinely improves what it is doing, as well as save money, as it ultimately strives to deliver Vision 2040. The LGA offers a range of transformation support for councillors and officers.

The council additionally needs to consolidate and consider its services’ budgets, delivery plans and other ‘root and branch’ work corporately, including its transformation strategy in due course, to strategically review its operating model as a whole council. This will help ensure Bassetlaw effectively delivers Vision 2040, and makes any key decisions required within each service accordingly.

Recommendation 2 - commission independent expertise and support to produce corporate transformation/change and workforce plans, especially to lift barriers to recruitment and address capacity issues

Further to the CPC, the council commissioned a thorough recruitment audit and is already using the findings to improve recruitment processes. This includes quicker timescales and more tailored approaches to recruit specific posts.

Bassetlaw has also developed a wide support programme to help its staff thrive. Examples include support for new parents, a greater focus on mental health, improved two-way communications, reverse mentoring between managers and staff with protected characteristics. The council’s more tailored, flexible appraisal process, which intends to incorporate career progression and succession planning, seems to be addressing capacity issues raised by the CPC. Similarly to aligning service plans and budgets corporately as outlined in the previous section, the council now needs to consolidate and progress all this workforce activity corporately as part of its people/workforce strategy. This will help co-ordinate, steer and deliver these activities towards Vision 2040 goals. It will also help measure and evidence activities’ impact, and correlation/causation with issues such as staff turnover/retention, sickness, engagement and motivation. These latter issues seem to be improving due to Bassetlaw’s support but need evidence to prove and further progress them.

Recommendation 3 - tackle your budget gap now

  1. Bassetlaw estimates a budget deficit of around £3.7 million by the start of the financial year 2028/29 and is already addressing this. For example, the council held structured meetings over summer 2024. These involved the Chief Finance Officer, other senior council officers and councillors reviewing and challenging ongoing budget, spend, service levels and delivery proposals.
  2. The council RAG rated all its achieved savings as part of its fully funded Medium Term Financial Plan to 2030. It is developing an on-going savings plan for 2025-2027 to identify additional efficiencies, and intends to evaluate the impact of any new proposals on residents, partners and employees.
  3. Bassetlaw has commenced its asset rationalisation programme to best use its buildings, such as for income generation, storage and hosting meetings. The council is also implementing its approved commercial strategy, as the CPC recommended, including progressing its work with the council’s trading company S80 Partnership Limited, and on the council’s fees, charges and car parking strategy.
  4. The council’s cabinet, overview and scrutiny function, and officers, including internal audit and the corporate finance team, are together delivering, regularly monitoring and building momentum on these budget related plans. This has been enhanced by wide training programmes for councillors involved in audit, governance and scrutiny work. Bassetlaw must continue this work to continually manage it and make the most of its future finances.

Recommendation 4 - become a strategic council

  1. Bassetlaw has undertaken significant activity to be more strategic and enhance its existing work with its local partners, especially the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and its Mayor. This includes building these relationships further at different sub-regional levels through regular meetings, joining the LGA’s New Nuclear Local Authority Group, and commissioning in partnership high-level positioning documents that are due to be finalised in autumn 2024. These documents will support early engagement on infrastructure and inward investment opportunities regarding Bassetlaw district’s three former power station sites, and assess the economic impact of its Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme (Central Government announced in October 2022 that it had chosen Bassetlaw district’s West Burton A power station site to host the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s new prototype Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) fusion power plant).
  2. The council is also a member of the LGA’s Special Interest Group on Internal Drainage Levies, active in lobbying for a sustainable funding solution for councils.

The council’s positive work on these and other fronts is consolidating internal thinking to offer its sub-regional and national partners clear, confident, evidence based and persuasive reasons to increase the degree to which they work with Bassetlaw. This includes where partners need to progress work, such as that on the further and higher education skills consortium to deliver the technical training programme for the STEP programme. The council had the necessary and respected credentials to lead and plan this work, but others now need to implement it. Bassetlaw therefore needs to consider and progress - from now onwards - its future role in sub-regional work, especially as it concludes specific work and transfers delivery of specific programmes to partners. This will ensure Bassetlaw continues to lead this agenda for the Bassetlaw district’s residents, businesses and visitors. Bassetlaw should create capacity and/or time to make the most of its officers' and councillors’ experience to think strategically and plan for the future, towards Vision 2040.

Recommendation 5 - strengthen the council’s internal capacity and capability specifically linked to sub-regional collaborations and partnerships

As well as sub-regional activity mentioned in the previous section, Bassetlaw has developed and launched the Bassetlaw Flood Partnership and is playing its role in this work. The council knows more work on this is needed, for example with the Environmental Agency regarding flooding, but has made a good start.

Bassetlaw has also increased its internal capacity, recruiting staff to shape and deliver priority, sub-regional work, such as the STEP programme. These appointments do not however necessarily/instantly equate to working more strategically. Bassetlaw must therefore ensure it uses the experience and knowledge of these new appointments corporately and strategically to seek further opportunities across the council’s services to enhance its sub-regional work.

The council is also working with its Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), particularly to consider cabinet members’ time requirements to further develop sub-regional collaborations and partnerships for Bassetlaw’s communities’ benefit. This was recommended during the CPC when the then Leader of the Council was significantly involved in sub-regional work on Bassetlaw’s behalf. Whilst there has been a change of Leader of the Council, Bassetlaw and the IRP should continue this work and that on reviewing its councillors’ allowances. This will ensure such payments are fit for purpose and regularly, easily and transparently reviewed, enabling councillors to allocate time to progress this important agenda for the district.

Recommendation 6 - establish clear, shared leadership to drive the design, development and delivery of regeneration and growth plans

The council has set up an internal member led Regeneration and Investment Project Board, which oversees and provides direction on the use of Bassetlaw’s external funding. A working group of officers, including a new economic development manager and other recent appointments to progress this agenda, informs and mirrors the Board. Together they enable clear internal leadership on the council’s regeneration and growth programmes.

Bassetlaw has also established the Worksop Town Board and the Retford Town Centre Partnership Board. Using a detailed study of these and Harworth & Bircotes town centres, the council has identified priorities, which are informing its 10-year vision and three-year investment plan for Worksop. Bassetlaw is also using this work to further inform Vision 2040, for example to increase the affluence and economic growth amongst its growing, diverse communities.

This enhanced internal governance is improving engagement, communications and involvement with external stakeholders. This includes members of the local shared prosperity partnership, chaired by the head of the local voluntary and community sector, who have clearer insight into the Bassetlaw’s approach, how to respond and get involved. It is also informing the council’s developing economic strategy.

Bassetlaw’s constant, strict deadlines across these boards and related work are keeping its work on track, with clearer direction and leadership to drive this agenda.

Recommendation 7 - clearly set out your milestones on a range of day-to-day issues equally important to your communities and stakeholders

The council has developed and approved its customer experience plan, corporate consultation and engagement policy, is re-establishing its related work programme, and has hosted a cost of living partnership summit. Such activities are helping Bassetlaw and its partners to capture and respond to its communities’ needs.

Bassetlaw has also developed new ways to identify, address and monitor issues that matter to its communities through its refreshed approach to reviewing service plans. A key example of this is how the council has improved its housing services. This includes analysing and addressing complaints - especially around communications and repairs, and implementing its tenant engagement strategy and satisfaction surveys. Regular deep dives, more reporting and case management also identify and address issues. Bassetlaw could use the findings of its external mock housing inspection to further improve these services. The council could also use this focused approach on housing to improve other priority work areas. 

Bassetlaw’s performance monitoring lead is regarded as a strategic thinker in the way they oversee service and corporate performance, report to the Corporate Leadership Team and highlight issues and opportunities. This lead could work further with heads of services to develop and embed strategic thinking across the council.

Recommendation 8 – clearly, consistently communicate Vision 2040 to required audiences to continue building support you have already generated

The council is developing a communications and engagement plan, which internal and external stakeholder mapping has strengthened, to clarify key Vision 2040 messages for different audiences. Bassetlaw has also incorporated Vision 2040 objectives and prompts into service plans, its appraisal process and performance management. All this is helping to ensure all staff understand and deliver the council’s key priorities.

The council also plans to update Vision 2040’s narrative by March 2025 to reflect the latest vision and concept of STEP, externally awarded funding, EMCCA and its Mayor and the East Midlands Innovation Zone, as key local enablers. As these and other agenda develop, Bassetlaw recognises it needs to continually review Vision 2040 so the council continues to lead these agenda on behalf of the Bassetlaw district.

Recommendation 9 - update your internal strategy and business planning approach

Much of this work has been overseen and enhanced by the council’s monitoring officer, and Bassetlaw’s mapping of its policies and strategies, with clear identification of who is responsible for overseeing what progress, has been key. Senior council officers held an initial event and are planning further work to clarify the differing roles of policies, strategies and action plans. The council is also establishing a programme and timetable to prioritise the review, refresh and discontinuation of each policy, strategy and action plan as required. This will ensure remaining policies and strategies are fit for purpose and reviewed regularly. Bassetlaw has already updated 18 of its HR policies as part of this work.

The council’s review and refresh of its member/officer protocol has also had positive impacts. Officers for example are supporting members more effectively, and the new leader of the opposition wants to enhance scrutiny and challenge of the council’s work to deliver the best benefits for Bassetlaw’s residents.

The council’s refreshed approach to service planning, referenced throughout this report, will be used next year to build on this robustness and consistency.

Bassetlaw recognises areas that need improvement, including its asset management, and has made a positive start on this through its latest work with its trading company, S80 Partnership Limited. It has also established an inter authority agreement with Bolsover District Council, through Dragonfly Development Limited, to supply project support to each other, for example to implement CCTV projects and provide climate change advice and guidance.

Bassetlaw has also developed a programme to establish a consistent and improved approach to project management across the organisation. The council has identified that its recycling projects could particularly benefit from this, recognising that its current depot is no longer fit for purpose. Bassetlaw is therefore exploring alternative sites and will use revised project management processes to assist this.

Recommendation 10 - embed a new values programme and refresh people performance management, so Vision 2040 is well understood, owned, and any capacity gaps are highlighted

  1. Bassetlaw’s key work on this recommendation includes developing its corporate consultation and engagement policy, and enhancing its two-way communications and feedback with its staff. Through such improved engagement, Bassetlaw has refreshed, adopted and embedded its values across the council, and drafted its recent behaviour framework. Staff input from the outset, via a range of mechanisms, means they continually shape, own, live and improve these values and behaviours daily.

Bassetlaw has also improved its day to day management of staff to ensure consistency of cascaded information, supervision and support via 1:1 and team meetings.

4. Final thoughts and next steps

The LGA would like to thank Bassetlaw for undertaking an LGA CPC Progress Review.

We appreciate that 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.

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