Good and effective governance is integral to council performance. Our sector support programme provides varied tools and support through programmes including our peer support, regional support programme and research and data offers. Further support is available through our civility in public life programme, and in 2023/24 we will launch an even wider range of governance support, including a new local government assurance framework.
Peer Challenge Programme
Our highly valued peer challenge programme supports continuous improvement by providing effective insight, guidance and challenge to enable continuous improvement, as well as assurance to local leaders and residents. This offer is delivered by expert councillor and officer peers and supported by our experienced regional support teams. It includes:
- Corporate Peer Challenges (CPCs), which provide a focused look across the key building blocks of what makes a good council, including: local priorities and outcomes, governance, organisational and place leadership, financial planning and management and capacity for improvement
- Finance Peer Challenges, which provide a focused look at financial planning, management and capacity for improvement, with support from specialist peers
- Governance Peer Challenges, which provide a focused look at governance and leadership, with support from specialist peers.
Post-election support (including change of control)
Our post-election support offer is available to all councils, featuring targeted support to councils that experience a change of control or leadership. Support is provided by regional support teams and our expert peers to help smooth political transitions and ensure that members and officers have access to resources and support they need to deliver effectively in their roles. This offer includes:
- bespoke support and advice tailored to councillor and officer support needs across areas, including governance, organisational leadership and more
- mentoring by expert peers, providing councillors and officers support to carry out their roles
- top team development available for senior political leadership teams to enhance decision-making and leadership capacity
- officer and / or councillor development sessions on topics including chairing skills and scrutiny as well as induction events for new members
- mediation to address challenges in relationships between senior councillors and / or officers
- our Changes in political leadership hub, which links to the complete range of post local election tools and support available.
Regional support programme
Our regional support programme utilises expert peers and regional support teams to provide councils with a suite of options, including tailored and bespoke offers, including:
- councillor and officer peer support to build greater resilience and managerial capacity
- mentoring by expert peers, providing councillors and officers with support to carry out their roles
- support to councils to address severe performance and / or financial issues, including guidance and direct support
- advice and assurance regarding organisational leadership, governance and risk management
- mediation to support relationships between senior councillors and / or officers
- top team development available for senior political leadership teams to enhance decision-making and leadership capacity
- political awareness support for officers including monitoring officers
- bespoke finance support, including access to finance associates
- councillor and / or officer development sessions
- access to networks and wider knowledge-sharing opportunities.
Guidance to support good governance
We will produce and share new practical guidance and online resources informed by engagement with the sector. Guidance will include:
- top tips for chief executives
- ten questions for audit committees to ask
- good governance in combined authorities
- further topics informed by research and engagement with the sector and partners.
Civility in public life
There are growing concerns about the impact of increasing public intimidation and toxicity of debate on our country's democratic processes at a local level. We provide councils with a support to address these issues, including:
- support to councils and councillors to embed good standards of behaviour
- support to handle issues of abuse and intimidation
- events on key aspects of civility in public life, including online safety and personal safety.
Improvement and Assurance Framework for Local Government
In partnership with the sector and professional bodies, we are undertaking research to map the different elements which currently provide assurance of the performance of local government, in the interests of clarity and transparency and to help the understanding of how they all fit together. A series of events will follow to support councils in understanding the necessary checks and balances for the sector.
Support for overview and scrutiny
We offer councils further governance support through our partnership with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS), which supports councils in delivering improvements across their overview and scrutiny functions. Support provided through CfGS offers access to tools and resources across areas such as cultural and behavioural factors relating to good governance and wider corporate health. This includes:
- development of regional scrutiny networks for all regions
- direct and bespoke support to councils facing enhanced challenges
- publications responding to sector needs
- a virtual events programme on topics relevant to those involved in scrutiny.
LG Inform – data benchmarking platform
LG Inform is our award-winning data platform, which uniquely integrates thousands of local-level data items in a single system for benchmarking and is available free for all local authorities. LG Inform allows local authorities and residents to compare performance against other authorities, including Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) 'nearest neighbours'. LG Inform delivers data for informed decision-making by providing comparative data and themed data reports in response to live issues (for example, settlement of refugees in England, homelessness, health and education) and relevant to a wide range of service areas, including children’s and adults’ services. Further reports will be added throughout the year.
Improvement data skills and capability
Further tools and opportunities are available to support local authorities to develop and hone data skills and capability. This offer includes:
- performance management support, including councillor training courses, the launch of an e-learning module for councillors, and performance management panels to bring together performance managers to share learning and provide support to co-ordinate the sector’s input into and use of data in the Office for Local Government (Oflog)
- an updated data maturity tool to assist councils in rating their data management skills
- new Office for National Statistics (ONS) Data Science Campus e-learning training on advanced data skills, for officers.