Positive report for West Suffolk Council from corporate peer review
25 Oct 2024
West Suffolk Council’s first ever peer review report paints a positive picture of being a strong authority and having the right priorities to meet future challenges.
The review looked at the last five to 10 years, including current and past administrations and suggested recommendations which will form part of an action plan which will be heard at Council on 19 November.
Like most other councils West Suffolk Council has undergone a corporate peer challenge review by the Local Government Association. It gives a health check for the council and makes recommendations on improvements, things to look at or areas the authority itself has asked the team to focus on.
The report published today (LGA Corporate Peer Challenge West Suffolk Council 23-24 July 2024 - Feedback report) concluded:
“West Suffolk Council is currently in a stable and strategically advantageous position, with a solid financial foundation that allows for proactive planning and the capacity to address future challenges. Strong internal frameworks provide a robust support system for continued growth and improvement. The council's commitment to effective asset management, strategic partnerships, and community engagement positions it well to capitalise on opportunities for regional influence and enhanced service delivery. WSC is well-equipped to define and achieve its long-term goals, ultimately benefiting residents and stakeholders.”
In summary it found the council has:
- strong foundations and the right ambitions as well as priorities
- a sound financial base
- good visible leadership
- engaged staff whose contribution is recognised and talents developed
- Cabinet and councillors working well to deliver on strategic priorities
- strong relationships with partners to drive forward initiatives and common goals.
The council had in December set new strategic priorities and signalled a step change in engagement. The peer challenge was asked to look at these and how to continue to strengthen delivery and engagement around them.
The report said the priorities are “clear, based on local evidence, political priorities, and challenges… created through engagement with councillors and were understood by staff as well as welcomed by partners, local organisations and residents.”
The challenge set the peer review team was to help the council move forward in the continued understanding, delivery and promotion of its strategic priorities. And the eight recommendations they have made have been welcomed as helpful in achieving that as well as other improvements that can be looked at.
Making a step change in engagement was also part of the priorities and the council asked how it could further deliver that. In their recommendations the peer challenge group recognised the council had made good progress such as the new Housing Strategy and held it up as an example to build on to engage with communities.
In putting forward the recommendations they also highlighted that West Suffolk Council is already on that road to implementing them.
The recommendations can be summarised as:
- (recommendations 1 and 2) enhance engagement and communication to align strategic priorities with residents’ needs.
- define necessary conditions for sustainable growth to address diverse community needs and influence strategic infrastructure planning
- build on already significant environmental resilience plans and efforts through clear outcomes and roadmap with milestones and budget considerations
- further develop leadership roles to create capacity to further elevate West Suffolk's profile
- continue the excellent people-focused work, particularly building on equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives
- consider changes to scrutiny for better governance
- consider implementing alternative structured governance mechanism such as dedicated Capital Assurance Board. To help further ensure effective outcome focused coordination of capital projects.
Based on the report and recommendations an action plan will be coming to a meeting of full council in November. But work has already started in the areas identified.
Cllr Cliff Waterman, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “This report is a positive reflection of the work we carry out for local communities, businesses and the environment. It holds us up as an example to the rest of the local government sector and says we not only have the right foundations but also the current set-up and culture to deliver on our new strategic priorities. This is a reflection of the good work that has gone on in the past, is taking place now and will be delivered in the future by all councillors and our officers. I want to thank everyone involved, including past councillors, who have helped put this council in such a strong position.”
Cllr Victor Lukaniuk, Independents Leader, said: “I am pleased to see that our ambition to strengthen engagement with local communities and partners by putting them at the heart of all we do has been recognised. This is vital in delivering on our new strategic priorities to help people be part of, shape and benefit from the results of delivering on these ambitions. The recommendations will help us achieve this and I look forward to working with all councillors and partners to make sure West Suffolk’s future continues to be a bright one.”
Cllr Beccy Hopfensperger, Conservative Group Leader, said: “This positive review of the last five to 10 years highlights the strong foundations and collective decisions that have enabled West Suffolk Council to support its communities, deliver high quality services and encourage economic growth since its creation in 2019. I am confident that all 64 councillors, across the political chamber, will continue to make sure the authority delivers for local communities and that the action plan, based on the recommendations, is agreed and enacted upon.”
Cllr David Smith, Leader of West Suffolk Progressive Alliance Grouping, said: “We welcome the report and recommendations following the peer review’s findings and challenges we set. This paints a very positive future for West Suffolk as well as reinforcing that we have the right ambitions and building blocks to deliver on them for local residents and businesses. Our main focus will be to use this report and its recommendations to build on the great work we are already doing and deliver at pace on our ambitions and priorities for West Suffolk.”
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