Hyndburn Borough Council praised in external review
Hyndburn Borough Council praised in external review
Hyndburn Borough Council participated in a Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge from 29th to 31st October 2024. The Corporate Peer Challenge is a review that helps councils improve by looking at their finances, performance, and governance.
A team of experienced councillors and senior officers from across the UK conducted the review. They studied a wide range of documents and reports and spent three days at the Council. During their visit, they spoke to over 110 people, including staff, councillors and external stakeholders. They also toured the Accrington Town Square construction projects, visited the local mosque and attended a Cabinet meeting.
The peer team highlighted several positive aspects of the Council’s work. They noted strong progress on key projects such as Accrington Town Centre Regeneration, Huncoat Garden Village, and Leisure Transformation and climate change. The peers found that the Council has effectively leveraged its cultural and industrial heritage to drive economic growth and community engagement. Positive relationships with partners, including police, businesses, and the voluntary sector, were also commended. Peers found that the council has a strong focus on supporting community relationships and cohesion, with strong relationships with local Mosque leaders and examples of projects to celebrate cultural diversity.
The peer team also recognised the loyalty and commitment of the Council’s staff, and a friendly, collegiate organisational culture. Robust audit arrangements, a commitment to modernisation, improved reserves, better financial systems, and effective management were also highlighted.
The peer team provided several constructive recommendations for improvement, and the Council will now use these to develop an action plan. The recommendations covered updating and developing corporate strategies and looking at the Council’s capacity and skills, including working with partnerships and consultants. Other recommendations included creating a digital transformation strategy, a strategy for generating income, improving internal and external communication. promoting climate change initiatives, and continuing to engage with other local councils to share and learn from experiences.
The final report will be submitted to the Council on 16th January and then published on the Council’s website.
Councillor Munsif Dad, Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council, said:
“We are grateful to the peer team for their thorough and constructive review. The positive feedback highlights the significant progress we have made in key areas, and we welcome the recommendations for further improvement. Our committed staff and councillors have worked hard to achieve these results, and we are dedicated to actioning the recommendations to continue our journey of improvement. We look forward to developing and implementing our action plan to address these recommendations and further enhance our services for the community.
I will be recommending to Cabinet that a cross-party working group is established to oversee the development and implementation of the action plan.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
A Corporate Peer Challenge is a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information and forms a key part of the improvement and assurance framework for local government. Corporate Peer Challenge assists councils in meeting part of their Best Value duty, with the UK Government expecting all local authorities to have a Corporate Peer Challenge at least every five years. Peer challenges are improvement focused, not inspections, and the process is not designed to provide an in-depth or technical assessment of plans and proposals.
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Left to right:
Hyndburn Borough Council: David Welsby, Chief Executive; Martin Dyson, Executive Director; Councillor Munsif Dad, Leader of the Council; Cllr Shabir Fazal; Councillor Kimberley Whitehead; Councillor Scott Brerton; Councillor Vanessa Alexander; Steve Riley, Executive Director; and Councillor Zak Khan
Peer Review Team: Anne Brinkhoff, LGA Associate; Cllr Tricia Gilby, Leader, Chesterfield Borough Council; Artemis Ansell, Director, Lichfield District Council; Ian Miller, Chief Executive, Wyre Forest District Council; Alex Howel, LGA Peer; Cllr Simon Minas-Bound, Group Leader, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council; and Dominic Bradley, Director, Horsham District Council.