Decision details

1.The Council’s draft Annual Governance Statement 2020/21, the External Auditor’s Value for Money judgement 2020/21, published in July 2022, identified that the culture and governance arrangements of the Council have not been operating as expected and that this as undermined the effectiveness of the Council’s governance framework.
2.Since that time, the Council has been on an improvement journey with a number of key milestones within it including the issuing of a Best Value Notice by Government in January 2023, formalisation of External Audit’s concerns in August 2023, appointment of an Independent Improvement Advisory Board in September 2023 and the renewal of the Best Value Notice in January 2024.
3.This report documents the Chief Executive’s decision to extend the appointment of the Independent Improvement Advisory Board (IIAB) up until March 2025, which will meet on a six weekly cycle from April 2024 onwards. This reduced cycle reflects progress made to date.
4.The report also documents the Chief Executive’s decision to recruit an additional Subject Matter Expert to the Board to provide the Board with expertise on Childrens and Adults Services.
5.The estimated cost of engaging the external Chair and three peers to the Board in terms of day rates and estimated expenses over the two financial years was agreed in an officer delegated decision by the Chief Executive on 19 September 2023. The costs associated with the additional Subject Matter Expert will be met by the Local Government Association.
6.As a result of the additional timescales for the work and the costs of the appointment of an additional subject matter expert being met by the LGA, it is estimated that the additional cost to the Council of extending the Board timeline for current members will not exceed current allocated costs as agreed by the Chief Executive’s delegated decision on 19 September 2023.
7.The revised terms of reference is attached at appendix 1.

The decision will help ensure the Council is able to comply with recommendations from Government in relation to its Best Value Notice.

The Board could continue without the additional resource, however without that subject matter expert, the Board will not be as effective as it could be in seeking assurance around delivery of the Council’s improvement plan and section 24 report.