'Significant governance' issues need addressing by Shropshire Council - report
There are “significant governance” issues that Shropshire Council needs to address, according to a report.
Senior councillors and officers undertook a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information, and spent four days at the council to provide robust, strategic, and credible challenge and support.
The Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) report has now been published ahead of a full council meeting this Thursday (September 25).
The team said it recognises that the CPC was delivered at a time where the council was experiencing significant change and competing demands, with a new operating model being implemented and a new management structure bedding down.
Its overall assessment is that Shropshire Council is “in severe financial distress”, which has previously been outlined over a number of years.
A LGA Finance Peer Challenge (FPC) in 2022 described the position as “not immediately catastrophic – but they are in a precarious position”.
“The peer team paid careful attention to the financial position and reviewed the financial plans and the future financial position and have concluded that the financial position has continued to deteriorate and is significantly worse than that of the time of the FPC,” reads the report.
“The council is now a hair’s breadth away from issuing a Section 114 and it will now need to rely on exceptional financial support (EFS) this year and in the medium term to re-establish financial resilience and to rebuild a risk assessed level of general fund reserves.
“Based on previous experience the peer team have limited confidence that savings plans can be delivered by the council. This is based on the past performance and the current lack of detail on its future plans.
“This does not mean plans can’t be delivered but the council itself does not have the confidence that these will be delivered in full.
“There are some significant governance issues which the council needs to address. This incudes the gap in statutory officer meetings and a lack of assurance around audit findings.
“These are important building blocks of good governance and are essential for the council to be able to meet its significant challenges.
“However, the peers did find that generally there are good services being delivered and can highlight areas where there is strong performance, particularly in the former people directorate.
“The council has itself identified some issues in highways management including potholes, and responses to customer enquiries where performance needs to be focused.”
In total, 10 recommendations have been made that the council should carry out.
This includes:
Urgently preparing a multi-year plan demonstrating and detailing its route to financial and operational stability
Immediately assess its EFS requirements for 2025/26 before a s114 becomes a necessity
Quickly implement an externally supported, independently led Improvement Board
Prepare a clear whole council transformation plan that carries the aspirations and narrative for the future council
Consider how to urgently reinvigorate its cultural connestions and relationhips across the workforce
Co-produce a new council plan that recognises the financial constrains the council is under and deliver the manifesto commitments
Improve the visibility of managerial and political leaders to help colleagues make the organisation legible at a time of great change
Improve the status of and make effort to drive good governance
Budget monitoring meeds to be focussed on actual spend and projections with clear understanding of one off and recurring expenditure with appropriate intervention and action
Changing the narrative – tell its story and celebrate its success as one council
Interim chief executive Tanya Miles said all 10 recommendations have been welcomed and accepted by the administration “as a springboard for continued improvement and change”, adding that the council has not waited to receive and confirm the final report before taking action.
The first stage of the council’s action plan to address the recommendations will be the improvement plan, with the aim for it to be delivered within 12 to 18 months. This will lead on to the corporate plan and partnership plan.
An action plan to is set to be presented to cabinet next month.
