Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

Councillor G Duggins, Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item. 

The Committee considered a briefing note of the Deputy Chief Executive (People) which outlined the progress made against the recommendations from the Council’s Corporate Peer Challenge that took place between 9^th and 12^th October 2018. At the time of the Peer Challenge it was agreed that the delivery of actions in response to the recommendations would be monitored by Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, as well as being monitored through the One Coventry Change Board and the Strategic Management Board. Appendices to the briefing note set out the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report and the Council’s Self-Assessment Document

The briefing note indicated that the focus of the visit had been to look at how the Council understood its place and set priorities; the leadership and governance; financial planning; and the capacity to deliver on what it set out to achieve. The Peer Team were also asked to look at the approach to housing and homelessness; readiness for UK City of Culture 2021; how the Council made the most of social value in its capital projects; and the One Coventry approach. 

During the Peer Challenge week, the Peer Team found that there were some areas where further work was needed. These were set out in the Feedback Report. The Council developed an action plan in response with progress being monitored by the Peer Challenge Delivery Group, which involved a range of officers across the Council. An updated position statement was produced in January 2020 as a self-assessment of the progress made since October 2018. The document also provided an overview of the next steps including future challenges.

The briefing note provided a summary of progress against the following 10 recommendations:

a) Prioritising action to tackle homelessness by:

Replacing expensive bed and breakfast with cheaper temporary accommodation options

Increasing the supply of social rented and affordable private rented accommodation so it exceeds projected temporary accommodation demand

Making greater use of peer or external challenge to continue to develop our response

b) Ensuring the work to deliver against the projected balanced budget position for 2019/20 is successfully concluded

c) Learning from other public sector best practice on industrial relations, pay and reward models and HR policy and practice

d) Taking the opportunity to enhance the way the Council communicates with residents and delivers customer service

e) Driving the digital agenda harder and faster

f) Being mindful of those staff who have not yet benefitted from changes to ways of working and accommodation and responding to the thirst amongst staff for knowledge and input

g) Hard-wiring the legacy and inclusive growth potential of the City of Culture and the cultural strategy

h) Determining what ‘One Coventry’ is and the role it can play helping the city and the Council respond to the challenges being faced

i) Taking forward the recognised need for a shared vision for working in partnership across the Council and the city

j) Strengthening delivery of the change programme to support the transformation agenda.

The Committee noted that although good progress had been made in some areas, it was important that the completion of the action plan continued, to enable as much progress to be made as possible before the Peer Team follow-up visit. This visit was currently expected to take place in autumn 2020, within 2 years of the original Corporate Peer Challenge. The timing of the visit would be determined by the Council. The Council would also need to decide where the Peer Team would focus their efforts. The focus would be agreed by the Senior Management Board.

Members questioned the officers on a number of issues and responses were provided, matters raised included:

·  The need for more focus to be given to issues which cut across Scrutiny Boards with particular reference to the One Coventry approach

·  A concern about the lack of communication with Councillors and residents with respect to City of Culture and the need for local involvement with the development of events

·  A concern that under the issue of homelessness, there was no mention of the housing first approach

·  The importance of local firms being able to benefit from any regeneration works   

·  Details about other peer reviews, the recent scrutiny review and the forth coming review of Communications   

RESOLVED that the progress made and areas still to be addressed in response to the recommendations included in the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback report be noted.