Commissioners set to “step back” from Sandwell after seeing improvements in member-officer relationships and finances

In a report to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, lead commissioner Kim Bromley-Derry and assistant commissioner Jim Taylor said there had been improvements to governance structures, the customer journey, and officer-member relationships, amongst other things.

The report – issued in June and published today (27 July) – is the third since the Government called on commissioners to intervene at the local authority in March 2022 due to financial concerns.

The intervention came after a Grant Thornton report suggested the local authority had failed to comply with its best value duty.

In the June report, the commissioners said the council's financial position has been shored up, with its CIPFA rating improving from 2* in January 2022 to 3* in January 2023, "yet there is still work to develop capacity and capability in this area".

Elsewhere, the council is showing signs of having greater political stability, and has begun to embed improvements to its scrutiny arrangements and functions in place for council decisions, commissioners said.

On the scrutiny point, the report noted that: "Scrutiny committees are well managed, and we have observed focused meetings with appropriate work plans."

In considering one priority that set a goal for members and officers to "demonstrate that they understand and respect their roles in council business", the report noted that: "Since our last report to you in December, we have seen evidence that improvements made to the constitution and the scrutiny process are beginning to become embedded."

The report also noted that reporting and decision-making "is showing evidence of sustainability, with rigorous, clear, well evidenced reports being presented, containing options for the way forward".

"There is a joint understanding of the agenda between Directors and the Cabinet portfolio holders," it added.

Another priority set out in the previous report focused on developing "an organisational culture, at all levels, where staff are enabled and empowered to constructively challenge and improve ways of working" has also seen improvement.

In an effort to meet this goal, Sandwell launched 'The One Team Framework', which sets out new organisational values and associated behaviours aimed at unifying those at the council. Commissioners reported there are currently no cases of member/officer or member/member grievances or conduct cases.

Other improvements highlighted include progress on the council's responsiveness to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Subject Access Requests (SAR), with timescales and performance "much closer to target".

The commissioners noted that they believe a particular focus is still needed in relation to developing the strategic capacity of the council and further work on culture and values, amongst other things.

Informing Gove of their plan to "step back", the commissioners said: "We are mindful of your consideration that any aspect of your Directions should only be in place long enough to achieve the stated objectives of the intervention, and your expectation that, on the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive, we would begin to 'step back' from the council. We believe that we have now reached that stage and recommend that we begin the incremental reduction in our time at the council."

Consequently, the commissioners said they plan to spend fewer days at the council over the next six months, providing that the current trajectory is sustained.

Their next report will make definitive recommendations about the end date of the intervention, setting out our reasons and including clear evidence as to why the public could be expected to have confidence in the council in meeting best value duty sustainably.

In a formal response to the commissioners' report, Local Government Minister Lee Rowley, said it was "encouraging to see the progress made" against the '12 proxies for success' and that there was closer working between the council's leader, members, and officers.

But he added that there was still work to do, "particularly to show that the improvements of the past fifteen months are both embedded and sustainable".

"In the next six months, to be assured of this, I expect to see evidence of the impact on residents from the new council processes and systemic changes put in place since the improvement began", he said.

He later stated that he "fully support[s]" the commissioners' decision to reduce the amount of time spent in Sandwell.

Although he added that clear evidence that demonstrates Sandwell's resilience and capacity to take forward its improvement independently will be "crucial" if the intervention is to end as planned in March 2024.

Commenting on the report, Cllr Kerrie Carmichael, Leader of Sandwell Council, said: “Our focus since the start of intervention has been to make sure that we are set up to deliver the best possible outcomes for our residents, and that has meant changing the way we work.

“There has been a huge amount of work to get us to this point. We are not just aiming to be good enough to get out of intervention but are striving for excellence. I want to thank council officers for their efforts and the Commissioners for the constructive way in which they have approached their role.

“We are not the same organisation we were when intervention began, but we know there is more to do as we make sure the changes made are fully embedded. The next step is for us to demonstrate what impact the changes we’ve been making have had for our residents.”

Adam Carey