Metropolitan borough hit with best value notice

In a letter to the council's chief executive, the Deputy Director of Local Government Stewardship and Interventions at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Blythe, said the decision came in light of statutory recommendations issued by an external auditor in January 2024, and ensuing reports from CIPFA, CfGS and the Local Government Association that identified governance problems.

The senior civil servant also said the notice comes after annual audit reports from November 2023, "which found cultural problems relating to the inappropriate behaviour of some members towards officers".

He also highlighted difficulties the council had faced historically in delivering planned savings, and significant value for money weaknesses "that continue to be highlighted by the council's external auditor".

Blythe acknowledged some improvements already made at the council, including working with an independent improvement board, developing an improvement plan and identifying and agreeing on savings plans to improve financial sustainability.

However, the Government wishes to see "the council continue addressing the serious issues identified in this notice at sufficient pace", he said.

His letter set out a series of expectations, which included a call for the council to ensure cultural change focuses on relationships between officers and members, and that it ensures clarity of roles and responsibilities.

It also said cultural change should focus on "effectively managing poor behaviour so that it does not affect the council's ability to deliver".

In addition, it called on Dudley to deliver at pace against the agreed improvement plan, ensure effective governance and scrutiny processes that are understood and adhered to by both officers and members, and to continue delivering against the requirements of a regulatory notice issued by the Regulator for Social Housing in April 2023.

Elsewhere, it called for urgent improvement to the council's financial sustainability, the strengthening of its independent improvement board, and continued efforts to increase senior officer capacity and stability through permanent appointments.

In a ministerial statement on the notice, Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said: "We found no evidence of current Best Value failure at the council, but recent progress must be sustained and embedded to ensure that the council meets its Best Value Duty.

He added: "The Council is expected to continue driving its own recovery and is asked to engage regularly with the department for assurance of improvement.

"Progress against the notice will be reviewed after 12 months. I am pleased that the council already has the support of an independent improvement board and the LGA and am hopeful that it will continue to make good progress."

Dudley's leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, meanwhile described recent improvements at the council "as incredible", adding: "I very much welcome the best value notice as an opportunity to outline that to the Government. It will allow us to give that cast iron guarantee that we are already far down the track and will continue to improve.

"From the very beginning we have welcomed scrutiny as part of a fresh start and this notice adds to that.

"We recognise that there is still more work to do and we will approach that with the same drive as we have with our successes to date."

Adam Carey