Issue - meetings

Committee is asked to recommend to Council that:

1.    The Improvement and Recovery Plan be approved,

2.    The Reorganisation and Transformation Board be formally disbanded, the Improvement and Recovery Board be set up and the Terms of Reference in Appendix C be approved,

3.    The reporting mechanisms be approved; and

4.    Authority be delegated to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee to approve changes to the Improvement and Recovery Plan as part of regular reporting arrangements.

Committee resolved to recommend to Council that:

1.    The Improvement and Recovery Plan be approved,

2.    The Reorganisation and Transformation Board be formally disbanded, the Improvement and Recovery Board be set up and the Terms of Reference in Appendix C be approved,

3.    The reporting mechanisms be approved; and

4.    Authority be delegated to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee to approve changes to the Improvement and Recovery Plan as part of regular reporting arrangements.

The Committee were advised that as part of the intervention by Commissioners an improvement plan needed to be agreed within the first six months. This plan needed to include recommendations from the Best Value Inspection, the Grant Thornton 2023/24 Audit Report and the Chartered Institute Public Finance and Accountancy Capital Assurance review. The Improvement and Recovery Plan would be a living document and would be shaped as the process progressed, particularly in respect of the Local Government Reorganisation. The Committee were advised that the IRP had been approved by the Commissioners.

The proposed Improvement and Recovery Board (the Board) would not be a decision making board. It would be monitoring all progress and report back to this committee and the Audit Committee. Subsequent decisions would be made by these committees. The Committee expressed concerns that only one councillor would be on the Board and suggested that this be looked at.

The Chief Executive advised the Committee that one of the risks identified within the plan was the lack of resource needed to achieve some of the targets. An exercise would be undertaken to identify all skilled resource needed and a report would be brought back to the committee in December in respect of additional resourcing required.

The Committee were advised that members were able to access information about the progress of the IRP through a portal that is available. Members were advised that the portal was not complete as work was still continuing on it.

Committee resolved to recommend to Council that:

1.    The Improvement and Recovery Plan be approved,

2.    The Reorganisation and Transformation Board be formally disbanded, the Improvement and Recovery Board be set up and the Terms of Reference in Appendix C be approved,

3.    The reporting mechanisms be approved; and

4.    Authority be delegated to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee to approve changes to the Improvement and Recovery Plan as part of regular reporting arrangements.