Progress – Governance, behaviours and culture
Recommendations 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3
Governance, behaviours and culture are the foundational themes underpinning all the CPC's nine recommendations.
As outlined earlier in this report, since CPC was delivered in October 2022, the council has experienced significant changes to both the senior political and managerial leadership. These changes include a change in political control in May 2023 which saw the council remain in No Overall Control with a new Conservative led minority administration and new Leader, Councillor Tony Cox. In addition to the Leader, nine new portfolio holders were appointed.
The changes have also involved the departure of the council's permanent chief executive (who began working at the council shortly after the CPC) and the departure of the monitoring officer - both in July 2023. This was followed by the subsequent appointment of the council's Interim Chief Executive, Rob Tinlin, in July 2023 and Interim Monitoring Officer, Kim Sawyer, in August 2023. Alongside these appointments, a number of further permanent appointments have been made to the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) including the appointment of permanent Executive Directors to the posts of Adults and Communities; Strategy and Change and Environment and Place (the latter merged two previously interim posts for Growth/Housing and Neighbourhoods/Environment into one permanent post).
These significant changes have, no doubt, presented a challenge and risk to the pace of improvement at the council, particularly with the CPC's overarching themes of governance, culture and behaviours. Indeed, learning from across the sector indicates that a high turnover in these roles can be an indication of potential wider cultural concerns. Early indications are that the new team is bedding in, and it is important that this direction of travel is sustained through the transitions to the new permanent Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer.
However, peers were pleased to hear from a range of stakeholders how the appointment of the Interim Chief Executive in July 2023, alongside the Interim Monitoring Officer, is widely recognised as a positive move. The Interim CEX, working alongside the political leadership, has worked to bring greater stability to the senior officer team (as outlined above).
Parallel work has also been taking place to address the CPC's recommendations relating to governance, behaviours and culture and work towards building positive culture change. This work includes work led by the General Purposes Committee, with councillors and officers working together to redesign the pre-Cabinet Scrutiny Process. During the progress review, peers observed a meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny committee and were impressed with the overall structure, approach, tone and constructive questioning displayed. A programme to systematically review Constitutional practices is in place, agreed with the Leader and Chief Executive. This includes briefings across groups on key changes with a focus on those which support open and transparent decisions and improved working.
Other examples include work to clear a backlog of standards complaints including new templates and flow charts. The aim is to help ensure issues are being resolved at an earlier stage. No formal standards complaints had been received since September 2023 for City Councillors. Examples also include the introduction of processes which ensure stronger engagement between members and officers in relation to decision making - particularly on key decisions and, as outlined above, changes to the pre-Cabinet scrutiny process.
Peers were also pleased to learn how there is a drive, from the political and managerial leadership, to build greater cross-party collaboration. Examples include an agreement to ensure greater collaboration and joint working around the budget for 2024 and strong cross-party engagement in the recruitment and appointment of the new permanent chief executive. Peers consider that it is vitally important that this collaborative approach to managing significant strategic and budgetary matters continues.
The council's position statement outlines how communication is seen as a key lever to building positive organisational culture. It outlines work which is taking place to build regular and visible displays of both councillors and officers modelling positive behaviours and relationships. This is alongside work to align the councillor development and leadership development programmes to reflect the council's agreed values and behaviours. Examples cited in the position statement include Leader and Cabinet Member blogs, ward walks, staff briefings including Q and A, video updates, regular meetings between senior councillors and officers (including shadow portfolio leads) and regular Group Leader meetings with the chief executive. The council is in the process of redesigning the existing councillor enquiry system, using the lessons learned from the existing process, with the aim of strengthening councillor and officer relationships and trust.
Progress has also been made in relation to the recommendation made around encouraging the council to consider a change to the election cycle. Councillors unanimously agreed at the October Full Council meeting to begin a public consultation on this. A final decision will be taken by the council before the end of March 2024 in time to feed into an upcoming boundary review. Peers heard that councillors have been engaged in pre-briefing sessions. Peers were also told that this is the first time that the council has reached this stage of consultation, having considered the matter twice previously.
In conversations the peer team had with both the senior officer and political leadership, it was acknowledged that culture change cannot happen overnight and will take time to embed. Indeed, it is clear from further conversations we had with both officers and councillors that views on the degree and extent of the impact that the changes already implemented have had on organisational culture and ways of working were mixed, particularly amongst opposition group members. But all stakeholders are united in their view that the council is moving forward in the right direction, that progress is being made, that councillor/officer relationships are improving, trust is building and that it is crucial that this work continues.
Building on the above, it is essential that the council ensures a well-managed transition to the new chief executive so that this positive direction of travel continues. It is important that he is supported by the corporate leadership team, the senior political leadership and group leaders, so that he is able to build on the work undertaken to date, continue with the positive direction of travel, and together with the senior political leadership, ensure plans are in place to ensure the future financial sustainability of the council. Plans to recruit a permanent Monitoring Officer (MO) are also in place; again, the smooth transition from the interim MO to the permanent MO (once appointed) will be key to supporting the ongoing positive improvements to governance that were evident during the Progress Review.