Peer Challenge report praises Council for progress

A follow-up report by the Local Government Association has praised South Cambridgeshire District Council’s ‘strong ambition’, ‘good leadership’ and ‘innovative approaches’ following a recent visit.

The return visit comes after a Corporate Peer Challenge Review by the LGA last year described the Council as being in a positive financial position – with a comprehensive and innovative response to the cost-of-living crisis. Typically, all councils have one of these reviews every five years and they always contain recommendations to help councils improve.

A total of 12 recommendations were made by the peer team last year. A return visit last month and update report, a usual part of the Corporate Peer Challenge process, shows how 10 of those recommendations are completed or well underway and two are progressing.

In Finance, peers had recommended the Council accelerates the closure of its outstanding accounts. Since their visit in late 2023, the draft accounts for each and every year up to 2023/24 have been published – meaning they are as up to date as possible. Meanwhile, a scheme to uncover further savings by close working between members of the Council’s Leadership Team and service areas has identified a further £1.5 million to help meet a £3 million savings target over the next five years.

Peers had also suggested the need to better convey a vision for South Cambridgeshire. To address this, the Council is now part-way through a consultation to develop a new Corporate Plan, outlining that vision, priorities, and long-term goals for South Cambridgeshire in the years ahead. The Council’s business team have visited local businesses to discuss matters impacting them - obtaining 100 completed surveys that are feeding into the consultation.

Peers have highlighted how communications have improved to parish and town councils following discussions with parish clerks, whilst the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning service with Cambridge City Council hosted an event titled ‘Unlocking the Potential of Your Parish’. This was aimed at equipping Parish and Town Clerks with the tools, knowledge, and resources needed to navigate planning processes and effectively support their communities. The feedback report also notes that an informal reference group has been established for parishes along the proposed East West Rail route, to ensure their concerns are identified and incorporated into the planning consultation process.

As part of its Transformation programme, peers have also commented on how the District Council has made considerable progress with introducing an Organisational Development and People Strategy – with a new set of values for Council colleagues brought in earlier this year. Peers were impressed with the innovative approaches to people development and

engagement – highlighting an online skills hub for short skills sessions, as well as maximising apprenticeships and a coaching and mentoring programme.

The Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cllr Bridget Smith, said: “I am really proud of this follow-up report. It shows how determined we are to keep learning and improving our services. We said last year that we welcomed the findings of the initial report – and we took on-board every single recommendation they made. The progress that we have made since the visit is clear. Of the 12 areas the peers suggested we could do even better in – 10 of them are complete or well underway and the other two are being progressed by our teams. I was thrilled to hear from the peers during this follow-up visit how the word ‘collaboration’ shines through all our teams and that they found a real energy about how we work. But we are determined to do even better; we never stop learning.”

For last year’s review, the District Council invited the team of peers, made-up of councillors and officers from other councils, to visit South Cambridgeshire District Council in late October / early November. They spoke with staff, councillors, and local partners, and their report was published – alongside an action plan to address their recommendations.

The feedback report has also now been published.