Decision details

To consider the report and recommendations of the County Council Corporate Peer Challenge undertaken by the Local Government Association.

18.1     The Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive.

18.2     It was RESOLVED to:

1) note the report of the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge (Appendix 1 of the report) and agreed its publication; and

2) publish the Council’s response to the recommendations within it, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report.

Reason

18.3     As a key part of its sector-led support programme, the Local Government Association (LGA) offers a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) to all councils, approximately every five years. LGA CPCs are intended to be a robust and effective continuous improvement tool managed and delivered by the sector, for the sector, with local government officers and members – as ‘peers’ - at the heart of the process. They help councils with their development by providing a ‘practitioner perspective’ and ‘critical friend’ challenge.

18.4     Following discussions with the LGA, East Sussex County Council (ESCC) commissioned a CPC to take place in June 2023, including a site visit from 20-23 June. The review offered a timely opportunity to check in on progress over the recent challenging years, including the impact of the pandemic, and to provide an external perspective on how ESCC has been approaching future challenges and whether we are capturing all we can from national best practice.

18.5     It is an expectation of the CPC process that the report produced by the CPC team is published by the relevant council alongside a response to the recommendations in the form of an action plan. The LGA will also publish the CPC report on its website. The publication of the report and the response is an opportunity to celebrate and publicise the positive feedback received and to set out our plans for the coming months to strengthen our approach further in tackling the challenges ahead.