Corporate Peer Challenge

Stratford-on-Avon District Council asked for a Corporate Peer Challenge from the Local Government Association (LGA) involving leading councillors and senior officers from other councils across the country to help further improve the Council's work. Peer challenges are provided by the LGA at no cost as part of their improvement programme. The process is designed to be forward-looking and problem-solving. It is not a form of inspection and does not rank or score the Council. The Council last undertook a review in 2017 a copy of the report can be found here.

The team that visited in March 2024 was:

• Donna Nolan – Chief Executive, Watford BC
• Cllr Richard Keeling – LGA Lib Dem peer, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Corporate Resources, Teignbridge DC
• Andrew Cummings – Strategic Director of Resources (Section 151), Stroud DC
• Alex Kinch – Chief Officer – People and Policy, Lancaster City Council
• Paula Maginnis – Service Director – Corporate Services, Epping Forest DC
• Ishbel Morren – Executive Support Officer, Watford BC
• James Millington – Peer Challenge Manager, LGA

The five areas focused on during the review are as follows:

• Understanding of the local place and priority setting
• Leadership of Place
• Organisational leadership and governance
• Financial planning and viability
• Capacity to deliver

The report highlights positive findings and offers recommendations on how the Council can move forward and help shape the future of the local authority. The Council is very pleased with the findings of the report. At the meeting of The Cabinet on 3 June 2024, the review team were thanked for their work and an action plan to address their findings was approved. The review team will revisit the Council early in 2025 to assess the Council's progress against the implementation of the recommendations.