External review highlights significant progress at North Northamptonshire Council
Your council27 November 2024
A comprehensive external review of the performance of North Northamptonshire Council has highlighted the significant progress that has been made by the authority since it came into being more than three years ago.
The Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA) noted that “so much has been achieved by North Northamptonshire Council since vesting day and this needs to be celebrated.”
The report, which is published today and that will be discussed at the authority’s Full Council next week also praised the workforce and remarked that “North Northamptonshire Council is blessed with amazing staff who are extremely committed to each other, the place and the Council.”
Partnership working, particularly through the BIG50 initiative was also commended, stating: “North Northamptonshire Council is considered by partners to be open minded and positive about transformation opportunities, and the workforce is hungry to be a part of this.”
Strategic direction through the Corporate Plan was praised and it was acknowledged that the authority had strong leadership in place.
The peer challenge involved a team of senior local government councillors and officers undertaking a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information and then spending four days at North Northamptonshire Council to provide robust, strategic, and credible challenge and support.
During the review the team gathered evidence, information, and views from more than 40 meetings, in addition to further research and reading and spoke to more than 115 people including a range of council staff together with members and external stakeholders.
The LGA encourages all councils to have a peer challenge every five years and to publish their reports online.
The report also published seven recommendations for continued development including further work to strengthen the council’s prioritisation and planning and further enhance financial planning and ownership.
Recommendations also included implementing measures to embed a council-wide culture of being outward looking, while sharpening the council’s focus on workforce and organisational development.
Ensuring that we deliver excellent services and creating the best opportunities for every resident in North Northamptonshire are our top priorities for the council.Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council
We have worked really hard since the Council was created three years ago to build high quality, efficient and effective services for residents. Although it is very encouraging to see external recognition of the progress the Council is making, we accept that there is always more to do, improvements we can make and more we can aspire for.
We are at a pivotal and exciting point in our journey as a young council. We have recently launched our BIG50 Vision with our partners, and we are moving at pace with a number of ambitious projects.
This felt like the right time to request a Peer Challenge which in our sector is conducted by the Local Government Association so that we can reflect on what we have achieved and get recommendations from leaders in our sector on how we can drive even better outcomes for North Northamptonshire.
I welcome this opportunity for us to reflect on our progress and strive towards excellence. I would like to thank all of those involved as we work towards a better North Northamptonshire for everyone.
Work has already begun to produce an action plan to address the recommendations and the Corporate Peer Challenge team will revisit the Council to discuss progress in summer 2025.