An independent review of Wyre Council has praised the organisation.
The review praised its strong financial management, approach to boosting community health, “impressive flagship projects” and “brilliant” leadership team.
Earlier this year, the Council invited the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge team to visit Wyre, as part of its commitment to continuous development and improvement. The last peer challenge took place in 2017 and following the recent launch of a new Council Plan, officers felt it was an opportune time to re-engage with the process.
The Local Government Association's Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) is a voluntary and trusted method of improvement used in the public sector. It allows representatives from councils nationwide to spend time with another council to evaluate performance, assess services to local communities and consider whether adequate resources are in place to fulfil key objectives.
The LGA Corporate Peer Challenge team spent three days at Wyre in June, gathering information and views from 88 people, including a range of council staff, councillors, volunteers and external stakeholders. They also attended an Audit Committee meeting, held focus group discussions and were given a tour of the borough to enable them to get under the skin of Wyre’s diverse geography and distinct character. Ahead of the visit, Peers were given a Position Statement which “set the scene”, providing a comprehensive introduction to Wyre Council and areas of especial interest.
The team included senior councillors, one former council leader, a serving local authority chief executive and other senior officers.
The Peer Team followed a set process in which to objectively assess performance and identify opportunities for improvement. They were particularly asked to look at the Council’s emerging transformation programme and plans for economic development and regeneration, tourism and business support.
At the end of the visit, a summary report was produced.
Key highlights included:
- Robust financial stewardship and value for money services, which were generally highly regarded by local communities.
- Well-respected leadership team and good, effective relationships between councillors and officers.
- A clear vision and framework in the new Council Plan, but further work advised to ensure the plan in detail was fully understood.
- Potential, due to the Council’s current healthy position relative to partners, and potential to deliver further efficiencies through a transformation programme, to build greater capacity to deliver internally, as well as unlock projects that needed initial seed funding to move forward.
- Impressive work undertaken on flagship projects including the Wyre Beach Management Coastal Defence Scheme and the new commercial fish processing facility in Fleetwood (Neptune), as well as the improvements at Fleetwood Market.
- Real differences seen for local people, as a result of investment in public health and community safety initiatives.
Councillor Michael Vincent, Leader of the Council said:
“The peer challenge process has helped highlight some of the excellent work that staff and elected councillors have been undertaking to continually improve the Council and the services we provide.
“I’m especially pleased with the tremendous feedback we received on our new Council Plan, which will bring about real change for our communities and I look forward to capitalising on some of the other opportunities and suggestions put forward by the CPC team.”
Following a report to Full Council tonight (12 September 2024), Council officers are preparing an action plan which will be published on 7 November.
The Peer Team will return in Spring 2025 to review the progress made.