Must do better: Government serves notice on Dudley Council, giving it 12 months to improve
The Government has served Dudley Council with an improvement notice, saying it is failing to meet the standards of serving the public.
Minister for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon, announced in a written ministerial statement the issuing of a non-statutory 'best value' notice to the authority.
Failure to comply could see commissioners brought in to make decisions, as has happened in Birmingham.
The best value notice is a formal notification that the department has concerns regarding the authority and requests that the authority engages with the department to provide assurance of improvement.
The authority’s progress against the notice will be reviewed after 12 months.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, defended what he said was the authority's recent improvement but said the 'scrutiny is welcome'.
"I don’t believe any council has improved this fast and as effectively as Dudley has and I hope ministers see this and use Dudley as an example of how this can be done," he added.
Councillor Harley described the notice as a 'supportive measure' to encourage the authority to continue its improvements.
He also set down a 'cast iron' guarantee that the authority 'would continue its upward curve'.
The news comes five months after the council announced £42 million worth of cuts and a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax. Free car parking was scrapped as part of the cuts - although the council this week announced a cut-price 50p rate for the first half-hour to mitigate these effects.
In a letter to the council's chief executive Balvinder Heran, government official James Blythe said the department expected authorities to identify and implement arrangements to secure continuous improvement.
"We acknowledge the important steps the council is already taking to address issues, including working with an independent improvement board, developing an improvement plan and identifying and agreeing savings plans to improve financial sustainability," he wrote.
"However, ministers remain concerned as to Dudley’s capacity to comply with its best value duty under the Local Government Act 1999 and have therefore decided to issue Dudley with this best value notice."
Mr Blythe said the Government expected the council to engage with the department to provide assurance of improvement.
He said the notices followed statutory recommendations issued by external auditor Grant Thornton in January 2024 regarding the need for a sustainable, medium-term financial strategy and for urgent action to address the council’s budget position and use of reserves.
Mr Blythe said annual audit reports published in November 2023 also found cultural problems relating to the inappropriate behaviour of some members towards officers.
It also cited a report from June last year which found significant weaknesses in the senior leadership of the council, lack of transparency in decision making, and insufficient focus on good governance, as well as a report by the Local Government Association in 2023 which ruled that good governance was being undermined by cultural issues and behaviours.
"Whilst we recognise the improvements already made, we want to see the council continue addressing the serious issues identified in this notice at sufficient pace.
"I am therefore setting out the department’s expectations of the authority in providing further assurance of progress."
Mr Blythe said the council was expected to continue taking urgent steps to improve its financial sustainability, implement its medium-term financial plan, and continue drawing on external support.
He also called on the council to improve stability by reducing staff turnover, and to meet set milestones for improvement.
He also drew attention to a notice issued by the Regulator for Social Housing in April 2023, which said the authority had failed to meet various health and safety requirements in a significant number of its properties, potentially causing serious detriment to tenants.
Mr Blythe also instructed the council to report progress with the department every three months.
Councillor Harley said: "The best value notice is very much out of date as the recommendations referred to the Local Government Association peer review and the same review into our finances dating back to 2023/24.
"We have completed or are complying with every single one of those recommendations."
He said the financial recovery of Dudley Council had seen a significant turnaround in its finances, and the recent five-year budget would see reserves increased by at least £5 million each year until 2029.
"The scrutiny is welcome," he said.
"The public need not take my word but should heed the words of the independent improvement board and the words of Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy-sourced finance chiefs who recognise the turnaround and clear sustainability of our finances."
Councillor Harley said many notices had been served on local authorities this week, adding that it should really have been issued more than a year ago when we the council was starting on its financial recovery.
"However, the text of the notice asks we share progress with them and I’m very willing to do that as it shows the improvement made."
He said the department clearly had confidence in the council, and looked forward to hosting officials at its next improvement board.
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