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Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge

During December 2023, a team from the Local Government Association (LGA) visited Bury Council to conduct a Corporate Peer Challenge.

The LGA chose a team of senior council officers and councillors from across the country who spent four days in Bury talking to over 150 staff, partners, and local councillors.

The peer challenge also explored our local priorities and how those are demonstrated through our organisational and place leadership. They looked at our approach to financial planning and governance too, as well as looking for areas of improvement.

At the end of the visit, the LGA team commented that:  

Bury has a hard working, dedicated team with a strong work ethic. People care very deeply. There is a clear vision for inclusive growth and reducing inequalities which is widely known and understood. As a place, Bury is changing and it’s a massive opportunity to deliver this vision.
LGA Corporate Peer Challenge December 2023

Feedback

The peer challenge team produced a feedback report which identifies our many strengths and also makes some suggestions for actions which we will be responding to at a Cabinet meeting in the near future.

Key recommendations

  • Refresh your 2030 strategy, using this to tell the story as a positive vision, based on the strengths and assets that now exist locally.
  • Sharpen up the priorities for the council and use them to shape decision making processes and resource allocation consistently
  • Establish a ‘One Council’ culture and ways of working to better position the council in dealing with its challenges and achieving its priorities across the short, medium and longer term
  • Develop a single, clear and robust MTFP for the council. Ensure everyone understands this and what it means
  • Establish a corporate transformation plan, approach, resource and culture to support delivery of your MTFP
  • Further develop finance, HR and IT – including their role and the relationships they require. These services are key to enabling the delivery of the council’s transformation needs
  • Work with the finance team to further develop a capable team into a, stable and supported finance function – including moving quickly to appoint permanent leadership to work with the interim CFO
  • Build the resilience of the Children’s Leadership Team – including appointing to the vacant senior officer posts
  • Take steps to help further support and develop the Cabinet team, using the examples given in this report
  • Ensure the council’s inclusive growth ambitions are suitably resourcedto see them realised
  • Start to prepare a new Local Plan to complement the Greater ManchesterPlaces for Everyone Plan
  • Plan for the risks and opportunities around Six Town Housing in realising the changes the council seeks from this move
  • Support the further development of risk and audit within the council. This includes the use of the Corporate Risk Register, the role of Internal Audit and the development of the Audit Committee – building on the points raised in this report

The feedback report in full