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Peer review gives positive feedback

Winchester City Council asked for a peer review 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 team that visited Winchester was:

William Benson, Chief Executive, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council ; Cllr Neil Clarke, Leader, Rushcliffe Borough Council; Cllr Chris White, Leader Liberal Democrat Group, St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire County Council; Tracy Morrison, Director of Resources, Fylde Borough Council; Allison Westray-Chapman, Joint Assistant Director of Economic Growth, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire District Councils; and Nick Easton, LGA Peer Challenge Manager.

The review team spent three days in February 2017 meeting staff, councillors, residents, businesses, parishes and many other local organisations and public sector bodies to understand the current position.

The peer challenge included on-site interviews and focus groups.  Winchester received positive feedback to help improve services for local residents.  The team recognised the challenges the Council faces and made recommendations to help the organisation provide better services for residents, businesses and visitors to the district.

The Council has drafted an action plan to address the recommendations which include clearly articulating the Council’s vision, developing an evidence-based approach to understanding the views of the whole community, reviewing political and partnership structures and developing a shared understanding of the financial challenges ahead.

Laura Taylor, Winchester City Council’s Chief Executive, said: 

The peer review establishes a clear baseline for us to lead improvement across the Council.

We welcome the report and will work hard to deliver improvements that benefit the whole district. It was pleasing to hear support from stakeholders in wanting us to succeed and that staff feel valued and engaged.

This is an excellent position from which we can move forward, and we expect that our stakeholders will see changes to our approach in coming weeks and months.

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