Agenda item

(a)  That the progress made by the Council since the previous report in addressing the Directions of the Secretary of State be noted;

(b)  That the content of the Commissioners report and letters from the Secretary of State be noted;

(c)  That the next steps to deliver against the issues raised by Commissioners and the Secretary of State as set out in the action plans and other workstreams that have been developed to address the Directions be agreed.

The Leader introduced a report that provided the quarterly update to Cabinet on progress being made by the Council against the Secretary of State Directions issued in 2021 and the overall council recovery plan.

The report included detailed appendices of the progress reports to the Improvement & Recovery Board for March, April and May 2023 which were noted by Cabinet.  The Best Value Commissioners had recently submitted their 3^rd report to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), which set out their views on the progress the authority was making.  The Leader expressed gratitude to the Commissioners for the support they were providing to the Council and he summarised the Commissioners comments to the report which highlighted the scale of the challenges that the Council still faced.

The Cabinet noted the report.

Resolved –

(a)  That the progress made by the Council since the previous report in addressing the Directions of the Secretary of State be noted;

(b)  That the position regarding the Commissioners report and letters from the Secretary of State be noted;

(c)  That the next steps to deliver against the issues raised by Commissioners and the Secretary of State as set out in the action plans and other workstreams that had been developed to address the Directions be agreed.