Agenda item

a)  Noted the progress made by the Council in addressing the Directions of the Secretary of State;

b)  Commented on the contents of the report and agreed the additional information or issues Cabinet would like to be cited on included a SEND update to Cabinet in December 2022; emergency planning update by February 2023; and resident engagement and consultation.

c)  Agreed to the proposed next steps to deliver against the action plans and other workstreams that have been developed to address the Directions;

d)  Agreed to further regular updates of progress to be submitted on a quarterly basis, with exact timings dependent on the cycle of Commissioner’s reports to Government.

e)  Agreed to recommend the update report to Council.

The Leader of the Council introduced a report on the progress made by the Council against each of the Secretary of State Directions issued in December 2021 and the overall Council recovery plan.

The report had been considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 17^th November and the Cabinet was requested to recommend the update to Council.

The Leader summarised the areas where the Council had made good progress, such as the early stages of financial repair and the asset disposal strategy, and also the parts of the agreed corporate plan where progress needed to be accelerated.  These included culture change and scrutiny improvements.  Further work on the Council’s future operating model would also be a key priority .  The Best Value Commissioners would soon submit their one-year progress report to the Secretary of State.

The Cabinet and scrutiny would receive regular progress reports in the future on a quarterly basis, to be aligned to the Commissioners reporting periods.  Lead Members were invited to agree any specific issues on which they would like to receive future reports and Cabinet agreed to receive a SEND update in December 2022 if possible to provide assurance that progress was being made in delivering the Written Statement of Action.  Reports were requested on emergency planning arrangements in February 2023 and resident engagement and consultation before the end of the municipal year.

At the conclusion of the discussion the report was noted and it was agreed to recommend the update to Council on 22^nd November 2022.

Resolved –

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

(b)  That it be agreed that the additional information or issues Cabinet would like to be cited on included a SEND update to Cabinet in December 2022; emergency planning update by February 2023; and resident engagement and consultation.

(c)  That the proposed next steps to deliver against the action plans and other workstreams that have been developed to address the Directions be agreed;

(d)  That further regular updates of progress be submitted on a quarterly basis, with exact timings dependent on the cycle of Commissioner’s reports to Government;

Recommended –

(e)   That the update report be recommended to Council.