External assurance review finds “unrealistic” budget and a governance culture at council that needs “significant improvement”

Governance at Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) is in need of "significant improvement" amid political tensions and an unhealthy member culture that has "often resulted in poor behaviour in the Council chamber," an external assurance review has said.

The review, carried out by Lesley Seary, set out eight recommendations, after raising concerns about the council's governance, finances, arms-length companies and senior leadership team.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) requested the non-statutory review be undertaken in September 2022 after the council requested exceptional financial support from the Government.

On finances, Seary described the council's medium-term financial plan and budget as "unrealistic", calling for an immediate review. She said the plan is predicated on the delivery of an "overly ambitious" transformation programme both in terms of levels of savings and timescales for delivery.

The council – which was formed in 2019 when Bournemouth Borough Council, Christchurch Borough Council, and Poole Borough Council merged – still needs to deliver transformation to bring together staff, pay and conditions, ICT systems, property and ways of working from the legacy councils, the review noted.

But according to the review, the council's pursuit of non-traditional financial options aimed at funding the transformation has proved "ultimately fruitless".

The council has now set a budget for 2023/24 in line with conventional local government financial practice. "However, it is clear that the Council's future financial sustainability is based on the successful delivery of the transformation programme and delivering the projected savings to the agreed timetable," the review stated.

"The financial targets in the transformation programme (and in the budget) are at the highest end of the projected range. This is highly ambitious and carries high risk around delivery of the programme on time and to budget," the review warned. 

The council's governance culture requires "significant improvement in the short term," it added.

The review said there "remains a sense of three councils within one BCP" to this day.

Many members still show strong loyalty to their former council, it suggested. The review partly blamed covid lockdowns and the move to remote meetings coming shortly after the council's formation for the divisions, noting that "valuable time was lost in creating a new culture and sense of unity".

As a result, the politics of the council have been "contested, complicated and fragmented" with changes in administration and three leaders in four years.

Member relationships have been "very poor", and meetings have been "acrimonious", with a high number of complaints to the Standards Committee, according to the report.

Relationships between members and officers have also not been positive, and some people described the culture in recent years in "very negative" terms.

This member culture has resulted in poor behaviour in the council chamber and is a barrier to improving scrutiny and governance at the council, the review said. 

Some concerns were also expressed to Seary about the transparency of the governance of BCP FuturePlaces Ltd, a council company that carries out regeneration projects on the council's behalf.

"The original governance structure did not reflect good practice in terms of governance and elected Members were too involved in the day-to-day operational management of the company and in commissioning activity," the review stated.

The company now has an independent Chair, and Non-Executive Directors, and there is a Commissioning Agreement with BCP FuturePlaces Ltd, "but it has not been adhered to and as a result there seems to have been a degree of mission creep".

The review recommended the council agree on a business plan with a portfolio of priority projects and clear timescales for delivery.

Other issues highlighted by the review included a need to agree on the priorities of the council's new administration and to develop a unified corporate plan for the next four years.

It also highlighted problems with the council's senior leadership team, which it said lacks experience. It described the chief executive as "very experienced" but noted that an inexperienced senior leadership team supports him.

The review made the following eight recommendations:

1. The council reviews the Transformation programme and agrees on a realistic and deliverable programme by October 2023. The council sets up effective mechanisms for member oversight and monitoring of the delivery of the programme by June 2023.
2. The council establishes a sound budget setting process and begins preparations for the 2024/25 budget as soon as possible after the local government elections and has proposals drafted for a sustainable MTFP and three-year budget by the end of September 2023.
3. The council commissions an external financial resilience review to report by September 2023 to enable it to inform the MTFP and budget setting.
4. The council, with the active leadership of the respective group leaders, uses the opportunity of a new Council to reset the member/member and member/officer culture and relationships. The new council must use the support offered by the LGA and set up a comprehensive programme of member induction and an ongoing programme of member training. The induction programme should be in place by June 2023, and the ongoing programme by July 2023.
5. The new council agrees on a corporate strategy and clear priorities by July 2023.
6. The council agrees on a business plan for BCP FuturePlaces Ltd by September 2023, which sets the purpose of BCP FuturePlaces Ltd and a portfolio of priority projects with timescales for delivery.
7. The council puts in place a regular annual cycle for the business plans, mid-year reviews and year-end reviews of all its companies to be reported to the appropriate scrutiny and decision-making bodies. This should be in place by June 2023 to begin the 2024/25 process.
8. Permanent recruitment takes place into the vacant Corporate Director posts by November 2023, and an externally facilitated development programme is put in place for the senior leadership team.

In a letter to BCP Council's Chief Executive, Suzanne Clarke, Deputy Director, Local Government Finance, said the DLUHC expect the council to set out plans to deliver the review's recommendations. She also encouraged the council to continue its engagement with the Local Government Association, "making use of the full range of support they have to offer".

Adam Carey