Independent review
Completed
Kerslake Birmingham Review
Independent review into the governance and financial management of Birmingham City Council following serious concerns raised by external auditors. Made 15 recommendations for structural and cultural change.
Government Response
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, responded to Sir Bob Kerslake's review of Birmingham City Council through a written ministerial statement on 9 December 2014. The Government accepted the review's findings and announced it would appoint an independent improvement panel to provide support and challenge, alongside a change to all-out elections (with an electoral review enabling new elections by May 2017) and support for new town and parish councils. The panel was to report formally on the council's progress in December 2015.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Alongside the recommendations below the Secretary of State should appoint an independent improvement panel that is able to work with the council to provide the robust challenge and support the council requires. We recommend the Secretary of State invites Lord Warner and Sir Mike Tomlinson to join the panel as ex-officio members. The council should draw up an improvement plan with clear dates for delivery. The independent improvement panel should provide regular updates to the Secretary of State and updates on progress should also be made to the city's residents.
Recommendation 2
It will take some years for Birmingham City Council to address all its problems. However, Birmingham City Council should publish a report setting out how it has implemented our recommendations in December 2015. The independent improvement panel will provide their assessment of this report and on the council's progress in setting a budget for 2016/17 to the Secretary of State.
Recommendation 3
Birmingham City Council's governance needs to be reset in the following ways:
a. the council needs to clarify roles, responsibilities, behaviours and ways of working expected in relation to the of the Leader, Cabinet, councillors Chief Executive and officers. The strategic, executive, independent scrutiny and community roles of members needs to be clearly defined and better supported including with appropriate training. The council also needs to ensure there are shared expectations of capacity, capability and how performance will be measured between members and the senior officer team;
b. Birmingham City Council should develop a simplified planning framework this should flow from the City Plan (see recommendation 8 below). The process and documentation the council will need is set out in chapter 2;
c. in order to achieve strong corporate governance and coordination of the council's required transformation support services such as finance, performance management, Human Resources, IT and property should be managed corporately. The corporate centre should be strengthened to enable this to be done effectively and provide greater support to the Chief Executive and his team. A senior post to lead the economic work of the council should be re-established to effectively carry out this role and at the same time to provide the capacity needed for the Chief Executive to play his corporate leadership role;
d. there should be a programme of culture change that is owned by both members and officers.
a. the council needs to clarify roles, responsibilities, behaviours and ways of working expected in relation to the of the Leader, Cabinet, councillors Chief Executive and officers. The strategic, executive, independent scrutiny and community roles of members needs to be clearly defined and better supported including with appropriate training. The council also needs to ensure there are shared expectations of capacity, capability and how performance will be measured between members and the senior officer team;
b. Birmingham City Council should develop a simplified planning framework this should flow from the City Plan (see recommendation 8 below). The process and documentation the council will need is set out in chapter 2;
c. in order to achieve strong corporate governance and coordination of the council's required transformation support services such as finance, performance management, Human Resources, IT and property should be managed corporately. The corporate centre should be strengthened to enable this to be done effectively and provide greater support to the Chief Executive and his team. A senior post to lead the economic work of the council should be re-established to effectively carry out this role and at the same time to provide the capacity needed for the Chief Executive to play his corporate leadership role;
d. there should be a programme of culture change that is owned by both members and officers.
Recommendation 4
The Secretary of State should move Birmingham City Council to all out elections replacing the current election by thirds. In the interest of effective and convenient local government the Local Government Boundary Commission for England should conduct an Electoral Review, that reflects existing communities, to help the council produce an effective model for representative governance. It should aim to complete its work to enable elections by May 2017.
Recommendation 5
Birmingham City Council needs as a matter of urgency to develop a robust plan for how they are going to manage their finances up to 2018/19 without recourse to further additional funding from central Government. This should:
a. evaluate current policy choice and propose significant further reductions in costs and measures to tackle levels of demand;
b. involve residents and partners;
c. ensure that the council regularly reports on progress to the independent improvement panel.
a. evaluate current policy choice and propose significant further reductions in costs and measures to tackle levels of demand;
b. involve residents and partners;
c. ensure that the council regularly reports on progress to the independent improvement panel.
Recommendation 6
Birmingham City Council should strengthen their Human Resources (HR) function in the following ways:
a. the strategic role of workforce planning and HR should be vested in an existing Cabinet member. The Cabinet should not delegate this role. Members' role in workforce issues, beyond the Cabinet, should be limited to scrutiny, appeals and the appointment of the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors and Directors. The Cabinet should ensure strategic workforce planning supports the council's priorities;
b. the whistleblowing processes that are being put in place in the child safeguarding service should also be mirrored in the councils other services;
c. BCC should appoint a senior person to lead people change and workforce planning. This individual should be responsible for the development of the workforce plan the Leader has stated is needed, revising existing HR policies and, with the corporate leadership team, ensuring these are applied corporately. The workforce plan should be informed by the strategic plan for the future operation and size of the council;
d. as part of the simplification of the overall corporate planning framework, the responsible Cabinet member, Chief Executive and the corporate leadership team should be responsible for delivering the council's priorities by ensuring a clear line of sight from the council's strategic priorities, annual business planning and the performance management system;
e. Lord Warner has highlighted the acute problem in frontline social care. BCC is still relying on too many expensive agency staff. The workforce plan needs to explore if there are similar gaps in other frontline areas and, if so, cover how they will recruit and retain permanent staff.
a. the strategic role of workforce planning and HR should be vested in an existing Cabinet member. The Cabinet should not delegate this role. Members' role in workforce issues, beyond the Cabinet, should be limited to scrutiny, appeals and the appointment of the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors and Directors. The Cabinet should ensure strategic workforce planning supports the council's priorities;
b. the whistleblowing processes that are being put in place in the child safeguarding service should also be mirrored in the councils other services;
c. BCC should appoint a senior person to lead people change and workforce planning. This individual should be responsible for the development of the workforce plan the Leader has stated is needed, revising existing HR policies and, with the corporate leadership team, ensuring these are applied corporately. The workforce plan should be informed by the strategic plan for the future operation and size of the council;
d. as part of the simplification of the overall corporate planning framework, the responsible Cabinet member, Chief Executive and the corporate leadership team should be responsible for delivering the council's priorities by ensuring a clear line of sight from the council's strategic priorities, annual business planning and the performance management system;
e. Lord Warner has highlighted the acute problem in frontline social care. BCC is still relying on too many expensive agency staff. The workforce plan needs to explore if there are similar gaps in other frontline areas and, if so, cover how they will recruit and retain permanent staff.
Recommendation 7
Birmingham City Council should establish a new model for devolution:
a. the council needs to focus on getting basic services right, including getting on with improving children and education services. To do so, services should be organised in the way that is most efficient for that service, where appropriate these services should draw on the quadrant model to help align planning and resources with other agencies (see chapter 1, paragraphs 37-38);
b. the 10 District Committees should not be responsible for delivering services or managing them through Service Level Agreements. Instead, if they are to be retained, they should be refocused on shaping and leading their local areas through influence, representation and independent challenge of all public services located in the District, including those of the council;
c. the Districts should be provided with a modest commissioning budget to purchase additional services that help meet local priorities. Services commissioned will not necessarily need to be managed or provided by the council. They will need to effectively manage their own finances and meetings must be open to the public and outside of the town hall;
d. the number of city-wide Scrutiny Committees should be reviewed in the light of this and potentially reduced to no more than 3;
e. councillors should concentrate on regular, direct engagement with the people and organisations in their wards and role as community leaders.
a. the council needs to focus on getting basic services right, including getting on with improving children and education services. To do so, services should be organised in the way that is most efficient for that service, where appropriate these services should draw on the quadrant model to help align planning and resources with other agencies (see chapter 1, paragraphs 37-38);
b. the 10 District Committees should not be responsible for delivering services or managing them through Service Level Agreements. Instead, if they are to be retained, they should be refocused on shaping and leading their local areas through influence, representation and independent challenge of all public services located in the District, including those of the council;
c. the Districts should be provided with a modest commissioning budget to purchase additional services that help meet local priorities. Services commissioned will not necessarily need to be managed or provided by the council. They will need to effectively manage their own finances and meetings must be open to the public and outside of the town hall;
d. the number of city-wide Scrutiny Committees should be reviewed in the light of this and potentially reduced to no more than 3;
e. councillors should concentrate on regular, direct engagement with the people and organisations in their wards and role as community leaders.
Recommendation 8
The council should facilitate the creation of a new independent Birmingham leadership group. The group should approve the new long-term City Plan and be used to hold all involved in delivery of the plan to account.
Recommendation 9
Birmingham City Council should redefine their partnership approach. They should do this by:
a. producing with their partners a clear statement of their partnership values such as openness, transparency, learning, collaborating, safe and constructive challenge. These should be communicated and applied across the organisation and externally;
b. having a shared clarity about the mission, objectives and purpose of individual partnerships and how they will judge their performance;
c. monitoring, measuring and learning by seeking and acting on feedback on their performance from their partners and being transparent about the results.
a. producing with their partners a clear statement of their partnership values such as openness, transparency, learning, collaborating, safe and constructive challenge. These should be communicated and applied across the organisation and externally;
b. having a shared clarity about the mission, objectives and purpose of individual partnerships and how they will judge their performance;
c. monitoring, measuring and learning by seeking and acting on feedback on their performance from their partners and being transparent about the results.
Recommendation 10
A combined authority governance review based on an authority formed of at least in the initial stage the core functional economic area of Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Solihull should be completed by July 2015. Once this has happened the Government should begin to engage in a dialogue about further devolution. Based on the experience of other combined authorities we recommend that the following proposals should be adopted:
a. wherever possible decisions should be reached by consensus, if a vote is required each member should appoint a single representative and decisions should be taken on the basis of one member one vote;
b. the secretariat should be based outside of Birmingham City Council;
c. the Government wants to see seamless working between Local Enterprise Partnerships and combined authorities. To ensure enterprise retains a strong voice in economic strategy, the chairs of both the Black Country and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnerships should be invited to join the board of the new combined authority.
a. wherever possible decisions should be reached by consensus, if a vote is required each member should appoint a single representative and decisions should be taken on the basis of one member one vote;
b. the secretariat should be based outside of Birmingham City Council;
c. the Government wants to see seamless working between Local Enterprise Partnerships and combined authorities. To ensure enterprise retains a strong voice in economic strategy, the chairs of both the Black Country and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnerships should be invited to join the board of the new combined authority.
Recommendation 11
The Government should support the creation of a new locally-led high powered partnership vehicle focussed on increasing employment and improving skills, starting in the most deprived parts of Birmingham. With an independent chair and involving the Cities and Local Growth Unit, the Department for Work and Pensions with Job Centre Plus, the Skills Funding Agency, Local Enterprise Partnership and Birmingham City Council and other partners, the first step should be to develop an agreed plan including proposals for Government by April 2015, looking at best practice and maximising resources already committed to Birmingham.
No recommendations with this response.