Independent review
Completed
Westmorland and Furness Council: External assurance review
External assurance review of Westmorland and Furness Council led by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) undertaken in December 2023.
Government Response
MHCLG decides to grant Westmorland and Furness Council Exceptional Financial Support, issuing a capitalisation direction under sections 16(2)(b) and 20 of the Local Government Act 2003 approving up to £11m for 2023-24. No statutory Best Value intervention is imposed; the council does not appear on MHCLG's intervention list.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
The council needs to develop a clear view of the comparative costs of services and comprehensive performance management needs to be addressed in the short term to frame ongoing work that will integrate and improve services.
Recommendation 2
A programme of cost benchmarking will help the council's improvement programme and assist in identifying areas for savings over the MTFP period.
Recommendation 3
The council needs to devote resources to develop performance management not just against the Corporate Plan but also to measure the provision of services that are important to local people.
Recommendation 4
The council should consider a further improvement and integration programme on Sales, Fees and Charges, to ensure that harmonisation increases the net income the council achieves to at least the Unitary council average. This will potentially raise the council £6.03 million additional income for the Council.
Recommendation 5
We recommend that the council ensures the remedial actions in the corporate risk register are sustained and amplified to mitigate the areas of high risk in Adult and Children's Social Care.
Recommendation 6
We would urge the council to ensure it maintains Programme Management resources to manage its integration & improvement programme and support service managers so they can focus on developing services.
Recommendation 7
We would urge the council to continually review the capital programme and to take a realistic view of its capability to deliver the programme for 2024/25, given likely slippage from 2023/24 and inflationary pressures and extra spend requirements. This would identify whether additional resources are needed (either internally or externally) to manage the programme.
Recommendation 8
We would urge the council to progress disposal of assets wherever possible in a phased way to avoid overloading the local market as part of the early development of a comprehensive Asset Management Plan.
No recommendations with this response.