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Harlow Council publishes findings of Local Government report

News / Fri 26th May 2023 at 06:42am

ENSURING the voice of residents is considered, improving relationships, and developing a joined-up vision for the town are among findings for Harlow Council to implement following a Local Government Association (LGA) corporate peer challenge the council commissioned of itself earlier this year. 

The council commissioned LGA peer challenge took place in March 2023. The final report from the challenge received this week has been published by the council at https://www.harlow.gov.uk/your-council/peer-reviews

The report noted that: “The Leader and political colleagues deserve huge credit for commissioning the peer challenge, which should come to represent a seminal moment for the organisation.”

The report will be discussed in full by the council’s cabinet in June along with a view to agreeing an action plan.

LGA corporate peer challenges are voluntary and are not inspections. They are improvement focussed and designed to meet individual councils’ needs. Harlow Council last had a corporate peer challenge in 2014.

The challenge in March involved officers and councillors from other councils and LGA advisers talking to 130 people including staff, councillors, and external partner organisations about how the council works and performs.  

The key elements of the housing agenda in Harlow were also considered to help inform thinking around areas such as performance and contract management, and priorities for council housing repairs and maintenance.

The challenge was commissioned by the Leader of Harlow Council, Councillor Russell Perrin. He said:

“I would like to thank the LGA and the peer review team for taking time to visit Harlow in March to carry out the peer challenge, and I thank all those who took part. Modern councils are constantly learning from others and externally reviewing what they do to ensure they provide the best services and leadership and that they are continuously improving.

“The findings and recommendations will allow a strong action plan to be created to build on the work that has already been done and to improve the council further.”

“The report found that Harlow has massive ambitions, potential and opportunities as a place. It also recognises that the administration has clear ambitions like regenerating the town centre and the town’s estates and building council homes and keeping Council Tax low. The report provides recommendations which will help us to continue to deliver our ambitions.

“The report also provides helpful suggestions on how the council can improve its internal and external relationships, which are going to be key now and in the future.

Andrew Bramidge, Harlow Council’s Chief Executive, said: 

“Undertaking this external challenge is an important part in changing the way the council looks at how it works and what it does. We need to look outside the organisation, not just internally, so that we are always considering the needs and priorities of our residents and working with our partners. The final report provides an open and honest assessment of where we are and what we need to do, and I welcome the constructive engagement that we had with the LGA team on this report.”

“We now have a clear baseline to move us forward positively, with councillors and council staff all working together to the same priorities so we can lead this town to greater success.”

Within the report it highlights that the voice of the resident feels very quiet in the council’s considerations and that the council should actively engage with residents to inform its decision making. The community engagement strategy agreed in 2022 will help with this. A recent communications peer review also recommends a residents’ survey is commissioned to determine local people’s views of the council.

Amongst the key recommendations in the peer challenge report are:

  • By December 2023, develop a new Corporate Strategy, along with a refreshed Medium Term Financial Plan, and underpin it with a delivery plan.
  • Develop jointly, with all stakeholders, a vision and narrative of place for Harlow. 
  • Increase external engagement with partners – ensuring the council is appropriately represented at the key tables going forward and is seen as a willing partner that delivers. 
  • Consider how to respond to what is seen as the time being ripe for structural change at the Senior Management Board level. 
  • Position the council to take informed decisions by drawing on appropriate evidence bases and then use this to inform the development of key strategies. 
  • Complete the devising of a new set of performance measures and ensure comparison data from other councils is embedded into performance reporting. 
  • Ensure the findings from external reviews are consistently translated into action, with clear accountabilities and rigorous monitoring of progress.
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15 Comments for Harlow Council publishes findings of Local Government report:

Nostradamus
2023-05-26 07:39:55

Quite clearly the total failure on A: " that the voice of the resident feels very quiet in the council’s considerations " is resoundingly evident and nothing changes, as can be seen because the Council hasn't a clue on how to B: " actively engage with residents to inform its decision making. " and guarantees that C :The community engagement strategy agreed in 2022" has similarly failed. Furthermore the "recent communications peer review" recommending that " a residents’ survey is commissioned to determine local people’s views of the council." has already fallen because there has been no change. Even the latest "consultation" on the town centre referred to in Y H earlier in the week by Cllr Hardware is extremely badly structured and inaccessible, effectively saying "plough through two massive documentation with coded references to other equally obstuce lengthy and coded documents and send us an email" If one takes time to do do this it's clear that the main decisions have already been made and even basic assumptions made about what people want. In this particular case it's clear thar the decisions to overload the town centre with 8 and 16 story residential buildings (that'll also make the town centre extremely windy) and to hand the PAH site over to private property developers have been made. The strategy means that whilst supposedly trying establish high quality retail the plan is to move the considerable population and footfall in the town centre that are the PAH staff, outpatients & visitors and so take away a potentially high baseline of trade. It's very clear the Council doesn't want to consult because both Labour and Conservatives are pursuing their own misguided "we know best" agendas, consultation would potentially threaten their illusions. Even when the residents get together, campaign to SAVE OUR STORT and 6000 sign a petition the Council first refused to allow it to be handed in and then took not a jot of notice even when our MP told them to "go back to the drawing board". No wonder people have no faith in the Council and the quality of life and the environment continue to go downhill as they have done for decades in Harlow.

gary roberts
2023-05-26 07:53:40

To have a community engagement strategy you firstly have to engage with the community: obvious but true. In 2022 when did that happen? It never happened and despite the warm words it wont happen given the closure of every local council office in Harlow. Another tick-box exercise to satisfy no-one other than the council.

Theman
2023-05-26 07:55:52

And how much did us taxpayers pay for this nonsense!

Wil Overton
2023-05-26 07:58:18

Crikey, what a load of middle-management waffle that means next to nothing to most people (and probably many in the council itself). If you need a report to tell you that 'positioning the council to take informed decisions by drawing appropriate evidence' is something you need to be doing then I dread to think what's been going on up until now.

Wil
2023-05-26 07:58:47

Crikey, what a load of middle-management waffle that means next to nothing to most people (and probably many in the council itself). If you need a report to tell you that 'positioning the council to take informed decisions by drawing appropriate evidence' is something you need to be doing then I dread to think what's been going on up until now.

Wil Overton
2023-05-26 07:59:31

Sorry, double post. Maybe I need a consultation on how to leave a comment.

Kim Oconnor
2023-05-26 10:16:05

😂 😂 Sorry made me laugh. Nosradamus is spot on again. This council did not want to see frends of Latton lsland, save our stort campaigner s. So please don't talk nonsense, please.

Harlow Gooner
2023-05-26 13:00:42

re: ENSURING the voice of residents is considered, improving relationships, ... Well, her at 149 said to her at 142, that she (149) was glad that so and so lost her baby and then 142 punched 149. Turns out 142 and so and so are related. Oops.

Peter
2023-05-26 13:01:59

In many peoples minds 'the Council' generally refers to Harlow District Council. May I point out that Essex County Council take 75% of our Council tax but rerely listern to taxpayers concerns, avoiding real issues year after year. To reach E C C correctly on the internet is often difficult - maybe even on purpose? I consider E C C need urgent changes in their management - Councillors and senior staff. Councillors probably say they are in charge, but could it be that in reality it is highly paid staff (with many salaries above any average) running the "service" to suit themselves? - for whatever reason. What does our hard working (yes that is correct) MP think of E C C ? If only more of his colleagues worked as hard!

gary roberts
2023-05-26 14:14:06

"What does our hard working (yes that is correct) MP think of E C C ? If only more of his colleagues worked as hard!" I nearly smiled at that statement. Is it hard to smile at a camera or spout BS in the media? What has the MP done for this town in the last thirteen years? This town is in a mess and the people still find it difficult to eat or heat resulting in food banks and warm banks. In a rich country like the UK that is disgusting isn't it?

Gooner
2023-05-26 17:01:23

Done nothing this to me , many times asked for help, live in Fitzwilliam court church gate for people with disabilities never no help at all

Brian
2023-05-26 18:22:26

Why do comments disappear? I read about Councillor Nick Churchill being reported to the police for making up evidence to get a Harlow man a police warning, then it was removed. I have been following this story for a year or more.

Nick Gunning
2023-05-26 19:36:01

There aren't 'warm banks' because the focus was libraries, and they're shut half the time. Road and pavement surfaces are becoming dangerous. I had an accident on one, reported it and have heard nothing since. I don't know why more disabled people haven't been injured. The plan to move the hospital three miles from the town centre and next to the motorway is an economic disaster for 'The High' and a health hazard for those who work there (WHO report last year on the danger of traffic fumes, for example, to expectant mothers. People may reasonably suspect the real motives behind this plan. Then there's the blatantly misleading position on Council Tax, a leaf they took out of tory councils in the 80s. You convince people that you've 'frozen the council tax' - but, of course, 75% of the tax goes to ECC, police and other services, and that has been increased by the maximum. Much of the need to cutback seems to arise from having given contracts to friends without proper scrutiny. If they listened, they'd hear that there are many residents with poor mobility who resent their closing most of the public toilets. Then the warm places advice in a fuel crisis suggested travelling on buses- they're well up to Arriva's usual standard: late, random cancellations and cuts to routes. And the Bus Station- kept at sub zero temperatures because the design is a failure and its poorly maintained. And for those who are dependent on senior passes, the hours restrictions make them worthless. A more comprehensive investigation would sit m show that the council is a triumph of gimmicks and corporate speech over reality.

Alan Jeffries
2023-05-26 19:46:10

What mantence none carried out inside and outside the block of flats were I live

Panny
2023-05-27 12:04:34

I don't think hardly anyone recognises the content summary as Harlow! Wasted money that could fill in potholes on roads and cycle tracks Why? Does it pave the way to waste more money? Why?

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