High staff turnover and a “lack of strategic momentum” are hindering progress in resolving Slough B.C.’s problems, commissioners warned.
In their fourth report to the government, commissioners said it was clear that the council “takes its position seriously and is working to recover” but that it remains “fragile” as an organization. Ta.
The team said the council issued a section 114 notice in July 2021 after racking up £760m of debt, but was still a long way from meeting its best value obligations.
“The lack of strategic momentum and overall pace calls into question the strength of leadership within the organization at this pivotal time and indicates that government intervention will be required after the current intervention schedule. ”, the report states.
The intervention is currently scheduled to last until November. Ministers today asked commissioners to submit a further report by the end of April on a more detailed assessment of the council’s progress and an estimated timetable for when the council will be able to meet its mandate to deliver best value. Ta.
The report, sent to ministers last month and published today, said the “amount of turnover at leadership level within the organization” was due to “leadership culture being cited as a reason for some departures”. ing.
Prior to the issuance of the section 114 notice, Slough embarked on a major reorganization that the commissioner previously described as “disjointed” after making its entire team of key staff redundant.
In their latest report, commissioners led by Essex CC chief executive Gavin Jones criticized the council for failing to agree a future operating model, saying the council had not yet made progress on implementing its culture change programme. “We continue to avoid it,” he said.
They said that although engagement events were welcomed by staff, “morale remains low and we feel that difficult questions from staff are often ignored”.
Commissioners said the senior executive team needed to “demonstrate more confidence in tackling organizational issues”, including adding more staff to the office to “create a greater sense of urgency” and creating opportunities for collaboration. said.
It also “strongly encouraged” senior leadership teams to engage in self- and team development to ensure they embody the organizational behaviors they desire.
The report said: “Many members described the behavior of some leaders as ‘high challenge, low support’ and were also concerned that this was reflected in the relatively high turnover of staff. ” he said.
After last year’s election, the Conservative Party became the largest party in County Slough and formed a government with support from the Liberal Democrats. The committee members said that although many of the members were “inexperienced,” the administration had “landed well” with the support of the Local Government Association.
However, the report said fiscal sustainability remained the council’s biggest challenge and many of the choices facing councilors were “unacceptable”.
Commissioners said directors and commissioners had “worked well” to set a balanced budget for 2024-25, but the balance sheet remains at risk because the accounts for the past four years have not been audited. .
Slough plans to sell key assets to rebalance its books, with the aim of raising £400m by March 31st. Last year, the company reportedly sold the Akzo Nobel paint maker’s headquarters for around £144m, after purchasing it for £38m in February 2021.
However, members said the second stage of the asset disposal program was likely to be more difficult as it would involve selling some of the council’s operating assets in a difficult economic climate.
The council plans to draw down £6m of its reserves over the next three years and seek exceptional support of £52m through a capitalization direction, with a further £6.2m in 2027-2018. It is expected that capital of 1,000 pounds will be required. This is on top of the £307m of capital already provided.
Chief Executive Stephen Brown, who joined the council in 2022, said: “We have come a long way since our first intervention and I am pleased that the Commissioner’s letter signals some progress, particularly in child social care and remittance services.”Procurement, Contract Management and Finance plan.
“However, I also believe that very real challenges have been highlighted, and we remain focused on achieving financial stability, addressing organizational culture issues, and accelerating the overall pace of progress.” We also recognize that this is absolutely necessary.
“We recognize that improvement in these difficult circumstances is never linear and there are ongoing challenges and opportunities for improvement.”
Council Leader Dexter Smith (R) said: “I appreciate the continued support of the committee members and was personally pleased to read their positive comments about the new administration.