Leader hails council improvements amid government assurances notice
The leader of Dudley Council today set down a “cast iron” guarantee that the authority will continue its upward curve after the government formally asked for assurances on improvements.
In recent months the council has set a balanced budget and is currently recruiting a new senior leadership team to continue to drive improvements.
An improvement plan is also well underway to drive the ongoing measures in place at the council which has already set a balanced five-year budget through cross-party working.
Today, Dudley Council received a non-statutory Best Value Notice from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is a supportive measure to encourage the authority to continue to demonstrate these improvements.
The notice is not-statutory but does ask the council to clearly show how it has improved.
Councillor Patrick Harley leader of the council, said:
“The improvements we have made over a short period of time are incredible and I very much welcome the best value notice as an opportunity to outline that to the government. It will allow us to give that cast iron guarantee that we are already far down the track and will continue to improve.
“From the very beginning we have welcomed scrutiny as part of a fresh start and this notice adds to that.
“We recognise that there is still more work to do and we will approach that with the same drive as we have with our successes to date.”
The council has seen rapid improvements in its finance and governance arrangements following critical reports from the Local Government Association and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
Over recent months the council’s improved financial and governance arrangements have avoided the authority declaring itself bankrupt, referred to as a section 114 notice.
It also introduced spending controls including value for money panels and a recruitment freeze to tighten control over its finances, which has led to a £16million underspend in the year ending March 2025.
A major consultation on a 10 year borough vision and council plan has been agreed for 2026 to refocus priorities while elected member training has been improved and there are plans to re-write the council’s constitution to create a more modern, innovative authority
The final post in the senior leadership redesign will be filled by the summer.
Councillor Harley added: “So far we have set a balanced budget which stops any more talk of potential financial crisis and we are welcoming the first new faces in a new-look senior management team to build on the improvements we have already achieved.
“We held a mirror up to ourselves from the criticism and have come out the other side much stronger and on a much firmer footing.”
Under the rules of a non-statutory best value notice the government can ask for further information about an improvement plan, with Dudley’s already in action. Officials can also ask for progress on the plan