Peterborough City Council set to discuss financial action plan following budget cuts

The development of an Improvement Plan is one of a number of actions the council has swiftly progressed following a review of its governance and finances by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Charted Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Both reviews made a number of important recommendations to support the council in its journey to financial sustainability. In response to these reports, published last month, the council committed to strong and decisive action to meet its financial challenge and confirmed that it would not be requesting any further ‘exceptional support’ from Government in the current financial year (2021/22).

The Improvement Plan sets out how the council will move towards a stable financial footing, while still providing the quality statutory and day-to-day services that residents need.

It follows three important themes:

Financial Sustainability. The recovery and improvement of Peterborough relies on us setting a balanced budget for 2022/23. This will mean taking bold decisions to turn off spending in areas that are no longer core or the council can’t afford as we constantly challenge ourselves on how we spend every penny.

Service Reviews. The council needs to urgently review its key services including contracts and assets. The reviews will generate options and recommendations for doing things differently.

Governance and Culture: We will refresh our Corporate Strategy and key policies so the council’s spending plans line up with the outcomes it needs to achieve

At the meeting next Thursday (16 December), Members will be asked to approve the Improvement Plan as well as:

Appointing an Independent Improvement and Assurance Panel. The membership of this panel will offer a wide range of experience and skills from across the sector. The panel will provide external advice, challenge and expertise to the council in driving forward the development and delivery of the plan and will also provide feedback and assurance to Full Council and the Secretary of State on the progress being made.

Approving a new draft Corporate Strategy for public consultation. This strategy will be developed in two parts. Part one will focus on achieving financial sustainability by 2023/24 and the delivery of core/statutory service. Part two will be developed during the first half of 2022 and will set the longer-term ambition and vision for the council and city.

Starting the process to appoint an Independent Chair and two Independent Members to the Audit Committee to improve its ability to effectively scrutinise and challenge the council’s financial decisions, governance and procedures.

Councilor Wayne Fitzgerald, Leader of Peterborough City Council, said: “The actions that Members will be asked to approve next week will allow us to progress at pace with the recommendations made by CIPFA and DLUHC and show Government that we are taking our severe financial situation seriously.

“To achieve this, we will focus our efforts on setting a balanced budget for 2022/23 and beyond, making difficult decisions about stopping or pausing spending in areas that we can no longer afford.

“We will review all our assets and only keep those which make good business sense and review our capital programme to reduce our borrowing costs. We will examine all our contracts to determine whether they are of vital importance for the running of our services and will be challenging all our service areas to determine how we could do things differently and save money.

“Fundamentally, we need to stop doing what is no longer vital and doesn’t add value, because we cannot afford it. We need to achieve financial stability so we can continue to deliver the right sort of essential services for those that need them in an efficient, cost effective and sustainable way.”

Councillor Andy Coles, cabinet member for finance, said: “The Independent Improvement and Assurance Panel will be a key element of our Improvement Plan, holding the council to account and reassuring Government that we are progressing at pace. The experience and skills that the membership of this panel will provide will be crucial.

“The size and scale of the challenge ahead of us is significant and will test us all, but working constructively with the Government, our partners, and the people of Peterborough, we are confident, that with the actions set out in this Improvement Plan, we will successfully deliver the fundamental changes needed for the council.”

The governance review also recommended that the council consider moving to all out elections every four years as opposed to the current three out of four system. A separate report on this will go before Full Council in 2022.

Adverts to recruit to the Audit roles will be published after the meeting next week if Members approve, with Full Council to be asked to approve appointments at its meeting in January.

A public consultation on the draft Corporate Strategy will begin shortly.

Members of the public can also watch the meeting live on the council’s YouTube channel from 6pm on December 16.