Corporate peer reviews

This is an overarching peer review designed for unitary authorities and county councils. The peer review helps local authorities:

• evaluate their capacity
• demonstrate achievements
• progress towards their ambitions.

It also helps them focus their improvement efforts by measuring themselves against the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) 'ideal council' benchmark.

The review is tailored to meet your council’s needs, focusing on supporting improvement. It explores a cross-section of areas including:

• leadership
• community engagement
• delivering through partnerships
• performance management
• organisational development.

The peer review reflects best practice in the sector and uses up-to-date tools.

A comprehensive report and recommendations are offered as standard with a full review.

We also offer:

• peer challenge
• tailored reviews for your specific needs.

This could include a 'critical friend' challenge of your council's draft self-assessment and key corporate documents. The team is designed to meet your requirements.

The corporate peer review was developed by the Local Government Association (LGA) with the active support of central government and the Audit Commission.

IDeA's corporate peer review has been an important element of sector-led self-improvement for many years. The review is undertaken by a team of accredited member and officer peers with senior management and political leadership experience. They understand the challenges and opportunities of working in the sector and act as 'critical friends', providing supportive challenge throughout the process.

The team compares the council under review against a benchmark of the 'ideal authority' – the corporate peer review benchmark – in order to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

The corporate peer review benchmark has developed and evolved over time. In autumn 2008, in conjunction with the IDeA national advisors, we started a major review to refresh and update the benchmark and the supporting probes and questions. This was to ensure that it took full account of recent legislative and regulatory changes affecting local government and latest good practice. This includes:

• strengthened focus on community engagement and empowerment
• emphasis on delivering through partnership working
• resource management based around the new key lines of enquiry (KLOE) for Use of Resources, including efficiency, securing value for money, asset management and use of natural resources
• organisational development and people, including workforce planning and engagement and decision-making processes, including recent developments in scrutiny
• increased focus on equality and diversity issues.

As well as providing the basis for IDeA peer review, the benchmark and probes provide a useful tool that councils can use for themselves to measure their performance and progress over time.

The latest version of the corporate peer review benchmark and probes are:

• Corporate peer review benchmark (PDF, 35 pages, 1.1MB large file)
• Corporate peer review benchmark probes (PDF, 23 pages, 532KB)
  

We have also developed a work programme, including peer challenge, to support councils and their partners on comprehensive area assessment (CAA). This follows our success in working with the sector to help council’s prepare for corporate assessment under comprehensive performance assessment (CPA).

Comprehensive area assessment

Corporate peer review programme: update report

This report provides an update on the corporate peer review programme assessing the impact it is having on the council’s receiving peer reviews. It highlights how the programme is responding to the key issues at the forefront of local government.

Also, the report considers feedback from chief executives and other council contacts.The feedback IDeA has received for the quality and impact of its corporate peer review work has been highly positive. The satisfaction rating among chief executives is high, with 91 per cent of chief executives ‘satisfied’ or ‘highly satisfied’ with their IDeA corporate peer review.

Impact and evaluation: corporate peer review programme (PDF, 6 pages, 107KB)

Why councils chose the IDeA

Steve Atkinson, Chief Executive at Hinckley and Bosworth Council, said:

“Two reasons really – in preparation for our corporate assessment and to assist in our change programme. It was the IDeA because of their reputation on peer review.”

Graham Burgess, Chief Executive at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:

“We wanted to benchmark our performance and prepare for the CPA… we chose the IDeA as we had a good experience of them in the past. The IDeA are well respected in the sector.”

Recent corporate peer reviews

Client feedback

Eighty-five per cent of chief executives ‘strongly agree’ that IDeA corporate peer reviews provide good value for money.

Ninety-one per cent of chief executives were ‘satisfied’ or ‘highly satisfied’ with their IDeA corporate peer review.
 
Overall, 95 per cent of chief executive’s said that they would recommend the IDeA to other councils considering a peer review.

Roger Taylor, Interim Chief Executive at London Borough of Waltham Forest, said:

"...it did completely meet our objectives – it was a very intelligent, competent team. It offered constructive criticism and raised issues that we did not pick up on."

Ged Fitzgerald, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council, said:

"It has provided us with a good health check in advance of our forthcoming CPA corporate assessment. The way in which you and your team of peers approached the review meant that the experience was a positive one for all of us who were involved."

Julian Wain, Chief Executive of Gloucester City Council, said:

"Significant impact: it has given us a significant impetus. There is now evidence to support change... it helped us measure progress."

IDeA corporate peer reviews are achieving success and meeting objectives

Keith Ross, Leader at West Somerset District Council, said:

“...it was successful, the peer review identified certain strengths and weaknesses and gave us the legitimacy to change.”

Joanna Simons, Chief Executive  at Oxfordshire County Council, said:

“Very successful. The objective was to make sure that we were prepared for the corporate assessment.”

The impact of the peer review on the council’s improvement activity

Kevin Crompton, Chief Executive at Luton Borough Council, said:

“Peer review was made the subject of a report to the executive with an action plan. There was extensive feedback to staff.”

Jeremy Jaroszek, Chief Executive at Erewash Borough Council, said:

“...we put in place proper preparation for CPA and project planning. We cascaded the information to all staff and… engaged members about the report… we used the report and verbal feedback to identify gaps, used it as a gap analysis.”

Sheila Healey, Chief Executive at Cornwall County Council, said:

“The objectives were to prepare for the corporate assessment next year and identify areas of improvement. Overall the objectives have been met… the peer review has been good in helping us realise what we have to do.” 

Further details

Contact the IDeA Regional Associate in your area

District peer reviews

Page published June 2009.