Shepway: counselling the councillors

Summary

Six years ago, Shepway District Council was in a mess. It was dipping into its reserves and councillors were at loggerheads with each other and with officers. But it has now been turned around and in 2008 was awarded a ‘good’ rating in its comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) report after developing the skills of councillors and revamping its internal structures.

Background

Located on the southeast coast of Kent, the district of Shepway covers a population of almost 100,000 people.

While the district does not have a high level of deprivation overall, it does contain pockets of acute disadvantage. Areas such as Folkestone and Romney Marsh suffer from low levels of skills and income.

Politically, the council, which employs just over 500 staff, has had a turbulent recent history.

The Liberal Democrats won control from the Conservatives in the 2003 election, but split shortly after a critical CPA report in 2004. The council became hung and a coalition administration was formed by the Conservatives and People First, a group created by members who had left the Lib Dem group.

The Conservatives then won enough seats for outright control at the last election.

Problems facing the council

There is always a multitude of reasons for failure, but in the case of Shepway one stands out above all others – the behaviour of councillors.

The 2004 CPA report, which rated the council as ‘weak’, was clear Shepway had been undermined by the "poor relationship" between councillors, and between councillors and officers.

The regulator said the problems meant no clear long-term ambition had been set out. A desperate financial position had led to the council having to withdraw money from its reserves.

The situation probably reached an all-time low the year before when several councillors were referred to the Standards Board for England over allegations of bullying. Although the allegations were not upheld, the very fact it had got that far acted – along with the CPA report – as a watershed for the council.

What the council did

Members from all sides agreed the internal tensions needed to be resolved. A councillor-officer protocol was drawn up to set out some boundaries, and regular monthly briefings were introduced.

These steps were all put in place before the CPA report was actually published. This allowed the council to start reshaping its structures and refreshing its long-term strategies soon after receiving its ‘weak’ rating.

A new chief executive was appointed in November 2004 and the next tier of senior management was slimmed down to three directors.

There was a renewed focus on performance management to address what the regulator had said were "major weaknesses". Both members and officers were instructed to challenge under-performance more.

The council also set out six new priorities for improvement:

• district appearance
• customer services
• benefits performance
• regeneration
• finances
• leisure and culture opportunities.

The local strategic partnership (LSP) was refreshed in 2005 and then two years later a new community plan was launched.

The council has also sought to access external funding streams to invest in the area. Thanks to a unique partnership with French local government officials it has been extremely successful.

Shepway and Boulogne have set up a company called Bosco to bid for EU money. In the last three years the association has secured £5 million of funding, which has been ploughed into a variety of schemes including youth programmes, schools and road improvements.

More recently, the council has been developing shared services in areas such as human resources (HR), payroll, waste and legal services under a joint arrangement with Canterbury, Thanet and Dover councils. Over the next five years, the partnership is expected to save £2.5 million across the four local authorities in HR alone.

Council Leader Robert Bliss says:

"We were in desperate need of strong political leadership. Members, on all sides I would add, just did not known how to conduct themselves and that is not good for the running of a council.

"Officers want and need a steer and together with the new top team I think the council now has good and clear direction."

What the sector did to support the council

The improvement drive has required the council to turn to external groups for support. The entire cabinet and members of the opposition have been through the three-module Leadership Academy course run by Local Government Improvement and Development (formerly the IDeA). LG Improvement and Development  also ran various mentoring and coaching sessions with members.

Indeed, the concept of training and development is so entrenched now that a regular newsletter is sent round setting out what training – in-house and external – is available.

The council also brought in external consultants to work with the planning and benefits teams, which was funded by money from the Government Office for the South East.

Councillor Bliss says:

"Developing member skills is something that has traditionally been ignored not just here but elsewhere. But we have learnt that it is invaluable. The Leadership Academy in particular was extremely helpful to many of us."

Outcomes for the council and its citizens

The council is now on a much firmer footing. The latest CPA report in 2008 gave Shepway a ‘good’ rating, saying it now had clear and realistic ambitions and corporate priorities.

Crucially, councillor relationships have improved to such an extent that the Audit Commission described them as “good”.

Performance has been getting better, particularly in areas such as recycling, street cleanliness and benefits. In total, half of performance indicators have improved in the past year.

The council’s reserves are being increased and by 2012 should top the target of £1.5 million. Shepway is also on course to hit decent homes and affordable housing targets.

In what is always a sure sign of well-run organisation, the council has been praised for its response to an emergency. In 2007, officials helped coordinate and re-house scores of households which were affected by an earthquake that hit the Kent coast.

Plans for the future

The council readily acknowledges it has some way to go on improving services.

While performance is heading in the right direction, the council is still below the national average with just a fifth of indicators in the top quartile.

Councillor Bliss says:

“We are working hard to get better. I think we have the right structures in place now and I am sure we will see performance improve.”

But he also highlighted regeneration of the most deprived areas as a key priority in the coming years.

Some of this has already started. Folkestone, for example, has benefited from the opening of the Bouverie Place shopping centre in 2007, which created more than 1,000 jobs. A major investment in the old high street is also in the pipeline to create a creative quarter for the arts, culture and media industries.

Meanwhile, in Romney Marsh the council is supporting the Romney Resource Centre, which has been praised for its active role it has taken to providing training and employment advice to the local community.

Bliss says if continued progress is to be made external investment is going to be essential.

“We are not swimming in money so we know we have to attract investment. I think we have a good track record on this as Bosco shows. The secret is to focus on the most appropriate funding streams and prepare your bids well. You can’t just go asking for funds from everywhere.”

Key lessons for other councils

• Invest in member development and training: they are too often overlooked.
• Set clear boundaries between members and officers: both need to know where they stand.
• Look to access external funding streams, but take time to prepare your bids.
• Make sure the whole organisation is clear about what its priorities are and what the leadership wants.
• Work in partnership: shared services can save money, especially for smaller councils.

Contact

Robert Bliss, Council Leader
telephone: 01303 853 203
email: robert.bliss@shepway.gov.uk

Article published April 2009.
Page updated October 2010.