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 helps them focus improvement effort 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 issues such as leadership, democratic engagement and performance management.

The review reflects the most up-to-date best practice tools in the sector. Reviews can also be carried out using the Audit Commission’s Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE), where councils wish.

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

We also offer:

• peer challenge (benchmark or KLOE)
• tailored reviews for your specific needs.

This could include a 'critical friend' challenge of your council's draft self-assessment and key corporate documents. This is combined with mock interviews to simulate the inspection process, and coaching and or feedback on how best to prepare for external assessment. 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.

The review teams make use of the most up-to-date tools for corporate and district peer reviews and challenges. Our review guidance and benchmark is being updated to reflect the challenges of the new performance framework.

We are currently developing approaches, including peer challenge, to support councils and their partners to respond to 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).

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