Cheshire East Council receives a Best Value Notice

Cheshire East Council has received a letter from Jim McMahon. Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, issuing the council with a non-statutory Best Value Notice.

Jim McMahon said:

“This means that while the government recognises the steps we are already taking, it requires further assurance of our ongoing improvement and work towards financial sustainability. 

“The letter states that the council is expected to continue leading its own improvement and is requested to engage with the department to provide assurance of progress and respond to the expectations set out in the Notice which are areas we are already aware of and working hard to address.

“We have made significant progress in the last year with a shared understanding of the challenges and putting the building blocks in place for sustainable improvement including the transformation plan, new Cheshire East plan, budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy albeit with the need for Exceptional Financial Support.”

Leader of the council, Councillor Nick Mannion, and Deputy Leader Councillor Michael Gorman, added:

“We are confident in our transformation and improvement plans – while we have set ourselves a challenging agenda, we are making good progress. 

This is reflected in the report from the Local Government Association (LGA) Peer Challenge revisit which we are also able to share today. The report acknowledges the council has delivered against key aspects of their recommendations, while recognising that we know ourselves and the improvements we still need to make."

“The LGA stated: ‘…it is clear that there is a significant appetite and energy for reform from senior political and managerial leaders in the organisation, and that this is linked to a wider ambition for improvement.’

“Ofsted, in their recent monitoring visit report, also recognised positive improvement, stating, ‘There are now robust governance arrangements in place to support oversight of progress in accordance with the revised improvement plan. Political support for the new senior leadership team is strong, and the children’s services budget has been aligned to the new strategic priorities across the service. This investment has resulted in strengthened capacity across the service at a senior and frontline level.”

“We must build on this momentum.  Continuing to drive improvements, delivering what we have committed to, and supporting each other to deliver at the required pace is critical.”

Mr Polkinghorne added:

“We set up our independently chaired assurance panel in August 2024, to support and guide our transformation and improvement activity as part of the sector led improvement offer from the LGA. Work with the panel will be strengthened to ensure we continue to improve.  

“We will also continue to report on our progress to councillors through committees including Finance Sub and Corporate Policy Committees in June and Full Council.”