Wirral Council needs to prioritise budget delivery and avoid over complication an investigation into its new governance system has found.
After moving to a committee system in September 2020 from its cabinet and leader model, the council approached the Local Government Association (LGA) to give a view on whether the system is working effectively, and to support improvement. A report was compiled following visits in November and December 2021, that found a need for budget issues to be prioritised and the number of committees be reduced.
The LGA found given the financial context of the council, including being one of a number of authorities to request exceptional financial support during the covid-19 pandemic, “there is a need for committees to prioritise issues most relevant to budget delivery, including prioritising these issues within agendas and reports.” In addition, there was “widespread recognition and agreement” that there was a need to reduce the number of committees as the existing seven “creates challenges of coordination and increases the risk of fragmentation.”
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A report from the LGA said: “During each respective discussion with political groups, participants were asked to describe how the committee system of the council currently felt from their perspective. Through this question we heard positive replies such as ‘inclusive’, ‘democratic’ and ‘participatory’, highlighting the engaging and open aspects of the system that exist.
“However, this question also received responses including ‘duplication’, ‘overcomplicated’ and ‘workload’ highlighting some of the frustrations which were raised regarding the repetition that exists within the system and some of the challenges that are created regarding timeliness of decision making. This tension between inclusion and pace is a natural challenge that exists and requires further consideration as the Council moves forwards.”
In a bid to resolve the matters raised by the LGA, Wirral Council has issued its response, including how it will work to reduce the number of committees. It said: “The adoption of a revised constitution in May 2022 saw the dissolution of the housing committee, partnerships committee, and the decision review committee.
“The process for ‘dissent’ was also removed and replaced by the opportunity for the policy and resources committee to ‘reconsider’ decisions made by the policy and services committee.” It has also committed to reviewing the system during this municipal year.
In terms of addressing the finance issues, the council has arranged to hold frequent meetings of its sub committee and its budgeting process for the next financial year has already been agreed with interaction across three relevant committees. The response to the LGA report will be debated by its constitution and standards committee next Thursday.
