Minister “reassured” by improvements at borough council
A local government minister has said she is "reassured" by Woking Borough Council's commitment to achieving the objectives set out by its Commissioners and which will see a radical overhaul of the local authority's operation, but has echoed concerns about the council's capacity to deliver change.
Responding to the Commissioners' fourth report – which was handed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government in December 2024 but made public today (6 March) – Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government, wrote: "I share your concerns about the capacity of the council to deliver this programme of change and encourage you to work with the council and the Ministry to consider how we can best enable the council to improve, for the benefit of residents."
The Commissioners at Woking Borough Council, who are led by Sir Tony Redmond, said they were "encouraged" by improvements at the council in the report, which include strengthened procurement practices and improvements in company governance.
But they said capacity issues in finances and accounts at the organisation could "be an obstacle to progress".
On governance, commissioners said they had seen a commitment amongst members and officers "to observe the protocol that underpins the fulfilment of their respective roles".
However, the report noted that continuous monitoring of this process is essential to emphasise the "critical importance of robust governance to avoid any recurrence of past failures".
Elsewhere on governance, the report said that the commissioning of services and procurement has now been reviewed, and the underlying contractual arrangement has been strengthened.
However, the report said concerns about the commissioning of services remain, specifically regarding consistency in the approach to determining the articulation and specifications of services.
Turning to Woking's companies, the report said that the governance of the companies, both internally and by the council, "was previously insufficient, resulting in weak oversight and limited reporting".
A Shareholder Executive Committee (SEC) was created in May 2024 to address these issues, which meets monthly to evaluate company performance and accountability.
According to the Commissioners, these meetings have helped strengthen internal governance standards across the board.
On restructuring company management, the report said Woking's companies previously lacked direction and oversight.
New chairs were recruited for two companies in April 2024, "bringing in experienced non-executive directors (NEDs) thereafter, to rebuild the boards and 10 foster effective governance", the report said.
Additionally, a turnaround specialist was appointed in September 2024 to review compliance in two of the largest companies, addressing long-standing management issues, improving reporting standards together with further strengthening of the company boards.
Turning to the council's management of risk, the report said that historically management of risk had been "very unsatisfactory".
It added: "Since the adoption of the Improvement and Recovery Plan, the council is making significant steps to effect a fundamental change in the way risk is now reflected in the council's business."
The concept of risk has been reviewed, the discipline of 'Red/Amber/Green' ratings reinforced and embedding of sound and robust risk management in the organisation is underway, according to the report.
The report added that attitudes and behaviours of the workforce are also changing.
"This must continue at pace, as the organisation moves from an historic culture where challenge was not welcomed to one where staff are both aware of their individual roles in managing risk and confident to challenge poor practice as they see it, in support of achieving Best Value", it said.
"Given the recent history of Woking BC's failings, the importance of this issue must be afforded the highest priority."
Financial data is also an area of concern for the Commissioners, who noted that it could not "be underestimated how poor the information was at the point the intervention started without even the most basic financial controls of a balanced ledger in place".
On this point, the report said that while a lot of progress has been made, "there remain concerns about the integrity of the underlying data".
In a concluding note, the Commissioners said that while governance is progressing and finance has improved in part, "the historic debt issue remains unresolved".
It added that company governance, practices and future approach "are moving in the right direction, albeit more slowly than we would ideally like".
Housing issues are "recognised but much remains to be done relating to the long-term investment programme and the management of a balanced [Housing Revenue Account]".
The report continued: "The underlying culture of the organisation is now being tackled in the context of transformation."
In overall terms, the Commissioners said they were "encouraged by the council's commitment to achieve the objectives set to radically overhaul the council's operation".
The Commissioners set out a list of priorities for the council over the next six months, which includes the continuation of developing and delivering the council's governance framework.
In addition, they want the council to embed the concept of risk and risk management in the council's operation and delivery of services, as well as develop and deliver its asset rationalisation and debt reduction plan.
Elsewhere, the Commissioners called on the council to build financial capacity and skills with a permanent staffing structure, deliver its medium-term financial plan and budget for 2025/26, deliver a balanced housing revenue account budget and develop and review proposals for the future of wholly owned companies and the assets they own.
In her letter Baroness Taylor also said that the Government had been clear with councils in Surrey that the Commissioners have "a vital role, not only in supporting Woking to continue to improve, but also in responding to the invitation to all principal authorities in Surrey to provide proposals for local government reorganisation, to ensure that
proposals are robust".
In January the leader of Surrey County Council suggested that local authority debts should be written off as part of local government reorganisation. Woking Borough Council, which is among 12 of the councils in Surrey, is reported to have around £2.1bn in debt.
Adam Carey
