City council showing “steady progress” but still has work to do on member

Writing in their third report on the council since being appointed in 2022, Commissioners Tony McArdle, Margaret Lee and Sharon Kemp said the council “still makes mistakes”, and that some officers are "wary" over presenting members with bad news.

They reported that the council is making progress in delivering an 'Improvement Plan' which is focused on strategic direction, financial sustainability, and operational effectiveness - and said the council's governance arrangements supporting the plan are "sound".

"As the council embeds these changes, its approach is becoming more sophisticated, and early signs of a shift toward building-in the methodology of continuous improvement are emerging, particularly in relation to systems and processes, but with more to do to become a truly learning organisation and to change as a result of that learning," the report said.

Commissioners meanwhile noted that the local authority still has work to do on member-officer relationships.

Their report, which was delivered to Government in August 2025 and made public on Friday (21 November), said: "The difficulties that the council has experienced and which precipitated the intervention evolved over a prolonged period of time.

“Some behaviours, particularly in the interactions between members and officers, were not those which are found in successful councils, and a constrained operating culture had developed which the council fully recognises must change.

"Such change is indeed taking place across the organisation, and to good effect, but in respect of the most senior leadership our last letter specifically referred to the continuing need to build ‘understanding, trust and coherence amongst the new cohort’ of political and managerial leaders.”

It added: "We drew specific attention to the requirement for ‘more consistent collegiate behaviours over the coming months to demonstrate that mature working relationships are being established between leadership and officers.

“This remains an area of work in progress, and consistency in this has not yet been realised."

It also described a "wariness" among officers over presenting difficult news brought about by "political impatience" at progressing improvements.

According to the commissioners, "the frustration displayed when things go wrong, still too often leads to a tendency to apportion blame, and for that blame to be disproportionately applied."

"This in turn is too often characterised by intemperate and sometimes ill-tempered engagement. This breeds a wariness amongst officers over presenting difficult news or reporting upon failures – an unhealthy characteristic which, if it persists, will put recovery at risk," it added.

Local Government Minister Alison McGovern, said she was encouraged to hear the council is making steady progress in delivering its Improvement Plan, adding that it is "reassuring that the council is now showing 'early signs of a shift toward continuous improvement thinking'".

However, in a letter to the commissioner team, McGovern noted that "work remains" to ensure the intervention can conclude as planned, "including improving consistency in member and officer interactions and senior leadership behaviours, and ensuring the timely delivery of budgeted savings".

She added: "While good progress has been made in risk management and Internal Audit, the council must now embed these functions to support informed decision-making. The quality and speed of service delivery and transformation plans also require further improvement."

She said the coming months will be "critical" in addressing the issues - and announced that Sharon Kemp is to take over from McArdle as lead commissioner.

McArdle and Lee will continue supporting Kemp as commissioners.

The team's final report is due to be delivered to Government in by 5 December.

City Council Leader Cllr Neghat Khan said: “Significant improvements have been made across the council including within our financial position to get our house in order and become financially stable. Our priority is to ensure value for money across all of our services, whilst maintaining our ambition to build a more accountable, responsive, and future-ready council. We do what we say we’re going to do. That is what our residents expect of us.

“As Leader, I am keen that we remain focussed on delivering the best outcomes for the city and I can often be impatient for success. We are here for the people of Nottingham, and we must never forget that. We recognise that we must not be complacent as there is still work to do on our improvement journey.”

Adam Carey