To receive the report on the outcome of the Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge, held 23 - 26 June 2025, and to approve the council’s action plan in response to the recommendations for publication.

ChildrenCHTHE MEMBER the The member for finance and corporate services introduced the report.  It was highlighted that the peer team involved senior local government councillors and officers who reviewed key finance, performance and governance information.   The peer team considered five core components: local priorities and outcomes, organisation and place leadership, governance and culture, financial planning and management and capacity for improvement.  In addition, the peer team considered the council’s approach to risk, use of data and insight and transformation. 

It was highlighted that the Corporate Peer Challenge report contained the overall message (Appendix 1) that:

“Herefordshire was a good council, it was striving hard to improve further and it benefited from a strong sense of place, a maturing political culture and a growing confidence in its leadership.  The council has developed a respected identity among partners and is seen as a constructive and increasingly strategic player in the region. There is a clear recognition of the challenges ahead, particularly in relation to transformation, capacity, and financial sustainability, and the council is approaching these with determination and a willingness to learn. The peer team found a council that is self-aware, committed to improvement, and increasingly outward facing. There is a shared understanding of the importance of transformation, and while the journey is still at an early stage, the council is laying the groundwork for long-term change. The latest Ofsted monitoring visit confirms that children’s services are improving at pace, and performance in most other service areas is broadly in line with statistical neighbours. The council’s finances are currently in a good base position. There is a need to refresh the medium-term financial strategy (MTFS) and undertake more robust scenario planning to prepare for future uncertainties.”

The Corporate Peer Challenge report noted that Herefordshire was a rural county with demographic challenges such as an aging population, the council’s leadership (politically and managerially) was increasingly confident and respected, there was a level of political maturity and members working constructively across party lines and a strong emphasis on consensus building.  Partnership working was noted as a strength and the phosphate credit scheme was cited as an example of innovative, place-based leadership.  Also, partnerships with the voluntary and community sector were positive.  It was noted that governance was generally strong with clear structures and ongoing improvements in risk management.  It was also noted that audit and scrutiny had been strengthened.

However, it was raised that whilst performance management was embedded across the council, there was a need for better data integration and corporate-level insights to drive transformation.

It was highlighted that the council’s financial position was stable with a positive outturn in 2024-2025 and with a healthy level of reserves. There was recognition that future years’ financial settlements may be challenging, and the council was reviewing the Medium-Term Financial Strategy alongside scenario planning to test different assumptions. The team noted an ambitious capital programme with the need to keep management and capacity to deliver the programme under review. 

Lastly, it was noted that the council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31