BCP Council free of government Best Value Notice after improvements made

A FORMAL improvement notice issued by the government to BCP Council after it highlighted “very poor” relationships between members and the authority’s “unrealistic” budget has been lifted.

As reported in the A&T, the council was ordered to put together a plan of action by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities last year, shortly after the formation of a new administration following the May elections.

A government report stated meetings at BCP had been “acrimonious”, resulting in a high number of complaints to the standards board, and criticised the authority’s medium-term financial plan as “unrealistic”.

“It is based on the delivery of an overly ambitious transformation programme both in terms of levels of savings and timescales for delivery,” said the report.

The so-called Best Value Notice was issued following the council’s request for a capitalisation direction to help it manage a budget shortfall which, in the end, was not needed.

Despite this, the government had commissioned a governance review and a list of 42 actions were listed in the subsequent notice. These have now been completed, said a spokesperson for BCP Council, and the authority has received thanks from the government for its “constructive engagement”.

A letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “BCP has worked positively with the department and has set out and implemented a range of improvement measures to address the identified concerns.”

These have included work undertaken to improve its budget position, strengthen its leadership team and implement governance reviews of subsidiary companies.

Prior to the Best Value Notice being served, BCP’s chief executive Graham Farrant also carried out an internal assurance review of the authority.

He said: “We are delighted that the government has recognised the hard work, effort and focus it has taken from everyone at the council to get to this position, and it is testament to that joint effort that the Best Value Notice has now been lifted.

“Throughout this process we have aimed to be open and honest regarding the challenges we face and our progress in meeting those challenges.

“We now have a more resilient council with a sustainable financial future, and we have strengthened governance and developed a culture built upon respect and pride.

“But we recognise that there is no room for complacency and our positive work to improve the services provided by council for our residents, and the way that the council works, must continue.”

Leader Cllr Millie Earl said: “The lifting of the Best Value Notice shows that the government recognises a council that is now in a much healthier place, and I would like to thank everyone at the council whose hard work and dedication has made this possible.

“We made meeting the concerns outlined in the notice an absolute priority. Our focus has been getting the basics right and getting our foundations in order.

“An open and honest council, with good governance in place, is the very least our residents should expect, and I am pleased that the work done to achieve this has been acknowledged.”

The government’s notice had flagged the governance of BCP’s regeneration company FuturePlaces, which was established in 2021 by the then-Conservative administration.

An arm’s length council-owned company, it was working on 19 projects including the development of Christchurch Civic Offices, which will now be sold.

The notice said the leadership of FuturePlaces needed “development” and called for a business plan to be drawn up with “clear timescales for delivery”.

That company has now been wound up, with regeneration functions being brought back into the council.

Cllr Earl said: “At a time when all local authorities were experiencing the effect of a challenging financial environment, we felt there was no justification for the council to continue with FuturePlaces.

“We acted quickly as a new administration and reduced spend by bringing expertise in-house and refocusing on the delivery of key projects.

“Cabinet and council officers continue to move forward into this new way of doing great things and realising our regeneration ambitions for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

“It is right that this work has been recognised as part of the improvements made around the Best Value Notice.”