Taunton Town Council – Progress Review

The council undertook an LGA Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) during 19^th – 20^th March 2024 and published the report with an action plan in July 2024. 

The progress review is an integral part of the Corporate Peer Challenge process.  Taking place approximately ten months after the CPC, it is designed to provide space for the council’s senior leadership to:

• Receive feedback from peers on the early progress made by the council against the CPC recommendations and the council’s RAG rated CPC action plan.
• Consider peer’s reflections on any new opportunities or challenges that may have arisen since the peer team were ‘on-site’ including any further support needs
• Discuss any early impact or learning from the progress made to date 

The LGA would like to thank Taunton Town Council for their commitment to sector led improvement. This progress review was the next step in an ongoing, open and close relationship that the council has with LGA sector support.

The progress review at Taunton Town Council took place (onsite) on 16^th January 2025.

The progress review focussed on each of the recommendations from the Corporate Peer Challenge, under the following theme headings:

• Local priorities and outcomes
• Organisational and place leadership
• Governance and culture
• Financial planning and management
• Capacity for improvement

For this progress review, the following members of the original CPC team were involved:

• Andrew Tubb, chief executive Officer, Cirencester Town Council
• Councillor Mike Drew, Yate Town Council and National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
• Jane Moore, senior solicitor and legal manager, NALC
• Jill Scarr, peer challenge manager, Local Government Association

The peer team met face to face in Taunton Town Council over one day with the following representatives of the council:

• Councillor Tom Deakin, leader of Taunton Town Council
• Donna Smith, town clerk
• Chairs of committees
• TTC senior leadership team
• TTC staff focus group

Taunton Town Council (TTC) has made good progress across each of the recommendations. Staffing in TTC has increased significantly with 25 additional staff being recruited since the initial Corporate Peer Challenge. This is to enable the council to deliver the priorities in the corporate plan and also to manage the asset transfers from Somerset Council which will include open spaces from April 2025. Additional staff are in the process of being recruited. There is now a strategic leadership team in place comprising the town clerk, deputy town clerk, finance manager, corporate business manager, community and place manager and the operations and asset manager. Leaders are visible and staff value the support from the leadership team and feel listened to. The council has moved into newly refurbished office accommodation and plans are in place to refurbish the recently acquired depot. The peer team were particularly impressed by the plans to replicate what is in the council offices in the depot so it has the same appearance and staff can work at either location.

TTC has recently been assessed via NALC’s Local Council Award Scheme and once certain criteria have been evidenced it is expected that the council will achieve this award. TTC are planning to apply for the Gold award in due course.

There are challenges ahead in terms of increasing income streams as the council is largely reliant on the precept. Plans are moving ahead on the purchase of two buildings/premises in the town to support this as well as investigating other opportunities to raise income. TTC is also working with The Brewhouse, the local theatre on a service level agreement as a way of supporting arts and culture in the town.

The initial RAG rated action plan agreed at full council in July 2024 had not been updated or progress reported to the council. A position statement and evidence to support each recommendation was provided to the peer team prior to the visit. The peer team used this information along with the outcome of meetings during the day to share the following comments and feedback to Taunton Town Council’s strategic leadership team in relation to the original recommendations, which are highlighted below in bold.

Consider removing the ceremonial aspects for council meeting which can be seen as barriers to inclusion

The current Mayor has opted not to wear the ceremonial robes, although the Mayoral chain of office is still worn. The Mace is no longer displayed in front of the Mayor. The full council meetings observed via YouTube by the team show that meetings appear more inclusive now the ceremonial aspects have been removed. The civic task & finish group is still to report on changes to the civic protocol and handbook which will cover when the ceremonial robes and the Mace are appropriate. The process for the selection of the Deputy Mayor has been agreed to allow all councillors to be considered for the role.

Review the meeting timetable, report formats and delegations to ensure effective decision making

A new committee cycle has been introduced which is working well and the committees have been changed to align with the new council structure. A further review will take place to ensure time scales align with full council meetings. Each committee also has a delegation of £100,000 and the scheme of delegations has been reviewed. There were concerns from the peer challenge team that there was still limited oversight by councillors around expenditure and procurement, although no concerns have been raised by the auditor. The delegations should be kept under regular review to safeguard the council and individuals.

The report format now includes implications for finance and resources, including human resources but not equality and diversity. There are plans to include an Equality Impact Assessment in each report. The peer team would recommend that the report format is kept under regular review and that it is fit for purpose for both councillors and members of the public. Consideration should be given to numbering paragraphs in reports for ease of reference.

Initiate appropriate member and staff training by preparing a member and workforce training plan

A skills audit of all staff has been completed and an analysis of these forms is in the process of being completed. An organisational development strategy is being developed which will use this information to outline how the council will manage the growth of the organisation and ensure staff are supported to develop their skills and knowledge to ensure high quality services and supportive leadership. Councillors were also asked to compete a skills audit but there has been a limited response.

The Strategic Leadership Team have engaged in a range of leadership sessions which will ensure that there is a consistency in management and leadership across the council. Senior leaders are also studying for an ILM Level 5 qualification supported by the council. The peer team were impressed by the commitment and effort that senior leaders have demonstrated over the past few months to embrace their leadership roles.

There was a recognition by councillors and staff that the local training for parish and town councils may not be relevant to a very large town council with a precept in excess of £6m. The council is engaged with NALC’s Super Councils network for advice and sharing experiences with other larger councils. The peer team recognised the sector gap in training and professional development provision, bespoke to larger local councils.

Commission externally facilitated team building sessions across the council to include top team and staff

TTC has successfully introduced regular team building sessions for staff which have been a mixture of internal and external facilitation. These have included an outdoor team building day, training in CPR and building Lego models. The latter team building day emphasised the importance of providing clear instructions at the start of a task to achieve a successful outcome. There has been one joint team building day with councillors in June 2024. Staff have found the team building sessions informative and helpful in bringing everyone together. Each service area takes responsibility for a team building day and this was seen as positive by all staff. Each day incorporates learning activities as well as some fun aspects to support team building and staff wellbeing. The peer team were impressed with this approach to team building and the involvement of staff in planning the events.

Ensure regular communication with the public to highlight responsibilities, spending decisions and activities/events in ways that are inclusive to all parts of the community

TTC organised the Taunton Together Festival which was a celebration of diversity, arts, culture and community. It was held in September 2024 and supported by a range of organisations. There are plans to hold a similar event this year following the positive feedback about the event. The council also attends other community events promoting what the Town Council does and all councillors are encouraged to attend these events. There are examples of councillors volunteering as car park wardens at Taunton Flower Show and giving out information at the council’s gazebo at events such as Pride in Priorswood and Taunton Together. The introduction of the Members Ward Initiative will also encourage engagement in communities.

The Community Review, supported by the Community Council for Somerset with funding from Somerset Council and delivered on behalf of Somerset Association of Local Councils commenced in September 2024. Its purpose was to inform community groups, organisations and the Town Council about local issues that concerned residents. The results of the review are still being analysed.

TTC has undertaken a range of community consultations both on-line and at drop-in sessions. These have included consultation on public toilets and Goodlands Garden bridge.

There is a good social media presence which actively promotes events, consultations, staff vacancies, council information including details of the council’s budget and wider issues such as road closures.

The Peacock Post is issued monthly and as well as an online version, printed copies are available from the Foyer of Deane House, the Visitor Centre, libraries and on TTC notice boards. This provides information on council activities, consultations, events and other information relevant to the communities covered by TTC. It is one way of engaging with communities.

Consideration could be given to produce an annual communication newsletter to all households which would ensure that all parts of the community can see what TTC has done in the previous year and what future plans it has. The peer challenge team also suggested using volunteering opportunities for staff to engage with various organisations in Taunton.

Take time to pause, reflect on the past twelve months and learn from the experience

The strategic leadership team has spent time on reflection as part of the leadership development programme which has been positive. Learning does take place after projects and events to establish what went well and what could be improved and this includes seeking feedback from the public. A recent example being Taunton Together.

Going forward, the peer team felt that TTC should have further reflection after the latest phase of recruitment is completed and consider:

• what will the organisation look and feel like with a full complement of staff
• what is the plan going forward - how will the organisation look if it continues to grow.

As the organisation grows and evolves it will be important to ensure that the values continue to be at the heart of what TTC does and the positive working environment that came across to the peer team from the staff meetings held continues to attract and retain staff.

Establish your core values and behaviours to foster a supportive, caring and inclusive culture

TTC held an externally facilitated workshop to develop its core values. There has been positive feedback from staff on the values and their involvement in the development of them. Staff have embraced the values and are willing to challenge if anyone does not model the values. They use the mnemonic, PACT, which stands for:

• Promote respect always – We are mindful of others
• Ambitious and Accountable – We take a professional approach to our work and take ownership of our decisions
• Compassionate – We are kind and empathetic to others
• Trustworthy – We are authentic, open and honest

The staff have also developed a ‘Ways of Working’ agreement that translates the values into a way staff work together.

Staff have access to Perkbox, which the council funds, and provides a range of benefits including discounts, employee wellbeing initiatives and recognition schemes. Staff value this benefit and it is seen as part of the total reward package for the council.

Councillors were not involved in the development of the core values although they were reported to the personnel committee. There are plans to display the values and ways of working in the council chamber.

Develop a performance system to ensure that both strategic and operational activities are monitored on a regular basis

Work has focused on the individual performance management system to date. Currently there are no formal reports to the council that shows how TTC is performing in the delivery of the corporate plan and other performance management measures either corporate or project related. There are plans to use a CRM system to capture data. There will be strategic plans for each service but they are still being developed. These will need to have clear links to the corporate plan. An action plan relating to the corporate plan is on the website but it is an Excel spreadsheet which is difficult to navigate and interpret.

Clear performance measures, including progress against projects needs to be available for councillors and the public in an easily accessible and readable format.

The LGA would like to thank Taunton Town Council for undertaking an LGA CPC progress review. 

We appreciate that senior managerial and political leadership will want to reflect on these findings and suggestions in order to determine how the organisation wishes to take things forward.

The National Association of Local Councils is well placed to discuss any further support that you may require building on this progress review. Please email: [email protected]

Paul Clarke (principal adviser) is the main point of contact between the authority and the Local Government Association (LGA) and his e-mail address is [email protected]