Torridge District Council - Progress Review

The council undertook an LGA Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) during 23-25 April 2024 and promptly published the full report with an action plan. 

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 Torridge District Council (TDC) 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 TDC took place (onsite) on 10 April 2025.

The Progress Review focussed on each of the recommendations from the Corporate Peer Challenge:

• Levelling Up
• Capacity to deliver
• Member development and behaviour
• Review of procedures
• Golden Triangle
• Financial sustainability
• Risk management
• Partnership working
• Climate change
• Review of HR Policies
• Communications

For this Progress Review, the following members of the original CPC team were involved: 

• Councillor Hannah Dalton – Leader, Epsom and Ewell District Council
• Kathryn Trant, Peer Challenge Manager, Local Government Association 

Out of the CPC’s 11 recommendations, the council’s RAG rated Action plan reports that 91 per cent of actions are completed/are progressed and nine per cent have not yet been progressed. The peer team praised the council on the improvements and progress made, particularly against the backdrop of local government reorganisation.

3.1 Levelling Up

1. Levelling up Fund – consider what existing or new governance arrangements should be in place (to include key partners) to ensure governance is robust, the budget is monitored closely and importantly the wider benefits of this investment impact on the locality.
2. Levelling Up Partnership - Address as a matter of urgency the capacity of the economic development team and major projects team to lead this scale of programme.
3. Levelling Up Partnership - An appraisal process is needed to ensure that the projects recommended not only meet the key metrics, but are deliverable, are sustainable in the long term and will make a real difference to outcomes locally.
4. Levelling Up Partnership - A clear governance structure is needed with roles, responsibilities and allocation of risk fully understood.
5. Levelling Up Partnership - All projects within the wider LUP programme should follow a standard process, whether internal or external to the council.

TDC has made significant progress on each of the recommendations under this heading, and the peer team felt that the elements are now in place to progress a portfolio of projects that will make a real difference to the residents of Torridge. The existing internal and external governance arrangements for the Levelling Up Fund have been reviewed and aligned with the new governance and reporting framework. 

The Levelling Up Partnership is now known as the Torridge Community Regeneration Partnership (TCRP). The council received formal confirmation from government on 3 March 2025 that funding for the partnership of £20.07m would be granted. Helpfully, the deadline to spend the funding has been extended to 31 March 2027.  

Governance arrangements for monitoring, management, governance and reporting on major projects have been proposed in the form of a governance and reporting framework which will be presented for approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting on 19 May. Much needed external capacity is now in place to support project delivery, and monitoring of progress and outcomes of the TCRP projects will be carried out by North Devon Plus, a partnership organisation. 

3.2 Capacity to deliver

Take stock as to the sufficiency of the council’s staff resources to continue to deliver everything that the council is seeking to do through the Strategic Plan as well as the resources needed to support delivery of major project programmes.

External project management capacity has been identified and is either in place or ready to be deployed, depending on the project. Whilst this increased capacity allows staff to focus on other projects and delivery of the strategic plan, the council needs to be mindful of maintaining governance and oversight of projects where there is an element of external delivery. The new governance and reporting framework will guide project and programme delivery and monitoring, and the council should audit its effectiveness once it is put into practice.

3.3 Member development and behaviour

Create a Member Development Working Group to empower councillors to drive their own development and address low attendance at councillor learning and development sessions. Invest in an ongoing programme of councillor development and political awareness training for staff, to ensure wider understanding of the roles and responsibilities of councillors and officers respectively. Include training using the resources available to promote Civility in Public Life to address instances of poor councillor behaviour.

A Member Development Working Group (MDWG) was created with the intention of empowering councillors to help shape and design their own development. This is a positive step in the right direction, but the team heard that attendance at development and briefing events remains low. More needs to be done to engage councillors in attending briefings so that they understand how their contributions in these meetings are taken forward to support development of council policy and practice. Reviewing the timing of briefings, offering hybrid attendance and providing recordings for those unable to attend may be worth consideration so that all councillors have access to information provided. 

In relation to member behaviour, the peer team heard mixed views. Some councillors want specific examples to demonstrate what the issue is, some councillors note that other colleague’s assertive manner can come across as aggressive. Officers have expressed their concerns around the consequences of reporting negative member behaviour. Whilst instances of unacceptable behaviour are limited to a small number of councillors, it is incumbent on all councillors, and in particular group leaders, to set the tone and call out such behaviour when they witness it. There are legal obligations on TDC as the employer to protect their staff, employees can make a claim and proceed with an employment tribunal which is a reputational risk. With recruitment of staff in rural areas presenting a challenge and the unsettling background of local government reorganisation, the council will want to retain staff and be seen as an employer of choice.

3.4 Review of procedures

Undertake a review of process and procedures such as the Leadership Team meetings, Lead Member roles, use of Full Council Motions, Call In, Scheme of Delegation and appropriate use of Part Two to ensure effective decision-making processes and governance that is widely understood across the council. 

TDC reviewed the Leadership Team, and this has now been replaced by a refreshed Senior Leadership Team. While the refreshed meetings are in place, the terms of reference are to be agreed at the annual general meeting in May 2025.  Reporting lines and responsibilities are now clearer. There is still room to clarify the role of lead members and the responsibilities of committee chairs. Strengthening the link between lead members and committee chairs prior to committee meetings may prove beneficial and lead to more effectively managed meetings and outcomes. The MDWG has also reviewed several processes and procedures, and a report will be presented to the annual general meeting of the council in May 2025 as part of the review of the constitution. 

3.5 Golden triangle

Formalise statutory officer meetings and develop a forward work programme around governance issues to include the Annual Governance Statement and the corporate risk register. Meeting regularly would allow for sharing of information and development of a ‘united’ approach to governance issues.

Since the corporate peer challenge in April 2024, a new s151 officer has been recruited. Statutory officer meetings have been formalised and take place each month and a forward work programme has been developed to cover governance issues. Both the deputy s151 and the deputy monitoring officer are included in these meetings which provides continuity and development opportunities for those officers. 

3.6 Financial sustainability

Develop a transparent mechanism for seeking efficiencies and income generation to replace the use of Reserves in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy. Action the improvement recommendations set out in the external auditor’s annual report. 

This is the only area where progress has not been made. The council has sound financial management in place, but a reliance on reserves in the medium term is not sustainable. Only ten councillors attended the budget briefing that took place in December 2024 and the last meeting of the Member Budget Working Group (MBWG) had representation from only two of the six groups in attendance. Councillors should fully engage in the budget setting process, and it is important that those councillors appointed to the MBWG attend the meetings so that there is cross party input into the budget development process.

3.7 Risk management

Strengthen how management of corporate risks is reviewed and reported to ensure it is transparent and implications linked to the Medium Term Financial Strategy. 

Risk management processes have been strengthened and the corporate risk group reconstituted. The corporate risk register is now reported more widely, and a version is presented to the Audit and Governance Committee so that there is open and transparent reporting of identified risks. As the Levelling Up projects progress, the peer team expect the corporate risk register to have increased focus.

3.8 Partnership working

Proactively engage with partners to ensure that TDC is in a position to maximise the opportunities that may arise from the various partnerships that the council is involved in. 

The peer team heard how meetings with North Devon Council take place regularly, and partnership working continues with Northern Devon Futures and One Northern Devon Strategic Partnership Boards. As local government reorganisation progresses, engagement with North Devon Council and neighbouring councils across Devon will continue to be important to ensure the best possible outcome for residents across northern Devon.

3.9 Climate change

Embed clear performance measurements and milestones into service plans to meet the council’s carbon neutral operational target of 2030, to demonstrate on track delivery.

The latest Carbon Footprint report to Community and Resources Committee in January 2025 confirmed that the council is off target for 2030. Whilst this may be the case, the council has progressed this action by embedding carbon reduction measures into service business plans. Individual actions agreed by operational managers in partnership with service lead members will act as a delivery tracker so that the council can clearly see progress.

3.10 Review of HR policies

Review HR policies, terms and conditions and working arrangements, to address actual or perceived inconsistencies in their application across different council services and to ensure that the council is seen as an attractive place to work.

The peer team understands that lack of union representation had led to a backlog of HR policies to be reviewed all at once. Progressing this action did not go as smoothly as would have been hoped as some of the policy changes were not welcomed by all staff or supported by a range of managers, hence making communication of the revised policies less effective. The peer team heard mixed feedback on how changes were communicated and implemented. 

The council has an energetic Staff Focus Group who the peer team met with. This group could make positive contributions with future staff related changes if they are engaged as part of the change process.

3.11 Communications

Improve external communications so that the council can proactively celebrate its success. Continue to develop a Strategic Communications Plan to ensure consistent messaging through internal and external communications at the same time.

Engagement with the local press and on social media is positive and has clearly improved which is impressive given the small team. Some councillors reported that the volume of communications can be overwhelming and perhaps there may be an opportunity to review councillor communications via the MDWG.

The LGA would like to thank TDC 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.

Under the umbrella of LGA sector-led improvement, there is an on-going offer of support to councils. The LGA is well placed to provide additional support, advice and guidance on a number of the areas identified for development and improvement and we would be happy to discuss this. 

Paul Clarke, (Principal Adviser) is the main point of contact between the authority and the Local Government Association (LGA) and their e-mail address is [email protected]