Worcester City Council undertook a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) in October 2019. This involved senior councillors and officers from other authorities, including Brighton & Hove, Corby and Selby, visiting Worcester to give an external perspective and an independent view of the City Council’s way of working.
pdf Their report (250 KB) delivers a positive view of the Council and offers constructive suggestions for some further improvements can be made.
The CPC Team spent 2.5 days on site at the City Council and were also taken on a familiarisation tour of the city centre. They heard a range of feedback and in particular were struck by the pride shown by staff, who consistently told them that the Council is “a good place to work”. The CPC Team also repeatedly heard positive messages from stakeholders about the Council’s role as a partner and commended the way that all political parties have worked together for the benefit of the city.
In the report, the CPC Team say they found that Worcester City Council is, overall, a good council with no major or obvious areas of concern. They note that this is reflected in the authority’s clean audit and value for money opinions, good financial management and strong reserves and contingencies.
The report recognises a clear theme of ambition to deliver innovative, commercial projects, and finds that it is clear Council staff are motivated to be part of this process.
The CPC report also says that the sharing of roles across different political groups is a good example of the Council’s commitment to cross-party, collaborative working. The report notes that it is clear that Members work well together for the benefit of the city.