Rifts between councillors and staff behind Sandwell Council failures says damning report
A lack of trust between senior councillors and staff and the large number of internal complaints has undermined Sandwell Council's ability to function effectively, a damning report has said.
Auditors described a “breakdown in trust, respect and confidence” between officers and senior elected members at the Labour-dominated council, criticised the authority itself as “insular and siloed” and said workers were preoccupied with managing the fallout from previous decisions.
If it wasn't for a recent overhaul of the senior leadership team then the Government may have been needed to intervene at the authority, the report said.
The ‘Value for Money Governance Review’ issued by external auditors Grant Thornton is an annual audit of how effectively the authority uses its resources and finances.
The review, which was finalised on December 3 but only became public this week, highlighted:
Deteriorating senior officer and senior member relationships over a number of years.
An absence of intervention and decision making.
A lack of clear contract management responsibility.
Lessons “not being learnt” over failures to take ownership over incidents, such as the leaking of the Wragge Report.
A lack of “corporate grip” to provide a clear vision for Sandwell Council.
The report also noted that the amount of time spent investigating internal allegations and complaints is so great that it has “negatively impacted” on the council’s ability to improve its public services.
It highlighted incidents such as the sale of Providence Place at a loss of £22 million to the Sandwell taxpayer, the fallout over special needs transport contracts, the underperformance of waste services with contractor Serco, and potential legal action from festival promoters over the cancellation of MADE festival, has negatively affected the council’s reputation.
However it praised recent "green shoots" and changes made by the interim chief executive, Kim Bromley-Derry, in a bid to change and improve the council's culture.
Auditors made three statutory recommendations, ordering senior councillors and staff members to show they can work together effectively and telling them to "take effective corporate grip" of long-standing issues such as the waste service and Lion Farm estate. The third recommendation said the council must learn from commercial, procurement and contract management mistakes.
Auditors said the long-standing breakdown in relationships between staff and councillors had "limited the council’s ability to look forward and manage the challenges and opportunities it faces" and was central to the problems facing the authority.
Sandwell Council has had three different chief executives and six different leaders in three years as it has dealt with a variety of scandals and corruption allegations.
Councillor Kerrie Carmichael became the latest political leader this week after the resignation of Rajbir Singh who stood down after just six months in the job.
Councillor Carmichael said she welcomed the "detailed and thorough review".
She added: “The cabinet and I recognise that, while the auditors are satisfied that government intervention is not necessary, we must build on the improvements put in place by the new leadership team.
“We have demonstrated the progress that has already been made and, as the report recognises, we are already seeing green shoots in key areas.
“We are fully committed to making the necessary improvements and will work hard to embed the positive changes that have been described in the report.
“We have been given a number of statutory and key recommendations as part of this governance review and these will form the basis for an action plan detailing the improvements we must make as an organisation.
“The report recognises there is a consensus that senior officers and members are in a stronger, more effective and constructive position than in the recent past.
“We will be relentless in focusing on improvements and will use this report as a baseline for the council’s future transformation.”
A Labour councillor, who wished to remain anonymous, said the current cohort of councillors were being punished for mistakes "made years ago"
They said: “We need to stop kicking problems down the road. Face them head on and then move past it all. We can’t change the past, but we can work hard not to make mistakes by previous cabinets.
“I’m quite emotional about this. I just want to do my job and prioritise Sandwell and its residents. It’s hard to do that when people won’t try and move on.”
Meanwhile Mr Bromley-Derry pledged to listen to the report and focus on changing the council's culture.
He said: “Significant improvements have already taken place, which has been recognised in this report
“Along with the cabinet and the new leader of the council, the leadership team and I will not shy away from the work that is needed and we will be relentless in focusing on improvements.
“My absolute priority going forward will be embedding sustainable, robust processes and improvements that the council can continue to build on in the months and years to come.”
It comes after Nicola Richards, the Conservative MP for West Bromwich East, blasted the council for failing to deliver basic services expected by residents in West Bromwich, Friar Park and Great Barr, at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.
