Ealing (Parliament Politics Magazine) – An independent review by senior local government figures has praised Ealing Council as “well-led” and “moving in the right direction.”
A team of senior council officers and seasoned council leaders was recently dispatched by the Local Government Association (LGA) to carry out a thorough assessment of Ealing Council’s governance, performance, and finances.
As part of a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC), the team spent four days at the council presenting a “robust, strategic, and credible” challenge to the senior management of the council, offering a “critical friend” evaluation.
The team’s final report states that:
- Ealing Council is well-run and exhibits “effective and collaborative political and managerial leadership,” with Tony Clements, the council’s chief executive, and council leader Peter Mason being “widely respected.”
- With a “strong and purposeful vision for change,” the council is headed in the right direction and has “achieved much under the current political and managerial leadership.”
- Moving the borough’s children’s services from “Requires Improvement” before May 2024 to “Good” now has been a “significant achievement.”
The borough’s accomplishments were also mentioned in the report as:
- one of London’s top three recycling councils and one of the city’s top performing councils for handling planning applications
The council has three overarching goals centered on equality, jobs, and the climate, as well as nine “resident-focused priorities.” The peer team pointed out that a “robust” framework for performance management is in place to support the plan’s implementation.
Furthermore, the council’s new Connected Communities vision, which centers decision-making around the lived experiences of its citizens, has the potential to “radically transform outcomes” for both the council’s operations and the people of Ealing.
Council leader Peter Mason said:
“When I became leader we have set out to become the kind of open, transparent and inclusive council I knew the residents of Ealing wanted us to be. I’m incredibly proud that the improvements we have secured have been recognised by the LGA in their thorough and independent review.
We continue to be relentlessly focussed on getting the basics right, holding ourselves to the standards that our residents expect from us, and being ruthlessly efficient in getting the best value for taxpayers’ money. We know we still have more to do, as we always will.”
He added:
“This is the heart of our new approach to building stronger communities, full of pride, identity and purpose. Ensuring everyone gets to benefit from the growing prosperity in our seven towns. Delivering on our promise to give people power and control over the future of their neighbourhoods.”
How might this ‘well-led’ rating affect upcoming local elections and policy decisions?
The rating gives a clear endorsement to current council leaders and members; thereby enhancing their credibility and appeal to voters in local elections, and reassuring residents that council have the ability to manage service provision and possibly increase voter engagement and support for ruling parties or coalitions.
If the council has a positive leadership assessment, it gives them the confidence to progress direction setting and ambitious policy initiatives; knowing they have a mandate and confidence from both residents and impartial assessors.
The council’s leadership can use the report to support their budget requests and as leverage in negotiating with regional or national levels of government for further funding or support.