Westmorland and Furness Council today published the findings of an independent report into its services and development from the Local Government Association, the national membership body for councils in England.
The Corporate Peer Challenge is a voluntary process where councils invite a team from the Local Government Association (LGA), including experienced councillors and leaders from other areas, to visit and assess how the council is performing across key areas like local leadership, finance and governance.
During their visit in July, the peer team interviewed more than 150 people, as well as reviewing a wide range of documents, to help them reach their conclusions.
In the report, the review team praised the council’s progress since its creation in 2023, highlighting strong and visible leadership, good governance, a positive and open culture, and solid financial management.
The report describes the council as “ambitious, well led and open to challenge,” and recognises impressive improvement in key services such as Children’s Services, climate action and partnership working.
The peer team also provided constructive recommendations to help the council move from building foundations to accelerating delivery – including sharpening priorities, simplifying internal processes and strengthening programme management capacity.
Cllr Jonathan Brook, Leader of Westmorland and Furness Council, said:
“This is a very positive report that reflects the hard work and commitment of staff, Members and partners since the new council was created. We invited this challenge because we are committed to a journey of continuous improvement and the report’s feedback gives us the confidence that we’re on the right path and it provides real clarity on what we need to focus on next.”
Sam Plum, Chief Executive, said:
“The peer team recognised a council that is ambitious, collaborative and grounded in strong values. They also recognised that we are in a really good place and this is testament to the hard work of staff and members and to our close collaboration with our trade union colleagues, communities and partners.
“Their recommendations will help us build on that foundation and deliver with even greater focus and pace for our communities.”
The council will publish an Action Plan in December in response to the report’s recommendations, once this has been agreed at December’s Cabinet meeting.