Agenda item

The Chairman invited Gary Hughes, Principal Adviser, Kevin Kewin, Programme Manager, and Cindy Lowthian, Adviser – Local Government Support (Regional) to introduce the update.

Kevin said that the LGA had introduced 3 new Remote Peer Support (RPS) offers since July - Recovery and Renewal Panels, Bespoke Remote Peer Support and Rough Sleeping Peer Support. A 4^th - Remote Corporate Health Check - was currently being piloted. Engagement with over 90 councils had taken place during this period and there had been a strong focus on finance and economic recovery. Positive feedback had been received both from councils and peers.

Kevin then spoke about the learning that had been captured from RPS to date. He reported that councils had provided a range of good practice examples which had been shared, and that RPS was helping councils to maintain and build upon their strong COVID-19 response work. RPS highlighted the importance of sustainable national funding as well as local flexibilities in key areas. For the LGA, RPS had demonstrated the importance of using technology and had widened the opportunities for peer participation, particularly in follow-up activity.

Kevin concluded by talking about next steps for RPS and Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC). RPS would continue, as it met an improvement need not covered elsewhere. A new offer – Remote Corporate Health Check – was being piloted but would not replace face to face CPC. Looking to the future, there was potential for a blended face to face/remote approach and officers would be looking at how this could best be delivered.

Cindy began by playing a video of a poem – A Soul Like Yours – written by a Homelessness Officer from Wigan Council.

Cindy explained that, as at September 2020, 29,000 vulnerable rough sleepers had been supported by councils during the pandemic, and the LGA and MHCLG were now working together to develop a peer support offer to assist councils in the next stage of their response. These Delivery & Impact Panels would be delivered remotely by the LGA to groups of councils with similar characteristics and challenges and would offer a safe space for officers to share learning and best practice. A short Rough Sleeping Delivery Plan would be written by the LGA and shared after each panel. Significant engagement with the sector had taken place over the design of the panels and the launch event in December had been attended by 247 delegates, including Kelly Tolhurst MP, Minister for Rough Sleeping. Panels were currently being piloted with full rollout in January 2021. 25 panels would be delivered initially with the potential for this to increase to 35. A national report would be written in March 2021 and shared with MHCLG to inform national policy development.

Following the introduction, members raised the following points:

·       There was a discussion about the benefits of face to face versus remote peer challenge. Some members felt that face to face on site visits offered a unique insight into the culture of an organisation and that it was more difficult to effectively drill down into a council’s issues remotely. Other members felt that the remote offer enabled more effective use of time, and they shared experiences in their authorities where issues had been explored in more depth than with on site visits. Kevin said that looking forward, officers would be looking to incorporate the best of both approaches into their peer support offer but face to face visits would definitely continue to form a part of future full Corporate Peer Challenge.

·       Given that peer support is offered on a voluntary basis, how was the LGA ensuring that those councils most in need of support (particularly around financial management) were engaging with the process. Gary responded that, although councils couldn’t be forced to engage, officers were working very hard behind the scenes to ensure that those most in need of support were receiving it.

·       If a council had taken up an RPS offer, would they then be able to also request a full Corporate Peer Challenge later in the year? Gary confirmed that this was the case and said that some councils were using RPS as part of a wider Corporate Peer Challenge process.

Decision:

·       Improvement & Innovation Board noted the update and endorsed future LGA plans for Remote Peer Support including Recovery and Renewal Panels, Remote Corporate Health Checks and Rough Sleeping Delivery and Impact Panels.