Wirral Council needs to prioritise budget delivery and avoid over complication an investigation into its new governance system has found.
After moving to a committee system in September 2020 from its cabinet and leader model, the council approached the Local Government Association (LGA) to give a view on whether the system is working effectively, and to support improvement. A report was compiled following visits in November and December 2021, that found a need for budget issues to be prioritised and the number of committees be reduced.
The LGA found given the financial context of the council, including being one of a number of authorities to request exceptional financial support during the covid-19 pandemic, “there is a need for committees to prioritise issues most relevant to budget delivery, including prioritising these issues within agendas and reports.” In addition, there was “widespread recognition and agreement” that there was a need to reduce the number of committees as the existing seven “creates challenges of coordination and increases the risk of fragmentation.”
