By John Knight
It was very heartening to hear about the latest positive report from government-appointed commissioners at Sandwell Borough Council. As reported in Public Finance magazine, commissioners say that the council has progressed on improving the culture and developing relationships between officers and members. They have praised ‘significant hard work on reforms to deliver political stability and improve governance and culture.’
This feedback from the commissioners very much reflects our own experiences of working with Sandwell Borough Council over the last 12 months or so. Amongst other things, C.Co has been helping the authority to focus on the outcomes and the impact they are trying to deliver and how this feeds into a focused transformation strategy.
Since our engagement, we have experienced nothing but a positive culture during our time working with them. What we have seen are good people, who want to do a good job for their residents.
We know this is a council that aspires to be excellent, rather than just ‘good enough’, and officers and members are showing the energy, commitment and determination to achieve this. We feel genuinely privileged to have played a supporting role to help the council on its journey to achieving sustainable change.
