East Hampshire Councillors have welcomed an excellent report into the District Council’s performance by a team of independent public sector experts.
At the recent Full Council meeting members discussed the Corporate Peer Challenge report – an assessment of EHDC’s operations by senior councillors and officers from other authorities.
The report described EHDC as a 'well-run' council that can 'deliver on its priorities' with 'passionate staff, who are committed to the council and residents'.
EHDC Leader, Cllr Richard Millard, said: “I am extremely pleased with the findings of the peer review. It shows the council in its true light as the successful council that it is, and it shows that we continue to provide support to all members of the community to the standards that I expect.
“To have such a positive endorsement of the work we have done at EHDC over the last few years shows the value of the work we have put in here.”
"It really supports the work our officers do day in day out, so congratulations to them on achieving such a successful report. There were some recommendations for improvements but that gives us the opportunity to continually feedback and review as we go forward."
The report is the end result of a process called a Corporate Peer Challenge. It saw a team of senior local government councillors and officers undertaking a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information at the council.
The team spent three days with the council in January interviewing staff and councillors and closely examining the council’s operations.
Praise for the council included its recent move to new premises, its new leadership structure, bringing IT services in-house and updating systems and redesigning services.
The report also made recommendations for improvements and an action plan is already in place to see these recommendations put into practice.
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