About Local Government Corporate Peer Challenge
The Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge is a sector led improvement and assurance tool that provides independent external support and challenge to councils. It is undertaken by elected members and officer peers. The peer challenge offers an opportunity to check how the council is doing, see if it is going in the right direction, evaluating current performance and identifying areas for improvement against best practice in local government.
The Peer Challenge is one of the measures that the council committed to undertaking to provide confidence and demonstrate transparency in its ongoing improvement journey. The process is also designed to assist councils in meeting part of their Best Value Duty.
Our Corporate Peer Challenge Report
Somerset Council invited the Local Government Association to undertake a corporate peer challenge of the council in November 2024. Across 4 days, the team met with 120 individuals, including council members, officers, partners and community representatives, in more than 54 meetings or focus groups.
The peer challenge report for Somerset Council was published in February 2025.
Recommendations from the peer team
The report contains 24 recommendations across 7 subject areas:
- Values and Behaviours
- Finance
- Governance
- Independent Assurance
- Member and Officer Leadership
- Economic Development
- Skills and Capacity
The peer team commended the proactive and decisive action taken to provide short term stability in the face of the extreme financial challenges facing councils. They also recognised the significant impact this has had on establishing a new council, the impact on our workforce and delivering on our plans and ambitions.
They underlined the importance for the Council to reset and refocus to make our priorities, timelines and deliverables clear to everyone. This will help to build a sustainable authority in the medium term, improving services and taking advantage of the economic growth opportunities in Somerset. Despite the challenges that the council has faced, peers recognised that performance in services valued by residents has been maintained.
Action Plan in response to the recommendations
Work is underway to develop an action plan in response to the Corporate Peer Challenge recommendations. The action plan will be published no later than 12 April 2025.
As part of the Corporate Peer Challenge, peers will revisit Somerset in September 2025 to review progress against the recommendations and discuss early impact and learning, before the Local Government Association publish a progress review in November 2025.