Government removes Best Value Notice after Council’s open and transparent response

Following significant work throughout 2024 to provide evidence of our sound plans and robust processes, ministers said they were reassured about our capacity to comply with our Best Value Duty under the Local Government Act 1999.

The notice was issued for a period of 12 months back in December 2023, and a letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government received by the Council today confirmed that it would not be re-issued at this time.

While the ministry has asked us to keep in touch with officials about our ongoing continuous improvement journey, the decision to lift the notice means the level of scrutiny will reduce as ministers are reassured by the information we have provided to them.

A statement from the Co-Leaders of the Council said: “Lifting the notice is testament to the transparent and open approach we have taken with civil servants in our response to the Notice and evidencing our continuous improvement to reassure ministers about the way we operate to deliver local services and manage our commercial assets and overall debt.

“A number of people across the Council – staff and councillors - have given a huge amount of time to respond to the Government on top of their usual work and great credit goes to them in achieving this outcome.

“Following this important and worthwhile process, residents of Runnymede should also be reassured that both Government as well as a panel of objective senior figures from the local government sector have given the Council positive feedback in the last few months.”

In the letter, Suzanne Clarke Deputy Director, Local Government Finance at the ministry, said: “We are pleased to see that the council has used the BVN as an opportunity to self-reflect and invite external scrutiny and challenge, assessing organisational culture and adherence to the Best Value Duty, commissioning an external review of the council’s companies, and undertaking a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) with the Local Government Association.”

The letter also praised the Council for its “regular and constructive engagement” since the notice was issued.

The lifting of the Best Value Notice is a significant result for the Council, which used the opportunity of closer working with Whitehall to review its processes and capacity in managing risks associated with its commercial property portfolio.

As part of this work, as the letter recognised, during the last 12 months the Council has formalised a moratorium on new commercial investment, developed its approaches to risk and investment reporting, and improved its staff capacity and capability.

Read the letter and see other documents related to the Best Value Notice.