Haringey Council is a dynamic and improvement-focused local authority that has strong leadership and should be proud of the services it provides to the community.
That is the conclusion of an independent report published this week following a peer review of the council.
The review, which took place in May, was conducted by an experienced team led by Althea Loderick, Chief Executive at Southwark Council and Cllr Sir Steve Houghton, Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough, winners of the prestigious 2023 LGC Council of the Year award.
The feedback report noted the borough is “well-regarded for its high performing schools, and the parks and library services are valued.”
“Haringey has achieved significant improvement,” the report highlights, “including a 'good' Ofsted rating and successful renewal projects aimed at improving the physical environment and building economic prosperity.”
Through its groundbreaking Haringey Deal, the report recognised Haringey “is striving to improve the relationship between the council and its residents, instilling more trust, better communication and providing more opportunities for resident participation and co-design.”
The peer team heard a great deal of praise for both the Leader and Chief Executive from members, staff, and partners and found Cllr Peray Ahmet “provides strong, robust leadership, and has steadied the political position after an extended period of turbulence.”
The staff they spoke to were “enthusiastic, professional, and proud to work for the council” and described the officer networks championing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) as “impressive.”
The report recognises that the council provides many good core services to its residents “for which it should be rightly proud.” It also has a “powerful sense of place, appreciating and celebrating the diversity of the area and the people it serves.”
Peers set out several recommendations for further improvement, including:
• Establishing a long-term vision for the council
• Continue proactive work with local communities
• Develop and embed mechanisms to improve oversight and management of the capital programme
• Strengthen and embed performance and programme management
• Maximise links with partners and stakeholders
• Continue the work on developing business systems to increase efficiency in operations and enhance customer service.
Cllr Peray Ahmet, Leader of Haringey Council, said:
I am really proud of the positive nature of the report and feedback we had from the peer team.
It shows how far we have come as an organisation and is a testament to the hard work of our staff, our partners and the residents and communities who work with us every day. However, we know that we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that we are consistently the best organisation we can be.
There is no room for complacency not least because of the incredibly challenging financial environment in which councils – including Haringey – find ourselves in. The recommendations the peers have set out in their report will be really helpful to taking us that next step on our journey.
Chief Executive Andy Donald said:
We invited a team of independent experts because we really wanted an in-depth review of what we are doing, providing reassurance on what was going well but also robust challenge on where change is needed.
On the positive side, I’m particularly pleased the peer team recognised Haringey as an ambitious and values driven council and that they were impressed by the overwhelming positive attitudes shown by all staff they met during their visit.
We also recognise there are areas we need to focus on, and we are fully committed to delivering the peer team’s recommendations, which will support us with our improvement journey.
The LGA Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report was the result of intensive research and interviews with staff, councillors and partners.
Read the report here. Its findings and next steps will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 17 October.
