Council sets out path to further improvement as it puts Peer Review recommendations into action
Buckinghamshire Council has set out an action plan for how it will take forward recommendations to further build on its success, following the positive outcome of the Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) which took place last autumn.
Led by the Local Government Association, the four-day peer review exercise involves a team of external senior local government officers and councillors carrying out an in-depth review of the council and its operations. The exercise is designed to provide a robust and detailed analysis into every area of the council and provide feedback on where improvements and developments can be made.
The review team provided the council with its written report in January which provided both a powerful endorsement of the work already undertaken, with peers calling Buckinghamshire “one of the best run councils the peer reviewers had ever visited", as well as a useful roadmap for further improvements in the future.
Once the formal report has been given, councils are required to formulate a detailed action plan setting out how they will respond to the recommendations made by the peer team. The action plan translates the peer challenge findings into a focused programme of improvement activity, identifying 30 key actions, responsibilities and timescales.
Actions for Buckinghamshire have been grouped into categories:
- Capacity for improvement
- Empowering communities
- Finance
- Governance
- Regeneration and housing
- Culture and engagement
In many instances, work is already underway to address the points raised by the peer team but in other areas, new activities will now be undertaken. The aim is to build on existing strengths while also addressing areas where additional focus or change is needed.
Buckinghamshire Council Leader, Steven Broadbent said: “We found the whole Peer Review Challenge to be extremely beneficial. We were pleased that the review team identified many areas of strength including our strong leadership, digital innovation and use of AI to drive service improvements, as well as our creativity; financial management and governance; collaborative economic growth plans and strong partnerships.
“We also welcome the feedback they have given us on ways to drive improvement and growth and to take our council on an onward journey from ‘good’ to ‘great’. Some of the recommendations are things we are already progressing and in other areas we will now accelerate with plans to continue our learnings and drive forward with further improvements which will, most importantly of all, bring benefits and enhanced outcomes for our local residents.”
The action plan has been developed jointly by officers and councillors in response to each of the recommendations set out in the LGA feedback report. This approach will ensure that the actions reflect both political priorities and operational realities, and that there is shared ownership of delivery across the organisation. Progress will be reviewed regularly, and all actions and recommendations will be assessed to ensure they remain relevant.
In the summer of 2026, a number of the peer team will return to Buckinghamshire and review the progress of the action plan, and the changes which have been made as a result.