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Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council welcomes government scrutiny

The leader of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has welcomed scrutiny from the government after it issued the authority with a best value measure, taken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), encourages authorities to demonstrate continuous Patrick Harley said his administration could "cast iron" guarantee that it would continue to said: "The improvements we have made over a short period of time are incredible and I very much welcome the best value notice as an opportunity to outline that to the government." In the notice addressed to the council, the MHCLG acknowledged the "important steps" that had already been taken to address "issues". It listed working with an independent improvement board, developing an improvement plan and identifying and agreeing savings plans to improve financial sustainability as positive moves. However, it added: "Ministers remain concerned as to Dudley's capacity to comply with its best value duty under the Local Government Act 1999 and have therefore decided to issue Dudley with this best value notice."The notice also explained further reasoning behind why it had been sent, including recommendations from an external auditor in January 2024, who called for "urgent action to address the council's budget position and use of reserves". An annual audit report published in November 2023 also found "cultural problems relating to the inappropriate behaviour of some members towards officers".The council's historic difficulties in delivering planned savings and significant value for money weaknesses were also cited. 'We have welcomed scrutiny' Discussing the notice, council leader Harley said: "It will allow us to give that cast iron guarantee that we are already far down the track and will continue to improve."From the very beginning, we have welcomed scrutiny as part of a fresh start and this notice adds to that."We recognise that there is still more work to do and we will approach that with the same drive as we have with our successes to date."The best value notice is to be reviewed after 12 months, at which point the department will confirm whether it has deemed it necessary to continue to seek assurance. If that is the case, the notice will remain in place but the notice may also be withdrawn or escalated at any point based on available evidence. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.