The Peer Team's initial visit took place in January 2017 and the follow up was an opportunity to check and challenge the council's progress against eight key recommendations. Over the two day follow up visit the Peer Team met with over 80 employees, councillors and key city stakeholders.
Overall feedback:
"The City of Wolverhampton Council has continued to make good progress over the last 18 months. This progress is recognised by a range of stakeholders, including staff and partners, and was validated in June 2017 when you were named MJ Local Authority of the Year. Another significant achievement is the 'Good' judgement provided by Ofsted for children's services.
This progress is underpinned by the energy that can be found across the workforce and the obvious pride that people display in working for the Council. They are committed and enthusiastic about what they do and intent on delivering the best possible services for the citizens of Wolverhampton.
Since July 2018, the Council has a new managing director and quite rightly there is a focus on continuity, building and developing the things the Council does well. The change in leadership also provides an opportunity to take stock of this progress, refine the approach and provide fresh impetus and a stronger emphasis on key future priorities.
Great strides have been made to embed your approach to social value and to articulate and promote the benefits of what the Council is doing and the impact this has on citizens. Through real stories told by real people there is now a very visible and shared narrative that evidences and describes social value outcomes.
It is clear from the people that we spoke to that the Council has a strong sense of what it is trying to achieve, where it is making progress and those areas of development that are more challenging. This self-awareness alongside your increasingly embedded approach as a learning organisation is key to your ongoing improvement."
The full report is available here: Corporate_Peer_Challenge___Follow_Up_Report_September_2018.pdf