Correspondence

Woking Borough Council: Letter from the Chief Executive to the Commissioners

Published 19 October 2023

Applies to England

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To: The Woking Commissioners

From: Julie Fisher, Chief Executive, Woking Borough Council

Date: 24 August 2023

Dear Commissioners, 

I am e-mailing you with the first of my three-month updates regarding Woking Borough Council’s progress against the Government Directions (announced on 25 May 2023), to ensure that the Council can comply with its best value duty under Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1999.  

My update consists of the following documents: 

The next three months  

Although the Council has made progress, we cannot underplay the severity of the financial position and the significant action we need to take in response. It is one thing to produce an Improvement Plan – it is another to deliver it. I am aware that, whilst our IRP sets out high-level actions and deliverables, we need to work at pace to put in place the detailed project plans, milestones and KPIs required to deliver it. This work is underway, driven by our Programme Management Office, and regular reports on progress will be made at the Improvement and Recovery Board. 

We have also made progress on identifying savings to bridge our business-as-usual budget gap of over £11m. However, we now need to apply a laser-like focus to ensuring that we deliver against these savings. I know that achieving these efficiencies is integral if we are to build credibility with Government and show that we have the ability and processes in place to deliver further savings. As you are aware, our Q1 Budget Monitoring report has indicated that we currently have a £6m overspend against our general fund, suggesting we still have significant work to do to ensure we have robust financial controls in place. Budget holders are currently undertaking a line-by-line review of all service budgets, to identify savings that can mitigate the overspend. The results of this review will feed into future budget monitoring reports which will be considered at CLT.  

Finally, the next three months will also pose challenges in relation to communications and engagement. Whilst there has been significant media discussion of the Council’s financial position, local media and resident scrutiny is likely to intensify as we take difficult decisions about the future of services. Councillors need to have access to the right information to enable them to take high-quality and evidence-based decisions, alongside a clear narrative to help them explain these decisions to residents. I have scheduled a number of informal briefings with councillors throughout September, to support the decision-making around the MTFS. We will also review committee papers and consultation documents to ensure our messaging to councillors (and the public) is clear, transparent and provides an accurate reflection of the Council’s position.  

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Commissioner team for their support, input, and guidance over the past three months. I look forward to continuing to work together as we drive Woking’s improvement journey.  

Kind regards,

Julie Fisher 
Chief Executive

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