The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council will meet next week to review progress on how the authority plans to implement a package of changes aimed at improving public services and the way the organisation operates.
Assessment prompts formal response
The meeting follows a recent Panel Performance Assessment carried out under the new measures introduced by the Local Government Act 2021. These assessments examine how councils perform across services, use their resources, and operate governance systems. The resulting report made eight key recommendations for Bridgend.
"hugely encouraging"
Council officers describe the assessment’s findings in positive terms and have prepared an update summarising progress against each recommendation ahead of the Cabinet’s consideration.
What the council has done so far
According to the progress summary, the authority has already taken a number of steps aimed at addressing the panel’s concerns. Work under way includes:
- developing a new long-term vision and transformation strategy for Bridgend up to 2040;
- strengthening strategic capacity with senior appointments and creating a new structure agreed by the council;
- preparing a two-year leadership development programme and improving training for members;
- drawing up a workforce strategy and plans to re-engineer business processes to cut bureaucracy and improve efficiency;
- establishing a corporate transformation team to drive change, led by a newly appointed head of service.
The report presented to the Cabinet breaks progress down across the eight recommendations; it concludes that significant work has been completed in setting direction and building capacity, while further activity is required to embed new ways of working and to deliver planned savings.
Progress at a glance
| Recommendation | Progress noted |
|---|---|
| Long-term vision to 2040 | New vision and transformation strategy developed |
| Leadership development | Two-year programme under development; new head of service appointed |
| Risk, innovation and bureaucracy | Workforce strategy and improvement programme in progress |
| Corporate capacity and enablers | New council structure agreed; corporate transformation team being set up |
Officers say the changes are intended to support better decision-making, unlock potential across directorates and deliver savings required by tighter budgets. The Cabinet’s formal response will set out priorities for the next phase, including actions to ensure the recommendations are fully embedded into everyday service delivery.
Local residents and community groups watching council performance should be able to view the Cabinet report, which will detail the recommendations and the council’s response, once it is published ahead of the meeting.
This review forms part of a new statutory approach to scrutiny and improvement for local authorities. For Bridgend, officers frame the work as both a stocktake and a launchpad for further transformation aimed at strengthening services for the borough’s residents.
