2023 Corporate Peer Challenge
We have recently taken part in a Corporate Peer Challenge, or CPC, which is a process that is run by the Local Government Association.
The process is designed to provide robust, strategic and credible challenge and support to councils.
Typically, every Council has a CPC every five years; our last Peer Review was on our Planning Committee in 2020. This latest review was of the whole Council.
We invited the team of Peers, made-up of councillors and officers from other councils, to visit in late October / early November 2023. They spoke with our staff, councillors, and local partners. The report from the peers is available to read in full.
We have also published a summary in a news release.
Each CPC covers the five core elements detailed below as well any local needs or specific challenges requested by the Council:
- Local priorities and outcomes
- Organisational and place leadership
- Governance and culture
- Financial planning and management
- Capacity for improvement.
As part of the process, we have created an action plan following the CPC. Our action plan has been published and was considered by our Scrutiny and Overview Committee at their meeting on 21 March 2024 and agreed by our Cabinet at their meeting on 16 April 2024. Cabinet members also agreed that progress against this plan will be reported alongside our quarterly Key Performance Indicators until complete.
The Peers that reviewed South Cambridgeshire District Council were:
- Member Lead Peer: Cllr Joe Harris, Leader - Cotswold District Council
- Lead Officer Peer: Karen Bradford, Chief Executive - South Kesteven District Council
- Member Peer: Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Leader - Breckland District Council
- Officer Peer: Sarah King, Chief Financial Officer - Eastleigh BC
- Officer Peer: Pranali Parikh, Director for Growth and Regeneration - Melton BC
- Officer Peer: Darren Knight, Deputy Chief Executive - Warwick District Council
- LGA Peer Challenge Manager: James Mehmed