LGA Corporate Peer Challenge

The Council participated in the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge process in November 2025. A Corporate Peer Challenge is a proven tool for improvement and assurance and involves a small team of Local Government Officers and Elected Members spending time at a Council, as peers, to provide challenge and share learning.

The Corporate Peer Challenge reviewed a number of components to ensure the Council has adequate arrangements in place:-

  • Local priorities and outcomes – Are the Council’s priorities clear and informed by the local context?
  • Is the Council delivering effectively on its priorities? Is there a robust organisational-wide approach to continuous improvement, with regular monitoring, reporting on and updating of performance and improvement plans?
  • Organisational and place leadership - does the Council provide effective local leadership? Are there strong and effective relationships with partner organisations and local communities?
  • Governance and culture – Are there clear and robust governance arrangements? Is there a culture of openness, transparency, challenge and scrutiny?
  • Financial planning and management - Does the Council have a clear understanding of its financial position? Does the Council have a strategy and a plan to address its financial challenges? What is the relative financial resilience of the Council like?
  • Capacity for improvement – Is the organisation able to bring about the improvements it needs, including delivering on locally identified priorities? Does the Council have capacity to improve?

The feedback report from the Corporate Peer Challenge was extremely positive, confirming that the Council is a well-managed organisation which has demonstrated significant achievements over the years, a positive culture exists within the organisation and the Council’s financial management is a strength. The full report can be found here:-

The Peer Challenge Team also identified a number of recommendations and an Action Plan  has been developed to progress the recommendations. The Action Plan  can be found here:-

A further review of the progress made is scheduled to take place in late 2026.

For further information on the Corporate Peer Challenge, contact Melanie Duncan via email at melanie.duncan@knowsley.gov.uk

Previous Corporate Peer Challenge reports can be found here:-

 

Chat with us