Barnsley Council presents action plan in response to positive feedback from the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge

Next week (Wednesday 28 May), Cabinet Members will discuss the action plan that has been developed in response to the positive feedback received from the Corporate Peer Challenge.  

Delivered by the Local Government Association (LGA), the Corporate Peer Challenge is a sector-led improvement and assurance tool designed to provide councils with external feedback on their performance, offer key recommendations for further improvement, and help councils meet their Best Value duty.   

In December 2024, the Peer Review team met over 160 of our elected members, staff and partners. They looked at how effective we are as a council and how well we serve Barnsley and our residents.  

In March 2025, the LGA published their feedback report which outlined key findings and nine recommendations. You can read the report on our website. 

The feedback report highlighted the fact that Barnsley is a high performing council, well regarded by partners in the borough and the sub-region. The passion for and commitment to Barnsley is evident everywhere you look. Leadership is highly visible, highly praised, and driving real change in Barnsley.  

In response to the nine recommendations set out by in the LGA’s feedback report, we have developed an action plan that sets out key activities that will enable the council to be even better.  

An example of these actions includes our response to the third recommendation that encouraged us to ‘consider how the community empowerment approach can evolve to contribute to the public service reform agenda and ensure the borough maximises opportunities for external funding’.  

In response to this, our action plan sets out the exciting new investment to empower our communities through the Love Where You Live programme. This ambitious initiative will inject £3.5 million into local projects, enhancing our borough and making Barnsley an even better place to live, work and thrive.  

This investment will:  

• Keep our streets clean and green, making Barnsley a place we can all be proud of. 

• Support local events, culture and community projects that bring people together.  

• Empower residents to have their say, get involved and shape their neighbourhoods.  

• Build stronger, safer and more connected communities where everyone belongs.  

Love Where You Live is about all of us, working together, listening to each other and making a real difference.  

These actions are focused on empowering our communities to have their say, get involved and shape their neighbourhoods. Through our Area Councils and Ward Alliances, our services and partners will work together to develop Barnsley as the place of possibilities, now and in the future.  

Sarah Norman, Chief Executive of Barnsley Council, said: “It has been excellent to review the positive findings from the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge and consider bold, brave and innovative approaches for our council to be even better.  

We’re committed to building upon our status as a high-performing council, harnessing the dedication and hard work of our incredible workforce and partners who are driving our ambitions as a place of possibilities. 

As the first council ever to win both the LGC and MJ Council of the Year, we have a track record of leading the way. Our action plan will help our council to be insight-led and continue our stable and strong leadership into the future.” 

Councillor Sir Steve Houghton, CBE, Leader of Barnsley Council, said: “The Corporate Peer Challenge enabled us to reflect on what has made our council so successful. Our action plan will help us to push ourselves even further. 

I’m pleased that we have already started to make actionable change towards our future success. I welcome our ambitions to work closely with partners, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Barnsley communities.  

We’ve explored how we can maximise opportunities for external funding and attracting inward investment, defined our future priorities and outcomes for Barnsley and we’ll continue to transform our council so we can drive positive change for our residents.” 

You can read the Cabinet report on our website.