Southampton City Council lacks a “shared vision with clearly defined priorities”, a new report has found.

The assessment comes from a Local Government Association corporate peer challenge.

Council leaders welcomed the 11 key recommendations from the peer challenge team and said it was a “pivotal moment for Southampton”.

A feedback report from the peer team, which identified a raft of concerns and issues, was presented to cabinet on Tuesday, May 27.

The corporate peer challenge report said: “Beyond the council’s priority to find savings, the peer team saw little evidence of a shared vision with clearly defined priorities informed by the local context of Southampton.

“The council’s corporate plan lacks a clear, shared vision, with political priorities and resource allocation not aligning.”

The peer challenge team, which was made up of officers and councillors from other local authorities, said there was little evidence that resident feedback shaped council priorities.

Another issue highlighted in the report included seeing a reluctance within the organisation to make difficult decisions, which has led to a lack of clarity around priorities.

The housing service was named as being in particular need of significant support and a more comprehensive strategy.

The communications function is underpowered, with a need for stronger leadership to drive the council’s strategic vision and engage residents more effectively, the report said.

Interim chief executive Andrew Travers, who has now left the council, and leader Cllr Lorna Fielker had brought “stability and direction” to the local authority, the peer team said.

However, their report added: “The council has seen high turnover in senior roles over the last seven years, including five chief executives, six directors of adult social care and two directors of children’s services.

“This instability raises concerns, and the organisation would benefit from a ‘lessons learned’ exercise to prevent future issues and help to rebuild staff confidence.”

Following the four-day visit to Southampton in January, the corporate peer team gave the following key recommendations to the council:

  • Reflect, learn and celebrate the progress made from the ‘adapt’ phase of your transformation programme
  • Recognise and mitigate the risk around your chief executive appointment and align senior management recruitment timescales
  • Agree the parameters that will trigger your Improvement Board’s exit strategy
  • Develop and deliver a Corporate Plan with a clear vision and key priorities
  • Develop a delivery plan for growth
  • Lead and embrace government agencies and investors to help deliver growth outcomes for Southampton
  • Urgently drive improvements in governance
  • Drive your organisational development function, your culture change and customer service programmes at pace
  • Create a confident and an externally facing culture
  • Work with the improvement board to tackle the housing challenge
  • Resolve issues with the audit of your accounts

The council has published an action plan in response to the peer team’s report.

In the plan’s foreword, Cllr Fielker wrote: “We welcome the feedback and while it highlights lots of areas to progress, it is clear that we are going in the right direction.

“In many cases, the recommendations will help to strengthen work which is already underway as part of our transformation programme, in others they highlight important areas for the next phase of our improvement.”

Jillian Kay, who started as chief executive in late April, said she had set three initial priorities for her first months in the role – continuity, momentum and opportunities.

Ms Kay wrote: “Since joining Southampton City Council at the end of April, I have seen a commitment across the organisation to transforming into the modern, resident focused organisation we need to become.

“I welcome this corporate peer challenge report for the insights into the progress made over the last year and the recommendations about issues we need to address for the future.

“This is a pivotal moment for Southampton.

“Between the council’s ongoing transformation, the city’s ambitious growth plans and the opportunities presented by the Government’s devolution agenda, there is an opportunity to make lasting positive change.”