Best Value Notice could go next year

PROGRESS MADE OVER GOVERNMENT'S CONCERNS

- By DANIEL HODGSON

TEES Valley Combined Authority could see their Best Value Notice removed next year.

TVCA was slapped with the non-statutory notice in April. The notice is a formal notification of concerns about governance and value for money and requests that the authority engages with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to provide “assurance of improvement”.

The news that the notice could be lifted in the spring was cautiously welcomed by TVCA cabinet members, though there was criticism from Middlesbrough's Labour Mayor Chris Cooke.

TVCA's chief executive Tom Bryant, spoke of “really good progress” regarding work on actions within the organisational improvement plan, which was agreed in the summer.

Rob Whiteman, who chairs an independent board advising TVCA, said: “The bottom line message is that we think that good progress is being made and we see sufficient progress that we would recommend to the department that, in May, you look normal enough not to have a Best Value Notice.”

He said that while the combined authority has had “difficult issues” to deal with, there was sufficient sound, robust and established governance as well as a financial plan to match.