Northumberland County Council dysfunctional with fighting, review says

Northumberland County Council has pledged to change as a result of the critical report

A council has been criticised as "dysfunctional" with officers and councillors spending too much fighting each other.

Leadership at Northumberland County Council is "distracted" and involved to an "unhealthy extent on internal battles", an independent review said.

Its author Max Caller said good work was being done but a cultural change was needed.

Leader Glen Sanderson, who commissioned the review, welcomed its findings.

Mr Sanderson said he wanted to create a "new culture of openness, trust and accountability" after well publicised disputes between council officers and councillors.

"While some of the findings may appear blunt this is exactly what we expected to find and this is very much another step in restoring good governance, transparency and accountability to Northumberland County Council," he said.

Mr Caller, a local government expert who has reviewed other councils, said there were signs services were beginning to underperform due to a "lack of attention".

He said staff described the relationships between officers and councillors as "dysfunctional", with one member saying they spent too much time "fighting with each other" rather than "doing business for residents".

Council leader Glen Sanderson said changes will be made

Mr Caller said there was an "absence of effective communication in the upper levels" with councillors and officers resorting to freedom of information (FOI) requests or complaints "as they feel it is the only way they can effect change".

He said the authority was "paralysed" by "large volumes of procedural issues", including almost 4,800 FOI requests in three years, many from "senior officers or members".

The council "needs to undergo a fundamental reset of its philosophy, processes, and relationships," he said.

Mr Caller said the high turnover of staff could be seen as "indicative of a culture where constructive advice and challenge has not been welcomed by senior officers of the council".

He said many more had signed agreements saying they could not speak about the circumstances of their leaving, "in effect non-disclosure agreements", than would normally be expected at councils.

Mr Sanderson said councillors and officers would be "getting to work straight away to address these issues that have been highlighted", adding: "We want to see real results and improvement in everything that we do and I am confident this review signals the start of a brighter future for the council."