The government has issued a formal notice raising concerns about the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

A Best Value Notice was issued to the authority on January 30 by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

This notice is a formal notification that the government has concerns regarding the authority and asks it to engage with the government to provide assurance of improvement.

The government said it recognised improvements have been made by the Combined Authority over the last year, but said concerns still remain.

A number of expectations for improvement have been set out by DLUHC, including calling for the Combined Authority Board, which includes representatives of councils in the area, to commit to “strong partnership working”.

A letter sent to the Combined Authority’s Chief Executive, Rob Bridge, has been published by DLUHC.

In the letter it referenced the previous notice that was issued on January 24, 2023, and said there had been improvements made since then.

However, it said the government still had concerns about the Combined Authority.

It said: “We acknowledge the steps the CPCA has taken to address the serious issues at the authority since then, including your constructive engagement with both the independent Improvement Board and the Department over the last twelve months.

“We recognise the authority’s progress in delivering its agreed improvement plan, which has included making permanent appointments to the senior leadership team in a robust and timely manner.

“The benefits of a strengthened senior leadership team are reflected in the progress made against the improvement plan.

“Although the investigation into breaches of the member code of conduct was not concluded quickly, we note that it now has been and is an important milestone for the authority.

“However, as you know, embedding cultural change across the organisation and ensuring that it is having the desired, long-term impacts is likely to take time and will require sustained effort from both officers and, indeed, members at CPCA.

“Further, the Department remains concerned that, despite efforts made, more work is needed to ensure effective partnership working between all levels of the Combined Authority and its constituent authorities, to enable the area to achieve its full potential.

“We note that, whilst the Improvement Board ‘continues to draw assurance from the work of the officer team within [CPCA], this needs to be matched by the actions of the [Combined Authority] Board itself’.”

The Combined Authority has been asked to continue to work with the Improvement Board and to implement the changes agreed in the improvement plan.

The letter also asks for the authority to commit through “strong partnership working at both officer and member level” to develop strategic priorities for the area.

The government has said it will continue to monitor the Combined Authority’s progress.

Rob Bridge, the Combined Authority Chief Executive, said: “The revised Best Value Notice acknowledges the progress the Combined Authority has made and continues to make since January 2023.

“This progress includes being the first Combined Authority to adopt, following approval from DLUHC, a Single Assurance Framework, adopting a new Member Officer Protocol, the transformation of our procurement function and making permanent appointments to the senior leadership team.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff at the Combined Authority, whose hard work has made this progress possible.

“There is of course still more work for us to do and I look forward to working in partnership with our Constituent Councils and the Independent Improvement Board to continue to deliver for the businesses and communities of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.”

You can read the Combined Authority's full response statement on its website.