Tower Hamlets Council's improvement plan is off track but recoverable,
according to a recent assessment by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee. The committee reviewed the Continuous Improvement Plan Quarterly Update, noting that while foundational work has been completed, demonstrating tangible impact remains the key challenge.
Jonathan Lloyd, Strategic Director for Change and Improvement, presented the update, highlighting progress in areas such as strengthened governance, improved member development, and workforce transformation. However, he acknowledged that several programmes are still rated as off track but recoverable.
Specifically, the 'Culture and Workforce' and 'Governance, Political Culture & Decision Making' programmes remain rated as 'off track but recoverable.' The primary reasons for their current status include capacity constraints across key workstreams and support functions, reliance on improved data quality and systems maturity for assurance and performance reporting, the need for sustained pace in senior recruitment and organisational design to stabilise the workforce, and the embedding of culture change and governance improvements across the organisation.
Risks identified include capacity constraints, recruitment challenges, data quality issues, and the embedding of change across the organisation. To address capacity constraints, the council is strengthening HR leadership through recruitment and a restructure of the HR & OD service. Recruitment to critical HR leadership and specialist roles is underway, with some already onboarded. The 'Brilliant Basics' initiative aims to build trust by quickly resolving issues that matter to employees. Work is also underway to improve the accuracy of procurement data, and the 'Organisational Health Dashboard' is being developed to provide a single, joined-up view of performance, risk, and assurance.
Councillor Halima Islam, Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, stressed the need for future updates to provide evidence of embedded and sustainable improvements leading to better governance and accountability for residents.
The council is moving from reporting activity to demonstrating impact. Future updates will require programme sponsors and senior responsible officers to show what has been delivered, what difference it has made, the evidence supporting that judgement, what has been learned, and what further action is required. The 'What Good Looks Like' framework, translated into 12 priorities, will be used to articulate and show impact progress in a more granular way over the coming months.
Member development initiatives are progressing positively. The 'Members' Pledge' has been fully signed by all members and endorsed at Full Council. Member Induction & L&D sessions have seen strong attendance and positive feedback, particularly for externally-led sessions. A skills audit was conducted in August 2026 to identify further learning and development needs, with bespoke training to be organized. Members will also have access to wider training offered by Democratic Services and the Local Government Association, including mentoring. A visit to the London Assembly is being arranged for learning from best practice.
The Continuous Improvement Plan is focused on demonstrating measurable and sustainable impact. The next phase requires programme sponsors and senior responsible officers to show what has been delivered, what difference it has made, the evidence supporting that judgement, what has been learned, and what further action is required.
Public reports pack 22nd-Sep-2026 18.30 Overview Scrutiny Committee