A Local Government Association peer review team have found that Sandwell Council has been through a “remarkable and profound transformation”. They spoke to more than 200 council officers, residents, businesses, and representatives of partner organisations.

They found that Sandwell has “now evolved into a fundamentally different council – one that partners, staff, and members now consistently describe as rejuvenated, functional, and ambitious.” The peer team judged that “the scale and pace of improvement has been impressive to everyone that the peer team met with.”

Leader of the Council, Cllr Kerrie Carmichael said: “We are a caring council that gets things done, and the improvements we’ve made have happened because we are completely focused on getting things right for our residents – delivering high-quality services that are easy to use and working for the people who need them.

“I see examples of our staff providing excellent public service every day, and am delighted the peer review team could see their ‘passion and commitment’. I want to take this opportunity to thank our staff for all their hard work.”

“I’m really proud that our progress over the last few years has been recognised by the peer review team, and we now have examples across council services – including adult social care, children’s services, planning, road maintenance and leisure services – where we can point to external ratings and reviews that show we are a much-changed council that is making a positive difference in people’s lives.

“I’m determined that we will continue to build on these improvements so we can keep making real changes which will benefit our residents and our borough for generations to come.”

In March 2024, Sandwell Council exited a two-year period of government intervention. The council invited the peer review team in to look at how the council had worked since the end of intervention and to make recommendations to help the council achieve its ambition to become outstanding.

The peer team noted they were “overwhelmingly impressed by the staff we met” and observed that “central to the improvement is the council’s strong and inspirational political and managerial leadership.”

Chief Executive of Sandwell Council Shokat Lal said: “It’s important to have an external perspective from critical friends who can look at the changes we’ve made in recent years with fresh eyes.

“So it’s been really pleasing to get such positive feedback from the peer review team. Alongside the positive judgements we’ve had for adult social care, children’s services and road maintenance, this is fantastic recognition for the improvements we’ve continued to make since exiting government intervention.

“We’re always working to get better and over the last year we have put in place a new neighbourhoods model to better connect our services to residents in each of our six towns.

“I’m really grateful to the peer review team for their time and expertise. They have identified several areas where we have more to do, and we are now developing a plan to respond to their recommendations.”