Dear Colleague,

While there has been much change in the Council over the last two months, the priority for me in terms of our senior officer leadership is making sure that there is stability and experience to drive the ambitious agenda of the new administration forward.

Now is not the right time to be making major changes to the Council’s structure, with all of the disruption that restructures can cause. At this point, and with the agreement of the Leader, I have decided to make some changes to reporting lines and lock-in senior-level focus around our emerging priorities of meeting our Net Zero commitments, leading our response to the cost-of-living crisis and leading our Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) process so that we can continue to invest in our borough, our people and our organisation.

If you have been following my weekly notes recently, you will be aware of the ‘test and learn’ approach that I am adopting, which is all about exploring different ways of operating that are innovative but also build on the success of the past and importantly, maintain organisational stability.

Also, core to our long-term progress is my ongoing commitment to developing existing staff and the next generation of diverse leaders who have the experience and energy to drive Lambeth’s future.

The interim strategic leadership arrangements outlined below will take effect immediately and will remain in place over the next six months to make sure we continue to deliver the best possible services and outcomes for our residents:

• Venetia Reid-Baptise, currently Director of Environment and Streetscene will act up as Strategic Director for Resident Services. Further interim changes will be announced in the coming period as Venetia moves into this important role.
• Given the importance of housing to so much of what we do and on the lives of our residents, housing services will temporarily move out of Resident Services to become its own directorate with Neil Euesden, Director Housing and Homelessness, reporting directly to me and attending Management Board. This change responds to the clear pre-election message which elected Members heard – and continue to hear - loudly from residents, namely, that greater focus and improvement is needed to supercharge our housing repairs and call centre improvement plans. Having Housing as a separate function will help provide that concentration of effort to drive better customer services and housing management, including repairs.
• As the cost-of-living crisis continues to deepen, the Council needs to take urgent action to identify and promote initiatives to help support residents who are struggling to meet their basis needs and tackle the inequalities affecting the most vulnerable residents in our community. We also need to lobby Government and work with key partners to maximise the support we can offer to residents and local businesses. Fiona Mcdermott, who is currently Strategic Director Finance and Investment, has agreed to move into an essential new role to oversee the borough’s comprehensive response to this urgent crisis. Fiona will be working with colleagues across the Council, elected Members, partners, Government, businesses and anchor institutions across the borough to identify and close any gaps in our package of support initiatives to address the cost-of-living concerns and ensure Lambeth’s prosperity is shared equally across all our communities.
• As Fiona moves into her new, important role, Christina Thompson, currently in the substantive post of Director Finance and Property will act up as Strategic Director, Finance and Investment. Christina is our chief finance/section 151 officer already, so this is a simple move which makes sense as we work intensively on our MTFS to make sure we are financially healthy to face the challenges ahead. Additionally, I am really pleased to announce that Hamant Bharadia will step up into the role of Director of Finance and Property.
• Finally, given my focus on people, I am working increasingly closely with our new permanent HR and OD Director, Melanie Medley, to take stock of our HR function, review the findings of the recent staff engagement sessions on organisational development, and develop a clear direction of travel for the future. Therefore, Melanie will report directly to me, with immediate effect.

All other posts on Management Board remain the same. This does mean that I will have an increased number of direct reports into me – but I am confident that with the talented team now in place for the next six months, we can really shape that One Council culture, where we are optimistic about what we can achieve but strong together as we face numerous challenges.

I’m counting on everyone to help me congratulate, support, and enable these colleagues to do a great job for Lambeth. It is my plan to move to a permanent structure in early 2023 with wider changes to the leadership team at that point.

In the meantime, I hope you agree with me that these interim arrangements will allow us to move forward with confidence and continue delivering for residents.

Regards

Bayo Dosunmu, Chief Executive