PAPER C

ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE- 20 AUGUST 2003

BEST VALUE REVIEW - CONSULTANT'S PROGRESS REPORT ON HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN

HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

REASON FOR SELECT COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

Resolved at the Environment and Transport Select Committee of 24 June 2003, that the contents of the Consultant’s progress report be reported to this Committee meeting.

ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE

To receive the Consultant’s progress report on the Highways and Transportation Best Value Improvement Plan.

BACKGROUND

The Improvement Plan was well received by the Audit Commission’s Best Value Inspectors when the Highways and Transportation Service was re-inspected in September 2002.

Good progress has been made in implementing the Improvement Plan. However, the availability of resources has a major impact on the Department’s ability to deliver and therefore, careful monitoring is essential to ensure that adequate progress is maintained. To assist in this process the Consultant that helped with the external challenge to the Improvement Plan has been requested to undertake an audit on progress. Details of his report are as follows :-

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Scope of the Audit

1. The purpose of the Audit was to check the extent to which the Highways and Transportation Best Value Improvement Plan is being delivered. Before the audit took place, a series of actions contained in the Plan was agreed with the Head of Service for investigation.

2. Discussions were held with Steve Matthews, Malcolm Smith, Phil Hayward, Peter Taylor, Nick Gallin, Steve Boswell, Chris Wells and Helen Gaches on the 3 and 4 June. Everyone was very co-operative, spoke openly and gave generously of their time.

OVERVIEW OF THE FINDINGS

1. Of the 31 findings, which emerged from the discussions with senior staff, five of the planned actions had been changed, mostly due to Corporate initiatives. There is therefore, a real risk that progress will become bogged down to the detriment of service delivery because of the breadth and competing pressures of Corporate work.

2. Corporate initiatives identified as having an affect on the Improvement Plan include:

• Great access to great services (GAGS) and the Departmental use of stakeholders;
• The procurement strategy and the development of a partnering culture;
• An IT systems review in the Department and the acquisition of a pavement management system; and
• The development of the Council website.

3. Findings relating to areas where progress has been better than anticipated in the Improvement Plan are:

• The operation of the Member/Officer protocol;
• The development of a public transport information strategy in addition to the bus strategy; and
• The use of the scheme prioritisation methods in the development of work programmes for 2003/04. (There is a concern within the Department that the relationship between the LTP policies, Service Plans and work programmes is not sufficiently clear.)

4. Additionally, good progress has been made with some other initiatives that were not specifically highlighted in the Improvement Plan:

• Delivery of the work programme, not least the corridor improvements and the construction of a park and ride facility serving Cowes;
• The contract arrangements for the Military Road scheme;
• Some early thinking about the possible use of private finance as a means of generating a sustained asset improvement programme;
• The reorganisation of the inspection service to mirror the wider responsibility of the Department; and
• The DfT’s assessment of the Council’s transport performance which reflects well on the Department.

5. Progress is broadly on schedule for the Department’s two major management initiatives – gaining IiP status and the introduction of an accredited Quality Management System.

6. The Department is about to produce its first quarterly report for the Departmental Management Team on the performance indicators. This is a key step and needs to be encouraged. DMT will need to satisfy itself about the robustness of the data and systems that underpin the performance measures and will need to set realistic, but challenging targets for the measures.

7. Progress is being made towards a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) approach to asset maintenance and a report on this is soon to be taken to the Executive Committee. Because of this new important strategy, the term highway maintenance contract has had to be extended with the two existing contractors.

8. Areas to watch and concerns:

• The new Principal Design Engineer and other posts within the Traffic Section have not been filled because of budget difficulties;
• There is inadequate support resource for the Policy and Strategy Manager;
• The Department remains a very busy one;
• Organisational change and continued heavy workload with increased Corporate initiatives; and
• Need to safeguard budgets within “headroom” exercise.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. DMT reviews progress in implementing the Improvement Plan quarterly and sets revised priorities and targets where slippage has occurred or new activities intervene.

2. The Department needs to be more proactive in adjusting the scope and timescale of some Corporate initiatives to better suit its own imperatives.

3. Consideration is given to the organisational and staffing issues referred to in paragraph 8.

4. The Department continues to examine the possible application of a PFI approach to asset maintenance and development, not least because of its pioneering experience with the integrated waste contract. Because this is a difficult procurement arrangement to deliver, other short-term opportunities to improve existing contractual practices should not be put on hold.

RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Highways and Transportation Best Value Improvement plan.

CONSULTATION PROCESS

Not necessary at this time.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS

None at present.

APPENDICES ATTACHED

None.

BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

Audit of the Highways and Transportation Best Value Improvement Plan by M Sharpe.

Contact Point :Malcolm Smith, Policy and Strategy Manager, F 823777

e-mail [email protected]

STEPHEN MATTHEWS

Head Of Engineering Services