PAPER C1
Purpose
: For Decision
REPORT
TO THE EXECUTIVE
Date : 20 APRIL 2005
Title : PLANNING
SERVICES BEST VALUE IMPROVEMENT PLAN - UPDATE
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING POLICY
IMPLEMENTATION DATE: 2 May
2005
1.
To seek Members’ approval for the remodelled Planning
Services Best Value Improvement Plan.
RULE
15 - ACCESS TO INFORMATION RULES
2.
This
report originally appeared in the Forward Plan for 23 March 2005 Executive. It
was deferred to allow further discussion with, and by, the Portfolio Holder.
Taking account of the election period, the next planned Executive is for 1 June
2005 and the Improvement plan must be in place and being delivered before that
date.
BACKGROUND
3.
Members will recall that the original Planning
Services Best Value Improvement Plan was approved in November 2003.
4.
The Inspection of the Service took place in September 2004. The Service was classified as fair and with
promising prospects for improvement. As
part of their report the Inspectors made a number of recommendations on the
format of the Improvement Plan and also suggested various additional aspects
that needed to be tackled.
5.
The principal area which has been tackled in the
revised Improvement Plan is that of the relationship between the Planning
Service and the aims and objectives of the Community Strategy (Island Futures)
and the Council’s own Corporate Plan.
6.
The Inspectors commented that the original Improvement
Plan was in essence a recovery plan for the Service, and that future actions
should align the work of the Service more closely with these wider
objectives. This has been accepted and
is reflected in the revised Improvement Plan.
7.
Your officers have also taken the opportunity to move
away from the concept of an Improvement Plan and move towards the concept of a
Business Plan for the Service until 2008.
In order to reflect the suggestions of the Inspectors the Business Plan
identifies key elements of the ongoing work of the Service (eg the production
of the Local Development Framework and the implementation of the AONB
Management Plan) and the implementation of specific service improvements.
8.
The Business Plan also tackles the issue of customer
care in the Service which was one of the key weaknesses which the Inspectors
identified.
9.
An outline of the Business Plan is set out at Appendix A.
10.
The Planning Priority Improvement Area group has kept
an ongoing overview of both the Inspection process, and ongoing improvements in
the Service. Key areas where the Group
has added value to this process include:-
(a)
Securing Human Resources time and expertise on the
issue of job evaluations, recruitment packages and the handling of the recent
batch of adverts for new staff in the Service.
(b)
Providing advice and assistance on contract working
and procurement arrangements.
(c)
Ensuring that the Service properly and fully has a
high level of involvement in ICT/Business Process/GAGS issues.
(d)
Advising on customer care initiatives.
CONSULTATION
11.
The Business Plan has been produced in accordance with
an agreed timetable with the Inspectors.
Given the extensive consultation that was carried out on the original
improvement plan (and which was commended by the Inspectors) and given that the
Business Plan is, in effect, incorporating the Inspectors recommendations into
a remodelling and rebranding of the existing Improvement Plan, consultation has
been limited to internal discussion with the component teams in the Planning
Service.
12.
By implication the incorporation of the Inspectors’
recommendations in the Business Plan picks up the various comments made to the
Inspectors team during the course of the Inspection in September 2004.
FINANCIAL/BUDGET
IMPLICATIONS
13.
One of the Inspectors’ recommendations was that the
remodelled Improvement Plan incorporated a more accurate assessment of the
financial and budget implications of implementing the various actions. The opportunity has also been taken to
incorporate in the Business Plan the amount of staff time that is anticipated
to complete the various tasks.
14.
The detailed business plan identifies the cost
associated with the various actions included within it. These costs will be met from either
mainstream Planning Service budgets or from the existing Planning Delivery Grant.
15.
The Business Plan also identifies the need to achieve
Gershon savings during the three years up to and including 2007/08.
LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS
16.
There are no direct legal implications stemming from
either this report or the Business Plan.
OPTIONS
17.
It would appear that the following options are
available to the Executive:
a)
To approve the Business Plan as recommended
b)
Not to approve the Business Plan as recommended
c)
To approve a different set of actions in the Business
Plan.
18.
Given the work that was done with the Inspectors in
the period after the Round Table discussion and the undertakings that were made
to incorporate their various recommendations into a remodelled Improvement
Plan, it is suggested that only option a) is feasible at this stage.
19.
The Inspectors identified in their report that due to
capacity issues in the Service some improvements had slipped. The Business Plan seeks to tackle this
matter through a more detailed evaluation of time and cost implications on the
various tasks being undertaken.
20.
The principal risks associated with the future
development and improvement of the Service stem around the ongoing mismatch
between the number of planning applications being received and the capacity of
the Development Control team to cater for this workload. This particular matter is being tackled by
the formation of a Development Team approach and the associated placing of
adverts for a manager for this team, together with a replacement Development
Control Manager post. Two Principal
Planning Officer posts are also being advertised in the national press.
21.
Other elements which are key to the future success of
the Service such as the full implementation of Planning Online, via the DIP project
and the upgrade of the existing planning registration (Accolaid) system and the
filtering of telephone calls into the Call Centre are subject to their own
freestanding Prince 2 Project Management Systems.
|
RECOMMENDATIONS 22.
It is recommended that the Business Plan set out at
Appendix A be approved. |
23.
Planning Services Best Value Inspection December 2004.
Contact
Point : Andrew Ashcroft, Head of
Planning Services Tel 823556 email
[email protected]
|
ANDREW
ASHCROFT Head
of Planning Services |
TERRY
BUTCHERS
Portfolio Holder
for Sustainable Development, Environment and
Planning Policy |