PAPER B1
For Decision
Committee : EXECUTIVE
Date : 7 MAY 2002
Title : COUNCIL CORPORATE PLAN – VISION
STATEMENT
DEPUTY
LEADER
SUMMARY
This report outlines proposals to prepare a Corporate Plan for the Council. Specifically it seeks approval for the “Vision Statement”, attached as Annex 1, which sets the strategic context for the Plan.
BACKGROUND
1. Past
annual management letters from the District Audit office, together with other
independent inspection reports of Council services, have drawn attention to the
need for stronger political leadership and corporate management.
2. In the
past the Council has typically pursued an approach to service delivery founded
upon an implicit all-party consensus about our needs and
priorities. However, the continuing
Government thrust to “modernise” the operation of local government, suggests
that a more explicit statement of the authority’s strategic aims is now
required.
3. A
particular factor driving this agenda is the new Comprehensive Performance
Assessment (CPA) initiative launched by the Government as part of a White
Paper, “Strong Local Leadership – quality public services,” published in
December 2001. The Government has
charged the Audit Commission with responsibility for implementing the CPA
initiative and producing a judgement for every local authority based on:
·
The quality of its local services
·
Its capacity to improve local services
·
Its corporate and management effectiveness.
4. The CPA
process will be rolled out to authorities between the spring and autumn of 2002
for County and Unitary Councils, with District Councils joining the programme
from the autumn of 2002. The process
will involve:
·
A review of existing information (Ofsted report, Best Value
reports, audit management letters, etc.)
·
A self-assessment exercise followed by an inspection of the
corporate capacity of councils to continuously improve service performance.
·
Targeted inspections to plug gaps in service knowledge.
5. The
information gleaned through this process will feed into a data model which will
generate an overall ranking for councils as either:
·
High performing
·
Striving
·
Coasting
·
Poor performing
6. At the end
of the process the performance of their local Council will be reported to every
household on the area via a “Report Card”.
RESPONDING
TO THIS AGENDA
7. An
essential first step for the Council is to address the current gaps in our
approach to corporate management, as highlighted in paragraphs 1 and 2
above. In particular, it is essential that the Council prepares a Corporate
Plan setting out its vision and strategic aims for the Island. The Plan will form one part of a much wider
planning process for both the Council and the Island. As Exhibit 1 (overpage) illustrates, the Corporate Plan will sit
within a hierarchy of plans:
·
Island Futures Community Strategy : sets out
broad strategic priorities for the coming 10-15 years
·
IW Council Corporate Plan : sets out
the Council’s strategic priorities for the next 3 years and the contribution to
the Community Strategy
·
Annual Business Plan : sets out
the annual programme through which the Council will achieve its Corporate Plan
·
Service Plans : an annual plan setting out a
detailed operational programme for each of the 19 service areas
·
Personal Development Plans :
individual plan for each member of staff setting out their role,
responsibilities and development needs.
8. Cutting across
each of these planning layers are a number of common values:
·
Giving excellent service: we are
committed to a culture of excellence and improvement in service delivery
·
Listening to people : we are committed to working in partnership
with the community.
·
Working in partnership : we are
committed to delivering services in partnership with other agencies.
·
Being open and fair : we are
committed to transparency and accountability and the highest standards of
conduct by members and staff.
·
Caring for our unique environment : we are
committed to the principles of sustainability i.e. service delivery with the
long-term interests of our community at heart.
EXHIBIT 1 : STRUCTURE OF THE PLANNING PROCESS
THE CORPORATE PLAN
9. The Corporate Plan
will be structured in 5 parts:
Part 1: Council’s
Vision : sets out the key strategic themes as developed and agreed by the
Council.
Part 2: Island
Context : sets out the background context to the Island and profiles the
make-up of our community and the challenges which we face.
Part 3: Strategic
priorities : sets out the strategic aims underlying each of the broad
themes outlined in the Political Vision.
Part 4: Financing
the Plan : sets out the financial background to the Plan outlining the
constraints and medium-term forecasts.
Part 5: Making it
happen : sets out details of how the Plan will be delivered and the actions
required to support effective political leadership and corporate management.
10. With the agreement
of the Economic Development Portfolio holder, the Council’s Head of Economic
Development has been seconded to work to the Head of Paid Service and
co-ordinate preparation of the Plan and preparatory work for the CPA
assessment. Over the past few weeks
attention has focused upon drafting Part 1 of the Corporate Plan - the
Council’s Vision. Through the offices
of the Deputy Leader a draft of this section has been prepared and is attached
as Annex 1. The aim of this section is
to set out in broad terms the Council’s strategic aims and aspirations. The
vision identifies seven key goals and, for each, sets out the main priorities
for the period 2002 – 2005. Later
sections of the Corporate Plan will translate these strategic priorities into
more detailed operational goals.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
11. Preparation
of a Corporate Plan will assist the Council in ensuring effective use of the
resources at its disposal.
CONCLUSION
12. It is anticipated
that the Corporate Plan will be completed in draft by the end of May. It will be brought to the Executive and
Council for approval before going out for formal consultation with partner
agencies and the general public.
13. It should be stressed
that preparation of the Corporate Plan must mark a point of departure
for the Council. The lack of such a
document represents a gap in the authority’s management arrangements – the
implicit all-party consensus approach, which has typified Council service
development and delivery to date, needs to be replaced with a clear written
statement about how the Council intends to improve the economic, social and
environmental well-being of the Island.
Furthermore, whilst preparation of the Corporate Plan is an end in
itself, it should also be noted that failure to improve our approach to
political and managerial leadership will inevitably be reflected in the CPA
assessment.
14. Members
are invited to comment upon, and approve, the Council “Vision Statement” (Annex
1) which will form the first section of the Corporate Plan.
|
RECOMMENDATION 1.
That the Executive consider and approve the “Vision
Statement” attached as Annex 1 to this report. 2.
That the report be passed to full Council for their
consideration and approval. |
Contact Point : John Bentley, Head of Economic Development
Tel. 823346
|
A KAYE Head of
Paid Service |
P HARRIS Deputy
Leader |
ANNEX 1 : THE COUNCIL’S STRATEGIC VISION, 2002 - 05
BACKGROUND
The Council already has an established statement setting out the primary aim of the authority - our vision is to “Improve Island Life” – a simple and succinct phrase. In order to realise this vision and set the context for development of a Corporate Plan, we have set ourselves 7 key goals :
· Providing high quality Council services
· Improving health, housing and the quality of life for all
· Encouraging job creation and economic prosperity
· Raising education standards & promoting lifelong learning
· Creating safe and crime-free communities
· Improving public transport and the highways infrastructure
· Protecting the Island’s natural environment
PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY COUNCIL SERVICES
We have many excellent staff working for the Council who work hard to provide high quality services for the Island. However, with continuous pressure on our budgets we need to use the staff and financial resources available to us in the most effective manner. In particular, we need to ensure that the organisational structure of the Council is capable of delivering the services that the community deserves and that that this is done to in such a way as to maximise value for money.
Through strong corporate
governance, we will :
IMPROVING HEALTH, HOUSING AND THE QUALITY OF
LIFE FOR ALL
Our Island status brings with it many benefits – it
inspires a high degree of pride and generates a strong local identity which is
essential for the promotion of local democracy. Island status also provides a
wonderful base for our tourism industry and supports a high quality of life for
the majority of people.
However, despite the many positive aspects of Island life, for a significant minority of people the situation is not so favourable. 15 of our 48 wards are within the top 20% nationally of most deprived areas. At 26.1% of the total population, we also have one of the highest levels of retired people in the UK. The difficult life circumstances facing some people can mean that they are effectively excluded from the opportunity to live prosperous, healthy and fulfilled lives.
Social exclusion impacts upon people and communities in many different ways – it can exclude them from employment, from access to good quality affordable housing, from access to health care and from access to leisure activities. In overall terms it restricts the ability of people to realise their full potential, forcing them to live in unacceptable ways with damaging consequences for the individual and for social cohesion. It also acts to put a “brake” on economic prosperity on the Island and imposes additional costs on other tax payers.
Through our Social
Inclusion Strategy, we will :
ENCOURAGING JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
Put quite simply, the Island does not share in the economic prosperity more generally enjoyed by our mainland neighbours. Above average unemployment, low wages, a dependence upon a seasonal tourist industry and emerging skill shortages, all serve to restrict business growth and competitiveness.
In response to these challenges, the Council was instrumental in setting up the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership (IWEP). As an independent agency directly supported by the Council, IWEP has contributed to a marked change in the Island’s economic fortunes. Over the past 3 years over 1,000 jobs have been created or safeguarded, in excess of £20 million of Government and EU funding has been secured to support economic development, and unemployment has fallen by 26% between March 1999 and March 2002.
Of course, challenges still remain. Our manufacturing base remains particularly vulnerable as witnessed by a number of recent company redundancies. But our strengths in advanced materials production, in electronics and in the marine and leisure industries provide the basis for future prosperity.
Of particular importance is the Island tourist industry. The 3 million visitors to the Island bring annual investment of over £300 million. The industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and has great potential to expand on the Island.
Through our Island
Regeneration Strategy & Tourism Development Plan we will :
RAISING EDUCATION STANDARDS & PROMOTING LIFELONG LEARNING
We have many excellent schools on the Island and standards are continuing to improve year-on-year. The importance of education and lifelong learning is a priority for the Council – we believe that access to continuing education is a basic right for everyone. This is all the more so given the rapid pace of economic and technological change in the world. Harnessing and realising the talents of all, especially our young people, will be essential to the future of both the Island and the country as a whole.
Through our Education
& Community Development Strategic Plan and through working with our
partners, we will :
CREATING SAFE AND CRIME-FREE COMMUNITIES
Compared with many mainland areas the Island is fortunate in being a relatively safe and crime-free community – recorded crime here is generally below the rates for Hampshire and the national averages. Many of our elderly people, however, still have a perception that the Island suffers from a high crime rate. To live in a safe community which is relatively free of the fear of crime is an important contributory factor to the overall quality of life on the Island and is a key priority for the Council.
The Council acknowledges that all crime and disorder is unacceptable and, although we have a low crime rate on the Island, we aim to bring down the figures still further. Working through our Crime and Disorder Partnership we are confident in our ability to achieve this.
The Island is also unique in being the only combined Unitary Authority and Fire and Rescue Service in England. The Council is committed to the highest standards of fire safety and believes that a locally controlled service should be maintained on the basis that it best serves the interests of the Island.
Our environmental health, trading standards and other public protection services are also essential in maintaining safe communities.
Through our public
protection policies we will : ·
reduce crime, disorder and the fear of crime and
make the Island a safer place in which to live, to work and to visit. ·
support the continued provision of a locally
controlled, managed and delivered fire service ·
ensure that our environmental health & trading
standards services continue to protect public welfare
IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND THE HIGHWAYS INFRASTRUCTURE
As a predominantly rural community, transport is a key issue for many people - access to public transport or to a car is essential for travel to work, for shopping and for leisure pursuits. Almost one third (30%) of our residents have no access to a car and many live in rural areas poorly served by public transport. People without access to either public or private transport can be effectively excluded from society, its services and facilities. This is a particular difficulty for those who have mobility problems or are on low incomes and who may have trouble getting to basic services on or off the Island.
Although the Island’s public transport is of a generally good quality, it cannot meet all of the needs of a largely rural population and is seen by some as expensive. It is clear that in situations where public transport provision or access by foot is poor, inaccessible, or expensive, the lack of viable alternatives will often result in reliance on the private car. For those people without access to a car, problems of finding alternative transport, particularly at night, together with disability and mobility issues can result in them becoming isolated and reliant on others.
The Council recognises the concerns of many with regard to the costs of travel to the mainland but we remain opposed to the construction of a “fixed link” across the Solent.
Although a relatively small county, the number of road users using the Island highways infrastructure is high; this is due, in large part, to the volume of tourist visitors. The level of usage imposes a high level of wear and tear on our roads which, when combined with relatively low levels of Government financial support, results in difficulties in properly maintaining the infrastructure.
Through our Local
Transport Plan we will :
PROTECTING THE ISLAND’S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
The quality of the Island’s natural environment is second to none – almost 70% of the Island is protected by either UK or European environmental designations. In particular, we have an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covering almost 50% of the Island together with 44 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and 45 kilometres of Heritage Coast. The exceptional quality of our landscape is valued by both residents and visitors alike.
The Council is fully committed to protecting and enhancing this natural environment. We have already developed an Agenda 21 Strategy which aims to bring a “green dimension” to our actions – without steps to protect our Island’s environment, none of our other policies would have much purpose.
Through our Unitary
Development Plan & Local Agenda 21 Strategy we will :
CONCLUSION
The Council is committed to delivering high quality public services and to do this we aim to focus on the improvements that local people have identified and are entitled to expect. Working with our partners we have recently established the Island Futures Partnership to develop a Community Strategy for the Island. Providing a broad policy framework for the coming 10-15 years, the Strategy is being drafted by partner agencies across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Supported and led by the Council, the Island Futures Partnership will be a key means through which the authority is able to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Island and our communities.
Development of the Community Strategy is well advanced – following extensive public consultation the Partnership have identified the key themes and priorities for action and intend to have the Strategy finalised for the Autumn of 2002. This “vision statement” will provide the essential policy context for our Corporate Plan which will set out our contribution to delivery of the Community Strategy over the coming 3 years. Through our commitment to partnership working we are confident in our ability to work towards our vision of an Island where everyone leads a happy, prosperous and fulfilled life.