PAPER B2
Committee
: RESOURCES SELECT COMMITTEE
Date
: 21 AUGUST 2002
Title
: SERVICE PLAN – FINANCE
AND BUSINESS SERVICES
REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF
FINANCE AND INFORMATION AND COUNTY TREASURER
SUMMARY/PURPOSE
The most recent Service Plan in respect of Finance &
Business Services is attached. The explanatory front page sets out a number of
aspects of the plan which members are asked to consider, and a number of issues
on which comments and guidance are invited.
Work
is now starting on the next plan, which will be brought to the Committee in the
autumn, so any comments received will usefully inform that process.
RECOMMENDATION
That the members of the committee consider
the Plan, and offer such comment and guidance as they deem appropriate.
BACKGROUND PAPERS
Measuring
Performance Task Group report to this Committee dated 16th May 2002.
Contact Point: Paul Wilkinson, F 3650
J PULSFORD
Strategic Director of Finance and Information and County
Treasurer
Service Plan
Finance
and Business Services
August
2002
(First published May 2002)
This
Service Plan is produced primarily to provide members of the Resources Select
Committee with details of the way this Unit proposes to deliver service
improvements, and to contribute to the delivery of the Council’s priorities.
It
also contains information showing members how the Unit has performed against
its previous targets.
Most
of the information likely to be of interest is in the body of the plan, but
financial information and a full set of improvement targets are available
should members require more detailed information.
Members
are asked to:
ü Consider the Unit’s planned contribution to delivery
of priorities
ü Review past performance and future targets
ü Consider the proposed service improvements
ü Review achievement of last year’s planned improvement
ü Note any consultation feedback
ü Consider and prioritise any budget implications of
the plan
This
exercise should then form the basis for members to:
ü Suggest amendments to the plan
ü Make recommendations to the Executive for changes to
service priorities
ü Provide input to the medium term budget process
ü Select specific areas for further examination
ü Consider possible responses to corporate budget
options and strategies as they arise
Service Plan for Finance and
Business Services
Published May 2002
Incorporating:
Accountancy, Audit,
Customer Accounts, Customer Service Centre, Insurance & Risk Management,
Payments, Payroll, Pensions Administration, Post Room, Print Room, Procurement,
Registration of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Revenues & Benefits, Word
Processing
Contents
|
3
|
Key Objectives
|
4
|
Service improvement plan
|
7
|
Performance review
|
9
|
Consultation
|
10
|
Budget implications
|
Compiled by:
Paul Wilkinson, Service
Head
24th April
2002
Providing high quality Council services:
ü putting performance, quality and best value at the
heart of the Council’s approach to service delivery
ü being transparent, open and accountable in all we do
ü ensuring effective scrutiny of our services
ü valuing our staff and ensuring that they are
empowered to get on with the job
ü developing and maintaining strong and effective
political and managerial leadership in delivering our services
ü pursuing the principles of performance management to
ensure excellence in all we do
ü involving the community in both the development and
the delivery of our services
ü developing the skills and abilities of our staff who
are the single most important resource available to the Council.
ü
developing and implementing
a programme of activities to reduce poverty and encourage benefit takeup
ü
reducing waiting times
for services
ü
increasing the use of
modern technology to improve communication and access to services.
Encouraging job creation and economic prosperity:
ü
attracting inward
investment to the Council and to the Island economy
Corporate Governance commitments:
ü strong political and managerial leadership
ü strategically driven excellence in service delivery
ü improving community focus
ü continuous organisational improvement and staff
development
Key performance measures and targets
|
|
Actual 2000-01
|
Target 2001-02
|
Current
2001-02
|
Target 2002-03
|
Benchmark 2001-02
|
Key Objective
|
|
Payment of retirement benefits in 5 days %
|
|
92
|
93
|
95
|
|
|
Reducing waiting times for services
|
|
Registrars callers seen within 10 minutes of
appointment time %
|
|
100
|
100
|
100
|
|
|
|
Average days for new benefit claim
|
50.91
|
-
|
50
|
45
|
51.95
|
NUBG avge*
TQ * = 36
|
|
Average days for change of benefit circumstances
|
16.64
|
35
|
15
|
35
|
17.62
|
NUBG avge*
TQ * = 9
|
|
Benefit renewals processed on time %
|
56.1
|
80
|
65
|
80
|
56.1
|
NUBG* avge
TQ* = 83
|
|
Switchboard calls answered in 15 seconds %
|
88.8
|
91
|
87.3
|
92
|
|
|
|
Invoices paid within 30
days %
|
94
|
97.5
|
92
|
100
|
84.8
|
SCUBG avge*
|
|
Reception calls answered in 15 seconds %
|
|
|
95.36
|
|
|
|
|
Payroll cost per employment £
|
34.28
|
36.37
|
|
38.04
|
43.86
|
SCUBG* avge
|
Performance, quality & best value
|
|
Benefit cost per claim £
|
35.38
|
|
38.00
|
40.00
|
47.18
|
NUBG avge*
|
|
Customer accounts recovery rate %
|
|
98
|
95.14
|
96.14
|
98.07
|
|
|
Council Tax collection %
|
98.5
|
97.5
|
98.4
|
97.7
|
96.9
|
NUBG avge*
TQ * = 96.7
|
|
NNDR collection %
|
98.8
|
98.1
|
99.7
|
98.2
|
98.4
|
NUBG avge*
TQ* = 98.4
|
Service Improvement Plan
|
Task
|
Target Date
|
Outcome
|
Responsible
Officer
|
Dependencies
|
Key objectives to be achieved
|
|
|
Procurement
strategy
|
Mar 03
|
Council wide strategy in use
|
JS
|
Director
& member support
|
Excellence
in service delivery, best value
|
|
|
Risk
management
|
Mar 03
|
RM principles embedded in management culture
|
CS
|
Director
& member support
|
Excellence
in service delivery
|
|
|
Medium
term budget
|
Mar 03
|
3 year rolling budget, driven by service plans
|
PW
|
Director
& member support
|
Excellence
in service delivery, effective leadership
|
|
|
Performance
management
|
Sep 02
|
Framework in place across Unit
|
|
|
Excellence
in service delivery
|
|
|
Absence
management
|
Sep 02
|
Framework in place across Unit
|
|
|
Staff
development
|
|
|
Stress
audits
|
Dec 02
|
Completed for all staff
|
|
|
Staff
development
|
|
|
Financial
information for members
|
Mar 03
|
Regular monitoring reports
|
SRF
|
ICT
support
|
Ensuring
effective scrutiny
|
|
|
Website
development
|
Mar 03
|
On-line financial information
|
SRF
|
Staff
time
|
Being
transparent, open and accountable
|
|
|
Benefits
advice in Newport
|
Sep 02
|
5 day presence in Customer Service Centre
|
MT
|
|
Reduced
waiting times for services, encouraging benefit takeup
|
|
|
‘One
visit’ revenues enquiry service
|
Sep 02
|
Reduction in return visits/correspondence
|
MT
|
|
Reduced
waiting times for services
|
|
|
Card
payments
|
Apr 02 onward
|
Payment by card for Council services
|
MT
|
|
Excellence
in service delivery
|
|
Task
|
Target Date
|
Outcome
|
Responsible
Officer
|
Dependencies
|
Objectives to be achieved
|
|
Switchboard improvements
|
Aug 02
|
Reliable
telephone access, single contact point
|
MG
|
ICT support
|
Reduced waiting times for services
|
|
Financial support to Engineering
|
Sep 02
|
Seconded
finance adviser
|
SRF
|
Vacancy panel
|
|
|
Registrars marketing
|
Mar 03
|
Enhanced
facilities, new ceremonies
|
JE
|
Funding and staff availability
|
|
|
Staff development
|
Sep 02
|
Training
& development plan
|
PW
|
|
Developing staff skills and abilities
|
|
Trainee grades/modern apprentices
|
May 02
|
Generic
trainee scale
|
SRF
|
Vacancy panel
|
Staff development
|
|
Benefit take-up/ anti-poverty strategy
|
Mar 03
|
Anti-poverty
strategy which maximises take up in place
|
MT
|
|
|
|
Maximising funding
|
Jul 02
|
Island
apart update
Capital
strategy
|
PW
GH
|
Co-operation of service managers
|
Attracting inward investment
|
|
Financial health
|
Feb 03
|
Balanced
deliverable budget
Treasury
Strategy
|
PW
GH
|
Budget pressures, grant review
|
|
|
Paperless systems
|
On-going
|
Automatic
data transfer, on-line remote access
|
MC GF LB
SRF
|
ICT support
|
Continuous organisational improvement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last
year’s service improvement targets were:
|
|
Outcome
|
Target Date
|
Date achieved
|
Comments
|
|
Improved telephone system – Revenues
|
Mar 02
|
|
Monitoring software now installed
|
|
Payment cards for post office payments
|
Mar 02
|
Feb 02
|
|
|
Enhance customer service area
|
Apr 01
|
Apr 01
|
|
|
Improve waiting room for death registrations
|
Sep 01
|
|
Ongoing, some progress
|
|
Promoting marriages on the Island
|
May 01
|
Apr 01
|
Bridal fayre/brochure complete, developing website
and business links
|
|
Devolve schools accounting support
|
Apr 02
|
Sep 02
|
Contracts with schools agreed
|
|
Set up schools financial forum
|
Dec 01
|
Dec 01
|
|
|
Best value accounting code of practice implemented
|
Feb 01
|
Mar 01
|
|
|
Payments received via Internet
|
Sep 01
|
Feb 02
|
National reference site
|
|
Customer services enhancements
|
Dec 01
|
Mar 02
|
Includes water cooler and electronic notice board
|
|
Payroll benchmarking with the private sector
|
Mar 02
|
Mar 02
|
|
|
Electronic transfer from SIMS to payments system
|
Jan 02
|
Mar 02
|
Transfer of payment data to schools
|
|
Capital resources maximised
|
Mar 02
|
Mar 02
|
Achieved
|
|
SRB resources maximised
|
Mar 02
|
Mar 02
|
Achieved
|
|
Housing Revenue Account closed
|
Mar 02
|
Mar 02
|
Potential £1m per annum loss avoided
|
Service Manager’s review of
2001-02:
Key achievements:
ü Social services/health partnership progressed
ü Successful claim for storm damage
ü Debt management savings of £400,000
ü Implementation of benefits verification framework –
10% reduction in cases
ü Braille payslips introduced
ü Service Level Agreements for payroll services
introduced
ü IW lottery payroll deductions implemented
ü Bridal Fayre to promote civil marriages
ü Registration Service now open on alternate Saturday
mornings
ü Customer account payments via Internet
ü Customer service centre enhancements
ü New statutory accounting requirements met
ü New Education funding requirements implemented
ü Restructuring of Island Partnership and Rural
Community Council
ü Successful negotiation of Housing Revenue Account
closure
ü Unqualified Statement of Accounts
ü Capital strategy acceptable to Government
ü Unable to improve reliability of telephone facilities
at Sandown Civic Offices
ü Customer Service Centre still unmodified