SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.
This report proposes that the Cabinet :
·
Recommends the current draft of Aim High – The Change
Management Plan to Full Council, to become the core of the Corporate Plan for the
remainder of the year 2005-2006 and for further development beyond into 2009.
·
Undertakes further development of the detail of the
Plan between now and March 2006 to ensure delivery of political and community service
objectives over the life of this Council, and beyond.
2.
A copy of the draft Aim High – The Change Management
Plan is available at Aim High.
BACKGROUND
3.
Any organisation as large and complex as the Isle of Wight
Council requires a corporate planning structure which is as strong, clear and
simple as possible and which balances discipline, focused priorities with the
necessary degree of flexibility and constant review.
4.
It is essential that the approval and review processes
are open, publicly accessible, follow clear criteria and are rooted in the
democratic structures of the local authority.
Through the agency of elected members the Plan gives effect to the
aspirations of the community which the Council serves.
5.
The programme of delivery, derived from the manifesto
of the majority group, from statutory and national policy requirements and from
service improvement planning is exceptionally large and requires profound changes
in the culture and structures of the Council.
Aim High will involve overhauling the Council and its service delivery
structures, its norms and cultures and its service delivery priorities. For this reason the draft Plan is sub-titled
the Change Management Plan.
6.
The title Aim High reflects the aspiration to be high
performing in every aspect of public life on the Island - particularly those
areas of public life led or influenced significantly by the Isle of Wight
Council.
GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS – FULL COUNCIL
7.
The role of Full Council is to set the high level
policy and political direction of the Council and to provide (through setting
the Council Tax and agreeing budget allocations) the resources necessary for the
Cabinet to deliver on those policies and that political direction.
8.
It is therefore recommended that Full Council approves
the text of Aim High and Annex 1, as the core of the Corporate Plan which, with
planned review, will be the basis of planning and service delivery until at
least 2009.
9.
Annex 1 is therefore the single most important
document within the planning and delivery process within the Council. Unless it is amended, no future proposed initiative
(whether originating from elected members, the public, national Government,
from officers, partner agencies or other stakeholders) should be pursued unless
it makes a demonstrable contribution to one or more of the planned objectives
and is included in Annex 2 following review by the Cabinet – or is included in
service improvement plans at an more operational level..
10.
It is unlikely that Full Council, for the sake of
clarity, simplicity and strength of purpose will wish to change Annex 1 with any
frequency. Annual review, at most,
should be sufficient.
GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS - CABINET
11.
It is the role of the Cabinet to develop, and ensure
delivery of, strategies and programmes of activity (within available resources) to deliver the objectives, aims, and
goals in Aim High and Annex 1.
12.
Ensuring those programmes are the right ones, are
correctly prioritised, and properly resourced is the function of the
Cabinet. The Plan must therefore set out
programmes of activity, aims and objectives within that programme and also to
include regular planned reviews.
13.
Annex 2 is the principal driver for the Cabinet to
plan and review delivery of the objectives, aims and goals set by Full
Council. This report recommends that
the Cabinet adopts the structure of Annex 2 and commits to the following
timetable of development and review to ensure the Plan is functional as soon as
possible:
·
On 17 January 2006 the Cabinet to receive a report proposing
amendments and additions to Annex 2 following negotiations between the Local
Strategic Partner undertaken during November and December.
·
On 21 March 2006 the Cabinet to receive a report proposing
amendments/additions to Annex 2 following conclusion of negotiations on the
Local Area Agreement and Local Public Service Agreement 2 with Government
Office of the South East and with delivery partners.
·
On a quarterly basis throughout the lifetime of the
Council, to consider the information presented through the quarterly
Performance Management Report to consider amending Annex 2 in year.
·
In February and March of each year, in tandem with the
budget and service improvement planning processes, to approve revised versions
of Annex 2 (if necessary making recommendations to Full Council to amend Annex
1, or the narrative) on a rolling four year basis.
14.
Each of these reports, and future reviews, should use
evaluation criteria to assess and agree the relative priority of objectives,
aims and initiatives wherever that is possible.
GATEKEEPING
15.
It follows from the structure of Aim High and the
recommendations set out above that the Cabinet are the gatekeepers of the
Plan. Each quarter reports will be made
(on an exception basis wherever possible) to identify relevant information from
the following sources:
·
Any missed targets or deadlines.
·
Any under or over performing indicators.
·
Budget monitoring.
·
Customer feedback.
·
Health and Safety issues.
·
Risk Management
·
Recommendations from other parts of the Council’s
governance structures (for example Scrutiny Committee, Audit Committee or
internal/external assessment of performance).
16.
This quarterly review will give the opportunity to
assess, against an agreed scoring mechanism such as that proposed by Annex 7 of
Aim High, adding further actions to Annex 2, or the aims and goals set out in
Annex 1.
17.
It is important to note that, at the quarterly
reviews, adding new initiatives to Annex 2 is only one of a range of activity
which the Cabinet can initiate to address weaknesses in performance. Other resources include:
·
Requiring the Cabinet member and/or senior officers to
make in year changes to allocation of operational resources or to service
improvement plans.
·
To ask a Policy Commission to undertake a public
inquiry with stakeholders and witnesses.
·
To ask the Scrutiny Committee to consider the manner
in which a previous initiative was implemented, or the quality of a proposed
initiative, policy or strategy.
·
To establish an ad hoc member or officer structure to
undertake a time-limited piece of work.
·
To commission external assistance, partnering or some
other innovative approach.