SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. This report makes proposals concerning the format and content of the Council’s Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP) for 2006-2009.

BACKGROUND

2. The Council has a statutory duty to publish annually a Best Value Performance Plan. The deadline for ‘publication’ is 30 June each year.

3. Changes to the requirements have been made in successive years – last year for example, the requirement for printed copies of the Plan to be distributed in libraries and other contact points was dropped.

4. Further relaxations have been allowed this year – in particular for those authorities categorised as 4, 3, or 2 star in CPA terms. It would appear therefore that our current 2 star rating does allow us to take advantage of the relaxed requirements.

5. According to guidance issued by the ODPM the requirements for 4, 3 and 2 star authorities are that they must include the following items in their Performance Plan by June 2006:

(a) Details of performance

· Outturn performance on all BVPIs (ie for the previous year)

· Targets for the current and subsequent 2 years for all BVPIs.

(b) A statement to the effect that all individual contracts awarded during the past year which involve a transfer of staff complied with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters.

6. Given the significant effort which is being directed towards CorVu’s implementation, it is proposed that the Council takes advantage of the relaxed requirements for the BVPP’s format. The document (or rather what will appear on the Council’s website) would therefore be significantly shorter than in previous years. It is however proposed that we should go a little beyond the minimum requirements set out in para 4 above by providing an introduction to the BVPP which both summarises the Council’s plans and signposts the reader to where they can be seen in detail. The bulk of the document, comprising BVPI tables, will be a direct output from the CorVu system.

7. A draft of the BVPP is attached as Appendix A to this report. The Cabinet is asked to comment and then approve the narrative of the introduction. Also attached are the draft BVPP tables which at this stage of the process still require some data before they can be finalised. They should therefore be considered as very much draft and for illustration purposes only. Some indicators are still in the process of being calculated and therefore do not appear in the tables yet. Members have proposed that the local indicators, which are not mandatory, should be removed from those published on the Council’s web-site. The Council’s external auditors need to be consulted before this proposal is implemented. A sample of indicators are currently the subject of verification by the Internal Auditors. Senior managers will have an opportunity to review the final BVPIs before publication.

8. These proposals have been discussed with the Audit Commission’s relationship manager who will, as in previous years, be the ultimate judge of the BVPP’s quality. He has expressed his agreement that the proposed “scaled down” version of the BVPP will be acceptable.

9. These proposals have been considered by the Directors Group who, subject to some minor amendments have endorsed this approach.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

10. The BVPP sets out the Council’s performance by reference to a range of performance indicators which are set both nationally and locally. It is therefore an important stock take of the Council’s performance over the last year.

CONSULTATION

11. Consultation has taken place with the Audit Commission’s Relationship Manager concerning the proposals. The proposals have also been considered by the Directors’ Group.

FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS

12. There are no significant financial implications arising from this proposal except that by adopting a ‘scaled down’ version allows resources to be focussed on implementing the Council’s Performance Management System – CorVu.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

13. The Council is required by law to produce a BVPP annually by 30 June. Its contents are specified by the ODPM and this proposal meets those requirements.

OPTIONS

14. (a) To approve the proposed format of the BVPP.

(b) To approve the narrative to be used as the introduction to the BVPP.

(c) To agree that , subject to consultation with the Council’s external auditors. Local indicators are removed from the published BVPP

(d) To require that the Council prepares the further version of the BVPP as in previous years.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

15. The proposal represents a minor risk in that its format might not meet with approval from the Council’s external auditors. To instigate this risk, discussions have been held with the Audit Commission’s Relationship Manager to agree expectations. He has indicated that the proposal is acceptable.

RECOMMENDATIONS

(a) To approve the proposed format of the BVPP.

(b) To approve the narrative to be used as the introduction to the BVPP.

(c) To agree that, subject to consultation with the Council’s external auditors. Local indicators are removed from the published BVPP

BACKGROUND PAPERS

16. The Council’s Best Value Performance Plan 2005-2008 (last year’s plan).

APPENDICES

17. • The Council’s draft Best Value Performance Plan 2006-2009

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

18. None.

Contact Point : Bob Streets, ' 3622 – e-mail [email protected]

CLLR JILLY WOOD

Cabinet Member For Resources and Town / Parish Council Empowerment

The purpose of the Best Value Performance Plan

This document is intended primarily for the use of members and officers and sets out details of our performance as a Council. It provides an overview of the council’s corporate priorities and identifies objectives for the coming year. We hope that this document will enable you to see more clearly how we perform on national indicators. It links the actions and targets set out by the Council in its Corporate Plan and Change Management Plan (Aim High), providing a brief summary of our performance over the past year and our priorities and targets for the coming year.

Corporate Objectives and priorities

The election in May 2005 resulted in a change of administration and the Council is now led by the Conservative Group.

The new Council adopted a governance model of Leader and Cabinet. The Council also operates with 4 Policy Commissions which assist the Council in developing policy and examining specific issues of Council activity. In addition the Council has Scrutiny and Audit Committees which perform the scrutiny functions, examining Council activity and holding the executive to account.

The Council has 48 elected members. To find out who your local councillor is and to look at a personal profile of all Isle of Wight Council councillors, please go to www.iwight.com

The new administration has drawn up a set of objectives and priorities for the Council in order for members to deliver their ambitious manifesto commitments.

The Council’s overall mission is to ensure that by 2020 it will be:

“A progressive Island built on economic success, high standards and aspirations, and a better quality of life for all”.

In November 2005 the Council approved its Change Management Plan– “Aim High” - for 2006-2009, setting out the Council’s priority aims and the means by which it intend to achieve our overall vision. It provides a sense of direction for the Council and its staff.

Our five corporate objectives are listed below. From these we have developed priority actions to support these objectives, which are included in this plan.

· To Drive the Sustainable Regeneration and Development of the Island;

· To Improve the Health and Well Being of Island Communities;

· To Create Safer and Stronger Communities;

· To Improve Outcomes for Children and Young People;

· To be a High Performing, Cost-Effective Council.

“Aim High” has singled out two specific areas for priority action:

· To deliver no more than an inflation rate Council Tax increase over the next four years

· To drive up educational standards in our schools to at least national levels

Aim High also includes a series of specific commitments, which outline how the Council will deliver on its corporate objectives.

Additionally, all service plans contain details of service priorities for 2006/07 linked to “Aim High” priorities. It is not the intention of this document to reproduce such information, which can be found in other strategies and plans developed by the council.

Comprehensive details on how the Council will achieve its objectives can be found in the “Aim High” Document at;

http://www.iwight.com/aimhigh/aimHighFinalDraft.pdf

Corporate Plan

Following the approval of the “Aim High” Document the Council is has drafted a three year Corporate plan for 2006-2009 which will incorporate key service priorities as well as the improvement actions drawn from “Aim High”.

Five Immediate priorities for improvement have been identified in the plan as follows:

(A) Have high performing, skilled school children especially at Key Stage 4

We will do this by working closely with schools and parents to drive up performance and exam results.

(B) Have an accessible, effective and integrated transport system

We will do this by delivering a PFI scheme for the improvement of the highways.

We will do this by modernising the organisation, collaborative working with other brigades and having an active involvement in the Government’s brigade modernisation agenda.

(D) Create effective partnerships where they are able to improve service delivery, cost effectiveness or community engagement

We will do this by collaborating with parties in support of the Island Strategic Partnership and the delivery of the targets of the Local Area Agreement (LAA).

(E) Ensure that all services are cost effective and offer maximum value for money

We will do this by understanding our costs, making sure that our resources work harder and smarter for us and by transferring resource from back office processes to improve customer service delivery.

The full plan is available at www.iwight.com

Medium Term Financial Plan

The Council has a Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) which looks forward to the next four years. The Plan is a financial expression of the way in which Aim High and The Council’s corporate plan will be delivered. It identifies the key components of the financial strategy and sets out the challenges faced by the Council and the opportunities available to meet those challenges. The MTFP can be viewed at www.iwight.com

Staffing Structure

The staffing structure has been aligned to fit the five new corporate objectives and a diagram is shown below:

Contracts

The Council has not awarded any individual contracts during 2005/06 that have resulted in a transfer of staff.

Community Leadership Role of the Island Futures Partnership

"Island Futures", our Local Strategic Partnership, brings together major players on the Island, including representatives from industry, the voluntary sector, health agencies and local government to adopt and deliver a community strategy.

The 4 “Themes” of Island Futures are:

· Safer Island

· Healthy Island

· Thriving Island

· Skilled & Educated Island

The Isle of Wight Council is a pilot authority for a “Local Area Agreement” which will deliver improved outcomes to the community through partnership working. The Local Strategic Partnership will start to deliver this programme from 1^st April 2006 for the next three years.

Details on the agreement and further information on the Local Strategic partnership can be found at:

http://www.islandfutures.com/

Performance Management

The Council is making very good progress in implementing a performance management framework that enables both councillors and officers to monitor progress more effectively and efficiently. A significant development in this regard is the Council’s deployment of ‘CorVu’ performance management software. The software application will allow the Council to effectively report against the performance standards contained within various Government performance management frameworks and its own “Aim High” Change Management Plan. It will provide a visual linkage (the ‘golden thread’) from the Council’s corporate objectives through to individual team actions. It will also help enable more effective service delivery to local communities, and ensure that agency initiatives and resources are properly aligned with community plans and Council priorities. This enhanced performance management framework will ultimately result in the Council being able to provide members, officers and the community with easier access to performance information.

To raise the Council’s CPA inspection rating from its current ‘two star’ status, to a ‘three’ or ‘four star’ one (that is, ‘excellent’) the Council is committed to reviewing its overall performance on a quarterly basis as a minimum and making the necessary changes in how we deliver our services.

Performance Indicators

We manage and monitor approximately 143 statutory performance indicators set by the Government and a further 25 are set locally by the council, to reflect some of the Island’s needs.

Appendix B, a separate document contains a table of all Best Value Indicators and Local Indicators, together with comparator data from other Unitary Authorities or other appropriate comparator groups.

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter, 2005

In their Annual Letter, the Audit Commission noted that the Council “has delivered improvement in services over the past year”, and “contributed positively to wider community outcomes”. It was also observed that the Council has in place ambitious plans to change the way it works in order to deliver further improvement to services. However, the Audit Commission also recognises that the Council will need to strengthen its corporate capacity in order to successfully bring these changes about.

Copies of the letter can be found at:

www.iwight.com

Further Information:

Copies of this document will be available at www.iwight.com. Printed copies can be supplied on request.

We can also provide you with the information in this plan in formats such as Braille, audio-cassette, or large print, or in other languages, or on CD-Rom, on request.

Auf Anfrage ist diese Ausgabe auch als Hörkassette, in Großdruck und Blindenschrift erhältlich und kann in andere Sprachen übersetzt werden. Für weitere Auskünfte wenden Sie sich bitte an das Isle of Wight Council, Tel.: (01983) 821000. (Textnachricht möglich) - Deutsch

Maaring magpalathala dito, sa malalaking titik, sa Braille, (uri nang panulat para sa Bulag) at magpasalin sa ibang wika sa pamamagitan nang pakikipag-usap

sa audiotape. Para sa iba pang impormasyon makipag-ugnayan sa Isle of Wight Council sa numero (01983) 821000. Tagalog

For further information on the Plan and requests for alternative formats, please contact Brigitte Hawkins on (01983) 823697, or email [email protected]

Appendix A Useful Contact Numbers And Further Information

ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL

www.iwight.com

Principal Office

County Hall, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 1UD

Tel 01983 821000; Fax (01983) 823333 DX 56361 Newport (IoW)

Education Services

County Hall, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 1UD

Tel 01983 821000; Fax (01983) 823333 DX 56361 Newport (IoW)

Planning Services

Seaclose, Fairlee Road, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 2QS

Tel. (01983) 821000 Fax (01983) 823563

Engineering Services

Enterprise House, St Cross Business Park, Monksbrook, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 5WB

Tel (01983) 821000 Fax (01983) 520563

Consumer Services

Jubilee Stores, The Quay, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 2EH

Tel (01983) 821000 Fax (01983) 823387

Fire and Rescue Services

St Nicholas House, 58 St Johns’ Road, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 1LT

Tel (01983) 821000 Fax (01983) 825728

Adult Services

17 Fairlee Road, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 2EA

Tel (01983) 821000Fax (01983) 524330

Housing Services

7 High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 1SS

Tel (01983) 821000Fax (01983) 823050

Revenues & Benefit Services

Civic Centre, Broadway, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 9EA

Tel 01983 821000; Fax (01983) 823333

Tourism

Westridge Centre, Brading Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1QS

Tel 01983 821000; Fax (01983) 823333

The Councils five Directorates

Chief Executives Department Chief Executive Joe Duckworth

Children’s Services - Interim Director Ian Sandbrook

Adult and Community Services Interim Director Andrew Williamson

Economic Development &

Regeneration Strategic Director Derek Rowell

Safer Communities Interim Director Sue Lightfoot

Have Your Say

We are genuinely interested in your views about our services and how we provide them. The services we provide rely on feedback if they are to improve.

The Best Value Performance Plan will be improved with your help. We need your views to incorporate in future editions.

Please take this opportunity to help. All you have to do is tick the boxes, fill in your details and return the page to the address shown.

Thank you.

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Please return to: Policy Team, County Hall, High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 1UD or e-mail this form to [email protected]

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