9. The improvements in the Council’s CPA improvement plan have been directly informed by the views of our users established through consultation and feedback on our services. We will also use the CPA and JAR to inform the way services are delivered.

10. The Island Strategic Plan will influence our approach to partnership working, improvement board recommendations and improvement plan.

11. This year the priority planning process has been truncated. The new Chief Executive implemented new in-year service planning processes – Service Boards as well as the introduction of Star Chambers to manage the budget over the next three years.

Council’s Achievements 2006/07

12. The Council’s progress has been validated by a number of externally accredited awards including:

BACS national Council Tax Award 2006
Disability equality award 2006
Environmental Health achieved chartermark status
Family learning service judged Share Local Authority of the year 2006
Development Days services became national DOH exemplar

13. Whilst these awards are very encouraging, the council recognises it has much work to do to improve its services radically and deliver improved outcomes for islanders.

The One Island Programme

14. The Council’s One Island programme has been developed after extensive consultation with residents through the residents’ survey in July 06 and the one island budget consultation in Jan/Feb 07. One Island will focus our priorities to meet the needs of the community, whilst delivering efficiencies over the next three years. The goal of One Island is to provide good value local services by raising standards and creating opportunities.

15. The leader in his speech made it clear that the council has ‘set out an ambitious agenda to improve the quality of life for young and old alike.

We will improve standards in education, offering opportunity to young people.

We will allow our older citizens dignity in old age

We will ensure that our roads are safer and our public transport improves.

We will build one Island characterised by mutual respect, local pride and value for the Islanders.’

16. There are 24 projects for 2007/08 which are set within the three cross-cutting themes of respect, pride and value.

17. An intrinsic element of One Island is to ensure the Council is fit for purpose to deliver this challenging programme. To this end the Council has developed a One Council programme to drive forward internal improvements (see paragraphs 21‑27).

18. The Council’s long term vision is to build a progressive island built on economic success, high standards and aspirations and a better quality of life for all. This has not changed however the Council’s Aim High agenda has been replaced by the One Island programme and this will drive the Council’s business planning framework and priority setting over the next three years.

19. The cross-cutting themes of respect, pride and value will be applied to the council’s corporate objectives:

· Drive the sustainable regeneration and development of the island

· Improve the health and well-being of the island communities

· Create safer and stronger communities

· Improve outcomes for children and young people

· High performing and cost effective council

20. One Island Projects 2007-08

Community respect: covering social and community services

· Care packages for young and older people

To reduce the level of older people in residential care by 5% and increase the number of intensive care packages. To reduce the number of looked after children (LAC), reduce the use of agency foster care placements, reduce off island residential placement and halt the exclusions of LAC

· Developing 14-19 education provision

To raise standards at key stages 3, 4 and 5 by reconfiguring high schools into new corporate governance structure and extend middle schools to include all key stage 3

· Low cost homes for island people

To increase the capacity of affordable housing by 220 units per year

· Pan development

Pan will be a benchmark development for the Island providing a single cohesive community

· Free home care for over 80s

To encourage older people to choose to stay at home

· Free swims for young people

To increase the number of children who can swim, help meet childhood obesity targets and provide diversionary activities for young people.

· Raising standards in Island Schools

To raise standards in island schools at key stage 2, 3 and 4 to national averages through a programme of leadership support at all middle and high schools which focuses on pupil data management, effective quality assurance systems and processes and preventative strategies.

· Young peoples programme

To ensure the Island has a fit for purpose youth engagement strategy

Civic pride: covering environmental areas

· 1 million blooms

To improve community environments with imaginative floral displays at key high-visibility locations across the island including showpiece displays on the main three IW roundabouts.

· Free parking for electric vehicles

To encourage the use of environmentally friendly vehicles to deliver elements of our green agenda

· Island Games

To deliver the council’s input to the Island Games to ensure maximum capital from the games

· Public conveniences

To improve the public realm for visitors and residents by refurbishing and rebuilding key, high-use toilets in various locations and installing attendants during the peak season.

· Public realm improvements in West Wight, The Bay and East Cowes

Capital investment to improve street furniture and thereby the environment in key areas, The Bay, East Cowes and West Wight.

· SMS bus information

To encourage bus usage by installing hi-tech equipment that allows travellers to receive by text information on bus services.

· Speed management programme including 20 mph speed restrictions outside schools

To address the public concern over the recent spate of fatal accidents with a number of schemes including educational projects and highway safety works and speed restrictions in sensitive areas such as schools.

· Town Centre Managers

To provide 'eyes and ears' in Island towns by employing managers to smarten up IW towns though monitoring and enforcement of contracts and organising general repairs.

· Anti dog fouling campaign

To reduce the amount of dog fouling through education and enforcement thereby improving the local environment.

· Improving Island Roads

To secure a Private Finance Initiative for the Island’s highway network.

Council value: corporate issues

· Boundary review

To retain effective administration and good community identity at the same time as reducing the number of members and associated costs

· One Council

To ensure the council is fit for purpose to deliver major improvements

· Getting it right for the customer

To improve the customer ‘experience’ of dealing with the council whether online, telephone, written, face-face contacts

· Town and Parish Council empowerment

To increase the number of services delivered direct by quality town and parish councils

· Joining up public services across the Island

To work effectively with the police and PCT to streamline service delivery, reduce duplication, increase efficiencies and move to a joint HQ by 2009

· Joining up work with voluntary sector

To build capacity in the voluntary sector to be able to deliver more services in partnership with the council

One Council

21. To enable the Council to continue to transform the Authority into one that is fit for purpose as a modern local government organisation we have implemented an organisational development strategy that is already delivering outcomes.

22. The Council has invested £300,000 in the One Council programme in 2007-08.

23. One Council will ensure the Authority deploys its best asset - our staff - to the best effect. A comprehensive staff survey enables us to understand our staff better and also to establish a benchmark to measure our improvements.

24. The Council recruited a top team of directors in 2006-07 and is embedding a new style leadership in the top 60 managers through development work that was kicked off by a conference in November 2006.

25. New management processes have delivered sustainable budgets and a performance, risk and project management framework that will safeguard continuous improvement.

26. The Council’s performance management framework is moving from performance monitoring to performance management and with new leadership the Council now has a platform in place to utilise performance management more effectively through monthly service boards.

27. We are embedding One Island objectives into the corporate planning framework. Additionally we have overhauled our risk management processes and improved and streamlined the decision-making process.

Government relations and communications programme

28. The Council will deliver a comprehensive lobbying communications programme in the first year of One Island. This will cover community meetings, lobbying and media activities, publications, electronic communication and internal communications. Senior members and officers will also showcase the work of the Authority.

29. The work of the Council needs to be communicated widely to our residents, partners, businesses, stakeholders and staff. The purpose of effective communications is to retain staff, generate income and improve our reputation.

30. The Council should be seen within the one island context as striving to deliver the best services for islanders. Our keys messages are:

· We are building the One Island programme to provide good value , local services by raising standards and creating opportunities

· We are determined to improve services for islanders

31. Specifically in 2007-8 our lobbying programme will focus on:

Local Government White paper

· Responding positively to the white paper demonstrating where the Council is ahead of proposals

Finance

· Lyons review of local government finance and impact on Isle of Wight

· Lobbying for a higher area cost adjustment to take into account the number of visitors to the Island

· Distribution formulae for vulnerable adults and children’s social services

· Comprehensive spending review

Housing review

· Impact of the South East plan

Education

· Responding to the government’s 14-19 agenda by showcasing the Council’s innovative plans

CONSULTATION AND ENGAGEMENT

32. The annual residents survey – the island survey – and a programme of one island engagement have shaped the development of the one island programme. The top resident priorities are around respect, pride and value. We will continue the engagement programme and conduct another residents’ survey in 2007 to help shape our planning for 2008-09.

33. We will work closely with partners in the Island Strategic Partnership to consult and engage the community more effectively by reducing duplication and sharing best practice.

34. The Best Value Performance Indicator survey was undertaken in 2007 and found that resident satisfaction was consistent with the findings of our own residents’ survey. There is much work to be done to improve this rating. The Local Government Association’s reputation programme details the link between satisfaction and reputation.

Annual performance planning process

35. It is vital that the Council develops its performance management strategy and framework to:

· Respond to changes outlined in the White Paper

· Become a four star authority

· Improve staff morale

· Achieve greater value for money

36. During 2007/8 the Council will develop a business case, recruit an ICT report programmer, start to report to services and train ‘super-users’ of the new system.

37. Services will benefit from more detailed data to inform and update service planning during the year.

Financial Prospects

38. The Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and its Capital Strategy set out the financial prospects and considerations for the period 2007 through 2011. These identify the relationship of both strategies to the Council’s other plans, highlight potential cost pressures, planned capital resources compared to spending plans, revenue expenditure plans , including those for service improvements, and the level of reserves.

The National Context

39. There are a number of external drivers and influences on the Council. The Government’s efficiency drive (the requirement of the Council to achieve efficiencies declared in its Annual Efficiency Statement or AES) will put pressure on the Council , but as in previous years the Council has achieved more than the Government requirement in order to achieve its budget and Council tax ambitions. The annual efficiency requirements, the Lyons review and the outcome Comprehensive Spending Review need to be considered by all local authorities. Although it now seems unlikely that the recommendations of the Lyons Review will be implemented within the foreseeable future, it is generally accepted that the Comprehensive Spending Review in 2007 will be extremely tight for local government.

The Council Context

40. The available General Reserve at the start of the 2007-08 is forecast to be £2.0 million, and the Council’s medium term strategy forecasts that it will remain unchanged throughout the period of the Plan. The Council’s MTFP also highlights that revenue growth bids of £6.87 million have been accommodated within the Council’s revenue budget representing the total revenue cost of ‘One Island’ and ‘One Council’ projects. (A further £3.9 million from reserves and £1.8 million from capital has also been made available to fund ‘One Island‘ and ‘One Council’ projects). At the same time the Council has set itself a challenging savings target of £7.1 million for the coming year and clearly there are risks around whether such ambitious savings can be achieved.

The Council’s capital programme for the forthcoming year amounts to £50.6 million and is forecast to be £351 million through to 2013. It is planned that this will be financed by a variety of sources including, supported borrowing, prudential borrowing, grants, and capital receipts. Details are set out in the Council’s Capital Strategy. There is a risk that the capital programme of £50 million – twice that of the previous year – can all be achieved in a single financial year.

Other potential cost pressures facing the Council include: price and pay inflation, demographic changes in certain client groups, pension costs, the failure to achieve capital receipts, and the prospect of increased spending on concessionary fares. All these potential pressures will need to be carefully managed if the Council’s growth and spending plans are to be realised.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

41. There are no immediate legal implications from this report. However, taking forward the themes and priorities over the course of the year will have separate legal implications which will need to be addressed.

RISK MANAGEMENT

42. The key risk is that the One Island and One Council commitments are not met leading to ineffective strategic planning within and across public sector agencies. Another risk is that there is a lack of clarity regarding shared priorities or constant change to priorities by the leading public and private sector agencies. This could lead to a lack of conscious decision- making, hampering progress in achievement of targets within the LAA and LPSA2. The council has a risk management plan in place to address this in Appendix 1.

RECOMMENDATIONS

43.

a. That the Cabinet endorses the three themes and 24 related projects, set out in paragraphs 14-20 of this report as a focus for corporate and service planning and the move towards being an excellent council.

That the Cabinet authorises the Chief Executive to update the council’s strategies and plans in line with this strategic review, undertake a refresh of the performance management strategy and departmental business plans to ensure that we have a streamlined policy planning process.

That the Cabinet agrees the lobbying and consultation programme as set out in paragraphs 28-34 which will support the delivery of the Council’s priorities.

That the Cabinet notes the financial prospects as set out in paragraphs 38 to 40 of this report.

That individual Cabinet Members in consultation with Policy Commissioners consider how they will address the priorities and financial prospects set out in this report as part of the ongoing corporate performance management cycle.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

Leader’s speech to the Full Council, 21 February 2007

One Island consultation findings

APPENDICES

1. One Island risk management.

Contact Point: Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive, Tel: 01983 823102, Email: [email protected]

JOE DUCKWORTH	CLLR ANDY SUTTON
Chief Executive	Leader of the Council

Strategies and Plans - Relationship Diagram

· Local Area Agreement	Sustainable Community Strategy	Strategic Vision for the Island. Produced by the Island Strategic Partnership; co-ordinated by Isle of Wight Council.

· Best Value Performance Plan · Medium Term Financial Strategy · Capital Strategy · Local Development Framework (Island Plan) · Economic Development Strategy · Housing Strategy · Local Transport Plan · Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy · Youth Justice Plan · Children and Young People’s Plan · Lifelong Learning Plan	One Island – Corporate Plan and Priorities	Developed by Council Cabinet assisted by senior officers; linked to Community Strategy, responding to annual residents’ survey, and national priorities.

· Performance Management Strategy · Risk Management Strategy · Data Quality Strategy · ICT Strategy · Procurement Strategy · Licensing Policy	One Council	Linked to One Island focusing on internal functions and processes.

	Service Plans	Set strategic objectives for year linked to One Island and One Council

APPENDIX 1

STRATEGIC RISK

Risk Description : Delivery of ‘One Island’

One Island and One Council commitments not met. Ineffective strategic planning within and across public sector agencies. Lack of clarity regarding shared priorities or constant change to priorities by the leading public and private sector agencies. Lack of conscious decision- making hampering progress in achievement of targets within the LAA and LPSA2. New council management team fails to deliver improved services and improve council’s and island’s reputation. Residents’ survey continues to be unduly negative. Risk management process unsafe. Project management processes not embedded and key project outcomes not achieved.

Risk Owner : Steve Beynon, Director of Children’s Services

Impact : High

Probability : Likely

(Catastrophic, High, Medium, Low) (Very Likely, Likely, Unlikely, Remote)

No	Containment Actions	Accountability	Target Date/Milestone	Progress/Outcome
1.	Restructure of ISP and PSB	Joe Duckworth	January 2007	Workshop held in December to discuss number and nature of programme boards to support the ISP; PSB meeting to confirm 23/1/07
2.	PSB agrees performance management process	Steve Beynon	January 2007	PSB meeting 23 January 2007
3.	Launch of One Island	Joe Duckworth	January /February 2007	Consultation with residents on One island themes; 12 projects agreed with Cabinet; budget to support these also identified; project briefs written
4.	Seminars on residents survey and on one island for all council staff to ensure understanding of key issues	Comms team and DT	February/March 2007	Seminars on residents’ survey completed in December 2006
5.	Ensure that One Island priorities are embedded in Council Service plans	Steve Beynon	February 2007	New guidance on service plans issued at CMB in December 2006
6.	Ensure active participation of GOSE representatives in new programme boards to assist them in greater understanding of our priorities	Steve Beynon	February 2007	There are already some useful linkages between key officers which can be built upon in the new arrangements
7.	Service plan measures and targets are agreed and endorsed at Directors’ team	Steve Beynon	March 2007	These measures and targets to include LAA, LPSA2 and One island project outcomes
8.	Development of shared performance management strategy and agreement on data sharing protocols across the PSB	Steve Beynon	March 2007	Refining use of CorVu to assist in the improved reporting of performance on the LAA and LPSA2; Qtr 3 summary report to PSB
9.	The Council’s strategic and service specific risk register is updated and regular monitoring processes by Director’s team and CMB initiated	Steve Beynon	April 2007	On-going
10.	Ensure next 6 monthly LAA review meeting is well planned and co-ordinated	Steve Beynon	May 2007	Interim quarterly report considered by PSB in April 2007

· Care packages for young and older people

· Developing 14-19 education provision

No

Containment Actions

Accountability

Progress/Outcome