SUMMARY/PURPOSE

1. Members are asked to agree the Council’s Corporate Plan for 2006-09.

BACKGROUND

2. Council agreed in November 2005 that the Aim High Change Management Plan be used as the core of the Corporate Plan for the remainder of 2005/6. It also agreed to develop the plan still further to cover the period to March 2009.

3. Since that meeting a considerable time has been spent in transforming the change plan into a Corporate Plan for the period 2006-2009.

4. Much of this transformational work has been informed by and has also informed the simultaneous development of the Local Area Agreement, which was recently signed off with Government. These Agreements are part of the Government’s ten year plan for local government. The potential benefits to the Island (by having such an agreement) include greater flexibility in use of local funding, reduced bureaucracy, an improved relationship between central and local government that addresses barriers to effective service delivery at a local level.

5. The purpose of the Corporate Plan is to match the Council to the demands of the environment in which it operates and also to its own resource capabilities such that it is better able to deliver on its corporate objectives and add value to the quality of life for all of the Island’s community. It is concerned with making the Council effective (doing the right things) and efficient (doing things right).

6. The strength of the Council in being able to deliver on the objectives set out in the corporate plan can be found in the distinctive capabilities that it has in both resources and competences. These are identified in the plan as are some of the key challenges and opportunities which are being set for the Council by the environment in which it operates.

7. The manner in which the Council will approach and deliver on its corporate objectives and manage its own performance such that it is a high performing cost effective organisation is also set out in the plan.

8. In addition to the Council’s five overall corporate objectives the Corporate Plan also highlights the aims of the plan which require the most immediate priority during the last year of the plan. These are:-

(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 partners 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.

9. By delivering on these aims over the lifetime of this plan the Council will have built a foundation for the Island from which standards can be raised, opportunities created and the overall quality of life for all improved.

10. The whole text of the corporate plan can be found at the following link:-

http://www.iwight.com/council/documents/docFiles/2432006_60_DraftCorporatePlan.pdf

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

11. The Corporate Plan is a key strategic document for the Council. It allows the Council to ensure that it has aligned all of its planned outputs and activities within the Community Strategy, Local Area Agreement, local need and the statutory and regulatory frameworks in which it must operate.

12. The plan will require periodic review. The next planned reviews will be in autumn 2006 (to reflect the past Corporate Assessment/Joint Area Review Improvement plan) and in February 2007 to reflect any changes to priorities driving the 2007-08 budget.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

13. The Corporate Plan aligns the Council’s available resources with its planned achievements against the five corporate objectives. It also provides the mechanism and framework to ensue that the Council’s spending remains within the constraints of this and also the medium term financial plan.

14. As such there are no specific financial consequences arising from this report. Although there will inevitably be resource implications around the support and performance management of the delivery of the Corporate Plan and specifically the Local Area Agreement. These have been taken into account (and will continue to do so) in the support arrangements that will be in place.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

15. The adoption of a Corporate Plan is not a statutory requirement but it is an expectation for any local authority which wishes to seriously address its statutory duty to deliver best value services under the 1999 Local Government Act.

16. The Local Area Agreement is entered into in good faith, but it is expressly recognised that it is not a legally binding contract for the Isle of Wight Council, the Local Strategic Partnership or HM Government.

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

17. A Corporate Plan makes a clear and unambiguous statement as to what the Council is seeking to achieve and the resources it has available to do so. This clarity is important in shaping the plans and strategies of each directorate and each service, ensuring that they are all aligned with the Council’s overall plan. Without a Corporate Plan individual services could begin to work in ways that follow different and diverging agendas from that of the Council and other services areas. This in turn could lead to a fragmentation of effort and a waste of resource as the different parts of the organisation could seek to move it in different directions.

RECOMMENDATIONS

18. It is recommended that Council adopts the Aim High Corporate Plan 2006-09 as the strategic framework governing the delivery of its services and the provision of outcomes for the community.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

19. Aim High Change Management Plan.

Full Council Minutes and Agenda, 23 November 2005.

Contact Point : John Metcalfe, Acting Assistant Chief Executive

JOHN LAWSON

Acting Chief Executive

CLLR ANDY SUTTON

Leader of the Council