Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 19/03/2009 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A5 Draft Council Plan
| Report of Lorraine O’Donnell, Assistant Chief Executive
[Cabinet Portfolio Holders, Councillor Simon Henig, Leader, and Councillor Clive Robson, Deputy Leader]
Key Decision: CORP/LGR/02/09 |
TO VIEW PLAN PLEASE REFER TO PDF ATTACHMENT OR REFER TO HARD COPIES HELD IN CORPORATE SERVICES Purpose of the Report 1. To seek endorsement of the first part of the Council Plan 2009-2011, which sets out the medium term priority outcomes that we are aiming to achieve.
Background
2. The Council Plan is the overarching high level plan for the County Council, which is updated annually. It links closely to our medium term financial strategy and in broad terms sets out how we will deliver our corporate priorities for improvement and the key actions we will take in support of delivering the longer term goals in the interim Sustainable Community Strategy, the targets in the Local Area Agreement (2008-2011) and the Council’s own improvement agenda.
3. The Plan has been developed with a two year time span to align with the new Local Area Agreement (2008-2011) but focuses primarily on 2009/10, during which time it will be reviewed by the new leadership of the Council, both members and managers, alongside the review of the interim Sustainable Community Strategy.
Council Plan 2009-2011
4. The format of the Council Plan is structured around the following high level themes, which relate to the longer term goals in the interim Sustainable Community Strategy and are more closely aligned to the LAA (2008-11):
§ Healthier communities
§ Safer communities
§ People enjoying, achieving and making a positive contribution
§ Economic well being
§ An improved environment
§ Transformation
5. The LAA does not cover all of the priority areas of work that the Council is engaged in, either as an organisation or in key partnerships, where work is ongoing to deliver longer term strategies, and these areas of activity are also reflected in the Council Plan. This includes our transformation agenda which encompasses the improvements in service design and delivery that will be necessary for the new council to achieve efficiencies for reinvestment in front line services, improve outcomes and meet our ambition to be a flagship authority within the next two years. This will be delivered through our ‘Altogether Better’ improvement programme.
Performance Management
6. This first part of the Council Plan, attached as Appendix 2, sets the overall high level themes and the priority outcomes that we are trying to achieve. Work is underway on the actions that will help to achieve our priorities for improvement together with relevant measures of success and targets. Many of the performance measures will be the Local Area Agreement indicators and associated targets which have recently been refreshed and were signed off by the County Council in February 2009. The actions identified will, by necessity, be at a relatively high level, but it is expected that these actions will be underpinned by much more detailed information in the Service Improvement Plans prepared by all of the Heads of Service.
7. Many of the priority outcomes will not be achieved by the Council alone but as part of joint approaches with partners, either as part of county level strategies or more specific partnership projects. This is particularly true of actions to support the delivery of the Local Area Agreement, and we will be working with partners to agree delivery plans for the LAA as part of a wider network through the Delivery and Improvement Group of the County Durham Partnership.
8. The actions and measures in the Council Plan will form the basis of the Council’s corporate performance management framework and be the basis for quarterly performance management reports to the Corporate Management Team and Cabinet and, where relevant, to the County Durham Partnership.
Recommendations 9. Cabinet is recommended to:
o Endorse the first part of the Council Plan as set out in Appendix 2
o Agree to receive a supplementary report containing the proposed actions and targets which will complete the Council Plan
Contact: Ann Campbell Tel: 0191 383 3929
Bev Stobbart Tel: 0191 383 4001 |
Local Government Reorganisation (Does the decision impact upon a future unitary council?) The Council Plan 2009-11 is for the new unitary council
Finance The plan contains a section on how we manage our resources
Staffing The transformation theme contains outcomes relevant to staffing
Equality and Diversity A cross cutting issue in the Council plan
Accommodation Not applicable
Crime and disorder Safer communities is a theme in the Council plan
Sustainability The plan contains outcomes relating to the environment and communities
Human rights Not applicable
Localities & Rurality A cross cutting issue in the Council plan
Young people The plan contains outcomes relating to children and young people
Consultation Community engagement and consultation is an outcome under transformation
Health Healthier communities is a theme in the council plan
Attachments
Council Plan Draft.pdf;
Council Plan Report.pdf