Decision details

To consider the proposals for the Council Plan prior to consideration and approval at Council on 24 February 2011.

Discussion:

The Assistant Director of Communications, Performance and Partnerships introduced the report advising that this was the council’s Business Plan for the forthcoming year which would be agreed alongside the budget, as part of the budget setting process. Members were advised that it was a difficult plan to compile and finalise due to the continuing uncertainties about funding and ongoing national change agendas, especially in relation to social care and schools and it was likely to be subject to further change before consideration by Full Council in late February 2011. 

The committee was informed that the plan had been streamlined focused on priorities, measures of success and illustrated the cross-cutting big change projects that affected the whole council. The new plan proposed to merge some of the previous priorities together to focus activity in relation to those services. It was proposed that the Safer Communities priority is merged with clean and green to give a safe, clean and green priority, to reflect the council’s focus on environmental crime as its main contribution to the safety agenda; to reflect the importance of achieving health outcomes, particularly bearing in mind the council’s future duties in relation to health improvement envisaged in health reforms, the vulnerable adults priority would be reworded to focus on independence and health and wellbeing of adults.

Members were also advised that the report proposed to move transport within the Regeneration priority, reflecting the key role transport played as enabler of physical, social and economic regeneration. However, some members felt that this underplayed the cross cutting contribution that transport made across all areas of council activity. The importance of infrastructure to delivering priorities was also raised by the Citizens Panel Focus Group.

Members commented on the difficulty of consulting on a plan that did not yet have financial certainty and alignment for the areas highlighted within it. However, Members applauded the serious statements of intent that were currently set out in the plan. Following discussion on the transport aspect of the plan, Members agreed that it was a topic of public concern and that it should be kept as a separate priority.

Decision:

The committee agreed to request that Cabinet recommends to Council that transport is kept as a separate priority within the Council Plan 2011/2012.