Issue - meetings

Discussion: 

This report presented the Council Plan 2011/2012, which had been developed alongside the 2011/2012 capital and revenue budget proposals in order to align the Council’s business planning processes with the budget setting process.  

Councillor Janice Bamber, supported by Councillor Rodney Chambers, proposed the recommendations as set out in the report.

Decision:

(a)   The Council approved the Council Plan 2011/2012.

(b)   The Council agreed that the Assistant Director of Communications, Performance and Partnerships be delegated authority, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Customer First and Corporate Services, to make minor changes to the Plan prior to publication (if necessary) to reflect the final Budget as agreed by Council on 24 February 2011.

Background:

This report presented the Council Plan 2011-2012 prior to consideration by Council on 24 February 2011.

The Council Plan had been developed alongside the 2011/2012 capital and revenue budget proposals in order to align the Council’s business planning processes with the budget setting process. This enabled the Council to demonstrate how it was using resources to meet locally specific objectives. Given the relationship with the budget it was proposed that Council delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Communications, Performance and Partnerships to amend the Council Plan, if necessary, to reflect the final budget agreed by Council on 24 February 2011.

It was noted that the plan had been streamlined in response to the changing landscape and implied freedoms and flexibilities from the government, for Councils to set their own agenda. It therefore contained a smaller number of outcomes, which would be measured by meaningful measures of success that were currently being developed.

The report gave details of consultation undertaken with the Citizens’ Panel as to the importance of and satisfaction with services. The Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also considered the Council Plan on 27 January 2011 and the committee’s comments were set out in the report. In response to the Committee’s comments, it was recommended that a transport priority be included as a separate priority “People Travelling Easily around Medway” to reflect the importance of transport as an enabler to the Council achieving the other priorities set out in the plan.

It was noted that a Diversity Impact Assessment screening had been undertaken on the draft plan. It was found that there was no need to carry out a full assessment, as individual managers continue to undertake assessments on specifics of the plan in compliance with the requirements of the legislation, however a number of actions were set out.

Reasons:

Strong business planning processes and a clear strategic framework are regarded as best practice, and will enable the organisation to demonstrate how it is using resources to meet locally specific objectives.

The Council Plan 2011-12 is a key part of the budget and policy framework. The Council Plan will be considered at Cabinet on 15 February 2011 and Council on 24 February 2011. The plan has been circulated to Overview and Scrutiny Members to enable them to feed comments into this meeting.

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.