Issue - meetings

To consider the Community Vision and Corporate Delivery Plan 2020/24.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 25 to 26 (and supplementary Agenda) which set out the new Council Plan (incorporating the Community Vision and Corporate Delivery Plan) 2020/24.

Susan Parsonage (Chief Executive) and Graham Ebers (Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Services) attended the meeting to answer Member questions on the plan.

The report stated that the Council Plan had been developed through consultation with residents, businesses, partners and political groups. The Community Vision document was a public facing document which communicated key priorities to residents and set out key targets for the next four years. The key priorities set out in the Community Vision were:

·           Enriching lives – supporting our residents to lead happy, healthy lives whilst developing local communities and the local economy.

·           Safe, Strong Communities – protecting vulnerable residents whilst nurturing communities which are safe for all;

·           Changing the Way we Work for You – being a customer-focussed organisation with high quality services, good communications and digital innovation;

·           A Clean and Green Borough – a focus on becoming carbon neutral whilst protecting our green spaces, improving biodiversity and reducing waste;

·           Right Homes, Right Places – delivering affordable, sustainable homes which meet a range of housing needs, with supporting infrastructure and community facilities.

·           Keeping the Borough Moving – improving our cycleways, footpaths and roads whilst tackling traffic congestion and promoting alternative travel options.

The Corporate Delivery Plan built on the key priorities in the Community Vision and identified core organisational values which would underpin future service delivery and community engagement. The organisation’s Core Values were:

·           Customer Focus – delivering quality services that we would like to receive ourselves;

·           One Team – working jointly with residents and partners across boundaries to ensure effective and efficient service delivery;

·           Taking Ownership – taking responsibility for issues and being accountable for the outcomes delivered to residents;

·           Being Ambitious – aiming for excellence, being innovative and entrepreneurial whilst managing risk.

The Corporate Delivery Plan provided a framework to be used by departments and the Council’s Executive in driving strategic policy and service delivery. The plan would be used to develop SMART targets and key performance indicators to ensure effective performance management and monitoring.

In the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points:

What was the cost of producing the Community Vision and Delivery Plan? Graham Ebers commented that development of the documents had involved discussions with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Consequently, it was not possible to identify an exact cost.

Delivery of the Plan would require a significant change in organisational culture, for example in the Council’s approach to equality issues and funding for arts and culture. Graham commented that delivery of the Plan would be a challenge for the organisation. This was a positive approach. Scrutiny and feedback from stakeholders would be important in driving the organisation forwards. In relation to arts and culture, Susan Parsonage stated that the key to success would be working with partners and leveraging in funding by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79