COUNCIL. 11 December 2006 RUTLAND COUNTY COUNICIL : STRATEGIC AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. Report from Cabinet

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1 REPORT NO: 314/2006 COUNCIL 11 December 2006 RUTLAND COUNTY COUNICIL : STRATEGIC AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Report from Cabinet STRATEGIC AIM: To propose revised Strategic aims and objectives KEY DECISION YES DATE ITEM FIRST APPEARED ON FORWARD PLAN October PURPOSE OF THE REPORT 1.1 To recommend to Council a vision and set of Strategic aims and objectives for County Council for the period 2007/ / RECOMMENDATION 2.1 That Council approve the vision and strategic aims and objectives for County Council for the period 2007/ /2012 contained in this report. 3. REASON FOR THE RECOMMENDATION 3.1. To provide a strategic direction for the Council for the period 2007/ /2012 and to consider and approve:- a. The vision for the Council proposed in paragraph 4.3. b. The strategic aims proposed in paragraph 4.4 and Appendix A and illustrated in Table 1. c. The objectives proposed in Appendix B. 4. DETAIL OF REPORT 4.1 It is essential that the Council has a clear strategic direction. The arrival of a new Chief Executive has provided a catalyst to the on-going work to review the existing aims and objectives. In carrying out this exercise the following issues have been considered:- a. The CPA report (2005) criticised the Council for a lack of ambition this is far from the case and the proposed set of aims and objectives articulate an ambitious programme of work that will transform over the five year period. b. Whilst the Community Plan provides a vision for the County, as an organisation it is important that the Council is clear about its strategic direction. Care has been taken to ensure that there is a clear synergy a

2 golden thread between the Community Plan, other key plans and documents and the proposed aims and objectives. Indeed the proposed aims and objectives draw heavily on a number of documents and will provide us with a central reference point to link them. c. The CPA report also criticised the Council s performance management arrangements. The proposed aims and objectives go a long way towards addressing the criticisms levelled at the Council and will form the foundations for a new performance management framework that will drive performance within the organisation. As a consequence the aims and objectives have a different feel to them. They are smarter and provide the Council with a clear set of targets against which performance can be measured. d. The Council is currently in its role as Accountable body negotiating a Local Area Agreement in partnership with a number of key agencies. As with the Community Strategy every effort has been made to ensure that there is a clear synergy a golden thread between the LAA and the proposed aims and objectives. e. If agreed the strategic aims and objectives will provide us with a clear set of priorities against which we can allocate resources. It is therefore these that would be used to support a priority based budget process that will ensure that resources are directed at our priorities and we can review the concentration of resources at areas that do not deliver against our priorities. f. The proposed aims and objectives are supported with clear accountability for delivery. This is essential to support the delivery and the performance management framework. 4.2 Each Scrutiny Panel has had an opportunity to consider the proposed aims and objectives and comments from the panels have been incorporated into the final proposed version. VISION 4.3 It establishing a vision for the Council focus has been on something that everyone can relate to and something that will resonate with the Community. The proposed Vision for County Council is:- Improving the Quality of Life for all Communities 4.4 Supporting the delivery of the vision is a clear set of strategic aims. Again the focus has been on aims that will support the Communities priorities. The proposed strategic aims for County Council are:- To develop a brighter future for all To care for all To be a well managed organisation To develop an active and enriched To develop a safer stronger To improve our economy and infrastructure To sustain our environment

3 4.5 It is important that we understand what the delivery of the Strategic aims and objectives will look and feel like to and its communities. Measuring our performance against those expectations is the true measure of success. Appendix A provides more detail to support the strategic aims and Table 1 illustrates this:- Table 1 Strategic Aim Proposed Development To develop a brighter future for all 16m Building Schools for the Future grant for the Vale of Catmose College to be opened by September 2009 Develop attainment and skills To care for all Develop a disability resource centre Continue to expand the availability of affordable housing To be a well managed organisation the scheduled sale of the Barleythorpe site proposed development of the Ashwell site To develop an active and enriched environment Develop Oakham s Cultural Centre A new sports facility To develop a safer and stronger Continuing to tackle crime and anti social behaviour To improve our economy & infrastructure re-tendering of the Council s highways maintenance contract Progress the Caldecott by-pass Progress parking enforcement and tackle congestion To sustain our environment plans for extending the Council s re-cycling services by 2008 re-tendering of the Council s refuse collection contract Improving the cleanliness in our County 4.6 To provide the Council with a set of clear and unambiguous targets it is necessary to establish a set of objectives that underpin the vision and the aims that are:- Specific Measurable Achieveable Realistic Timely 4.7 Appendix B to this report outlines the set of targets that will underpin the delivery of the vision and strategic aims.

4 5. RISK MANAGEMENT RISK IMPACT COMMENTS Time Medium It is essential that there is agreement on a strategic direction for the Council prior to the commencement of the new financial year, in line with the timetable for the LAA and to inform the 2007/2008 budget process and the Medium Term Financial Strategy. Viability High The proposals have been considered in the light of resource capacity and whilst stretching they are achieveable. Finance High Will provide a strategic basis for a priority led budget. Profile High Will support the future direction of the Council Equalities & Diversity High Will impact on all areas of Council services 6. CONCLUSIONS 6.1 The proposed strategic aims and objectives will be a significant step forward for the Council in a number of key areas outlined in this report. 6.2 Members are therefore asked to endorse the recommendations. Background Papers Report Author H V Briggs Chief Executive Tel enquiries@rutland.gov.uk A Large Print or Braille Version of this Report is available upon request Contact

5 APPENDIX A To develop a To care for all brighter future for all Strategic Aims (Detailed) To improve the Lives and Achievements of all children and young people who live in or who are the responsibility of To develop the Level and range of Skills within the adult population To provide person centred resources and services for people with disabilities To improve the health & wellbeing of the population To promote the independence of older people in To increase & Sustain the local availability of affordable social housing To make the best use of resources and innovative partnership arrangements to improve the condition and availability of private sector housing stock To be a well managed organisation To meet the requirements of the CIPFA code of practice for Internal Audit To support the t-gov programme to enable innovative & efficient citizen centric services To promote accessibility & safety in all Council properties. To manage efficiently and effectively the Council s asset portfolio To improve the efficiency & effectiveness of Corporate support services To develop an active and enriched To provide improved opportunities for participation in sport and recreation. To protect and enhance the historic core of Oakham To increase overall participation in volunteering To increase participation in cultural activities in To develop a safer stronger To improve our economy and infrastructure To embrace To promote, improve diversity and ensure and protect the local the social inclusion economy of all minority groups within To make adequate arrangements for business continuity in the event of a major disruption To deliver improvements in BCS crime and anti social behaviour supporting a based approach To implement measures to improve road safety across the County To make plans for future housing, employment and infrastructure through the LDF framework To improve rural transport and accessibility through To improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and manage the use of parking facilities in our town centres To improve the quality of the environment within the villages in To sustain our environment To reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites To protect and improve the natural environment and enhance bio diversity To make a positive contribution towards addressing the implications of climate change

6 Appendix B To be a well managed organisation - Improve the level of Customer Satisfaction with County Council services to 90% by 2012 To develop a brighter future for all To care for all To develop an active and enriched To develop a safer stronger To improve our economy and infrastructure To sustain our environment Narrow the gap in achievement at all ages between LAC/care leavers and others by 1% each year Achieve a 1% increase in performance at Key Stage 2 Level 5 in English and Maths every year Increase the number of learners achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE to 335 (71%) by July 2010 To achieve participation levels of at least 150 learners in Specialist Diplomas every year from 2008/09 Increase the number of the adult population with qualifications at or above Level 2 by a further 90 by July 2010 Increase the availability of affordable housing by 30 new houses a year for the period of the plan. Increase the total number of older people and those with a disability helped to live at home by 5% each year Deliver a 20% reduction in admissions to hospital for alcohol related illness by 2012 To reduce the proportion of the population declared as obese from 22.8% by 10% over the period Increase the number of people participating in Cultural activities by 1% per annum for period Deliver an annual reduction in the Fear of Crime and ASB for the period Increase the number of new businesses registered for VAT by 1% per annum Increase the economic value of Tourism in year on year (as measured by the STEAM Model) for the period of the plan To increase the number of people using a variety of public and volunteer transport by 35% by 2012 Deliver a reduction in measured speeds for the period Increase the recycling rate to 30% by 2008 and 40% by 2012 Increase the overall standard of Streetscene within by 2% by 2012