Issue - meetings

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources  and Transformation

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation which introduced the draft of the Strategic Plan 2014-2018, which was attached as an appendix to the report, for review and comment.

The report highlighted the fact that the Strategic Plan set out the vision and priorities of the County Council and that its high level delivery would be supported by a business plan, which would be presented to the Committee in March 2014.  A timetable for consideration of the Strategic Plan and Business Plan by Cabinet and Council was set out as an appendix to the report.  Detail was also given of customer insight used to develop the report, including details of the national policy context around public perception of public services and levels of public trust in local government.  It was highlighted that locally there were higher than national levels of trust in local services and satisfaction with the local area.  The Strategic Plan set out the vision to achieve the Council’s key priorities whilst maintaining these high levels of trust, this would also be underpinning through a revised Community Engagement Strategy.

Following a previous request from the Committee, a copy of the outcomes of the Local Government Association Peer Challenge was appended to the report.  This outlined the approach taken by the peer challenge team, as well as the key issues identified for investigation which included strategic commissioning, working in partnership and engaging with communities.  The peer challenge report highlighted a number of areas of achievement, particularly when using partnership approaches such as health and social care integration, the i54 development and the establishment of Entrust.  Key future challenges, including embedding commissioning frameworks across the authority and involving all members in commissioning processes and public engagement were also highlighted.

During the discussion, the following key points were raised:-

·            Members queried the level of genuine public understanding of the context local government was operating in, particularly in terms of moving away from universally delivered services to a more targeted approach.  The Deputy Leader commented on the role that the Council could play in driving societal change through both incentivising and penalising relevant behaviours.

·            In response to a question about the insight used, the Head of Insight confirmed that engagement work was carried out in partnership with other organisations though the County Engagement group.

·            Members commented on the impact of work not only from the County Council but from other partners on achieving the priority aims.  The Deputy Leader recognised this as a key challenge for the public sector in the immediate future, highlighting the Council’s commitment to working collaboratively with partners.  In response to a further query, he commented that this approach required innovative approaches based on addressing long term issues and collaborative approaches helped to share risks.

·            A number of comments were made based on the Peer Challenge report, with Members asking how the Council would evaluate the impact of commissioning on achieving outcomes.  The Deputy Leader reiterated that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27

Leader of the Council and Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation

Reasons for the Decision – To update Cabinet on the work to date in preparing the Strategic Plan (which will cover the period 2014 to 2018) and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (which provides details of how the Council’s operations will be funded over the period 2014 to 2019).

Alternative Options Considered – None

Decision – (a) That the progress made in developing the Strategic Plan 2014-18 be noted;

(b) That the financial outlook facing the county council be noted;

(c) That the work of the Innovation and Efficiency Board be noted;

(d) That the Innovation and Efficiency Board be requested to continue to work with services to identify additional savings needed to address the funding gap in 2014/15 and future years;

(e) That the Corporate Review Committee be requested to scrutinise the proposed pressures and savings against the principles of a good and balanced budget.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Transformation

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation which gave an update on the development of the Councils strategic Achieving Excellence plans and priorities.

It was reported that the draft strategic plan was being prepared and would shortly be considered by Cabinet.  The plan was being used to shape both the budget for 2014/15 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The planning process was based on the priorities for Staffordshire’s people, reflecting both recent levels of unprecedented change in local government and public services and the commitments from the controlling Conservative groups manifesto.  The report also highlighted work internally on ‘think pieces’ across eight themes to refine these priorities as well as work to ensure the plans would align with the wider priorities of the public sector in Staffordshire including the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Health and Wellbeing Board and the Police and Crime Commissioner.  These priorities were underpinned by 12 principles for a connected Staffordshire, which set out how the Council would work to achieve these aims.  This would be articulated through both the strategic plan and a more operational business plan, which would be available in April 2014.  The Deputy Leader advised the Committee that the draft strategic plan would be presented to the Committee for comment in January 2014 before being considered by Cabinet and recommended to the County Council meeting in February.

During the discussion, the following comments were raised:-

·           Some Members expressed concern about a lack of clarity in the priorities and principles that focussed more on ideology than a clear sense of purpose.  The Deputy Leader highlighted the importance of identifying key challenges through the priorities, particularly around transforming how the Council worked to deliver services with reduced resources and commented on the role of the strategic plan in engaging residents in that process.  He advised that there would be continued work on the strategic plan to ensure that it’s language was more outward focused and as jargon free as possible.

·           Members queried the extent of the customer insight used to inform the planning process and asked for details of the sources and processes used.  The Deputy Leader advised that a range of customer insight inputs and processes had been used to develop the plan including survey work as well as using insight gleaned from partners.  In response to further questions, he acknowledged the difficulties of effective segmentation to verify insight but highlighted the importance of the County Council providing leadership to drive clear understanding of the changing environment for delivery of public services.

·           The Deputy Leader was asked for further details of the think piece work.  He advised that this had involved officers working across thematic issues to bring a wide range of viewpoints into the planning process.  In response to queries about the lack of Member involvement he advised that Cabinet Members had been involved and that the controlling group had a mandate and responsibility to provide leadership and develop clear future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22