Agenda item

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 Council’s approach to commissioning referred to embedding a mindset across the Council and was not an end in itself and evaluation would reflect this.  In response to comments around performance management he advised that this would be covered in the Council’s business plan.

·            Queries were raised about the impact and performance management of existing joint working, including the integrated health and social care arrangements and Entrust.  The Deputy Leader referred to the ongoing internal commercial scrutiny through organisations such as Entrust and the Director of Law, Democracy and Transformation highlighted the formal accountability arrangements through the contract.  He also commented on the increased performance management of a number of areas since they had been transferred to Entrust.

·            Reference was made to increasing Member understanding of the commissioning process.  The Deputy Leader referred to recent Member Development events focussed on outlining the commissioning process for Members and made it clear that this would continue to be a key element of how the Council worked going forward.  Members reiterated the need to refresh overall understanding of the process and begin to evaluate the impact of commissioning on outcomes.

·            Members also commented on the references in the Peer Challenge to the involvement of non-Executive Members in the commissioning process, highlighting examples such as the Strategic Property Partnership with Staffordshire Police where early involvement could help to allay Member concerns about policy decisions.  The Deputy Leader briefly commented specifically on the property partnership, highlighting that it was still in the early stages of development and commenting on areas of commercial sensitivity that defined appropriate involvement.

·            The Director of Law, Democracy and Transformation highlighted the opportunities available to Members through the Forward Plan and the updates on the Transformation Programme to challenge and become involved in the commissioning process.  Members noted these opportunities and the need to take advantage of them through the Select Committee process.

·            In response to questions about the recommendations in the report about contact with the Centre for Public Scrutiny, the Democracy Manager Scrutiny and Governance referred to ongoing work over a number of years with the Centre.  He also highlighted areas where the County Council’s scrutiny function had been cited as national best practice.  Following the Peer review, contact had been made, however the potential cost of bespoke development work had proved prohibitive.

RESOLVED – That the Committee’s comments on the draft Strategic Plan be considered by Cabinet as it continues to be developed.