Issue - meetings

[Report of the Interim Assistant Director for Strategy and Communications. To be introduced by the Leader of the Council.]

Plan setting out actions for 2019-20 to deliver Borough Plan objectives.

The Leader introduced this report which set out the key aims and delivery plans for year 1 of the Borough Plan. The Leader stated the Borough Plan was challenging but would provide a greater sense of shared purpose and increase the overall success of the borough.

The Leader informed the Borough Plan was the vehicle through which the Council set its strategic vision that would shape the policies and decision-making over the course of the following three years and contained aspirational objectives which covered all aspects of Council services.

The Leader noted the LGA peer review team had praised the ambition of the Council but felt that more success would be achieved by focusing on a smaller number of key objectives.

The Leader sought for a broad conversation on the Borough Plan to be had and informed that various stakeholders within the community would be consulted on its contents, including the voluntary sector.

RESOLVED

1. To note that one the highest priority recommendations from the recent Corporate Peer Challenge carried out in February 2019 by a team of local government peers, and facilitated by the Local Government Association, related to prioritisation within the Borough Plan. The peers suggested that the Council sets out an annual delivery plan for each year of the life of the Borough Plan 2019-23, and that these delivery plans are aligned to the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

2. To approve the year one delivery plans for each Borough Plan priority as set out in appendices 1 to 5, of this report.

3. To note that the delivery plans for year 2 of the Borough Plan will be considered alongside the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget reports in February 2020.

Reasons for decision

To agree delivery priorities for the year to provide context for related decisions, including on budget setting, engagement with residents, and management of staff.

Alternative options considered

The alternative options considered by Cabinet in February when considering the adoption of the Borough Plan 2019-23 were

a)    Do not publish a new Plan; and

b)    Extend the previous Corporate Plan.

It was not considered feasible to pursue option A, as the Council’s Corporate Plan ended in 2018, which means a new Plan was needed. The Council is required to agree an overarching strategic document, which sets the parameters in which all other strategies operate. The Borough Plan plays this role, both for the Council and for the wider partnership.

It was not considered appropriate to extend the governance period of the previous Corporate Plan, as this did not reflect the administration’s priorities; did not reflect of the strength of partnerships across the borough, which contribute to the delivery of the Plan’s outcomes; and did not reflect changes to the political and financial operating context, including at local, regional and national level.