Issue - meetings

(Chief Executive) to consider the attached report.

The Assistant Director Accountancy, Mr Maddock introduced the quarter 3 progress report on the Corporate Plan, Key Action Plan for 2017/18.

The Committee noted that 9 actions fell within the areas of responsibility of the Resources Select Committee. At the end of Q3:

·         7  (78%) of these actions had been ‘Achieved’ or were ‘On-Target’

·         2  (22%) of these actions were ‘Under Control’

·         0  (0%) of these actions were ‘Pending’

·         0  (0%) of these actions were ‘Behind Schedule’

Members went on to question the amber warning lights to Aim 1, Objective 1.b (12) “to produce a plan to implement agreed recommendations from the Service Accommodation Review…” And also Aim 1, Objective 1.c (6) “to implement the recommendations of the reprographics service review…” Officers informed members that these were on hold subject to consultations the council was having with Historic England about the future alterations of the building. These were difficult negotiations and any consent was likely to take up to a year. The project would take longer and cost more money, but it was possible to adapt the building to meet the council’s needs and also keep Heritage England happy.

Councillor Dorrell commented that if officers knew that they were not going to hit a target date then they should class it as a red light and not an amber one.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee reviewed and commented on the third quarter (Q3) progress of the Corporate Plan Key Action Plan for 2017/18 in relation to its areas of responsibility.

(Leader of Council) To consider the attached report (C-050-2017/18).

(1)        That, as part of the Council’s Corporate Plan for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20, the progress made with the achievement of the Council’s Key Action Plan for 2017/18 at the end of Quarter 3 be noted.

The Leader of Council presented a report on the progress in Quarter 3 with the Corporate Plan Key Action Plan for 2017/18.

The Leader reminded the Cabinet that the Corporate Plan was the Council’s key strategic planning document, setting out its priorities over the five-year period from 2015/16 to 2019/20. The priorities or Corporate Aims were supported by Key Objectives, which provided a clear statement of the Council’s overall intentions for these five years. The Key Objectives were delivered by an annual Action Plan, with each year building upon the progress against the achievement of the Key Objectives for previous years. The annual Action Plans contained a range of actions designed to achieve specific outcomes and were working documents and therefore were subject to change and development to ensure the actions remained relevant and appropriate, and opportunities to secure further progress or improvement were identified.

The Leader reported that, at the end of the third quarter of 2017/18: 40 Key Actions (80%) had been achieved or were on target; 5 Key Actions (10%) were under control; 4 Key Actions (8%) were behind schedule; and 1 Key Action (2%) was pending. The Key Action Plan for 2017/18 had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 27 September 2016, and progress in relation to individual actions and deliverables was reviewedby the Cabinet, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on a quarterly and outturn basis.

Cllr J Philip (Planning & Governance) reminded Members of the Local Plan Briefing scheduled for 15 March 2018. There had been announcements from the Government regarding the generation of Local Plans, but it did not affect the aim of the Council to submit the draft Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate by the end of this month.

Decision:

(1)        That, as part of the Council’s Corporate Plan for the period 2015/16 – 2019/20, the progress made with the achievement of the Council’s Key Action Plan for 2017/18 at the end of Quarter 3 be noted.

Reasons for Decision:

It was important that relevant performance management processes were in place to review progress against the key objectives, to ensure their continued achievability and relevance, and to identify proposals for appropriate corrective action in areas of slippage or under-performance. The Council had previously agreed arrangements for the review of progress against the key objectives.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

No other options were appropriate in this respect. Failure to monitor and review performance against the key objectivesand to consider corrective action where necessary, could have negative implications for the Council’s reputation, and might mean that opportunities for improvement were lost.