1 THE ISSUE

1.1 To agree the publication of the Service Plan for the Division of the Customer Services Department responsible for the Tourism, Libraries, Heritage, Leisure & Culture portfolio.

2 RECOMMENDATION

The Cabinet member is asked to agree that:

2.1 The Service Plan should be agreed and published.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS


3.1 The financial implications are identified in the appendix 1 and are in line with the budget set by the Council.

4 CORPORATE PRIORITIES

• Building communities where people feel safe and secure
• Promoting the independence of older people
• Improving life chances of disadvantaged teenagers and young people
• Improving school buildings
• Sustainable growth

The Service Plan is in line with the Corporate Priorities identified above. This Service Plan specifically deals with that element of the Corporate Vision that is concerned with `World Class Arts and Culture'.

5 THE REPORT

5.1 The Service Plan for the Division has been developed from an interim statement that provided the overarching strategic direction for the service plans that deal with the Heritage Service, Arts Development Unit, Sport and Leisure Team, Libraries Service and informs (through Service Level Agreements) the business plans of the Tourism Company (Bath Tourism Plus), Aquaterra Leisure and the Festivals Company (Bath Festivals Ltd).

5.2 The Service Plan is supported by an Equalities Impact Assessment. The basis of the EIA is translated into the Unit Service Plans which, in their turn, have specific actions identified for completion during the year.

5.3 The Service Plan will have an annual report associated with it. The 2007/08 Report can be found at:

www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/leisureandculture/Annual+Report.htm.

6 RISK MANAGEMENT

6.1 The report author and Cabinet member have fully reviewed the risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.

7 EQUALITIES

7.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) is appendix 2 of the document list.

8 RATIONALE

8.1 This Service Plan sets out the basis upon which services will be provided to the residents of Bath and North East Somerset, those who work in the area and those who visit.

8.2 It is in line with the Council's responsibility to ensure value for money whilst delivering effective and valued (by the users) services.

9 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

9.1 Other options for delivering these services - through commercial partnerships, through `not for profit' social enterprises and through Mutual or Trust arrangements - are constantly considered. The Council has recently considered Trust status for the Heritage Service and has taken the view that there is no significant benefit to be gained at this time.

10 CONSULTATION

10.1 Cabinet members, Cllr David Hawkins & Cllr Terry Gazzard; Peter Rowntree (Director Customer Services), Overview & Scrutiny Panel; Staff; Other B&NES Services; Service Users; Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive.

11 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

11.1 Social Inclusion; Customer Focus; Sustainability; Human Resources; Young People; Corporate

12 ADVICE SOUGHT

12.1 The service units seek constant feedback through formal processes and adapt services as a consequence of the information gained. The Heritage Service provides a bench marking service for the Visitor Attractions in the UK which helps with placing the Council's Service in a national context. Also the Council has reviewed its Library Service during the 2007/08 financial year and the customer feedback taken at focus groups has been used to shape services.

12.2 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.

Contact person	David Lawrence 01225 395385
Background papers	None
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