Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 This report presents a refresh of the Council's Corporate Plan 2008 - 2011. This is the final refresh for 2010/11 as the plan enters into its final year. The refreshed plan is presented for consideration by Cabinet and for recommendation to Council for adoption.

1.2 The refreshed plan includes:

(1) Clear links to the newly published Sustainable Community Strategy 2009 - 2026

(2) Updates to improvement priority actions to ensure they remain relevant in light of the recession and the need to work with reduced financial resources

2 RECOMMENDATION

The Cabinet agrees that:

2.1 The refreshed Corporate Plan 2008 / 11, incorporating the Medium Term Financial Plan is recommended to full Council for adoption as a Policy & Budget Framework item.

3  FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The Council's Corporate Plan incorporates the Council's Medium Term Financial Plan ensuring that decision making on priorities and resource allocations is fully aligned.

4 CORPORATE PRIORITIES

The Council Corporate Plan sets out the overall approach to each of the Corporate Improvement Priorities, therefore all are relevant.

• 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
• Improving the availability of Affordable Housing
• Addressing the causes and effects of Climate Change
• Improving transport and the public realm

5 THE REPORT

5.1 The Corporate Plan is the means by which the Council and its Cabinet ensure that priorities are clearly set out and adequately resourced. The plan enables a strategic approach to planning and resource allocation; supports the achievement of longer term and more complex goals; and ensures an integrated move towards service and financial planning.

5.2 The 2010 / 11 refresh has focussed on the following aspects; Making clear links to the updated Sustainable Community Strategy, approved by Council in Sept 2009, and Ensuring our priority actions remain relevant in light of (1) the recession and (2) within the context of working with reduced public sector finances and resources for 2010/11 and beyond.

5.3 The Sustainable Community Strategy 2009 - 2026 takes the Council's vision which the LSP has adopted as the vision for the area and sets out how this is to be delivered by the Local Strategic Partnership, linking it back to the delivery strategies of each of the LSP member organisations. The Council's corporate plan is a delivery strategy for the Council. Therefore the refresh has focussed on making sure that the linkages between the two are explicit.

5.4 An assessment of the current impacts of the recession on the Council and the wider community is also included in the refreshed plan. These issues have informed the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan.

5.5 The refreshed plan also reflects the need to work within tighter financial constraints and this is further reflected in the Medium Term Financial Plan.

6 RISK MANAGEMENT

6.1 The report author and Lead Cabinet member have fully reviewed the risk assessment in conjunction with the Corporate Risk Register, 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 was carried out in 2008 on the process by which the key measures and targets included in the Corporate Plan were selected. A further equalities impact assessment was conducted on the process of developing the Sustainable Community Strategy, which the Council Corporate Plan contributes to the delivery of.

8 RATIONALE

8.1 The Corporate Plan has been refreshed using a robust evidence base of the issues facing Bath & North East Somerset over the next few years. This evidence base compared issues from the whole framework of the Social, Environmental and Economic spectrum.

8.2 This has been shared with partners and has been considered alongside evidence of existing performance in order to set out those issues which the Council wishes to focus more of its time and resource.

9 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

9.1 The Corporate Plan is refreshed each year to ensure that it is relevant in the context of the key issues facing the Council and the local area. Therefore no other options have been considered at this time.

10 CONSULTATION

10.1 Cabinet members; Overview & Scrutiny Panel; Other B&NES Services; Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive; Monitoring Officer

10.2 The refreshed Corporate Plan was subject to consultation and input from across Council directorates. The draft Plan was considered by the Strategic Directors Group and the Corporate Performance & Resources Overview & Scrutiny Panel.

11 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

11.1 Social Inclusion; Customer Focus; Sustainability; Human Resources; Property; Young People; Human Rights; Corporate; Health & Safety; Impact on Staff; Other Legal Considerations

12 ADVICE SOUGHT

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