Corporate Business Plan 2003-2006

Introduction

Background To This Plan

The Council's Aims, Vision, Values and Principles

The Council's Aims
The Council's Vision
The Council's Organisational Values
The Council's Organisational Principles

The Council's Focus 2003-2006 - Priorities for Improvement

The Council will be well managed
The Council will improve the safety and cleanliness of the street scene and public places
The Council will reduce the gap between the educational achievement of our children and those in the best areas of the country
The Council will improve service to looked after children
The Council will improve the standard of the Council's housing stock
The Council will improve services to older people
The Council will improve the speed and accuracy of housing benefit payments
The Council will provide jobs and training opportunities for local people
The Council will help to reduce crime
The Council will help to create conditions that encourage businesses to locate in the area and be competitive and profitable

Investing In Priorities for Improvement

Monitoring and Review 

Appendix One - Priority Outcomes in the Community Strategy

Appendix Two - Glossary of Terms

INTRODUCTION

This Corporate Business Plan covers the three years from April 2003 until March 2006.

The purpose of this Plan is:

• to set out the vision, values, principles and aims of the Council
• to set out the areas the Council wants to improve performance in for the local community over the next three years
• to provide the basis for all other planning and resourcing in NELC.

BACKGROUND TO THIS PLAN

This new Corporate Business Plan is different to the 2002-03 Plan. It has two key drivers:

Key driver one:

The outcome of the national Comprehensive Performance Assessment for local authorities, which rated the authority as 'Poor'. The Corporate Business Plan acknowledges this. The Plantheme of becoming a 'Well Managed Authority' has been substantially reshaped to reflects the significant changes that the Council will be making to achieve rapid and lasting improvements. These priorities for improvement are outlined fully in our Recovery Plan.

Key driver two:

The need to deliver our contribution to the Community Strategy for North East Lincolnshire. The Council has an agreed long-term vision for the future of North East Lincolnshire, the result of the Council embracing its community leadership role and working in partnership. This was an ambition of the 2002/03 Corporate Business Plan.

The focus is now on delivery. Like other partners in the Local Strategic Partnership, the Council agreed to adapt its Corporate Business Plan to reflect the outcomes agreed in the Community Strategy. This new Corporate Business Plan fulfils that promise by setting out clearly for staff and the Council's partners where the Council will take the lead to deliver the agreed priority outcomes and targets and where it will make a major contribution.

This Corporate Business Plan is deliberately focused on only those things that are critical for the Council to achieve to deliver its Recovery Plan and it's contribution to the Community Strategy. In reality there is considerable overlap between the two. Greater detail on the delivery mechanisms for these areas of work and other work of the Council is to be found in our Recovery Plan and in the new series of Directorate and Unit Business Plans. The full range of services provided by the Council and performance targets for the next three years for them are set out in the Council's Best Value Performance Plan.

The Council's Aims, Vision, Values and Principles

The Council's Aims

As an organisation the Council has three overarching aims:

1. to provide strong, effective leadership in the local community
2. to provide improving services that meet the needs of the local community and
3. to be recognised, locally and nationally, for providing high quality services.

This Plan is deliberately people-focused rather than services-focused. This is putting into effect the Council's commitment to the customer and service user. By concentrating on the impact of the service on the user, the Council is putting the customer at the heart of its plan, rather than emphasising the service provider.

The Council has fully established the Local Strategic Partnership, officially launched on 1 May 2002. Working through the Partnership and following extensive consultation with the public and stakeholders, the Council has agreed a Community Strategy for North East Lincolnshire. This sets out a long -term vision for the area and a Short Term Action Plan to implement it over the next three years. It is set out in the Community Strategy, agreed unanimously by the Council on 27 March 2003.

The Council's Vision

By 2022 we want the following aspirational outcomes for our area and the people who live and work in it to be realised.

The priority outcomes are in bold.

Brackets at the end indicate what role the Council has in delivering them.

North East Lincolnshire in 2022 

By improving the physical appearance of the area and the quality of life for its residents, make North East Lincolnshire a place in which people are proud to live, work and welcome visitors.

In 2022 all people in North East Lincolnshire

• live in a safe and clean environment (Council Lead Role)
• engage in active citizenship and community involvement (Council Lead Role)

In 2022 pre school-age children

• are born healthy and thrive (Council major contributor)
• are ready to learn and ready for school (Council Lead Role)

In 2022 children and young people

• make informed, safe and healthy choices (Council Lead Role)
• live in a safe and supportive community (Council major contributor)
• achieve success in academic, social and cultural development (Council Lead Role)

In 2022 adults and families

• have improved employment opportunities (Council major contributor)
• enjoy good health and lead a healthy lifestyle
• live in a safe and supportive community (Council major contributor)
• live in appropriate and decent housing (Council Lead Role)
• participate in a range of learning, leisure and cultural activities (Council major contributor)

In 2022 older and retired people

• are helped to retain or regain their independence (Council Lead Role)
• feel safe and lead fulfilling lives (Council major contributor)

In 2022 we enjoy

• The sustainable development of a competitive and vibrant economy (Council major contributor)
• Waterside development (Council major contributor)
• Thriving town centres (Council Lead Role)
• The Freshney Forest (Council Lead Role)
• An integrated transport system (Council Lead Role)

The contribution the Council makes to all of these outcomes, through its actions and the services it provides, is shown in the Directorate Business Plans listed below:

Environmental Services Directorate Business Plan

The Council also contributes through a range of Statutory Plans.

The targets we have set ourselves over the next three years to help achieve these outcomes are set out in the Best Value Performance Plan. In all of the services the Council provides it is aiming for continuous service improvement, with best performance in its identified priorities, to meet local and national targets.

The Council's Organisational Values

The Council has developed a framework of values and beliefs that reflect the way it seeks to operate. Its values are the aspirations and ambitions of both employees and Councillors. They underpin all that the Council does and reflect what kind of organisation the authority wants to be and is required to be by government, the local community and the Council's partners. They are:

Committed to the customer and service user

The Council will, in all that it does, serve the needs of the local community. It is committed to providing high-quality services to those that need them. The Council will, in all of its dealings with members of the local community, act and behave in a manner that reflects this.

Passionate about good communication

The Council will, in all of its dealings, aim to communicate in a timely and effective way with all of those it has contact with.

Responsive to change

The Council recognises the need to change when it is appropriate to do so. The Council will be flexible in its service provision and always seek to provide services that are responsive to the changing needs of the community.

Committed to getting better

The Council recognises that it can improve in everything that it does. The Council's aspiration is to provide continually improving services that meet the needs of the community.

Financially prudent

The Council will at all times make the best possible use of the resources that are available to it and wherever possible seek external funding to assist in meeting its priorities.

Well managed

All of the Council's activities will be efficiently, effectively and economically managed so as to ensure the best possible services for the local community.

A good employer

The Council is committed to ensuring that all of its employees are provided with good conditions of service that measure up to 'best in class'.

Demonstrating high ethical standards

The Council will on all occasions work to the highest standards of ethical behaviour and take decisions in an unbiased, open and lawful manner.

Valuing diversity

The Council is committed to equality of treatment and outcome for its employees and its service users.

The Council's Organisational Principles

In addition to embracing the values by which it operates, the Council has adopted a range of principles that underpin the determination and delivery of all of its work. They are:

• The Council will make best use of its limited resources by aligning its budget with its priorities (both local and national) in order to improve services to meet customer needs
• The Council will target resources to those groups or areas in greatest need
• The Council welcomes the role of community leadership envisaged by central government and will work in partnership with others on those issues which constitute the strategic agenda
• The delivery of effective corporate governance will improve the quality of services for local people. In order to achieve this the Council will commit resources to develop the agendas of:
  • community leadership and community planning
  • best value
  • consultation
  • procurement
  • performance management
  • asset management.
• The Council is corporate in nature and is actively involved in setting and delivering a strategic agenda to implement its priorities
• The Council is committed to the principle of 'what's best is what works'. Future service provision will be based upon what is best for local people, with no preference for either retaining services 'in-house' or actively pursuing an outsourcing agenda
• Services will only remain in-house if they can demonstrate that that is the best option for local people
• The Council will promote and actively pursue the involvement of local people in decisions that affect their lives
• The Council will move towards a more sustainable community, meeting social needs and promoting economic success whilst protecting and enhancing the built and natural environment.

The Council's Focus 2003-2006 - Priorities for Improvement

The immediate need is for the Council to focus on achieving improvements in the areas criticised in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). North East Lincolnshire Council was identified as being 'Poor', on a scale from poor, weak, fair and good to excellent. This is the baseline from which this Corporate Business Plan (CBP) starts.

To improve from the position of being labelled as 'Poor', the Council has been undertaking a process of improvement planning. It has produced a Recovery Plan, which is the Council's highest priority. This Plan is designed to keep the Council focused on specific improvements to areas of service that were criticised in the CPA process and on improving the management of the authority. The ambition of the Recovery Plan is to deliver improved services to our customers and so to move the Council out of the 'Poor' category.

The Council has decided what it will focus upon by combining the commitments made in the Council's Recovery Plan in response to CPA and its role in delivering the priority outcomes (for 2003-06) of the Community Strategy (see Annex A). There is considerable overlap between these two. Within these service areas further focus is provided by concentrating on specific aims and specific targets. The targets are drawn from the Community Strategy, the Recovery Plan and the Council's Local Public Service Agreement.

The CBP shows the current focus of the Council, but flexibility is required. As the services in the Recovery Plan improve and are able to demonstrate sustainable performance improvement then the focus may not need to remain on them. Services currently achieving high levels of service performance and delivering priority outcomes will be evaluated along with other services where the performance management system identifies the need for improvement during the lifetime of this plan. The Council will utilize the annual business planning cycle and performance information to determine priorities for future service development.

Over the period 2003/06 the Council will focus on the following:

• The Council will be well managed
• The Council will improve the safety and cleanliness of the street scene and public places
• The Council will reduce the gap between the educational achievement of our children and those in the best areas of the country
• The Council will improve services to looked after children
• The Council will improve the standard of the Council's housing stock
• The Council will improve services to older people
• The Council will improve the speed and accuracy of housing benefit payments

Improvements in performance covered by the Recovery Plan are reinforced by ambitious targets set by a Public Service Agreement to be achieved by 2006. Improvements made through the Recovery Plan will be sustained in the medium and longer term, as these services clearly contribute to the priority outcomes in the Community Strategy.

The Council has also made a commitment to contribute to three further areas of work within the priority outcomes (2003-06) of the Community Strategy that are led by other agencies and partnerships in the area:

• The Council will provide jobs and training opportunities for local people
• The Council will help to reduce crime
• The Council will help to create conditions that encourage businesses to locate in the area and be competitive and profitable.
• The Council will be well managed

The Council will have an effective management framework that enables the delivery of high quality services that meet the needs, aspirations and ambitions of the local community, taking into account national priorities.

The Council will:

• Deliver a community focus (WM/A)
• Ensure that services are delivered effectively (WM/B)
• Deliver proper structures and processes (WM/C)
• Deliver risk management and internal controls (WM/D)
• Ensure proper standards of conduct (WM/E)
• Ensure optimum use of resources (WM/F)

How the Council will achieve this is set out in the Directorate Business Plans.

The Council is absolutely determined to move forward from the Comprehensive Performance Assessment judgement and give the community of North East Lincolnshire a far better level of local government service in future. This is going to involve major work in a number of areas of corporate management as well as specific work to improve some services that are not performing well.

The Council has been working with external consultants on a programme of organisational development to provide the capacity and capability to deliver services that meet the needs of the local community. The priority areas are:

These will be added to when further diagnostic work has been completed and a prioritised organisational development action plan produced.

Key Improvement Targets

The Council's overall aim is that the performance of the services prioritised for improvement will be average or better in national comparative tables by 2006.

The Council will improve the safety and cleanliness of the street scene and public places

The Council will provide services to ensure a safe, healthy environment for people to live in, work in and visit.

The focus will be on achieving ambitious new targets negotiated with the Government. How it will achieve these is set out in the Environmental Services Directorate Business Plan and the Recovery Plan.

Improvement Targets:

• Improve the cleanliness rating on the ENCAMS Index by one index point in 2003/04, a further index point in 2004/05 and to reach 72 by Spring 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Increase the number of abandoned vehicles removed within 48 hours, where ownership can be determined, from our current performance of 26% to 75% in 2004 and to 95% by 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Increase people's satisfaction with cleanliness from 41.8% to 70% by 2004 and at least sustain this level to 2006 (CS/REC)
• Increase the percentage of household waste that has been recycled and composted from 9.3% to 18% by 2004 and to 24.7% by 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads (CS/LPSA.)

This will help ensure that all people in North East Lincolnshire live in a safe and clean environment. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy for which the Council plays the Lead role.

The Council will reduce the gap between the educational achievement of our children and those in the best areas of the country

The Council will provide high-quality opportunities, diversity and choice for learners. It will focus on ambitious new targets negotiated with the Government. How it will do this is set out in the Education Development Plan and the Learning and Child Care Directorate Business Plan.

Improvement Targets:

• Increase the number of 15 year olds achieving 5 or more GCSE's at Grades A* to C from 37.8% to 44.5% by 2003 and 47% by 2004 (CS)
• Improve Key Stage 3 achievement in literacy from 57% to 67% by 2003, 72% by 2004 and 76% by 2005; in numeracy from 59% to 67% by 2003, 71% by 2004 and 75% by 2005; in science from 58% to 66.5% by 2003, 68% by 2004 and 72% by 2005; and in ICT from 53% to 63% by 2003, 70% by 2004 and 74% by 2005 (CS/LPSA)
• Increase attendance in the schools with the poorest attendance records from 86.3% to 90.4% in Secondary Schools and from 91% to 95.3% in Primary Schools by 2005 (CS/LPSA)
• Increase attendance at all primary schools from 95% in 2003 to 95.5% in 2004 and at all secondary schools from 91.3% in 2003 to 91.5% in 2004.

This will help ensure that children and young people achieve success in academic development. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy for which the Council plays the Lead role.

The Council will improve services to looked after children 

The Council will improve its services to ensure better outcomes for them in terms of their education, health, employment and well being. It will implement a Performance Improvement Plan and ambitious new targets agreed with the Government. How it will achieve these is set out in the Learning and Chidcare Directorate Business Plan, the Recovery Plan and the Performance Improvement Plan.

Improvement Targets:

• Develop a Children and Young People's Strategic Plan by July 2003
• Increase the percentage of looked after children leaving care aged 16 or over with at least 5 GCSEs at grades A -C from 0% to 20% by 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Increase the percentage of looked after children leaving care aged 16 or over with at least 1 GCSE grade A-G or GNVQ from 26.9% to 50% (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Increase the percentage of young people looked after on 1 April in their 17^th year (aged 16) engaged in education, training or employment at age 19 from 48% to 80% by 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC).

This will help ensure that children and young people live in a safe and supportive community. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy to which the Council is a major contributor.

The Council will improve the standard of the Council's housing stock

The Council will focus on improving the standard of council housing to meet the 'decent homes standard'; covering their safety and state of repair and maintenance and warmth. How it will achieve this is set out in the Community Care Directorate Business Plan and the Recovery Plan.

Improvement Targets

• Increase the percentage of Council houses that meet the decent homes standard from 67% to 82% by 2004 and 100% by 2006 (CS/REC)
• Improve the Housing Repairs and Maintenance Service and maximise the use of H.R.A. funding, resulting in an increase in tenant satisfaction to 81% by November 2003, and sustain this improvement to 2006
• Reduce the number of repairs pre-inspected from 85% to 15% by 2004 and sustain this reduction to 2006 as a minimum
• Increase the number of jobs inspected from 7.3% to 12% by 2004 and sustain this increase to 2006 as a minimum
• Reduce the number of repairs raised as emergencies from 20.3% to 15% by 2004 and 10% by 2006 (REC)
• Increase the number of homes that have a gas safety certificate from 86% to 97% by 2004 and sustain this increase to 2006 (REC)
• Complete the Stock Investment Options Appraisal in 2003 and meet targets in the Community Plan by 2005 (REC)
• Accelerate the improvements in the energy efficiency of homes through insulation etc., saving energy and protecting vulnerable households - subject to negotiation with DEGRA (CS/LPSA/).

This will help ensure that adults and families live in appropriate and decent housing. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy for which the Council plays the Lead role.

The Council will improve services to older people

It will support people to live in their homes, families and communities by improving its services. It will focus on ambitious new targets negotiated with the Government. How it will achieve these is set out in the Community Care Directorate Plan and the Recovery Plan.

Improvement Targets

• No delayed transfers of care from hospital in 2003/04 and to sustain that position to 2006 (REC)
• Increase the number of older people supported to live at home through the provision of intensive home care from 6.5 to 9.5 per 1,000 between Oct 2003 and March 2004 and to 13 per 1,000 by 2006 (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Increase the number of older people supported to live at home from 1,875 (72.1 per 1,000) to 2,040 by March 2004 (78.5 per 1,000) and 2,366 by March 2006 (91 per 1,000) (CS/LPSA/REC)
• Reduce the number of older people admitted to residential/nursing care from 380 people (146 per 10,000) to 371 by March 2004 (143 per 10,000) and to 338 by March 2006 (130 per 10,000) (CS/LPSA/REC.)

This will help ensure that older people are helped to retain or regain their independence. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy for which the Council plays the Lead role.

The Council will improve the speed and accuracy of housing benefit payments

The Council will improve its services to get the right benefit to the right person at the right time. It will provide a level of performance equal to or better than the standards laid down by the Benefit and Fraud Inspectorate in their performance standards for speed and accuracy of processing by 2006. How it will achieve this is set out in the Finance Directorate Business Plan and the Recovery Plan.

Improvement Target

• Increase the speed of processing so that the average time for processing a new claim is reduced from 49 days (Feb 2003) to 34 days by 2004 and 21 days by 2006.

This will help to ensure that adults and families live in a safe and supportive community. This is a Community Strategy outcome to which the Council is a major contributor.

The Council will provide jobs and training opportunities for local people

The focus will be on working with Jobcentre Plus, the Learning and Skills Council, employers and other partners to increase skills and employment opportunities, with particular emphasis on the Council's most disadvantaged wards.

How it will achieve this is set out in the Regeneration and Community Learning Directorate Business Plan.

Improvement Targets

• Increase the proportion of people of working age in employment from 71.1% to 72% by 2004 and 72.5% by 2006 (CS)
• Reduce the difference in percentage unemployed between the three most deprived wards and the North East Lincolnshire average by 0.5% by 2004 and 2% by 2006 (in comparison to 1991 wards) (CS)
• In partnership with Jobcentre Plus increase the number of lone parents in sustainable employment to 371, people with disabilities in sustainable employment to 434 and people in receipt of other benefits in sustainable employment to 3,921 by 2006 (CS/LPSA)

This will help ensure that adults and families have improved employment opportunities. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy to which the Council is a major contributor.

The Council will help to reduce crime

The Council will work with the Police and Safer Communities Partnership. The focus will be on activities that the Council can undertake to help reduce crime and rehabilitate offending drug users. It has negotiated ambitious new targets. How it will achieve these is set out in the Environmental Services Directorate Business Plan.

Improvement Targets

• Reduce domestic burglary by 657 offences by 2006 (CS/LPSA)
• Increase the number of drug-using offenders achieving training, education, employment or rehabilitation by 75 by 2006 (CS/LPSA).

This will help ensure that adults and families live in a safe community. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy to which the Council is a major contributor.

The Council will help to create conditions that encourage businesses to locate in the area and be competitive and profitable

The focus will be on encouraging investment in the area by new and existing businesses, land and property developers, tourists and visitors. The right environment for investment and business growth will be created through a range of economic development, tourism and work-based skill development services. Renaissance of the physical environment, development of an enterprise culture and direct linkage of job seekers to job opportunities will be elements of the activity undertaken. How the Council will achieve this is set out in the Regeneration and Community Learning Directorate Plan.

Improvement Targets

• £3m of investment will be attracted by 2004 and £20m by 2006 (CS)
• Increase the number of jobs available in the NEL area by 5% by 2004 and by 15% by 2006.

This will help ensure a competitive and vibrant economy. This is a priority outcome in the Community Strategy to which the Council is a major contributor.

Investing In Priorities for Improvement

The Corporate Business Plan for 2002/03 highlighted the actions needed to implement strategic budgeting. This means targeting resources into supporting improvements that the Council wants to make for the local community. The first positive steps to achieving this have already been undertaken. In setting the budget for 2003-04 the Council has agreed the following principles for putting this into action:

First priority: for those areas of activity that have been determined as priorities for the Recovery Plan in response to CPA, the budget will be set so as to ensure their delivery.

Second priority: for those areas of activity that have been determined as Local Public Service Agreements, the budget will be set so as to achieve the stretched targets.

Third priority: where the Council is the lead or a major contributor to a priority in the Short Term Action Plan of the Community Strategy, the budget will be set so as to achieve the agreed stretched targets.

The Council will be putting additional resources into the areas identified in the Recovery Plan. Prioritising these services also means that the Strategic Management Team will focus on them in terms of monitoring and performance management. They will be the priorities for support and corporate services. The Council's aim is that the performance of the services prioritised for improvement will be average or better in national comparisons by 2006. Other services outside these priorities will continue to strive for continuous service improvement, applying best value principles.

Monitoring and Review

Achievements against this Corporate Business Plan will be monitored in a variety of ways:

• The Monitoring Board that will be overseeing progress on the Council's Recovery Plan will be monitoring those elements that feature in the Recovery Plan
• The Council will make regular reports on progress to the Local Strategic Partnership on those Community Strategy outcomes for which it is the lead or a major contributor
• All directorates of the Council will be monitoring the business plans that support this Corporate Business Plan
• The Strategic Management Team will identify a small number of critical performance measures that relate to this Plan
• A full monitoring report on the whole plan will be produced at half-yearly intervals and made public.

The Council has adopted an annual calendar of planning major pieces of work. Commencing in 2003/04 the following timetable will be adhered to in respect of reviewing the Corporate Business Plan:

June/July Conduct corporate self-assessment

July Identify key issues for priorities for improvement

August Review Best Value Review programme

August/September Review and amend Corporate Business Plan

July-September Strategic budgeting forecasts and allocations

September Corporate Business Plan targets agreed

October Corporate Business Plan completed

APPENDIX ONE

PRIORITY OUTCOMES IN THE COMMUNITY STRATEGY

The Community Strategy sets out the long-term vision for the area. Within this the Council and Local Strategic Partnership have agreed eight priority outcomes for quality of life and for the physical environment. In discussion with its partners the Council has agreed to take a lead responsibility for four of these priority outcomes. These are:

• People in North East Lincolnshire live in a safe and clean environment (Council lead)
• Children and young people achieve success in academic, … development (Council lead)
• Adults and Families live in appropriate and decent housing (Council lead)
• Older and retired people are helped to retain or regain their independence (Council lead)
• The Council has also agreed to make a major contribution to (but not lead on) four further priority outcomes.
• Children and young people live in a safe and supportive community (Council major contributor)
• Adults and families live in a safe and supportive community (Council major contributor)
• Adults and families have improved employment opportunities (Council major contributor)
• A competitive and vibrant economy Council major contributor).

APPENDIX TWO

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Term/acronym