Agenda item

At the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee on 25 June 2013, it was agreed that the task of scrutinising the Draft Business Plan 2013 – 2017 would be undertaken by the individual select committees, each looking at topics of specific interest to their committee.

The views of each committee will then be incorporated into one report to go to the Cabinet meeting on 23 July. 

At the meeting, the Executive indicated that it had identified 12 priorities or ‘deliverables’ for the Council and has provided the list for each select committee to consider, as follows.

Key Deliverables

1.    Invest additional money between 2014-17 to reduce the historic backlog in highways maintenance

2.    Stimulate economic growth and create additional jobs in partnership with the LEP

3.    Further enhance the role of Area Boards, developing innovative community led approaches to designing and delivering services

4.    Improve the attainment, skills and achievement of all children and young people

5.    Support the most vulnerable in our local communities and improve our safeguarding services.

6.    Invest to refurbish council housing and encourage the development new affordable homes, including supported living in rural areas

7.    Build on the work of the Military Civilian Integration Programme and maximise benefits arising from the Army Basing Plan

8.    Delegate cost neutral packages of land, services and assets to town and parish councils

9.    Create a campus opportunity in each community area,

10.Integrate public health at the heart of all public services

11.Doing things differently for less to deliver at least £120m budget cost reductions over the four years

12.Develop the knowledge, skills, behaviours & leadership of our workforce & our managers

A copy of the overall Business Plan is included to provide context to the above priorities.

On 25 June 2013 the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee met to consider the Wiltshire Council Draft Business Plan 2013-17 prior to its determination at Cabinet on 23 July 2013 and the establishment of the council’s strategic direction and priorities for the next four years.

The Management Committee resolved that each Overview and Scrutiny Select Committee should consider the draft Business Plan in turn, reporting its comments on the twelve deliverables of the Business Plan as provided by the Council Executive and included within the agenda pack. The individual committees would then report on their conclusions to the Management Committee ahead of final recommendations to Cabinet.

The Chairman introduced the draft Business Plan and stated deliverables, with comments and assistance on the Plan provided by Cllr Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance, Risk, Procurement and Welfare Reform, Cllr Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Transport, Dr Carlton Brand (Corporate Director), Alistair Cunningham (Service Director: Economy and Regeneration) and Alissa Davies (Principal Policy Officer).

The Committee then considered the draft business plan and the key deliverables, making points including but not limited to the following:

·         The need for responses to climate change to be embedded in the council’s policy thinking for the next four years;

·         The enhanced role of the Area Boards was a positive intention;

·         Given the increased role of Town and Parish Councils with delegated services, a re-evaluation of how they operated might be necessary;

·         The need for the Development Service to take into account key deliverable ten with regards public health;

·         The aspiration to maintain high standards and develop the skills of the workforce, within the constraints of more limited financing, would be a challenge that would needed careful consideration;

The Committee also felt that as the Business Plan was a live document, scrutiny of it should also be ongoing, and that future additions should include examples demonstrating successes the council had achieved, comparisons with and the impact of national policies and events on Wiltshire, and an increased emphasis on how all plans would need to be achieved in the context of deliverable Eleven - “Doing things differently for less to deliver at least £120m budget cost reductions over the four years” - perhaps by making it the first key deliverable to inform perception of the remaining points.

The Committee also made points regarding the specific details and wording of the draft plan, to be reported to the Management Committee by the Chairman.

The Chairman thanked members for their valuable input and clarified that the Chairmen and Vice- Chairmen of the Select Committees and Management Committee would be meeting on 8 July 2013 to consider all the views and comments for submission of a final Overview and Scrutiny report to the Cabinet on 23 July 2013.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

That taking into account the points raised above, the Environment Select Committee:

1)    AGREED with the twelve key deliverables of the draft business plan with no additions or subtractions required, and

2)    Acknowledged the cross cutting themes of the deliverables, but noted that it was felt points in relation to deliverables Four, Five and Ten were outside the remit of the Committee

The Chairman thanked members for their valuable input and explained that the Chairmen and Vice- Chairmen of the Select Committees and Management Committee would be meeting on 8 July 2013 to consider all the views and comments for submission of a final Overview and Scrutiny report to the Cabinet on 23 July 2013.