HERITAGE, CULTURE AND LEISURE COMMITTEE

30 JANUARY 2018

 

Strategic Plan 2015-20, 2018-19 Refresh

 

Final Decision-Maker

Council

Lead Head of Service/Lead Director

Chief Executive

Lead Officer and Report Author

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Classification

Public

 

Wards affected

All

 

Executive Summary

 

Policy and Resources Committee agreed that the Strategic Plan would be refreshed for 2018-19. The draft refreshed plan is attached at Appendix A. The Committee is asked to consider those sections that have been refreshed for the priorities relevant to its terms of reference, prior to approval by Policy and Resources for submission to full council.

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   To note the refreshed Strategic Plan attached at Appendix A.

2.   To recommend amendments to the Strategic Plan 2015-20, 2018-19 Refresh to Policy and Resources Committee as appropriate.

 

 

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Policy and Resources Committee

13 December 2017

Strategic  Planning and Sustainable Transportation Committee

9 January 2018

Communities, Housing and Environment Committee

16 January 2018

Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee

30 January 2018

Policy and Resources Committee

14 February 2018

Council

28 February 2018


 

 

 

 

 

 


Strategic Plan 2015-20, 2018-19 Refresh

 

1.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1        Maidstone Council’s Strategic Plan 2015-20 sets out the Council’s priorities and the actions that we need to take to achieve these.  Last municipal year the Service Committees had extensive input into the wording of all the action areas within the Strategic Plan. Policy and Resources Committee subsequently agreed at its meeting on 25 July 2017 that the current plan be refreshed to ensure contextual information is up to date and areas of focus in relation to the action areas for 2018-19 are agreed. At their meeting on 13 December 2017 it was agreed that the three priorities for 2017-18 remain priority action areas for 2018-19. The plan attached at Appendix A includes updated statistics (where available) and changes to the “we will commit to” sections. The foreword will be updated prior to Policy and Resources Approval in February as will the artwork and strategies and plans sections of the plan at Appendix A.

 

1.2        A Resident Survey was conducted over the summer which included postal and online submissions as well as a roadshow in various locations. A summary report of those areas relevant to the strategic plan is provided at Appendix B.

 

 

2.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

2.1        Appendix A shows the refreshed Plan with tracked changes as agreed by Policy and Resources Committee. The refresh includes updated statistics in the contextual information and updates to the: “we will commit to” sections of each action area.

 

2.2        Every two years the Council conducts a Resident Survey. The survey carried out over the summer included consultation on our budget and corporate priorities. When asked to prioritise the three priority action areas by importance, the majority of respondents said that priority 2, ‘A clean and safe environment’ was the one most important to them. One in four respondents said that ‘A home for everyone’ was most important and less than one in ten said that ‘Regenerating the town centre’ was most important to them. With regard to spending on the priorities just over half of all respondents said that funding for the priority ‘A home for everyone’ should be maintained and almost one in three said spending should be increased. Over half of all respondents said that funding for ‘A clean and safe environment’ should be increased and 1.5% said funding should be reduced.  Overall, 46.1% of respondents said that funding on ‘Regenerating the town centre’ should be maintained and 26.8% said that it should be reduced. 

 

2.3        Political groups were offered briefing session on the results of the Resident Survey. The results have been given to service managers to inform decision making in their service areas. The Policy and Information Team met with managers in December and January to collate the actions that have been taken as a result of the survey. This will be used to inform the communication and engagement strategy refresh in March.

 

2.4        Policy and Resources have agreed that the top three priority areas for 2017-18 will be maintained for 2018-19:

 

·         A Home for Everyone

·         Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

·         Regenerating the Town Centre

 

2.5        The Committee is asked to consider the ‘we will commit to’ sections for the priority areas that map to its terms of reference. The action areas to be considered are:

 

·         Respecting the Character and Heritage of our Borough; and

·         Ensuring there are Good Leisure and Cultural Attractions

 

3.         PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

3.1        The Committee is recommended to consider whether any further amendments are need to the refreshed Strategic Plan at Appendix A. Any recommendations will be considered by the Policy and Resources Committee prior to submission to Council.

 

4.        RISK

4.1     The Strategic Plan sets out our priorities and how they will be delivered, informing the Council’s risk register and risk appetite. The Council has a corporate risk register which will pick up any actions from the Strategic Plan.

 

5.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

5.1   Residents were asked to consider our priorities in the Resident Survey carried out in the summer - see Appendix B.  Service Committees are now being asked for their feedback on the refresh.

 

 

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

6.1     The amendments from each Service Committee will be collated and considered by the Policy and Resources Committee prior to approving the refreshed plan for submission to Council on 28 February 2018

 

7.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

The Strategic Plan sets the Council’s priorities

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Risk Management

Already covered in the risk section

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Financial

The Strategic Plan sets the

Council’s priorities. The

Medium Term Financial

Strategy aligns with the

Strategic Plan and sets out

the priorities in financial

terms.

Section 151 Officer & Finance Team

Staffing

The plan informs service

plans and individual

appraisals

Head of Service

Legal

Each local authority has a statutory duty to "make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness". The Council’s Strategic Plan demonstrates compliance with that duty.

 Keith Trowell, Interim Team Leader (Corporate Governance), MKLS

Privacy and Data Protection

 

No implications

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Equalities

The recommendations do not propose a change in service therefore will not require an equalities impact assessment

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Crime and Disorder

The Strategic Plan sets out

the high level priorities for

Community Safety

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Procurement

No implications

Section 151 Officer

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix A: Strategic Plan 2015-20, 2018-19 Refresh

·         Appendix B: Resident Survey Summary

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None