To propose a refresh of the councils Performance Management Framework; setting out the councils approach to business planning, risk management and performance monitoring.

The cabinet member finance and corporate services introduced the item. She explained that a new plan on a page had been created as part of the refresh of the performance management framework which pulled together a number of items. The risk management plan identified risks at every level and how these were managed and reported. A project management approach would be taken to all aspects of the councils work and a cycle of do – monitor – review would be embedded more deeply into how the council operated on a day to day basis.

The head of corporate performance highlighted key points of the report including:

·         The framework sought to improve upon and strengthen the previous version which had been adopted in 2016;

·         The development of the one page plan was aligned with the new county plan;

·         Staff across all directorates had been consulted to understand their experience of the previous framework and how to make it easier to share with officers, the one page plan was a response to this;

·         Risk was now aligned to the solicitor to the council and the management plan contained more definitive escalation criteria that clarified where action must be taken and where it might be accepted as business as usual;

·         There would be greater internal checks and balances as part of the risk process and the opportunity to add in comparisons with similar councils;

·         The audit and governance committee had discussed the draft documents and their comments had been incorporated;

·         Work was taking place to plan how to launch the new framework within the council including making it part of the induction process for new staff;

·         Service business plans would now require self-evaluation prior to development of action plans which would include identification of meaningful ‘SMART’ actions.

The leader of the council stated that the document would help with recruitment as it gave a clear overview of the council.

Group leaders and representatives were invited to give the views and queries of their respective groups. The new document was welcomed as clear and understandable. It was noted that:

·         It was suggested that PESTLE could be used as a tool alongside use of SMART targets;

·         Some typographical errors were highlighted;

·         Risk management was felt to be vital to the council;

·         It was suggested that training on the new plan be made available for councillors as well as staff.

The chairman of the audit and governance committee commented that the new framework provided a natural transition to a more comprehensive and cohesive approach and that it was important that officers used the document as a tool rather than view it as a management overhead.

It was agreed that:

(a)          The Performance Management Framework, at appendix 1, is approved;

(b)          Delegation is given to the Solicitor to the Council, to update the Risk Management Plan annually; and 

(c)          Delegation is given to Assistant Director Corporate Support, to update the Service Business Planning Guidance annually