To consider a proposed Corporate Plan for 2008-11.  Under the Council’s current Performance Improvement Framework, the Corporate Plan is revised each year in relation to the outcomes from the Performance Improvement Cycle.  This involves  reviewing performance against the existing plan, setting priorities, objectives and targets for the next three years, and specifying the timetabled key actions needed to deliver them.

Cabinet considered proposals for the Corporate Plan for 2008-11.  The Corporate Policy and Research Manager said that some targets and actions were still being negotiated, including those in respect of the new LAA, which would be reflected in the Corporate Plan after it had been agreed with central Government in June 2008.  This meant that the Plan was still provisional and would require updating before being submitted to Council for approval. 

Some of the new mandatory national performance indicators had yet to be defined, while for some others baseline data did not currently exist  .The Corporate Plan therefore took a precautionary approach to the selection of performance indicators by including a number that were tried and tested and would therefore provide a secure basis for in-year performance management.

Based on best practice in a number of high-performing authorities, the Plan differed from previous ones in that it consisted primarily of bullet points of achievements, commitments, key actions and targets, and had less contextual information.  ,   Appendix E provided a timetable for the key actions, which would further buttress in-year performance management , while Appendix F gave the details of the measurable targets against performance indicators. 

He asked members to bear in mind that all diagrams in the Plan were not in their final format, and were currently being improved by the Council's Graphic Designer. 

The Plan set out the Council’s top priorities.  Affordable housing had  been added to those in the current plan, as had an explicit reference to the pursuit of value for money and better outcomes for people through the development of public service arrangements..

From its meeting on 20 March 2008, the SMC had forwarded a list of 19 points to Cabinet for consideration.  This was tabled at the meeting, and is appended to these minutes.  Members made the following points in relation to the list:

• A member in attendance asked that the third bullet point, on Page 67 of the agenda: "to protect and improve the welfare of rural areas", be made one of the Council's top priorities.  Because this had already been identified as a cross-cutting theme, this was not agreed;

• Point 1. The word "decent" had been proposed for inclusion to describe affordable housing.  SMC had referred to existing housing stock as well as new housing, and the Committee had felt that it should remain as a target, no matter how unachievable it was likely to be.  The Corporate Policy and Research Manager advised that "decent", in social housing terms, had a specific technical meaning, and asked Cabinet to be aware that, in the view of the Council’s Head of Strategic Housing, changes to Government grant arrangements would severely compromise the Council’s ability to meet the technical definition of "decent" for all housing in the county.  Cabinet agreed that no change should be made to the plan at this stage but that the matter would be re-visited by Cabinet after central Government had concluded its current review of social housing policies, including the definition of decent housing. 

• Point 4. The Corporate Policy and Research Manager said that the historic sections of the Plan were there to enable people to see at a glance what progress that Council had made, and he suggested that there was merit in retaining them.  This was agreed. 

• Point 6. The Corporate Policy and Research Manager explained that the Plan reflected the fact that the Council had withdrawn the schools review draft proposals, and this is why it had not been mentioned.  The Leader agreed and reminded members that the Council’s Small Schools Policy still applied..

• Point 7. The Chief Executive and Leader would refer, in the as yet unwritten foreword to the Plan, to the Council’s intention to work more closely with parish and town councils in shaping the future of communities.

• Point 12. The Corporate Policy and Research Manager confirmed that the key commitments had been agreed by the relevant directors and lead Cabinet members.  Any significant changes to the Plan would also be subject to their agreement.

• Point 19. The Corporate Policy and Research Manager said that, following consultation with the Director of Resources, it would be appropriate to add the proposals for the livestock market to the commitments in the  economic development section of the Plan.  Councillor PJ Edwards said that SMC had emphasised the importance of including the Council's aspirations, so that the public was fully informed. 

• In response to a question from a member in attendance, Councillor Jarvis said that he would obtain information on how the Council measured its carbon dioxide emissions, and on its plans to reduce them, and would make the information available to the member.

RESOLVED:   that Cabinet commends to Council for approval the proposed Corporate Plan for 2008-11, subject to the revisions agreed in the above minute, and subject to such revisions as may be necessary to:

(a)   reflect the terms of the approved new Local Area Agreement; and

(b)   finalise the detailed content, subject to this being approved by the Chief Executive and the Leader.