To consider whether to make any comments to Cabinet on the draft joint Council and NHS Herefordshire Corporate Plan.

The Committee considered the proposed joint Council and NHS Herefordshire Corporate Plan.

The report noted that the joint Plan was to be considered by Cabinet on 21 February with a view to Council approving the Plan on 5 February.  The NHS Herefordshire Board was to be invited to approve the Plan on 28 January.

A revised report to Cabinet had been circulated to Members.  The Corporate Policy and Research Manager (CPRM) noted that this now contained two appendices.  Appendix 1 comprised the vision, priority themes, strategic objectives and long-term outcomes, and was proposed to be recommended to NHS Herefordshire and the Council.  Appendix 2 was the present working draft of the performance indicators and associated targets, key projects and milestones that would be used to achieve these, as well as providing the basis for strategic performance management.  Appendix 2 was work in progress. 

He added that the format of the Corporate Plan was a departure from previous years, with considerably fewer words, and a clear focus on delivery.

The intention was to align the plans of the Council and NHS Herefordshire by setting out what they were seeking to achieve through their close partnership, within the overarching framework of the refreshed Sustainable Community Strategy.

It was essential that the Plan was affordable.  He reported that it had accordingly been prepared with regard to the assumptions about future funding in the medium term financial strategies of the Council and NHS Herefordshire.  However, as noted in the risk management section of the report to Cabinet, the Plan could need to be reviewed were those assumptions to prove significantly wide of the mark, for instance in the light of a dramatic change in the Government’s funding regime for local authorities.

In discussion the following principal points were made:

·         The CPRM confirmed that the intention was to produce a version of the Plan that was readily accessible to the public.

·         The CPRM provided background on the identification of the major challenges highlighted in Appendix 1 in relation to the joint vision for the Council and NHS Herefordshire. He confirmed that these were intended to be of equal priority.

·         Members emphasised the importance of the provision of sufficient affordable housing, noting that this had a number of beneficial impacts, for example on people's health, and expressed concern that the currently proposed targets seemed unlikely to meet the probable level of need.

·         It was observed that Appendix 2 contained targets for the completion of capital schemes such as the Butter Market for which there was as yet no provision in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  The CPRM reiterated that appendix 2 was a work in progress.  He also confirmed that further drafts of Appendix 2 would set out clearly the  basis of measurement to be used for each  of the proposed performance indicators.

·         Members noted that the Plan was being recommended to Cabinet as affordable and deliverable. However, they wished to emphasise the need to be vigilant in ensuring that this was and remained the case.  It was noted, for example, that in delivering the long-term outcome of reduced CO2 emissions and successful adaptation to unavoidable impacts of climate change, Members had a concern that the service may be under-resourced, with the post of climate change officer having been vacant for some time.

·         Members were also concerned to ensure that the targets were realistic and achievable.  It was also noted that a number of targets were dependent on the commitment of partners, such as the Police.  The CPRM commented that action plans would be in place to deliver the targets and key projects and that scrutiny committees would be able to monitor delivery against those plans.  It was recognised that negotiations with partners would have to take place to finalise some of the targets.

·         It was proposed that consideration be given to the following specific points:

·         That a better basis for measuring the delivery of long term outcome 1.3 – ‘more and higher spending visitors to the county’ would be the STEAM report.

·         The targets for the processing of planning applications against long-term outcome 1.4 – ‘improved quality and availability of business accommodation and employment land’ did not contain any basis for measuring the quality of decisions, although it was accepted that this could be difficult to devise;

·         The targets for recycling waste at 6.1 of the Plan should be made more ambitious; and

·         That the key project of producing planning policy documentation did not seem sufficient in itself in relation to delivering the targets for long term objective 6.2 – ‘reduced CO2 emissions and successful adaptation to unavoidable impacts of climate change’.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet be advised

(a)               That the format of the Joint Corporate Plan be welcomed;

      (b)       That while acknowledging that Appendix 2 was a work in progress for the Executive to complete the importance of ensuring that targets are realistic and achievable and that resources are in place to deliver them be emphasised, noting for example the concern expressed over the resourcing of climate change work; and

            (c)        That consideration be given to the specific points relating to long term outcomes 1.3, 1.4, 6.1 and 6.2 highlighted above.