Agenda item

Report of Director of Policy and Performance (enclosed).

A copy of the updated Corporate Strategy is attached as a separate document.

The Executive Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Policy and Performance seeking approval to a number of amendments to the Council’s Corporate Strategy for 2006-2009.

The Corporate Strategy set out the Council’s vision and corporate priorities for the 3 year period up to 2009, together with work programme for the coming year, and stood as the key document in taking forward the Council’s agenda for improvement.

The Executive Cabinet and Strategy Group had recently undertaken a thorough review of the Corporate Strategy’s commitments to assess their feasibility and reflection of the key objectives of the new administration.  The review had identified a number of recommended changes to the Corporate Strategy which are detailed in the Director’s report.  These included the amendment and expansion of the Vision Statement in order to clarify more precisely the Council’s aims and overarching vision for the future of the Borough.  A number of changes to the Council’s strategic objectives, measures and targets, and key projects were also proposed.

The suggested alterations were highlighted in an annotated copy of the Corporate Strategy appended to the report.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Councillor Edgerley) drew attention to the following views and recommendations of the Committee in relation to the revised Strategy, which were debated by the Executive Cabinet:

?       The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had welcomed the proposed expansion of the Corporate Strategy’s Vision Statement.

?       The Committee had expressed concern at the proposal to alter one of the strategic objectives from ‘Reduce Pockets of Inequality’ to ‘Improving equality of opportunity and life chances’, fearing that resources for improvement would be lost.

         The Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Performance (Councillor Mrs P Case) responded to clarify the Executive Cabinet’s intention to highlight the positive intention of the objective, and to confirm that the proposed measures to achieve equality of opportunities would not be diluted.

?       The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had expressed disappointment at the deletion of the key project to ‘develop and deliver a strategy and action plan to increase voter turnout at Borough Council elections’.

         The Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Performance clarified that the Executive Cabinet’s overall objective was to increase public involvement in the decision making process of the Authority as a whole.

?       A number of members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered that the proposed new key project to ‘develop a strategy to deliver a 0% Council Tax increase in 2007/08’ should be revised to ‘develop a strategy to maximise resources and reduce costs through the pursuance of efficiencies to enable service improvements and the development of new services’.

         In response, the Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Performance stated that the new key project had been added to clarify one of the Conservative Group’s election promises, which would be achieved by use of the measures suggested by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

?       The Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s recommendation that the new key project to ‘prepare a Business Case to support new Local Government Structures’ should be revised to ‘maximise the opportunities given by the White Paper’ was accepted by the Executive Cabinet.

?       The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had welcomed the proposed new key project to ‘strengthen links with Parish Councils, Faith and Community Groups, and Voluntary Agencies’.

Decision made:

That the Council be recommended:

(1)    To approve the suggested changes to the Council’s Corporate Strategy and Vision for the Borough, as now presented and highlighted in the submitted Corporate Strategy document, subject to the substitution of the new key project to ‘prepare a Business Case to support new Local Government structures’ by a proposal to ‘maximise the opportunities given by the White Paper’, in line with the outlined rationale.

(2)    To agree the updated Corporate Strategy as the key strategic document for the Authority.

Reason for recommendation:

The Corporate Strategy is the key driver for the Authority.  The changes agreed have been made to ensure that all projects to which the Council are committed to deliver over the next three years are achievable and will deliver real improvements for the community.

Alternative option(s) considered and rejected:

None.