Issue - meetings

The Corporate Plan Delivery Plan which was approved by Cabinet on Wednesday, 27 May has been called in by the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillors Criscione, Dean and Sell have called in the item for the following reason:

"The reason for calling in this decision is because the Corporate Delivery Plan is insufficient insofar that it is, inter alia, not measurable, lacking in both quantified and timed outcomes. It therefore requires further development to meet these good governance standards. The plan should also demonstrate aspirational outcomes achievable in normal times and should not solely be downplayed by current uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scrutiny committee needs the opportunity to scrutinise the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan, having been given qualified assurances from the executive that this would be the detailed follow on from the Corporate Plan."

The Committee are asked to consider the decision to approve the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan 2020/21.

The Chair introduced the item and said Councillors Dean, Sell and Criscione had called in the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan (CPDP), approved by Cabinet on 27 May, for the following reasons:

"The reason for calling in this decision is because the Corporate Delivery Plan is insufficient insofar that it is, inter alia, not measurable, lacking in both quantified and timed outcomes. It therefore requires further development to meet these good governance standards. The plan should also demonstrate aspirational outcomes achievable in normal times and should not solely be downplayed by current uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scrutiny committee needs the opportunity to scrutinise the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan, having been given qualified assurances from the executive that this would be the detailed follow on from the Corporate Plan."

The Chair said a late supplementary pack had been published earlier in the day containing Member submissions. He said an explanation should be given as to why the evidence was submitted on the day of the meeting.

In response to a Member question, the Democratic Services Manager said the Corporate Plan Delivery Plans of neighbouring local authorities could be tabled for consideration but it would be for the Members who had called in the decision to justify the documents inclusion.

Councillor Dean said the CPDP should be referred back to Cabinet for amendment, with a request to clearly identify the following:

• Delivery outcomes
• Delivery completion dates
• The individual accountable for delivery
• Prioritisation of objectives

Councillor Dean said the current CPDP lacked clarity and accountability and whilst he appreciated the unprecedented nature of the public health emergency, the Council needed direction that was lacking in the Plan.

He proposed the following,

“That the Scrutiny Committee refers the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan back to Cabinet with a request that it is amended to identify:

(i) delivery outcomes,

(ii) when the outcomes will be delivered,

(iii) who will be responsible for delivery of outcomes.

"The revised plan may show:

(a) clearly what the Cabinet wishes to deliver, but 

(b) may include uncertainties that could affect timely delivery resulting from the present Covid-19 pandemic."

Councillor Criscione said assurances in regard to the CPDP had been given by the Administration at this juncture last year; the Administration had not lived up to those promises. Furthermore, the ruling group had a strong mandate and this was their chance to prove they could deliver on promises made in the pre-election period. He said in his view they had failed to do so.

There were a number of serious flaws in the Plan, such as no costings, a lack of consistency in target setting and a general lack of detail. He said the lack of detail in the CPDP was intrinsically linked to the lack of progress made by the Administration in delivering its mandate. He said the Council required vision and ambition and praised the Corporate Plan which demonstrated that scrutiny could add value to the process. He said SMART objectives were required to spell  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2

To consider the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan 2020/21.

RESOLVED to approve the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan 2020/21.

The Leader introduced the report on the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan for 2020/21. He said much work had gone into producing a plan that was comprehensive in scope, although he acknowledged that due to the unprecedented public health emergency the Plan could not be implemented in full.

In response to a Member comment regarding the delivery of sustainable settlements and locally led development corporations, the Leader said it was fair to say that this was an aspiration and would be subject to the new Local Plan.

In response to a Member comment relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) policy and the risk that the Council would be left behind in terms of implementation, the Leader said he was principally in favour of CIL but a decision had yet to have been made.

In response to a Member comment pertaining to the delivery of affordable homes in the District, and the lack of measurable outcomes contained in the Delivery Plan, Councillor Lees said these were unprecedented times and it was not in the interests of the public to state an arbitrary number when there was so much economic uncertainty. Clarity was particularly needed in regard to the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan. She said the Administration would remain ambitious in its aspiration to build affordable homes.

 In response to a Member question relating to the maintenance of council homes, the Director – Public Services said the Capital Programme did include work to maintain properties and the programme would be pursued once resources became available.

In response to a Member comment regarding smarter targets, milestones and measurable outcomes, the Leader said as the financial picture became clearer, further work would be carried out on the Delivery Plan.

Councillor Gregory said whilst he agreed that there was no point in publicising arbitrary targets for the sake of it, it would be helpful to state what areas of the Corporate Plan would be delivered in the current context, and in what areas the council would struggle to meet targets.

Councillor Hargreaves said the first objective of the Administration would be to meet basic services and bills; the current situation was unprecedented and it was near in impossible to forecast how things would be following the recovery. Central Government policy would have a significant impact on how the council moved forward and it was not clear what the rules would be in areas such as borrowing.

Councillor Pepper said the world currently faced two crises in the form of climate change and Covid-19. She said she would strongly push the climate change agenda forward and it was imperative that the council continued to act.

Councillor Day said these were unprecedented times and the council had to be extremely prudent when it came down to public money; he said an individual would not spend more than they could afford and the same principle should be applied to public resources.

Councillor Eke said the role of a Portfolio Holder would be more about lobbying and driving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8