A presentation will be given in respect of the development of the latest version of the Council Plan.
Contact:
Kate McNicholas, Head of Policy, Partnerships and Corporate Planning
Minutes:
Kate McNicholas, the Head of Policy Partnerships and Corporate Planning gave a presentation in respect of the development of the latest version of ‘Our Council Plan’.
Kate highlighted the following points:
· It was anticipated that a draft of the refreshed plan would be completed by the end of September.
· The refresh would take the plan up to Spring 2023 with the aim being to undertake a full review for that point forward.
· The well-established shared outcomes were to be retained.
· The plan would be updated to reflect the emphasis on people, partners and place that had further developed through the pandemic.
· Three new values had been introduced in the 2020 refresh; inclusion, kindness and pride and these were to be reviewed to consider if any development, refining or amendment would be appropriate.
· Tackling inequalities had also been introduced as a ‘mission critical’ issue and there was a need to now embed this.
· There were a number of other areas of development to be included such as: the ‘citizen’s outcome’, to measure whether citizens felt able to influence what happens in their local place; the approach to recovery planning; and the organisational priorities as they aligned to the outcomes.
· In response to concern that there had been insufficient engagement with Councillors previously, in refreshing the plan, the leaders of the political groups had been offered the facility to have an input at an early stage.
· The refreshed plan would be submitted for consideration by the Corporate Scrutiny Panel, prior to progression to Cabinet and Council for endorsement.
· Alongside the refreshed plan, a progress report would be produced which would set out; changes against population level indicators, delivery against ambitions and other key achievements.
· In looking forward, connections would be made to the Economic and Health & Wellbeing strategies and the development of a new Inclusive Communities Framework.
Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members and the following key issues were raised during discussion
· Councillors should be asked for their view on the three new values introduced last year.
· The opportunity to have an input to the refreshed plan was welcomed.
· In response to a comment that priority should be given to using and supporting locally owned/managed businesses to maximise the amount of money that would then be retained within the local economy, it was explained that the Economic Strategy did have, and would continue to have, an emphasis on the inclusive economy and growing productivity. The importance of local businesses as an element of the economic recovery plan had been recognised. It was also considered that there may be opportunities associated with different business models, such as social enterprise.
· It was acknowledged that ‘we’re kirklees’ was an internal branding intended to reinforce values and pride for staff; but perhaps did not sit comfortably externally and with the place-based approach.
· The need for a specific offer for youth, in light of the particular disadvantages they had experienced during the last few years, had been recognised. The plan would reflect the ongoing recovery and impact, across many areas, for young people. The ‘best start’ outcome and increased recognition of the importance of life course would capture this approach.
· The ‘effective and efficient’ outcome had particular relevance for Councillors as they were approached by residents when the system did not work. It was believed that the citizen’s outcome should help to measure performance against this outcome and whether the Council was ‘working with’ rather than ‘doing to’. Work was in progress to determine how the citizens outcome could be measured. A number of helpful tools were already in place, such as the CLIK (Current Living in Kirklees) survey, and it was likely that it would also incorporate Place Standard results and intelligence from Councillors.
· In relation to questions about progression of a sustainable economy and community wealth building, it was explained that over the past twelve months the focus had been towards embedding this approach into wider economic regeneration activity and the work on social value. The Inclusive Economy Group had to pause during the response to the pandemic but consideration was being given to how this could be incorporated into a revitalised and sustainable economic partnership.
· The Fair Work Charter was recognised as an important piece of work to develop with colleagues across the wider northern region.
· It was believed that there would be a strong emphasis on social enterprise and co-operatives at sub-regional level and there was considerable good practice in Kirklees to build upon.
· Further information could be provided in respect of customer experience and the ongoing work on how the Council could support customer access to services.
Resolved –
(1) That officers take account of the points made by Members of the Committee in working on the refresh of ‘Our Council Plan’.
(2) That further information in respect of how the citizen’s outcome will be measured be provided, once this work has been further developed.