Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 29 June 2015
Vision 2030 and Council Plan – Year End 2014/15 - Delivery and Performance
Overview and Scrutiny Committee:
Corporate Resources
Chair:
Councillor John Eagle
Vice Chairs
Councillor Paul Foy
Councillor Jonathan Wallace
Lead Officers:
John Jopling, Service Director, Customer and Financial Services
Marisa Jobling, Service Director, Policy, Communications and Transformation
Scrutiny Support Officer:
Shirley Harrison, Legal, Democratic and Property Services
Role and Remit
As agreed at its meeting of 30 June 2014, the Committee undertakes scrutiny in
relation to:
 The management of the Council’s financial, human and physical resources
 Support for the democratic process;
 The involvement of local people and communities of Gateshead in the work of
the Council
 Capacity building in communities, volunteering and resilience
 Matters relating to the Council’s relationship with Gateshead Voluntary
Organisations Council including the Gateshead Offer
 Social inclusion, equalities and diversity; and
 The Council’s arrangements for securing efficiency and money; and the
development and operation of the Council’s procurement strategy
Summary
This report sets out performance for 2014/15 financial year in line with the Council’s
performance management framework. The report’s focus is those ‘Strategic
Outcome Indicators’ (SOIs) that fall within the remit of the Corporate Resources
Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The relevant SOIs are set out in the table below.
Where there is a measurable performance update available, it is set out in the report
with a red, amber or green rating, depending on current performance. There are
several SOIs that are based on data from the Residents Survey which was last
undertaken in 2012. Whilst planning for the next Residents Survey is underway,
there is no data available to set out performance for these indictors in this report.
Section 1: Performance Indicators
Ref:
CR01
Description
Reduce sickness absence
CR02
Increase turnout at Elections
(Performance relates to the Local
and European Elections in May
2014 – not the General Election
in May 2015)
CR03
CR04
CR05
CR06
CR07
CR08a
CR08b
CR09
CR10
CR11
CR12
Increase Council Tax collection
Increase number of people who
feel they belong to their
neighbourhood
Increase community cohesion
Increase the percentage of
people able to influence
decisions
Increase satisfaction with
Gateshead as a place to live
Increase formal volunteering
Increase informal volunteering
Increase the number of
Voluntary and Community
Sector organisations who feel
supported by the Council
Increase speed of processing
benefit claims
To what extent residents agree
that local people pull together
for the local area
Population growth
Target
8 days (per
employee / per
year)
1% Above
Regional Average
Euro 14: 31 %
1% Above
Metropolitan
Average
Local 14: 33.5%
96.4%
71%
Performance
10 days
RAG
RED
95.4%
Not Available
RED
RS
60%
31%
Not Available
Not Available
RS
RS
None set
Not Available
RS
20% of population
36% of population
None set
Not Available
RS
Not Available
NSCSE
13.5 days
8.54 days
GREEN
36%
Not Available
RS
202,200
No Data (Expected
September 2015)
Euro 14: 35.5%
GREEN
Local 14: 35.6%
Equality Objectives
CR13a Increase the number of under
0.35% of
0.44% of
19 year olds within the
workforce
workforce
GREEN
workforce through
apprenticeships
RED
CR13b Increase the number of Job
3.02 FTEs
2.65 FTEs
Carved posts within the
Council (for people with a
disability
KEY
RED
Performance does not hit target
AMBER
Performance is in line with target
GREEN
Performance exceeds target
RS
Reliant on performance information from the Residents Survey
NSCSE
National Survey of Charities and Social Enterprises – last undertaken in 2010
Section 2: Performance Dashboard and Narrative
CR01: Reduce Sickness Absence
8.45
8.45
10
8.97
8
No. of days
10
Performance
8.25
Target
12
8
6
4
2
0
Year End 12/13
Year End 13/14
Year End 14/15
The average number of sick days per employee is currently 10.00 days per year. The
reduction target set of 8.00 days for year end 2014/15 was not achieved.
There has been a general downward trend in sickness absence which has continued
since 2005. However, there have been periods where it has fluctuated which is a
continuing pattern.
As reported at Committee in December across the Council as a whole, stress /
depression and mental health now accounts for 20 % making it the largest cause of
sickness absence; post –op recovery/ hospital treatment makes up 19% and back
and other musculo-skeletal conditions account for 17 %. These three categories
remain the largest causes of sickness absence.
A key action in the next 6 months will be to continue to implement the new Sickness
Absence Policy and Procedure that was agreed by Cabinet on 16 December 2014.
The policy has been developed with Trade Unions to assist the Council in effectively
managing sickness related absences both short term and long term. The policy
provides clearer advice to managers regarding the management of absences.
Further work is being undertaken in relation to the corporate Work Related Stress
project with a new toolkit for managers about to be launched. The toolkit will provide
clear advice and guidance to enable managers to provide appropriate support and
assistance for employees who are experiencing stress. In addition, each service has
their own WRS Action Plan which is subject to regular review.
A monitoring report on sickness absence and the steps being taken to address it will
be considered by OSC in September 2015.
CR02: Increase turnout at Elections
European Elections 14
40.0%
35.0%
35.5%
31.0%
32.0%
Regional Av.
Target
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Gateshead
The above chart sets out the performance for the European election in May 2014.
The average regional turnout was 31.0%. The target is therefore set 1% higher than
the average at 32.0%. The turnout in Gateshead was 35.5% achieving the target.
Local Elections 14
40.0%
38.0%
35.6%
36.0%
34.0%
34.5%
33.5%
32.0%
30.0%
National Av.
Target
Gateshead
The above chart sets out the performance for the local election in May 2014. The
average turnout in Metropolitan Authorities was 33.5%. The turnout in Gateshead
was 35.6%
The turnout in the Local and General Elections in 2015 was a large increase on the
elections in 2014. The results are set out below:
General Election: Gateshead Constituency: 59% (Blaydon 66% / Jarrow 60.4%)
Local Elections: 62%
96.0%
96.5%
Performance
95.4%
Target
96.4%
96.2%
98.0%
96.8%
CR03: Increase the percentage of Council Tax Collected
94.0%
92.0%
90.0%
88.0%
86.0%
84.0%
82.0%
80.0%
Year End 13/14
Year End 14/15
Year End 15/16
The percentage of Council Tax collected at year end 2014/15 was 95.4%. The
collection target set of 96.4% was therefore not achieved.
Council Tax collection was impacted upon by implementing a new banking contract
and an upgrade to ‘cash receipting’ systems. These are now complete and normal
business practices have been resumed.
CR04: Increase the number of people who feel they belong to their
neighbourhood
80%
70%
RS
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
22%
20%
8%
10%
0%
Strongly Belong
Not very Strongly
Not at all Strongly
The 2012 Residents Survey baseline figures showed that 70% of residents feel they
belong to their neighbourhood. However, there is no performance update for year end
2014/15 as the survey was not undertaken in this period. A further survey of residents
is scheduled to take place during the period 2015/17.
CR05: Increase Community Cohesion
60%
55%
RS
50%
40%
28%
30%
18%
20%
10%
0%
Agree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
The 2012 Residents Survey baseline figures showed that 55% of people in Gateshead feel
that people from different backgrounds get on with each other. However, there is no
performance update for year end 2014/15 from the Residents Survey as there was no survey
undertaken in this period. A further survey of residents is scheduled to take place during the
period 2015/17.
CR06: Increase the percentage of people who feel they are able to influence
decisions
80%
69%
70%
RS
60%
50%
40%
31%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Agree
Disagree
The 2012 Residents Survey baseline figures showed that 31% of people feel they are able to
influence decisions. There is no performance updates for year end 2014/15 from the
Residents Survey as there was no survey undertaken in 2014/15. A further survey of
residents is scheduled to take place during the period 2015/17.
CR07: Increase satisfaction with Gateshead as a place to live
80%
RS
73%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
17%
20%
10%
0%
Satisfied
Dissatisfied
As there was no target set for 2014/15 for this strategic outcome indicator, there is no year
end performance update for 2014/15. However, the 2012 Residents Survey baseline figures
showed 75% of residents are satisfied with Gateshead as a place to live. A survey of
residents is included in the Summer (June) edition of Council News, which will provide
information to update this indicator.
40%
35%
34%
CR08: Increase Volunteering
Formal Volunteering
Informal Volunteering
RS
25%
20%
18%
30%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Performance 12/13
The above table shows the official figures from 2012 Residents Survey, the chart below
shows the number of volunteers now against the total population of Gateshead.
The 2012 Residents Survey baseline figures showed formal volunteering was 18%
and informal volunteering was 34%. There is no performance update for year end
2014/15 from the Residents Survey as no survey was undertaken in 2014/15.
However, work to increase volunteering and create capacity through volunteering
continued with the second Gateshead Volunteers Month took place in June 2014. A
further survey of residents is scheduled to take place during the period 2015 – 2017.
CR10 – Increase speed of processing benefit claims
18
16
Target (Days)
15
16
13.5
14
12
Performance (Days)
10.69
12
10.83
10
8.54
8
6
4
2
0
2012/13
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
The number of days taken to process benefit claims in 2014/15 was 8.54 days which
means 2014/15 target was met. The year end target was set at 13.5 days to take into
account some of the changes introduced with the benefits system. This has been
reduced to 12 days for 2015/16.
CR11: To what extent residents agree that people in the local area pull together
to improve the local area
40%
35%
35%
RS
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
10%
5%
0%
Agree
Disagree
Neither
There is no performance update for year end 2014/15 from the Residents Survey as
no survey was undertaken over the course of 2014/15. However, the 2012 Residents
Survey baseline figures showed 35% of residents agree that people in the local area
pull together to improve the local area. A further survey of residents is scheduled to
take place during the period 2015/17.
CR12: Population Growth
203,500
203,000
202,500
202,000
201,500
201,000
200,500
200,000
199,500
199,000
198,500
198,000
Target
Actual
203,125
202,500
202,200
201,875
201,500
201,250
200,625
200,200
200,000
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20
The population of Gateshead was measured at 200,200 following the 2011 census.
The population figures for the full year 2013 were 200,000 against a target of
201,500. Future targets have been rebased using the average change per year of the
mid year population estimates 2009 to 2013. The mid year estimate is the only data
updated annually. Figures will be reviewed in light of future projections (ONS 2014
based projections will be available later in 2015).
CR13a – Increase the number of under 19s in the workforce
EQUALITY OBJECTIVE
2.00%
Target
Performance
1.50%
1.00%
1.00%
0.50%
0.35%
0.44%
0.46%
0.00%
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
At year end 2014/15 the number of employees under 19 represented 0.44% of the
total Council workforce against a target of 0.35%.
CR13b – Increase in the number of job carved posts
EQUALITY OBJECTIVE
3.1
3.02
3
2.9
2.8
Target
2.7
2.65
2.65
Performance
2.6
2.5
2.4
2013/14
2015/15
At year end 2014/15 there were 2.65 FTE job carved posts within the Council
occupied by 3 employees against a target of 3.02 FTES. Work will be undertaken
with Service Directors to identify further suitable opportunities for job carving. Due to
the nature of job carving, it is likely that posts will be established based on a small
number of hours worked per week, therefore the target going forward is being
changed to a headcount figure in order that progress can be better reflected. The
target for 15/16 is to achieve 5 employees in job carved posts.
The management of the Council’s financial, human and physical resources
Health and Safety
Committee received an assessment of performance on occupational health and
safety matters at its October 2014 meeting setting out the Council’s approach to
health and safety management which follows HSG65 guidance for ‘Managing Health
and Safety’. The report highlighted improved systems for carrying out risk
assessments and considerable work in areas such as Asbestos Management,
Contractor Management, Educational Visits, Fire Safety and Legionella Management.
The ongoing emphasis is on a sensible, risk-based approach, building health and
safety into our normal way of working rather than seeing it as something additional.
Corporate Asset Management
The Committee received an update on the Council’s Corporate Asset Strategy and
Management Plan at its meeting in September 2014. The Council continues to take a
proactive approach to the management of its property portfolio:
 Investing in its fabric to ensure its properties are fit for purpose
o The majority of its operational portfolio falling within condition category
A and B
 Identifying and implementing energy efficiency initiatives
o Year on year improvement in terms of electricity usage, further
reduction in gas usage and further reduction in carbon emissions


Ensuring that it is used efficiently and effectively; and
o Reduction in the overall portfolio and therefore building related costs
o Completion of the Workspace strategy has enabled the number of staff
operating out of the building to increase from 1650 to over 2200.
Driving value out of its tenanted non-residential portfolio
o Reduction in the number of Void properties
The total value of the Council’s property assets at March 2014 was approximately
£477m (excluding housing stock).
A new Corporate Asset Management Strategy is being developed aligned to the new
Council Plan for 2015-2020.
The involvement of local people and communities of Gateshead in the work of
the Council
Channel Shift
The Council’s Customer Contact Strategy (CCS) focusses on Effectiveness,
Efficiency and being Inclusive and Accessible. Channel Shift is seen as being central
to CCS, this is about moving customers from more expensive face to face and
telephone enquiries to web based enquiries.
Ambitious plans are in place to deliver channel shift to web and digital services which
has led to improvements on the Council’s website including;
 Mobile orientated responsive website design
 Top task approach
 The development of standards
 Establishing a network of web service representatives
 Increased SOCITM ranking to 3 stars
 Some key online transactions
A new team has been established to focus upon improving the customer experience
on the web and the intranet for employees.
Consultation
Residents, partners and other stakeholders have been consulted on a range of issues
throughout the year. The Council’s Consultation portal has been used to deliver
around 35 surveys over the last 12 months, which in total attracted over 10,200
responses.This included over 3,000 responses to the leisure centres review in
December 2014.
In November 2014 the Council asked for local people’s views on draft savings
proposals for the financial year 2015/16 which equated to approximately £24.8m.
From that consultation over 500 comments were received, together with a number of
letters and petitions for particular proposals.
Residents Survey
A number of the Strategic Outcome Indicators reported through the Corporate
Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee are reliant upon intelligence gained
from surveying residents. The Committee will be aware that there has been no
Resident’s Survey undertaken since 2012.
However there is a proposal in development for a series of Residents Surveys to start
with a survey distributed in the Summer (June) edition of Council News, capturing
views on the following:
 Satisfaction with the local area as a place to live
 Satisfaction with the Council
 Impact on services of reduced funding
 How the Council and partners can work with local people to improve the local
area and meet the needs of local people
 What residents think about their local area and what needs improving
Beyond this survey It is proposed that a rolling programme of themed online surveys
(approx. 3 per year) is undertaken. This would replace the current approach, which is
based on the commissioning of ‘snapshot’ surveys every two to three years. The
proposed theme for the first survey is adult lifestyle behaviours (smoking, alcohol,
exercise etc.).
This new approach is based around the development of an online residents panel,
using existing customer email addresses to invite residents to sign up. This approach
is routinely used by successful customer focused businesses. Using digital channels
provides an opportunity to develop more meaningful and interactive engagement with
residents. It also means that the council gains access to a rich up to date picture of
residents’ views and behaviours. Other consultation methods including focus groups
will also be used to complement the online panel.
This proposal takes into account changes in customer behaviours and expectations,
together with advances in technology and reducing council budgets.
Capacity building in communities, volunteering and resilience
Resilience
A business continuity awareness event for commissioned care providers took place
facilitated by the Council’s risk management specialists. The event covered
forthcoming implications of contingency planning in relation to the Care Act.
Emergency response guidance for Councillors has been produced to provide clarity
of the overarching role of Councillors before, during and after an incident or
emergency.
The Resilience Team in conjunction with Care Call have undertaken a series of
sessions with a number of council services and The Gateshead Housing Company to
raise awareness of the Council’s emergency response arrangements.
The vision for Resilience and Emergency Planning is ‘to ensure that Gateshead is a
Safe and resilient place to live, work and visit’.
Capacity Building in Communities
The final report of the review into ‘Capacity building in communities to improve health
was considered by Committee in March 2015. The focus of the review was to
understand what factors enabled the Council and its partners to build community
capacity to improve health and consider opportunities to further improve this
approach in Gateshead. A number of recommendations from the review were agreed.
These were organised through priority areas;



Develop resilient communities through assets based approaches to increase
capacity
Support the growth of local capacity building through the Capacity Building for
Health Service
Support ward Councillors as community champions
Gateshead Fund
In 2014/15 Council agreed:
 A reduction in Local Community Fund of £110,000 with £110,000 remaining in
the budget
 A reduction in the Capacity Building Fund of £120,000 with £500.000
remaining in the budget
 Reduce administrative staff by £60,000
Volunteering
The Council will continue its work to support volunteering in Gateshead. A key action
in the next 6 months will be Gateshead Volunteers Month which is taking place in
June 2015. The programme will build upon the success of the previous two years.
In June 2014, the month long event lead to;
 387 new volunteers being recruited across Gateshead
 Over 400 organisations being involved in the month
 10,000 people took part and attended events.
 A total of 35,000 hours of volunteering a month.
A ‘Gateshead Volunteers Month Grant’ has been launched for 2015, where groups
can apply for up to £300 towards the costs of delivering a volunteers event or activity
during volunteers month.
Social Inclusion, equalities and diversity
Comprehensive Impact Assessments (CIAs)
When taking budget decisions the Council must consider that these decisions are
taken following an assessment of the impact on diverse groups. This is to aid
understanding of potentially adverse issues arising for particular groups such as faith,
disability or age, and identify ways in which any adverse impacts could be reduced or
removed; this is achieved through the CIA tool. There were ten proposals identified
from the 2014/15 budget that were considered to have the potential for significant
impact in terms of equalities and the protected characteristics. Nine of these
proposals were agreed to be monitored by this Committee; Early Years and
Children’s Centres, Youth Services, Play Service, Connexions, Teenage Pregnancy,
Community Centres, Reshaping the delivery of the library network, Gateshead Fund,
Sport and Physical Activity, Home to school/college transport. Details on each were
presented to Committee at their meeting of 20 October 2014.
Welfare Reform
The Welfare Reform Act came into force in 2012 with the intention of moving people
‘off benefits and into work’, ‘simplifying the system’ and tackling ‘administrative
complexity’. The Committee receive an annual update on the impact of the legislation
from the Strategic Director of Corporate Resources. At its meeting of 1 December
2014 committee received an update on the impact on individuals and families, the
local economy and the Council.
Many of the anticipated impacts have not yet materialised due to the delay in the
introduction of Universal Credit and this continues to be the case. However there are
some areas where there has been a measurable impact.
As set out in the update report the cap on benefits introduced through the Act is
thought to affect around 32 households that will see a reduction in housing benefit
ranging from £1.04 to £149.50 per week.
The reported also set out that the rate of tenants affected by under occupancy was
2344 (as of Sept 14).
There was a dramatic increase in rent arrears immediately following the inception of
the new legislation; however arrears on under occupation accounts are fairly static.
One of the main reasons for this is the payment of DHP. Gateshead Council made
the decision to award additional funds to the DHP pot via the Housing Revenue
Account. As a result over 800 tenants have had their housing benefit shortfall paid
every week from the DHP fund.
In total 234 properties were vacant at the end of March 2013. By September 2014
this figure had increased to 563 voids. From April to September 2014 terminations
have reduced to
around 35 per week; however this is still more than in previous years, which impacts
on new debt, repair costs and void loss. For the financial year 2013/14 void rent loss
stood at £1,496,786, significantly greater than in previous years.
There has, as expected, been an increased administrative burden on the council to
support the new arrangements and to provide advice and guidance to those
individuals affected by the changes. The number of personal counter visits increased
by over 6% from 23,980 visits in the period April – October 2012 to 25,371 visits in
April to October 2013. Telephone contact increased by 26% from 53,988 telephone
calls April – October 2012 to 67,867 telephone calls in the period April – October
2013. Customer contacts remain steady at over 65,000 in the period April – August
2014.
A special meeting of the Committee was arranged in March 2015 following the further
information made available by the Department for Work and Pensions on the
Government’s plans for the implementation of Universal Credit and other issues in
relation to benefit sanctions.
Speakers from DWP informed committee that Universal Credit aims to ensure
claimants were better off in work than on benefits, replacing the six main working age
benefits (Housing Benefit, Income Based Employment and Support Allowance,
Working Tax Credits, Income Support, Child Tax Credit, Income Based Job Seekers
Allowance).
Newcastle were the first regional local authority to roll out UC, for single people only,
from April 2015 with three job centres in Gateshead from June 2015.
Sanctions that were revised through the Act set out the need for every claimant to be
actively engaged in the support offered to avoid sanctions. In Gateshead there was
an average of 200 sanctions per month between July – September 2014.
The Council’s arrangements for securing efficiency and value for money; and
the development and operation of the Council’s procurement Strategy
Fit for the Future Transformation Programme
Five new projects have been established within the Fit for the Future Transformation
Programme as part of the council’s overall strategy to identify savings and efficiencies
and ensure the best outcomes for the residents of Gateshead. The five projects are





Adult Social Services and Children – looking at opportunities to develop
new services around early help and prevention, to improve outcomes and
reduce future demand; working with partners (particularly in health) to identify
opportunities for joint working or integration; looking at working practices and
how services can be more efficient through better use of technology.
Leisure Services – exploring the different options for the delivery of leisure
services, taken into consideration how to best achieve Value for Money and
support the relevant council’s priorities
Support Services –reviewing the different activities and functions that are
provided and how they support frontline services and trading
Trading –helping the council to develop the right skills and capacity to trade
efficiently and profitably, and prioritising six areas of trading for further
investigation during the current year. These are Housebuilding; Facilities
Management; Adult Social Care (Provider Services); Bereavement Services;
Energy; Housing Repairs and Maintenance.
Ways of Working – focusing on the council’s workforce, properties and
technology. New or updated strategies are being agreed and will be supported
by council-wide implementation plans.
In addition to co-ordinating the internal transformation programme the team is
reviewing the approaches adopted by other councils to deliver savings and
efficiencies and looking at the alternative models of service delivery that are being
developed.
Council Plan
A new Council Plan is in development for the period 2015-2020. Work is being carried
out to understand the evidence base on which the plan should be based. Work has
been done to identify what the biggest issues facing Gateshead as a place are.
These are being consulted on with Councillors, along with a set of agreed outcomes
and understanding how the Council will work with others to achieve the outcomes.
On Target




Increase turnout at elections (local election performance)
Increase formal / informal volunteering
Increase speed of processing benefit claims
Increase the number of under 19 year olds within the workforce
Challenges




Reduce sickness absence
Council Tax Collection
Population growth
Increase the number of job carved posts
Key Actions in the next 6 months
 Implementation of New Council Plan for 2015 -2020
 Continue to work through the Council’s Absence Management Policy to
support the workforce and reduce sickness absence
 Tackle the challenges brought through Welfare Reform and the
implementation of Universal Credit in Gateshead
 Increase the number of job carved posts
 Gateshead Volunteers Month 2015
 Delivery of new approach to undertaking Residents Surveys in
Gateshead
Contribution to the Delivery of Vision 2030
6 Big Ideas Update
There have been many achievements in relation to the 6 big ideas which contribute
to the delivery of Vision 2030. Some of these include:
City of Gateshead
 The North East Combined Authority has consulted on proposals for devolution of
power, funding and responsibilities, to accelerate economic growth in the North
East and has approved the plan to establish local council control of bus services,
through a Quality Contracts Scheme.
 The Planning for the Future Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan for Gateshead
and Newcastle upon Tyne 2010 – 2030 has been adopted. This will ensure that
Gateshead has the policies to shape how land use and places will change and
develop in the future to create and sustain thriving communities and a more
prosperous economy.
 Since the ADZ was established in July 2012, there have been 22 successful
projects/business relocations into the Gateshead sites creating around 798 jobs
and also 5 business expansions within the ADZ safeguarding and creating
around 79 jobs (as at 26 January 2015).
 Gateshead is still one of the safest places in Tyne and Wear and over 90% of
residents feel safe living in Gateshead.
 The following positive economic trends have been seen:
 Labour productivity is growing at fastest rate in the country and output
growing among highest rate in the country
 Births and deaths of businesses are on a par with national figures
 Exports per head perform above the national average
 For someone on a median income, real wages are amongst the highest in
the country
 The North East has the most equal distribution of salaries
 The North East employment rate has passed the 2008 figure and
unemployment is falling
 At the end of March 2015, fifty Broadband connection vouchers had been issued
to Gateshead businesses. The scheme is expected to be available until March
2016.
 Results from the annual National Highways and Transport 2014 Survey suggest
that Gateshead is performing well on satisfaction with cycle facilities, safety,
cleanliness and ease of use of buses and road safety. Areas for improvement
include congestion, access to shops or to visit relatives and friends, street lighting
and speed limits and their enforcement.
 Improvements to the road at the north end of Team Valley Trading Estate has
given additional bus priority through congested sections of the network and the
junction at Oakwellgate in Gateshead town centre now has better pedestrian and
cycle crossing facilities.
Global Gateshead
 Gateshead has participated in the European CASCADE project for the last three
years. The project which ended in 2015 was led by EUROCITIES, the network of
major European cities, and co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of
the European Union. The project has enabled Gateshead to share knowledge and
experience with 19 European partner cities leading to improvements in local energy
strategies and projects for all cities involved. The Council has been praised for its past
progress and future energy ambitions by leading EU energy professionals, and the
project has helped develop energy efficiency and district energy work, as well as
bringing in grants to cover all expenses and overheads incurred.
 The official launch of the British Transplant Games took place on 13 November 2014
at Sage Gateshead. After the flame was lit during a glittering ceremony, the
countdown was officially on for next year’s Westfield Health British Transplant Games
in Gateshead and Newcastle. The showpiece, which will be held over four days at
venues across Gateshead and Newcastle, coincides with a campaign launched by
The Chronicle, to urge more people to give the gift of life. The event is aiming to get
10,000 more people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.
 The Thinking Digital Conference continues to build its reputation as one of the biggest
ideas conference worldwide, bringing some of the most creative and innovative minds
in global technology to Gateshead each year. Sage Gateshead is to host its 8th
annual conference in May 2015 inviting people from all over the world to collaborate,
and share thoughts and ideas.
Creative Gateshead
 The Creative Makings year-long programme of art activities, supported by Arts
Council England, has taken place in three Gateshead libraries. The activities
involved recycling, re-inventing and mending. Four artists shared their expertise,
inspiration and knowledge with the public, groups and school pupils. A
Celebration Event took place in March at Gateshead Central Library. Hundreds of
people of all ages took part in workshops with sessions including wearable art,
instruments from recycled materials, art walks, textile and print workshops
 The Secret Streets exhibition took place at St Mary’s Heritage Centre. The
exhibition brought in new audiences including 3,145 visitors who saw the
exhibition in February 2015
 Gateshead’s Culture Strategy 2030 was approved in December 2014 and focuses
on two key elements; Creative Economy and Creative Communities and includes
five big ambitions
 Haskel SEN School which is an independent Charedi (strictly orthodox) Jewish
Special School, founded in 2013, achieved ‘Outstanding’ results across the board
in their first full Ofsted inspection. Brighton Avenue Primary School and Emmaville
Primary School also received outstanding judgements following their recent
Ofsted inspection.
 GCSE results data released by the Department of Education shows that, for the
year 2013/14, Gateshead is top in the region, with 57.9% of its pupils having
achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C and including English and
Mathematics. This achievement is greater than the North East average of 54%
and the England average of 52.6%.
 Pupils from Years 5 and 6 of St Joseph’s RC Primary School attended an antiracism educational event run by Show Racism the Red Card in the Council
Chamber on 7 November 2014.
 Gateshead’s Education Strategy was approved in November 2014. The strategy
sets out three strategic educational roles for the Council; to be a champion of
educational excellence, to be a champion of all children and young people –
especially those who are vulnerable and to work to ensure than all children can
access a place at a good school.
 Significant improvement in the achievement at Early Years Foundation Stage (up
to age 5) with results for 2013/14 showing 56.6% of children are achieving a good
level of development, compared to only 34.2% in the previous academic year.
 The annual Celebrating Achievement Awards for Gateshead's Looked after
Children and Young People took place on 30 October 2014. There were 340
young people nominated to receive awards by social workers, fosters carers,
teachers and other professionals.
 The redevelopment of Baltimore House as business accommodation was
completed in October 2014. VRTGO Laboratories was established at Baltimore
House which supports a cluster of firms operating within the Virtual Reality
technology sector.
Sustainable Gateshead
 Housing Growth Zone Status – The Exemplar Neighbourhood, one of 20 housing
schemes outside of London has been allocated Housing Zone status. This status
will enable access to a £200million loan fund and support from specialist Homes
and Communities Agency Advisors. The Council hopes the award of Housing
Zone status will enable the development of this brownfield site to be accelerated
to deliver 1000 new homes on the edge of Gateshead town centre.
 Work is continuing on the Joint Venture Project:
 16 affordable homes built to code for sustainable homes level 4 have been
completed at the Avon Street site.
 Construction is ongoing of Phase 1 at Birtley Northside and includes 47 new
homes built to high standards with 8 earmarked for affordable occupation.
 Construction work has begun on the Saltwell Road West site where 99 new
homes including 23 for affordable occupation are being built to high standards.
The Phase 2 Kelvin Grove site is cleared ready for redevelopment, and all but
one of the properties within the Phase 3 site at Hyde Park have been acquired,
the majority of demolition has been completed.
 The former Corbitt Street Haulage Yard has now been acquired by the Council
as part of the Teams land assembly and redevelopment programme.
Demolition and temporary site reinstatement will soon take place.
 Capital funding of over £40,000 has been secured from the Department of
Health‘s Transforming Health Budget which will enable the installation of state of
the art assistive technology within 45 independent supported living units.
 Through the Empty Property Leasing Scheme (EPLS), 26 long-term empty
properties have been brought back into use by the council with over £400,000 of
capital funding being accessed from the Homes & Communities Agency
(Affordable Homes Programme). Work has also continued in partnership with
Registered Providers - including Keelman Homes - to increase the number of
affordable homes available in Gateshead. In 2014-15, 58 affordable homes (56 for
affordable rent and 2 for affordable home ownership) were completed and a
further 28 homes started.
 Through the Economic Growth Reserve, 6 investment projects were awarded
assistance, creating 589 jobs and safeguarding a further 112, at a cost to the
council of £227,518. This has resulted in £261,564 payable in business rates per
annum.
 Through the Regional Growth Fund, an additional £30 million was secured to
extend the Let’s Grow programme In Gateshead beyond March 2014. A figure of
£893,000 of assistance was approved in the most recent round for Gateshead
based projects supporting the creation of 66 jobs. The Lets Grow programme
promotes the expansion, rationalisation, modernisation and diversification of
businesses in the North East, encouraging firms to expand their operations or to
set up new establishments there.
 A feasibility study is in progress for the River Team Flood and Water Meadows
Project, which aims to combine flood alleviation for Team Valley Trading Estate with
the creation of a wetland nature reserve upstream to provide water storage. The
project is being undertaken by a partnership led by the Council and the Environment
Agency.
Active and Healthy Gateshead
 The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment has been developed which sets out the
needs of local people for pharmaceutical services following a public consultation.
 A new online Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Gateshead has been
developed, which has informed commissioning intentions and arrangements
across the health and care economy for 2015/16.
 The Live Well Gateshead model and ‘Gateshead Year of Walking 2015’ have
been launched. Targeted health campaigns such as Books on Prescription and
awareness raising of cancer, alcohol and substance misuse have also been
developed.
 A dementia roadmap page for Gateshead to act as a one stop shop for local
information and increase the number of ‘dementia friends’ has been developed.
 Signed up to a Statement of Support for Tobacco Control and supported No
Smoking Day, the Stoptober campaign and national initiatives to introduce
standardised packaging of cigarettes and regulations on smoking in private
vehicles carrying children.
 Developed a new planning policy relating to hot food takeaways and their impact
on health and wellbeing.
Gateshead Volunteers
 Through the Gateshead Council Volunteers Plan 2013-17, a single ‘front door’ to
volunteering has been developed to make it easier to volunteer in Gateshead.
 Through the Council’s Community Asset transfer policy and procedure, seventeen
community centres have been transferred to local community organisations. Up
to a further four will also be transferred subject to the availability of suitable
community organisations. The asset transfer programme has enabled volunteers
to become more involved in running community centres which has resulted in a
greater programme of activities being made available.
 Following last years success, work has taken place to organise this year’s
Gateshead Volunteers Month which will take place in June 2015. A programme of
events and activities will take place and will involve Voluntary and Community
groups throughout the sector. Volunteering opportunities within Gateshead
Council and the Voluntary and Community Sector will be promoted throughout the
month and a volunteer celebration event will be held at the end of June.
 New partnership links have been established with Gateshead College, Newcastle
University and Northumbria University, enabling volunteering opportunities to be
promoted to students.
 Throughout 2014, a total of 5,092 volunteers are active in volunteering. Since
September 2014, an additional 400 people have expressed an interest in
volunteering.
 The Council has developed numerous new volunteering opportunities including:
Digital Volunteering within Sheltered Accommodations and Promoting
Independence Centres, volunteers working with Sage Gateshead in the 100
Faces project and a funding event.