SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
Opening Statement
1.
Salford welcomes the opportunity to take part in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment
process. We are an organisation determined to respond positively to the changing nature of local
government. We want to be open about how we are performing in meeting the needs of our
communities. Our Strategic and Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP) is a frank and honest
analysis of our current situation and sets out what we are striving to achieve in the future and
much of this document relates to it.
2.
It also reflects closely the findings of the Improvement and Development Agency's Peer Review
Team who visited the Council in October 2001. We have responded positively to the issues raised
by the team, have established four improvement teams and recently approved and are
implementing an improvement plan.
3.
We know that local government is complex by nature, it is a balance between meeting community
needs and aspirations and addressing national priorities whilst ensuring we are living within our
means.
Salford - The City
4.
Situated at the heart of the regional centre, Salford covers an area of 37 square miles and boasts a
thriving University, a major teaching hospital, a Super League rugby club and a multi-million
pound arts and theatre complex at Salford Quays. The Lowry, which houses the world's largest
collection of works by the artist LS Lowry and has two major auditoriums, is the National
Millennium Project for the Arts and is now attracting in excess of one million visitors annually.
5.
Salford is a city of contrasts ranging from a dense urbanised core at the heart of the Greater
Manchester conurbation to the east, through established suburban housing areas, to areas of high
value housing and green belt to the west. We are a proud and thriving city with some major
successes already achieved, but with significant challenges still to overcome.
Historical Context
6.
The Salford of today was established following local government reorganisation in 1974 and
comprises the former county borough of Salford and the Boroughs of Eccles and Swinton and
Pendlebury and the Urban Districts of Irlam and Worsley.
7.
However, it was the coming of the Industrial Revolution some two centuries earlier that really
established the physical, social and economic status of the City. Throughout the 19th century,
Salford's industry continued to expand and diversify. In 1800 it was estimated that the population
of the `old' County Borough of Salford was 7,000 - by 1900 that had increased to 220,000. This
rapid increase was hardly exceeded anywhere else in the country and resulted in vast areas of back
to back `slum' housing. The scene in Salford in the first half of the 20th century has been vividly
depicted in books such as, `The Classic Slum', `Love on the Dole' and `A Taste of Honey' and
portrayed on canvass by L.S. Lowry.
8.
In the 1960s and 70s, the City Council undertook a massive slum clearance and house re-building
programme. Whilst this transformed physical conditions, underlying social problems were to
emerge which were exacerbated by significant increases in unemployment which peaked in
January 1986 at 20%, with some wards in the City as high as 40%.
1
A Profile of the City Today
9.
Salford today has a population of approximately 224,300. The black and ethnic minority
population in the 1991 census is 2.18% though there is evidence that this understates the current
position. The age profile of the city is set out in the figure 1 below.
Figure 1
PERSONS
AGE PROFILE
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
0-14
15-34
35-64
65+
AGE
10.
Within easy access of trans-pennine and west coast motorway intersections, the City enjoys
excellent road, rail and air links. The modern tram service - Metrolink - provides an efficient and
environmentally friendly link between Eccles, Salford Quays and Manchester City Centre.
11.
The current unemployment rate is 3.8%, though some wards including Broughton and Blackfriars
are experiencing rates of over 8%. Long term employment is a particular concern with current
rates at 13% for the City. We have experienced a 21% employment increase from 1991 to 1998,
compared to 4% for Greater Manchester and 8.2% nationally. The City is acknowledged for its
highly successful and innovative regeneration programme with notably successes in Salford
Quays, Trinity and Chapel Street. This has been supported by the attraction of significant levels
of external resources - (over £220 million in the last five years supporting our physical and social
regeneration programmes). Furthermore, it has been calculated that The Lowry has attracted
£300m of public and private sector investment into the area since 1996 and that a further £250m
of investment is already in progress for completion over the next four years.
12.
Deprivation and poverty in the City are still major causes for concern. The 2000 Local
Index
th
of Deprivation placed the City as the 28 most deprived authority in England and Wales. Of the
20 wards in Salford, the 2000 index revealed that 8 wards were in the worst 7% nationally and a
total of 15 were in the worst 20%. Further to this:
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For income deprivation, 8 wards were in the worst 7% nationally and a total of 15 were in the
worst 20%.
For child poverty, 7 wards were in the worst 7% nationally and 12 wards were in the worst
20%.
For a series of health indicators, 13 wards were in the worst 7% nationally and 19 wards
were in the worst 20%
In the 1998 Standard Mortality Rates, 3 wards have a SMR rates over 200, 6 wards have
SMR rates between 150 – 199, 9 wards have rates between 100 – 150 and only 2 wards fall
below national average of 100.
Crime rates for Salford show that it ranks consistently high for burglary and vehicle crime
compared to other local authorities and the rate of youth offending is the second highest in
Greater Manchester.
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Our Approach to Service Delivery
13. "Innovation", "working in partnership" and "working with our communities" are three distinctive
approaches we use to help us achieve our objectives. This is illustrated with some examples below.
Innovation
14. Despite facing massive social challenges and against a background of financial constraints, Salford
has consistently sought to be innovative and creative, some examples in recent times include;
 Pathfinder status for Regeneration and E-Government;
 a national pilot for Homeswaps;
 the early establishment of a city wide strategic partnership;
 establishment of Job Shops to remove barriers to unemployment and reduce unemployment;
 establishment of special unit to tackle crime in the City – the Community Safety Unit;
 piloting Participatory Appraisal (PA) in New Deal for Communities;
 piloting and rolling out Witness Support services;
 developing joined up services with the NHS and PCT including learning disability services
and a joint forum for delivering and planning children’s services.
Working in Partnership
15. The City Council and its partners recognise that we cannot tackle the issues facing the City by
working separately. The Salford Partnership (established since 1994) is now fully accredited by
Government as Salford's Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and has produced the City's first
Community Plan. The Plan provides a clear vision of what all partners want to achieve for the City
and our BVPP sets out the activity the City Council aims to deliver, which will in turn contribute to
the achievement of the overall Community Plan.
16. We have established and are continuing to develop joint working with our partners in the health
services. This includes the joint appointment of a new Director of Public Health and the proposed colocation of Health and Council services in key locations across the City through SHIFT and LIFT.
We have a number of joint venture partnerships with the private sector to bring investment into the
City, as in Higher Broughton and Chapel Street.
Working with our Communities
17. In 1992, the City Council developed a Community Strategy aimed at ensuring that local people
participate in local decision-making and shape local service delivery. This placed Salford at the
forefront of developing models of community participation. The City has been divided into 9 service
delivery areas, a Community Committee serves each area, and these are now well established. Local
Community Action Plans with local priorities have been developed together with devolved budgets of
£1 per head of population that allow the Community Committees to progress their Action Plans.
More recently Community Committees have begun playing a crucial role in terms of scrutinising and
advising on local service delivery.
18. The Community Strategy is integral to Salford Partnership's Community Plan and is the main vehicle
for translating strategic partnership policy into action on the ground.
Resource Constraints
19. Despite the levels of deprivation outlined in paragraph 12, Salford has been constrained in recent
years by lower than average SSA increases (despite increases in demand e.g. services for young
3
people and the elderly). To exemplify the under-resource, if Salford had received the average SSA
increase over the last four years, this would have resulted in additional funding now equating to
£13.5m per annum, which could have been used either to enhance services or reduce the Council Tax
by approximately £200.
20. Following an unprecedented increase in demand for children's services in 1999-2000, which fully
utlised the Council's reserves, a strategy was developed to return those to a reasonable level over a 3
to 5 year period. This was reinforced in August 2000 when a fundamental review of the main issues
facing the City Council and the impact they would have on service delivery was undertaken and
subsequently reported in sensational headlines in the press. The outcome was to begin a programme
of positive change refocusing on certain basic principles:
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living within our means
investing in priorities
funding quality services at a price we can afford
being visionary
supporting our staff
21. Demand for capital investment also outweighs the resources available to us. We use our Capital
Investment Strategy to provide a framework for forward planning, prioritisation and decision making.
Our Capital Investment Strategy received a "good" rating from Government Office for the North
West. The Strategy in turn is informed by the Asset Management Plan and linked to the objectives
and priorities of the City Council.
22. Set against a background of limited local authority resources, the public are demanding instant and
quality services - which they have every right to expect and which this Council is committed to
deliver. That is why our Mission is to:-
"Create the best possible
quality of life for the people of
Salford
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SECTION 2 - THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
CRITERIA 1 - WHAT THE COUNCIL IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE
(a)
Ambition and Prioritisation
23.
In seeking to achieve our mission statement, we have tried to develop a clear vision for the City,
to identify what can be achieved in the short and long term and how we and our partners will
contribute to our joint goals. We strive to display active, visible and effective management and
leadership, recognised by staff, members, partners and stakeholders. The City Council and
partners (through the Salford Partnership) are enthusiastic and committed to achieving the
priorities set.
(b)
Strategic Plans
24.
The Council recognises the need to balance national and strategic goals alongside local priorities.
We produced our first regeneration strategy, `Building Sustainable Communities' in 1998, setting
clear priorities and the basis for working with partners to develop a join agenda for change. This
strategy was nationally recognised by Government and the City Council was awarded Pathfinder
status (only 22 authorities achieved this).
25.
Our first StrategicPlan for service delivery was produced in 1997 and it set out an ambitious ten
year programme for change. Achievements, targets and milestones were subsequently updated in
1999. We combined our Strategic Plan and BVPP in 2001. Later that year, the City Council
launched six pledges to drive and focus on key issues. The 2002 BVPP integrates details of our
Pledges, Community Plan, and our Public Service Agreement. The synergy between our Pledges,
national and our local priorities is shown in figure 2.
(c)
Communicating our Pledges
26.
The Pledges are the key drivers for the Council. They have been widely communicated to all
citizens and Council Directorates and services, e.g.

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The Council's newsletter (Salford People) was distributed to every household in summer 2001;
Every employee has received an individual copy of the Pledges and their targets;
The Pledges are posted on our web site;
Posters have been erected across the City so that our citizens are aware of the commitments
we are making in terms of service delivery.
(d)
Public Service Agreement
27.
Salford has negotiated a Local Public Service Agreement with Government under the theme of
`Growing our Future'. This `stretches' 12 performance indicators set out in the Strategic and Best
Value Performance Plan, again tackling areas of national and local concern.
5
(e)
How we arrived at our Six Pledges
28.
We have used a composite of different sources to build our priorities:
29.
Our Base – our starting reference point was the Indices of Deprivation for 1998 and 2000. This
information was supplemented by the experience gained from the implementation of regeneration
programmes and policy across the City..
30.
Building on this – the local Community Action Plans, developed and endorsed by our 9
Community Committees inform us of the needs and wishes of residents and service users. This is
complemented by consultation through our extensive network of tenant associations and
discussions with key strategic partners on priorities in their business plans.
31.
Adding to this – a variety of consultative techniques have been employed on special issues.
Community safety is a good example of where extensive consultation fed into the Crime and
Disorder Reduction Strategy and our pledges, as did the views of our scrutiny commission on
environmental issues.
32.
Overlaid with – performance information on our own services, provided by performance indicators
and Best Value reviews.
33.
Wrapped around all of the above is our own knowledge of national priorities including the
government’s national floor targets and national strategy for neighbourhood renewal.
6
REALISM
34.
We accept we cannot do everything at once and recognise the need to plan in the short, medium
and long term. In the last twelve months (i.e. the short term), we can point to a number of service
improvements, in particular, following a poor Benefit Fraud Inspection Report, we have already
implemented 60% of the recommendations, implemented the verification framework, centralised
the administration and provided a significant improvement in performance.
35.
Other improvements take longer to achieve largely due to the need for significant structural
change, such as setting up an Arms Length Management Organisation for our Housing Services
and implementing alternative delivery mechanisms for our Leisure Services.
36.
Equally some services have to wait before we can deploy the resources they require. In recent
years, because of national and local priorities, we have funded our Education and Social Services
at the expense of our Highways services. We have conducted a best value review of highways to
identify how we can get the best from existing resources.
Furthermore, we accept that some services are not seen as core functions and, in recent times, we
have closed municipal halls and reduced our outside catering provision. Equally, by using
alternative delivery mechanisms, we have been able to close two housing sub-offices and
rationalise our community centres.
Effective Leadership
37.
Within the Organisation
We operate a cabinet with leader system of governance balanced by five scrutiny committees and
an independently chaired Standards Committee. All decisions are communicated by our SOLAR
system and weekly Update. The Chief Executive provides briefing and challenge on all best value
reviews, has a programme of staff briefings and has recently established a monthly `home page'.
Our performance management system and service plans are designed to provide clear direction
and leadership across the orgnaisation.
38.
With Partners
We have led the Salford Partnership since 1994 and more recently the Local Strategic partnership,
which is now chaired on an annual rotating basis. The Partnership has recently developed a
website , which communicates the progress of the seven themes within the Community Plan. On
a regional basis, we have good relationships and links with Government Office North West, the
North West Development Agency and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.
39.
Across the City
(i)
Community - we hold regular member surgeries with the public, Community Committees operate
with an executive group and a nominated `link' elected member. We lead an extensive network of
tenant participation groups and customer interest groups, such as `The Friends of the Cemeteries'
and `Friends of the Parks'.
(ii)
The Media - The Council has a newspaper, The Salford People, which is distributed to all
households in the City on a quarterly basis. The local newspaper features a weekly column from
the Mayor and a monthly column from the Leader.
(iii)
Civic Leadership - The Mayoralty is highly regarded in the City attending an average of 560
functions each year.
7
40.
FOCUS
41.
We recognise the need to stay focused on performance and priorities and over the last 12 months
have improved our performance management system, reflecting the advice of the Peer Review and
Best Value Processes Review. The BVPP explains the detail of our approach (see also paragraph
xx).
42.
Performance is monitored quarterly by Cabinet and individual meetings between the
Leader/Deputy Leader/Chief Executive and the appropriate Lead member/Service Director are
then held.
43.
Whilst day to day service delivery demands our attention, the regeneration agenda is equally
important. In this respect, we are guided by the knowledge we compile of economic and social
data which enables us to direct regeneration funding and other initiatives such as Single
Regneration Buget, European Structural Funds, Education Action Zones, Neighbourhood Renewal
Fund, Children's Fund and Sports Action Zone into the most deprived neighbourhoods.
44.
There are 5 scrutiny committees and we have recently strengthened support to them by employing
a dedicated team.
45.
Shifting Resources to Match Priorities
46.
The evidence we gather to determine our six pledges and our performance against those pledges
provides the basis for resource allocation. We also conduct an annual budget consultation
exercise with stakeholders to test our understanding of priorities. The table below summarises the
responses this year from the exercise and how they have been addressed.
Priority Identified
Keeping the City Clean
Improving of health and wellbeing of Salford's citizens
Tackling crime
Better roads and public
transport
Stemming the loss of
population
Facilities for young people
Improving sporting facilities
and making the most of the
Commonwealth Games
Schools
Improving Neighbourhoods
Services to ethnic minorities
Improving efficiency
Our Response
 Mini sweepers purchased
 Consultant appointed prior to best value review of outdoor services
 Joint tendering of social services with NHS and PCT
 Targeting of funding where demand has outstripped allocated budgets including
one of Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
 Complete restructuring of Community Safety Unit
 Significant resources from Neighbourhood Renewal Fund have been targeted in
years 1 and 2
 Best value review completed to secure improved value for money

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Commissioned detailed report on population shift to inform Neighbourhood
Renewal Strategy
£500,000 Neighbourhood Renewal funding targeted to improve opportunities in
access to education and leisure
Targeting New Opportunities funding
Special initiatives in regeneration areas
Appointment of a Head of Youth and Community Services
Established a dedicated team to lead events in the City and to promote the City
within the context of the games
Passported funding
Review commenced of surplus places in Primary schools
Developed our framework for Neighbourhood Renewal
Targeted regeneration funding in most deprived areas
Established a partner, officer and member group
Targeted SRB 5 funding
Social Inclusion Forum have this as a key area of activity for this year
Centralisation of the Housing Benefit Service
Changes to the Cash Collection Service
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9
CRITERIA 2
DELIVERING PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
(a)
Capacity
(i)
Ensuring we have the Capacity and Skills to Achieve Change
47.
The Council undertook a strategic review of its services in 1997, significantly streamlining the
organisation from 18 Departments/DSOs to 8 Directorates to improve corporate working, capacity
and service delivery.
48.
Since that time, the review has been revisited to respond to changing priorities. Responsibility for
the management of parks and countryside and grounds maintenance was combined in the
Environmental Services Directorate and led to the development of a "green budget. In response to
the need for services improvements the Chief Executives and Personnel Directorates have been
merged and the post of Director of Personnel and Performance created to drive our performance
improvement programme forward.
49.
The Audit Commission Best Value Processes Inspection (March 2002) concluded that "the
Council has proven ability to improve services and Councillors and staff are committed to service
improvement." Our regeneration work and programme of change have provided us with a pool of
experience staff.
50.
However, there are constraints. The demands on our finances are explained elsewhere and we
know we have to be realistic about what can achieve. We also understand the need to attract and
retain skilled staff and whilst the challenges faced by Salford can be very attractive to motivated
people it also makes those staff highly desirable to larger authorities. We seek to create capacity
through our in house development programme for members and staff, by service support
relationships, a range of partnerships and alternative providers.
Supporting Staff and Members- In house programme
51.
The Council has a corporate training and development plan for both members and officers and a
range of human resource policies and practices designed to improve capacity within the
organisation. Some have been in palce for a number of years, others have been introduced as part
of our improvement plan and include:
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An appraisal and personal development scheme incorporated within the performance
management system, though this still needs to be better integrated in every Directorate;
An Appraisal scheme for Chief Officers has recently been introduced;
Project management training has begun to be rolled out;
A member training and development programme is drawn up annually to ensure continuous
member capacity development. The Council have recently received a North West Charter for
Member Development Award from the North Western Local Authorities Employers
Organisation. We also have a mentoring scheme for members;
A Centre of Excellence is provided to support and facilitate change management;
We support the promotion of women through initiatives such as Springboard, Stepping Out,
etc., supported by internal resources;
We have worked closely with the University of Salford to develop the Foundation Degree in
Community Governance with both officers and members of the community encouraged and
supported to access this.
Investors in People status has been achieved for a number of services. A roll out programme
across all directorates has been approved.
10
Adding to our in house capacity
52.
To ensure flexibility and responsiveness the Council has established a number of service support
relationships with other providers. These operate at both professional and operational levels,
providing specialist advice, support and additional capacity. For example, the Development
Services Directorate uses the facilities to support the architects, planning, surveying and quantity
surveying functions, whilst the Corporate Services Directorate has a similar relationship in respect
of legal services. We also use agency staff to support the refuse collection function.
Using Partnerships
53.
We enhance our capacity to deal with complex issues through a variety of partnerships. At
strategic level, the Local Strategic Partnership oversees the development and implementation of
the Community Plan and the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy Framework.
54.
Each directorate can identify good examples of partnership working some of which are listed
below:-
Regeneration - area based regeneration partnerships for SRB, New Deal for Communities, Chapel
Street renewal project; `City Pride' strategic regeneration work across four local authorities.
Housing - our latest example is `Bovis in Broughton'
Economic - Chapel Wharf Partnership with Jarvis and the Thomson Group has led to
the development of Greater Manchester's first five star hotel and a new Inland Revenue
Headquarter; MIDAS, a partnership for inward investment with three other local authorities.
Social Services - partnership with NHS for intermediate care centres; provision of children's homes with
voluntary sector providers; carers centre provided with the Princess Royal Trust; joint learning difficulties
service with Primary Care Trust; joint appointment of Director of Public Health and, Assistant Director of
Community Strategy with Primary Care Trust. These partnerships have contributed to the recent 2 start
status achieved by the Directorate.
Community Safety - crime reduction partnership; Youth Offender Team
E-Government - implementation with University of Salford and Manchester Business School.
Using Alternative Provider
55.
Whilst the Council will support in-house provision to deliver high quality services, if that cannot
be achieved, we will seek the best alternative. This can already be evidenced in the following
services:LIST SERVICES PROVIDED BY OTHERS
We wish to develop further our procurement policy. A report on this issue has been prepared for the
Cabinet meeting on 20th August.
Awareness and Responsibilities
56.
Ensuring we have the capacity to change and improve is important but equally the Council has to
have clarity of responsibility and awareness of the commitment in which it operates. Salford was
one of the earliest authorities to pilot new governance arrangements based on a cabinet with a
leader model, supported by scrutiny committees. This early experience enabled us to identify
11
problems, which have led to the development and formal introduction of the revised democratic
structure in September 2001. The peer review and best value processes inspection identified
improvement areas which are now being addressed. The review stated that:
‘The Council has strong political and managerial leadership with
widespread respect and understanding of the distinctive roles required
of each. They demonstrate a thorough understanding of the issues faced by the local
community’.
57.
In line with the implementation of the revised democratic structure, work has been undertaken to
ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities. This includes the drafting of a revised constitution,
member job descriptions, a scheme of delegation, the appointment of a Monitoring Officer and the
establishment of a Standards Committee.
58.
We believe the knowledge we have of the challenges facing the City has been translated into our
priorities, key plans and in action on the ground.
59.
Close working with partners and regular member/staff briefings ensures external awareness
whilst, internally the Council operates a number of key member and cross-directorate officer
working groups
60.
Our best value reviews and scrutiny work provide learning and challenge opportunities to further
raise our awareness of issues and best practice.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
61.
Given the size of the organisation, the variety of partnerships and service providers, we know that
keeping track on our performance is a priority.
62.
The Council's performance management system is the basis on which we determine and monitor
the action required to ensure that the priorities of the Community Plan and our six pledges are
translated into action.
63.
The current performance management system has recently been adopted by the Council and whilst
it is still not 100% perfect, we are making very positive steps to ensure that it is consistently
applied across all areas of work. A new forum for Performance Indicator Co-ordinators has been
established. Role definitions/job descriptions have been agreed and departmental roadshows have
been undertaken to reinforce the importance of this systematic approach. Internal Audit has
recently completed a `Quality Assurance' audit of this function.
64.
All service areas have performance targets which contribute towards corporate priorities and
which cascade through the organisation so that they can be understood at all levels. To inform the
public, service/delivery charters were distributed to every household in the City during 2001 and
clarified the service standards that could be expected.
65.
Our performance management model is outlined below:-
12
Managing Risk
66.
The activities we are involved in and the changes we make, all have inherent risk. The Council's
track record in successful transformation and improvement in areas such as Salford Quays
demonstrates our ability to manage change well. The recent Highways Street Care best value
inspection reported that "The Council has a track record of managing change". We have planned
our way through difficult budget situations and significant service changes in Social Services,
Environmental Services and Corporate Services, but we need to put risk management on a more
formal footing.
67.
We are now developing a formal Risk Management Strategy. Senior managers from all
directorates attended a series of workshops facilitated by the District Auditor and a draft corporate
risk register is to be prepared by the 30th September 2002 and the Directors Team has accepted
responsibility for leading the change to a risk management culture in the Authority.
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CRITERIA 4
(a)
WHAT THE COUNCIL PLANS TO DO NEXT
Learning
We are not complacent and believe that even in areas where we think we have a good track record, we
can still improve.
112.
We have been commended for our regeneration work, for our ability to attract private and public
funding into the area. Guidance from our regeneration work shows that we have made a
significant contribution in reducing unemployment in Salford.
113.
The Salford Partnership has been designated an example of best practice in Government guidance
on establishing Local Strategic Partnerships, whilst our policy of local consultation, involvement
and decision making, as embodied in our Community Strategy, continues to expand..
114.
At specific service level, there was a number of improvements we could comment on. We are
particularly pleased about notable achievements in key service areas. These include:

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the recent two star rating for our Social Services Inspectorate
our performance as an E-Government pathfinder authority
improvement in refuse collection and cleanliness of the City
attracting business investment into the City and increasing employment
opportunities
our lobbying of Government to secure pilot status for the Housing Market
Renewal Fund to tackle the collapse of the housing market.
MORE EXAMPLES REQUIRED
115.
However, despite substantial progress in recent years, the City still faces major challenges:
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we have an increasingly elderly and dependent population
family breakdown and changes in social norm are increasing the demand social services
provision
Salford is becoming more ethnically diverse and this needs to be reflected in how
we
deliver our services
educational attainment, aspirations and skill levels are too low
we have a substantial public sector housing stock which requires further investment
"Great Homes Standard" and we have too many void properties pepperpotted across
Salford.
raise the regional and national image of Salford
in parts of the City there has been a collapse in the private sector house market
crime and fear of crime
health inequalities - AMPLIFY THIS
14
116.
Solving these challenges will not be easy. We have to overcome/be aware of the following:-
Resources


Corporate
Governance


Whilst we are lobbying strongly for a better acknowledgement of
our needs and allocation of resources through the RSG formula, we
must continue to manage our finances well and maximise every
opportunity to secure more. In recent years, one of our
frustrations has been that at the same time as we have been
securing regeneration monies for capital spending, we have had to
achieve revenue savings because of the application of the current
RSG distribution.formula.
Attracting, retaining and developing our workforce to ensure we
have the means to deliver now and in the future. Our HR plans and
strategies are being reviewed and re-written to provide the basis for
our future needs.
Managing Change - maintaining the capacity and commitment to
fully evaluate and implement change and drive improvement
Managing Risk - ensuring effective governance through the
development of appropriate measures and controls.
117.
The key lesson learnt over the last two years has been that "sustainable change" does not simply
happen - it has to be led, monitored and backed up by an effective performance management
system. We know we can achieve change as evidenced by our regeneration initiatives, changes in
service delivery in social services and refuse collection, the introduction of a call centre and
associated back office functions.
118.
We made mistakes (though with the best of intention) in the choice and application of our initial
best value reviews. The process has been simplified and the principles of best value re-inforced in
all directorates. Our reviews are now clearly aligned to our priorities. The Peer Review and Best
Value Processes Review identified the key issues we need to address. The ensuing Improvement
Plan is now being implemented.
119.
We also know that very often our customers do not have single issue problems. For example, the
inability to get a decent job may not be just about qualifications. It might also reflect health
problems, family commitments and transport difficulties.
120.
Against this background, we applied three key principles to help us address the challenges we
face:(1)
increasing our commitment to partnership working, for example, we have recently totally
restructured our Community Safety Team as our commitment to the Crime and Disorder
Partnership.
(2)
understanding better the needs of our customers (expanding our tenant participation
programme; increased community feedback/consultation and participation).
(3)
challenging what we do by utilising internal and external review.
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122.
Our performance indicators and best value work identify those areas where we need to improve.
We do not underestimate either the number of areas for change or the degree of improvement
required. For some services achieving the standards we seek will demand considerable structural
change to the organisation - examples are listed below:(1)
Housing - we know that our current performance and investment level will not be
sufficient to enable us to achieve the government's decent homes standard. We have
therefore taken the decision to set up an ALMO - the application has been considered by
DTLR and a provisional allocation of £53.5m granted. The ALMO organisation will
operate independently of the City Council from September 2002.
(2)
Education - after recording improving performance in recent years, the last year has
shown a decline - we now have a new Director, we have restructured the Directorate's
management team, made new appointments and brought in interim support.
(3)
Leisure - we are identifying alternative options for service provision (including partnership
with a neighbouring authority) to improve efficiency and attract investment into the
service.
Best value reviews now complement our approach and focus our energies on important areas for
improvement. In addition, action plans have been introduced for all performance indicators where
we are not achieving the standard we require.
121.
We have already identified planning and monitoring processes that are in place to make the
linkages between our plans and priorities. Ensuring the Council achieves in these areas will be
through:
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121.
Establishing realistic but ambitious plans and targets within existing resources;
Reviewing the impact of our approach to ensure maximum benefit is derived;
Continued implementation of organisational development initiatives to ensure we have the
necessary mix of knowledge, skills and commitment at all levels supported by appropriate
and effective systems and structures;
Understanding limitations and constraints and considering different solutions to problems;
Disengaging and re-engaging resources to address under achievement.
Our building blocks for achieving continuous improvement include:
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Focusing our attention on the targets and priorities within the Community Plan, monitoring
progress regularly and producing annual action plans;
Continuing to develop and extend our partnership arrangements:
Maintaining our Community Strategy, ensuring our local knowledge and understanding
about what matters to our citizens up to date;
Fully exploiting the potential and benefits of our management information systems and
procedures;
Consolidating and further developing our performance management arrangements and
overview and scrutiny functions;
Implementing robust HR and Communication strategies designed to realise our employees
full potential, enable and empower the delivery excellence in service and support a culture
where continuous improvement is part of the job and honour our pledges;
Exploiting the principles of Best Value;
Continuing to invest in ICT and the modernisation of customer service to deliver the egovernment targets.
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