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' 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 rebuilding 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 below.
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 of Deprivation placed the City as the 28th 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:





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 utilising new technology;
 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 Strategic and Best Value Performance Plan (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 co-location 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.
3
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 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.
In August 2000 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
the press!). The outcome was to begin a programme of positive change refocusing on
certain basic principles:




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".
4
SECTION 2 - THE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
CRITERIA 1 - WHAT THE COUNCIL IS TRYING TO ACHIEVE
(a)
Ambition and Prioritisation
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
23.
Since the mid 1990's the Council has recognised the need to balance national and strategic
goals alongside local priorities. Recognising the benefits of setting clear priorities and
working with partners to develop a joint agenda for change, we subsequently produced our
first regeneration strategy, `Building Sustainable Communities' (1998). This strategy was
nationally recognised by Government and the City was awarded Pathfinder status (only 22
authorities achieved this).
24.
The City's first Strategic Plan 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 national and our local priorities is shown in figure x.
(c)
Communicating our Pledges
25.
The Pledges are the key drivers for the City. They have been widely communicated across
all Council Directorates and services, e.g.




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 on our web site;
Banners and 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
41.
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)
Prioritisation - How we arrived at our Six Pledges
Our Base – we have used a composite of different sources to build our priorities. This includes the
Indices of Deprivation for 1998 and 2000, responding to national directives such as the National
Strategy of Neighbourhood Renewal and the need to improve educational standards and
environmental conditions. In addition, we have used the experience garnered from the
implementation of regeneration programmes and policy across the City.
Building on this – we use the local Community Action Plans developed and endorsed by our 9
Community Committees to inform us of the desires and wishes of residents and service users. To
support this we also consult with our extensive network of tenant associations and key strategic
partners on priorities in their business plans.
Adding to this – a variety of consultative techniques have been employed on special issues. This
includes crime and disorder, where all households were invited to comment on the Crime and
Disorder Reduction Strategy and regeneration where Participatory Appraisal (PA) has been adopted
6
(this work received special commendations from the government’s Neighbourhood Renewal Unit.)
Additionally, there has been service user consultation and a quality of life survey.
Overlaid with – performance information on our own services, for example Performance Indicators
and Best Value Review feedback;
Wrapped around all of the above is our own knowledge of national priorities including the
government’s national floor targets.
This is set against the background that we accept we cannot do everything at once. We recognise
the need to plan in the short, medium and longterm. An example where we have achieved short
term improvements is in March 2002, following a poor Benefit Fraud Inspection Report, we have
implemented 60% of the recommendations. The verification framework has been implemented and
the administration has been centralised. This has resulted in a significant improvement in
performance.
Other improvements take longer to achieve largely due to the need for structural change, such as
setting up an Arms Length Management Organisation for our Housing Services and transferring
services out to Trusts.
The reality, is that other service areas such as Highways do not receive significant resources. This
is not to say that they are not important but we use resources in priority areas, such as Education
and Social Services. These resources were allocated to those services following OFSTED and Best
Value reviews.
A further consideration are those services that are not seen as core functions or where we have
secured alternative delivery mechanisms. For example, we have closed our municipal halls across
the City. We have also rationalised our housing sub-offices and entered into partnership with the
Post Office on cash collection. We are now in the process of rationalising our community centres.
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP HELPING US TO ACHIEVE

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 has established a monthly `hope page', provides
briefing and challenge on all best value reviews and gives presentation to staff on service planning.

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.

Across the City
(i)
Community - we operate regular member services 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'.
7
(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 many functions
each year.
FOCUS

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 72).

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.

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 enable us to direct regeneration funding and othr initiatives such as
Education Action Zones, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, Children's Fund and Sports Action
Zone into the most deprived neighbourhoods.

Refer to Scrutiny Committees.
(iii)
Shifting Resources to Match Priorities
53.
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 from this exercise and how they have been addressed.
Priority Identified
Our Response
Keeping the City Clean

Mini sweepers purchased

Consultants appointed prior to best value review of outdoor services
Improving the health and
well-being of Salford’s
citizens

Joint tendering of social services with NHS and PCT

Targeting of funding where demand has outstripped allocated budgets
including Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Tackling crime

Complete restructuring of Community safety Unit

Significant resources from Neighbourhood Renewal Fund have been
targeted in years 1 and 2
Better roads and public
transport

Best value review completed to secure improved value for money
Stemming the loss of

Commissioned detailed report on population shift to inform
8
population
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
Improving sporting
facilities and making the
most of the
Commonwealth Games

Established a dedicated team to lead events in the City.

To promote the City with in the context of the games
Schools

Passported funding

Review commenced on surplus places in Primary school

Developed our framework for Neighbourhood Renewal

Targeted regeneration funding in most deprived areas

Established a partner, officer and member group

Targeted SRB5 funding

Social Inclusion Forum have this a a key area of activity for this year
Facilities for young
people
Improving
neighbourhoods
Services to ethnic
minorities
Improving efficiency
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CRITERIA 2
DELIVERING PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
(a)
Capacity
(i)
Ensuring we have the Capacity and Skills to Achieve Change
62.
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.
63.
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.
64.
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. They acknowledged that the Council had been achieving significant
improvements and referred to very positive OFSTED and SSI reports. However they
reported that we had not implemented Best Value well and recommended a number of areas
for improvement, stating that "With further attention to the issues raised under the four
building blocks... the Council can achieve more".
65.
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 authority. We seek to create capacity through
our in house development programme for members and staff and by a raft of professional
partnerships.
Supporting Staff and Members- In house programme
66.
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. These include:







An appraisal and personal development scheme incorporated within the performance
management system, we recognise that the personal development scheme has not yet
been fully integrated in all Directorates;
An Appraisal scheme for Chief Officers being introduced;
Project Management Training has been identified as a key area for improvement, as a
result, we have introduced a rolling programme of training on this subject;
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;
A mentoring scheme for members;
A Centre of Excellence designed to support and facilitate change management;
A variety of training initiatives including Springboard, Stepping Out, etc., supported by
internal resources;
10


Working 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;
A commitment to Investors in People.
Adding to our in house capacity
To ensure flexibility and responsiveness the Council has a number of service support relationships
with other providers. These operate at both professional and operational levels. For example this
includes, legal, Quantity Surveying and surveying and at an operational level we use agency staff to
support refuse collection
(ii)
Ensuring Officers and Members are clear about what they are Responsible and
Accountable for
67.
The Council 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 the Council to identify problems, which have led to development and formal
introduction of the revised democratic structure in September, 2001. The peer review and
best value processes inspection identified improvement areas and these 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’.
68.
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, and a scheme of delegation, the appointment
of a Monitoring Officer and the establishment of a Standards Committee. To ensure that
responsibility and accountability are understood in the organisation.
(iii)
Using Partnerships to Deliver Complex Problems
69.
As previously mentioned we are proud of our track record on partnership working. Some
notable achievements include:








The Local Strategic Partnership – development of the Community plan and Neighbourhood
Renewal Strategy framework;
A number of area based regeneration partnerships for SRB, New Deal for Communities and the
Chapel Street project;
2 joint appointments with ourselves and Health /PCT – the Director of Public Health and the
Assistant Director of Community Strategy;
MIDAS – a partnership responsible for inward investment within the City;
City Pride strategic partnership – addressing unemployment issues across 4 local authorities;
Crime Reduction Partnership – taking responsibility for crime issues across the City;
YOT – addressing issues of juvenile crime;
Private Sector Partnerships – Bovis in Broughton addressing regeneration issues, Jarvis and
Thomson group at Chapel Wharf redevelopment of area for high quality leisure provision;
11
70.
We are aware that the implementation of our procurement policy needs to be addressed. A
report on this issue has been written for the Cabinet meeting of the 20th August 2002,
following several months of preparation work.
(b)
Performance Management
71.
The City Council has a systematic approach to performance management which enables us
to remain focused on the important issues, as illustrated below:
(i)
Making Sure that Members and managers know enough about What's Going On
Inside and Outside the Council to take Decisions
72.
The Peer Review found that the Council had developed a strong understanding of the issues
faced inside and outside the Council. We have demonstrated throughout this document how
priorities have been translated into key corporate and strategic plans and how we aim to
translate this into actions on the ground. The Council's arrangements for partnership
12
working help to ensure external awareness at all levels in the organisation and through the
examples given in the leadership section. ( we need to check the X ref)
73.
Internally the council operates a number of member and cross-directorate officer working
groups at various levels of the organisation:- (List the main groups)
74.
The scrutiny role, though still new, is being developed, with training for Members one of the
key components of our overall improvement plan. It is fair to say that there is some positive
tension between the Scrutiny Committee's role and the new political structures.
(ii)
Making Sure Staff know what is Expected of Them and Managers know if They are
Achieving It
80. 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 operation realities.
82
The current performance management system has recently been adopted by the Council and
has still to be fully embedded in all parts of the authority. However, we are making very
positive steps to ensure that it is consistently applied across all areas of work in the future.
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 have
recently completed a `Quality Assurance' audit of this function.
83.
All service areas have performance targets which contribute towards corporate priorities and
which cascade through the organisation so that they are understood at all levels. Within the
corporate model, performance management takes place at various levels. Service/delivery
charters were distributed to every household in the City during 2001 and clarified the service
standards that could be expected.
84. The systematic approach is designed to provide a consistency and clarity of vision and action.
Targets are monitored on a regular basis, facilitating early corrective action.
(iii)
Managing Risk
85. 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.
86. 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
have accepted responsibility for leading the change to a risk management culture in the
Authority.
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Criteria 3 – What the Council has achieved / not achieved to date
What we are improving / not improving
The Council measures its achievements against its priority areas, as expressed by the 6 pledges,
along with ‘supporting the pledges’. The table below identifies what we have set out to achieve, our
improvements and areas where we need to improve. Sections 3 and 4 of the Strategic and Best
Value Performance Plan provide greater detail on our performance and the Community Plan,
developed in conjunction with our partners, provides the focus for what we jointly aim to achieve
for the City and its people in the coming years. Our improvements need to be set against the context
of a huge regeneration agenda – a legacy of our industrial past, and the financial constraints that the
authority has, and continues to, face in terms of the RSG. These issues have been more fully
identified earlier in this document.
Pledge 1 – Better Education for all
We want every child to get the best start in life
A third of economically active people in the City have no formal qualifications and an improvement
in educational achievement and lifelong learning is a key priority for the Council.
The GCSE attainment levels in 2001 were disappointing and are well below the top quartile levels.
Performance in respect of pupils achieving Level 4 in Key Stage 2 tests also deteriorated in 2001
from the previous year.
We aim to ensure that all young people leaving 11-16 education have a recognised qualification and
particularly aim to improve overall school performance to the national average and ensure that
GCSE results improve faster than the rest of the country.
Social Exclusion from education is also a priority and we aim to increase attendance rates in schools
, particularly in the secondary sector. Although the number of exclusions from schools has
improved , it is still above the target we have set ourselves.
Achievements
We have been improving nursery provision, and in
2000/01 achieved 87.7% for BVPI 30 – the
percentage of 3 year olds receiving a good quality,
free, early years education place in the voluntary,
private, or maintained sectors.
Areas for improvement
In 2001/02 we achieved 80% for BVPI 30, due
to a bulge in the 3 year old age group, along
with a reduction in the number of pupils in
nursery provision.
We are proposing to create an additional 800
We have been improving GCSE results for a
early years childcare places by March 2003,
number of years. BVPI 38 – the percentage of 15
using a variety of providers.
year olds achieving 5 or more grade A* - C
GCSE’s has risen from 32% in 1998/99 to 35.6%in The OFSTED inspection in 1999, and the
2000/01.
Best Value Review of Services to schools
identified improvement areas. Significant
Performance against BVPI 39 – the percentage of
work has been undertaken on the OFSTED
15 year olds achieving 1 or more GCSE’s has
recommendations, and an improvement plan
varied between 94% and 96% for the last 4 years
has recently been developed as part of our
(top quartile is currently 95%).
best value review of Services to Schools.
Level of financial delegation has been increased
from
77% in 1999/2000 to 87% in 2001/02 (OFSTED
recommendation)
We have agreed a Local Public Service
Agreement (LPSA) target to improve the
proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more
GCSE’s at grades A*-C by 4 percentage
14
Very few of our schools receive additional
attention from OfSTED. Indeed , where we
have had schools with serious weaknesses or
subject to special measures, we have a
reputation nationally for turning those schools
around within a short space of time.
Key stage 3 results improved in summer 2001
No. of Governor vacancies has been reduced
New High School under construction in Kersal
(£9M investment)
New School at Harrop Fold.
points between 2002 and 2004. A further
LPSA target has been agreed that by
Summer, 2005 , 93.5% of pupils will achieve
5 or more GCSE’s at grades A*-G including
Maths and English.
We aim to improve the life chances of looked
after children by improving the educational
attainment of children and young people in
care.Again , we have agreed specific LPSA
targets for this area. Through the LPSA , we
aim to ensure that (i) 15 young people leave
care with 5 GCSE’s at grades A*-C and (2)
65 young people leave care with at least 1
GCSE at grades A*-G
An LPSA target has been agreed which will
increase the attendance rate in Salford’s
secondary schools to 91.9% by 2005 ( current
rate-88.3%)
To further improve educational attainment ,
we also aim to increase , through a further
LPSA target, the proportion of year 11
school leavers going into further learning to
91% by 2005( current rate-73.3% ).
Pledge 2 – Quality homes for all
We will ensure every person in the City lives in a decent home.
The levels of home ownership in Salford are low compared to the national average. This
means that many residents are dependent on public sector housing provision.
We have pockets of deprivation with poor quality housing both in the public and private sectors and
strategies have been developed to deal with these problem areas. Salford has an excellent reputation
with regard to its ability to attract investment to undertake regeneration and we have had many
successes.
However, there is a funding gap between the work required to improve the housing stock, both in
thee public and private sectors, and the resources currently available to meet decent homes
standards.
A declining poulation is also a concern . People are moving away from the traditional inner city
areas which will impact on housing demand.
Achievements
Regeneration has been a major area of focus over
the last 10 years, and has included a huge amount
of new, and refurbished, housing. Notable
examples include Salford Quays, Trinity, Ordsall,
Salford Precinct and Chapel Street.
We have been improving our performance on
repairs, with 2 out of 3 indicators moving into the
first and second quartiles.
Areas for improvement
Regeneration remains a huge agenda.
Significant initiatives are underway in
Kersal/Charlestown, and in
Langworthy/Seedley.
Our performance on rent collection and void
turn around times remain an issue, both being in
the bottom quartile.
15
The number of local authority dwellings receiving
renovation work (BVPI 71a) has improved from
37.6% in 2000/01 to 61.77% in 2001/02 .
Our performance on rent collection and
void turn around times remain an issue, both
being in the bottom quartile of performance.
Despite the huge regeneration successes
Six of the private sector performance indicators are there are still regeneration challenges in a
now in the top quartile.
number of areas in the City. We intend to
integrate housing programmes with
The proportion of unfit private sector dwellings
regeneration initiatives and combine social
made fit or demolished (BVPI 62) has improved
and economic strategies.
from 5.2% in 2000/01 to 9.5% in 2001/02.
There remains a huge gap in Salford between
The Council is currently piloting a ‘Homeswap’
the work that needs to be done to provide
service in Langworthy/Seedley. This is the first
quality homes, and the funding available. The
scheme if its kind in the country, helping
Council is aiming to introduce an Arms Length
homeowners in negative equity to move home in
Management Organisation (ALMO) to secure
regeneration areas.
additional funding to address these issues.
However, the recent best value inspection of
our housing review, although draft at this stage,
We have been recently developing a landlord
has identified significant issues which we are
accreditation scheme, and we have a local PSA
aware we will need to address very quickly if
target to achieve 400 accredited landlords by
we are to succeed with the ALMO proposals.
2004.
The housing investment strategy has brought in
£51M of external funding, £100M of housing
revenue account funding, and £12M from the
Housing Corporation.
Significant housing improvements have been
achieved in a number of areas of the City e.g.
Spike Island, Greengate, Islington, Trinity,
Windsor.
SRB funding has enabled improvements to be
made to 3,160 houses.
We have an accreditation scheme for private
sector landlords and are developing options
for landlord licensing.This will enable us to
provide advice,support and assistance to the
tenants of private landlords and take
enforcement action against landlords who
fail to manage and maintain their properties
effectively. An LPSA target has been agreed
which will increase the number of accredited
landlords to 400 by 31st March,
2005(currently 25 )
Capital Challenge funding has enabled
improvements, along with security
improvements to 1,800 homes in Little Hulton.
We aim to increase our partnership working
with the private sector to reduce substandard housing in the City by a third by
2004.
New Deal for Communities is enabling £16M of
improvement to public housing, £43.5M to private
housing and £19.5M to environmental
improvements.
We have developed a Marketing Strategies Plan
which will improve the marketing of council
property and change the image of Council
property in the City.
Pledge 3 – A Clean and Healthy City
We will make Salford a cleaner and healthier place to live
As elsewhere within the UK , the City produces a great deal of waste. We need to deal with this in a
more sustainable way by reduction , re-use and recycling.
As a result of the need to meet EU and Government standards, for recycling , as well as meeting the
demands of our citizens,significant improvements have been introduced to the Council’s refuse
16
collection , street cleansing and recycling services. The manner in which the City’s waste will be
dealt with in the future also needs radical review.
The number of people over the age of 65 in Salford represent 16% of the population. We are now
seeing an increase in the number of people who reach the age of 80-82 and these are the people who
are more likely to use our social services. The number of people aged over 85 is also expected to
rise and we must therefore plan our services accordingly whilst also promoting independence.
Achievements
Intensive homecare provision per 1000
population aged 65 and over has been
increased from 15.21% in 2000/01 to
27.95% in 2001/02
The Council’s refuse collection service has
been reviewed and a new service – designed
to address a number of customer issues –
was launched in 2001. This service has
resulted in major customer improvements
and has achieved significant cost savings
The number of collections missed per
100,000 (BVPI 55) shows deterioration in
the 2002/03 BVPP. This deterioration was a
result of a bedding in period on the new
refuse collection service. Current
monitoring shows the missed bin rate to be
around the top quartile figure of 48
The street cleansing service has been
reviewed and a more responsive 7 day a
week mechanised service has been
introduced. Public recognition of cleaner
streets is already being perceived.
A number of facilities have been opened in
various parts of the City.
Angel Healthy Living Centre (Chapel
Street)
Cornerstone Health and Community
Resource (Langworthy)
Sure Start Centre (Seedley)
Lance Burn Health Centre (Pendeleton)
Health Resource Centre (Kersal)
Areas for improvement
The Council’s recycling rate is below 6%.
Significant improvements had previously
been achieved by the development of a soil
conditioner in partnership with the Greater
Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.
However, this product has more recently
been deemed to be unacceptable as a
recycled material. The Council has just
secured £301,250 from the recently created
DEFRA recycling fund, which, along with
funding from New Deal sources, should allow
us to roll out a multi-material kerbside
scheme across the City.
We have an agreed LPSA target to increase
the tonnage of household waste that is
recycled by providing multi-material recycle
sites to 75% of the City’s high rise blocks of
flats.
Expansion of services to people with chronic
health problems, by the establishment of an
assertive outreach service with the Mental
Health Services of Salford NHS Trust and
the appointment of a joint project Director
to manage the integration of NHS and social
care in mental health.
Streamlining our services to people with
learning disabilities to provide easier access,
better individual planning and more coordinated access to services, through the
establishment of a joint learning disability
service with the Primary Care Trust.
Pledge 4 – A Safer Salford
We will make Salford a safer place to live and work
The City has the third highest level of overall crime in the Greater Manchester area and higher than
the greater Manchester average of robbery , burglary and motor related theft.
17
The levels of vehicle crime, burglaries and robberies have improved in 2001 , compared with 2000.
However , we are still in the bottom quartiles for these categories and there is much improvement to
be made.
Our Quality of Life survey identified crime and community safety as the biggest issue facing
communities. Intimidation of witnesses is also of concern and the need to provide better support for
victims, particularly those who are subject to repeat victimisation.
Heavily trafficked roads in the City create problems relating to road condition and safety issues.
Achievements
Robberies per 1000 population (BVPI 127e)
reduced from 19 in 2000/01 to 4.6 in 2001/02
Vehicle crimes per 1000 population (BVPI
128a) reduced from 41.6 to 32.1 over the
same period
Number of road traffic accidents casualties
(BVPI 99) overall reduced from 769 in
2000/01 to 664 in 2001/02
Overall crime levels have fallen by 13.3%
since 1998
Much community safety work has been
done via SRB 1,2,&3.
- Community safety initiatives
undertaken through SRB1
- Reached 43,850 people
- There were 8 youth crime initiatives
under SRB1
- There were 555 community safety
initiatives under SRB1 & 2.
- 3895 young people involved in youth
crime prevention under SRB2.
- 22 young offenders obtained
qualifications under SRB3.
The above inputs, along with other work
have contributed to the improved crime
figures above.
Areas for improvement
The condition of the City’s highways
network – particularly the non-principal
route network and pavements – remains a
key concern. Highway condition is not one
of the highest priorities for Salford, but we
acknowledge that the condition has been
deteriorating for a number of years, and that
therefore this is becoming a greater priority.
A best value review has just identified a
number of improvement areas and the
council is looking at all opportunities to
attract and divert funds into this area.
We will be undertaking a further Quality of Life
survey this year to allow us to compare
concerns regarding crime and community safety
with those expressed in the previous survey.
We have agreed LPSA targets to reduce (1) the
number of vehicle crimes in the City to 30.5 per
1,000 population by 2005 and (2) the number of
domestic burglaries to 42.6 per 1,000
population by 2005.
A further LPSA target aims to reduce the
number of people killed or seriously injured in
road accidents to 83 by December, 2004.
Our performance in respect of the % of roads
and pavements made safe within 24 hours
increased again to 96%
Pledge 5 – Stronger Communities
We will make Salford a better place to live
Unemployment in the City remains a problem with some wards having a rate twice the City
average. Despite falling unemployment in the City , levels are above those in Greater
Manchester and the North West.One third of Salford’s population is in receipt of some form
of benefit. The Government’s Index of Deprivation ranks 9 of Salford’s wards in the worst
10% in the country.
Two of the biggest issues facing the City are (1) getting unemployed people back into employment
and (2) ensuring that they have the necessary skills. A further issue which will aid the economic
development of the City is the provision of sites and premises to retain and attract businesses.
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Participation in decision making for individuals and members of communities needs to be more
accessible.We also need to ensure that decision making does not exclude the City’s growing
number of black and minority ethnic communities.
Achievements
This year , the Council produced its first
Cultural strategy which aims to sustain
Salford’s distinct, dynamic and valuable
cultural identity by supporting a variety of
cultaural initiatives.The Strategy contains a
range of action plans and targets for the
following objectives:*to develop an active community
*promote a cultural economy
*promote a healthier lifestyle
*develop Lifelong Learning
*Make a sustainable environment
*enhance Salford’s reputation as a creative
City.
We are in the top quartile for our use of
previously developed land (“brownfield “
sites )
The number of pupils visiting museums and
libraries in organised school groups (BVPI
170c) increased from 11691 in 2000/01 to
13932 in 2001/02 although overall visitors to
museums and libraries is declining.
Unemployment – Salford has the fastest
growth rate in employment in the Greater
Manchester region. Unemployment in the
City is currently 4% - just above the
Greater Manchester average, whereas 15
years ago employment was over twice the
national average.
Salford has made massive strides in
regeneration and in attracting investment.
Over the last 5 years the Council has
secured £222M of regeneration funding
from a variety of funding sources (e.g. SRB,
Lottery, Sure Start)
Internet facilities installed in Libraries
across the City.
One Stop Shop and CAT suite in Little
Hulton.
1015 businesses created in the City.
287 community capacity initiatives undertaken
through SRB.
Areas for improvement
An LPSA target has been developed to increase
the number of people from disadvantaged
groups and areas getting sustained jobs. We aim
to :

Ensure that 3,784 residents are assisted
into employment through the Council’s
Job Shop Plus Initiative.
Ensure that 300 residents from
disadvantaged groups living in
disadvantaged areas( not covered by
action teams) are assisted into
employment through the Job Shop Plus
Initiative.
A best value review of Community
Engagement is currently taking place which is
reviewing the ways in which currently engage
with the community including assessing good
practice in other authorities, how we engage
with communities of interest including black
and ethnic minorities and people with
disabilities and how we engage at a citywide
level.. The review will also produce a
Consultation Strategy for the Council.
We aim to boost visitor numbers to libraries
through our plans for the installation of
Community Learning Centres at all our libraries
across the City by December 2002.in addition ,
a Reader Development Strategy aimed at
boosting visitor numbers is to be
implemented.the implementation of the Annual
Library Plan will also contribute to increased
library visitor numbers and library membership.
We are currently undertaking a best value
review of the Development Planning service ,
part of which will address the need to ensure
that the City is a place where a balanced social
mix of people want to live.
To implement an effective system for the
monitoring of Community Action Plans
A Job Shop initiative has operated for some
years which has linked local residents with the
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necessary pre-work training to assist them in
finding suitable employment. This service was
enhanced last year.
We have developed an Employment Charter
with local employers which aims to increase
the number of vacancies filled by Salford
residents.
We have a Community Strategy in place and 9
Community Committees through which we
regularly engage with the community in
respect of decisions which affect their lives.
Each Community Committee has developed an
action plan to tackle issues in their local area.
To assist this , Committees have delegated
budgets to resource initiatives.
Pledge 6 – Supporting Young People
We will create the best opportunities for young people in our city
The level of youth crime and instances of disorder caused by youths in the City are the highest in
Greater Manchester after the City of Manchester.
There is a plethora of agencies providing a range of different services to children and young people
which would benefit from a more co-ordinated approach to avoid duplication, overlap and gaps in
services.
Children and young people are currently under-represented in community consultative structures.
Poverty is an issue faced by many of Salford’s children-7 of our wards are within the most childpoverty stricken 7% in the country.During the past 5 years , the number of children looked after has
increased by 100%.
Achievements
The percentage of young people looked after
who were engaged in education, training or
employment at age 19 (BVPI 161) increased
from 13.8% in 200/01 to 27.6% in 2001/02)
6,000 young people benefited from the SRB3
programme in Little Hulton
2,800 young people improved their educational
attainment through SRB3
Areas for improvement
A new Connexions service will go ‘live’ in
September 2002 aimed at meeting the needs of
young people aged between 14 and 19, and
increasing their level of attainment and
involvement in education and training. A range
of services including the Careers partnership
and the Youth Service, will work together to
deliver the new service.
SPARKY is a joint initiative managed and
delivered through the City of Salford Sports
Development Team and Youth Service. The
project comprises a planned programme of
detached youth work and the provision of a
range of sport, arts and environment related
activities for young people.
A Connexions Youth Participation Group will
be established by march 2003 , to ensure that
young people have their say in the delivery of
services.
Communities that Care offers a way of hearing
the views of a wide range of young people
A brand new youth resource centre is being
constructed in Charlestown using New Deal for
Communities funding.
Our best value review of Community
20
about the issues that concern them, and
identifying the factors in local communities
that put young people at risk. The partnership
aims to feed the data obtained to our
Commuity Committees to enable them to
develop appropriate local activities to support
young people.
Engagement will specifically address how we
currently engage with young people and will
bring about changes to such engagement.
A young peoples’s forum is being developed (
City 2000) consisting of representatives across
the City. The possibility of “shadowing” local
councillors in order to increase their voice in
the decision-making process is also being
considered.
5 youth shelters are being developed across the
City to provide a safe place that youlg people
can access at any time in their own areas.Over
100 young people have been involved in the
planning and siting of these shelters.
We aim to reduce the rate of teenage
pregnancies to achieve a 60% reduction in
under 118 conceptions by 2010 and youth
unemployment to 5% by 2004.
An LPSA target has been agreed which aims
to increase the number of young people who
are regular participants in sporting activities
to 70.3% ( current performance 56.3%).
Supporting the Pledges
Measuring efficiency and Statutory Compliance
In recent years , the Council has had to overcome considerable financial difficulties. In 2000, a
strategy was implemented to improve the Council’s financial position by replenishing its cash
reserves. This has proved to be successful and our financial management systems and long-term
financial planning has improved.
A major priority for the Council is the Government’s requirement to have as wide an access as
possible to local government services, with as much as possible being capable of being delivered
electronically.
The Government is also encouraging local authorities to adopt the Benefits Verification Framework
in order to reduce benefits fraud.
There has been a drive nationally to improve electoral turnout and a recognition of the importance
of public sector asset management for local authorities with emphasis being placed on authorities
using property and asseta more efficiently.
Achievements
Areas for improvement
Outsourcing the delivery of some services will
produce long term gains – e.g. in social services
and education where Trusts are being explored;
Customer response times are improving in our Call
Centres;
Crime rates have fallen significantly during the last
12 months
We aim to deliver electronically 100% of
services which are capable of being delivered
electronically by 2005 in accordance with
Government requirements.(We achieved 24.6%
by March , 2002 )
Improvements plans from completed Best Value
The average time taken to deal with new claims
for Council Tax and benefits has increased. We
aim to reduce this significantly .
21
Reviews are having an impact on service delivery.
An example is the office accommodation review
which has resulted in new education offices being
established to combine 3 disparate locations – a
positive move for support service users.
The review of the Community Strategy, which
included 28 separate recommendations, is having
an impact within communities and has resulted in
positive input from partners such as the Primary
Care Trust and Police.
As from April, 2002 , the Council adopted the
Benefits Verification Framework to reduce
benefits fraud.
Centralisation of Council Tax and Benefits
Administration by centralising the administration
from 11 Area housing Offices.
Our sickness absence levels have improved
from 13.72 to 12.08 in 2001/02. We aim to
improve this further to 10.84 by March 2003.
We will be reviewing the method of electoral
registration canvass with the aim of improving
the return of forms.
We will be implementing the Improvement Plan
arising from the recent Best Value review of
Asset Management/Property which will
improve the way we manage our property.
We have recently appointed a Disabled Access
Officer who will be working to ensure that the
% of the Council’s buildings which are suitable
for and accessible by disabled people, increases
from the current level of 6.6%.
The % turnout at the last election increased by
3.2% which was 2% above target.
A best value review of Procurement in 2001
revised the Council’s Procurement Policy and
Strategy. The policy ensure that there is an open,
unbiased and systematic approach to procurement
at all times and establishes a consistent corporate
framework for evaluating alternative methods of
service delivery.
Performance against many of the pledges is not as good as the Council and its citizens
would wish. A detailed analysis of performance against the pledges is provided in Section 4
of the Council’s Strategic and Best Value Performance Plan.Where areas for improvement
have been identified against performance indicators contained in the Plan , then action plans
are developed for each specific indicator ( Comparator Action Plans). These plans clearly
identify the action to be taken and any barriers to improvement which need addressing.The
Comparator Action Plans are monitored on a quarterly basis by the Council.
The priorities for improvement are based on what our communities have said. A large number
of the improvements flow from customer consultation and consequently the improvements are
recognised by service users. In some areas specific post improvement consultation is
undertaken to test whether actions have successfully achieved planned improvement. For
example post scheme consultation takes place on highway traffic management schemes, and
telephone surveys take place from Salford Direct, the authority’s call centre.
The Council will be undertaking a quality of life survey during 2002, following on from our
previous survey in 1998. This will provide further evidence of our communities’ perception
of improvement.
INVESTMENT - Building blocks the Council has successfully put in place that will enable future
improvements
104. We have established a number of building blocks to enable continuous improvement.
22

The Peer Review and Best Value Inspection have resulted in the production of a
comprehensive action plan that is being monitored stringently to ensure continuous
improvement;

Our long established community strategy, along with our pledges, strategic planning
and performance management model ensures that we are aware of the priorities and
services in need of improvement;

The programme of best value reviews is designed to support continuous improvement
and will measure progress across cross-cutting issues such as regeneration.
Improvements to the way we conduct these reviews is also being progressed. In the most
recent inspection report – Highways and Streetcare the inspectors said “The Council
conducted a thorough best value review that has produced a challenging improvement
plan.” All but one of our best value review inspections to date has been awarded a
positive prospects for improvement judgement. .

Our 3 year budget strategy ensures that the priorities and improvement actions above are
considered in budget allocation, to ensure that resources are allocated to those areas
identified as priorities.

The performance management system, whilst identifying areas for improvement, also
monitors our success in implementing improvement, thus completing the cycle.
105. The Council undertook a review of procurement in year 1 of the best value programme. This
has produced a procurement manual which contains the Council’s procurement policy and a
procurement assessment matrix which is used on every best value review to help identify the
best approach for future service provision. The Council has a long established central
purchasing team and are proposing to develop a central procurement unit to establish a more
robust procurement approach for services.
INVESTMENT - How we open ourselves up to external challenge
106. The Council has a long standing approach to opening itself up to external challenge. Our
development of the Local Strategic Partnership, and our service delivery area model with the 9
community committees, are designed to engage the community which provides significant
challenge to the services we provide and the way we provide them. Our acclaimed scrutiny
commissions, involving representatives from within and without the Council, are again
designed to fundamentally challenge how we do things.
107. Our scrutiny committees are increasingly inviting external organisations/individuals to attend
committee meetings to assist by offering external perspectives and challenge.
108. We invited the IDeA to undertake a peer review of the authority, an exercise which we feel
has brought us enormous benefit. Similarly, we invited the Audit Commission Inspection
service to undertake an interim inspection of our maintenance of the highway/streetcare
review, again bringing benefits.
109. There is a range of external involvement on best value reviews e.g.
 on the highways/streetcare review we utilised the services of KPMG as review team
leader;

on the Asset Management Review we appointed an external consultant – DTZ Pieda to
provide a key stage challenge role;
23

on the Housing review we invited Bolton Council and the Greater Manchester Housing
Best
Practise Unit to act as a critical friend. Further tenant representatives sat on the scrutiny
panel.
110. It is clear, therefore, that our scrutiny process is robust and includes an element of external
challenge. Recent development to our scrutiny approach has been the development of a
dedicated officer support team to scrutiny committees, part of whose role is to assist members
in challenging the authority’s service delivery.
INVESTMENT - How the Council is developing its next set of priorities.
111. This document has explained how the council identifies its priorities in conjunction with its
partners in the community plan, how it delivers and monitors the achievement of these, and
how it identifies the next set of priorities through the performance management system. The
continuous engagement with our communities via the community committees and the periodic
consultation through Quality of Life and other surveys ensures we are in touch with the
changing needs and priorities of our citizens. Through these approaches we are able to remain
constantly in tune with the priorities enabling us to identify future priorities.
24
CRITERIA 4
WHAT THE COUNCIL PLANS TO DO NEXT
(a)
Learning
(i)
What we believe we do well
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,
contrives to expand..
114.
At specific service level we are particularly pleased about notable achievements in key
service areas. These include:



the recent two start rating for our Social Services Inspectorate
Our performance as an E-Government pathfinder authority
Improvement in refuse collection and cleanliness of the City
MORE EXAMPLES REQUIRED
(ii)
Problems that the Council Still Face
115.
Despite substantial progress in recent years, the City still faces major challenges:






we have an increasingly elderly and dependent population
family breakdown and changes in social norm are increasing the demand for social
services provision
the City 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
in parts of the City there has been a collapse in the private sector house market
crime and fear of crime
health inequalities
(iii)
Barriers the Council is Striving to Overcome
116.
These fall into two main areas:
Resources

Managing existing financial resources and maximising additional
resources.
25

Corporate
Governance


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 - ensuring we have 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.
(iii)
What we have learnt and what will change as a result
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 services are now clearly aligned to our priorities.
119.
The Peer Review and Best Value Processes Review identified the key issues we need to
address. The ensuing Improvement Plan is now being implemented.
(b)
Future Plans
(i)
How are we responding to known problems to reach solutions?
120.
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.
(ii)
Addressing areas where we have not achieved what we wanted to do
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 list 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.
26
(2)
Education - after recording improving performance in recent years, the last year has
shown a decline - 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.
(iii)
Ensuring the council achieves
121.
We have already identified the high level 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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Establishing realistic but ambitious plans and targets within existing resources;
Reviewing the impact of approaches 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.
(iv)
Ensuring we have the capacity to identify, implement and maintain further
improvements
122.
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
e-government targets.
BUDGET COMMENT - SEE AW
27