Know Your Service
Name of service
Where does the
service fit in the
structure?
Customers, Culture & Skills
Directorate
Communities
Asst Director or HoS
Customers, Culture
and Skills
Service
Team
Phase 2 only
Phase 2 only
The Customers, Culture and Skills Division incorporates the following services:
•Leisure and Sport - The Leisure Service is going through a radical programme of change. In order to meet budget reduction requirements, we propose to
transfer a number of the leisure facilities and pools we currently own and run. Through the current network of leisure facilities, the service has provided
opportunities for all residents to access health and fitness activities. Activities and programmes have been developed to specifically target those who have
difficulties accessing activities. This includes people with a disability, people with low levels of income, people with health issues (obesity, heart condition etc) or
people who have not accessed activities due to cultural barriers. The service will seek to continue with such activities within the facilities retained by the Council,
and in other community venues as appropriate, but will also engage in meaningful dialogue with organisations / groups who have been successful in their bid to
take over the running of some of our facilities to ensure they continue to address health inequalities. Leisure Services have recently received Quest
accreditation, the national award for customer services in sport and leisure. The division is also developing a new vision for sports and leisure in the city which is
due to be completed by the summer.
Libraries - The Library Service is now made up of a core network of 8 libraries (Council owned and run). There are potentially four Partnership funded Libraries,
which are supported by the Council at a reduced cost, and are linked into but are not part of the core network. There are also 2 Community Run libraries which
are staffed entirely by volunteers and are completely separate from the core library network. This approach will mean that library provision is retained in most
parts of the City. The service will be required to rationalise and prioritise the support activities and programmes provided (supporting people who are
unemployed, provision of literacy support etc.) due to the reduction in staffing and budgets to support such activities. There will also be less capacity to
purchase resources such as newspapers, journals and books due to the reduction of the stock fund. The service will continue to provide free access to pc's and
the internet and will provide support to residents to enable them to access services and information on line.
Brief description of service
• Customer Services - The Council has a network of Customer Service Centres across the City that provide face-to-face first point of contact advice and
guidance about a range of over 100 Council and YHN services, and a cashiering service that takes payments for a range of services including housing rent,
council tax, parking fines etc. As a result of budget reductions, CSC and cashiering staff at Gosforth have been withdrawn. This has meant a reduction in the
number of CSCs from 6 to 5.
Contact Centre - Customer Services staff are also working with Directorates to consolidate telephony (where practicable) into the corporate contact centre,
which already delivers 10 lines of business over the phone and acts as the council's single point of phone contact. This project is ongoing.
• Registrars - The service is responsible for the registration of births, deaths, civil partnerships and marriages within Newcastle. The service provides the
celebrants at wedding and baby naming ceremonies, the Nationality Checking Service, Settlement Checking Service and the replacement of birth certificates. A
significant modernisation programme is currently underway across the service. The General Registration Office has...
• Adult Learning - Newcastle City Learning both through direct delivery and wide-ranging partnerships enables the provision of a broad range of adult and
community education courses. These include Apprenticeships, English for Speakers of Other Languages, English and Maths, courses for people with learning
difficulties and/or disabilities, classroom based vocational and personal development learning. Love to Learn is a programme which provides full cost learning for
leisure learners. The service is externally funded through the Skills Funding Agency, Education Funding Authority and through fee income from some learners.
24+ loans is a source of funding alongside SFA, EFA, etc. The service is expecting an Ofsted inspection this year.
• Arts & Culture - performs a number of distinct roles in the cultural sector in the city, acting as a developer of policy and strategy, and advocate for cultural
activities; and as a first point of contact between the cultural sector and the City Council. It acts as an adviser to individuals and organisations working in the
cultural sector and has a critical role in engaging and maintaining constructive relationships with strategically important organisations and consortia (including
Arts Council, NGCV, LA7, ANEC and Core Cities) locally, regionally and nationally. The service is a coordinator of programmes engaging more than one cultural
organisation and/or community and, through its Arts Development Team, supports and encourages engagement and participation in cultural activity. It provides
financial support for some cultural activities and is an adviser to the Community Foundation in respect of the Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund. The service
also promotes the use of cultural activities to schools and co-ordinates the regional Cultural Ambassadors network. The service which represents the City
Council as lead authority for the Joint Archives and Museums Service, contributes to the five museums and galleries in the city - all of which are managed by
TWAMS. The service also manages Baltic 39 in partnership with Baltic Gallery Gateshead and the University of Northumbria. The service is currently working
with the Newcastle Cultural Partnership to develop a new vision for arts and culture in the city which will be complete in the spring.
• Tourism - The service is managed by NGI but funded by NCC. Working through the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative (NGI), ensures that Newcastle is promoted
as a destination for leisure, learning and business; is well placed to develop its tourism profile, attractions and infrastructure; and provides the best possible
tourist information, support and interpretation services. NGI now provide the strategic and operational lead for Tourism. The service may be transferred in its
entirety to NGI by the end of the 2013/14 financial year, or the existing arrangement continued.
• Parks. The service provides the following functions:
- The management of the City's 13 parks, 12 countryside sites, Town Moor and numerous open spaces.
- The oversight of the management of football pitches, booking coordination as well as responsibility for the maintenance of the pitches. Bowls clubs also
receive support for greens maintenance, general repair and utility costs.
- The safe provision of playgrounds including kick around areas and tennis courts.
- The provision of an Allotment Officer to support allotment groups and ensure correct working practices at each site.
• Digital Inclusion / Front Facing Digital Services. The Council has an ambition to provide a significant shift to and development of digital services by 2016
(where practicable). We are also committed to help residents access information and services digitally, particularly with the introduction of the Welfare Reform
Agenda which could leave many people digitally excluded. The division is delivering a strategy to address the issue of digital inclusion. Furthermore, the SPA
Workstream developed budget proposals to implement Digital by Default and the delivery of a voice activated telephony service and develop digital service
delivery.
What is the target population for the
service
How much of the service is statutory?
These are largely universal services which can be accessed by anyone who wishes to take part in them. However, we estimate that at least 25% of the services
provided by the division are targeted pieces of work designed to engage with specific groups. These targeted groups include people with disabilities,
unemployed people, children and young people, the elderly and people with English as a second language. Newcastle City Learning carries out a higher
proportion (50%) of work with targeted groups including the unemployed and speakers of other languages although it continues to offer a range of universal
courses at the same time.
Some
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 places a duty on local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. The Allotments Act 1950 also makes it a statutory requirement to
provide allotments (but not necessarily to manage them). The provision of the Registrars function is also statutory.
Which council priority will this service make an excellent contribution to?
Please describe your contribution
Tackling Inequalities
A common objective for all the service areas within the Division is to address inequalities faced by residents
across the City. Many of our services are largely universal. However, some services are responsible for
delivering a significant proportion of targeted services (as much as 25%). For example, the Library Service
provides opportunities and activities for all residents to access learning resources such as PCs and Broadband
access (Peoples' Network), books, newspapers, journals etc. Although these resources are available to anyone
who wishes to access them, bespoke activities have been arranged to assist those who have specific needs.
For example, the service delivers internet sessions to older people (Silver Surfers), provides literacy and
numeracy support to school children through homework help groups, delivers reading groups to school age
children as well as to adults. Many of these activities are taken up by people from the more deprived areas of
the City for whom access to learning materials may not be as accessible as it is to those from the more affluent
areas.
Customer Services have introduced a new single easy-to-remember phone number for the whole council.
Customer Services undertook a future directions survey regarding the future of customer contact with the
council. This included a hard to reach groups programme which highlighted concerns of specific groups and
customers likelihood to move towards digital services. Customer Services provide easy access to advice and
support within communities across the city, offer bespoke services around key issues such as benefits, council
tax etc...and will be a major source of resident information and support as the welfare reform agenda is
delivered.
Leisure Services provide opportunities for all residents of the City to access health and fitness activities.
Residents are able to attend a network of pools and leisure centres across the City. However, more targeted
work is also delivered to address health inequalities such as obesity (specifically in children but also adults),
activities for people with disabilities and encouraging sections of the community who have not traditionally taken
part in fitness activities i.e. BME women. The work undertaken by our Arts and Culture team is predominantly
with people from the most deprived areas of the City, and the Museums Service also targets outreach services
and priority groups.
Adult Learning also targets training provision in deprived areas of the city, and delivers a very successful service
for non English speakers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Adult learning, libraries and customer
services are also integral to the development of the Digital Inclusion project which will ensure that a large
proportion of residents within the City are able to access information about and apply for benefits digitally.
What other council priority outcomes does the service contribute to? (for
information only at phase 1)
Priority
Decent Neighbourhoods
Working City
How do you contribute?
The service provides a number of high quality facilities across the city offering residents the opportunity to
access services close to their homes. The Arts Development Team work with local communities on projects
based in their areas allowing individuals the opportunity to develop relationships with their neighbours and to
develop a sense of community. The work of the parks and leisure service ensures that all citizens of Newcastle
have access to clean, safe parks in their locality along with community events.
The Division provides a number of opportunities for unemployed individuals (and employed individuals wishing to
develop their skills) including a range of courses designed to develop employability skills through Newcastle City
Learning which has a close working relationship with Job Centre Plus, Job Clubs provided through the library
service support individuals, and the volunteer schemes operating throughout the division and TWAMs allow
individuals to gain experience in working environments. The Division's public use PC estate is used heavily by
individuals to write and submit job applications, and staff support them in this as practicably as possible. The
Tackling Inequalities
Fit for Purpose Organisation
Please describe any key partners
and/or dependencies
Summary Of Achievements 2013/14
BIPC based at the City Library also supports SMEs which in turn bolsters employment throughout the city.
Newcastle City Learning has this year extended a project with JET to more pro-actively move learners mandated
by Job Centre Plus into work and/or to achieve work experience.
As above
The Division has been awarded a number of awards for its customer service provision including Matrix Award,
Quest accreditation and Customer Service Excellence. The ongoing redesign of services within CCS will also
lead to a more integrated and co-operative way of working. Newcastle City Learning achieved Ofsted grade of
good (2009).
The Division works closely with the independent Sports and Cultural sectors, other local authorities and NDPB such as Sport England, Heritage Lottery, Arts
Council England and both universities and Science City. There are also key partnerships with funding bodies such as the Skills Funding Agency, and
organisations such as CAB, Job Centre Plus.
To be. confirmed by 31 March 2014
Service Priorities 2014/15