Agenda item

Colin Bulger, Head of Policy and Partnerships and Michael Walker, Performance and Quality Manager presented the first draft (20^th January, 2005) of the Corporate Plan 2005/2010.  The Corporate Plan sets out what the Council plans to do over the next five years, through to 2010, to achieve its vision and aspirations for Rotherham.

The Plan describes how the council itself will strive for excellence in all the services it provides, as an employer of approximately 15,000 staff across the borough, but also how it plans to work with all its partners to ensure a shared sense of vision and belonging for all communities and residents.

The Community Strategy and Corporate Plan in particular are designed to be coordinated, and so identify the Council’s specific contributions to overall community well-being.  The revision of the Corporate Plan will set the training process by which the Community Strategy can be refreshed.

The plan demonstrates how the Council will continue to support:

• The Rotherham Partnership, which brings together public sector organisations across the borough, as well as business, community and voluntary sectors,
• The Community Strategy, which is the framework by which the partnership sets out its vision for improving economic, social and environmental well-being in Rotherham, and
• The Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy, which set out partners’ intentions for action in various priority areas within the borough.

The vision for the Borough, as agreed with its partners during 2004, is built around the following five priority themes:

-           Rotherham Learning

-           Rotherham Achieving

-           Rotherham Alive

-           Rotherham Safe

-           Rotherham Proud

And the following two cross-cutting themes:

-           Sustainable Development

-           Fairness

Details of the timetable for the consultation process, context and challenges and the current position were given.

The meeting was asked to comment on the objectives of the Corporate Plan in relation to the priority they had been given, whether they were achievable and did they seem appropriate.

Members raised and debated the following issues:-

-           Too lengthy  - need to summarise content

-           Whether Policy & Partnerships had sufficient capacity to undertake the public consultation on the Strategy

-           Current problem in communities of anti-social behaviour and policing thereof

-           Education – Rotherham cannot be considered in isolation – it must be looked at in the context of the region or sub-region – for example, Rotherham does not have a University but there are ones close by

-           Sport and leisure – need to travel to Don Valley for top-class sporting facilities

-           Numerous inspections throughout the Council take up a great deal of staff time;  is the Plan to improve services to the people of Rotherham or to gain a good CPA rating?

-           The need for the views obtained through the consultation to be truly reflected in the final version of the Plan

-           Need for regular updates on whether aims are being achieved or on target

On the themes of the Corporate Plan, one Member felt the work to improve people’s health should be more specific about the need for people to stop smoking and eat more healthily.

On the theme of Rotherham Proud, one Member felt this was not articulated well enough in terms of some of Rotherham’s and South Yorkshire’s merits.  For example, the town’s motorway access, walking opportunities, new airport facilities and proximity to Derbyshire’s Peak District.

The point was made that the purpose of the Corporate Plan was to provide good guidance to managers and staff regarding what achievements the Council was aiming to make over the next 4-5 years, which then formed the various Business Plans and gave actual deliverables against those statements.  In addition, a good Corporate Plan would inform the residents of Rotherham what the Council intended to do and ensure that aspects which external Inspectors are looking for are meaningful.

Resolved:-  That Colin Bulger and Michael Walker be thanked for their attendance and presentation.