At its meeting on 25 April 2018 the Executive Committee considered the year three refresh of the Council Plan and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Council Plan be ADOPTED, subject to the following amendments:

·         ‘Our priorities and objectives 2016-20’ – second bullet point entitled ‘Promoting and supporting economic growth’ amend fifth point to read ‘Promoting Promote the borough as a visiting visitor attraction”;

·         ‘Our priorities and objectives 2016-20’ – third bullet point entitled ‘Growing and supporting communities’ amend second point to read ‘Achieve Maintain a five year supply of land’; 

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Finance and resources’ – first bullet point entitled ‘Seek to be financially independent of the government’s core grants’ amend point a) to read ‘Deliver the Council’s transformation programme to deliver a balanced budget’.;

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend second bullet point heading to read ‘Achieve Maintain a five year supply of land’;

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend point b) under the fourth bullet point to read ‘Achieve the council’s affordable homes target by working with local housing providers’;

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend point d) in the fourth bullet point to read ‘Work to support the Severn Vale Housing Merger with its partners in accordance with the programme’ ‘Work with Severn Vale Housing Society, Bromford Housing Group and Merlin Housing Society in respect of their merger’;

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Customer focussed services’ – amend first bullet point to add ‘To continue to proactively enforce against enviro-crimes including flytipping and dog fouling in accordance with the action plan’;

·         ‘Why this is a priority – Customer focussed services’ – amend point d) under the third bullet point – to read ‘Look at Investigate digital methods to improve customer engagement’.

The amended version of the Council Plan including the above amendments is attached.

18.1           At its meeting on 25 April 2018, the Executive Committee had considered a report which detailed the year three refresh of the 2016-20 Council Plan.  The Executive Committee had recommended that the Council Plan refresh be adopted, subject to the following amendments:

·           ‘Our priorities and objectives 2016-20’ – second bullet point entitled ‘Promoting and supporting economic growth’ amend fifth point to read ‘Promoting Promote the borough as a visiting visitor attraction”;

·           ‘Our priorities and objectives 2016-20’ – third bullet point entitled ‘Growing and supporting communities’ amend second point to read ‘Achieve Maintain a five year supply of land’; 

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Finance and resources’ – first bullet point entitled ‘Seek to be financially independent of the government’s core grants’ amend point a) to read ‘Deliver the Council’s transformation programme to deliver a balanced budget’.;

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend second bullet point heading to read ‘Achieve Maintain a five year supply of land’;

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend point b) under the fourth bullet point to read ‘Achieve the council’s affordable homes target by working with local housing providers’;

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Growing and supporting communities’ – amend point d) in the fourth bullet point to read ‘Work to support the Severn Vale Housing Merger with its partners in accordance with the programme’ ‘Work with Severn Vale Housing Society, Bromford Housing Group and Merlin Housing Society in respect of their merger’;

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Customer focussed services’ – amend first bullet point to add ‘To continue to proactively enforce against enviro-crimes including flytipping and dog fouling in accordance with the action plan’; and,

·           ‘Why this is a priority – Customer focussed services’ – amend point d) under the third bullet point – to read ‘Look at Investigate digital methods to improve customer engagement’.

18.2           The amended version of the Council Plan had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 40-57. 

18.3           The recommendation was proposed by the Chair of the Executive Committee and duly seconded.  With regard to the amendment to the third bullet point, a Member expressed the view that this was a significant change and he asked for an explanation of the thinking behind it.  The Chair of the Executive Committee advised that, whilst being financially independent was a general aspiration, in terms of being a commitment in the Council Plan, it was felt that this would be very difficult to achieve within the timeframe recognising the challenging circumstances of government financing. 

18.4           During the debate which ensued, a Member agreed with one of the first principles in the document under ‘Our Visions and Values 2016-20’ in relation to putting customers first; however, there was very little reference to customers throughout the remainder of the document.  He found this disappointing as he felt that there were a few occasions over the last 12 months where the Council had fallen below the standard which he, and the people he represented, considered to be acceptable.  In terms of refuse collection, he noted the impact of service changes in this area and recognised that Ubico had attended the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to explain the situation; notwithstanding this, refuse collection was a real problem that had not been properly resolved and there was nothing within the Council Plan to address what was a very important issue for residents.  He raised a similar concern in relation to grass cutting which was not being carried out as expected; whilst he understood there were reasons for this, he felt it was remiss for it not to be referenced within the Council Plan documents.  In recognition of these important services, he proposed an amendment to include two additional bullet points at the bottom of Page No. 5 of the Council Plan document under Customer-Focused Services: maintain an effective bin collection service; and, continue to cut green areas in a tidy manner and on a regular basis.  A Member agreed that the issues of bin collection and grass cutting were two of the topics consistently discussed by residents and he was more than happy to second this amendment. 

18.5           The Chief Executive explained that the Council Plan was a high level document which set the framework upon which service plans were based; service plans were taken to the Executive Committee for consideration and performance against the Council Plan was monitored on a quarterly basis by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  Members and Officers were well aware of the issues with the refuse collection service following the round changes in April 2017 and this had been, and would continue to be, closely monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  In respect of grass cutting, he advised that the Head of Community Services had sent an email to Members advising them of the latest position; an agreement had been reached with the County Council in relation to the frequency of grass cutting and Ubico had committed additional resources assist in improving the current position.  In terms of customer services, he pointed out that this was one of the Council’s values and a main priority within the Council Plan itself.  The Chair of the Executive Committee thanked the Member for raising these points and provided assurance that bin collections and grass cutting were things which the Council was committed to in respect of customer service.  Whilst they were extremely important to the authority - and he appreciated there had been specific problems in both areas - they related to the day-to-day management of the service.  As the Chief Executive had alluded, the Council Plan was a strategic document about shaping services for the future and was not an appropriate vehicle for trying to address these problems.  He hoped the email from the Head of Service had demonstrated the action that was being taken to manage the service delivery issues.

18.6           A Member drew attention to Page No. 9 of the Council Plan document which discussed the Council’s customer-focused priorities.  Two of the most important things for residents were that the bins were collected efficiently and that the grass was being cut.  In her eyes these were priorities and they should be included in a document which set out the Council’s priorities.  The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee reiterated that the Committee received quarterly performance reports and he considered this was the appropriate place to scrutinise these issues.  The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment confirmed that there had been problems but they were being dealt with.  He asked Members for their patience in resolving the issue with grass cutting and pointed out that the Council had the best waste collection service in the County and this was something which he was passionate about maintaining.  The seconder of the motion to amend the Council Plan took on board these points and agreed that, for the most part, the Council operated a very good bin collection service; however, he indicated that one of the objectives and actions on Page No. 9 of the Council Plan, under ‘Maintain and improve our culture of continuous service improvement’, was “to continue to proactively enforce against enviro-crimes including fly-tipping and dog fouling in accordance with the action plan”; as such, he could see no reason why the Council Plan should not make specific reference to bin collections and grass cutting.

18.7           A Member expressed the view that the Minutes of the meeting would reflect the discussion regarding these service areas and the problems that were being addressed and he was sure that the Chief Executive would raise this with the appropriate Officers; however, the Council Plan was intended to be a strategic document and, whilst he understood why the amendments had been proposed, he could foresee issues with the inclusion of a general statement around cutting green areas “in a tidy manner and on a regular basis” – i.e. what constituted a regular basis, did this mean grass would be cut when it was not growing etc.  He felt that these were discussions for another time and the Council Plan should be kept at a strategic level which set out the Council’s commitment to do its best for its customers.  A Member echoed these sentiments and agreed that these were operational issues.  He pointed out that the winter had been particularly harsh which had meant that grass cutting had been delayed but he was hopeful that the extra resources which had been put in place would ensure an increased level of activity over the forthcoming weeks.

18.8           The proposer of the motion to amend the Council Plan indicated that he had been very disappointed with some of the comments that had been made.  He was asking the Council to reaffirm its commitment to maintaining its refuse collection and grass cutting services which were two areas that were very important to residents.  Quite simply, they were priorities and the amendment would make it explicit that the Council recognised their value and importance to residents.  Upon being put to the vote, the proposal to amend the document was lost. 

18.9           With regard to the priority around delivering the Public Services Centre refurbishment project, a Member raised concern about the current condition of the site.  She felt that the signage was poor and members of the public were unsure how to access the building.  In her view it was not an acceptable standard and would not help to encourage customers to use the Public Services Centre or the Growth Hub.  The Chair of the Executive Committee reminded Members that the Public Services Centre was essentially a building site and he felt this comment was rather misplaced.  The coming weeks would see the opening up of the new reception area and the launch of the Growth Hub so work was progressing at pace.  The recommendation on the papers, duly proposed and seconded, was subsequently put to the vote and it was

RESOLVED          That the Council Plan refresh be ADOPTED.