Agenda item

That the Corporate Plan 2014/15, as set out in Appendix A, be approved, subject to incorporation of the amendments from Overview & Scrutiny in relation to Children’s Social Care.

The Head of Strategic Policy & Communications introduced a report seeking approval to Recommend the draft Corporate Plan 2014/15 to Council.

Members noted that the six operational priorities were consistent with the previous year’s plan and included improving customer experience; developing new ways of working; promoting economic growth and protecting the council’s finances.  The plan set out the most important changes for the coming year, which were considered to be improving Children’s Social Care; delivering the Council’s budget for 2014/15 and identifying further required savings; and implementing Fit for the Future to ensure that all staff had the skills to meet the challenges ahead.

The Cabinet were informed that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee had considered the plan on 8^th April 2014 and had welcomed the concise and focused plan.  They had recommended an amendment to page 18 – children’s social care to strengthen this section:

“Encourage partners to improve frontline inter-agency working and communication in order to risk assess and prioritise highly all referrals about children at risk in order to keep them safe.”

The Cabinet considered a number of aspects of the plan before agreeing to recommend the Corporate Plan to Council, including the amendment from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Recommended –  That the Corporate Plan 2014/15, as set out in Appendix A, be approved, subject to incorporation of the amendment from Overview & Scrutiny in relation to Children’s Social Care.