Agenda item

That the refresh of the Five Year Plan, as at Appendix ‘A’ to the report, be agreed.

The Cabinet considered a report on the refresh of the Five Year Plan which set out the focus of the Council’s work over the next five years.  The plan had been in place for a year and it had therefore been a ‘light touch’ refresh focused on ensuring the actions being taken under the eight outcomes remained the right ones and that forward planning was aligned with the budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy.  The eight outcomes had not been changed.  The refresh included a summary of the types of success measures used to track progress and Commissioners agreed that these were crucial to enable the council to communicate with residents what was being achieved and why actions were being taken.

The plan was central to setting out the strategic narrative for the Council and prioritising resources and would be reviewed annually.  An Annual Report would be produced and be considered by the Cabinet in March and it was proposed that a more extensive refresh of the plan be undertaken in the autumn, which would involve Members.  The Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Panels were involved in providing challenge to the progress made against the eight outcomes.  Commissioners asked that the Annual Report be easy to read, accessible and supported by evidence to demonstrate the progress made for example in tackling anti-social behaviour.  It was responded that a combination of quantitative and qualitative information and case studies would be used.  Commissioners requested that they see a draft version before publication and it was suggested communicating the Annual Report in a modern, interactive way including the use of digital technology.  It was considered important to design a format which clearly showed progress year by year when future reports were published.

The Cabinet agreed to recommend the refreshed Five Year Plan to full Council on 26^th January 2016.

Recommended –  That the refresh of the Five Year Plan, as at Appendix ‘A’ to the report, be agreed.