Agenda item

That the Annual Report of progress during the first year of the Five Year Plan, attached as Appendix ‘A’ to the report, be approved.

A report was considered on the Five Year Plan Annual Report that set out progress made during the first year of the plan.  Approval was sought to recommend the Annual Report, as set out at Appendix A to the report, to Council on 19^th April 2016.

The Five Year Plan had been introduced in January 2015 and set a vision and series of outcomes against which the Council would prioritise its resources.  The Plan would be reviewed annually and an Annual Report would be produced to summarise progress as it was recognised that it was important to demonstrate what had been achieved against the vision and each of the eight outcomes.  A combination of case studies and performance indicators had therefore been used, which built upon the detailed quarterly updates to the Cabinet and Overview & Scrutiny Committee including the Corporate Balanced Scorecard.

(Councillor Sharif joined the meeting)

Commissioners welcomed the Annual Report which it was felt would be a useful tool to help explain the journey the Council was on in seeking to improve the lives of people in Slough at a time of significant financial pressures.  The report was concise and written in plain English to ensure it was accessible.  It highlighted very substantive and wide ranging activity undertaken such as 1,000 more pupils provided with a school place and the inspection of 1,600 private rented properties.  Members emphasised that the Plan needed to keep moving forward with targets and actions set to deal with evolving and emerging issues.

The Cabinet agreed to recommended the Annual Report to Council on 19^th April 2016 and also placed on record their thanks to both staff and service users for their role in delivering the many achievements detailed in the report.

Recommended –  That the Annual Report of progress during the first year of the Five Year Plan, attached as Appendix ‘A’ to the report, be approved.