Agenda item

Five Year Plan 2017-2021

Minutes:

The Head of Policy, Partnerships & Programmes introduced a report that sought the Committee’s comments on the draft Five Year Plan 2017-2021 prior to it being submitted to Cabinet on 23rd January 2017.

 

The Plan was reviewed annually and the draft had been developed with Commissioners to reflect their priority to ‘put people first’.  Members were informed that the priority outcomes, detailed in paragraph 5.5 of the report, had been streamlined from eight to five by combining areas of overlap or duplication.  There would be a new format for performance reporting, focused on a high level set of measures to more clearly demonstrate the progress being made on each of the outcomes.  Members’ views were sought on the priorities, reporting framework and the proposed allocation of the revised outcomes across the Committee and three Panels.

 

Members discussed community engagement and asked what more would be done to strengthen partnership working.  It was noted that improved engagement had been identified by the Council leadership and Slough Wellbeing Board as a key issue and work was underway with Council departments, external partners, community organisations and others to address shared priorities.  The summary outcome plans in section 5 of the draft set out the partners expected to contribute to each outcome.

 

Whilst recognising that the document was a high level strategic plan, Members highlighted a number of areas where further detail and clarity could be provided such as the actions being taken on homelessness and children with Special Educational Needs.  The Committee emphasised the importance of developing a clear set of Key Performance Indicators to demonstrate how each outcome would be achieved and how progress would be measured.  The Plan also needed to be realistic, demonstrate the progress made to date and be Slough focused.  The final plan would include more examples and case studies to provide further clarity on these issues.  Resources would be primarily allocated to achieve the outcomes in the plan and it was therefore crucial to ensure the strategic priorities were properly aligned to the Council’s budget strategy.

 

The proposed allocation of outcomes between the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Panels was considered and agreed as follows:

 

  Overview & Scrutiny Committee

·  Slough will be an attractive place where people choose to live, work and visit.

·  Slough will attract, retain and grow businesses and investment to provide jobs and opportunities for our residents.

 

Neighbourhoods & Community Services Scrutiny Panel

·  Our residents will have access to good quality homes.

 

Health Scrutiny Panel

·  Our people will become healthier and will manage their own health, care and support needs.

 

Education & Children’s Services Scrutiny Panel

·  Our children and young people will have the best start in life and opportunities to give them positive lives.

 

The Committee welcomed the opportunity to shape and influence the plan at a draft stage prior to it being considered by Cabinet and full Council in January 2017 and requested that the comments made during the discussion be reflected in the next draft of the plan.

 

Resolved – 

 

(a)  That details of the draft Five Year Plan 2017-2021 be noted.

 

(b)  That the allocation of outcomes across the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Panels be agreed as set out in paragraph 5.11 of the report.

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