North Yorkshire Council

 

Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

2 December 2024

 

Update on the development of the Council Plan 2025-29

 

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement

 

 

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

 

1.1       To update Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the progress of the development of the Council Plan 2025-29.  

 

 

2.0       BACKGROUND

 

2.1       The Council Plan covers a 4-year period and is refreshed on an annual basis. The next iteration of the plan, covering 2025 -2029 will require approval by full Council on 19 February 2025 (alongside the Medium-Term Financial Strategy), having been considered by Executive (on 21 January 2025).  

 

2.2       The existing plan is based on what was developed prior to vesting day. As such, it aimed to capture the scope of the work of the new Council and outline work underway. However, it was unable fully reflect the strategic direction or prioritisation of activity for the coming years. The ambition for the next plan is, therefore, to give a clear sense of the emerging strategic direction identified over the past two years. The Council Plan 2025-29 therefore represents a substantial rewrite, to reflect this new context.

 

2.3      The purpose of the plan is to provide:

·         A clear sense of direction and priority for the council, explaining the key areas of change over the coming four years.

·         Clear, smart objectives to support accountability of delivery against the priorities, underpinned by service planning and revised performance reporting arrangements. 

·         A clear set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which align to the outcomes the plan seeks to achieve.

 

2.4       The plan will continue to be structured around outcome areas, represented by the following headline ambitions, outlined further in Appendix A. The wording may be refined as the plan is developed to ensure it reflects the priority activities being identified:

·                     Thriving places and empowered local communities.

·                     Healthy, safe, and resilient communities

·                     Sustainable environment and connected places.

·                     People accessing opportunity.

 

2.5      In addition, the organisational considerations (and Central Services functions) will be covered in a cross-cutting “The Way we Work” section to outline the council’s approach, including:

·         Customer principles (Common Customer Approach)

·         Locality approach (Be locally responsive and shape services to meet local need)

·         Culture and values (I ACT Values)

·         Transformation Strategy

·         Service Delivery (Focus on service excellence, early intervention, prevention and continuous improvement)

 

2.6       Each ambition will have a number of priority actions (SMART objectives) to work towards, and progress will be measured through KPI’s in the Quarterly Performance Report. These priority actions will be co-designed with directorates, and lead officers identified to be a key contact and provide progress updates. Once approved, directorates will be responsible for delivering on their assigned priority actions.

 

2.7      The plan will reference:

·         The first two years of North Yorkshire Council including key achievements.

·         The ongoing transformation programme including alignment to the Target Operating Model (TOM).

·         The alignment of the Council Plan with the Performance Management Framework.

·         New strategies and plans that have been developed since Vesting Day.

·         Locality working including the Community Partnerships pilots.

·         The developing relationship with York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

 

3.0       NEXT STEPS

 

3.1       As per last year, it is proposed a full draft of the Council Plan will be emailed to all members of the Council prior to Christmas, when there will be an opportunity to comment further on the detail before it is taken to Executive and Full Council.

 

 

 

Rachel Joyce

Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement

 

Report Author – Alaina Kitching, Strategy and Performance Manager

 

Background Papers: None

 

Appendices:

Appendix A – Council Plan Outcome Areas

 

Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A
Please note this is not an extensive list of all service areas that will feature in the plan. Diagram for illustrative purposes only.