This Plan sets out the major actions that the County Council intends to take in 2005/06 in order to improve services to the public and the detailed targets that we intend to achieve in order to demonstrate those improvements. As such it meets the current requirements of the Government to produce an annual Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP).

The Plan is in two parts. Part One identifies the major issues which Departments intend to address in 2005/06. Part Two sets out our past performance and future targets against a range of Performance Indicators.

The Plan aims to provide a useful summary of the Councils’ Plans for elected Members, council officers and interested members of the public. It is supported by more detailed plans for each service area and these are available on the Council’s intranet, on our internet site, or in hard copy from the Department concerned.

If you have any comments or queries on the content of this Annual Plan please contact David Armstrong, Resources Department, Leicestershire County Council, Glenfield, Leics. LE3 8RB.  Telephone (0116) 2657605. Fax  (0116) 2657833 or e-mail darmstrong@leics.gov.uk

In 2003 a Medium Term Corporate Strategy was agreed for the life of the Council. Following the May 2005 elections, a new Medium Term Corporate Strategy will be developed in time to inform service planning for 2006 onwards.

This Plan, however, is based on the current Corporate Objectives of the Council which are:-

In December each year the Audit Commission uses evidence gathered from  various sources, such as service inspections and  external auditors’ reports, to  judge the Council’s performance overall. In December 2004 Leicestershire achieved the highest possible assessment as an ”Excellent” council. This rating required consistently high performance across all services and is a tribute to the efforts of employees across the Council in delivering high quality services.

However we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Maintaining this standard in future will require hard work to continue improving the services we deliver in the face of constant new challenges. Making significant progress during 2005/06 on the range of issues identified in this Plan will be a big step in the right direction.