Review Summer 2003
Introduction
In November 2001 the Council published its Medium Term Corporate Strategy. This
set out nine Objectives for the life of the Council and, under each of those, a range of individual
issues of importance which the Council wished to address.
Good progress has been made against the issues identified in the original Strategy
and reported through the Council's Best Value Performance Plan. However, what was largely absent from
the Strategy was a focus on a smaller number of higher priority issues and a clear indication of how
progress in achieving them could be measured. The Administration made a commitment to review the Strategy,
and wishes to use this review as an opportunity to focus on those issues that it considers to be a high
priority for further improvement or development.
The summary of priority issues shown in this review continues to relate to the original
Corporate Objectives set out in the Strategy published in 2001, although some of these have now been
brought together under the heading, Delivering Quality Services. This approach is intended to sharpen
the Council's focus on priorities and thereby enable local people, local communities, local organisations,
all members and all employees of the Council to be clear about what the Council wants to achieve.
A focus on priorities does not mean that the Council is not keeping its commitment
to improve the quality of all its services. However, no modern organisation can go about its business
without such a focus.
The Council is determined to work with Leicestershire people and I hope you find
this review of interest. The Council has consulted widely in the last year, for example through the
Leicestershire Citizens' Panel and through specific events involving young people. The results of the
consultation have shown that the highest local priorities are a reduction in crime and improvements
in community safety, the needs of children and young people, and improved public transport. These priorities
have been used to inform the County Council's recently approved budget, the development of the new Leicestershire
Community Strategy, and this review of the Council's own Medium Term Strategy.
I am always interested in what local people think of the County Council and the
work it is doing, either directly or through our many partners. Comments on this review and on any aspect
of the Council's performance can be sent to me at:
David Parsons
Leader of Leicestershire County Council
Leader of Leicestershire County Council
Leader's Office
Leicestershire County Council
County Hall
Glenfield
Leicestershire
LE3 8RA
E-mail: leader@leics.gov.uk
Leicestershire County Council
County Hall
Glenfield
Leicestershire
LE3 8RA
E-mail: leader@leics.gov.uk
The corporate objectives are:-
- Working with Partners to Deliver Quality and Responsive Services
- Achieving Excellence in Education and Learning
- Improving Social Care and Support for Vulnerable People
- Creating a Better Transport System
- Rising to the Challenge on Waste
- Seeking a Safer County
Under each of these Objectives
the focus of the original Medium Term Corporate Strategy has been refined to concentrate on a small
number of priority issues. These are categorised depending on their relative importance. A series of
statements of what we intend to achieve against these priorities is also shown. A mixture of performance
targets and specific actions will be supplemented in most cases by further subsidiary targets/actions.
This format will enable the Council to produce regular reports in future that monitor our progress.
The ways in which the Council will achieve these Objectives are set out in a range
of detailed service plans and strategies. The key activities from these plans are summarised each year
in our Best Value Performance Plan that enables our annual performance to be measured against a number
of indicators. The Performance Plan will be available elsewhere on this website, and in libraries.
The summary also takes account of two other current developments:
- the current consultation on the Leicestershire Community Strategy, which includes a series of proposed actions by the Council and its partners;
- the development of a Public Service Agreement (PSA) with the Government. The Council has developed, together with partners, a number of enhanced performance targets which it intends to achieve over the next three years. These targets reflect both national and local priorities and are spread across the Councils Corporate Objectives.
For further information on the Community
Strategy or the PSA contact the public relations unit at County Hall. Telephone 0116 305 6284 or email
pressoffice@leics.gov.uk
We will listen to the views of Leicestershire people and, by working with them,
ensure they enjoy the quality of life which they expect: to live in a County which is safe, healthy,
attractive and prosperous.
Achievement
To achieve our vision we will at all times:-
Provide community leadership for the County. We will ensure
that Leicestershire communities play an important part in identifying the problems that affect them
and help shape the solutions to those problems. We have taken the lead role in this task with the preparation
of a Community Strategy for the County covering a range of public services.
Deliver services that provide value for money. We will examine
a mix of public, private and voluntary sector options to provide effective, efficient and economical
services.
Support a highly motivated, well trained workforce to deliver clearly
defined service targets. We recognise the importance of equipping the County Council's workforce
with the skills to meet the challenges of delivering high quality services.
Investigate innovative solutions to create improvements to services.
We will ensure that, where it is appropriate, these solutions will take advantage of the benefits that
information technology can bring.
Support effective partnerships to achieve real improvements in the
way that services are delivered. We recognise that many other organisations deliver public services
to the people who live and work in Leicestershire. A combined and co-ordinated approach will be required
between all these agencies to tackle difficult issues concerning safer communities, health, education,
transport, the environment and sustainable development.
Promote equality. We will work to reduce disadvantages, discrimination,
and inequalities of opportunity, and promote diversity in terms of the people we serve, our workforce,
the partners we work with and the services we deliver.
- The people of Leicestershire should be satisfied that the quality of life in the County is improving and that Leicestershire is a good place to live. To do this we will work with other agencies to co-ordinate the effective delivery of high quality public services, and support this by ensuring that Local Strategic Partnerships in the County and the Districts are recognised as the key mechanism by which the delivery of efficient and effective services can be co-ordinated and improved.
- It is important that the people of Leicestershire can influence decisions affecting the services we provide, and express their views on those services. This will help us achieve our aim of promoting diversity in the services we deliver. In order to take their views properly into account we will continue to improve the co-ordination of consultation within the Council and with our partners. The development of the Countywide Community Strategy is a major step forward in this respect.
- It is essential that people are aware of the services available to them and can identify and access them easily. This is a significant issue in a largely rural County such as Leicestershire. In particular the development of new technologies provides an opportunity to examine how we can enable access to services in innovative ways. We have begun the Better Access to Better Services Initiative to explore, with our partners, how we can improve public access to services on a cost effective basis.
- Improving our services relies increasingly on working in partnership at all levels with a wide range of other organisations. We regard the development of partnership working as a major priority since it can have a significant impact on the quality of services received by the public.
- We believe that the young people of Leicestershire should be provided with a wide range of opportunities to develop their full potential, that channel their energies positively, and that problems are tackled which might limit their progress and future well-being.
- We realise that we are setting ourselves an ambitious target to reach level 5 of the Equalities Standard by 2007, but we feel that we should aspire to this standard.
- We will play our full part in the implementation of the recently approved Cultural Strategy for Leicestershire. The County Council provides a range of services, including museums and country parks, plus support for the arts, which are integral to the successful implementation of the Strategy. We will encourage people to participate in a wide range of cultural, sporting and leisure pursuits.
- We will improve the standard of our libraries by refurbishing sub standard buildings and developing different ways of accessing library and public information services as part of our Better Access to Better Services initiative.
- We will improve the attractiveness of Leicestershire as a place in which to live and work, whilst taking account of the needs of future generations. We do this by caring for our environment, for instance by building on the success of our SHIRE Grants scheme.
- We will promote the economic well-being of the County by working with our partners to attract new and sustainable employment opportunities and support local businesses. We are assisting in the development of a strong and diverse local economy through our role in the Leicester Shire Economic Partnership. This Partnership, with its ability to co-ordinate activity and attract significant funding to support regeneration and inward investment, is the major channel through which we and our partners can successfully focus our efforts in this direction.
| PRIORITY | WE WILL ACHIEVE |
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High Priorities Complete a countywide community strategy Progres the Better Access to Better Services initiative Improve the access to and quality of libraries
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A Strategy agreed by Council in July 2003. Top quartile for community satisfaction with the area as a place to live in the 2003/04 survey. Top quartile for resident satisfaction with ease of access to services by 2005/06. Building two new libraries by end 2004. Increased usage of libraries from 4420 to 5350 visits per 1000 population by 2005/06 and achieve public satisfaction rate of 85%.
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Other Priorities Promote County and District level Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) as key partnerships Work towards the Government's e-government target Meet the National Equality Standard
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PSA targets involving joint working. LSP commitments included in Council plans/actions. 100%, subject to Government making resources available. Level 5 of the Equality Standard by 2007.
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We will ensure that all Leicestershire children have the opportunity to achieve
excellence in education and learning. We are, despite the Government's inadequate funding of education
in Leicestershire, determined to maintain the rate of improvement in examination results to ensure that
pupils perform as well as the top quartile in our 'family' of authorities for national results at ages
7, 11, 14, and 16.
We will increase the numbers of pupils achieving good results throughout their education.
We will remove the barriers to opportunity to make sure that all children, including children looked
after by the County Council, have access to excellent educational opportunities. We have therefore identified
several priority service areas where we intend to increase the rate of improvement under a Public Service
Agreement (PSA) with the Government.
It is essential that schools make use of new technology wherever appropriate in
order to improve teaching opportunities and ensure greater achievements by pupils.
Our Education Authority was inspected by OFSTED in 2003. The Inspection Report highlighted
many strengths but also identified some areas for improvement. We need to develop a more robust strategy
to support pupils with special educational needs, particularly children with challenging behaviour.
We need to review spending patterns in the light of priorities identified by the County Council, the
recommendations of the OFSTED Report, and national requirements. We will address these areas as a matter
of urgency, particularly the unfair government grant system that negatively affects Leicestershire schoolchildren.
We are determined to provide lifelong learning opportunities to all residents of
the County. As part of this we will implement the outcomes of the recent review of Youth & Community
Education in association with the Leicestershire Learning & Skills Council and Leicester Shire Connexions
Service. This will improve the delivery of these services by increasing participation and improved management.
Our aim is to provide a service that can respond more flexibly to the needs of its users and external
partnership requirements.
We have provided significant resources recently to move towards a common admission
date for young children starting school. Taking account of Government guidance, and the advice of the
Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership, we will produce a new strategy to continue this development
that recognises private sector provision, as well as new opportunities for schools.
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PRIORITY
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WE WILL ACHIEVE
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High Priorities INCREASE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT TO TOP QUARTILE AT ALL FOUR KEY STAGES ADDRESS ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE OFSTED INSPECTION
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5 GCSE passes at A-C grades for 60% of pupils by 2004. At key stage 2, 87% of pupils to have reached level 4 in English and 86% in Mathematics by 2004. Also 37% of pupils to have reached Level 5 in English and 36% in Mathematics by 2004. An Action Plan by August 2003 to address the areas for improvement identified in the OFSTED report. Consultation in Autumn 2003 on a revision of the SEN Development Plan.
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PSA Priorities INCREASE NO. OF PUPILS OBTAINING 5 GCSEs at A-C GRADES IMPROVE ACHIEVEMENT OF PUPILS AT at LEVEL 5 KEY STAGE 2 IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF PUPILS IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN (LAC) |
An increase in the percentage of pupils obtaining 5 GCSEs at A-C grades from 53.2% currently to 63% by Summer 2005. An increase in the percentage of pupils achieving Level 5 in English from 30% to 39% and in Maths from 29% to 38% by Summer 2005. An increase from 78% to 86% in pupils obtaining their personal targets by Summer 2006. For Secondary age children: an increase in the % of young people going into education, training or employment from 50% to 80% by 2005/06. A reduction in school absences from 21% to 9%.
For Primary age children: improvement in their educational achievement at Key Stage 2. |
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Other Priorities Move towards Common Admission Date Increase use of ICT to transform teaching and learning Improve Youth and Community Education delivery by implementing the outcomes of the review
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A strategy by September 2003 for phased implementation across the County within available resources. Level 5 for 78% and Level 6 for 32% for pupils at Key Stage 3 in 2003. Level 4 for 70% and Level 5 for 25% of pupils at Key Stage 2 in 2004. Detailed targets to be agreed with the Learning and Skills Council, Connexions and DfES.
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Key Stages
One: pupils aged 4 to 7, Two: pupils aged 7 to 11, Three: pupils aged 11 to 14, Four: pupils aged 14 to 16.
One: pupils aged 4 to 7, Two: pupils aged 7 to 11, Three: pupils aged 11 to 14, Four: pupils aged 14 to 16.
Assessment Levels
Level 4: The level that the majority of pupils should reach in English and Mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2.
Level 5: The level that the majority of pupils should reach in English and Mathematics by the end of Key Stage 3.
Some able pupils will reach this level by the end of Key Stage 2.
Level 4: The level that the majority of pupils should reach in English and Mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2.
Level 5: The level that the majority of pupils should reach in English and Mathematics by the end of Key Stage 3.
Some able pupils will reach this level by the end of Key Stage 2.
- It is important for children and young people looked after by the County Council to be provided with care in a stable, good quality environment. We are redeveloping our community home provision to meet these demands.
- As corporate parents we will, wherever possible, provide care for looked after children and young people in a family setting that best meets their needs. We have a well developed foster care and adoption service and intend to continue improving its quality and range. We are also reviewing our services to children in need of protection in the light of the Government's response to Lord Laming's report on the death of Victoria Climbie.
- Older and disabled people deserve to live independently at home or to be supported in the community for as long as possible. We will develop the necessary preventative and rehabilitation services that will allow these options to be available as widely as possible.
- We will continue to improve our home care services so that older and disabled people can live as independently as possible.
- We have agreed a strategy for residential care for older people aimed at ensuring high quality care whether it is provided by the independent sector or the County Council. We can best achieve this by retaining seven of our current homes 'in house' and transferring seven to independent sector providers. This approach will allow for the refurbishment of homes where required, and enable us to work more closely with the NHS, housing agencies and independent sector providers to deliver a wider range of more integrated services for the benefit of older people and their carers.
- As the responsible administering authority for the Government's Supporting People Programme we will play our part in improving the housing related support services offered to vulnerable people.
- We can provide services more effectively by working closely with our partners in the NHS. We will pursue further integration of services in order to achieve this. In the first instance we will provide an integrated mental health service with the NHS that will better co-ordinate social and health care services for people and their carers.
- We will modernise and develop our services for people with learning disabilities by implementing the outcomes of the Council's recent review. We will take account of the views of the Learning Disabilities Partnership Board, service users and carers. Services will be based on individual person centred plans. In 2003 we will also begin a phased programme of modernising our residential, day and respite facilities on an area basis across the County.
- We will increase the employment opportunities for people with disabilities by working with our partners as part of our PSA agreement with the Government.
We have recently completed a major review of highway management services across
the County. Arising from the review we will continue to make changes in the way we deliver these services,
in order to improve the efficiency and consistency of our operations, and to make the services more
responsive to customer needs by improving public information and access.
We will increase the use of, and satisfaction with, bus transport in the County
by improving its quality and making it more accessible to potential passengers. This will include provision
of an hourly bus service within reach of 95% of the population, improving interchange, passenger information
and service operating standards, and providing more community focussed services to small rural villages.
We will continue to assess the effectiveness of these improvements.
Travelling on Leicestershire roads should be made as safe as possible. We have developed
a PSA to reduce the number of killed and seriously injured road casualties to improve further on Government
targets.
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PRIORITY
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WE WILL ACHIEVE
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High Priorities IMPROVE HIGHWAY SERVICES IMPROVE AVAILABILITY OF BUS SERVICES
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Publish a Highway Charter by autumn 2003. Improved information about planned road works, and improved arrangements for customers to contact the service, such that average public satisfaction with these aspects of the service increases from 36% satisfied in 2001 to at least 55% satisfied by 2006. Halt the deterioration in the condition of main roads by 2004 and therafter work to remove the backlog of worn-out carriageway by 2010. Provide an hourly daytime bus service to 95% of Leicestershire people by spring 2004. Increase the percentage of users satisfied with local bus service quality from 65% in 2001 to 70% by 2006.
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| PSA Priority | A reduction of 28% by 2005/06 in the numbers killed or seriously injured, compared with the 1994-98 average, to 235 on County roads and 42 on trunk roads. |
We need to ensure that the volume of waste sent to landfill is substantially reduced
in a manner which is both cost-effective and minimises environmental impacts. This will be achieved
by a combination of waste minimisation, increased composting and recycling and raising public awareness.
We will do this in partnership with District Councils through implementation of the adopted Leicestershire
Household Waste Management Strategy.
Improvement of waste management facilities needs to be undertaken in order to increase
the levels of recycling and composting within the County and meet statutory targets. We have agreed
a PSA target to achieve even better performance over national targets.
The County will work in partnership with the District Councils to raise public awareness
of waste issues and the importance of waste reduction in order to slow the rate of future waste growth.
The partnership will develop and implement waste minimisation initiatives to reduce waste arisings.
| PRIORITY | WE WILL ACHIEVE |
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High Priority To provide a Countywide integrated waste management service
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PSA Priority INCREASE RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING OF WASTE
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In partnership with District Councils, additional recycling and composting above statutory targets to achieve around 35% by 2005/06, an overall increase in the order of 52% on current levels.
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We have reached agreement with the Government, as part of our PSA, to address a
number of specific issues of concern as shown in the table opposite. We will only achieve these targets
by working in close co-operation with our partners in other agencies.
- Leicestershire people should feel safe at home and safe within their local communities.
- We will play our part in delivering priorities identified in Local Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategies and will consider the outcomes of recent reviews. We will also seek to build on the success of the multi-agency Youth Offending Service and the Drug (and Alcohol) Action Team.
- We have reached agreement, as part of our PSA, to address a number of issues of concern as shown in the table below. We will only achieve these targets by working in close co-operation with our partners in other agencies.
- We will liaise with the Constabulary and the Police Authority in seeking to implement jointly shared priorities.
- We recognise that meeting the needs of young people can, in many instances, lead to residents feeling safer in their communities. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that policy development and service provision is closely linked.
- We are committed to promoting community and personal safety within our organisation and the County generally, as well as consumer safety and emergency management.
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PRIORITY
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WE WILL ACHIEVE
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High Priority PROGRESS PARTNERSHIP WORKING TO REDUCE AND THE FEAR OF CRIME IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES
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Produce, by Autumn 2003, a strategy to improve our contribution to agreed priorities in local crime and disorder and other community safety strategies.
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PSA Priorities INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DRUG USERS COMPLETING TREATMENT PROGRAMMES REDUCE VEHICLE CRIME REDUCE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IMPROVE BASIC SKILLS OF YOUNG PEOPLE RECEIVING COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
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Increase the number of drug users in treatment programmes from 972 to 1150 by 2005/06. Involvement of 6 G.P.s in treating drug users by 2005/06. Reduce car crime by 20% from current levels by 2005/06. Increase reporting of the number of incidents from 4294 to 4852 by 2005/06. More support for victims to reduce the repeat victimisation rate from 2056 to 1612 by 2005/06. Delivery of a new programme so that 85% of young people with poor basic skills go into, or are working towards, full time education, training or employment by summer 2006.
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If the services we deliver to the public of Leicestershire are going to continue
to improve we need to take a number of steps to improve both our internal management arrangements, and
our working arrangements with partners. This will improve efficiency and increase capacity to provide
better services. The speed at which we can achieve our priorities will also be dictated by the availability
of financial resources.
The overall aim of all the improvements identified in this Strategy is to increase
public satisfaction with Council services.
We have identified a number of areas where we believe we can improve our cost effectiveness
and will address these as part of our PSA agreement with the Government.
Our employees are a major resource and we are implementing a human resource strategy
in order to make the best use of their experience and abilities and to develop their full potential.
We are making better use of our resources by improving our service and financial
planning processes, by closely monitoring what is working, and what needs to be corrected.
Leicestershire is poorly funded by the Government in comparison with other similar
authorities. We will continue to pursue this issue vigorously, particular in relation to the funding
of schools.
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PRIORITY
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WE WILL ACHIEVE
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High Priority IMPROVE PUBLIC SATISFACTION WITH COUNCIL SERVICES
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Top quartile in 2003/04 for satisfaction with services
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(PSA) Priorities IMPROVE EFFECTIVENESS OF SERVICE DELIVERY
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Improvements in our cost effectiveness on a range of services giving 7.5% improvement overall by 2005/06.
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Other Priorities Make continuing use of a Citizens' Panel Develop Medium Term Financial Planning Improve Service Planning and Performance Management Implement a Human Resource Strategy
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Top quartile in 2003/04 for adults surveyed who feel they can influence decisions affecting their area. The first Medium Term Financial Plan to February 2004 Council. Top quartile on performance indicators in priority service areas. All key building blocks established in Departments by April 2004. Investors in People status across services by March 2005.
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If you require information contained in this leaflet in another version eg large
print, Braille, tape or an alternative language please call 0116 305 6242, Minicom 0116 3056870 or email
pressoffice@leics.gov.uk.
Page Last Updated: 31 July 2003
