Issue - meetings

Report ACEX001 of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for HR and Cultural Services

(Enclosed)

The Chairman referred to the preparatory work he had undertaken for this meeting and noted he was mindful of the personnel budget and the importance of providing a clear direction of delivery for officers.  Members would be provided with an opportunity to seek clarification on the draft Corporate Strategy at the end of the presentation.  The Chief Executive was invited to start the presentation.

The Chief Executive acknowledged that a number of Members had already seen the presentation at different meetings, but this meeting was now part of the formal process. Comments and recommendations would be included in the reports to Cabinet and Council in May. 

The presentation would provide greater context to the draft Corporate Strategy proposals. Also included was the feedback received from staff who had attended a number of workshop sessions held to ascertain staff views on the organisation as it was today and what type of organisation they wanted to work in.

Reference was made to the diversity of the District and the range of services the Council had to provide.  The Chief Executive had undertaken a number of visits to parish councils and wards to gain a better understanding of the issues faced in the District.

The Draft Corporate Strategy was designed to help officers identify what Councillors had to do to deliver their aspirations and provide direction on how this could be facilitated.

Reference was made to the main five components of the Strategy and how the components had been set out in a house building block formation to provide a better understanding of the steps required.

Component one was at the top of the building block and referred to the identification of the “political vision” – (This referred to Councillor’s ambitions for the District). Areas categorised in this component were the ambitions of Members, the ability for the Council to create opportunities for the District, the need to modernise in order to compete and make an impact both inside and outside the District.

Component two was the Draft Corporate Strategy which had been developed in recognition of the need to enable an appropriate response to facilitate Members ambitions and provide officers with direction on how to deliver them. The categories for this component were outlined as recognition and realisation of the political ambition, being able to achieve the outcomes, aligning bureaucracy and providing the links to the community in respect of work the Council did.

Component three was the foundation stage (the base of the building) and would include a series of work programmes designed to help facilitate and identify what would be required to deliver Members aims. Some programmes were already in place but more would be required.

Component four was the identification of a number of behaviours that would enable the delivery of Member’s ambitions. Reference was made to a central aspect of the Corporate Strategy which was for officers to look at what required changing in order to deliver Member’s ambitions and how this could be achieved. The identified behaviours  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3