SECTION 2 - AN OVERVIEW OF THE COUNCIL'S PERFORMANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE COMMUNITY OF HAMPSHIRE

Context

Hampshire and its county

Hampshire County Council is a large, dynamic and successful authority. The county of Hampshire is also large, dynamic and successful but this overall appearance of affluence masks real problems of relative deprivation and vulnerable communities.

Hampshire is the third largest shire county with a population of 1.25m residents, over 500,000 households and covering 3680km². It is a diverse county with a mix of significant urban and extensive rural areas. Although less than 10% of the county is urban, 87% of the population live in urban areas with major settlements at, Aldershot, Andover, Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Fareham, Farnborough, Gosport, Havant and Winchester. 90% of the county is classified as rural with significant areas which are the subject of national and international environmental designations, including the proposed new National Parks for the New Forest and South Downs. Although not within the administrative area of the County Council, the relationship between the port cities of Southampton and Portsmouth and the rest of the county has a significant effect on transport connections, employment and travel to work issues, housing and economic needs.

Population

Overall population is projected to grow between 1.2% and 4% by 2011¹. The number of households is also expected to grow by between 7.5% and 10.2% over the same period. The age profile of the population is similar to the national average, but whereas most of the younger age groups are expected to decline, a growth of 20.9% is expected in the over 85 age group. There is a relatively low minority ethnic population at 1.3%, compared to the national average of 7.1%.

Pressures for development arise from the predicted growth in the number of households and associated activities, including traffic congestion, and the aim is to maximise the use of urban areas to meet these, minimising the use of green fields. There are also increasing pressures on the match between the location of school pupils and the provision of school places. The continuing growth in the older population also leads to higher demand for social services.

Overall the county is relatively prosperous with house prices higher than the average for the rest of the South East and 85% of housing in the private sector. Earnings are generally slightly higher than the national average, with a GDP of £13,200 per head, and unemployment levels are low at 1.4%. This produces difficulties for recruitment and retention for all levels of staff and pressure for affordable housing. This affluence, however, masks significant areas and groups of people within the county that are more vulnerable. Based on the 2000 Index of Multiple Deprivation, the 10% most deprived wards in Hampshire all fall within the worst 40% nationally and 5 of the 10 most deprived wards are within the worst 20% nationally. These are areas such as Gosport and Havant in the south of the county and Aldershot in the north, which tend to have lower earnings levels and higher unemployment, typically 2.3% and 3.2 % in Gosport and Havant respectively.

As well as areas of urban deprivation, the county's extensive rural areas also bring pressures in terms of social exclusion, transport, affordable housing, maintaining the rich diversity of the county and the future of agriculture.

Transport

Hampshire has 3 motorways - M3, A3(M) and M27 - and a road network of some 8600km. There are 370km of railway line, 48 railway stations, 2 thriving airports and designated Trans European links (road and rail). The county occupies a strategically important location on the south coast by providing one of the main gateways to mainland Europe via the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth. The influence of these ports is significant for the pressure on the road and rail networks and the proposal to develop the port of Southampton at Dibden Bay has further implications for these networks and for environmental issues. Transport issues in the north of the county are dominated by the Blackwater Valley sub-region and its association with London and Heathrow.

The county is experiencing the effect of higher than average traffic growth , higher than average car ownership and increasing journey lengths. The spiralling problem of road traffic congestion coupled with inadequacies in the passenger transport system is a threat to economic competitiveness, health and quality of life and underlines the need for a sustainable approach to transport issues.

These pressures have led to the need for innovative, integrated solutions such as the South Hampshire Rapid Transit System in the south of the county, a new partnership approach to bus and rail services, promotion of alternative travel modes such as cycling and walking, action to reduce casualties and new methods of engaging the community in developing transport schemes and policies.

Economy

The Hampshire economy generally is worth some £16.3bn which makes it the second largest shire economy in the country behind only Surrey. There are significant differences within the county with average earnings higher in the north and unemployment higher in the south. The north of the county is influenced by its proximity to London and the effect of commuting. The overall GDP per head reflects the resident population rather than the number of jobs in the area and 33% and 35% of jobs in Portsmouth and Southampton respectively are filled by Hampshire residents. Hampshire also has strong links with the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence which, as well as having significant land holdings in the county, is also a major employer. This has led to pressures on education planning for service families who move home frequently.

A recent survey of businesses showed that 90% considered Hampshire to be a good location for business with concerns over high property and labour costs and problems associated with the high cost of living in the county including recruitment. Skill shortages and a perceived lack of community links were also raised.

Public opinion

Public opinion research carried out over the last 3 years has highlighted issues of concern to local residents and communities. Public opinion is tracked every three years through a residents survey and the recently established Citizens' Panel also looks at community issues in preparation for the development of a community strategy. The 2000 Best Value User Satisfaction survey showed a very high level of satisfaction for all key BVPIs and an overall satisfaction level of 73%. The analysis suggests however that the challenge will be to maintain this high level of performance in the medium term and to introduce robust targets to increase performance.

The survey demonstrated that in spending terms the priorities were transport, services for older people, pavement and road maintenance and facilities for young people, should more resources become available. There was also a clear emphasis on the need to communicate with the public what is being done. Additional research, aimed at specific groups in the community, particularly residents in the traditionally `hard to reach' groups - ethnic minorities, physically disadvantaged, homeless and socially excluded young people and older people, emphasised that the lack of facilities for young people and poor public transport provision further excludes minority groups from opportunities for work and social contacts.

The 1999 MORI residents' survey showed high levels of satisfaction with services such as libraries, primary and secondary schools, recycling, adult education, street lighting, footpaths and community centres. Services rated as of high importance but with lower levels of satisfaction were facilities for young people, including dealing with young offenders, local bus services, services for older people and disabled and road and pavement maintenance. Recent results from the council's Citizens' Panel, carried out in November 2001, again indicate that public transport, traffic and facilities for young people are priority areas and the results provide useful information for community strategy development highlighting crime, health and hospital services and affordability of housing as key issues for residents.

Political context

Hampshire is a two tier area for local government and has very active Parish and Town councils in most areas. There are 11 District Councils of which 6 are Conservative controlled, 2 Liberal Democrat and 3 have no overall control or a coalition. 7 Hampshire districts are due to hold elections in May 2002, partly due to boundary changes. Also within the geographical area of Hampshire are the Unitary cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, both with minority Labour administrations, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is a combined authority for Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth and Hampshire Constabulary which covers the two cities and the Isle of Wight as well as Hampshire. Good working links have been developed with the district and unitary authorities through the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Local Government Association and with the parish and town councils through the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils, although inevitably some district councils have expressed concern over specific issues. This working relationship has been held up as an example of best practice by the Government Office for the South East for managing a complex political structure and reflecting the geographical remit of other public sector bodies such as health, particularly in relation to the development of community strategies and the Supporting People initiative. This network has also helped in the development of Local Strategic Partnerships and the preparation of community strategies. The regional context is also becoming ever more important.

Hampshire County Council has 74 elected members following the election in 2001 when voting turnout was 62.4%. 35 of these members are also elected to district councils in Hampshire. The County Council is Conservative controlled and the breakdown is Conservative 46, Liberal Democrat 19 and Labour 9. The County Council introduced a Cabinet with Leader structure in September 2001 with 9 Cabinet members covering the main services including Community Development and Economic Development. There are 5 Policy Review Committees of 24 members with the role of policy development, scrutiny and Best Value. The County Council also has a Standards Committee and a Regulatory Committee.

Organisation

The County Council's services are provided by 9 main departments: Social Services; Education; Environment (including Planning and Surveyors); Recreation and Heritage; Property, Business and Regulatory Services; Personnel & Training, Treasurer and Chief Executive. There is a Corporate Management Team, led by the Chief Executive and comprising the 8 Chief Officers for the main services. The County Council has strong international links and runs an office in Brussels, alongside the SEEDA European Office, in partnership with West Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

The County Council's budgeted gross revenue spending in 2002/03 amounts to nearly £1.2bn together with planned 3 year capital spending programme of around £0.5bn. It employs nearly 33,000 people, including part time staff, most of whom are front line staff. The County Council is a relatively low spending authority, with an SSA per head in the lower quartile of county councils, its actual spending level in excess of SSA being just outside the lower quartile and its council tax in the lower quartile in 2002/03. This is despite exceptional waste management budget pressures from having entered into a private contract for the delivery of a modern integrated infrastructure in advance of the PFI initiative and which is, therefore, unsupported by government. This has resulted in spending on EPCS services being more than 70% above SSA. The County Council's budget strategy balances service needs against national and local priorities at the same time as being conscious of the ability of council tax payers to absorb large increases, especially pensioners and those on low incomes.

Response

Operating in this context, the County Council has a clear vision of its leadership role in relation to longer term issues such as the future for young people, climate change, natural resource management, traffic congestion, and recognises its role, along with the public and other agencies, in trying to influence lifestyle change. This vision has been shared with other local authorities, helping to create an integrated approach to the development of a community strategy for Hampshire.

Looking at the medium and shorter term, the Cabinet and the Corporate Management Team have identified key themes and actions they wish to achieve over the course of the administration in response to the Vision and based on the extensive programme of research and in relation to the emerging Community Strategy. These form the basis for the County Council `s Corporate Strategy and the framework for the recently signed Public Service Agreement. These main themes are: Maximising life opportunities, Achieving economic prosperity, Building strong and safe communities, Stewardship of the environment and Improving services and supporting staff.

The County Council has a Corporate Sustainable Development Strategy to highlight issues of social inclusion, community engagement, protection and enhancement of the built and natural environment and management of natural resources. There is also an IEG statement setting out the commitment to improving access to services and to give a stronger focus on the needs, aspirations and choices of residents.

The County Council's PSA is a commitment to give priority to providing life opportunities for vulnerable groups and raising the quality of life and access to services across the county. In particular providing support to children and their families and those looked after by the Council, better opportunities for young people, particularly in areas of deprivation, to fulfil their potential and become active citizens and real choices for older people.

In order to deliver these commitments, the development of the County Council's leadership role is a priority. Building capacity through partnerships and by using its size as an asset, being prepared to take calculated risks, making best use of innovation and the mixed economy approach to service delivery are key building blocks that along with a competent and motivated workforce form an integrated framework for managing change.

The County Council has a good track record of partnership working both at the strategic level and across all services, both through existing inter-agency working and the development of new partnerships, especially integrated working with health. The added value of these partnerships, especially the ability to maximise the use of resources from other sources to achieve real improvements in delivery, is a key part of the County Council's strategy.

What is the Council trying to achieve?

Mission

At the heart of the council's operations is its mission to ensure the best possible public services for the community of Hampshire at the lowest possible cost.

A comprehensive set of organisational values underpin the development of policies and plans and foster pride in representing and working for Hampshire County Council.

Priorities for creating a programme of services that reflect local needs

Maximising life opportunities - promoting participation in learning

Education is a top priority for the Council, also reflecting residents' views, government direction, development of core skills required by business and other sectors and a long-term commitment to future generations.

Acknowledging that the above average educational achievement of Hampshire pupils is to be expected in a largely affluent county, the council has set challenging targets within the Corporate Strategy and the local PSA to improve GCSE results overall. The diversity of communities in Hampshire means the council faces challenges arising from the highly mobile Ministry of Defence population and the difficulties experienced by families living in areas of deprivation, with the resultant impact on attendance, behaviour and attitude to learning. To promote participation in learning, the council is focussing support for improving GCSE results in Aldershot / Farnborough, Andover, Havant and North Basingstoke and on reducing unauthorised absences at secondary schools in Andover, Havant and North Basingstoke.

Refining educational ambitions further has resulted in stretching targets being set within the Corporate Strategy and the local PSA to increase standards of literacy, numeracy, science and Information and Communications Technology for 14 year olds.

Coupled with a high demand for childcare in an area of generally high employment and a recognition of the benefits of early education, the council pioneered the development of a joint education and social services Unit for Early Years Development and Childcare. The unit has recently secured funding to achieve its overall objective of a free nursery place for every 3 year old by 2004.

Mobile populations and continually evolving communities mean providing school places where they are needed is a key priority for the council, which must also face the difficult decisions associated with closing schools or classrooms if demand falls. The council's extensive programme of school refurbishment and building, supported by the recent New Deal allocation for schools, aims to meet increased demand, improve the learning environment and respond to unforeseen disasters caused by fire and flood.

The council has taken a realistic view of its capacity to support lifelong learning and redressing the balance where there are skills shortages in the community. By supporting the Learning and Skills Council and participating in the Southern Strategic Lifelong Learning Partnership with further education colleges and other providers, the Council is well placed to contribute to their objectives.

Maximising life opportunities - protecting, caring for and empowering vulnerable people

A key priority identified within New Directions, the Corporate Strategy and the PSA and reflected in market research is the improvement of services, which promote independence and personal development. The approach recognises the Council's below average performance in supporting older people to live at home, arising from the prioritisation of high level care services for those most at risk. Opportunities are being taken to address increasing demand for social care through a wide range of initiatives, including new contractual relationships with the private and voluntary sectors and improving the Council's in-house residential and home care services.

Improving access, increasing capacity and tackling health inequalities provide the context for the Council's plans for health and social care improvement, which are set out in the Health Improvement Programmes. A specific challenge is presented by the local health economy's substantial financial deficits, which will affect the capacity of the new Strategic Health Authority to deliver improved primary and community care services. Priority areas for Hampshire include tackling the level of delayed transfers of care from hospital, especially among the older people occupying acute beds. Joint working, for example through `Preventing Dependency Teams', has led to the early achievement of targets.

In an economy where private nursing home owners can achieve a greater return by selling their homes to property developers and where employment costs are high, overall capacity is reducing. The Council is maximising the value of its influence and investment through its mixed economy of residential care by:

· taking action to stabilise the market through increasing the Hampshire rate for nursing care by 14%

· developing nursing level care in the Council's own homes.

A further priority area is to develop convenient, accessible, user-centred services. `Social Services Direct' provides a 24 hour, 7 day per week county-wide service to help and signpost callers to relevant services.

The Council places a high priority on its parental responsibility for those children it looks after and will not be satisfied until they have the same life opportunities as other children. Recognising the importance of a stable home life, the Council has set challenging targets through the PSA for the number of children who are in permanent placements. The Family Placement Scheme is a key factor in the Council's innovative approach to meeting the demand for placements, which cannot be met by formal adoption and fostering alone. Following this theme, the Council has also set challenging educational targets for these children, despite their already higher than average achievements to date.

Achieving economic prosperity

A key factor in determining the Council's priorities for economic development is an understanding of the diversity of its communities and the differing needs for development. The overall approach has evolved through the PSA into a recognition of the needs of economically vulnerable areas and a response which targets support and resources where they will have greatest effect.

Specific projects, such as the development of Farmers' Markets have been designed to address known problem areas, caused by rural isolation and the downturn in the agricultural economy. A key aim is to increase the capacity of these sectors to support themselves, rather than encouraging long term dependence.

Achievement of economic prosperity is an aspirational, long term aspect of the Corporate Strategy, with strong associations with the Sustainable Development Strategy. A vital element of the approach is to link up the development of key plans so that they take account of individual community needs for affordable housing, work and transport between the two; demand for products and services balanced with local opportunities for supply and sustainable production and development of skills to meet demand. Heightened internal awareness of the issues and ensuring they are considered as plans are developed is therefore a priority for the Council.

The Council recognises that in order to achieve its ambitions for economic prosperity it must engage effectively with the business sector. The Council already has a strong track record of business partnerships where the aim is service delivery. However, a recent Best Value review has highlighted the lack of awareness among the business community of the role the Council might play in offering support and information and of the opportunity presented by the Council's community leadership role, to take account of business needs in setting policies. This will be addressed through the development of a Hampshire Business Plan, recognising that the business community will seek measurable added value from any extension to its existing relationship with the Council.

Building strong and safe communities

The Council has moved its community leadership role to centre stage as a separate aim of the Corporate Strategy. Focusing on listening and responding, representing and influencing, making difficult choices and encouraging participation, the aim is to be fully inclusive in engaging communities to develop services that meet their needs.

The network of 11 district level and the county level Local Strategic Partnerships provide a forum within which the Council exercises its community leadership role, including the task of brokering agreement between organisations to develop Community Strategies. The LSPs are fast becoming a focus for co-ordinating all key partnerships and provide a mechanism for achieving community ambitions that no single organisation could achieve on its own.

`...I recognise the degree to which Hampshire has invested heavily in promoting genuine partnership working to help deliver effective and targeted community plans.'

Letter from Regional Director, GOSE to Cllr D Kirk, 18 April 2002

Residents concerns about crime are addressed through the revised partnership Community Safety Strategies, which highlight approaches to tackling the fear of crime, youth offending and providing diversionary activities for young people. The demand for more services for young people features in all aspects of community consultation and is prioritised through the new Connexions Service. Working in partnership with Southern Careers, other agencies and young people, pilot projects are testing out the direction of future services.

This modern community leadership role is supported by the Council's wide-ranging experience of a mixed economy of service provision and development of innovative partnerships and other arrangements, to develop, manage and deliver services. Aiming to empower communities to increase their own capacity to improve, example arrangements include grant aid to Community Associations and the protocols established through the Voluntary and Community Sector Compact.

A key element of the Council's strategy for building strong communities is the extent to which it provides opportunities and promotes the benefits of involvement in local decision-making. The Council's extensive consultation and communication programmes use a wide range of mechanisms to inform and engage and have had significant impact on the evidence provided to politicians as key decisions are taken. Again, taking a long term view, particular efforts have been made to engage young people in local democracy through establishing a Youth Council, while the top quality support for school governors aims to promote involvement in public services.

Stewardship of the environment - shaping our surroundings

The Council sets out a clear statement of its long-term view for `shaping our surroundings' within the Corporate Strategy. Recognising the inherent difficulties in influencing lifestyles, the council has started by setting targets for its own performance as a role model within its Sustainable Development Strategy This is particularly evident in the care the Council prioritises to ensure its own responsibilities for the natural and built estate are met by taking measures to protect its own land and buildings both now and for the future.

An integrated approach to land use and transport planning also takes the long-term view, aiming to promote social inclusion and flexible access to services by addressing the underlying causes of problems and avoiding problems for the future.

Stewardship of the environment - travel and transport

Concerns about traffic congestion and public transport feature highly in community consultation and are reflected by both Government's and the Council's priorities. These can be summarised as: Reducing congestion; Reducing pollution; Increasing road safety; Maintaining investment in the existing infrastructure.

The strength of the Council's approach is its multi-faceted perspective as it takes both long-term and immediate measures which integrate with other initiatives to reduce rural isolation, promote urban living and make sustainable procurement decisions, aiming to reduce both traffic growth and the use or impact of pollutants.

The Council is realistic in its response to existing demand for an effective transport network. Maintaining the value of its investment in the infrastructure and ensuring traffic flows as freely and as safely as possible is a key priority, highlighted in the Corporate Strategy and the PSA, and reflecting the poor public perception of road and pavement maintenance. The development of the Local Transport Plan has resulted in a record level of financial support, £110m over five years, which will support the Council's target of halting the deterioration of the road network.

' I am delighted to designate HCC as a Centre of Excellence for integrated transport planning. I was very impressed with the Local Transport Plan and this recognition is well deserved. I look forward to seeing the plan become a reality'.

Keith Hill - Transport Minister - 21 March 2001.

The condition of the network and traffic levels are two key factors impacting on road safety. Through the Corporate Strategy and PSA, the Council has also prioritised work to promote awareness and competence among all types of road user with the aim of reducing fatal and serious road casualties.

Improving travel choices is a key tool in the approach to reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. Responding to strong local demand, from residents generally and as a potential solution to problems faced by specific groups, the Council has used the PSA to prioritise its ambitions for increased bus use. Recognising the difficulties inherent in influencing a service which is neither provided nor commissioned by the Council, it is confident in its proven capacity to develop Quality Bus Partnerships with the private sector.

The South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme provides a visionary example of a long-term integrated and multi-modal approach to public transport, aiming to make an annual reduction of 3 million vehicle movements and over 2,000 tonnes of pollutants. After extensive consultation, identification of partners and negotiations for approval, the first phase `Light Rapid Transit' has already reached the procurement stage.

Stewardship of the environment - natural resource management

The Council has a sustained and successful track record of effective waste management through its leadership of Project Integra. Having achieved top quartile performance for recycling and recognition through the Beacon Council scheme, the Council is pioneering a holistic approach to natural resource management with its community partners. Aimed at a reduction in and more sustainable use of materials, energy, water and soil, results will be measured through the PSA by the diversion of household, commercial and industrial waste from landfill. As yet in its infancy, the council has identified partners, such as B&Q who are nationally renowned for their good practice in the field of supply chain investigation and whole life costings for products and services. Complementary strategies such as the innovative Corporate Water Action Plan, aim to promote good practice by setting a good example.

Improving our services and supporting our staff

Supported by positive market research results, the Council has recognised the value of cultural and recreational services in supporting the broad spectrum of its corporate aims. These services make a significant difference to the quality of life of Hampshire residents, while promoting participation in learning, adding to economic prosperity in specific sectors and broadening the development of young people.

The Council recognises that its ability to deliver high quality services depends on the calibre of the 33,000 people who work for it and the 74 members who lead it. The Council places a high priority on its programmes for management and staff development and has recently extended its framework to encompass members.

In common with other employers locally the Council has been facing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, either with specific areas of expertise or because of the location where the vacancy exists. Projects to address these are wide-ranging and include:

· supporting affordable housing projects for key workers

· supporting new teacher and headteacher recruitment and training

· the use of supplementary market payments

· a corporate review of the Council's image as an employer.

Sound management information is crucial to both members and officers, so that they have access to the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and to deliver high quality services. As a consistent leader in this field, the Council places a high priority on developing its intranet site and supporting systems (Enterprise Project) as a means of service development and business support, recognising the steps still to be taken to fully realise its investment, in terms of access to the information and its intrinsic value.

Managing resources

`Our overall conclusion is that this has been another successful year for the Council which has again shown its ability to adapt to new challenges and a new political structure, whilst at the same time ensuring that the delivery of high-quality frontline services is maintained within continuing budget pressures.'

District Audit, Annual Audit letter 2001/02

The Council has a clear statement of financial policy which sets out financial management priorities and has resulted in year-on-year achievement of balanced budgets, despite the expectation and realisation of significant change and the proven capacity to respond to vandalism, floods, fire, storm damage and foot and mouth. Currently, the council faces the challenge of having the second lowest increase in SSA for all county councils and yet operating within a high cost area.

In setting its revenue budget, the Council tests the reasonableness of its proposals with council taxpayers. Starting from a base of passporting SSA increases to all services, the Council would have been able to set council tax at 4.5% for the current year and meet national objectives. In arriving at its final proposals, the Council also considered local service needs and this year prioritised significant increases for social services, highways and waste management. Additional funding was also given to the youth service and the library service in response to consultation and the need to improve services. The final council tax increase was 7.9% - compared with a county council average of 9%. As a result the Council has implemented a budget which will spend 6.6% more than SSA, although containing the Band D council tax at £734 pa, one of the lowest nationally.

The Council is able to respond flexibly in this way for a number of reasons:

· consistent sound financial management has enabled robust predictions and the consequent maintenance of low reserves

· the size of the Council's budget means that reserves of around 0.6% of spending are still significant sums of money

· the Council has an ongoing strategy for achieving efficiency savings which are re-invested in services. These account for about £2m annually

· additional costs of salary increments and redundancy are absorbed through sound management of employment costs, redeployment and other savings

· the culture of prudent financial management ensures operational managers are familiar with the need to challenge continuing expenditure, while aware that mechanisms, such as `spend to save', exist to consider and address new priorities.

Taking a proactive approach to asset management has enabled the Council to recycle capital receipts to finance an enhanced capital programme, to the tune of £110m over the last 10 years. This provides a platform for improvement in services in many areas, such as the £7.1 million reinvested from its sale of surplus land and buildings into refurbishing its own homes to meet new national standards for residential care for older persons.

Balanced decision-making and maintaining the focus

The cycle of strategic evaluation of priorities and budget planning moves the Corporate Management Team and the Cabinet through a process of informed decision-making, enabling them to compare competing bids for resources against strategic objectives. Intelligence is gathered in relation to the local economy and communities and there is constant monitoring and response to changes on the regional and national scenes. Over the last three years the Council has developed extensive research mechanisms and discussion forums, such as the Hampshire Profile, which enable the Council to hear and respond to views from different sectors of the community, staff and members. The development of a performance culture has enabled these all important perceptions to be tested with evidence from the results achieved, so that regular monitoring and review provides opportunities to address changing priorities or slippages against targets.

Responding to the government's extensive agenda for change, the Council has become accustomed to looking for the `win-win' solution to balancing national and local priorities. While keeping its focus on these top priorities, the Council channels some of the enthusiasm, creativity and commitment of its staff into attracting additional funding sources or developing innovative partnership arrangements which enable lower priority initiatives to be taken on board, albeit within a longer timescale.

How has the Council set about delivering its priorities for improvement?

Developing capacity

The Council's track record of adapting to and delivering change is dependent on its ability to develop capacity through increasing member and officer competence, improving its processes and ensuring its resources are appropriately deployed throughout the organisation. The Council uses an array of partnerships and networks to enhance its capacity, when it has insufficient knowledge or resources of its own and when a joint approach will deliver improved outcomes, with 35% of its total spend for 2002/03 being used to purchase services from other providers, including the private sector, voluntary sector and other local authorities.

Members

`Political leadership is strong and procedures for accountability are well established. Leadership overall is consistent, purposeful and challenging.'

Inspection of Hampshire LEA - OFSTED May 2001

The Council introduced a new constitution in September 2001, aimed at streamlining decision-making and breaking down service barriers. This is supported by protocols for the new arrangements and job descriptions for cabinet members. Six months later a Lessons Learnt Workshop has been held to identify and address any issues about the effectiveness of the new arrangements.

It is clear that while the split between executive and non-executive roles has allowed the Cabinet to be more strategic in its decision making, non-executive members have felt marginalised by the change, especially in respect of the information they receive and the opportunity they have to influence decisions. The breadth of experience represented by 74 county councillors, has enabled the Council to respond by developing different roles for them:

· The `spokesperson' role enables a member to develop expertise in different areas, which influences advice offered through the policy review committees

· The `LSP Member' role has enabled county member representation into the development of all local community strategies

· Information is passed routinely to the `local' member about decisions which are to be taken in respect of their constituencies

· Representation on outside bodies continues to enable council members to carry out a dual role of collecting information and influencing decisions

· `Task and finish' groups have taken on an in-depth policy review role. Although experience to date is largely in the area of Best Value reviews, the integration of the Best Value review programme with other improvement programmes and the general cross-cutting approach, will ensure the topics under review are closely aligned with matters of community concern and member interest.

This will be further expanded as the Council takes forward proposals for its role in NHS scrutiny. A seminar is being held for members in partnership with the Strategic Health Authority, with formal consultation planned for the autumn.

Supporting the changing role and the routine turnover of members, the Council has added a member development programme to its post-election induction, extensive Best Value training and topic specific sessions. Delivered in partnership with South East Employers, this has covered Overview and Scrutiny; Partnership and Community Engagement; Finance for Councillors; Effective Member / Officer Relationship; Sustainability and Equalities; Ethics and Probity.

Officers

The council is working to a People Strategy to achieve its stated aim of an effective and motivated workforce. Key elements include:

· Achievement of Investors in People accreditation across the whole authority by July 2002, building on an existing Performance Development Strategy. Already in place in most departments, IIP ensures all staff have an annual performance review when their individual goals are set in relation to their part in achieving corporate aims and when performance against previous targets is monitored.

· The Council's training and development arm, provides and commissions development opportunities for staff and managers. This is supported by training needs analysis, carried out as an integral part of performance development reviews and supplemented by ring-fenced resources aimed at delivering corporate priorities, eg health and safety; Best Value; management development. The priorities for training and development are regularly reviewed by the Corporate Management Team to ensure they remain relevant

· The Success Through People programme is developing the role of Departmental Management Teams in corporate decision-making and has covered to date: Corporate Review outcomes; Corporate Strategy revision; Organisational Values; Creativity and Innovation (which focussed on creating ideas for e-government). The forward plan includes Partnership Working and Customer Services, using services to young people as a focus

· Five core competencies have been identified as the basis for a new management development programme: Impressing customers; Working together (partnerships); Making best use of resources; Embracing change; Achieving quality results

· The Pay and Benefits strategy is designed to produce a reward package based on the delivery of agreed performance targets and competencies, creating a more skilled and flexible workforce and helping to improve recruitment and retention

· The use of workforce planning techniques helps identify both resource and development needs against future priorities.

Organisational

The size and complexity of the County Council poses challenges, while providing opportunities not open to smaller organisations. The Council has met the challenge of managing internal communications and delivering efficient operations by balancing central co-ordination and control with an empowering, devolved structure for delivering front-line services. The council capitalises on opportunities for economies of scale and for developing expertise and intellectual capacity in different specialisms. The evidence for this is in the number of peers and other organisations who approach the council for support, advice and information.

`The South East region has nominated Hampshire Museum Service to be the regional hub leader in recognition of its innovative work.'

Renaissance in the Regions initiative

Workforce planning is supported by reviews of organisational structures to assess how they support effective communications and the delivery of changing priorities. Both Education Department (at LGR) and Social Services Department (2001/02) have adopted a centrally co-ordinated approach to align their resources with national initiatives, ensure consistency and support the management of devolved front-line services. New appointments to the Recreation and Heritage Department are aimed at integrating services, so that the resources released can be channelled into developing creative ways to modernise services. Changes are in train for the organisational structure of the Environment Grouping to encourage greater integration of transport and land use planning services and to lead the environmental agenda.

Recognising the challenge of effective communications within a large and geographically widespread organisation, the Internal Communications Strategy uses a variety of mechanisms to keep members and officers up-to-date. Responding to feedback through the staff survey, emphasis is put on face-to-face communications and to supporting managers to identify which items from the plethora they receive, should be cascaded through team briefings.

The Council's intranet site and internal e-mail facility represent a major investment in providing access to information and the ability to share it speedily. The Council is currently piloting the use of IT for all members to provide consistent access to the intranet site and through the Hampshire Public Service Network will provide combined voice and data communications both internally and with most of the local authorities in Hampshire.

Performance management

`Performance management - Overall good progress has been made, but linkages could be improved between the various planning and performance management processes.'

District Audit Best Value Audit Report - BVPP 2001/2002

Planning

Sound performance management begins with clearly communicated messages that all parties understand and agree. The Council's priorities are cascaded through the Corporate Strategy, which has fulfilled a number of roles over time as the Council has been at the forefront of developing a clear statement of targets for community-based outcomes. The separation of community outcomes, via the Community Strategy, and performance reporting, via the Best Value Performance Plan, is enabling its further refinement into a key management and medium term planning document. Coupled with the implementation of Investors in People, this will result in a more meaningful and direct relationship between the Corporate Strategy and other plans and enable accountability to be traced from the corporate to the individual level through performance development reviews. In turn, this will enable all levels of the Council to develop clear, measurable targets for improvement, that relate directly to their own capacity to deliver. This has led to a strengthened performance management framework (appended), which clearly distinguishes between processes for regular monitoring and for fundamental review and which highlights how corporate objectives are cascaded into detailed operational plans over the full range of services.

Work is underway at the corporate / strategic level to ensure the rationalisation of key corporate plans and common understanding of their aims. In addition, although the Council already has a well-documented business planning process, the 2000/01 audit report identified that it is inconsistently applied. Plans are in place to address this and to use the opportunity to incorporate other demands made on managers, such as for workforce plans, as well as integrating sound management practices, such as risk assessment and Best Value principles.

Many of the Council's plans are supported by policy statements or documents, which provide guidance on the standards that will be applied across the board, such as Equality of Opportunity and Child Protection or in specific service areas, such as School Admissions. The Council makes significant efforts to make these documents public in a variety of formats, suitable for the intended audience(s). They are all underpinned by a corporate complaints system, which positively encourages feedback as a device to support learning and improvement.

`The Council has made an excellent start in the development of a risk management strategy for the Council, and has a good framework in place.'

District Audit Annual Audit Letter 2000/2001

A cross-departmental Risk Management Board exists which identifies the risks to business continuity inherent in existing plans and services. The Council has a successful track record of self-insurance, which is reliant on an objective assessment of risk. This approach is cascaded to the operational level, where it is evident in IT systems management (plans for business continuity at the millennium), individual health and safety risk assessment (particularly strengthened after an adverse HSE report) and risk assessments for vulnerable people in the Council's care.

Best Value

The introduction of Best Value has led to an acceptance of the need to stand back, review and fundamentally challenge the way things are done and to develop innovative options for improving things.

`The LEA has a proven record in managing its affairs effectively, while being open to suggestions for further improvement.'

LEA Ofsted May 2001

In 2001 the council carried out a corporate review of its effectiveness in delivering its corporate objectives. The self-assessment process, facilitated by Capita and containing mechanisms for verification, concluded the Corporate Management Team sets standards of good practice in the following areas:

· The involvement in national and regional programmes and initiatives

· The sound financial management of the Council

· The quality, range and depth of partnership working

· The sound management of the corporate estate

· The involvement of members in Best Value

· The use of IT, such as Hantsweb, for disseminating information

· The range of performance indicators that have been collected to support the wider society impact of the corporate strategy

· The use of surveys and polling.

The process used the EFQM excellence model and identified the following areas for development.

· To set a positive example of corporate leadership which engages the commitment, in the first place, of senior managers

· To rationalise and integrate corporate strategies and to positively champion and promote their implementation as part of the corporate management process

· To provide medium-term planning through the development of a community strategy for Hampshire

· To put in place a comprehensive performance management system that will inform the Council of success

· To develop a customer orientated approach

· To use Best Value to make challenging and difficult decisions about priorities and resourcing

· To put in place a framework, processes and systems for sharing knowledge, learning and good practice throughout the organisation

· To ensure the Corporate Management Team have research and advisory support

· To urgently engage with members in a concerted and systematic response to modernisation.

`Hampshire County Council is fortunate in having a national reputation for good management and good government with a number of areas that could be described as `centres of excellence'.'

Corporate Review January 2001, Evaluated by Capita

Captured in an initial action plan, the 21 action points have either subsequently been achieved or incorporated within the Corporate Strategy and other plans.

The rigorous process cascaded from the corporate review through Best Value reviews, has encouraged a culture of openness and awareness. There is general acceptance of the need to provide evidence for decisions, with options clearly identified and evaluated. Members and officers who have participated in reviews have recognised the benefits of the regime, while expressing concern over the additional resources it has consumed.

Recognising that the outcomes of early reviews have either been incremental or plans to investigate further, the Council is engaged in streamlining and integrating the Best Value regime with other management activities. Aiming to improve the performance management culture and ensuring tangible service improvements are the outcome, the key elements of the revised approach are:

· A cross-cutting / themed review programme, that does not duplicate business / service planning and integrates with member policy review programmes

· A revised business / service planning regime to encompass Best Value principles

· Development of robust target setting to ensure all key decisions are made with reference to Best Value principles and linked to key plans

· A streamlined review process which focuses on outcomes and issues that need addressing, encourages innovation and has clear mechanisms for implementing service improvements through strategic and budget planning

· A clear timetable of performance reporting, linked to the strategic and budget planning cycles.

`The Council has made commendable progress on the implementation of Best Value principles and has established a strong base upon which to make further progress.'

District Audit - Annual Audit letter 2000/2001

Specific difficulties have been faced with systems to enable performance reporting, and these are being addressed both with IT and procedural solutions. The Best Value Steering Group is reforming and will have a wider remit to look at performance management generally and its role in improving services, with the aim of developing a more comprehensive cycle of performance reporting and a single corporate improvement programme.

Through developing performance management, the Council is aware of the difficulties in devising outcome measures which accurately reflect priorities. This has led to an inherent weakness in target setting, which is beginning to be addressed by coaching and focused support, such as in the development of the PSA and in drafting service improvement plans.

What has the council achieved / not achieved to date?

Hampshire is an ambitious, high achieving authority. Since 1997, the Council has carried out an annual review of progress and achievements, which has informed the process of monitoring the Corporate Strategy and the Best Value Performance Plan. The 2001 report indicates a considerable volume of achievement across its diverse functions as well as delivery of quality services to the community against a backdrop of fundamental constitutional and organisational change. It shows how services have been maintained as an agenda of new government initiatives has required attention and as the full impact of Best Value and Community Strategy development has taken its toll on management resources and members' time.

This conclusion is validated by a series of external assessments, including:

· The District Auditor's Management Letter

· The audit and unqualified opinion of the council's Best Value Performance Plan

· The corporate review facilitated by Capita

· LEA Ofsted inspection

· SSI Annual Review Meeting

· Well-received statutory plans

These views are validated further by the results achieved. The 2000/01 BVPI results show the Council to be in the top quartile of county councils for the majority of indicators and provide evidence of a steady improvement over time in those areas where performance indicators have remained consistently defined. This extends to user satisfaction and other qualitative research, which also demonstrate top quartile performance, with an overall satisfaction level of 73% (MORI).

Maximising life opportunities - promoting participation in learning

`Hampshire is a good and improving LEA. Established structures and systems are supported by a measured willingness to take on new approaches.'

LEA Ofsted May 2001

Renowned as high performing and with an Ofsted report providing evidence to support the reputation, the following achievements support the Council's priorities for educational achievement; inclusion, meeting the demand for school places and developing key skills:

· top quartile performance (county council comparison) in respect of educational achievements, specifically in respect of GCSEs attained at grades A*-C, Key stage 2, level 4 in English and Mathematics

· successfully implemented the Class Size Plan so that no infant class has more than 30 pupils.

· successfully secured £1.89m for schools to support teacher recruitment, retention and housing in 2002/03 and for a further £5m over the next three years to support the professional development of new teachers. Over 500 newly qualified teachers joined Hampshire schools in September.

· extended the behaviour intervention service to Rushmoor, Gosport and Andover in varying forms to meet the local context, and continuing in Basingstoke

· achieved one year ahead of schedule, the 2002/03 target for reduction in permanent exclusions from mainstream and special schools, through effective partnership between schools and support services

· the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan met its 29 targets and in particular exceeded its target for childcare places by over 50%, creating almost 8000 new places by April 2001. 96% of pre-schools achieved good inspection outcomes against targets of 90% in 2001 and 94% in 2004

· spend to save initiatives have rationalised home to school transport provision, containing spending by £350,000 pa without reduction in provision.

The education service has recognised the need to improve results in respect of:

· supporting schools in difficult circumstances

· support for school attendance, addressing unauthorised absence from secondary schools

· access to nursery education.

and to improve its information gathering on alternative tuition for permanently excluded pupils.

Maximising life opportunities - protecting, caring for and empowering vulnerable people

`Overall the people of Hampshire are currently well served by their social services.'

SSI / AC Joint Review 1999

`The council achieved either consistently good standards or "improved standards of performance in the area of national priorities and strategic objectives" for children's services. Two of the three indicators in this domain received the highest rating.'

SSI ARM report 2001/02

The Council's progress provides evidence of innovation in social care as it pursues its aims to provide seamless health and social care, support those most at risk, empower individuals and families to live independently and develop their potential, provide choice and flexibility through inclusive access to services and enable looked after children to achieve their potential. The Council has:

· introduced Partnership Managers to work more closely with the health service and develop a joint health and social care service

· achieved recognition of improved mental health services from the Mental Health Act Commission, who praised the work of Approved Social Workers and the success of joint health and social services community health teams

· set up a new multi-disciplinary Financial Assessments and Benefits Team (FAB) carrying out financial assessments for new users, whose expertise was greatly appreciated by users in the pilot scheme

· won a National Health and Social Care award for its work in extending its pioneering Direct Payments Scheme.

· achieved the Government's highest rating for preparations for the Supporting People programme, aiming to re-route funding for low level help for people living at home to ensure there is consistent help for vulnerable people

· carried out a pilot project to support carers through use of vouchers which will inform the Dept of Health's policy and practice guidelines linked to implementation of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000

· reached second place in the national rankings for number of GCSE A*-C grades achieved by looked after children - the result of many years of hard work by the teachers employed by Social Services to support them

· through the PSA, pioneering the potential for `Kinship Care' to provide children and young people with permanent placements within their wider families

· transferred the Blue Badge Scheme (disabled drivers permits) to an experienced financial assessment team resulting in an improved customer interface and consistent application of eligibility criteria.

The Council has received the Social Services Inspectorate's draft Annual Review of Performance (2001/02) which presents a fair picture of the improvements made and important areas for development, which it regards as an effective learning tool. The Annual Review Meeting (ARM) provides a useful mechanism for ensuring the council has effective management processes in place to improve its performance, notably in respect of:

· supporting older people and disabled people to live independently in their own homes.

· the health records of looked after children.

By creating a joint post with the Strategic Health Authority, the council will also be exploring strategic interventions in the market to improve capacity for nursing level care.

Achieving economic prosperity

The Council has carried out a wide-ranging, cross-cutting review of this key objective, opening itself up to external challenge through stakeholder forums and business sector consultation and anticipating further testing by the BVIS. The outcomes for the review have led to clear priorities of identifying and supporting vulnerable economic sectors, taking a joined-up approach to developing plans which account for economic factors, supporting the development of key skills, and engaging with the business sector to provide information and represent their views.

Achievements towards these aims include:

· setting up a new limited company `Hampshire Farmers Markets Ltd.' comprised of farmers and producers to take over running farmers' markets, whose success is evident in the £1.5m sales generated in 2001

· developing Wired Wessex - a new company and network for companies operating in new media and screen-based media markets

· launching the Hampshire Market Town Project with funding from the Countryside Agency and SEEDA to boost the vitality of small rural town economies in the county

· delivering a powerful on-line business system, `Visit', to strengthen the marketing, management and sales of Hampshire Tourism services and products

· strong representation on Hampshire Economic Partnership and Chambers of Commerce

· supporting the overall economy by promoting and developing cultural tourism.

Building strong and safe communities

The focus of the Council's activities is currently on the development of community strategies, which by their nature strongly reflect the priorities the Council has already identified: to reduce crime, especially youth crime, to reduce the fear of crime, to promote healthier lifestyles, to encourage participation in local government, particularly from young people. Although community strategies are not yet in place, the Council has made progress in the following areas:

· ran a series of events during Local Democracy Week with Cabinet members, sited promotional displays in information centres and set up a website to promote the importance of local democracy in Hampshire

· developed the strong Youth Council, with links to the national Youth Parliament and supported by local youth forums, for those less attracted to a high profile

· engaged young people in the future direction of youth work through the Connexions pilot projects and similarly established the Care Action Team (CAT), to involve young people with experience of being looked after by the Council in shaping the future service

· launched the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Active Sports Partnership. Based on a nationwide programme, the partnership will change the way sport is provided for young people, through better coaching, players, clubs and competitions

· developed joint Youth Offending Teams as part of its approach to supporting and developing crime, disorder and community safety strategies, having been selected as a pilot by government because of the strong history of partnership working in the field

· The country's first consumer education programme integrated into the Citizenship curriculum was developed with teachers and successfully launched to schools in Hampshire and at a national conference. 4000 school children were educated in product and food safety skills through the Junior Citizen Scheme

· Developed the `Buying with Confidence' internet site to support consumer interests.

`The authority is providing a good, balanced food standards service, which is particularly strong on food sampling, advice to business and promotional activities'

Food Standards Agency

In maintaining safe communities, the Council must also be able to co-ordinate responses to emergencies. This capacity has been severely tested as the Council has mounted successful strategies following flooding emergencies during November 2000-Feb 2001 and in preventing the spread of foot and mouth to Hampshire.

Stewardship of the environment

The council has achieved exceptionally good results in waste recycling and pedestrian crossings with facilities for disabled people. These are supported by a raft of mid-quartile results in respect of road maintenance and household waste, which reflect the council's decision to prioritise these areas. The Council has, however, made progress with its priorities to offer travel choices, maintain the transport network, improve road safety, take actions to support rural inclusion and secure environmental well-being:

· negotiated government approval and £170m for the Light Rapid Transit Project, which proposes a light rail tunnel under Portsmouth Harbour, linking the city with Gosport and rail links to Fareham and moving to appoint PFI partners.

· launched a mobile shop / Post Office to serve rural communities

· formally launched the Quality Bus Partnership with Havant Borough Council and Stagecoach Coastline, with planned improvements for new bus shelters, raised kerbs at every stop and additional improvements to Havant bus station, including electronic information screens.

· in partnership with the Countryside Agency, launched the Integrated Access Demonstration Project (based on a new bus service), linking deprived areas in the south-east of the county, Portsmouth and Southampton with the attractive countryside of East Hampshire.

· launched the Urban Living Strategy, advancing a range of initiatives and projects to improve the economic vitality and the environmental and social well-being of towns and suburbs

· urban renaissance: in partnership with district councils, the Civic Trust and the local community, action has been focused on two pilot areas in North Camp, Farnborough and Lee-on-Solent, Gosport to regenerate suburban areas

· launched the Hampshire Paths Partnership with volunteers and community groups to develop access opportunities across the county

· the Council has already achieved its interim target set in the PSA for the reduction of fatal and seriously injured road casualties, through a mix of engineering solutions, raising public awareness and a wide ranging road safety training programme. Some of the innovative solutions include older driver assessment, refresher training for employees who drive `on the job' and an interactive website, as well as an increased use of safety cameras

· initiated a consortium to deliver a land management information system for the countryside which will provide an integrated aproach to land management in rural areas, encompassing a wide remit of interests: agriculture, economic development, maintaining biodiversity, rural conservation

· in partnership with others, developed the Hampshire Biological Records Centre, with the purpose of building up information and understanding of biodiversity in the county.

The Council is addressing a large agenda of work to further its priorities of reducing traffic congestion and pollution and the underlying causes of these problems, maintaining its investment in the transport network, promoting urban living and reducing rural isolation, and implementing natural resource management. The council is also aware that the planning performance measures indicate scope for improvement which it is working towards but is pleased to note that planned changes to definitions appear to reflect a recognition of the different role played by county councils in this arena.

Improving our services and supporting our staff

The Council's top quartile performance in corporate health activities is evidence of its overall commitment to working from a sound resource base. The Council's priorities for strong leadership, a well-motivated and competent workforce, high service standards, robust budget and asset management and exploitation of new technology, are founded on its investment in a number of key building blocks:

· Clarity about the Policy Framework, which guides the operation of the new constitution to ensure consistent, open and transparent political decision-making

· a Procurement Strategy, which encourages innovative partnering arrangements for service delivery and supports a mixed economy in order to maintain service standards while ensuring vibrant private and voluntary sector provision. Guidance is available for members and officers through financial regulations and standing orders, which have been revised to take account of modernised political structures and the flexibility needed to take advantage of a wide range of procurement options

· the capital strategy and corporate asset management plan, which enable the strategic management of resources in support of changing service priorities and build the capacity to self-manage risk and respond to emergencies

· Performance Development Strategy - developed prior to Best Value, this provides a framework for performance management, setting out a model which links individual, operational and corporate plans and targets

· an inclusive Consultation Strategy and external Communication Strategy, focussed on informing and engaging local communities. These are supported by the Council's magazine `Hampshire Now' which has been successfully implemented with a track record of improving penetration to all households, good response rate to self-completion questionnaires and improving perceptions from focus groups. The magazine is being used as a vehicle not only for meeting statutory obligations to circulate information but also to raise the Council's profile as part of an overall approach to engaging the community in local government. The Audit Commission have also selected the Council as a pilot for its citizen-focused audit after the District Auditor commended its public consultation as good practice.

· the use of `champions' to support and maintain the momentum of key strategies, such as Sustainable Development, Equalities, Crime and Disorder, e-government, Urban Living Strategy

· Project management expertise to support major projects: the Enterprise Project, establishment of the Best Value framework and health partnership projects. Project teams may include staff across organisations both in the private and public sectors as well across internal departments and commonly reference other key stakeholders

· A performance management framework: which has led to a strong culture of self-assessment and openness to external challenge. This is evident at the strategic level through the corporate review process and the integration of the outcomes into key corporate plans. External challenge has been a key theme of best value reviews and is sought both in terms of external stakeholder participation and the active encouragement of objective observers (academics, peers, `experts').

· a well-established internal network IT2000 and external website, Hantsweb, which support internal and external communications, knowledge management and with the capacity for long term development to support full e-government. This platform is also supporting the new financial and personnel infrastructure systems being delivered through the Enterprise project, which will reduce duplication of data entry and free staff from routine transactions.

Recognising that the council's cultural services also support its corporate aims, the council can be proud of the performance results and satisfaction measures for these services. It is clear, however, that there are areas for improvement and new approaches are being developed to integrate the services and exploit opportunities for creative developments.

The council's strategies for developing people and IT underpin its future plans and recognise the value of management information in supporting future planning. For this reason the Council is paying particular attention to addressing problems of data collection about its people, noting the valuable lessons it has learnt in respect of absence recording.

In the light of what the Council has learnt to date, what does it plan to do next?

Long term plans

The Council is committed to working towards achieving sustainable development by meeting the needs of the present without compromising the interest of future generations. Having a clear vision of its long term goals enables the Council to make consistent policy decisions against a known backdrop and leads to a natural assumption of the community leadership role. The Council has co-hosted three `Down to Earth' seminars, bringing together speakers and over 200 delegates from the private, public and voluntary sectors and will use the outcomes to influence debate at the forthcoming Johannesburg conference. Closer to home, the Council is developing an approach to Natural Resource Management, converting waste into a resource and more importantly `working upstream' to husband finite resources in a way that prevents their conversion into waste material. And finally, following its cross-cutting review of passenger transport, the Council has established a countywide network to encourage innovation in addressing transport issues that it can only indirectly influence.

Political leadership

The organisational and cultural change resulting from political modernisation has been achieved in a very short timescale and benefits from a continuing and dynamic approach to making the process work to deliver responsive and timely decisions. The Council recognises concerns that still exist and is working to develop meaningful non-executive roles.

The strength of the Council's political leadership lies in the range of experience and knowledge of the full body of councillors. Again, taking a long term perspective, the Council is aware of the need to attract future county councillors who reflect the diverse population of the community and to remove barriers to participation in public life. With this in mind, the Council has already revised the member allowance structure to provide greater stability of income and attract those who otherwise could not afford to stand for election.

Consultation / engagement

Since 1999 and its first Residents Survey, the Council has invested significantly in market research, using a wide variety of mechanisms and most recently setting up citizen and staff panels. The information has moved the Council through phases as it has developed a culture of listening, learning and responding. Moving from an initial attitude of simply checking out proposals to greater engagement in decision making, the Council recognises that it still has steps to take in embedding public engagement throughout the organisation.

The use of fundamental reviews has encouraged an exploration of the costs and benefits of mechanisms to engage the public and stakeholders in decision-making. Progress is being made with the barriers to effective engagement, which have been identified at the same time as successful experiences generate enthusiasm and ideas to overcome them :

· the perspective of the professional that they know the best solution

· the view of political representatives that they represent the whole community

· the soft skills needed to engage in effective communication and negotiation, particularly on technical issues

· bureaucratic processes for consultation, such as public meetings

· public apathy

Delivering high quality services

The Council's performance results indicate it is achieving on a significant percentage of its targets to deliver high quality services. Further evidence is provided by the external business the Council has won, notably the Area 3 motorway and trunk road maintenance contract, supplying services to schools under the Management Partnership arrangements, contracting legal services to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority and audit services to the health and further education sectors. For certain services, maintaining volume capacity for service delivery benefits the Council in maintaining skills and intelligence, in achieving economies of scale and by generating income.

Drilling beneath the overall results, the PSA is a key mechanism for addressing vulnerable areas and by virtue of the stretching nature of the targets will depend on innovation to achieve results. For example an exciting package of initiatives will be developed for Gosport schools, which are particularly hard pressed to improve educational achievements. These include alternative approaches to developing the curriculum, mentoring to challenge disaffection, family support and financial support.

Taking action

The Council has a proven willingness and capacity to respond to change, and ability to take action at short notice when additional resources are made available or when new government initiatives provide flexibilities and powers to act. Supported by the breadth of knowledge and experience it can draw on, specific skills such as project and risk management and the commitment and enthusiasm of its people, the Council has the fundamental ingredients for delivering successful, high quality services.

Responding to external challenge is a key driver, as evidenced by the priority to develop a culture of innovation within the Library Service given its role as a front-line service of high importance to a large number of residents and its assessment in 2001 by the Best Value Inspectorate as a good service but unlikely to improve. Changes have been put in place and additional resources made available, so that re-inspection is currently invited on the premise that a different judgement would result.

Partnerships

The Council builds on its strength in developing effective partnerships to increase its capacity to respond to change. The Local Strategic Partnerships provided a valuable forum for addressing the complexities and sensitivities which can arise from partnerships and for co-ordinating the number of arrangements currently in place.

An important philosophy for the Council is the empowerment of local communities to manage their own affairs and a prime example is the Town and Village Flood Plan template, which has been produced with the Hampshire Association of Parish and Town Councils and the Environment Agency to encourage vulnerable communities to prepare for flooding.

Managing corporate resources

There is evidence of the Council's strength in managing its finances, its estates and technology. Its approach has enabled the Council to move revenue funding to address priorities and in particular to sustain one of the largest capital investment programmes in the country to improve facilities for several thousand children and adults.

However, through its corporate review and other research, the Council is aware that it needs to improve the management of its people, to exploit the use of information technology so that data becomes knowledge and to provide choice in the way people access services through exploring opportunities for e-government.

Performance management

The government's change agenda is wide-reaching and the Council has responded by embracing the underlying aspirations for improving public services. However, tight timescales have inevitably led to `initiative-specific' responses, which have resulted in a proliferation of improvement programmes, plans, networks or project groups. In recognition of this, the Council has reformed its corporate Policy Unit with clear accountabilities for developing and improving corporate planning and performance frameworks. A key theme of this work has been the streamlining of activities and plans into a single, cohesive system. Integration has become the key driver, with twin aims of reducing duplicated effort and increasing motivation for those involved.