Contact: Paul Sorrell, Policy and Performance Officer, ext 7174

1 Summary

1.1 During 2003 the Council continued to strengthen its performance management and, in keeping with many other local authorities, has reduced the emphasis placed on the phrase `best value'. The principles of best value continue to be applied but within the overall performance management framework. This year's Performance Plan, published on Hantsweb and Hantsnet, began this process by dropping `best value' from its title.

1.2 This report discusses the options and makes recommendations for:

· publishing summarised performance information to Hampshire's residents

· approving the content of the performance summary

· publishing the full Performance Plan

· managing the continuous update and approval of the full Performance Plan

· reporting on the full Performance Plan to Members.

2 Background

2.1 The proposals in the local government white paper, `Strong Local Leadership - Quality Public Services', were confirmed in the ODPM Best Value and Performance Improvement circular 03/2003. Other key changes that emerged in the circular were:

· the requirement to report on staff transfers following changes to contracts

· the requirement to report on joint working with Town and Parish Councils.

2.2 The Council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) as an excellent authority brings freedoms in terms of the number of plans it must produce. Alongside the Community Strategy, the Performance Plan will be the only other plan required to be published by Central Government. To maintain excellent status, it is clear that the Council must use this key document effectively.

3 Recommendations from the District Auditor

3.1 The District Auditor carries out an annual audit of the Performance Plan.

3.2 Last year the audit report concludes that the plan was compliant with legislation and made the following non-statutory recommendations:

· Integrating the development of the performance plan with other planning processes

· Making it clear how alternative options for service delivery have been considered in Best Value reviews

· Expanding the commentary on response to inspections, to include planned changes and resources required to improve service delivery

3.3 The auditor concluded `The above issues are not considered to be significant in the context of the BV opinion, rather suggestions for officers to consider when preparing future performance plans.'

3.4 This year the audit has taken the form of:

· the usual compliance audit

· an additional qualitative assessment.

3.5 The recommendations from last year's audit report have been worked on as part of the development of the 2003 performance plan. The 2002/03 draft audit report indicates that the new web-style plan is also compliant with the legislation and there are no statutory recommendations. Early indications are that one other recommendation may be made in respect of developing the web site further to ensure a clearer emphasis on and integration of corporate priorities within the site.

4 Summarised performance information

4.1 It is proposed to continue with the tried and tested formula for this annual report to the general public on the Council's performance. The essential elements are:

· A trailer in the Council Tax leaflet advising people that the summarised performance information will be published via Hampshire Now and where to obtain further information.

· A special 4 page (8 sided) supplement in the Spring edition of Hampshire Now, to be distributed to every household by 31 March. A slight modification to the title has been necessitated by the removal of the phrase `best value'. In conjunction with Corporate Communications a revised title of `How well are we doing? our services under the microscope' has been selected.

· The design of the supplement will continue to benefit from market research carried out as part of the process of developing Hampshire Now. Focus groups have been particularly useful in influencing the final presentation.

4.2 The content of the supplement will highlight current performance on key areas with an indication of how the Council is prioritising development activity. The content will again be structured around the Corporate Strategy with a focus on the priority areas identified as part of the CPA refresh exercise, which is based on the Hampshire Improvement Programme and the monitoring of the Corporate Strategy. Selected articles in the main part of the Hampshire Now magazine will complement, where practical, areas of activity that are reported on in the supplement.

4.3 It is proposed that final approval of the summarised performance information is given by the Leader and the Chief Executive. If timing allows this will occur as part of the approval process for Hampshire Now.

5 Approach to delivering the full Performance Plan (PP)

5.1 It is proposed to continue with the successful delivery of the Performance Plan as a web site. The key reasons for continuing with this approach are:

· the Audit Commission see the plan as a key vehicle for assessing progress with strategic priorities, which means there is a considerable amount of information to report

· the continuous update nature of the plan makes for more timely monitoring and assessment

· the positive comments received about the web site

· the reduction in production costs.

5.2 With the Performance Plan being one of only two plans required by Government, its importance as a mechanism for communicating successful achievements, performance issues and priorities for improvement continues to grow. The continued development of the Performance Plan web site will support this key monitoring tool.

5.3 In planning how the Council will continue to maintain its excellent status it will be important to ensure there is evidence of its continuing self awareness and willingness to take difficult decisions in response to changing priorities. Therefore, departments will be encouraged to use the preparation of information for the performance plan as a way of maintaining the currency of the CPA self-assessment.

5.4 The move to a continually updated web document has made it possible for Members to be more fully engaged, through a cycle of continuous reporting. It is proposed to continue with the content of the full performance plan being considered in stages, reflecting the current approach to reporting to Members. Officers will continue to assess whether the item they are reporting on should be summarised for inclusion in the Performance Plan.

5.5 Revised change management process

5.5.1 During the year information is received from a number of sources, which is then analysed and presented for Member approval. Key sources include:

· The improvement (Best Value review) programme - annually reviewed and agreed by Cabinet

· Outcomes of Best Value reviews - considered in depth by the relevant Policy Review Committee. Once the outcome is clear, a report is sent to the relevant Executive Member or Cabinet (in the case of cross-cutting issues) to enable implementation of the improvement plan through integration in the Budget Plan and/or strategic plans. This report will also include key issues arising from Best Value inspections.

· Performance Indicator results and targets - regular reports to be placed before Cabinet

· Financial statements - extracted from budget reports, already reported to Cabinet

· Context statement from CPA - to be updated as part of the CPA refresh and Corporate Strategy monitoring processes

· Achievements report - this report is placed before Cabinet annually

· Response to audit and inspection - corporate audit issues are reported to Cabinet via the Annual Audit Management letter. The response clarifies the statement to be included in the full Performance Plan. Inspection responses will either be to the relevant Executive Member or to the PRC in the case of Best Value inspections

· Service / strategy outcomes - normal monitoring of strategic targets that are linked to the Corporate Strategy, Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) or other corporate projects.

5.5.2 Following approval of the above documents, extracts or summaries of the information will be drafted and edited, with presentation being approved by Chief Officers and the Corporate Communications Team. Finally, the extract or summary will be used to update the Performance Plan web site.

5.5.3 Additional information on specific projects or departmental activity may emerge from other strands of activity, such as, accreditation processes or press releases. This text will be approved by Chief Officers, who will identify any significant issues that should be brought to the attention of Executive Members.

5.6 While the majority of member involvement will be achieved through this continuous process, the Performance Plan is part of the Council's Policy Framework. It is, therefore, proposed that a report is taken to full Council in May 2004, summarising the key messages of the plan at that time and providing an outline of the sections on the web sites that will constitute the formal publication on 30 June.

Recommendations

1 That summarised performance information is published as a special supplement in the Spring edition of Hampshire Now, following the format used in the last three years

2 That approval of the final content of the summary performance supplement is given by the Leader and the Chief Executive

3 That the full Performance Plan continues to be published on Hantsnet and Hantsweb

4 That the revised change management process is implemented to ensure that the Performance Plan is kept up-to-date as an effective monitoring tool and that Members are kept informed of its content

5 That a report is taken to full Council in May 2004 summarising the key messages of the plan and providing the sections available on the web sites that will constitute the formal publication on 30 June.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

None

N.B. The list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.