Contact: Paul Sorrell (01962) 847174; [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report includes the outline of the Council's Performance Plan 2004/05, indicates Member involvement in the various elements of the plan and identifies the key messages that it will contain.

1.2 The Performance Plan is one of only two plans required of `excellent' councils and is part of the Council's Policy Framework:

· The Council is required, by statute, to publish an annual Performance Plan, for publication and submission to the appointed auditor by 30 June

· In accordance with the Council's Constitution, the Council itself is required to approve the Performance Plan.

2 Background

2.1 The purpose of this report is to demonstrate how reports and decisions taken during the course of the year are combined in the Performance Plan.

2.2 On the 1 March 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minster (ODPM) issued revised Performance Plan guidance as an addendum to the Best Value and Performance Improvement circular 03/2003. Overall the guidance reduces the burden on `excellent and `good' councils and so is to be welcomed.

2.3 In particular, it is no longer necessary to provide information that can be obtained from other sources, such as CPA scores, summarised financial information, progress with implementing improvement measures and outcomes arising from those measures.

2.4 Even so, the full plan remains a weighty document, with the reader usually interested in accessing snippets of information rather than the whole document. Therefore Cabinet agreed on 24 November 2003, that the plan for 2004/05 would continue to be published as a website, using a structure which `drills down' to increasing levels of detail and more importantly enabling a dynamic approach to updating the information.

2.5 The website structure also enables us to signpost information without significant effort on our part and so we will continue to include links to the information mentioned in paragraph 2.3.

2.6 The guidance also confirmed the principal audiences for the Performance Plan are:

· Staff and elected Members of the authority

· Groups and organisations with an interest in the activities of the authority

· Regulatory bodies and central Government.

Since members of the public continue to be informed about performance through the special supplement in the spring edition of Hampshire Now, the technical style and content of the full plan now has greater relevance to its primary function as a reference document.

The working website address will be e-mailed under separate cover to each Council Member.

The plan will be available in our Libraries, through the People's Network with the support of library staff and through our Information Centres, with the support of information centre staff, in time for the publication date of 30 June.

3 Outline structure of the Performance Plan

3.1 The full Performance Plan contains the following core elements:

· Information about the context in which the Council operates

· The key aims and priorities of the Council, reflecting Cabinet priorities, in the revised Corporate Strategy

· A summary of performance against these aims

· Results of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) and other relevant audit and inspection reports, outlining the County Council's responses and progress with them

· A full listing of results and targets for the national Best Value Performance Indicators

· A brief statement on contracts, identifying issues which arise under the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters.

3.2 The full Performance Plan will also signpost the following items:

· CPA scores

· The outcomes of Best Value reviews and proposals for future reviews

· Progress against local PSA targets

· Resident consultation strategy and results

· Summarised financial information.

4 Preparation and approval of the content of the Performance Plan

4.1 Almost all the elements of the Performance Plan have been considered by Members throughout the year. Therefore there should be no surprises in the overall message that the Performance Plan conveys. Appendix one maps out the paths that each of the key elements, outlined in paragraph 3.1, have taken or will take through the approval process.

4.2 Some of the information, notably current performance indicator results, is not available until immediately prior to the publication deadline. This will mean that the content will require further refinement although it is necessary for the Council to approve the format of the plan at this meeting, in order to achieve publication by the due date of 30 June. The majority of this late information is unlikely to have any impact on the key messages conveyed by the Performance Plan. It is, therefore, suggested that authority be given to the Leader and the Chief Executive, to agree the final content of the section `A summary of performance against corporate aims and priorities', which is where any substantive change might appear. An early draft of this section is attached at Appendix two.

4.3 The statement on contracts, identifying issues which arise under the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters is again a required element of the plan. The information is currently being reviewed and it is not anticipated that there are any significant issues to disclose. It is, therefore, suggested that this section is also finally approved by the Leader and Chief Executive.

Recommendation

1 That the Council approve the outline Performance Plan for 2004/05, subject to the Leader and the Chief Executive agreeing the final text of the summary of performance against corporate aims and priorities and the statement on contracts.

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.

How well are we doing?

The Government's view

Following on from the first round of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), the Audit Commission carried out an interim `refresh' exercise for every first tier local authority during the Autumn of 2003. In December 2003 Hampshire County Council learnt that it was one of 26 out of 150 upper tier local authorities that had been judged as excellent, both for its corporate ability and for the delivery of local public services.

We will continue to be judged each year on whether we have learnt lessons from CPA and how we are using freedoms and flexibilities granted by Government to improve still further. We are responding to five recommendations related to our corporate ability, which the Auditor continues to monitor annually:

· Ensuring we are consistent in our communication of corporate priorities

· Fully supporting cross-cutting initiatives, such as equalities, crime & disorder

· Developing performance management

· Using consultation to influence outcomes

· Developing political scrutiny to challenge existing policies and strategies.

Our improvement programme is now incorporated with our Corporate Strategy, in response to CPA findings.

What do the people of Hampshire think?

In 2003 MORI carried out a survey of Hampshire residents on our behalf. MORI concluded that we have maintained a strong position when compared with the national picture. Our perceived strengths are seen as keeping people informed about what we do, coupled with a strong performance on street lighting. Users believe that services have improved, with ratings also holding up well for roads, libraries, planning and social care, although there has been a small fall in leisure/recreational services amongst users and the public. Residents' key concerns relate to the road system and congestion, with individual district residents highlighting concerns over public transport, affordable housing, crime and facilities for teenagers.

How do we measure up against other county councils?

Each year we record our performance against a range of over 100 national performance indicators. We select a core basket of 45 indicators to measure our performance over time and compare ourselves with other county councils. The Council has improved from third position in 2001/02 to second position in 2002/03 (first position in 2000/01). This is a good performance as it must be remembered that other county councils are working to improve their relative position at the same time. Further examination of the results shows that for 2002/03 the ranking of more indicators fell than improved which is a reversal of results in 2001/02, where there was a net improvement in rankings. Many of the movements in ranking are only minor and must be considered in the context that overall Hampshire's performance in 2002/03 improved in relation to its performance in 2001/02 (see December 2003 report to Cabinet), suggesting that Hampshire's rate of improvement is merely slower than that of other county councils for certain indicators.

Other authorities use different baskets of indicators and methods of calculation, arriving at different results, in which Hampshire does not fare so well; in many cases comparison is made with the full 150 top tier authorities. We are implementing new monitoring and reporting procedures to improve our opportunities to take remedial action to address concerns with performance at an early stage.

What have our own reviews told us?

We have carried out a significant number of fundamental service reviews since April 2000. As we near the end of our original timetable to review all our services, the pressure for Best Value reviews has been replaced by a focus on the Hampshire Improvement Programme (HIP) which responded to the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). The principles of Best Value also continue to be promoted within the annual service planning and improvement process, which aims to integrate service planning targets with the resources allocated through the budgeting and workforce planning processes. Service planning will embrace any outstanding issues from previous reviews.

The annual update of progress with Best Value reviews continues to show that the majority of improvements have been implemented and are meeting their targets for improvement. The Education Other Than at School (EOTAS) and the Support for Children and Young People reviews have also helped inform the Council's response to the `Every Child Matters' green paper.

This year's notable achievements have been identified through the HIP and the Major Achievements Report. Highlights include:

· improvement in five GCSE A* - C grades in targeted areas

· improved stability of home placements and in GCSE results for looked after children

· innovative scheme to provide 500 additional nursing care places has commenced

· the Council has won an award for providing Direct Payments to older people

· maintaining improvement on the LPSA target for intensive home care

· likely to exceed targets for diversion of waste from landfill

· partnerships to explore integrated transport management and strategic procurement as part of the Council's approach to addressing long term issues

· road accident reduction (supported by the speed camera partnership)

· young people are increasingly directly engaged in decision making

· development of the Youth Strategy and Connexions has established strong networking arrangements in which joint working and innovative schemes can flourish.

What did the auditors say?

The Annual Audit and Inspection Letter for 2003/04 stated that the Council has some of the best services provided by a county council, performance continues to improve and satisfaction remains high. Both political and managerial leadership are aware that there is more to do and retain a clear commitment to further improvement. It went on to say that more focus on outcomes is now needed to enable Members to monitor progress and identify tangible improvements. For the second year running the Council has been categorised as excellent and is well placed to further improve the way it works and the services it provides local people. The auditor identified a small number of areas where the council could take further action.