Contact: Nick Thomas, Policy and Performance Officer, ext 7174

1 Summary

1.1 During 2004 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'. This means `Best Value' has been dropped from the title of the Performance Plan. The principles of best value continue to be applied but within the overall performance management framework.

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.

· Reporting on the full Performance Plan to Members.

2 Background

2.1 Central Government requires every local authority to publish an annual Performance Plan. The legislation for Best Value was set out originally in: `The Local Government Act 1999: Part 1', and was subsequently amended by Statutory Instrument no. 2002/305. Further guidance was issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) as circular 03/2003 and its addendum 02/2004. As an authority categorised under its Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) as `excellent', certain freedoms are awarded 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. Therefore, in order to maintain its `excellent' status, the Council must make use of this document as an essential aid in informing and developing its services.

3 Recommendations from the District Auditor

3.1 The Annual Audit Letter contains:

· The compliance audit on the content of the Performance Plan and the accuracy of the Best Value Performance Indicators within it.

· The qualitative assessment for CPA on evidence of the Council's progress with its corporate priorities since last year.

3.2 The audit report on the Best Value Performance Plan and Best Value Performance Indicators for 2004/05 and the early draft of the Annual Audit Letter for 2003/04, indicate that the 2004 Performance Plan is compliant with legislation and that there has been an improvement in the accuracy of the Best Value Performance Indicators. Reservations were placed against four indicators, continuing the downward trend since 2001/02 and reflecting the Council's positive response to the auditors recommendations last year. There is a continued emphasis on addressing accuracy issues.

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.

· 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 and have highlighted the need to present statistical data more clearly.

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 within the Corporate Strategy aims with a focus on the priority areas identified through the development of the Community Strategy. These are:

· Health and well being,

· Economic prosperity and lifelong learning,

· Strong and safe communities,

· Environment, infrastructure and transport.

Selected articles in the main part of the Hampshire Now magazine will also complement where practical, areas of activity that are reported on in the supplement and vice versa.

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 its key role as a monitoring tool.

5.3. In planning how the Council continues to maintain its excellent status it is important to ensure there is evidence of its continuing self awareness and willingness to take difficult decisions in response to changing priorities. Therefore, departments are 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. Approval mechanism

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, usually in December

· Outcomes of Best Value reviews - considered in depth by the relevant Policy Review Committee or the Scrutiny Select 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 inspections, if they have taken place.

· Performance Indicator results and targets - regular reports to be placed before Cabinet or incorporated within the Corporate Performance Report

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

· `About Hampshire' statement - to be updated as part of the CPA refresh and Corporate Strategy monitoring processes

· Achievements report - this report is placed before Cabinet annually, usually in March

· Response to audit and inspection - corporate audit issues are reported to Cabinet via the Annual Audit 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 Policy and Review Committee, Scrutiny & Select Committee in the case of Best Value inspections

· Service / strategy outcomes - normal monitoring of strategic targets that are linked to the Corporate Strategy which incorporates Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA), Cabinet Priorities, CPA Improvement Programme and 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.

5.5.4 While the majority of member involvement will be achieved through this continuous process, the Performance Plan is part of the Council's Policy Framework. Therefore, a report is taken to full Council every May 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.

5.5.5 This process of producing the summary and full Performance Plans is now an established mechanism for reporting the Councils performance over the previous financial year. It is therefore proposed that this cabinet report need not be produced again each year as the procedures and statutory requirements contained within it are essentially stable.

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 four years

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

3 That a report is taken to full Council in May 2005 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.

4 That this process is agreed for future years.

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.