Contact: Nick Thomas, ext 7174; [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report includes the outline of the Council's Performance Plan 2005/06, indicates Member involvement in the various elements of the plan and identifies the key messages that it will contain. At present information relating to last year's figures has been used prior to the availability of data for this year.

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 The full plan remains a large document, with the reader usually interested in accessing sections of information rather than the whole document. Therefore the Cabinet agreement of 24 November 2003 remains, outlining that the plan would continue to be published as a website enabling a dynamic approach to updating the information.

2.3 The website structure also enables us to signpost information and so we will continue to include links to additional information.

2.4 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.

2.5 Since members of the public continue to be informed about performance through the special supplement in the spring edition of Hampshire Now, they are not a primary audience for the full performance plan. This means that the technical style and content of the full plan is appropriate for its primary function as a reference document.

2.6 The website address is: http://www.hants.gov.uk/corporatestrategy/

2.7 The plan is available in libraries, through the People's Network with the support of library staff and through information centres, with the support of information centre staff.

3 Outline structure of the Performance Plan

3.1 The full Performance Plan contains the following core ¹elements:

· Information about the context in which the Council operates

· The key aims and priorities of the Council identified in the 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 and particularly relating to staff transfers

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. /decisions/decisions-docs/ Appendix 1 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 2.

Recommendation

1 That the Council approve the framework for the Performance Plan for 2005/06, subject to the Leader and the Chief Executive agreeing the final text of the summary of performance against corporate aims and priorities.

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.

Appendix 1

Appendix 2 - Draft summary analysis of County Council's performance 04/05

Our Self assessment

The development of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) has been founded on the principle that high performing organisations are aware of their own strengths and take action to develop their capacity to address areas for improvement. On this basis, self-assessment is a key element of the approach to CPA and more importantly to improving the public services we are responsible for.

Maintaining the currency of our self-assessment is vital and we have decided to use this website as the medium for integrating and holding our key priorities and performance results. In particular the section 'Progress with Corporate Aims' summarises our progress with our key targets, while more detailed information can be found in the remaining sections.

The Government's view

In December 2004 Hampshire County Council learnt that it remained an `excellent' rated council, 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.

What did the auditors say?

The Annual Audit and Inspection Letter for 2004 stated that the Council has some good services and that based on Hampshire's current plans, is well placed to further improve the way it works and the services it provides. It went on to say that the Council fully understands its commitment to the Community Strategy and identifies what it wants to achieve by setting challenging targets and ambitions. For the third year running the Council has been categorised as excellent. The auditor identified a small number of areas, such as the continued development of performance management processes, where the council could take further action.

How do we measure up against other county councils?

Each year we record our performance against a range of national performance indicators. In the past we have selected a core basket of 45 indicators to measure our performance over time and compare ourselves with other county councils. From 2003/4 we have extended this comparison to cover all 91 national performance indicators relative to county councils. Of these 91, Hampshire achieved a top quartile ranking in 26, a second quartile ranking in 25, a third quartile ranking in 26 and a fourth quartile ranking in 14.

2003/4 was also the year that a Customer Satisfaction Survey was performed. This was measured by 14 indicators and Hampshire achieved a top quartile ranking in 10, a second quartile ranking in 3 and a third quartile ranking in 1.

Overall Hampshire achieved a ranking of 4th when both the Customer Satisfaction and national indicator results were combined.

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 currently looking at a number of Performance Management packages which would help us to monitor and report our performance and improve our opportunities to take remedial action to address concerns with performance at an early stage.

What have our service 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.