Archived decisions

Introduction

Hampshire has many attractions as a place to live. Compared to many other counties in England, incomes and education standards are high; unemployment and crime are low; and the population is relatively healthy.ⁱIt also has a wide range of cultural, historical and natural assets. Nevertheless, it has its own important and distinctive concerns, such as an ageing population, a shortage of low cost housing and pressure on the transport system; all of which place increasing demands on the county council and its partners, in a constrained financial environment. Starting with its excellent rating in the first Comprehensive Performance Assessment in 2002, the council has consistently been recognised for how it has addressed these issues and continued to innovate and improve within tight financial constraints. At the core of this is an ambitious corporate strategy and the eight priorities of the Local Area Agreement which are based on a detailed understanding of the needs of the county's communities supported by effective partnerships.

Hampshire - the place - the people - the economy

Hampshire as a place:

Hampshire is the third largest county in England in terms of population. Eighty seven percent of its 1.25 million people live in urban areas, although only ten per cent of the county is classified as urban.

Within the county council area there are 11 district or borough councils and 251 parish councils.

Nine tenths of Hampshire is classified as rural, with significant areas, including the coastline, subject to international and national environmental designations, with one established (New Forest) and one proposed (South Downs) National Parks.

Demographic profile:

Hampshire has slightly fewer young adults (16 to 29 year olds) and slightly more middle aged people (45 to 64 year olds) than England and Wales overall. It also has a lower proportion of population in ethnic minority groups (2.2 per cent) compared either with the South East Region (4.9 per cent) or England (9.1 per cent). Population growth between 2001, the year of the last national census, and 2026 is projected to be about 8.5per cent, an increase of approximately 104,600 people. However, the change is not uniform across all age groups. There is increasing concern in Hampshire , as well as nationally, about the impending growth in the number of pensioners whilst the population of working age declines.

Economy:

There are significant differences in economic conditions within the county, with average earnings higher in the north and unemployment higher in the south, but also with smaller pockets of deprivation within districts. The County Council's aspirations, together with other local partners, to see a significant improvement in less successful parts of the county has been recognised by the Government with the designation of South Hampshire and Basingstoke areas as New Growth Points.

The challenge of transition to a service-based and advanced manufacturing knowledge economy in the face of increasing globalisation applies across the county. Tackling this through innovation, skills, training and workforce development begins in our schools and takes in the whole business community, public services and the voluntary sector. Changing attitudes and delivering policies and programmes aimed at older workers and economic inactivity within an ageing population are also important elements for all sectors.

Provision of modern infrastructure and services, ranging from transport, water, sewerage and affordable housing to business premises (in the face of pressures for higher value residential development), educational facilities, broadband and an enhanced town and country environment, will be key to continued economic prosperity. A recent study showed that the key difficulties facing Hampshire businesses included the high cost of housing (leading to a shortage of labour), skills shortages, transport congestion, and a shortage of space to grow.

Key Issues

This broad picture combined with intelligence from the Quality of Life report, the results of the MORI residents' surveys, and work with partners, has helped to identify both the priorities for the area and the local nature of the response needed. They are encapsulated in the eight priorities of the Local Area Agreement:

Improving life chances for children and young people:

The actions identified here demonstrate that the main issue for the majority of children & young people in Hampshire is not academic achievement, with Hampshire being among the top performers at both KS 2 and 3. Action is focused on improving parenting skills and tackling health issues including sexual health, obesity and mental health and widening participation in sport, recreation and culture. The innovative flagship project is working with targeted schools to ensure that children have the support they need from family, friends and the wider community to achieve.

First class support for business, promoting skills and workforce development and addressing barriers to employment:

Again the actions are aimed at tackling the specifically Hampshire issues of low skills base and low unemployment coupled with a changing economic base to service and high productivity, high value added manufacturing and a rural economy under pressure. Priorities are helping people on benefits back into work, anchoring the job market by improving support to local firms and improving skills in the workforce and recognising the growth agenda with neighbouring unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth through the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) .

Improve the co-ordination of transport and access to services:

One of the most quoted issues for Hampshire the issue of public transport provision and high levels of traffic. The Local Area Agreement looks to use an innovative approach to target provision and improve accessibility and information to encourage use by bringing different types of transport together in a local area and making smarter use of what is available.

Improve access to housing and accommodation:

Hampshire suffers from high property prices and a low stock of affordable housing along with real concerns over housing growth. The Local Area Agreement seeks to make better use of existing land and housing stock in a sustainable way and to try to improve access to accommodation for vulnerable adults and young people.

Tackle crime and anti social behaviour recognising the harm cased by drug and alcohol misuse:

Residents surveys show that one of the key concerns in Hampshire is the fear of crime whereas crime statistics demonstrate that actual crime is well below the national average. Actions are therefore targeted at reassurance measures through tackling anti social behaviour, including deliberate fires and alcohol related crime and violence in public places. The flagship project is aimed tackling domestic violence and its impact on families.

Promote the health and wellbeing of people in Hampshire:

A high life expectancy rate coupled with low mortality and a growing older population give a clear focus for this area of work. The flagship again is an innovative approach to providing services jointly to older vulnerable people through GP practices to prevent emergency admissions to hospital. Other projects focus on healthy lifestyle issues and a co-ordinated response to accidents and emergencies.

Use material resources more efficiently:

Hampshire has always been at the forefront of national policy on material resources and waste. The Local Area Agreement aims to build on the high levels of performance in recycling by working in the commercial sector and stimulating market responses to recycling and reuse measures.

Empower local people to have a greater voice and influence over decision making and delivery of services:

With a good working relationship with voluntary and community organisations and a high level of volunteering, Hampshire has identified that the main issue is around the creation of capacity within communities and organisations to participate. Better use of the community and parish planning processes and co-ordination of community development activities will help to build a strong third sector capable of delivering public services.

The same issues have been reflected in the corporate strategy Looking after Hampshire, looking out for you. www.hants.gov.uk/corporatestrategy/ under one overarching and two supporting priorities:

Hampshire Safer and more Secure for all
- providing a clear deterrent to low level crime and anti social behaviour through the provision of ACSOs that are flexible, responsive and visible
- dealing with anti social behaviour amongst young people through a range of actions including the development of the RRR programme, working with partners in outreach, early intervention work tackling vandalism etc, providing opportunities through apprenticeships etc
Improving people's feelings of safety and security through better roads and pavements, improved street lighting, working with partners to tackle speeding and ensuring developments are designed to enhance security and safety.

Maximising Wellbeing
individuals should be able to do more than just live their lives and should be empowered to access the services they need or want. The County Council, and its partners, should work with people to build a resilience so that they can support themselves with intervention when needed to maintain the sense of wellbeing.

Enhancing our quality of place - Hampshire should be recognised by residents as a good place to live with excellent facilities, good transport links, a beautiful environment and a healthy economy. The County Council needs to ensure that this continues to be the case, protecting local distinctiveness & diversity, respecting the past and looking to the future.

Financial context

Since 2006 the County Council has been a floor authority, meaning that its grant increases from Government have been the lowest in the country and are likely to continue to be for the foreseeable future. For 2007/08 the grant increase will be 2.7%, well below the current rate of inflation. At the same time the Government has indicated that it expects council tax increases to average below 5% and that it will use its capping powers to prevent excessive increases. This limits the Council's ability to consider, in consultation with the community, options that would involve higher council tax increases to meet its budget pressures.

The main budget pressures faced by the County Council are determined by significant demographic and legislative issues:

· for adult social care where an aging population and an increasing number of young people with disabilities living into adulthood is adding progressively to the demand for care

· waste disposal cost pressures are rising at 6.5% per annum in budget terms as a result of national policies to increase taxes to reduce the use of landfill

· children's social care where the numbers of looked after children increases despite a declining child population.

The County Council has been very successful in addressing these pressures in part through efficiency measures. It has a strong focus on review programmes, an established Value for Money strategy and has delivered annual efficiency savings in excess of the Government's Gershon target of 2.5% per annum.


In setting the budget guidelines for 2007/08 Cabinet recognised the impact of major change programmes underway in the organisation with the development of Hantsdirect, a contact centre to deliver improved call handling services and the Pay and Benefits programme to address equal pay issues and modernise the County Council's pay framework. These two programmes require a significant redirection of budgets to meet these priorities with services being asked to deliver £2m workforce efficiency savings recognising the productivity improvements expected to contribute to the costs of implementing Pay and Benefits and to make savings from their budgets for services transferring to the contact centre.


Cabinet also considered the continuing impact of past budget pressures in Adults Services. 2005/06 saw an £11m overspend for the service, the implementation of a recovery plan is designed to eliminate this higher spending by the end of 2007/08, requiring a further £8m of savings from Adult Services in 2007/08. In recognising this financial and service issue as its highest budget priority the Cabinet also set other services budget reduction targets totalling £1.1m in 2007/08 to redirect funding to this high priority service.

Partnership context

Partners in Hampshire have entered into a Local Area Agreement with the Government (March 06) to focus on priority targets for the area based on the Hampshire and District Community Strategies.

Enhanced 2 tier working is increasingly important and plans to work more effectively with District Councils, and other partners, are being discussed through the Hampshire & IoW Local Government Association Improvement Board.

A new Children and Young People's Plan has been agreed and published by partners across Hampshire. The Plan is based on the principle that all services work in partnership with children, young people and their parents and carers, and consult with them about the planning and delivery of services. This approach to working in partnership includes a strong commitment to identify a child's needs at the earliest possible stage, and work collaboratively with everyone involved to find effective solutions in response to the Government's White Paper, "Every Child Matters".