Committee:

RECOMMENDATIONS:

That the Hub Committee:

1. Consider the Council Plan 2024-2028 as set out in Appendix A and Year 1 (2024/25) delivery plan in Appendix B;

2. RECOMMEND to Council to adopt the Council Plan and 2024-25 Delivery Plan at its meeting on 20 February 2024.

3. RECOMMEND to Council to approve the funding for the 2024-25 Delivery Plan (as set out in section 5.4 of this report).

1. Executive summary

1.1 The Hub Committee considered a draft of its vision and strategy, from this point forward known as The Council Plan, at its meeting at its meeting on 21 November 2023 and agreed to progress with public and partner consultation on the draft plan.

1.2 In parallel with the consultation, Advisory Groups have continued to meet in order to shape the delivery plans for 2024/25.

1.3 The final Council Plan and delivery plan for the 2024/25 are set out in Appendix A and Appendix B to this report.

2. Background

2.1 The Council Plan sets out our longer-term ambition for the borough. To support this ambition, we have developed thematic action plans for each of the key priority areas, which together form the Annual Delivery Plan, covering the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

2.2 The thematic action plans have been developed by Hub Lead Members in consultation with officers and have been informed by Advisory Groups open to all Members of the Council.

2.3 The delivery plan ensures that our resources are aligned to supporting Members’ priorities and that our residents are clear about what we will doing on their behalf. Wherever possible SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) targets have been developed to enable the Council to monitor progress against the plan.

2.4 Once adopted by Council, the delivery plan will be subject to regular monitoring, annual updates and reporting through the Hub and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

3. Public Consultation

3.1 The public consultation on the draft of The Council Plan commenced on Monday 27^th November 2023 and ran through until 14^th January 2024 – a total of seven weeks.

3.2 The consultation included a range of ways to seek views on the draft strategy including:

a. An online public consultation platform with survey.

b. A dedicated email address to send ‘free-text’ responses

c. An online Town and Parish Council briefing.

d. Resident engagement via Council presence at Okehampton Health and Wellbeing Alliance, Tavistock Dickensian Evening and Okehampton Edwardian evening.

3.3 While levels of response to the consultation were relatively low, the responses received were broadly in support of the priorities for the Council and provided helpful feedback to refine our proposals.

3.4 The key points from the consultation are set out in Appendix C to this report and have informed some minor amendments to the final strategy. A common theme emerging from the consultation was the wish for the Council to have greater clarity on exactly what it will deliver and to focus on delivering core services well.

3.5 The amendments made to the document include:

a. Clarifying some terms so that its clearer what we mean – using less technical language.

b. Renaming the document to The Council Plan – to better reflect its purpose.

c. Reduced the Primary Aims under ‘People and Communities’ and ‘Inclusive Services’ to remove potential duplication.

d. Adding additional clarification to better explain some actions.

e. Adding an additional action (based on feedback from Town and Council colleagues) around re-establishing Town and Parish Links meetings as a valued forum to address local issues across the area.

3.6 An updated version of The Council Plan can be found at Appendix A to this report.

3.7 The consultation responses received have informed the final delivery plan and the majority of points raised have been addressed in the delivery plans.

4. The Council Plan implementation and Performance Management

4.1 To ensure that the Council remains on track with delivering its plans, the delivery plan includes an outline of the Performance Management Framework for the Council.

4.2 The performance management framework sets out how the Council plans and organises its resources to achieve its vision and priorities.

4.3 Now that the Hub Committee have developed delivery plans, managers are ensuring that their service plans for the coming year align to those aims and ambitions. In turn, service plans will inform individual employee's objectives for the coming year which will ensure the whole organisation is aligned with the plan.

4.4 The framework also sets out how we will monitor progress against delivering the plans and ensures that there is clear accountability and clarity on corporate performance reporting.

4.5 Monitoring will be through a broad bundle of processes including:

4.5.1 The timescales and measures of success set out in the delivery plans will be reviewed by the

4.5.2 An updated suite of service key performance indicators (KPI’s) which will be reported to

4.5.3 A formal review process of Quarterly Integrated Performance Management reports to The Hub Committee; and

4.5.4 Thematic action plan reports to Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

5. Resource Implications

5.1 At its meeting on 21 November 2023 the Hub Committee considered (Minute HC 29/23 refers) the outcome of a review of Earmarked Reserves and the Capital Programme. This report identified £0.871m of Earmarked Reserves which are potentially available to support the delivery of The Council Plan and £0.263m of capital resources. These are one-off amounts, so £1.134m in total. This was subsequently approved at Council on 19 December 2023 (Item 8 (IV)).

5.2 The delivery of The Council Plan represents an overall financial commitment of £17,301,887 for 2024/25, with £16,914,387 financed from realignment of existing resources and allocations of government grants (such as UK Shared Prosperity Funding) and £387,500 of new monies from the £1.134m. The allocation against each theme area for the 2024/25 financial year is as follows:

Theme	24/25 Financial Year
Theme	To be financed from £1.134m identified in 5.1 above (£)	To be financed from existing core budgets (£)
Natural Environment	£87,000
Built Environment	£100,000	£13,575,000
Housing	£50,000	£1,640,000
Health and Wellbeing	£25,000	£1,004,137
People and Community	£40,500	£120,000
Economy and Jobs	£60,000	£498,750
Performance and Resources	£22,000	£76,500
Inclusive Services and Communication	£3,000
TOTAL (£17,301,887)	£387,500	£16,914,387

5.3 The analysis between Revenue and Capital expenditure is as below:

	To be financed from £1.134m identified in 5.1 above (£)	To be financed from existing core budgets (£)
Revenue expenditure	£337,500	£585,250 (of which £498,750 is UKSPF revenue funding)
Capital expenditure	£50,000	£16,329,137 (of which £15.4m is Government grant funding)
TOTAL (£17,301,887)	£387,500	£16,914,387

5.4 It is recommended that the £337,500 of revenue expenditure is funded from the £0.871m of Earmarked Reserves (as per the Hub report of 21 November 2023) which were identified as being available to support the delivery of the emerging Council Plan. In addition, it is recommended that the £50,000 of capital expenditure is funded from the New Homes Bonus Earmarked Reserve (this is the £0.263m of capital resources identified for The Council Plan).

6. Proposed next steps

6.1 That the Hub Committee consider The Council Plan at Appendix A and Annual Delivery Plan at Appendix B; making any amendments prior to recommending it for adoption by full Council in February alongside the revenue and capital budget for 2024/25.

7. Implications

Implications	Relevant to proposals Y/N	Details and proposed measures to address
Legal/Governance	Y	The Council Plan is one of the plans and policies that comprise the Council’s Policy Framework. Consequently, decisions to approve, adopt or amend the final Vision and Strategy and themes will be decisions of the Full Council.
Financial implications to include reference to value for money	Y	The report recommends an overall financial envelope for each theme based on the actions set out within the delivery plan. The delivery of The Council Plan represents an overall financial commitment of £17,301,887 for 2024/25, with £16,914,387 financed from realignment of existing resources and allocations of government grants (such as UK Shared Prosperity Funding) and £387,500 of new monies from the £1.134m. The allocation against each theme area for the 2024/25 financial year is set out in section 5.2 above.
Risk	Y	Having an agreed corporate plan ensures that Council resources are aligned to delivering on agreed priorities and plans. There is a risk that the plan is not agreed when finally considered by Council however this is mitigated through our consultation and engagement activity and by forming the West Devon Vision and Strategy and delivery plans.
Supporting Corporate Strategy	Y	This report sets out the progress in developing the four-year strategy for the Council.
Consultation & Engagement Strategy	Y	The Council Plan and delivery plan have been refined following a seven-week consultation and engagement period with the public and partners. This report sets out the responses to that consultation in Appendix C.
Climate Change - Carbon / Biodiversity Impact	Y	The Council Plan sets out our primary commitments to tackling climate change and increasing biodiversity as part of the Natural Environment theme. The investment in the Natural Environment Theme is shown in 4.2 of this report.
Comprehensive Impact Assessment Implications
Equality and Diversity		Equality and Diversity Implications have been considered for The Council Plan and overall contribute to a positive impact for our residents. Equality Impact Assessments will be carried out for specific projects within the delivery plan as they commence delivery.
Safeguarding		No direct implications – specific implications will be considered alongside the delivery of specific projects within the plan
Community Safety, Crime and Disorder		No direct implications – specific implications will be considered alongside the delivery of specific projects within the plan
Health, Safety and Wellbeing		No direct implications – specific implications will be considered alongside the delivery of specific projects within the plan
Other implications		None at this stage

Supporting Information

Appendices:

Appendix A – The Council Plan;

Appendix B – Annual Delivery Plan 2024-25; and

Appendix C- Consultation Report

Background Papers:

Hub Committee 21 November 2023 – Minute HC 28/23

https://democracy.swdevon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=221&MId=1866&Ver=4

Report to:		Hub Committee
Date:		30 January 2024
Title:		The Council Plan 2024-2028
Portfolio Area:		Councillor Mandy Ewings Leader of the Council
Wards Affected:		All
Author:	Andy Bates Neil Hawke		Role:	Chief Executive Assistant Director Strategy
Contact:	Directors@swdevon.gov.uk