Item 8 - Appendix 2
West Dunbartonshire Council · 24 May 2023
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 24 May 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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2023/24 CITIZEN, CULTURE AND FACILITIES APPENDIX 2
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Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Performance Review ............................................................................................................................................................. 3 3. Strategic Assessment ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Resources ........................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix 1: Action Plan .................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
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1. Introduction Citizen, Culture and Facilities comprises a wide range of services covering Citizen Services, Communications, Facilities Management, Libraries and Cultural Services and Performance and Strategy. It is one of eight strategic areas responsible for delivering the Council’s Strategic Plan. Key actions to help achieve this are set out in this Delivery Plan, together with actions to address any performance challenges and service priorities identified in the planning process. The progress of this Plan will be monitored and managed by the management team and reported to Corporate Services Committee twice yearly, at mid-year and year-end. 2. Performance Review The CCF management team completed a detailed review of 2022/23 performance, focusing on the following: • 2022/23 Delivery Plan year-end progress • Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) comparative data • Citizens’ Panel feedback; • Telephone Survey feedback; • Complaints; • Continuous Improvement (Fit for Future reviews); • Other benchmarking/feedback This review highlighted our key achievements in 2022/23 as well as the challenges to be addressed in 2023/24. These are summarised below. Key Achievements in 2022/23 Listed below are some of the major achievements in each service area. All services achieve many other key outcomes for the Council and its residents throughout the year which are not recorded here but are as important. Citizen, Libraries and Digital Services • Major refurbishment of Clydebank Library, including significant upgrades to Adult and Children’s library spaces.
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• Successfully enhanced the intranet content and improved accessibility for all our employees. • Upgraded our website platform to the latest technology and ensured it is now fully maintained for security purposes. Strategic Communications, Culture & Performance • Delivered strategic communications support and advice, providing 24-7 media management to protect the Council’s reputation and continued to expand the reach of the Council’s social media channels increasing the audience to over 42,000 and growing engagement across our platforms • Staged the first in person Provost Civic Awards in three years, ensuring the contributions of our local residents and community groups were highlighted and valued in a high profile event. • Successfully promoted the Scottish Pipe Band Championships and Highland Games, generating local, national and international press coverage to attract increased visitors to the events and local area. • Officially launched the new Vale of Leven Heritage Hub in Alexandria Library, including new museum displays that tell key stories about the area, alongside a newly refurbished community space. • Entered into a contract with Ancestry, the world’s largest online genealogy resource, to digitise and index key historical records from the Council’s local history and archive collections, dramatically increasing access to these name rich resources whilst enhancing preservation for posterity. • Generated additional income for the Council through Performance, Strategic Planning and Equalities support to external organisations. • Developed and Implemented the Council Strategic Plan, setting out key council wide priorities over the next 5 year. Facilities Management • Completed review of the structure of Facilities Management Service including consultation, appointing a new Senior Manager, recruitment of staff to key roles, developed new delivery model and new service plan and retained Food for Life accreditation.
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Key Challenges in 2022/23 Citizen, Libraries and Digital Services • The rationalisation of resources and development of service efficiencies has resulted in an increased reliance and expansion of web content and functionality resulting in increased responsibilities and supplier costs. • The significant increase in demand to the Housing Repairs Contact Centre impacted on the availability of staff and additionally the performance of the general enquiry Contact Centre. • The change of process to access Council officers, now working remotely, increased the volume of calls to Contact Centre and placed additional demand on the service. • The management of complaints became more complex with some outstanding complaints delayed in resolution. This provides challenges for the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO). Communications, Offices & Town Hall & Culture • In communications, the team focused a significant amount of effort on the Council saving options to deliver a balanced budget. • The Communication and Marketing team operated without a full complement of staff for part of the year resulting in increased demand on staff and alternative service models being introduced. • Delays in the capital programme, and in particular building works, impacted on the progress of work across the cultural assets. Facilities Management • For most of the year, the service operated without a senior manager due to the retirement of the existing post holder and a delay in the new post holder being recruited. This created significant pressure on the service. • High levels of sickness continue to have an impact on available resource resulting in reduced workforce numbers and increased demands on existing teams. • The turnover coupled with the time taken to replace, recruit and train employees continued to be a challenge in 2022-23.
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3. Strategic Assessment The CCF management team completed a strategic assessment to determine the major influences on service delivery and priorities in 2023/24. The key factors are summarised below. Key Factors Financial Challenges The entire public sector is continuing to face significant financial challenges due to a range of factors including inflationary cost increases, rising utility costs and insufficient funding to support the delivery of front line and back office services. The Council are currently faced with an estimated cumulative funding gap in 2024/25 of £9.7m rising to £29.5m by 2027/28. We will continue to monitor the overall financial position of the Council and updates on estimated future budget gaps will be reported to Elected Members throughout 2023/24. These challenges mean further action is required to balance our budget and protect services for residents. This will mean that within Citizen Culture and Facilities, available funding will be reduced over time and we will need to reconfigure how we work, what we do, where we work, and potentially reduce the number of people employed. In this context, we will aim to continue to provide a sustainable, quality service to internal clients and the public. Budget Sensitivity Analysis Within this service, budgets identified as being more susceptible to fluctuations are the Town Hall in respect of rising utility costs and Facilities Management as a result of pressure on food costs in Catering. The Town Hall is also susceptible to fluctuations depending on levels of income that are achieved. Citizen Culture & Facilities Action Plan Citizen, Libraries and Digital Services Telephony Enhancements The telephony system was upgraded in December 2019 and again throughout 2021/22. We continue to explore further improvements alongside our ICT colleagues. Over 2022/23 we explored call recording and call positioning announcements in our contact Centre environments and the transfer of our Emergency Out of Hours telephone numbers to contact centre technology. Over 2023/24 we will include the addition of Housing
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Allocations to the telephony system and we will explore further improvements with our ICT colleagues including our Homeless teams’ telephone calls being upgraded. Having reviewed the data for both contact centres including analysis of call volumes and performance, the call waiting targets for both contact centres will be revised in 23/24 Complaints Management Improvements The coordination of the corporate complaints process requires review ensuring adequate communication channels with responsible managers in each service. This will enable timely responses and regulatory time lines being adhered to. A new complaints management system has been developed in 2022/23. The testing of the pilot system has been delayed, this will be further progressed in 2023/24, together with further improvements which will be reviewed in 2023/24. Customer Service Standards (Citizen Charter) A refresh of service level agreement for accessing Council services will be delivered via a staff survey and management workshops to redesign a new version of the Customer Service Standards and then reported to PMRG for approval or subsequent report to Committee. Review Service provision for Libraries Services Currently there are eight libraries across West Dunbartonshire, three in the main towns of Alexandria, Dumbarton and Clydebank and the remaining five in villages and estates. Opportunities exist to co-locate the libraries outwith the three main town centers. Following The savings options agreed to deliver the 2023/24 budget, co-location opportunities will be progressed for Balloch, Parkhall, Duntocher (within Glenhead), and Dalmuir in alternative Council properties or partner providers. Libraries will be undertaking a body of work to implement the agreed initiatives including the co-location of Balloch, Dalmuir, Duntocher and Parkhall libraries, the reduction of the school library offer to 3 days per week, and a review of opening hours and service structures. Actions looking at the service structure and frontline customer service training were halted in 2022/23 pending the outcome of the Council budget setting. These will now proceed in 2023/24. Similarly, work to progress a new interior design for Dalmuir library was halted, Dalmuir library will now co-locate with the CE Centre. An action to design and install furniture at the new location will now be undertaken in 2023/24. Libraries Sustainability Following recruitment of a sustainability co-ordinator and development of sustainability action plan in 2022-23 the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) funded Sustainability project will progress in 23/24 with the undertaking of an ambitious action plan to inform and educate public, while also measurably reducing the carbon footprint of library services. Upgrade Content Management System
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The system in use for content management on Web and intranet is coming to end of life. We will work with our ICT colleagues to source and procure the services of a suitable provider to ensure migration of the systems for 2023/24. Community Facilities The savings options agreed to deliver the 2023/24 budget have resulted in a review of community facility provision across West Dunbartonshire We will review the full service provision and progress development of the plan to transfer up to seven community facilities to community ownership, lease or where no alternative exists, closure. Commercialisation Opportunities Following the saving option agreed to deliver the 2023/24 budget we will progress a plan to generate additional income through the sale of advertising space on waste vehicles, lease of sites for billboard advertising and commercialisation opportunities at Church Street, Bruce Street Baths and Aurora House including letting available space to third parties. Strategic Communications, Culture & Performance Communications Strategy Following delay in preparing a new Communications Strategy 2022/23, it will be developed over 2023/24 and presented to align with the new Strategic Plan for period 2022-27. A communication strategy enables effective communication with and between employees and meet core organisational objectives. It sets out how we will engage with colleagues, citizens and partners. It ensures that everyone involved has adequate information to communicate the Council’s key messages, maintaining consistency in the workplace and preventing any ambiguity. This will supersede the current 2017-22 communications strategy. Communication Plan to Support Budget Savings Initiatives Following the budget meeting on March 1 2023, a number of savings options to balance the budget were agreed. There are a number of these which will result in changes to the operation of frontline services, and will require formal communications planning to ensure objectives are met, target audiences are reached and key messages are provided effectively. Bespoke communications plans will be developed to support this activity in each service area. Glencairn House Work will continue to progress the detailed designs for the redevelopment of Glencairn House as a combined museum/library facility via WDC’s successful Levelling Up Fund bid. This project will progress into its construction phase, following appropriate tender, by end 2023. Concurrently,
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work will continue to secure external funding support for a programme of activity to animate and celebrate this new resource on Dumbarton High Street, in tandem with the redevelopment of the current library building on Strathleven Place. Strathleven Place As the Glencairn House project progresses, work will continue to ensure a positive future use for the current Dumbarton Library building on Strathleven Place. This building will be converted into a publically accessible archive and collections store, replacing outdated and unsuitable storage across the Council’s most important heritage objects and documents. Following development of a design concept, detailed designs will be taken forward, capitalising on and expanding the storytelling linked to West Dunbartonshire’s wider history and heritage, currently focused on Glencairn House in Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven Heritage Hub in Alexandria, and the new museum in Clydebank Library. Clydebank Heritage Hub Having been further impacted by delays associated with the installation of necessary pipework in the library building to support connection to the District Heating Network, this project is now expected to complete by end 2023. Detailed designs have been agreed and activity is underway to deliver an engaging and informative new museum experience that highlights the rich history of Clydebank to both local residents and visitors alike. Strategic Engagement In line with the Council’s Strategic Plan, to ensure our residents are engaged and empowered we will review our approach towards strategic engagement with a particular focus on increasing participation from seldom heard voices, improving how we feedback results to the community and partners, and exploring best practice with engagement tools. Equalities Strategy Review The rights set out in the United Nations Children’s Rights Convention (UNCRC) Bill was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 16 March 2021, and work continues nationally to have this incorporated as law. The UNCRC sets out the rights to which children under 18 are entitled in all areas of their lives and recognises that especially vulnerable children, including care experienced children, migrant children and children with disabilities, require particular protection. To meet new legislative requirements, work will begin to review our Equalities Strategy to ensure the inclusion of UNCRC is considered in all areas of policy and practice and undertake a review of our approach towards Equality Impact Assessments to reflect any changes. Ensuring Best Value and Continuous Improvement It is important that all services focus on delivering best value, a key aspiration across the Council. During 2023/24 the Council will undertake its Controller of Audit Report. The Performance and Strategy team will be central to this work, supporting the organisation and the auditors
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throughout the process. The team will also support the organisation to deliver on any recommendations arising from the audit, embedding these in improvement plans and delivery plans to ensure key linkages are made. Facilities Management Facilities Management Improvement Plan A review of the FM management structure was undertaken in 2022-23 to respond to Scottish Government policy changes and resultant service expansion, provide additional support for frontline employees and ultimately deliver a more efficient and sustainable service aligned to delivering the requirements of FM. With the new management structure in place including the appointment of a service manager the next phase of the improvement plan will be taken forward. These include implementing new policies and procedure to support frontline staff. Focus on staff engagement and roll out of training programme for staff at all levels, Food for Life Implementation Plan The Food for Life Scotland programme aims to increase the amount of healthy, locally sourced food served by local authorities in early years settings, schools and care homes and currently operates in 18 Scottish local authorities. Facilities Management will progress a plan for early years and schools and aim to maintain accreditation in 2023-24 at Bronze level. Thereafter we will look for opportunities to further expand the programme across the service. Council Wide Climate Change Strategy The Council has developed a Climate Change Strategy in response to Scotland’s climate emergency and to provide a route map towards meeting Scotland’s national net zero carbon target by 2045. This Strategy has informed the development of a Climate Change Action Plan for 2023/24 to ensure environmental actions are devolved to relevant service areas and climate change action is mainstreamed across Council policies, operations and the wider public. Progress against the actions assigned to CCF will be monitored. Continuous Improvement To support continuous improvement, the Council has an established programme of Fit for Future service reviews. Using a range of tools, information is gathered and reviewed to identify improvements and to ensure our services are efficient and that we make best use of our resources. During 2023/24 we will continually assess the performance of the services within CCF with a view to determining if any services would benefit from a Fit for Future service review.
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Action Plan The challenges identified in Section 2 and the key factors identified in Section 3 have informed CCF priorities for 2023/24. Appendix 1 sets out the action plan to address them. It also includes: • performance indicators and targets that will enable progress to be monitored and reported to stakeholders • strategic workforce actions • strategic and/or service risks. In relation to the latter, strategic risks represent the potential for the Council to take advantage of opportunities or fail to meet stated strategic objectives and those that require strategic leadership. Service risks relate to service delivery and represent the potential for impact on individual services, or the experience of those who work within the services, i.e. employees, partners, contractors and volunteers or service users and clients in receipt of the services provided. In identifying the relevant risks for 2023/24 and actions to mitigate them, the aim is to improve or maintain the current position (i.e. the current risk score) set out in the appendix.
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4. Resources Finance Citizen, Culture and Facilities has a net revenue budget of £16.912m and a capital budget of £2.141m in 2023/24. A breakdown by service area is set out below. We will make the best use of the resources available to deliver on key priority areas and secure external/match funding where this is possible. Service Area Gross Expenditure 2023/24 (£m) Gross Income 2023/24 (£m) Net Expenditure 2023/24 (£m) Capital Budget 2023/24 (£m) Performance & Strategy 0.249 0.000 0.249 0.000 Communications and Marketing 0.412 -0.079 0.333 0.000 Citizen Service 1.428 -0.12 1.308 0.000 Libraries 1.852 -0.037 1.815 1.690 Arts and Heritage 0.402 -0.076 0.326 0.451 Clydebank Town Hall 0.493 -0.136 0.357 0.000 Facilities Management 0.423 -0.02 0.403 0.000 Leisure Management 4.217 -0.758 3.459 0.000 Building Cleaning 2.336 -0.32 2.016 0.000 Building Cleaning - PPP 0.875 -1.077 -0.202 0.000 Facilities Assistants 2.488 -0.078 2.41 0.000 Events 0.144 -0.096 0.048 0.000 Catering Services 5.699 -1.309 4.39 0.000 Total 21.018 -4.106 16.912 2.141
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Employees Employee Numbers The headcount and full time equivalent staff in each service area (as of 31st March 2023) are as follows: Absence in 2022/23 The quarterly absence statistics for Citizen, Culture and Facilities are shown below together with the Council average for the same periods for comparison. The figures have been higher that the Council average throughout 2022/23: Absence in 2022/23 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual FTE days lost per FTE employee Citizen, Culture and Facilities 4.24 3.65 4.49 4.76 14.98 COUNCIL WIDE TOTAL 3.86 3.28 4.42 4.02 14.00 Service Area Headcount FTE Comms Events & Engage (Including Town Hall) 15 14.20 Customer Services 48 43.72 Facilities Management 537 323.23 Libraries & Culture 62 46.20 Strat Org Pol & Perform 5 4.82 TOTAL 667 432.18
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Appendix 1: Action Plan 1. Our Communities Objective 2. Our residents health and wellbeing remains a priority Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner Number of attendances per 1,000 population for indoor sports and leisure facilities 6139 John Anderson % of pupil medical dietary requests met 100% Sharon Jump % of pupils who take up free school meals ( P1-7 ) 75% Sharon Jump Action Due Date Owner Progress Food for Life implementation plan 31-Mar-2024 Sharon Jump Objective 3. Our residents are supported to increase life and learning skills Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner Total number of visits to funded and part funded museums and heritage centres (in person & virtual) 106,500 Trish Robins Total number of library visits (physical and virtual) 360,000 David Main
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Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner Total number of library issues ( physical and e-issues) 210,000 David Main % of adults satisfied with libraries 94% David Main % of adults satisfied with museums and galleries 88% Amanda Graham Action Due Date Owner Progress internal design and development of Glencairn House as an inspiring cultural hub 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Progress internal design and development of Strathleven Place - conversion of Dumbarton library 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Support progress of investment project for Clydebank Heritage Hub 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Implement libraries sustainability plan – next phase 31-Mar-2024 David Main Progress co-location of Dalmuir library 31-Mar-2024 David Main Progress co-location of Balloch library 31-Mar-2024 David Main Progress co-location of Duntocher library 31-Mar-2024 David Main Progress co-location of Parkhall library 31-Mar-2024 David Main Reduce school library provision to 3 days per week across all 5 secondary schools 31-Mar-2024 David Main Undertake review of opening hours and service structure of Libraries 31-Mar-2024 David Main Progress Community Facilities Plan 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham 4. Our Council
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Objective 10. Our workforce is resilient and skilled where digital technology supports service delivery for our residents Action Due Date Owner Develop and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and learning and development plans to enable capabilities, improve resilience and promotion of a diverse workforce 31-Mar-2024 All Managers Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce. 31-Mar-2024 All Managers Implement service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies 31-Mar-2024 All Managers Develop and implement learning and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. 31-Mar-2024 All Managers Objective 11. Our Council is adaptable and focused on delivering best value for our residents Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner % of complaints received by the Council that are resolved at Stage 1 90% Stephen Daly % of complaints received by the Council that are resolved at Stage 2 10% Stephen Daly % of telephone calls answered within 3 minutes by Contact Centre as a proportion of all calls answered. 90% Stephen Daly % of telephone calls answered within 5 minutes by Repairs Contact Centre as a proportion of all calls answered. 90% Stephen Daly Residents satisfaction with Council services overall 85% Amanda Graham
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Action Due Date Owner Implement required complaints management process enhancements 31-Mar-2024 Stephen Daly Explore enhanced telephony technology solutions 31-Mar-2024 Stephen Daly Review structure of Facilities Management Service – Next Phase 31-Mar-2024 Sharon Jump Undertake Controller of Audit report work and implement any associated improvement plans 31-Mar-2024 Nicola Docherty Progress commercialisation and income generation opportunities 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Risk of Failure to meet citizen expectation and service standards Risk of citizen dissatisfaction due to us not doing what we say we will when we say we will. Amanda Graham Failure to effectively manage and learn from complaints There is a risk of damage to the Council's reputation. If complaints are not handled effectively, there can be an adverse effect on the public perception of the Council which can lead to a lack of trust in the services provided. Stephen Daly Objective 12. Our residents are engaged and empowered Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner % of residents who are satisfied with the Council website 85% Stephen Daly
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Performance Indicator Target 23- 24 Owner % of stage 1 complaints responded to within 5 working days. 100% Stephen Daly % of stage 2 complaints responded to within 20 working days. 100% Stephen Daly % of residents who feel the Council communicates well with them 75% Amanda Graham No. of transactions undertaken online 53,000 Stephen Daly Action Due Date Owner Upgrade online content management system 31-Mar-2024 Stephen Daly Agree Citizen Service Standards 31-Mar-2024 Stephen Daly Develop Strategic Communications Strategy 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Develop a communication plan to support budget savings initiatives 31-Mar-2024 Amanda Graham Review Engaging Communities Framework and approach towards Strategic Engagement 31-Mar-2024 Nicola Docherty Undertake a review of the WDC Equalities Strategy and implement any associated changes 31-Mar-2024 Nicola Docherty Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Risk of Ineffective Communications / Reputation Risk Ineffective use of corporate communication channels may result in messages that are inconsistent with authorised responsibilities or established performance measures. Employees without intranet access or email access may not receive communications. Not effectively managing corporate responses to adverse events may lead to an erosion of the Council's reputation. Amanda Graham