Item 17 - Strategic Plan 2022-2027
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 October 2022
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities West Dunbartonshire Council: 26 October 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Strategic Plan 2022-2027 1 Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to present the Council’s Strategic Plan for 2022- 2027. 2 Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Council agree the Strategic Plan, including the supporting performance framework. 3 Background 3.1 A five-year Strategic Plan for the Council is developed early in each new Administration. The previous plan, agreed by Council at its meeting of 25 October 2017, was developed in the format of a balanced scorecard, detailing strategic priorities and success factors under five key themes of: • A Strong local economy and improved employment opportunities; • Supported individuals, families and carers living independently and with dignity; • Meaningful community engagement with active empowered and informed citizens who feel safe and engaged; • Open, accountable and accessible local government; and • Efficient and effective frontline services that improve the everyday lives of residents 3.2 Work to develop the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan began in May 2022 with a strategic needs assessment (SNA) of West Dunbartonshire, providing a detailed analysis of local and national performance information, and considered key Council strategies. Recommendations and a draft framework were produced based on the analysis. 3.3 The Administration has been working with senior Council officers since August to develop their new strategic vision and aspirations for Council over the period 2022-2027. 4 Main Issues 4.1 The 2022-27 Strategic Plan (Appendix 1) sets out a new vision that ‘West Dunbartonshire Council will deliver services which build on the strengths and resilience of our neighbourhoods and supporting all residents to fulfil their individual potential, and that of their communities.’ This five-year plan presents a clear and focused suite of priorities and supporting outcomes Item 17
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which address critical issues in West Dunbartonshire, setting a statement of intent in an easy to read and concise way. 4.2 The Strategic Plan clearly illustrates how the Council will improve the lives of residents by supporting delivery of the overarching Community Planning West Dunbartonshire’s (CPWD) Local Outcomes and Improvement Plan (LOIP). This will be with the support of all Community Planning partners such as Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, 3rd sector partners, Health and West College Scotland. 4.3 In addition to the LOIP, the Council will also deliver on internal organisational priorities to drive best value and continuous improvement in how services are run for the residents of West Dunbartonshire. Combined with the LOIP priorities, this will ensure the Council is able to deliver on its overarching aspiration to ‘Support our Communities to Thrive’. 4.4 The four Strategic Priorities included in the Plan are: • Our Communities are Resilient and Thriving • Our Environment promotes A Greener Future • Our Economy is Strong and Flourishing • Our Council is Inclusive and Adaptable 4.5 Each of the four priorities is supported by a suite of underpinning objectives and detail on what success will look like in delivery of these priorities. In addition to this, a performance framework has been developed which details key performance indicators to track progress. 4.6 The indicators in the performance framework have been drawn from currently published and reported data (such as the Local Government Benchmarking Framework and community planning outcome profiles) to allow long term reporting, and comparisons over time. In addition to this local indicators have been added to reflect priority areas. Each indicator details an aspirational target direction to be delivered over the lifespan of the Strategic Plan. Council will monitor progress annually throughout the next five years. 4.7 These priorities and objectives were developed through analysis contained in the strategic needs assessment and the contributions from elected members as well as through reflection on the feedback from residents. This feedback includes responses to regular engagement through the Citizen’s Panel and Telephone Survey as well as focused engagement on priorities at a local neighbourhood and authority-wide level. 4.8 The detail of delivery on an annual basis will be contained in the eight Strategic Delivery Plans of Council, reported through the relevant service committees. These Delivery Plans contain the priority actions and assessments from Strategic Services which support delivery of the long-term aspirations detailed in the Strategic Plan.
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5 People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications resulting from this report. 6 Financial & Procurement Implications 6.1 The critical contribution of sound financial governance and sustainable budget management to the delivery of this Strategic Plan is recognised within the success factors identified within it. 6.2 The delivery of this five year Strategic Plan will be supported by the proposed Financial Strategy separately being presented to Council. The Strategic Plan is underpinned by a dedicated Delivery Plan which outlines the specific budgetary requirements and funding implications (within the overall context of the parameters articulated within the aforementioned Financial Strategy). Any specific programmes requiring formal approval (including potential capital investment projects) would be formally presented to the relevant Committee or Council meeting for consideration. 6.3 There are no direct procurement implications from this report. 7 Risk Analysis 7.1 This report demonstrates that the Council has robust processes in place to plan and to manage and improve performance. Failure to produce a Strategic Plan for the five year term of the Council would be a significant risk. 8 Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 An EIA (Appendix 2) has been undertaken during the development of the Strategic Plan. This highlights the aspiration of the plan to increase equality and the potential positive impacts of this for residents. No mitigating actions where required as a result of the assessment. 9 Strategic Environmental Assessment 9.1 A Strategic Environmental Assessment screening is being carried out on the Strategic Plan. This will review priority areas and any potential impact on the environment resulting from these priorities. Any actions identified as a result of this screening will be progressed through Delivery Plans. 10 Consultation 10.1 The Administration and Performance Monitoring & Review Group have been involved in the development of the Strategic Plan and the Strategic Needs Assessment. In addition, residents fed their views into the process as part of a consultation held during September 2022, the main finding are summarised in Appendix 3. 11 Strategic Assessment
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11.1 Continuous improvement is a key feature of an improving Council and supports delivery of all strategic outcomes. Amanda Graham Chief Officer Date: 30 September 2022 Person to Contact: Nicola Docherty – Performance & Strategy Team Leader Email: Nicola.docherty@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1: Strategic Plan 2022-27 Appendix 2: Strategic Plan 2022-27 Equality Impact Assessment Appendix 3: Strategic Plan 2022-27 consultation findings Background Papers: West Dunbartonshire Strategic Needs assessment 2022 Strategic Planning & Performance Framework 2022-27 (Draft) Wards Affected: All Wards