Agenda item

The Committee heard from the Policy and Strategy Officer – Corporate Strategy and Business Planning regarding the Council’s Corporate Plan 2023 – 2027. It was explained that the Corporate Plan which ran to 2023 was due for review and the proposed strategic aims, objectives and outcomes for the upcoming four year period had been incorporated into the updated Plan. The report set out the rationale for the proposals within the Corporate Plan, including the updated policy context, stakeholder engagement and key design principles. The report also included an outline of the monitoring arrangements to assess progress against priorities.

It was explained that the Corporate Plan was the overarching policy document that informed all Council activity, driven by a number of factors including the national, regional and local policy context. In line with the Council’s commitment to evidence based decision making, the identified priorities were based on robust statistical evidence as set out in the Council’s Annual State of the District Report.

The concept of the Corporate Plan was well embedded across the organisation.  A follow-up internal audit of the Corporate Plan and the “Golden Thread”, conducted in November 2021, had returned an opinion of substantial assurance, particularly in relation to stakeholder engagement, communication and managing strategic risk.

Members were advised that the document now presented was the culmination of 12 months of development, centred around extensive engagement with Members to produce a Corporate Plan which reflected the priorities of the Council; and with staff, to ensure that those priorities were understood. Delivery was being planned for thorough business planning, financial planning and project management. It was reported that with many aspects of the Plan being well-embedded across the organisation, officers were tasked with refreshing and updating the current Plan ready for the next administrative period.  Approaching the refresh in this way had allowed for continuity, both for officers, who had been able to continue their strategic business planning, and for Members, so that the post-election administration was not faced with a strategic policy gap for a significant length of time.

The Council’s overarching vision, mission and values had been carried across to the refresh and the themes of “Our Council”, “Our People” and “Our Place” remained in place. This framework had been used to shape key changes, most notably, updating the evidence base, updating the policy context and refreshing the strategic aims, objectives and outcomes.

The aims and objectives formed the core of the document and these were at the centre of the recommendation contained within the report. The outcomes were considered to be robust, and were designed to be challenging whilst also ensuring that clear evidence of progress could be provided against each of the identified outcomes.

In terms of monitoring progress, the monitoring framework was clearly set out within the Corporate Plan. This would be developed further as the Corporate Plan was embedded, for example, ensuring Progress and Delivery measures were clearly aligned to the aims and objectives so that Members had a strategic view of the performance of the organisation.

As the architects of the Corporate Plan; the aims, objectives and outcomes had been shaped around Members’ priorities. Over the last 12 months, there had been extensive engagement opportunities with all Members to shape the development of the strategic aims and objectives through a series of workshops linked to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, through Member engagement with the Chief Executive, the Senior Management Team and other officers, and, latterly, through a further series of workshops held at the start of 2023.

Additionally, and importantly, the aims and objectives had been designed to align to key policies, strategies and programmes that had already been adopted by the Council, such as the Economic Recovery Plan, the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, the Housing Strategy and the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, which ensured strategic alignment across the whole organisation, as well as continuity.

A robust evidence base, extensive stakeholder engagement and clear outcomes that were strategically aligned all created solid foundations for a strong and ambitious Corporate Plan that delivered for “Our People”, “Our Place” and “Our Council”. Officers believed that the aims and objectives represented a fair and accurate reflection of Members’ priorities for the next four years and beyond.

The Committee then heard from the Chief Executive, who thanked Members and officers for their contributions to the development of the Plan and in particular mentioned that having regard to possible administrative changes following the elections, the Plan had been formulated in such a way as to able to be adjusted quickly to meet any new Council aspirations, thus maintaining continuity.

Several Members spoke in support of the Plan which they appreciated had been formulated in what might be termed an uncertain national, international and local environment.  It was considered that the Plan offered the right balance between innovation in service delivery and continuity. Members were complimentary of the collaborative approach between officers and Members in the development of the Plan.  They were also pleased to note the “green thread” approach in an endeavour to ensure that whatever decisions the Council was called upon to make took full account of the impact of climate change and the need to protect the environment of the District.

An opportunity was taken to mention the provision of swimming facilities at Market Rasen and its linkage to the priority of encouraging a healthy lifestyle.  It was hoped that this provision would feed into the Council’s future prioritisation processes at the appropriate time.

Having been moved and seconded, the Chairman took the vote and it was unanimously

RESOLVED that the Corporate Plan covering the administrative period 2023-2027 be RECOMMENDED to Full Council for approval and adoption.