Integrated Plan Part A

INTEGRATED PLAN PART A

CORPORATE PRIORITIES, ACTIONS AND TARGETS

CONTENTS OF THE REPORT

Page

Section 1: Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity 2

Section 2: What the county council does 4 Section 3: Our priorities 5 Section 4: Support economic wellbeing 6 Section 5: Maximise independent living 7

Section 6: Ensure a positive childhood 9 Section 7: Secure a good education for all 11 Section 8: Reduce carbon emissions 13 Section 9: Promote safe neighbourhoods 14 Section 10: Be a leading council 16 Section 11: About Hertfordshire County Council 18 Section 12: How to contact us and how we are organised 18 Section 13: Equalities and diversity 18 Section 14: Values and behaviours 19 Section 15: The Corporate Plan in context 20 Section 16: Key service plans and strategies 20 Section 17: Corporate Planning Cycle 20 Section 18: Annual Report 2011/12 21

18 1. Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity

Hertfordshire County Council is the leading public service organisation for the County. Our ambitions for Hertfordshire and its people go well beyond the services that we are directly responsible for delivering.

We want to:

 Play a full part in everything which affects the wellbeing of Hertfordshire and its residents.  Join with others in the public, private and voluntary sectors to meet the aspirations of our residents, using our democratic legitimacy to lead and to champion the interests of the County.  Be ambitious for our people, creating opportunities for them to maximise their potential and to live fulfilling lives in strong families and communities.  Increase people’s influence over local decisions, trusting them to take greater responsibility for their own communities.

Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity is the vision that sums up this Corporate Plan. It fits within the overall context of Hertfordshire’s Sustainable Community Strategy 2021, which sets out the joint vision of all the key organisations in the County. To achieve our vision, we must empower and engage people in shared responsibility for the well-being of themselves, their families and their communities.

The most important conditions of wellbeing that we want to secure for Hertfordshire and its people are:

A resilient economy

We want Hertfordshire to have thriving businesses that keep people in jobs. We want the County to be seen as a good place to do business, where people can gain the skills they need.

Hertfordshire’s underlying economy is strong, but we know that many people are experiencing difficult and distressing times. We want a resilient economy that will help people maintain their standard of living and keep their homes despite a more challenging economic climate.

Personalised services

We want people to have greater independence and more say over public services, deciding and directing for themselves the help they need, living longer in their own homes and having more influence over provision for their learning and social care.

We want public services that are easy to use and give good value for money, accessible by telephone, internet and other new technologies, as well as joined up face-to-face access to public services.

18 Confident citizens

We want the people of Hertfordshire to take pride in their communities, be well informed about what public services can offer them and ready to contribute their views about how they should be shaped locally. Better information and more opportunities to have a say will enable people to have greater influence on how services are run and to engage with us in making the choices we face.

Volunteers are vital to sustaining our public life and in providing support to people. We want to see everyone in Hertfordshire contributing something of their time and skills to the benefit of their communities.

Catching problems early

We want to see some of society’s most difficult problems prevented or tackled early. That leads to better outcomes for the people directly affected, for communities as a whole, and for taxpayers who must otherwise meet the high cost of dealing with problems that have been left to get worse.

We want to see support for parents with young children and for young people as they deal with the pressures of transition to adulthood, so that they can take their full place in society.

A clean, green place

We want to maintain Hertfordshire’s high quality built and natural environment, in which many people can walk from their homes into open countryside, ensuring that our residents can continue to enjoy and be proud of their surroundings. Any new development in the county should be sustainable.

We also recognise the importance of broader environmental issues to the County. We want to see more ‘green’ activity that will allow us to manage our carbon footprint, recycle more waste and dispose of it better and use energy more responsibly.

Safe and secure neighbourhoods

We want Hertfordshire’s low overall crime levels to continue and to see all neighbourhoods enjoying the community pride, self-respect and feeling of security that apply in those that are currently the safest.

We want individuals to be safe in their communities, with children and vulnerable adults in particular kept safe from bullying, crime, abuse and neglect.

18 2. What the County Council Does

Without the help of Hertfordshire’s residents, businesses, public and voluntary organisations, the County Council alone will not be able to achieve the outcomes for the County summarised as Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity. We have an important contribution to make to achieving them, however, by providing both strategic leadership for Hertfordshire and delivering responsive services at local level.

As a large, strategic authority, the County Council is good at doing the big things – speaking up for Hertfordshire on the national stage and delivering financial efficiencies resulting from economies of scale. But we also recognise that government – national and local – tends to be over-centralised. So we know we must be just as effective at the local things – the small things which often make the biggest difference to people and the communities in which they live.

We want to make sure that our services fully reflect Hertfordshire’s diversity and create real opportunities for local choice. We recognise that there is no such thing as an ‘average’ community and that services should reflect the situation on the ground.

Here is a snapshot of the main ways in which our services contribute to Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity:

 Our social care services for children and adults help people by providing services that are tailored to their individual needs and circumstances, helping them to remain both independent and integrated into wider society as far as possible and safeguarding them when necessary.

 Our work co-ordinating admissions and supporting the wide range of schools in the county helps to produce active, engaged citizens for the future, well-equipped to take their places in society and to contribute to economic and social life.

 We have a vital role in keeping the county moving by maintaining roads and co-ordinating public transport.

 We lead the stewardship of the County’s environment, including disposing of waste, but also working to tackle climate change.

 Our community protection services make a key contribution to safety and security for individuals and neighbourhoods – not only in the Fire and Rescue response to emergencies, but also in their work to prevent fires and through Emergency Planning and Trading Standards.

 Our public libraries are both a valuable cultural resource and a civic hub, providing communities with the information and resources they need on a wide range of subjects.

18 3. Our priorities

The following pages set out the seven challenging priorities that the County Council has set itself. They will shape our activity and our budgets so that we can play our part in achieving our vision for Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity. We will keep the priorities under review to make sure they reflect the most important contribution we can make to achieve the vision.

 Support economic wellbeing

 Maximise independent living

 Ensure a positive childhood

 Secure a good education for all

 Reduce carbon emissions

 Promote safe neighbourhoods

 Be a leading council

18 4. S upport economic wellbeing

We will respond to the current economic challenges and promote Hertfordshire’s future prosperity, supporting local people and the local economy.

We will achieve this by:

 Continuing to be part of the new Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to ensure strong leadership for future economic growth,  Building on existing clusters/sectors to create a diverse, innovative and resilient economy  Supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship  Attracting new investment and jobs into the County and developing an appropriately skilled workforce for the future  (1) Continuing to invest in and improve transport infrastructure in the county such as the Croxley Rail link, Hatfield Station and the Abbey Line  (2)Lobbying and planning for appropriate strategic infrastructure in the county such as high speed broadband.  Helping people to acquire new skills  Helping vulnerable people to get and keep jobs  Achieving a safe and just trading environment  Providing easy access to information and advice about welfare benefits, so that vulnerable people get the benefits they are entitled to

We will use our influence to:

 Reduce the percentage of adults relying on unemployment benefits by ensuring that the proportion of adults in receipt of unemployment benefits is at least 0.5 percentage points less than the best performing region in the UK  Improve the skills and qualifications of Hertfordshire’s residents by increasing the percentage that has qualifications by ensuring that: o (3) The proportion of adults in the county with a level 2 qualification or above is equal or surpasses that of the best performing region in the UK o The percentage of residents with level 4 qualifications or above is equal or surpasses that of the best performing region in the UK

In addition, we will work to:

 Ensure the employment rate for Hertfordshire will equal or surpass that of the best performing region in the UK  Ensure that earnings of employees in Hertfordshire are above those in the UK as a whole.  Ensure that the number of new businesses starting registering in Hertfordshire is at least 27% higher than the UK rate.  Increase the percentage of adults with learning disabilities in employment from 4.5% in 2009/10 to 7% by 2014/15

Support Economic Wellbeing - Major Changes:

(1) New commitment (2) New commitment (3) Age range changed from local indicator of “proportion of population aged 16-64” to “Proportion of males aged 19-64 and females aged 19-59” 18 5. Maximise independent living

(1) We will promote independent living for people with care and support needs. We will provide good information and advice to allow people to make informed decisions, offer ‘enabling services’ as people recover from an illness – and will give older people, those with disabilities and their family carers as much choice and control as possible over their on-going care and support.

We will achieve this by:

 (2) Improving the information available to people on our website, through the Customer Service Centre and through libraries and other local information points;  Working with health partners to enable people to regain independent living skills after a fall at home, a hospital stay or an illness;  Increasing significantly the number of people who control the funding for their own social care, allowing them to choose and control the services they buy  (3) Developing better support services in the community to allow people to stay in their own home rather than go into residential care  Making our services accessible to vulnerable people, through convenient opening times, roads and public transport that are safe and easy to negotiate and local buildings that are easy to get to and get in to  Offering support to people who care for a family member who need help  (4) Working with key health and district council partners to establish a new Health and Wellbeing Board to prioritise the most challenging public health and social care problems with new initiatives that will benefit residents of Hertfordshire most.

We aim to:

 Provide more carers with support and advice by increasing this percentage from 25% in 2009/10 to 40% in 2014/15  Increase the percentage of vulnerable people who tell us they are 'satisfied with the way they were treated' through ‘Have Your Say’ feedback. We aim to increase this percentage from 76% in 2009/10 to 95% in 2014/15

In addition, we will work to:

 (5) Increase the percentage of people who no longer need on-going care and support after receiving enablement services. We aim at a target of 50% in 2012/13 and seeking a year on year improvement of 2 percentage points to 2014/15  Minimise delays for people leaving hospital to return home by reducing the average number of adults delayed from 6.13 per week in 2009/10 to an average of 6 per week by 2014/15

18  Increase the number of people who control the funding for their care and can decide what care services best meet their needs. We aim to increase the proportion from 31% in 2009/10 to 80% of social-care users and carers by 2014/15

Maximise Independent Living - Major Changes

(1) Reworded narrative from “We will promote independent living, enabling people to have as much control as possible over their own lives. Our services will be delivered as far as possible in ways people choose.” (2) New commitment (3) New commitment, replacing “promoting more homes with support services available to enable self-care and independent living” (4) New Commitment (5) New Indicator, replacing “Increase the independence of older people through greater rehabilitation and intermediate care. We aim to increase this percentage from 78.6% in 2009/10 to 80% by 2013/14” This is because health can no longer provide data that contributed to the indicator. The new indicator reflects HCC’s half of the old indicator relating to enablement homecare.

18 6. Ensure a positive childhood

We will do everything we can to make sure that the County’s children can grow up free from abuse and neglect, intervening early as needs arise, bringing children into care only when necessary and allowing them all to enjoy a positive start to their lives.

We will achieve this by:

 (1) Strengthening the links and creating a continuum of care between universal, targeted and specialist children’s services to provide support and early intervention for families, particularly those facing complex challenges.  Continuing to improve safeguarding practice within children’s services  (2)Promoting healthy lifestyles by encouraging better diet, sport and exercise and working with partners to reduce smoking in young people  Co-ordinating children and adult services for children of vulnerable adults, and young people with disabilities who are at the point of transition between services  (3) Supporting young people and their families who are most at risk of family breakdown, supporting them to remain with their family wherever possible.  (4) Finding a suitable, permanent home for children and young people who become looked after, promoting their good physical and emotional health and supporting them to achieve to the best of their ability educationally.

We aim to:

 Reduce the number of children and young people in our care through early intervention and the provision of quality services. We aim to reduce the number of children looked after from 1097 in 2010/11 to 922 by 2014/15  (8) Improve the percentage of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) having their needs met locally  Ensure timely assessment of children’s needs after they have been referred to Social Care, by increasing the percentage completed within 10 days from 85.9% in 2010/11 to 88% by 2014/15  Improve child safety by carrying in-depth assessments of their needs within 35 days, by increasing this percentage from 72.4% in 2010/11 to 80% by 2014/15

18 In addition, we will work to:

 (9) Mitigate the impact of poverty on the outcomes for children by increasing the proportion of children aged 0-5 registered with a children’s centre who live in the areas covered by the ‘2 year old trial’ project from 50% in 2010/11 to 75% in 2012/13  Reduce the overall level of childhood obesity, by reducing obesity among primary school age children in year 6 from 17% in 2010/11 to 14% in 2012/13  (10) Reduce the number of families with multiple problems from 1380 in 2010/11 to 980 in 2014/15

Ensure a Positive Childhood – Major Changes

(1) New commitment (2) Amended commitment adding ‘and working with partners to reduce smoking in young people’ (3) New commitment (4) Reworded commitment from “providing services of good quality and an appropriate choice of placements for children and young people who are in care, wherever possible with family or friends or local fostering placements.” (5) Deleted commitment: “Providing cost effective, locally based support and early intervention with families facing complex challenges.” (6) Deleted commitment: “Developing the resilience and emotional wellbeing of our children, young people and parents.” (7) Deleted commitment: “Supporting young people at risk to stay on the right track and reduce the level of youth offending, alcohol and substance misuse and teenage pregnancy in Hertfordshire. (8) New indicator replacing “Improve satisfaction in services for children with SEND” New targets will be available in January. (9) Amended target to now cover children who live in areas covered by the ‘2 year old trial’ project. (10)New indicator

18 7. Secure a good education for all

We will act as champions for children and parents and support schools and early years settings in providing a good education for all children. We will work in partnership with schools to tackle barriers to learning and help our young people to gain skills to prepare them for adult and working life. We will encourage school diversity and autonomy including the development of academies and free schools. We will also encourage lifelong learning so that people are healthy, fulfilled, productive and economically independent.

We will achieve this by:

 Strengthening support and closing the attainment gap for underachieving groups and pupils.  Providing cost effective services to assist schools in tackling barriers to learning  (1) Facilitating school partnerships to target resources to meet the needs of individual children and groups at risk of underachieving, prioritising areas in greatest need.  (2) Ensuring each community has access to a range of provision, support services and resources to meet the needs of children and young people with complex SEND more locally  (3) Enhancing parental involvement with children’s early education to ensure that children are ready for school  (4) Ensuring sufficient high quality school places are provided.

We aim to:

 Reduce the gap in achievement between children looked after and their peers by: o (6) Increasing the number of children looked after who reach level 4 in English and mathematics at key stage 2 (aged 11). We aim to increase this percentage from 27% in summer 2010 to 74% in summer 2013 results o Increasing the percentage of children looked after achieving 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and mathematics from 13.3% in summer 2010 to 60% in summer 2013 results

 Improve primary school children’s attainment in English and mathematics by: o Increasing the percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in both English and mathematics at key stage 2 from 78% in summer 2010 to 84% in summer 2013 o Increasing the percentage of pupils making at least two levels of progress in English between key stage 1 (aged 7) and 2 (aged 11) from 85% in summer 2010 to 89% in summer 2013 o Increasing the percentage of pupils making at least two levels of progress in mathematics from 84% in summer 2010 to 88% in summer 2013

18  Improve secondary school children’s attainment by: o Increasing the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics from 64.1% in summer 2010 to 71% in summer 2013 o (7) Increasing the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent from 79.9% in summer 2010 to 87% in summer 2013 o Increasing the percentage of pupils making at least three levels of progress in English between key stage 2 and 4 from 76.4% in summer 2010 to 81% in summer 2013 o Increasing the percentage of pupils making at least three levels of progress in mathematics from 72.4% in summer 2010 to 79% in summer 2013

 (8) Ensure the overall percentage of 16-19 year olds not in education, employment and training (NEET) within the 20% most deprived areas, does not exceed the 2010/11 figure of 7.6%

Secure a Good Education – Major Changes

(1) New commitment (2) New commitment (3) New commitment (4) New commitment (5) Deleted commitment: “Strengthening support for underachieving groups and pupils in 14-19 provision, particularly in relation to preparing young people for the world of work.” (6) Combined indicator, previously there were two separate ones for both English and Maths (7) New indicator (8) Amended indicator now only focussing on NEET within the 20% most deprived areas. (9) Deleted indicator: “The percentage of pupils achieving the English ‘Baccalaureate’”

18 8. Reduce carbon emissions

We will work with partners to tackle climate change, playing our part to reduce Hertfordshire’s carbon footprint, including promoting energy saving and new, greener energy sources.

We will achieve this by:

 Tackling traffic congestion  Promoting alternatives to private car use  Careful monitoring of energy use in our schools and other buildings  (1) Promoting low carbon development and economic growth  (2)Resisting airport expansion  Promoting sustainable methods of waste treatment and disposal  Reducing the energy used by street lighting  (3) Using our purchasing power to reduce our carbon impact

We aim to:

 Reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Hertfordshire, by 8.1% from our 2008 baseline of 6.2 tonnes per capita to 4.38 tonnes per capita by 2014/15  Decrease the percentage of household (municipal) waste land filled, from 50.56% in 2009/10 to 33% by 2014/15

In addition, we will work to:

 (4) Reduce HCC’s directly controllable CO2 emissions by 25% from the 2008/09 baseline by 2012/13 and consolidate at that level going forward.

 Influence the reduction in schools CO2 emissions with the aim of delivering a 25% reduction from a 2008/09 baseline by 2012/13.  Increase the authority’s ability to cope with the impacts of climate change. We aim to improve from level 1 in 2009/10 to level 3 of the Government scale that measures this, by 2014/15

Reduce Carbon Emissions – Major Changes

(1) New commitment (2) Amended commitment: ‘and mitigating the impact of air traffic’ removed (3) New commitment (4) Deleted commitment: “Resisting building developments that are not carbon neutral” (5) New indicators to replace “Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from County Council operations by 25% to 146,510 tonnes by 2013 from the 2008/09 baseline of 195,347 tonnes”

18 9. Promote safe neighbourhoods

We will build on the safe conditions that already prevail across the County, playing our part to see that they are enjoyed by all and seeking also to reduce the fear of crime or intimidation. (1)We will ensure that our enforcement activity is focussed on protecting residents and businesses from the types of crime that can be more prevalent during times of economic hardship, such as counterfeit goods, rogue traders, illegal money lenders, arson/deliberate fires and anti social behaviour.

We will achieve this by:

 Developing preventative and community services to help keep people safe, and clear and easy ways for people to report safeguarding concerns  Developing the joint County Council / Police County Community Safety Unit, bringing other partner agencies into the team to combine expertise and enhance information sharing, to enable effective responses to crime and disorder in our communities  (2) Planning for and responding to emergencies including the delivery of a 999 Fire and Rescue Service  (3) Working with partners to ensure that multi-agency arrangements and business continuity plans are in place in the event of a major emergency  Working with young people to identify positive outlets for their time and energy and helping them to fulfil their ambitions and aspirations  Intervening through the Hertfordshire Youth Justice Service to cut youth crime and prevent young people who have been before the courts from re-offending  Giving communities more influence over local decisions  Maintaining a focus on road safety  (4) Providing advice to support Hertfordshire businesses, and supporting the vulnerable by maintaining and prioritising work in the areas of rogue traders, illegal money lending, proceeds of crime, market surveillance and appropriate prosecutions  Enabling and supporting a vibrant voluntary and community sector and a range of diverse cultural activities which meet the needs of local people  encouraging volunteering  Working proactively with each Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to reduce deliberate fire setting  (5) Work with the new substance misuse provider to ensure the delivery of the drug strategy countywide  (6) Refreshing the Alcohol Strategy for Hertfordshire in line with national priorities, and promoting safer night time economies with effective education around alcohol misuse and its consequences

We aim to:

 (7) Increase the number of drug users who are in effective treatment to over 1,730 by 2013/14.

18  (8) Engage more young offenders in suitable education, employment or training, by keeping the percentage above the average of our comparator authorities  (9) Reduce the percentage of repeat domestic abuse incidents to 25% by 2013/14

In addition, we will work to:

 (10) Strive to maintain or improve upon Hertfordshire’s good road safety record by ensuring the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents does not rise above the 2009 total of 413 up to 2014/15 and the number of children killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents does not rise above the 2009 total of 42 up to 2014/15  Reduce the number of deliberate fires, from a baseline of 14.87 fires per 10,000 population in 2009/10 to 12.65 by 2014/15

Promote Safe Neighbourhoods – Major Changes

(1) New narrative from this point (2) Added “including the delivery of a 999 Fire and Rescue Service” to the pre-existing commitment (3) New commitment (4) New commitment (5) New commitment (6) New commitment (7) No new target set for 2014/15, as it is proposed to replace this indicator with a new outcome indicator measuring re-offending rates for drug treatment recipients. (8) No specific target has been set since the 2012/13 target of 83% (9) No new target set for 2014/15 as this indicator is likely to be amended or deleted before then (10)Replaces : Ensure the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents do not rise above the 2009 total of 413 up to 2014/15 (Based on NI 47) Ensure the number of children killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents do not rise above the 2009 total of 42 up to 2014/15 (Based on NI 48)

18 10. Be a Leading Council

We will maintain our record as an ambitious and innovative council, contributing to Hertfordshire – County of Opportunity by delivering quality, value for money services and giving people more and better opportunities to influence decisions about the places they live and the services they get, not least through the continued development of our Hertfordshire Local programme, a range of initiatives enabling people to have a better say about the public services that are provided and how they are organised.

We will achieve this by:

 Introducing new ways for local people and County Councillors to make decisions about local Highways expenditure and works  Continuing to provide local budgets that will enable County Councillors to make quick, practical responses to the needs of their constituents  (1) Improving the availability of useful local information through the ongoing development of the ‘Your Community’ web pages on the HertsDirect website.  Maintaining and improving our roads and buildings so that they provide the services everyone needs and enhance the environment, contributing to pride of place  Implementing the ‘Council for the Future’ programme; to ensure that County Council services are delivered in the most efficient, effective and economical way possible. In particular, this will include maximising the financial savings to the Council through reducing back office costs and improving business processes  Preparing the County Council to take on its new lead responsibility for public health in Hertfordshire by working with NHS Hertfordshire and GPs to put in place appropriate mechanisms for an effective transition  Ensuring we have an appropriate mix of housing to support needs and demands, including affordable and key worker housing  Introducing new ways of working between the County Council and other local government and public organisations, to deliver services to the public of Hertfordshire more efficiently and effectively, particularly those who are most vulnerable  (2) Striving to provide the best possible value for money in all the services we deliver, whether directly or indirectly through partner organisations and contractors

We aim to:

 (3) Increase the percentage of people who feel they can influence decision-making by 1% each year, based on evidence, with a statistically significant increase of 4% by 2014/15 on 2011/12 first quarter baseline of 40%  (4) Maintain the overall satisfaction of residents with Hertfordshire as a place to live at its already high level of 90% as measured by the residents’ survey.  Maintain the punctuality of bus services by continuing to meet the stretching target of 85% up to 2014/15

18 In addition, we will work to:

 (6)Deliver efficiency savings in order to minimise the need to reduce frontline services through the ‘Council for the Future’ programme. £88.5 million has already been delivered between 2010/11 and 2011/12. Further savings have been identified to raise the overall total to £126.5 million for 2012/13. An overall savings total of £161.8 million is targeted for 2013/14 and £201 million targeted for 2014/15.

Be a Leading Council – Major Changes

(1) Wording changed from “Improving the availability of useful local information through the ongoing development of the HertsDirect website and its locality pages.” (2) New commitment, replacing “Measuring how we perform against similar authorities and striving to provide the best possible value for money in all the services we deliver, whether directly or indirectly through partner organisations and contractors” (3) Retained indicator but first year of a stated target (4) New indicator (5) Deleted target: “Make it easier to get to community services using public transport, by increasing the percentage who find it easy to travel to key services from 89% in 2008/09 to 90% in 2013/14” (6) Wording amended from ‘Deliver efficiency savings in order to minimise the need to reduce frontline services. Savings have been identified through the ‘Council for the Future’ programme of £88 million for 2011/12, £134 million for 2012/13 and £173 million for 2013/14.

18 11. About Hertfordshire County Council

12. How to contact us and how we are organised

To find out more about the services we provide, you can:

 Look at our website – www.hertsdirect.org

This is our preferred method of communication. You can use many of our services online and contact us via the website if you wish. By typing in your postcode you can access a wealth of information about what’s going on in your local area; find out who your local political representative is and how to contact them. Having your say in what happens locally is much easier too, with quick and easy access to relevant consultations and surveys.

Find us on (Facebook logo) facebook.com/hertsdirect and (twitter logo) @hertscc

 Telephone us You can call us on 0300 123 4040.

If you need to speak to us through a Language Line interpreter, ask the person who answers your call to arrange this.

 Write to us Hertfordshire County Council County Hall Pegs Lane Hertford SG13 8DQ

 Visit us Maps and directions to our main offices are available on our website, or you can visit a Hertfordshire Local point by dropping in to your local library.

We want to hear from local people about the issues and decisions that affect their lives. Visit www.hertsdirect.org/haveyoursay to find out how we consult with the community and how you can give your views and comments about county council services.

13. Equalities and Diversity

We are committed to achieving diversity and equality of opportunity both as a large employer and as a provider of services. We demonstrate our commitment to tackling inequality and promoting diversity in everything we do. Our full commitment to equality and diversity is detailed in Putting People First, our Equalities Policy and our Single Equality Strategy, which can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/equalities

We recognise, respect and celebrate the fact that our staff and the people we serve are all very different, whether this is in our ethnic background, family setting, gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief, or other factors. Our core

18 purpose as a council is to deliver improved outcomes for all of Hertfordshire’s diverse communities. The Equality Act 2010 Public Sector Equality Duties require us to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and promote good relations between Hertfordshire's citizens. So that the people of Hertfordshire can hold us to account the duty states we must publish relevant information that demonstrates our compliance with the Equality Duty, as well as set equality objectives. We believe that this helps us do our job better.

Our vision and priorities for equality and diversity across Hertfordshire and within our workforce is set out in our S ingle Equality Strategy. This will be reviewed and refreshed to ensure we are able to meet the duty and, demonstrate that Equality and diversity is not an ‘add-on’ to our day-to-day work, but a fundamental element of the Council’s purpose and functioning.

For more information on how we promote equality and diversity across our services, visit: www.hertsdirect.org/equalities]

14. Our values and behaviours

Our values and behaviours help ensure that all county council employees work together with common purpose. They underpin our organisational culture and they are an important part of the Council for the Future transformation programme:

Citizen focused  we deliver services that have positive outcomes for the community  we strive to empower citizens and communities, who are at the centre of everything we do  we work with citizens to shape and design the delivery of services to meet their needs

Every penny counts  we ensure that we make the best use of all available resources  we aim to be both efficient and effective in everything that we do, delivering the best possible services at affordable prices  we plan and prioritise our activity

Integrity  we approach one another in an open, honest and ethical way  we respect and value the diversity of individuals and embrace equality and diversity in everything we do  we are committed to working collaboratively

Getting it right  we aim to get it right first time and continue to learn from our experiences  we provide joined-up services, working as one organisation  we accept responsibility for our own performance and for seeking feedback

Innovation  we embrace change through being creative and take ownership for what we do

18  we support one another by seeking new ideas from both inside and outside of the organisation on how best to improve services  we recognise the importance of valuing and developing people across the organisation

15. The Corporate Plan in Context

This Corporate Plan is now part of the Integrated Plan for the County Council, which runs until March 2014. It is written in the context of the overall strategy for Hertfordshire, set out by Hertfordshire Forward, the County’s Local Strategic Partnership, in its Sustainable Community Strategy 2021 available at www.hertsdirect.org/corporateplan. This explains the overall ambitions of the County Council and its partners for the County as a whole.

The County Council enjoys a leading role in ensuring that partner organisations (including other local authorities, the health service, the police and the voluntary sector) work together to deliver the best possible services and outcomes for our community within the context of the Sustainable Community Strategy.

The detailed plans for particular county council services reflect the priority outcomes set out in this plan.

16. Key Service Plans & Strategies

These are published on our website at www.hertsdirect.org/hccserviceplans . They include detailed service plans for Children’s Services, Community Protection, Health and Community Services, Environment and Commercial Services and Resources and Performance as well as strategies developed in conjunction with our partners, like the countywide Children and Young People’s Plan.

17. Corporate Planning Cycle

The Integrated Plan is based on information about how we have performed in key areas of our work, feedback and demographic information to consider service delivery in the light of organisational priorities and the budget.

The process helps councillors determine a budget strategy aligned with the agreed service outcomes and priorities. Full Council formally sets the budget and council tax level for next year and at the same time, in February 2012, will agree its Integrated Plan. The priorities outlined in this plan are the basis for more detailed service plans which drive the day to day activities of the organisation.

Performance against the Priorities in the Integrated Plan is reviewed regularly by our Strategic Management Board and by our Policy, Resources and Performance Cabinet Panel.

The Council has a strong commitment to, and record of continuous improvement, striving for both greater efficiency and improvements to front line services.

18 18. Annual Report 2011/12

After the end of the 2011/12 financial year, we will publish a report setting out:

 our main achievements  our performance against important national measures, and those we set ourselves in the last Corporate Plan  details of our spending for the year

Information on these areas can currently be found on our website www.hertsdirect.org.