SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL South Lakeland House, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4UQ www.southlakeland.gov.uk

You are requested to attend a meeting of the Council on Tuesday, 23 February 2010, at 6.30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, South Lakeland House, Kendal Note – A drop-in session is being held between 5.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. in the Kendal Town Council Chamber on Shared Services with Eden District Council. For those who wish to attend, Prayers will be said in the District Council Chamber at 6.20 p.m. Membership Councillors James Airey Kath Atkinson Rosie Ballantyne-Smith Alan Baverstock Roger Bingham Norman Bishop-Rowe Jonathan Brook (Chairman) Jane Carson Stephen Coleman Stan Collins Brian Cooper Jackie Cooper Joss Curwen Colin Davies Julie Dawson Sheila Eccles Sylvia Emmott (Vice-Chairman) Clare Feeney-Johnson Clive Graham Brenda Gray Anne Hall Tom Harvey Colin Hodgson Frank Hodson Chris Hogg Brendan Jameson Janette Jenkinson Pru Jupe Kevin Lancaster Sonia Lawson Clive Leal Paul Little Ian McPherson Gwen Murfin Maureen Nicholson Vivienne Rees Jamie Samson Andy Shine Hilary Stephenson Jo Stephenson Ian Stewart Peter Thornton David Vatcher Graham Vincent Bill Wearing Brian Wilkinson David Williams Mark Wilson Mary Wilson Brenda Woof Peter Woof

15 February 2010

Debbie Storr, Corporate Director (Monitoring Officer) For all enquiries, please contact:- Committee Administrator: Chris Woods Telephone: 01539 733333 Ext.7440 e-mail: [email protected]

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2 AGENDA Apologies : Roll Call Page Nos. PART I 1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Any member of the public who wishes to ask a question, make representations or present a deputation or petition at this meeting should apply to do so before the commencement of the meeting. Information on how to make the application can be obtained by viewing the Council’s Website www.southlakeland.gov.uk or by contacting the Democratic and Member Services Manager on 01539 717440. (1) Questions To receive any questions which have been received from members of the public. (2) Deputations and Petitions To receive any deputations or petitions which have been received from members of the public. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST To receive declarations by Members of personal and prejudicial interests in respect of items on this Agenda. If a Member requires advice on any item involving a possible declaration of interest which could affect his/her ability to speak and/or vote, he/she is advised to contact the Monitoring Officer at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. 3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 – EXCLUDED ITEMS To consider whether the items, if any, in Part II of the Agenda should be considered in the presence of the press and public. 4. CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive announcements by the Chairman. 5. 2010/11 REVENUE BUDGET - FIVE YEAR CAPITAL PROGRAMME (the 2010/11 Budget and Fees and Charges Books are enclosed with this Agenda) To consider:- (1) The recommendations from Cabinet to determine the Council’s 5 - 14 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Budgets for 2010/11, including Fees and Charges, to confirm Parish Precepts for the year and to approve the Capital Programme. (2) Proposals from the Leader of the Opposition for an Alternative 15 - 18 Budget. (3) 2010/11 Revenue Budget: Chief Finance Officers’ Advice on the 19 - 22 Robustness of Estimates and the Adequacy of Reserves To consider professional advice on the soundness of the Council’s estimates and its financial position. 6. 2010/11 BUDGET - COUNCIL TAX SETTING 23 - 34 To set the District Council Tax, and the Combined District and Parish Council taxes for the Area for the financial year commencing on 1 April 2010.

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7. CORPORATE FINANCIAL MONITORING (OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2009) 35 - 48 To consider the Corporate Monitoring Report for the third quarter of the financial year 2009/10. 8. CORPORATE PLAN 2010 - 2013 49 - 62 To approve and adopt the Corporate Plan 2010-2013. 9. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2010/11 63 - 102 To approve the Workforce Development Plan 2010/11 10. EDEN AND SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCILS’ SHARED SERVICES 103 - 174 MANAGEMENT/DELIVERY ALLIANCE

To consider the outline business case for a shared services management/delivery alliance between Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council. 11. MINUTES OF MEETINGS To receive Chairmen’s comments (if any notified) in respect of the minutes of Committee meetings held between 23 November 2009 and 22 January 2010. If Members wish to raise questions with regard to any minutes of the Regulatory or Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held since the Agenda was issued for the last Council meeting, then notice should be provided in line with Rule 10 of the Council Procedural Rules (page 85 of the Constitution). 12. EXECUTIVE REPORTS, DECISIONS AND CABINET QUESTION TIME 175 - 200 To receive the Executive Report from the Leader and to deal with any questions to the Leader and/or Portfolio Holders on any topic which is within the jurisdiction or influence of the Council, and is relevant to their Portfolio. Any Member who poses a question will be entitled to one supplementary question on the same topic. Members are encouraged to give Portfolio Holders 24 hours’ notice of questions. If no notice is received, then the Portfolio Holder can reserve the right to give a written answer. Where notice of questions has been given, these will be taken first. Where a Member wishes to ask more than one question, please submit questions in order of priority. If more than one Member sends in a question, these will be taken in alphabetical order of Members’ names. The question time will be limited to 30 minutes. 13. QUESTIONS To deal with any questions under Paragraph 10 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, of which due notice has been given and/or the Chairman allows as a matter of urgent business. PART II Private Section (exempt reasons under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, specified by way of paragraph number) There are no items in this part of the Agenda.

4 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: Andy Shine Report From: Assistant Director (Resources) & S151 Agenda 5(1) Officer Item No: Report Author: Sue Hill, Corporate Finance Manager Helen Smith, Strategic Finance Manager Report Title: 2010/11 Revenue Budget and Five Year Capital programme

Summary This report provides a summary of the Council’s revised revenue budget for 2009/10 and original for 2010/11, with updated projections to 2014/15. Cabinet is has recommended a General Fund Budget of £15,047,100 for 2010/11, equivalent to a 3% increase in Council Tax. A balanced budget has been made possible through the review of the organisation’s structure which has enabled the Council to look at how it delivers its Corporate Plan priorities in a more cost effective way focused on community needs. The Revenue and Capital Budget proposals have been considered by the various Overview and Scrutiny Committees during this budgeting period. Consultations have taken place with the public, key business rate payers, partners and other stakeholders. Further changes which may arise during the period between the distribution of this report and the Council meeting on the 23 February will be reported verbally or by way of an Addendum.

Recommendations Council is recommended to: A) Consider this report in conjunction with the accompanying reports from the Chief Finance Officer on the robustness of estimates and the adequacy of financial reserves and the report from the Leader of the Opposition setting out proposals for an alternative budget B) Note that the Cabinet has considered and taken into account comments from appropriate Committees before making its recommendations in respect of the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Budgets and the Capital Programme C) In respect of the General Fund and subject to giving consideration to the results of the recent consultation with business ratepayers, approve the proposals of Cabinet that it: 1. Adopts a General Fund Budget for 2010/11 of £15,047,100, to include (i) The 2009/10 Revised Budget and the 2010/11 Estimates for the ongoing costs of existing service provision as contained in the summary estimates at Annexes A to D of the Budget Book. (ii) Budget reductions and adjustments as listed in Annex B of the Budget Book. (iii) Revenue service development proposals were submitted totalling £990,450 as set out in Annex B(ii) and (iii) of the Budget Book; £396,100 of these proposals have been provided for in the budget. 5 (iv) The review and rationalisation of reserves as summarised at paragraph 10 of this report (v) The contributions to and from reserves as set out in Table 1b and Table 1c of the Budget Book (vi) The use of £659,400 from the Working Balance to assist in funding the 2009/10 Budget and the contribution of £91,100 to the Working Balance from the 2010/11 Budget (vii) A minimum working balance of £1,200,000 for General Fund services for 2010/11 (viii) The resulting 3.0% increase in the Council Tax for District services.

2. Approves the Fees and Charges Book for 2010/11.

D) Approve the Collection Fund Estimates, Parish Council precepts and Parish Council Taxes as set out in Tables 2 and 3 of the 2010/11 Summary Budget Book. The Police and County elements are currently included as proposed but not approved at the time of writing this report. Any change will be updated and reported to the Council on the 23 February.

E) In respect of the Housing Revenue Account: (i) Note the decisions of the Cabinet relating to the Housing Revenue Account Estimates (ii) Note the 2009/10 Revised and 2010/11 Budgets for the Housing Revenue Account (Annex E of the Budget Book). (iii) Confirm that the HRA contingency provision remains at £50,000 for 2010/11 (iv) Set a target for the HRA working balance at 31 March 2011 of £600,000. F) Approve the proposals of Cabinet to adopt the Capital Programme as set out in Annex G of the Budget Book. G) Note that the effect of decisions arising from this report and the acceptance of the Corporate Plan will be incorporated into the Medium Term Financial Plan, Prudential Indicators, Capital and Treasury Management Strategies being considered by Council on the 30 March 2010.

BACKGROUND This report refers to information contained within the Tables and Annexes of the 2010/11 Summary Budget Book and the Fees and Charges Book. Members should note that these Books were printed before the Council meeting of the 16 February 2010 which will be discussing car parking fees and charges.

REVENUE BUDGET : GENERAL FUND SERVICES 1. 2009/10 Revised Budget (Table 1) 1.1. The 2009/10 Revised Service expenditure budget of £21,135,700 (Table 1), shows a projected underspending of £335,000 on the amended 2009/10 service budgets (after allowing for expenditure funded from reserves). This is offset by a reduction in

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 2 6 the net income received from investments. The major underlying variances leading to this underspending are: • Reduced take up of travel via Concessionary Fares Scheme • Increased administration grant and other subsidy (Rent Rebates and Rent Allowances) 1.2. The revised budget incorporates the implications of the flood expenditure and realistic expectations around the achievement of focussing the budget reductions built into the 2009/10 budget. Further details by service for the Revised 2009/10 Budget is provided at Annex B of the Summary Budget Book. Details by expenditure type (subjective analysis) is provided at Annex C of the Budget Book. 2. 2010/11 Budget : Summary Service Estimates (Table 1) 2.1. Summary Service Estimates are shown in Table 1 (with detail by service in Annex C and by department in Annex D of the Summary Budget Book) and provide for continuation of current services within the restructured authority adjusted for pay and price increases as per the Budget Strategy, including: • A provision of 1% for a nationally negotiated pay award from 1 April 2010 • Pension fund contributions continuing at the agreed rate of 20.5% • Known increases in the levels of fees and charges • Revenue consequences of the Capital Programme • Budget adjustments proposed by Cabinet up to 10th February 2010 3. Budget Savings (Annex B(i)) 3.1. Anticipated savings of £100k had already been built into the 2010/11 budget in anticipation of savings from the letting of the Grounds Maintenance contract. Recent information has indicated that a further £188k saving could now be realised during 2010/11 from the letting of the Grounds Maintenance contract and this is now incorporated into the 2010/11 budget.

4. Service Developments (Growth) (Annex B(ii) and B(iii)) 4.1. Unavoidable / statutory growth of £150,000 has been built into the budget. Further bids either funded from reserves, self-funding or met from within revenue resources, are also included, totalling £113,100. Annex B(ii) gives detail of all the growth included within the budget. 4.2. Additional savings from the Grounds Maintenance contract have enabled the inclusion of the following three items, which were classified as non-statutory service developments: • Lake Windermere £20k, provisional growth was approved by Council in December 2009 and will return income to cover costs • Additional Training following on from the restructure £25k, a commitment given to staff and necessary to support employees within the new structure • Procurement Team £30k, savings of £80k already built into the budget will depend on this investment. In addition to the items above, there is a need to include a revenue budget of £58k for essential works to be carried out to Stonecross Mansion, as reported to Council on the 16 February 2010. This is to enable the funding for any repairs work to be undertaken however the costs may be recovered from the owner. If the costs are recovered, the income should be transferred to the General Reserve. Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 3 7 The items above total £133,000 and can be met from the savings from the Grounds Maintenance contract. 4.3. Annex B(iii) lists the bids for service development that cannot be funded and will therefore not be delivered. 5. Fees and Charges (separate booklet) 5.1. The proposals in the budget are based on the fees and charges laid out in the separate booklet, and in particular assume approval of proposed increases to car park charges. If the car park fee increases are not approved, there will be an estimated budget shortfall of £250k. 6. 2010/11 Budget : Council Tax and Spending Level (Table 1) 6.1. The average Band D council tax increase for 2009/10 was 3 per cent. The Government expects this amount to fall further in 2010-11 to achieve a 16 year low. The Government remains prepared to take capping action against excessive increases (5%or higher) by authorities and to require them to re-bill households for a lower council tax if necessary.

6.2. The calculation of the potential budgetary resources depends on the council tax base, which is a measure of the taxable capacity of the district. The council tax base has increased by 0.4% from 2009/10 to 2010/11.

6.3. The Government’s Formula Grant, comprising Revenue Support Grant and Redistributed Non-Domestic Rates, has increased to £6,915.5k, an increase of only 0.5% (£34k) on the previous year. Minimal grant increases are likely to continue into future years. 6.4. The Medium Term Financial plan approved March 2009 allowed for an increase in council tax of 4% but the revision of this MTFP plans for a 3% increase in council tax for 2010/11 and ongoing. With savings made through the restructure and other savings and increased income identified during the budget preparation, the budget balances with a 3% increase which would see the band D tax rise by £5.12 to £175.90. This results in the recommended budget of £15,047,100. 7. Parish Precepts (Table 3) 7.1. Parish precepts for 2010/11 total £1,094,272, an increase of 1.8% compared to 2009/10. The average band D parish tax will rise by 1.5% to £23.73. 8. Collection Fund (Table 2) 8.1. Collection Fund Estimates are shown at Table 2, recording the collection and distribution of local taxation. The Fund shows a deficit for 2009/10 which will be shared with Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Police Authority and the District Council, whose share of £15,200 reduces the 2010/11 Budget. 8.2. The council tax figures shown in Table 2 are provisional pending decisions of the two precepting authorities and determination of Cabinet’s proposed 3.0% increase. 9. Corporate Plan Priorities (Table 4) 9.1. The 2010/11 Budget has been produced by reference to the Council’s Corporate Plan, its priority themes and outcomes, although expenditure restrictions are preventing any significant financial growth. Table 4 analyses budgeted expenditure over the three priority themes Living, Working and Visiting. Some expenditure has been classified as Regulatory Services whilst an “Other” block represents services, which have no clear link to the Corporate Plan. 10. Reserves (Tables 1b and 1c)

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 4 8 10.1. Closure of the 2008/09 Accounts left the Council’s reserves in a strong position, totalling £6.7m, of which £1.3m is earmarked for capital investment. Council has approved the use of up to £2.0m from the General Reserve to implement the management restructure during 2009/10 and £154,700 has been used since 2008/09 to fund the Council’s Transformation and Change programme. 10.2. The reserves have been reviewed and rationalised during 2009/10 to take account of their purpose (eg whether they are being accumulated for a specific purpose or whether they are held as a buffer against unexpected expenditure) and by an assessment of the underlying risk to the Council’s finances. The conclusion was that the strong position following the conclusion of the restructure and the transformation and change programme would allow a lower level of reserves to be held in future. 10.3. The key features of the reserves are: • Within the General Reserve £100,000 would be reserved for risk management activities. • Maintenance of a provision of £1.4m in the General Reserve as a buffer against future financial risks: this is below the Reserve’s previously preferred level of £1.5m, which is considered prudent despite uncertain financial times following the conclusion of the management restructure and the planned contribution to the reserve of £200,000 from 2011/12 onwards. • The LABGI Reserve will have a balance of £486,000 at 31 March 2010 of which all but £77,200 has been allocated to non-recurring priority initiatives, with a preference for economic regeneration. • A planned contribution of £50,000 to the Fund of Revenue Monies for Capital Purposes should be increased by £50,000 to £100,000 to maintain flexibility in the funding of the capital programme and to ensure coverage of any non-capitalisable elements within capital schemes. • The balance on the Repairs Reserve for major General Fund buildings is estimated to be £433,000 at the end of 2010/11, including an in-year contribution of £100,000. As the Reserve is expected to be fully required to meet the backlog funding identified within the Council’s Quinquennial building survey it is proposed to maintain the planned 2010/11 contribution to the Reserve. 10.4. Table 1b shows total reserves standing at £2.6m at 31 March 2011. 10.5. The Medium Term Financial Plan provides for the target Working Balance to be increased by £50,000 each year. Financing of the 2009/10 Budget requires a contribution of £659,400 from the Working Balance. This is an acceptable use of these funds as the working balance exists both as a buffer against unforeseen events and as a mechanism to deal with fluctuations in expenditure from year to year. Members will appreciate, however, that this funding will not be available to meet expenditure in 2010/11 or subsequent years. 10.6. The estimated Working Balance at 31 March 2011 is at the target of £1,200,000. 11. Future Years Forecasts 11.1. Since 2006 budget forecasts have predicted significant annual budget shortfalls. The longer-term picture remains unchanged: to incorporate a realistic level of new investment in corporate developments, service expenditure will exceed the resources available to the General Fund. Although the Management Restructure carried out in 2009 has significantly reduced the gap, the future forecast remains for inherent budgetary deficits continuing into future years. 11.2. The Medium Term Financial Plan has been considered in parallel with the 2010/11 budget process and will be finalised for consideration by the Council 30 March Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 5 9 2010. A provisional broad forecast of future trends predicts a growing budget deficit if no further action is taken: Standstill Services With Limited Growth £ £ 2010/11 0 0 2011/12 306,9 00 606,900 2012/13 306,400 906,400 2013/14 707,400 1,607,400 2014/15 886,100 2,086,100 (Order of magnitude figures) 11.3. Moving into the future, the Government will need to meet the repayment costs of borrowing to support the economy. The Comprehensive Spending Review due in 2009/10 has been postponed until after the General Election and the assumption is that public expenditure will be subject to severe constraints in future spending plans. The next four years promise to be difficult budget years with the prospect of a freeze, or possible reduction in Government grant, a probable 3% efficiency target and increases likely in National Insurance and Pension contributions, together with the Council’s ambitions for service development to deliver corporate outcomes. However the Council has been able to make significant redirection of resources and budget reductions in the last three years and has shown that it has the resolve to tackle major financial issues. 11.4. The Medium Term Financial Plan will propose a set of actions to achieve the funding required to deliver affordable future budgets. Part of this will reflect initiatives for shared services, and in particular the Shared Management initiative with Eden District Council, being reported later on this meeting’s agenda.

B) HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (Annex E) 12.1. Cabinet approved an average rent increase of 2% in Council house rents on 10 February 2010, in line with the Government’s requirements for rent restructuring which aims to align local authority and housing association rents. The rise follows the same Government consideration as in 2009/10 when average rent increases were reduced, mid-year, from 6.4% to 3.1%. The total annual rental payable will be collected through 48 weekly payments. All tenants will be limited to an actual increase in rents and charges of inflation +1/2% + £2 per week but this is based on inflation in September 2009, which was negative. Energy Charges and Sheltered Housing amenity charges are amended to reflect the costs of individual schemes and individual tenants will receive transitional protection to limit increases in charges. 12.2. Cabinet also approved the 2009/10 Revised Budget and 2010/11 Original Estimates. The HRA reflects the changes in interest, borrowing and subsidy arising from the delivery of the Decent Homes Programme which will be completed by the end of 2009/10. South Lakes Housing have examined their proposed budgets for 2010/11 and identified movement on the revenue repairs allocation to allow priority/ contractual work to be completed. 12.3. The HRA budgets include £150,000 over 2008/09 to 2010/11 for the costs of the housing options study. Medium term projections of the HRA show it unable to meet the costs of planned maintenance required to maintain the decency standard.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 6 10 12.4. HRA growth bids totalling £155,000 for 2010/11 can be funded from the £191k excess over the minimum working balance. 12.5. After falling into deficit in 2004/05 the HRA has gradually re-built it’s working balance and by 31 March 2009 finally exceeded the target of £600,000 with an actual working balance of £782,900. This was largely due to additional non- recurring interest. The Base Budget for 2010/11 at Annex F projects a working balance of £791,300 at 31 March 2011.

C) CAPITAL PROGRAMME (Annex G)

13. T 13.1. The Council’s Capital Programme covers spending on the purchase or improvement of assets that enables the delivery of the Council’s priorities and outcomes as set out in its Corporate Plan and that have a long-term benefit to the District. As the Council moves towards a needs-led approach it needs to ensure the District’s assets remain fit for purpose – this process is guided not only by the Corporate Plan but also the Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Strategy. The required expenditure is balanced against the limited resources available. 13.2. Council agreed the existing Capital Programme in September 2009. That programme was reviewed in the light of changes in financing, the need for new schemes and the implications on the 2010/11 Revenue Budget and the proposed five year programme to 2013/14. The Capital Prioritisation Group prioritised the projects coming forward using the criteria agreed in the Capital Strategy approved by Council in March 2009. 13.3. There are no changes to the Capital Programme which was presented to the Cabinet on the 10 February 2010. The principle of the creation of a Community Capital Allocation was accepted as an effective allocation of resources by the majority of Members. Discussions around it and the plans to progress towards LAPs influencing this spend, however highlight the need for the issuing of clear guidance and adoption of sound procedure. This guidance and procedure is being drafted and will be completed as part of the Medium Term Financial Plan being considered by Council on the 30 March 2010.

D) ROBUSTNESS OF ESTIMATES AND ADEQUACY OF RESERVES Legislation requires the Council to formally take account of my advice on these matters when setting its budget. This advice is given in an accompanying report on this agenda. The overall level of reserves is sound for 2010/11 and the Council is in a strong financial position to tackle its inherent budget deficit, although this will test the adequacy of these funds.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 7 11 Alternative Options The Council is required to set a balanced budget in 2010/11. The options incorporated to this report deliver that. The Council could alter any of these, provided it maintains a balanced postion and acts prudently ensuring value for money.

Material Considerations Finance This report deals solely with financial issues

Risk Management Risk Consequence Controls required The Council fails to balance its Inability to set a legal budget Professional and democratic budget by March 2010 and Council Tax management and responsibilities will prevent this

The budgets do not reflect Inappropriate or excessive Budget monitoring by Finance reality spending / over-allocation of and budget managers. resources Budgets signed off by responsible managers in accordance with the Constitution Reserves are drawn down Loss of resilience and ability to Sound management and excessively or used manage change avoidance of use of reserves to inappropriately meet recurring expenditure External funding is not Resources are not available to Avoidance of over-commitment available to the extent deliver the full programme of expenditure assumed in the Capital Programme Programmed slippage does not Potential overspending of Close monitoring and ability to occur programme slow down progress on schemes Risk re not achieving corporate Corporate objectives not met Link revenue and capital objectives budgets to Corporate Plan and monitor

Staffing The budgets have been prepared to reflect the estimated cost of the establishment required from 2010/11 onwards. Links to Corporate Plan The budget process allocates resources in line with the Corporate Plan and the service development proposals were scored against the corporate priorities in the current Corporate Plan. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) The Council is in the process of updating and reviewing its Corporate Plan and the strategies that support this in parallel. The Medium Term Financial plan, Capital Strategy, Asset Management Plan and Workforce Plan are being developed to enable the Council’s priorities to be effectively delivered. Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 8 12 This budget presents a change in the way resources are being allocated, which will be reflected in the updated strategies. Equalities & Diversity The budget proposals set out in this report will be equality assessed. Community Safety The budget proposals include consideration of Community Safety issues.

Background Documents Document: Budget Working Papers Contact: Shelagh McGregor Service development bids Suite of 2010/11 Budget Reports

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 4 Amended by SMcG: 9 13

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: All Report From: Leader of the Opposition Agenda 5(2) Report Author: Cllr Colin Hodgson Item No: Report Title: 2010/11 General Fund Revenue Budget: Proposals for an Alternative Budget Summary The Shadow Cabinet is broadly in agreement with the majority of Budget proposals made by the Cabinet, however it is felt that there are areas where reductions could be made. An alternative budget is therefore proposed which reduces the Budget requirement. If proposals included in the Budget change ( e.g Car Park Income) an Addendum setting out an alternative option will be provided by the Shadow Cabinet. Recommendations Council is recommended to consider this report alongside the Cabinet’s budget proposals before making its final decisions on the 2010/11 Budget. Report 1. The Shadow Cabinet has examined closely the budget proposals being reported to this meeting. We are broadly in agreement with the draft estimates but believe that more could be done to reduce the recurring Revenue Budget requirement as follows: £ a) General Reserve: The draft estimates provide for a sum of £196,600 to be set aside for subsequent allocation to priority growth items, when progress has been made in identifying sustainable budget reductions. The (150,000) essential growth bids are already included in the current draft budget so we question the need for this provision and propose that the transfer to the Reserve is cancelled.

b) Fund of Revenue Monies for Capital Purposes: The draft Capital Programme shows cumulative unallocated resources of £220.5k over its five year life. This suggests that the (100,000) 2010/11 contribution of £100,000 to the Fund is not necessary and can be deleted from the Budget. c) Information Technology Replacement Reserve: The draft estimates provide for a sum of £50,000 to be set aside for the replacement of Information Technology. As it is estimated that £115,100 will be available as at 31 March (47,000) 2010 after the 2009/10 contribution and call on the reserve, it is not necessary to contribute the entire additional £50,000 in 2010/11. Total Resources made available (297,000) 15

2. Opposition Members propose that the resources are allocated to these additional items: The proposed budget figures include the assumption that the Car Park Fees and Charges are as resolved by Cabinet on 6 January 2010. This decision is the subject of a call in. It is proposed that if the increases are not implemented the above resources are utilised to offset the impact as follows:

i) Funding of the deficit caused by the car park fees and charges 250,000

ii) Reduction of the Council Tax increase to 2.4% in 2010/11 47,000

Total Additional Investment in Services 297,000

3. It is viewed that times are hard enough without a 3% increase in Council Tax being imposed. The Shadow Cabinet proposes to use part of the identified fund to reduce the level of increase in Council Tax. This is an essential measure which will show residents of the District that the Council shares their concerns in the current economic climate (which whilst reported as improving is still severe).

Alternative Options These proposals are presented as a credible alternative to the Cabinet’s budget. Material Considerations Finance This report deals solely with financial issues. These proposals do represent an alternative view of the Council’s budget. Limiting council tax will mean a permanent decrease of around £47,000 in the income from this source. The reduction in contributions to reserves will result in fewer resources being available for capital and revenue growth. Risk Management The risks appertaining to the Cabinet’s proposals also apply to the Shadow Cabinet’s budget, but one new risk is identified: Risk Consequence Controls required A reduced increase in council Meeting future budget deficits Cautious budgeting and tax would mean a permanently could be more difficult. monitoring to ensure budgeted reduction of that element expenditure does not increase foregone. unduly.

Staffing No changes to the Cabinet’s establishment as significant savings have been delivered via the restructure process. Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: final (4) Amended by: Shelagh McGregor Filename/data on SLDC file/FINANCE/Accountancy/Accountancy Group/Budgets 2010.11/Budget Reports/Alternative Budget Report 2010.11 final 2 16 Links to Corporate Plan The proposals link to the corporate vision of living, working and visiting. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) If approved, the implications of the proposals could be built into the Medium Term Financial Plan. Equalities & Diversity The Budget Proposals take account of the Council’s strategy. Community Safety Not applicable.

Background Documents Document: Suite of Budget 2009/10 Budget Contact: Councillor Colin Hodgson Reports

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: final (4) Amended by: Shelagh McGregor Filename/data on SLDC file/FINANCE/Accountancy/Accountancy Group/Budgets 2010.11/Budget Reports/Alternative Budget Report 2010.11 final 3 17

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: All Report From: Assistant Director (Resources) & Section Agenda 5(3) 151 Officer Item No: Report Author: Shelagh McGregor Report Title: Statutory Report of the Chief Finance Officer on setting the 2010/11 Budget Requirement

Summary In setting its Budget Requirement, the Council is required under the Local Government Act 2003 (Section 25) to consider: i) The formal advice of the statutory responsible financial officer on the robustness of the estimates included in the budget and the adequacy of the reserves for which the budget provides; ii) The council has to determine what levels of borrowing, if any, it wishes to make under the new Prudential Code that now governs local authority borrowing.

Recommendations Council is recommended to: 1. Note the contents of the report in conjunction with the main Budget report; 2. Have regard to its contents and accept the advice of the Chief Finance Officer when making its final decisions on the 2010/11 Budget.

1 Robustness of Estimates The 2010/11 Budget has been prepared at a time of relative financial uncertainty. The recession has meant that previously accepted assumptions have had to be reviewed and amended where necessary. This is particularly relevant in respect of investments, with interest rates at a historical low. In these circumstances, it becomes increasingly important to adhere strictly to the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules and its Treasury Management Strategy while keeping a tighter rein on budget monitoring so that adverse trends are identified quickly and acted upon promptly. Service estimates have been prepared on a sound basis that reflects trends identified through the improved budget monitoring developed during 2009/10. Finance staff and budget holders now liaise much more closely on monitoring and are working to further improve procedures for 2010/1. The emphasis will remain on accurate predictive forecasting supplemented by clearer action plans to deal with problem areas. Managers, Members and Financial Services staff have been closely involved in budgeting and cross-checks for reasonableness are carried out on all information, giving greater confidence in the estimates. There are risks however involved in projecting budget particularly over the medium term and the year end position will never exactly match the estimated position in any given year. Areas of specific risk in the current five-year period under consideration are:

19 • The Governments 2007 Spending Review (CSR07) indicated that Central Government funding of Local Government will be much tighter over the medium term. Early indications are that the next grant settlement due to be received from 2011/12 will provide local authorities with a significant cut in grants. Early indications are that this cut could be a minimum of 5%. Coupled with the ‘rolling’ 3 year requirement to identify 4% year on year cashable efficiency savings for redirection to priorities, this will increase the pressure to provide efficiency and improve value for money including the progression of shared services initiatives. • The present economic climate has necessitated a thorough review of investment income. Although detrimental to the Council’s finances, an element of risk has been significantly reduced by the assumption that replacement investments will be at minimal interest rates, while the Council has no real exposure to increases in borrowing rates. Although technically the country is now reported to be out of recession, the impact of the economic downturn has been severe, particularly on sources of income and on interest earned. It is unclear how long it will take for these effects to be reversed and it is assumed that recovery will be limited during 2010/11. The estimated level of income generated from fees and charges generated from services has been set at a prudential level to take account of the downturn. The General Fund estimates contain a contingency provision of just under 1% of the net revenue budget requirement of £15m to meet unforeseen events before any use of financial reserves. The Housing Revenue Account contingency is around 0.5% of the gross budget which due to lower levels of uncertainty and higher balances reflects an acceptable level. The Budget has introduced substantial reductions in order to reach a balanced position. These are achievable but the actual expenditure will be closely monitored and prompt action will be taken should it be needed. To the best of my knowledge, the proposed Budget makes reasonable allowance for pay and price inflation and provides for all known commitments and legislative changes. 2 Adequacy of Financial Reserves In preparing the 2010/11 Revenue Budget I have reviewed the level of reserves and balances and assessed their adequacy against a range of factors, including • the potential impact of unexpected events or emergencies; • the predictability of cash flows demand-led pressures, inflation and interest rates; • estimates of the level and timing of capital receipts and grants; • the overall financial standing of the Council and its track record in budget management and capacity to manage in-year pressures; • the adequacy of the Council’s insurance arrangements; • the financial risks in the medium term plans, including the robustness of those plans. The Council’s key financial reserves are summarised at Table 1b in the Budget Book. In total, reserves are forecast to decrease over the budget period, from £6.3m to £2.67m at 31 March 2011. The single main reason for this decrease is £2m of support to the on recurring costs arising from the Council’s restructure which has enable the Council to control future recurring revenue spend on employee costs (£750k). Although £1.0m of the planned reserves is earmarked for specific purposes, it still leaves general reserves in a sound position. The General Reserve is being used in 2009/10 and 2010/11 to support one-off expenditure. The rationalisation exercise of 2008 set a level of £1,800,000 as a buffer against future financial risks, allowing a planned contribution of £200,000 for 2009/10 to be cancelled. Now that organisation development is largely complete there is less likelihood of a call on the reserves. Additional amounts set aside for implementation of the management restructure and transformational change are no longer required as the processes conclude but £100k is retained for risk management initiatives. Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 2 Amended by: Shelagh McGregor Filename: data on SLDC file/FINANCE/Accountancy/Accountancy Group/Budgets2010.11/Budget Reports/Council 23.02.2010/CFO Robustness of Estimates and Adequacy of Reserves 2 20 The Local Authorities Business Growth Incentive Reserve is credited with receipts of LABGI grant. This money has always been treated as additional to mainstream funding; all but £80k of the balance of £413,000 is committed and available for allocation to appropriate initiatives. Uncertainty surrounds the future of Concessionary Fares scheme which is due to be transferred to Cumbria County Council from 2011/12, and there is the potential for reduced grant to exceed the expenditure on the scheme. Any fluctuations will be monitored closely and the financial effects dealt with by the use of contingencies and or reserves. The Budget provides sufficient reserves for major repairs and IT replacement, with foreseeable expenditure allocated from these funds. No significant recurring expenditure is funded from reserves, consistent with Council policy. The Budget increases the General Fund working balance to £1.2m which is sufficient for the Council’s General Fund turnover of £50m. In the medium term the Council is seeking to increase this balance to £1,500,000 and to maintain reserves at sound levels. The Housing Revenue Account has been recovering from a problem year in 2004/05 by progressively restoring its target working balance to £600,000. This has been achieved in 2008/09 and maintained in 2009/10, but there are concerns about the longer term viability of the Account. A stock options study and revised business plan will identify the issues requiring attention.

Advice In respect of the General Fund, I believe that the proposed reserves and the £1.2m working balance place the Council in a sound financial position for 2010/11 and are adequate for the medium term. The Council is currently reviewing the medium and longer term pressures projected as part of its Medium Term Financial Plan (including a proposal for shared services which will if approved deliver significant savings. Reserves will be used to cushion any temporary shortfalls in this exercise and to fund the initial costs of making organisational and transformational change. It is important that reserves are maintained at robust levels in order to respond to these challenges and as a cushion against forecast risks and unforeseen events.

Determination of Borrowing The new Prudential Accounting regime enables the Council to borrow subject to meeting criteria of affordability. The draft Prudential Indicators have been established and these will be finalised for Council approval once decisions on the overall Capital Programme have been made. The reducing level of capital receipts results in a greater need to consider borrowing. For the period under review the need for borrowing will be kept under consideration dependent on the level of capital receipts being generated and the future potential capita projects.

Alternative Options Not applicable. Material Considerations Finance This report deals solely with financial issues. Risk Management The report is based on a risk analysis.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 2 Amended by: Shelagh McGregor Filename: data on SLDC file/FINANCE/Accountancy/Accountancy Group/Budgets2010.11/Budget Reports/Council 23.02.2010/CFO Robustness of Estimates and Adequacy of Reserves 3 21 Staffing The staffing implications have been included as part of the estimate/budget process. Links to Corporate Plan The short and longer term budget requirements are based on the resources needed to deliver the priorities as set out in the Corporate Plan which has been reviewed in parallel. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) The advice is consistent with the aims of the Medium Term Financial Plan and other corporate strategies. Equalities & Diversity The proposed budget is in accordance with the Equality and Diversity procedures of the Council. Community Safety This has been considered as part of the budget process and development of the budget requirement. Background Documents Document: Suite of Budget Reports produced Contact: Shelagh McGregor ext 7198 2009/10

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 2 Amended by: Shelagh McGregor Filename: data on SLDC file/FINANCE/Accountancy/Accountancy Group/Budgets2010.11/Budget Reports/Council 23.02.2010/CFO Robustness of Estimates and Adequacy of Reserves 4 22 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder Councillor Andy Shine Report From: Assistant Director (Resources) and Agenda 6 Section 151 Officer Item No: Report Author: Alan Raven, Revenues & Benefits Manager Report Title: 2010/11 Budget - Council Tax Setting

Summary Council is being requested to approve the 2010/11 General Fund Budget on 23 February 2010, which results in an increase of 3% in the District Council Tax, resulting in a Band D Tax of £175.90. This report takes account of parish precepts totalling £1,094,272 and anticipated Band D Council Taxes of £1,161.50 to be set by Cumbria County Council on 18th February 2010 and £193.89 to be set by Cumbria Police Authority on 17th February 2010. Should the Band D Council Taxes for the precepting authorities change following their budget meetings an amended report will be distributed at this meeting. Should the Band D Council Tax for this Council change at this meeting then it may be necessary to convene a Council Tax Setting Committee to approve the tax setting calculations. Recommendations It is recommended that:- (1) it be noted, subject to Council approval, that a General Fund Budget of £15,047,089 for 2010/2011 has been agreed (2) it be noted that on 6th January 2010 under powers delegated to me under Paragraph 3.1 of Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution, I calculated the Council Tax Base for the year 2010/11 as being the amount of 46,106.46 with the amounts of the Council Tax base of each Parish within South Lakeland being shown at Appendix 1 to this report. (3) the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2010/11 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:- (a) £63,811,745 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (2) (a) to (e) of the Act; (b) £47,707,100 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32 (3) (a) to (c) of the Act; (c) £16,104,645 being the amount by which the aggregate at (3) (a) above exceeds the aggregate at (3) (b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 32 (4) of the Act, as its budget requirement for the year; (d) £6,900,272 being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimates will be payable for the year into its General Fund in respect of re-distributed non- domestic rates and revenue support grant reduced by the amount of the sums which the Council estimates will be transferred in the year from its General

23 Fund to its Collection Fund in accordance with Section 97 (3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988. (e) £ 199.63 being the amount at 3 (c) above less the amount at 3 (d) above, all divided by the amount at (2) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33 (1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year; (f) £1,094,272 being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act; (g) £ 175.90 being the amount at (3) (e) above less the result given by dividing the amount at (3) (f) above by the amount at (2) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34 (2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates; (h) The amounts shown in Appendix 2 given by adding to the amount at (3) (g) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings to those parts of the Council’s area mentioned in Appendix 2 divided in each case by the amount at Appendix 1, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34 (3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate. (i) The amounts shown in Appendix 3 given by multiplying the amounts at (3) (g) above and those at Appendix 2 by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5 (1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36 (1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands; (4) it be noted that for the year 2010/11, Cumbria County Council and the Cumbria Police Authority have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:- Valuation Bands A B C D E F G H £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ (a) Cumbria 774.33 903.39 1032.44 1161.50 1419.61 1677.72 1935.83 2323.00 County Council (b) Cumbria 129.26 150.80 172.35 193.89 236.98 280.06 323.15 387.78 Police Authority and having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at Appendix 3 and paragraph (4) above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the amounts shown in Appendix 4 as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2010/11 for each of the categories of dwellings shown. Report Under provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Council is required to undertake a series of calculations in order to determine the Council Tax to be set for each parish within the District. Cumbria Police Authority is due to meet on 17 February 2010 to consider setting a Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 2 24 proposed Council Tax of £193.89. Cumbria County Council are due to meet on 18 February 2010 to consider setting a proposed Council Tax of £1,161.50.

The detailed calculations are set out in the Appendices to this report and are based on:- • the decision of Council on 23 February 2010 regarding the 2010/11 Budget • Parish Council precepts and Council Taxes as accepted by Cabinet and as shown in the 2010/11 Budget Book • the Police Authority Council Tax of £193.89 • Cumbria County Council Tax of £1,161.50. Alternative Options There is no alternative option as the Council Taxes recommended have been compiled based on the budget requirement of all precepting authorities. Material Considerations Finance Band D Council Taxes in the District will increase to the following amounts in 2009/10: £ Increase (%) South Lakeland District Council 175.90 3.0 Average Parish Council 23.73 1.5 Cumbria County Council 1,161.50 1.9 Cumbria Policy Authority 193.89 3.0 Total 1555.02 2.2

The increase represents an additional £32.76 per annum on Band D bills, of which £5.12 relates to the District Council. Risk Management Risk Consequence Controls required An error occurs in the detailed The Council Tax may not be All figures in the Appendices to and complex Council Tax set legally and it may not be this report have been setting calculations. recoverable through the calculated automatically but full Courts. This would have manual checks have been catastrophic consequences on undertaken against all figures. the Council’s financial position.

Staffing Not applicable. Links to Corporate Plan Not applicable. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) Not applicable. Equalities & Diversity Not applicable.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 3 25 Community Safety Not applicable. Background Documents There are no background documents to this report.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 4 26 APPENDIX 1

PARISH TAX BASE

ALDINGHAM 516.65 ALLITHWAITE UPPER 442.84 ANGERTON 5.37 ARNSIDE 1200.07 BARBON 143.99

BEETHAM 880.74 BLAWITH & SUBBERTHWAITE 123.30 BROUGHTON EAST 152.07 BROUGHTON WEST 458.19 BURTON IN KENDAL 619.49

CARTMEL FELL 243.85 CASTERTON 153.80 CLAIFE 229.83 COLTON 492.54 CONISTON 479.49

CROOK 218.64 CROSTHWAITE & LYTH 374.39 DENT 355.66 DOCKER 27.18 DUNNERDALE 82.07

EGTON WITH NEWLAND 387.28 FAWCETT FOREST 12.38 FIRBANK 59.86 GARSDALE 119.41 GRANGE-OVER-SANDS 2102.35

GRAYRIGG 100.10 HAVERTHWAITE 372.98 HAWKSHEAD 329.09 HELSINGTON 176.53 HEVERSHAM 359.63

HINCASTER 92.60 HOLME 597.42 HUGILL 247.59 HUTTON ROOF 106.03 KENDAL 10713.15

KENTMERE 64.00 KILLINGTON 66.29 KIKRBY IRELETH 500.59 KIRKBY LONSDALE 860.15 LAKES 2568.63

27 PARISH TAX BASE

LAMBRIGG 45.50 LEVENS 527.82 LONGSLEDDALE 43.31 LOWER ALLITHWAITE 861.58 LOWER HOLKER 738.66

LOWICK 121.73 LUPTON 76.66 MANSERGH 74.50 MANSRIGGS 16.41 MEATHOP & ULPHA 77.83

MIDDLETON 50.02 MILNTHORPE 780.29 NATLAND 426.33 NETHER STAVELEY 315.03 NEW HUTTON 168.30

OLD HUTTON & HOLMESCALES 182.80 OSMOTHERLEY 115.10 OVER STAVELEY 221.80 PENNINGTON 787.72 PRESTON PATRICK 170.28

PRESTON RICHARD 517.49 SATTERTHWAITE 144.94 SCALTHWAITERIGG 45.00 SEDBERGH 1070.05 SEDGWICK 187.30

SKELSMERGH 162.02 SKELWITH 114.14 STAINTON 153.41 STAVELEY IN CARTMEL 270.42 STRICKLAND KETEL 531.64

STRICKLAND ROGER 165.37 TORVER 66.61 ULVERSTON 4277.86 UNDERBARROW 208.11 URSWICK 628.95

WHINFELL 82.29 WHITWELL & SELSIDE 89.60 WINDERMERE 4320.61 WITHERSLACK 232.76

TOTAL 46106.46

28 APPENDIX 2

PARISH AMOUNT £

ALDINGHAM 192.99 ALLITHWAITE UPPER 210.93 ANGERTON 192.39 ARNSIDE 205.91 BARBON 184.51

BEETHAM 192.47 BLAWITH & SUBBERTHWAITE 188.88 BROUGHTON EAST 180.83 BROUGHTON WEST 192.39 BURTON IN KENDAL 200.08

CARTMEL FELL 197.96 CASTERTON 207.76 CLAIFE 191.13 COLTON 195.14 CONISTON 206.35

CROOK 191.39 CROSTHWAITE & LYTH 180.57 DENT 198.11 DUNNERDALE 192.39 EGTON WITH NEWLAND 188.43

GARSDALE 188.46 GRANGE-OVER-SANDS 218.59 GRAYRIGG 182.30 HAVERTHWAITE 196.01 HAWKSHEAD 207.81

HELSINGTON 202.81 HEVERSHAM 200.96 HOLME 208.90 HUGILL 191.28 HUTTON ROOF 182.97

KENDAL 204.32 KENTMERE 178.56 KIRKBY IRELETH 186.90 KIRKBY LONSDALE 213.56 LAKES 205.17

29 PARISH AMOUNT £

LEVENS 190.97 LOWER ALLITHWAITE 178.22 LOWER HOLKER 186.73 LOWICK 190.28 LUPTON 187.64

MANSRIGGS 188.43 MEATHOP & ULPHA 190.39 MILNTHORPE 199.82 NATLAND 194.13 NETHER STAVELEY 191.28

NEW HUTTON 178.58 OLD HUTTON & HOLMESCALES 182.18 OSMOTHERLEY 188.43 OVER STAVELEY 191.28 PENNINGTON 181.29

PRESTON PATRICK 189.19 PRESTON RICHARD 222.18 SATTERTHWAITE 192.60 SCALTHWAITERIGG 192.41 SEDBERGH 195.29

SEDGWICK 200.46 SKELSMERGH 192.41 SKELWITH 185.66 STAINTON 189.93 STAVELEY IN CARTMEL 190.25

STRICKLAND KETEL 202.60 STRICKLAND ROGER 202.60 TORVER 199.92 ULVERSTON 208.22 UNDERBARROW 199.93

URSWICK 191.67 WINDERMERE 190.98 WITHERSLACK 190.39

30 APPENDIX 3

PARISH BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND ABCDEFGH

££££££££ ALDINGHAM 128.66 150.10 171.55 192.99 235.88 278.76 321.65 385.98 ALLITHWAITE UPPER 140.62 164.06 187.49 210.93 257.80 304.68 351.55 421.86 ANGERTON 128.26 149.64 171.01 192.39 235.14 277.90 320.65 384.78 ARNSIDE 137.27 160.15 183.03 205.91 251.67 297.43 343.18 411.82 BARBON 123.01 143.51 164.01 184.51 225.51 266.51 307.52 369.02

BEETHAM 128.31 149.70 171.08 192.47 235.24 278.01 320.78 384.94 BLAWITH & SUBBERTHWAITE 125.92 146.91 167.89 188.88 230.85 272.83 314.80 377.76 BROUGHTON EAST 120.55 140.65 160.74 180.83 221.01 261.20 301.38 361.66 BROUGHTON WEST 128.26 149.64 171.01 192.39 235.14 277.90 320.65 384.78 BURTON IN KENDAL 133.39 155.62 177.85 200.08 244.54 289.00 333.47 400.16

CARTMEL FELL 131.97 153.97 175.96 197.96 241.95 285.94 329.93 395.92 CASTERTON 138.51 161.59 184.68 207.76 253.93 300.10 346.27 415.52 CLAIFE 127.42 148.66 169.89 191.13 233.60 276.08 318.55 382.26 COLTON 130.09 151.78 173.46 195.14 238.50 281.87 325.23 390.28 CONISTON 137.57 160.49 183.42 206.35 252.21 298.06 343.92 412.70

CROOK 127.59 148.86 170.12 191.39 233.92 276.45 318.98 382.78 CROSTHWAITE & LYTH 120.38 140.44 160.51 180.57 220.70 260.82 300.95 361.14 DENT 132.07 154.09 176.10 198.11 242.13 286.16 330.18 396.22 DOCKER 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 DUNNERDALE 128.26 149.64 171.01 192.39 235.14 277.90 320.65 384.78

EGTON WITH NEWLAND 125.62 146.56 167.49 188.43 230.30 272.18 314.05 376.86 FAWCETT FOREST 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 FIRBANK 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 GARSDALE 125.64 146.58 167.52 188.46 230.34 272.22 314.10 376.92 GRANGE-OVER-SANDS 145.73 170.01 194.30 218.59 267.17 315.74 364.32 437.18

GRAYRIGG 121.53 141.79 162.04 182.30 222.81 263.32 303.83 364.60 HAVERTHWAITE 130.67 152.45 174.23 196.01 239.57 283.13 326.68 392.02 HAWKSHEAD 138.54 161.63 184.72 207.81 253.99 300.17 346.35 415.62 HELSINGTON 135.21 157.74 180.28 202.81 247.88 292.95 338.02 405.62 HEVERSHAM 133.97 156.30 178.63 200.96 245.62 290.28 334.93 401.92

HINCASTER 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 HOLME 139.27 162.48 185.69 208.90 255.32 301.74 348.17 417.80 HUGILL 127.52 148.77 170.03 191.28 233.79 276.29 318.80 382.56 HUTTON ROOF 121.98 142.31 162.64 182.97 223.63 264.29 304.95 365.94 KENDAL 136.21 158.92 181.62 204.32 249.72 295.13 340.53 408.64

KENTMERE 119.04 138.88 158.72 178.56 218.24 257.92 297.60 357.12 KILLINGTON 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 KIKRBY IRELETH 124.60 145.37 166.13 186.90 228.43 269.97 311.50 373.80 KIRKBY LONSDALE 142.37 166.10 189.83 213.56 261.02 308.48 355.93 427.12 LAKES 136.78 159.58 182.37 205.17 250.76 296.36 341.95 410.34

LAMBRIGG 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 LEVENS 127.31 148.53 169.75 190.97 233.41 275.85 318.28 381.94 LONGSLEDDALE 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 LOWER ALLITHWAITE 118.81 138.62 158.42 178.22 217.82 257.43 297.03 356.44 LOWER HOLKER 124.49 145.23 165.98 186.73 228.23 269.72 311.22 373.46

LOWICK 126.85 148.00 169.14 190.28 232.56 274.85 317.13 380.56 LUPTON 125.09 145.94 166.79 187.64 229.34 271.04 312.73 375.28 MANSERGH 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 MANSRIGGS 125.62 146.56 167.49 188.43 230.30 272.18 314.05 376.86 MEATHOP AND ULPHA 126.93 148.08 169.24 190.39 232.70 275.01 317.32 380.78

MIDDLETON 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 MILNTHORPE 133.21 155.42 177.62 199.82 244.22 288.63 333.03 399.64 NATLAND 129.42 150.99 172.56 194.13 237.27 280.41 323.55 388.26 NETHER STAVELEY 127.52 148.77 170.03 191.28 233.79 276.29 318.80 382.56 NEW HUTTON 119.05 138.90 158.74 178.58 218.26 257.95 297.63 357.16

OLD HUTTON & HOLMESCALES 121.45 141.70 161.94 182.18 222.66 263.15 303.63 364.36 OSMOTHERLEY 125.62 146.56 167.49 188.43 230.30 272.18 314.05 376.86 OVER STAVELEY 127.52 148.77 170.03 191.28 233.79 276.29 318.80 382.56 PENNINGTON 120.86 141.00 161.15 181.29 221.58 261.86 302.15 362.58 PRESTON PATRICK 126.13 147.15 168.17 189.19 231.23 273.27 315.32 378.3831 PARISH BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND ABCDEFGH

££££££££ PRESTON RICHARD 148.12 172.81 197.49 222.18 271.55 320.93 370.30 444.36 SATTERTHWAITE 128.40 149.80 171.20 192.60 235.40 278.20 321.00 385.20 SCALTHWAITERIGG 128.27 149.65 171.03 192.41 235.17 277.93 320.68 384.82 SEDBERGH 130.19 151.89 173.59 195.29 238.69 282.09 325.48 390.58 SEDGWICK 133.64 155.91 178.19 200.46 245.01 289.55 334.10 400.92

SKELSMERGH 128.27 149.65 171.03 192.41 235.17 277.93 320.68 384.82 SKELWITH 123.77 144.40 165.03 185.66 226.92 268.18 309.43 371.32 STAINTON 126.62 147.72 168.83 189.93 232.14 274.34 316.55 379.86 STAVELEY IN CARTMEL 126.83 147.97 169.11 190.25 232.53 274.81 317.08 380.50 STRICKLAND KETEL 135.07 157.58 180.09 202.60 247.62 292.64 337.67 405.20

STRICKLAND ROGER 135.07 157.58 180.09 202.60 247.62 292.64 337.67 405.20 TORVER 133.28 155.49 177.71 199.92 244.35 288.77 333.20 399.84 ULVERSTON 138.81 161.95 185.08 208.22 254.49 300.76 347.03 416.44 UNDERBARROW 133.29 155.50 177.72 199.93 244.36 288.79 333.22 399.86 URSWICK 127.78 149.08 170.37 191.67 234.26 276.86 319.45 383.34

WHINFELL 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 WHITWELL & SELSIDE 117.27 136.81 156.36 175.90 214.99 254.08 293.17 351.80 WINDERMERE 127.32 148.54 169.76 190.98 233.42 275.86 318.30 381.96 WITHERSLACK 126.93 148.08 169.24 190.39 232.70 275.01 317.32 380.78

32 APPENDIX 4

PARISH BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND ABCDEFGH

££££££££ ALDINGHAM 1032.25 1204.29 1376.34 1548.38 1892.47 2236.54 2580.63 3096.76 ALLITHWAITE UPPER 1044.21 1218.25 1392.28 1566.32 1914.39 2262.46 2610.53 3132.64 ANGERTON 1031.85 1203.83 1375.80 1547.78 1891.73 2235.68 2579.63 3095.56 ARNSIDE 1040.86 1214.34 1387.82 1561.30 1908.26 2255.21 2602.16 3122.60 BARBON 1026.60 1197.70 1368.80 1539.90 1882.10 2224.29 2566.50 3079.80

BEETHAM 1031.90 1203.89 1375.87 1547.86 1891.83 2235.79 2579.76 3095.72 BLAWITH & SUBBERTHWAITE 1029.51 1201.10 1372.68 1544.27 1887.44 2230.61 2573.78 3088.54 BROUGHTON EAST 1024.14 1194.84 1365.53 1536.22 1877.60 2218.98 2560.36 3072.44 BROUGHTON WEST 1031.85 1203.83 1375.80 1547.78 1891.73 2235.68 2579.63 3095.56 BURTON IN KENDAL 1036.98 1209.81 1382.64 1555.47 1901.13 2246.78 2592.45 3110.94

CARTMEL FELL 1035.56 1208.16 1380.75 1553.35 1898.54 2243.72 2588.91 3106.70 CASTERTON 1042.10 1215.78 1389.47 1563.15 1910.52 2257.88 2605.25 3126.30 CLAIFE 1031.01 1202.85 1374.68 1546.52 1890.19 2233.86 2577.53 3093.04 COLTON 1033.68 1205.97 1378.25 1550.53 1895.09 2239.65 2584.21 3101.06 CONISTON 1041.16 1214.68 1388.21 1561.74 1908.80 2255.84 2602.90 3123.48

CROOK 1031.18 1203.05 1374.91 1546.78 1890.51 2234.23 2577.96 3093.56 CROSTHWAITE & LYTH 1023.97 1194.63 1365.30 1535.96 1877.29 2218.60 2559.93 3071.92 DENT 1035.66 1208.28 1380.89 1553.50 1898.72 2243.94 2589.16 3107.00 DOCKER 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 DUNNERDALE 1031.85 1203.83 1375.80 1547.78 1891.73 2235.68 2579.63 3095.56

EGTON WITH NEWLAND 1029.21 1200.75 1372.28 1543.82 1886.89 2229.96 2573.03 3087.64 FAWCETT FOREST 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 FIRBANK 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 GARSDALE 1029.23 1200.77 1372.31 1543.85 1886.93 2230.00 2573.08 3087.70 GRANGE-OVER-SANDS 1049.32 1224.20 1399.09 1573.98 1923.76 2273.52 2623.30 3147.96

GRAYRIGG 1025.12 1195.98 1366.83 1537.69 1879.40 2221.10 2562.81 3075.38 HAVERTHWAITE 1034.26 1206.64 1379.02 1551.40 1896.16 2240.91 2585.66 3102.80 HAWKSHEAD 1042.13 1215.82 1389.51 1563.20 1910.58 2257.95 2605.33 3126.40 HELSINGTON 1038.80 1211.93 1385.07 1558.20 1904.47 2250.73 2597.00 3116.40 HEVERSHAM 1037.56 1210.49 1383.42 1556.35 1902.21 2248.06 2593.91 3112.70

HINCASTER 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 HOLME 1042.86 1216.67 1390.48 1564.29 1911.91 2259.52 2607.15 3128.58 HUGILL 1031.11 1202.96 1374.82 1546.67 1890.38 2234.07 2577.78 3093.34 HUTTON ROOF 1025.57 1196.50 1367.43 1538.36 1880.22 2222.07 2563.93 3076.72 KENDAL 1039.80 1213.11 1386.41 1559.71 1906.31 2252.91 2599.51 3119.42

KENTMERE 1022.63 1193.07 1363.51 1533.95 1874.83 2215.70 2556.58 3067.90 KILLINGTON 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 KIRKBY IRELETH 1028.19 1199.56 1370.92 1542.29 1885.02 2227.75 2570.48 3084.58 KIRKBY LONSDALE 1045.96 1220.29 1394.62 1568.95 1917.61 2266.26 2614.91 3137.90 LAKES 1040.37 1213.77 1387.16 1560.56 1907.35 2254.14 2600.93 3121.12

LAMBRIGG 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 LEVENS 1030.90 1202.72 1374.54 1546.36 1890.00 2233.63 2577.26 3092.72 LONGSLEDDALE 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 LOWER ALLITHWAITE 1022.40 1192.81 1363.21 1533.61 1874.41 2215.21 2556.01 3067.22 LOWER HOLKER 1028.08 1199.42 1370.77 1542.12 1884.82 2227.50 2570.20 3084.24

LOWICK 1030.44 1202.19 1373.93 1545.67 1889.15 2232.63 2576.11 3091.34 LUPTON 1028.68 1200.13 1371.58 1543.03 1885.93 2228.82 2571.71 3086.06 MANSERGH 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 MANSRIGGS 1029.21 1200.75 1372.28 1543.82 1886.89 2229.96 2573.03 3087.64 MEATHOP AND ULPHA 1030.52 1202.27 1374.03 1545.78 1889.29 2232.79 2576.30 3091.56

MIDDLETON 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 MILNTHORPE 1036.80 1209.61 1382.41 1555.21 1900.81 2246.41 2592.01 3110.42 NATLAND 1033.01 1205.18 1377.35 1549.52 1893.86 2238.19 2582.53 3099.04 NETHER STAVELEY 1031.11 1202.96 1374.82 1546.67 1890.38 2234.07 2577.78 3093.34 NEW HUTTON 1022.64 1193.09 1363.53 1533.97 1874.85 2215.73 2556.61 3067.94

OLD HUTTON & HOLMESCALES 1025.04 1195.89 1366.73 1537.57 1879.25 2220.93 2562.61 3075.14 OSMOTHERLEY 1029.21 1200.75 1372.28 1543.82 1886.89 2229.96 2573.03 3087.64 OVER STAVELEY 1031.11 1202.96 1374.82 1546.67 1890.38 2234.07 2577.78 3093.34 PENNINGTON 1024.45 1195.19 1365.94 1536.68 1878.17 2219.64 2561.13 3073.36 PRESTON PATRICK 1029.72 1201.34 1372.96 1544.58 1887.82 2231.05 2574.3033 3089.16 PARISH BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND BAND ABCDEFGH

££££££££

PRESTON RICHARD 1051.71 1227.00 1402.28 1577.57 1928.14 2278.71 2629.28 3155.14 SATTERTHWAITE 1031.99 1203.99 1375.99 1547.99 1891.99 2235.98 2579.98 3095.98 SCALTHWAITERIGG 1031.86 1203.84 1375.82 1547.80 1891.76 2235.71 2579.66 3095.60 SEDBERGH 1033.78 1206.08 1378.38 1550.68 1895.28 2239.87 2584.46 3101.36 SEDGWICK 1037.23 1210.10 1382.98 1555.85 1901.60 2247.33 2593.08 3111.70

SKELSMERGH 1031.86 1203.84 1375.82 1547.80 1891.76 2235.71 2579.66 3095.60 SKELWITH 1027.36 1198.59 1369.82 1541.05 1883.51 2225.96 2568.41 3082.10 STAINTON 1030.21 1201.91 1373.62 1545.32 1888.73 2232.12 2575.53 3090.64 STAVELEY IN CARTMEL 1030.42 1202.16 1373.90 1545.64 1889.12 2232.59 2576.06 3091.28 STRICKLAND KETEL 1038.66 1211.77 1384.88 1557.99 1904.21 2250.42 2596.65 3115.98

STRICKLAND ROGER 1038.66 1211.77 1384.88 1557.99 1904.21 2250.42 2596.65 3115.98 TORVER 1036.87 1209.68 1382.50 1555.31 1900.94 2246.55 2592.18 3110.62 ULVERSTON 1042.40 1216.14 1389.87 1563.61 1911.08 2258.54 2606.01 3127.22 UNDERBARROW 1036.88 1209.69 1382.51 1555.32 1900.95 2246.57 2592.20 3110.64 URSWICK 1031.37 1203.27 1375.16 1547.06 1890.85 2234.64 2578.43 3094.12

WHINFELL 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 WHITWELL & SELSIDE 1020.86 1191.00 1361.15 1531.29 1871.58 2211.86 2552.15 3062.58 WINDERMERE 1030.91 1202.73 1374.55 1546.37 1890.01 2233.64 2577.28 3092.74 WITHERSLACK 1030.52 1202.27 1374.03 1545.78 1889.29 2232.79 2576.30 3091.56

34

Item 7

Management Team 21st January, 2010 CSPG 27th January, 2010 Cabinet 10th February, 2010 Council 23rd February, 2010

Corporate Financial Monitoring October – December 2009

Report of the Corporate Finance Manager

35 1 CORPORATE FINANCIAL MONITORING October 2009 – December 2009

1. INTRODUCTION

This is the third quarterly corporate financial monitoring report for 2009/10 and sets out an indicative corporate picture of the Council’s financial performance during the period ending December 2009.

The report summarises budget variances in excess of £10,000 against the latest revised budget, with explanations provided by Budget Managers in conjunction with their Accountants. In addition, there are specific sections for salary monitoring, grants, capital expenditure and financing, investments and borrowing, reserves, Housing Revenue Account, revenue collection performance, and Insurance and Risk Management.

The structure of the Finance team has been reviewed under the restructure and the team will be moving within the current office space so that the whole finance team is located together. The move is scheduled for completion by the end of February to ensure the team is settled before the end of the financial year.

Budget preparation work has taken a high priority during the third quarter and reports on the latest revenue and capital budgets have been produced for Management Team, Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The changes brought about by the restructure are being built into the budget preparation process and this has inevitably entailed additional work during this budget round. The actual expenditure to date has been considered in the setting of the 2009/10 revised and future years budgets.

The staff team in the finance department continues to work towards improving the service we provide. We have recently introduced Internet banking which will be far more efficient once the usual teething problems have been resolved. Major areas of note include: • Re-installation and upgrade of the Integra financial systems • Member training sessions have commenced with a schedule for training for the 2009/10 year • Preparation work for the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) • Preparation and training for the closedown of the 2009/10 accounts

2. GENERAL FUND REVENUE MONITORING

2.1 General Fund Summary Position

The current overall General Fund summary position shows that at the end of December there is a net overspending of £183k against the current profiled budget. Projections to the year-end have been included in this report at Appendix A and a £91k underspend is currently projected to the end of March 2010. An analysis of underspends against profiles by Assistant Director area is included in section 2.2. A full analysis of the variations, with commentary where available, is shown in Appendix A.

2.2 Major Budget Variances

Appendix A details variances of +/- £10K in value (or 10%) and covers salary costs, premises, transport, supplies and services and general income. An overspend against variance is shown as a ‘+’ and an underspend as a ‘-‘ figure.

Full details of the summary variances (actuals against profiled budget) shown in the table are provided at Appendix A.

36 2

Projected Current Current over/ SUMMARY BY SERVICE Variance variance (under) £000 % £000 REPORTED VARIANCES : Community Investment & Development -9 0% 0 Community Services -95 -2% -76 Corporate Vision +23 +4% -60 Customer Focus +3 0% 0 Resources +195 +7% -3 Social Enterprise +62 +17% +48 Management Team +4 1% 0

TOTAL NET VARIANCE +183 +7% -91

Previous Qtr 2009/10 position +162 +7% -30

2.3 General Fund Salary Monitoring

Salary monitoring has been included in the variances reported at Appendix A, however more detail has been included in this section of the report. The salary budgets are net of the allowance of 2.5% for vacancy savings and have been revised to allow for a pay award of 1%, which was paid within this current quarter. There is an overall underspending on salaries of £22k as at the end of December 2009, which is negligible against the £12.8 million budget.

SERVICE Budget Profile Actual Diff. £000 £000 £000 £000 Community Investment & 2,311 1,736 1,730 -6 Development Community Services 3,888 2,904 2,842 -62 Corporate Vision 465 350 359 +9 Customer Focus 1,930 1,447 1,473 +26 Resources 1,742 1,309 1,313 +4 Social Enterprise 2,020 1,518 1,516 -2 Management Team 416 312 321 +9 Total 12,772 9,575 9,553 -22 Previous Qtr position 13,439 6,741 6,547 -194

2.4 Grants Received and Paid

The full year revised budget for grants receivable is £2,838k (not including NNDR, Rent Rebate, Local Housing Allowance and Discretionary Housing Benefits Rent Allowance grants); grants actually received up to and including December 2009 totalled £2,442k (86% of the full year budget) and are summarised in the table below:

Source of Grant Budget Actuals to 2009/10 30.12.09 £000 £000 Other Government Grants – various 204.8 558.8 Other Government Grants – RSG 1,290.4 742.1 Other Government Grants - Storms 219.6 219.6 Disabled Facilities Grants 174.0 174.0 Lottery Funding 0 14.7 Concessionary Fares 875.3 659.5 Area Based Grant 35.8 35.8 LABGI Grant 37.9 37.9 TOTAL 2,837.8 2,442.4

37 3 Revenue grants paid to other organisations totalled £208.3k by the end of December 2009 against a full year budget of £272k.

Grant description Budget Actuals to 2009/10 30.9.09 £000 £000 Grants to Organisations 14.2 14.2 Contributions to Organisations 105.9 104.5 Subscriptions to Organisations 45.4 31.6 Regular Funded Organisations 106.5 58.0 TOTAL 272.0 208.3

Capital Grants paid totalled £907k against a full year budget of £1,636k (included within the figures at section 3.1, Capital Expenditure & Financing).

3 General Fund Capital Programme

3.1 Capital Expenditure & Financing

Capital Expenditure (General Fund)

Table 1 below shows the latest approved capital programme (approved September 2009) and expenditure (excluding commitments) to the end of December 2009. Table 2 shows budgets, expenditure and balance of the budget to spend split out across the Assistant Director areas.

To date £3,301k (33%) has been spent leaving a total of £6,669k (67%) still to be spent from the approved capital programme, after allowing for programmed slippage.

A meeting of the Capital Monitoring Working Group has been organized to investigate the project variances in more detail and to forecast a year-end position.

A capital prioritisation exercise has been completed to ensure that the Capital programme fits closely with the Council’s corporate priorities and a revised draft of the Capital Programme for 2010/11 onwards is being taken to the 27th January Cabinet meeting.

Table 1 £000 Current Programme 10,120 Less programmed slippage -150 TOTAL PROGRAMME 9,970 Spend to Date 3,301 Balance to spend 6,669 Table 2 Budget for Spent Balance of year To 30.9.09 full year budget £’000 £’000 £’000 Community Investment & 6,991.9 1,836.1 5,155.8 Development Community Services 1,734.4 1,127.2 607.2 Corporate Vision 700.7 150.6 550.1 Customer Focus 14.5 32.4 -17.9 Resources 199.5 56.7 142.8 Social Enterprise 479.2 97.5 381.7 Sub-total 10,120.2 3,300.5 6,819.7 Programmed slippage -150.0 -150.0 Totals 9,970.2 3,300.5 6,669.7

There are a number of projects within Community Investment and Development with large amounts in the approved programme where current year spend is very low. Notably, these include Affordable Housing Grants (approval £665k, no spend); Site Assembly Fund for Affordable Housing (approval £733k, £309k spent); New Build Fund for Affordable Housing (approval £641k, negligible spend); Buy Back Scheme: RTB homes (approval 720k, negligible spend). The approvals for these projects total £2,759k with spend showing as £311k (11% of approval). Historically, these projects do tend to spend

38 4 during the final months of the financial year. Work is underway to finalise the year-end projections, feeding into the capital programme for future years.

Additionally, there are likely to be a number of projects within the programme for 2009/10, which are unlikely to commence during the year.

Capital Receipts (General Fund)

The Capital Programme approved in September 2009 assumes that the Council will generate £187k of usable capital receipts from asset sales in the 2009/10 year. For the first nine months of the year, capital receipts have totalled £171k. There were three Right to Buy sales in the first three quarters of the year with net receipts of £74k after payment of 75% to the Housing Capital Receipts pool.

At this point, the target for the year of 187k has almost been achieved, with a £16k target receipt for the final quarter of the year.

4 INVESTMENTS AND BORROWING

4.1 Core Investments

The Council’s fund managed by Investec Asset management had a market value of £14,460k at the 1st April 2009. The fund has risen in value to £14,633k at 31st December 2009, an increase in value of £173k. This represents a performance indicator of 1.14% compared with the 7 day LIBID rate of 0.33%

4.2 Temporary Investments

Temporary Investments in the period October to December 2009 realised interest of £13k, compared with £133.7k for the same period in 2008 when the bank base rate stood at 5%. The base rate dropped to 0.50% on 5th March 2009. The average interest achieved during October to December 2009 has been 0.55%. The Council’s priority is always security of investment before yield. The economic forecast did not predict any rise in base rate until the end of 2009; at the time of writing this report, no rise has yet been announced.

4.3 Borrowing

The Treasury Management Strategy for 2009/10 anticipates borrowing £1m to fund non HRA capital expenditure; it is now anticipated that this borrowing will not be required and it has been removed from the latest drafts of the revenue and capital budgets. The current total loan borrowed from PWLB to fund the Decency programme stands at £20.5m, incurring an average interest rate of 4.33%. These borrowing costs are met by Government subsidy.

4.4 Prudential Indicators

Passive monitoring of the indicators shows that they are all within their limits. Most importantly, the outstanding borrowing of £21m is comfortably below the £31m operational and £47m authorised limits.

5 RESERVES

Closure of the 2008/09 accounts left the Council with total reserves of £8.0m, a reduction of £0.9m from the previous year, mainly due to increased support from reserves to the capital programme. The General Reserve stands at £3.7m and will be used to mitigate the potential risk of increased expenditure in future years and to fund one-off implementation costs of the management re-structure. The LABGI Reserve was set up at the end of 2007/08 and is being used to fund corporate initiatives, with a preference for economic regeneration, the latest revenue estimates allow for the receipt of only £18.6k LABGI funding for the 2010/11 year.

6 PLANNED MAINTENANCE

The monitoring information in the table below relates to the Planned Maintenance budgets, excludes extra work and was provided by NPS. At the end of December, expenditure and commitments were ahead of profiled budget by £29k or 5%, this is a work scheduling matter and does not indicate a potential overspend at the year-end.

39 5 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 TOTAL £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Budget Profile 151 369 545 545 Expenditure 45 208 352 352 Commitments 131 146 223 223 Total 175 354 575 575 Variance +25 -15 +29 +29 Variance (%) 16% -4% 5% 5%

7 HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (HRA) MONITORING

7.1 HRA Revenue Position

At the end of December 2009, the Housing Revenue Account is running in line with revised budget predictions. Within the individual budget headings, miscellaneous income and special services expenditure are both slightly below target.

Council House Sales are now at three with an overall amount received of £297k; 75% (£223k) of these receipts are sent to the Government under the usual Capital Receipts to Pool rule.

7.2 Council House Rent Collection

Net rents collected to the end of December 2009 (week 37) were £8.5m, in line with the revised estimate for the year to date.

7.3 Council Housing Capital Programme

This section analyses actual spend against the Council Housing elements of the Capital Programme for the period ended 30th December 2009. The spend figures do not include commitments as at the period end date. A total of 51% of the approved expenditure (72% of profiled expenditure) has been expended by the end of December 2009.

South Lakes Housing provides information on the progress of projects and monitoring is effected via the Capital Monitoring Working Group.

Latest Latest Profiled Spend to Approved Budget Date programme £000 £000 (includes c/fs) £000 SLH Projects (HRA General) 56.8 5.0 0

Aids & Adaptations 294.4 177.0 87.4

Other Major repairs/Play areas 809.2 510.0 320.8 Decency Improvement Works 796.9 796.9 549.2 SLH Supervision 256.0 192.0 175.1

Sustainability 690.4 394.0 364.7

Admin & Technical Support 56.8 0 0

TOTALS 2,960.5 2,074.9 1,497.2

8 REVENUE COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

8.1 Council Tax, Business Rates & Collection Fund

This section analyses the Council Tax and Business Rate collection statistics for the current financial year compared to the previous year.

The Collection figures at 30th December 2009 for Council Tax are almost identical to those achieved at this point in the previous financial year. The Business Rates figure is marginally down but this is still encouraging in view of the current recession.

40 6 The actual surplus/deficit on collection fund at 15th January 2010 shows a deficit of £119k of which the Council’s share will be £15,200. This figure will be taken into account during the budget and Council Tax setting process.

Percentage Collected 2008/09 2009/10 at 30th December % %

Council Tax 87.62 87.59

Business Rates 87.86 88.15

8.2 Sundry Debts

This section sets out the latest position on the level of outstanding sundry debts. The overall level of sundry debts has increased by £85k since the end of September 2009, the main increase being in the ‘outstanding for 1 to 6 months’ category, which is mainly due to the Trade Refuse invoices raised in October that remain outstanding at the period end date. This trend compares with the same period last year, although the overall level of outstanding debt is lower.

Net write-offs for the period April to December 2009 amounted to £1.4k.

As at 31st December 2009 Less than 30 1 to 6 months 6 to 12 1 to 2 years Over 2 years Total days months No: £ No: £ No: £ No: £ No: £ £ Social Enterprise 21 6k 76 45.8k 11 1.5k 5 0.5k 4 2.7k 56.4k Finance 1 0.2k 38 8.1k 93 3.8k 37 3.5k 47 13.2k 28.8k Human Resources 4 0.3k 3 0.6k ------0.9k Legal, Democratic 209 280k 177 36.4k 1 0.3k 1 7.5k 6 3.1k 327.4k & Members Community 86 65.6k 436 113.3k 14 1.5k 19 4.4k 5 0.1k 185k Services Community Investment & 58 22k 67 46.6k 31 12.9k 59 31k 11 2.6k 115.6k Development Revenues & - - 12 3.4k 1 0.1k 5 0.8k 73 56.5k 60.7k Benefits TOTALS 379 374.1k 809 254.2k 151 20.1k 126 47.7k 146 78.2k 774.8k Previous Qtr 356 437.0k 344 107.3k 63 17.6k 108 45.7k 150 82.3k 689.9k Position

9.1 Insurance Monitoring

The general insurance policies were renewed on 1st October 2009 with a total premium of £343,000, compared to £345,000 for the previous year.

The insurance year started well with no motor claims in the first 41 days – a record. Since then, however, the adverse weather conditions have taken their toll. Flooding to property has caused the worst damage, with insurance claim estimates at £235,000. Other claims put the total insurance cost for the three months at £288,000.

The estimated cost of all outstanding claims currently stands at £466,282

9.2 Risk Management

Risk management is an essential element of internal control and contributes to best value public services. Risks are identified, managed where necessary and monitored in terms of implementing mitigating controls. The Strategic Risk Register, which contains many risks of a financial nature, is updated on an annual basis. All strategic risks are reviewed in line with the Corporate Planning process to assist the achievement of Corporate Plan objectives. Strategic financial risks include; achieving efficiency savings; achieving a balanced and sustainable budget; reduced Revenue Support Grant etc. The progress made with the control of strategic risks is reported to Corporate Strategy and Performance Group.

Assistant Directors, Managers and Officers identify operational risks within each Service Unit. Many operational risks, particularly those managed by Finance have a financial element. All operational risks 41 7 are reviewed in line with the Service Planning process to ensure the achievement of Service Unit objectives.

This report has been compiled by the Corporate Finance Manager based on information received from a large number of officers throughout the Council. I would like to thank everyone for his or her contributions and assistance in the production of this report.

42 8 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL - Revenue Budget Monitoring to end December 2009 (Quarter 3, 2009/10) Appendix A

Variance Variance Full Year Revised to date Over / Actual against Budget Budget (Budget to (Under)spend Explanation of Variances to Date Budget to (Revised) to date date -v- projected date Actual) £ £ £ £ % £ Community Investment & Development CID)

GBC Building Control Disputed scanning invoice. DS in correspondence 286,280 -353,632 -328,897 24,735 7% 0 with company, hopes to agree settlement.

GEV Events Timing differences on events income/expenditure. Not David Sykes 118,250 -24,559 -8,910 15,649 64% 0 possible to profile. GGV Grants To Voluntary Orgs Late submission of accounts from Brewery / Grizedale. 324,120 241,426 216,728 -24,698 -10% 0 All funds committed. COMMUNITIES EUR Regeneration Housing Housing Salaries/contract staff overspend £11k. 0 1,963,740 1,973,491 9,751 0% 0 Other service savings contributing. 2,952,804 -13,205 -49,724 -36,519 Total CID 3,681,454 1,913,940 1,904,589 -9,351 0% 0

43

1 22/01/2010 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL - Revenue Budget Monitoring to end December 2009 (Quarter 3, 2009/10) Appendix A

Variance Variance Full Year Revised to date Over / Actual against Budget Budget (Budget to (Under)spend Explanation of Variances to Date Budget to (Revised) to date date -v- projected date Actual) £ £ £ £ % £

Community Services GCM Cemeteries More burials than average at quarter end. Scheduling 183,840 73,676 40,428 -33,248 -45% -10,000 of NPS invoices (£12K)

£9.6K to come from emergency flooding funds / £10k from other govt grants. Drop in income from Housing GHM Homelessness Benefit, increase in B&B costs and various small credit 274,900 45,492 63,863 18,371 40% 0 amounts. Year end position difficult to predict due to nature of service but looks in line with revised estimate to date

Endeavour to avoid overtime, need to offset cost of Commercial Waste. Vacancy held for Commercial GWK Kerbside Collect of staff. Reduction in cost of leaf fall due to adverse 1,331,640 752,983 758,920 5,937 1% -43,000 Recyclables weather. Full effect of weather on recycling rate not known until normal collections resume, so best Simon estimate to year end. Rowley GLE Leisure Centres 1,185,550 899,721 852,586 -47,135 -5% 0 Scheduling of NPS work across the authority GPK Parks 930,390 602,381 586,964 -15,417 -3% 0 Scheduling of NPS work across the authority GPL Planned Maintenance -18,250 -13,688 2,289 15,977 117% 0 Scheduling of NPS work across the authority

COMMUNITIES GWR Waste Recycling 275,160 111,992 119,223 7,231 6% 1,000 Projected overspend GTG Street Cleansing Need to offset cost of Commercial Waste so work 1,062,450 692,643 687,086 -5,557 -1% -8,000 postponed to reduce costs. There is a projected year end overspend of £10k. This is reflected in the Street Care Budgets PTS Transport 3 25,139 38,361 13,222 53% 0 (GTG/GWK/GWC), as majority of o/spend will be recharged here.The main areas of overspend repairs/maintenance and tyres. Endeavour to avoid overtime, need to offset cost of GWC Waste Collection 2,093,640 881,152 890,007 8,855 1% -16,000 Commercial Waste. Vacancy held for Commercial Waste staff. 3,472,000 1,324,470 1,261,251 -63,219 Total Community Services 10,791,323 5,395,961 5,300,978 -94,983 -2% -76,000

TOTAL COMMUNITIES 14,472,777 7,309,901 7,205,567 -104,334 -2% -76,000

44

2 22/01/2010 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL - Revenue Budget Monitoring to end December 2009 (Quarter 3, 2009/10) Appendix A

Variance Variance Full Year Revised to date Over / Actual against Budget Budget (Budget to (Under)spend Explanation of Variances to Date Budget to (Revised) to date date -v- projected date Actual) £ £ £ £ % £

Corporate Vision

CIEP 2010/11 expenditure not yet reimbursed. J Dyer GCD Community Development 236,630 8,241 23,247 15,006 182% -60,000 Vacant to request carry forward of core Comm Devt budget 418,652 506,042 513,830 7,788 Total Corporate Vision 655,282 514,283 537,077 22,794 4% -60,000

Customer Focus GBN Council Tax Benefits 35,280 -4,245,628 -4,231,049 14,579 0% 0 Year end adjustment GCY Concessionary Fares 780,640 509,299 421,787 -87,512 -17% 0 Late payment of November claim ERI Information Services Mobile phone credit to be offset against future 0 901,879 887,487 -14,392 -2% 0 purchase of handsets

Simon GRA Rent Allowances 77,680 -53,059 91,595 144,654 273% 0 Year end adjustment required - profile now amended CUSTOMERS McVey ERB Revenues and Benefits 0 1,149,168 1,176,162 26,994 2% 0 Miscoding of corporate telephone now amended

GHX Rent Rebates 108,430 -4,382,074 -4,465,475 -83,401 -2% 0 Year end adjustment required - profile now amended 718,950 79,597 81,740 2,143 Total Customer Focus 1,720,980 -6,040,818 -6,037,753 3,065 0% 0

TOTAL CUSTOMERS 2,376,262 -5,526,535 -5,500,676 25,859 0% -60,000

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3 22/01/2010 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL - Revenue Budget Monitoring to end December 2009 (Quarter 3, 2009/10) Appendix A

Variance Variance Full Year Revised to date Over / Actual against Budget Budget (Budget to (Under)spend Explanation of Variances to Date Budget to (Revised) to date date -v- projected date Actual) £ £ £ £ % £

Monitoring Officer

Resources GER Electoral Registration Underspend on postages & printing, projection diffcult 135,140 37,800 25,095 -12,705 -34% 0 to quantify due to staff sickness GEL Elections £10k underspend on overtime, projection difficult to 98,320 5,940 -6,464 -12,404 -209% 0 quantify due to staff sickness Adjustment to draft revised budget required re salaries ECL Legal Democratic Memb 0 560,836 576,413 15,577 3% 9,000 Shelagh for head of legal dept McGregor ECH Human Resources 0 362,249 356,244 -6,005 -2% 0 Training underspending, delayed by restructure GMM Members 603,880 252,271 240,425 -11,846 -5% -12,000 Underspends car allowances & scrutiny GTH Other Items Some emergency flood expenditure, adjustment to 2,238,860 415,000 431,317 16,317 4% draft revised budget required GFS Unapportionable 393,135 268,237 470,499 202,262 75% 0 Miscoding corrected in January 999,465 772,171 776,355 4,184 Total Resources 4,468,800 2,674,504 2,869,884 195,380 7% -3,000

Social Enterprise GCK Car Parks Adjustment to draft revised budget required, drop in -1,999,780 -2,174,544 -1,961,129 213,415 -10% 50,000 income due to flooding & snow ECC Commercial Technical Ser £53k charge from NPS re 08/09 not accrued at year 0 443,279 526,912 83,633 19% 53,000 end paid in 09/10 GCN Conveniences Maintenance of £40k not yet invoiced

MONITORING OFFICER MONITORING 875,580 427,578 405,327 -22,251 -5% 0 GGK Decriminalised Parking 255,490 21,611 -3,295 -24,906 -115% -15,000 Increase in penalty notices issued Michael GUL Industrial Units Landlord 31,580 -22,515 -34,290 -11,775 52% 0 Invoice re rent due not yet paid Keane GLW Lake Windermere -416,010 -582,546 -590,950 -8,404 -1% -12,000 Increase in encroachment rents income GMK Markets 9,890 -32,233 -89,868 -57,635 -179% 0 Scheduling of NPS work across the authority GPH Public Halls 457,790 253,136 235,193 -17,943 -7% -18,000 Gas bill not received and unlikely to be cleared by year end GPX Public Offices 0 328,931 265,167 -63,764 -19% 0 Maintenance invoices not received GSY Sundry Properties 251,210 -21,148 -51,096 -29,948 -142% -10,000 Mainly Castle Dairy rates rebate 444,237 207,263 209,114 1,851 Total Social Enterprise -90,013 -1,151,188 -1,088,915 62,273 5% 48,000 TOTAL MONITORING 4,378,787 1,523,316 1,780,969 257,653 17% 45,000

46

4 22/01/2010 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL - Revenue Budget Monitoring to end December 2009 (Quarter 3, 2009/10) Appendix A

Variance Variance Full Year Revised to date Over / Actual against Budget Budget (Budget to (Under)spend Explanation of Variances to Date Budget to (Revised) to date date -v- projected date Actual) £ £ £ £ % £

Management Team

TOTAL MANAGEMENT TEAM 0 332,899 336,657 3,758 1% MANAGEMENT TEAM

TOTAL REVENUE 21,227,826 3,639,581 3,822,517 182,936 7% -91,000

47

5 22/01/2010

48

SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: Cllr Brendan Jameson (Leader) Report From: Phillipa Cook (Corporate Director) Agenda 8 Report Author: Andrew Ostle Item No: Report Title: Corporate Plan 2010 - 2013

Summary The Corporate Plan has been examined and updated as a result of a comprehensive review to ensure the plan is relevant, measurable and fit for purpose. The updated 2010- 2013 plan is submitted for approval. The plan has been updated following a review of the supporting evidence, progress, and engagement with key stakeholders. It has been developed alongside the budget process and will inform council delivery through the implementation of supporting Service Plans and officer Job Consultations.

Recommendations It is recommended that, subject to any suggested amendments, the Corporate Plan 2010- 2013 be approved and adopted by the Council.

Report 1. The Corporate Plan sets out SLDC priorities for the next three years. It is produced following a comprehensive corporate planning process and details the key objectives, targets, and projects that will contribute to achieving those priorities. 2. The plan is now well embedded in the Council’s day-to-day business processes and within the new performance management culture of SLDC. It is used as the key driver for all work undertaken, informing more detailed financial planning and service planning to enable delivery. 3. The Council has made significant steps in implementing a needs-led approach to prioritisation so that it can design services around the needs of citizens and communities. The new Local Area Partnerships (LAP) and soon to be launched timely information project are two initiatives that demonstrate the Council’s commitment to this approach. 4. The annual review of the Corporate Plan is also important to make sure that SLDC is moving in the right direction, and that the priorities, objectives, targets and projects are the right ones, especially where a need-led approach is being adopted. 5. A significant overhaul of the Corporate Plan was undertaken in 2008/09 and the new look 2009-2012 Corporate Plan was adopted by the Council in February 2009. The

49

plan submitted with this report (Appendix 1) represents an update to that plan, following further consultation and engagement. 6. The process to update the plan was initiated with a review of the underlying information and assumptions, such as the results of the Place Survey, to challenge whether the stated priorities and outcomes were still valid, which proved to be the case. Establishing progress-to-date was also an important consideration. 7. Engagement and consultation were an important element of the review, with relevant managers, Assistant Directors, Management Team, Scrutiny and all Members given the opportunity to contribute to the review process. The arising LAP priorities were also used to inform the updated plan. 8. At the outset of the review the assumption made was that the high level priorities and outcomes would not change, but that the associated targets and projects would be refined. This was supported by the findings of the review and therefore the most significant changes have been made to the projects identified, with associated targets being refined as appropriate. Appendix 2 summarises the changes made to the Corporate Plan and includes comment on the action taken in response to consultation. 9. In addition to updating the content of the plan, some work has been undertaken to improve the language and presentation of the content. The project section has also been restructured to aid usability, while the part of the plan seen as internal to the Council, i.e. organisational improvement priorities have been brought out into a section in its own right, so that it can clearly be identified as such. 10. The Corporate Plan has been reviewed in line with the budget setting process to ensure all budget prioritisation can be linked back to the Corporate Plan and the needs of South Lakeland Communities. Presentation of the agreed the plan will be developed in the coming weeks to ensure that staff, members, residents, businesses and other stakeholders can all easily access the plan and the targets set.

Alternative Options The alternative option is not to approve the Corporate Plan 2010–2013. This is not recommended, as the priorities, outcomes, targets and projects in the plan have not changed significantly from those identified in the Corporate Plan 2009-2012, which was adopted by the Council in February 2009, i.e. this plan is submitted as an update to last year’s plan.

Key Decisions This report does not relate to any key decisions.

Material Considerations Finance The budgeting process has been running alongside the refresh of the Corporate Plan and while the plan represents the key pieces of work to be undertaken by the Council, the medium-term financial plan details the Council’s financial position.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 1.00 Amended by: Andrew Ostle 2 50

The two plans are inherently linked and this has been recognised by the financial summary provided in the plan. Further more, the detail will be provided in the descriptive elements that support the plan, to be developed over the coming weeks. Within the Five-Year Medium Term Financial Plan (2010/11 to 2014/15), resources have been allocated to services areas and capital projects that will enable the Council’s priorities and outcomes to be delivered. The way the Council’s departments are organised has been reviewed and a structure that better meets the needs of the community has been implemented. The changes made have taken account of the likely medium term economic climate, coupled with the likelihood of reducing central government funding. The significant level of savings required to balance the 2010/11 position have been incorporated to the review of services, while opportunities for ensuring efficiencies and better value for money have been considered and included. The opportunities around shared services continue to be developed to provide further efficiencies and service improvement from within the likely revenue and capital resources available. The draft revenue and capital budgetary implications (and assumptions) are being considered by the 30 March Council and will be incorporated as approved at that meeting. 2010/11 Budget By Corporate Plan Theme (Subject to change and Council approval 23 Feb) Revenue Capital Theme Proposed Budget Proposed Budget 2011/12 to 2013/14 2010/11 £000 2010/11 £000 £000 Live 10,183.5 6,647.2 14,451.8 Work 382.8 615.0 400.0 Visit 2,099.9 4,671.5 2,541.5 Regulatory 4,061.2 305.7 187.5 Other Services 1,020.8 Total 17,748.2 12,239.4 17,580.8

Risk Management Risk Consequence Controls required The Corporate Not adopting the plan would compromise There has been significant Plan is not service planning and performance engagement and consultation adopted by the management arrangements and leave the throughout the review process and Council Council with a plan that is outdated and the update follows consideration of out of sync with the financial plan. all the input and comments received. The Corporate The plan is not understood and used by There has been significant Plan is difficult Members and officers in delivering the feedback on the format of the to understand vision of the Council. Key partners and Corporate Plan during the review and the public could lose confidence in the process and this will be taken into communication Council’s ability to deliver what is needed. account when the plan is formatted of the plan is for different audiences. The format inadequate. of the plan submitted has already been changed. Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 1.00 Amended by: Andrew Ostle 3 51

Staffing There are no direct staffing implications. However, the plan will be used to inform more detailed Service Plans and therefore provides a focus for where resource needs to be allocated.

Links to Corporate Plan There is a direct link in that the 2010-2013 Corporate Plan represents an update to the existing 2009-2012 Corporate Plan.

Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) The Corporate Plan has clear links to the Community Strategy and Medium-Term Financial Plan, and drives the internal Service Planning process. There are also strong links to the Transformation Programme and external assessments, such as Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) Use of Resources and Performance Management.

Equality & Diversity The plan has been updated following a review of the Equality Impact Assessment undertaken in 2009. A high profile equality statement has been added to the plan to demonstrate the Council’s commitment, and within the plan a key project is identified as continuing our Equality / Access to Services work.

Community Safety There are clear outcomes, targets and projects in the plan relating to Community Safety.

Background Documents Document: Appendix 1: Contact: Phillipa Cook Corporate Plan 2010-2013 v0.5 Andrew Ostle

Appendix 2: Summary of Changes Made

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: 1.00 Amended by: Andrew Ostle 4 52 Item 8 Appendix 1

South Lakeland District Council Corporate Plan 2010-2013

Corporate Vision “By involving people and creating opportunities we will make South Lakeland the best place to live, work and visit”

To achieve this vision we will understand your needs and be really clear on how we will work with you to address them. We will champion your needs not only with other local organisations but nationally too. Our role is to own the issues that matter most in South Lakeland, whether that is through delivering services efficiently or working with organisations differently. We will always strive to make decisions based on the best information and in times of crisis we will rise to the challenge and respond quickly.

Our Values

The delivery of this plan is influenced by our three key values. These are:

- Valuing People

- Excellence

- Openness

Finance and Resources

The Five-Year Medium Term Financial Plan (2010/11 to 2014/15) has been developed alongside the Corporate Plan, with resources allocated to services areas and capital projects that will enable the Council’s priorities and outcomes to be delivered.

The way the Council’s departments are organised has been reviewed and a structure that better meets the needs of the community has been implemented. The changes made have taken account of the likely medium term economic climate coupled with the likelihood of reducing central government funding.

The significant level of savings required to balance the 2010/11 position have been incorporated to the review of services, while opportunities for ensuring efficiencies and better value for money have been considered and included. The opportunities around shared services continue to be developed to provide further efficiencies and service improvement from within the likely revenue and capital resources available.

The draft revenue and capital budgetary implications (and assumptions) are being considered by the 30 March Council and will be incorporated as approved at that meeting.

2010/11 Draft Budget By Corporate Plan Theme (Subject to change and Council approval 23 February)

Revenue Capital

Theme Proposed Budget Proposed Budget 2011/12 to 2013/14 2010/11 £000 2010/11 £000 £000

Live 10,183.5 6,647.2 14,451.8

Work 382.8 615.0 400.0

Visit 2,099.9 4,671.5 2,541.5

Regulatory 4,061.2 305.7 187.5

Other Services 1,020.8

Total 17,748.2 12,239.4 17,580.8

Equality Statement

South Lakeland District Council, as an employer and service provider, is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity in all of its activities.

Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 V1.0 Page 1 of 5 53

Theme LIVE Priorities We will deliver services that meet the essential needs of residents - homes, warmth, a clean and safe environment, and financial assistance where appropriate.

We will work with partners to ensure that everyone has opportunities to participate in culture and the arts, and stay safe, healthy and active.

We will protect South Lakeland’s outstanding natural and built environment whilst encouraging sustainable development.

Outcomes 1.1 People’s essential needs are addressed through effective public services. 1.2 People in South Lakeland feel more in control of their own lives. 1.3 People in South Lakeland feel safe. 1.4 Older people in South Lakeland are active, independent and healthy for longer. 1.5 Physical and mental health & well-being is improved for people in South Lakeland. 1.6 Housing Needs in South Lakeland are addressed. 1.7 South Lakeland's development is balanced against protecting the area's natural and built environment. 1.8 Rural communities have improved access to the services and facilities they need. 1.9 Specific issues of deprivation are understood and addressed. 1.10 Young people are safeguarded and their needs understood and addressed.

Targets Targets for Outcome 1.1 • NI3 Increase civic participation in the local area to 23% March 2011 • NI140 Increase the number of people who feel they have been treated fairly by local services to 79.2% by March 2011 • NI 195 (LAA) Improve street and environmental cleanliness by reducing litter to 7%, Detritus to 15%, graffiti to 1% and fly posting to 0% by March 2011 • NI181 Ensure new benefits claims and changes are processed within 10 days • NI187 Reduce % of people claiming benefits who are living in low energy efficient housing to 11.1% by March 2011

Targets for Outcome 1.2 • NI2 Increase the number of people who feel they belong to their neighbourhood to 75.5% by March 2011 • NI 4 (LAA) Increase the % of people who feel they can influence decisions in their locality to 33% by March 2011 • NI5 (LAA) Improve overall satisfaction with local area as a place to live to 94.3% by March 2011

Targets for Outcome 1.3 • NI1 (LAA) Increase the % of people who believe people from different backgrounds get on well in their local area to 85% by March 2011 • NI 17 Reduce perceptions of anti-social behaviour as a problem to 9% by March 2011 • NI21 Increase % people who feel the local council and police are dealing with local concerns regarding anti-social behaviour and crime to 33.6% by March 2011 • NI 27 Increase % people that feel the local council and police understand their concerns about anti-social behaviour to 33.6% by March 2011 • NI41 Reduce the % of people who believe drunk or rowdy behaviour is a problem to 17% by March 2011

Targets for Outcome 1.4 • NI138 Increase satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and neighbourhood to 95% by March 2011 • NI139 Increase number of older people who feel they are getting the support they need to live independently at home to 52.2% by March 2011 • Local: Provide 50 new general needs affordable homes for older people and other vulnerable people by March 2011.

Targets for Outcome 1.5 • NI8 Increase adult participation in sports and active recreation to 26.2% by March 2011 • NI119 Increase the self reported measure of people’s health & well-being to 80% by March 2011 • NI11 Increase the adult population in South Lakeland that have engaged in the arts at least three times in the past 12 months to 48.7%

Targets for Outcome 1.6 • Local: Encourage the provision of 94 new local occupancy homes per annum • NI154 Increase the net additional homes provided to 400 by March 2011 • NI 155 (LAA) Enable 710 new public and privately provided affordable homes by March 2011 (5-Year Target from April 2006) • NI 159 Increase the supply of ready to develop housing sites to 100% by June 2011 • NI 156 Ensure the Number of Households living in temporary accommodation is 30 or less per annum

Targets for Outcome 1.7 • Local: Consult upon and adopt the Local Development Framework by May 2010 • NI197 (LAA) Increase the proportion of Local Sites where positive conservation management has been or is being implemented to 39% by March 2011 • NI192 Increase the % of household waste sent for re-use, recycling or composting to over 45% by March 2011 • NI191 (LAA) Reduce residual household waste to 538 kg per household by March 2011 • NI186 Reduce per capita CO2 emissions to 11.13% by March 2011 • NI188 Aim to achieve level 1 by March 2011

Targets for Outcome 1.8 • NI5 Increase the % of people satisfied with their local area from 90.5% to 94.3% March 2011 • NI175 (LAA-County) Access to Services and facilities by public transport, walking and cycling improved for rural households

Targets for Outcome 1.10 • Local: Train all SLDC staff with responsibility for/ involved with children in safeguarding procedures by June 2010.

Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 V1.0 Page 2 of 5 54 Projects 1 Street Scene We will work with our partners to: • Improve streetcare services. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.8, 2.3, 3.1) • Deliver a programme of work to reduce anti-social behaviour. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

2 Recreation, Leisure and Well-Being We will work with partners to: • Actively manage and monitor our partner leisure agreement to enhance facilities, activities and opportunities. (Links to Outcomes 1.1, 1.5, 1.10, 3.2) • Co-ordinate local recreation and leisure facility development as a legacy of the 2012 Olympics. (Link to Outcomes 1.5, 1.8, 1.10, 3.2) • Help reduce diet-related disease and prevalence of smoking in South Lakeland. (Link to Outcomes 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.10)

3 Housing To deliver housing that meets the needs of South Lakeland we will: • Deliver a programme of new affordable housing. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.6) • Enable provision of new housing to meet the general needs of the local housing market. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.6) • Develop initiatives to prevent and reduce homelessness. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.6) • Ensure the best use of the council housing stock and estate in partnership with South Lakes Housing. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.6) • Provide grants and assistance to adapt homes. (Link to Outcomes 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.5, 1.9) • Deliver the Affordable Warmth Strategy to support warmer, more energy efficient homes. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.9)

4 Development We will develop and deliver the Local Development Framework: • Implement a new development strategy for South Lakeland. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.5, 1.7) • Identify specific sites for development for a whole range of land uses. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.5, 1.7) • Support coordinated and complementary development within the Kendal Canal Head area. (Link to Outcomes 1.7) • Conserve areas previously developed to a high quality. (Link to Outcomes 1.7)

5 Regeneration and Sustainability We will work with partners to: • Deliver a project to better understand issues of deprivation and regeneration in South Lakeland. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 1.9) • Deliver regeneration schemes for: (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.9, 2.3, 3.1) ⇒ Waterhead (Windermere Water Front Programme) ⇒ Bowness/Glebe (Windermere Water Front Programme) ⇒ Kendal (Projects within the Kendal Economic Regeneration Action Plan) ⇒ Grange (Berners Close, Car Park and Promenade) ⇒ Ulverston (Ulverston Community Partnership) • Deliver the Cumbria Climate Change Strategy. (Link to Outcomes 1.7) • Deliver the Council’s Carbon Reduction Plan to help reduce its carbon footprint. (Link to Outcomes 1.7)

6 Arts, Events and Culture We will work with partners to deliver key arts projects, cultural initiatives and events: • Coordinate the delivery of the Arts Strategy focusing on engagement in the arts for young people, older people and rural communities. (Link to Outcomes 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 2.3) • Act as the lead local authority partner for Kendal Arts International on the North West We Play Legacy trust project for London 2012. (Link to Outcomes 1.5, 1.8, 1.11, 2.3, 3.2) • Develop a local legacy programme for London 2012. (Link to Outcomes 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.11, 2.3, 3.2) • Ensure a complimentary offering of events for both residents and visitors. (Link to Outcomes 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.10, 3.2)

7 Local Communities We will work with local communities to improve local services: • Support Local Area Partnerships to deliver agreed priorities and more tailored services at the neighbourhood level. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.8, 1.11) • Examine the issues of rurality and its impact on local service delivery. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.8) • Work with partners to address the concerns of anti-social behaviour in local communities. (Link to Outcomes 1.2, 1.3)

8 Older and Disabled People To support independent living for older and disabled people we will: • Lead a partnership project to address the needs of older people. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.11) • Provide concessionary travel to over-60s and disabled people. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8)

9 Young People To deliver more effective services to Young People we will: • Work with partners to understand and address the needs of young people. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 1.10) • Deliver safeguarding training to adults with responsibility for / involved with children. (Link to Outcomes 1.3, 1.5, 1.10, 1.11)

10 Access to Services To improve access to our services for everyone, we will: • Undertake customer profiling to better understand how people need our services to be delivered. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.11) • Work with our partners to implement one-stop shops in key service centres. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.8, 1.11, 2.3) • Improve our online service delivery and information provision by enhancing the council website. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.11) • Utilise the Contact Centre to deliver more services and information over the telephone. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.11) • Continue our equality and diversity work to comply with the Level 3 “Achieving” status. (Link to Outcomes 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 3.2) • Examine opportunities for engagement through social media.

Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 V1.0 Page 3 of 5 55

Theme WORK

Priorities We will work with partners to understand, sustain and grow South Lakeland’s economy and tackle the economic challenges in the area.

Outcomes 2.1 Public sector investment is prioritised to support balanced and sustainable economic growth, enabling the delivery of key economic, social and environmental activity.

2.2 South Lakeland has balanced and sustainable economic growth with well paid jobs in both established and new inward investing businesses.

2.3 Distinctive key service centres focus and drive economic activity.

Targets Targets for Outcome 2.1 • NI171 (LAA) Increase number of new business start-ups. • NI152 Reduce working age people on out of work benefits. • Local: Increase the % of knowledge based businesses in South Lakeland by March 2012. • Local: Understand and improve transport links to key employment sites.

Targets for Outcome 2.2 • Local: Raise the average earned income (in the District) by more than the rate of inflation, calculated on a baseline of £19,500 • NI172 Increase the % of small businesses showing employment growth.

Targets for Outcome 2.3 • Local: Achieve milestones in 2010/11 for Windermere Waterfronts Programme, Kendal Economic Regeneration Master Plan, Grange Berners Close.

Projects 11 Business We will work with partners to develop the workforce of the district, enabling business growth and an increase in the average earnings in the district: • Support business start-up and growth by providing grant funding and enabling support to businesses through Business Advice and Development services. (Link to Outcomes 2.2) • Develop stronger relationships with local universities and further education establishments. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 1.10) • Work as part of the Eden and South Lakeland Delivery Board to raise skills and the proportion of higher paid jobs. (Link to Outcomes 2.2)

12 Investment We will work with partners to deliver investment and growth in the Key Service Centres: • Investment in public infrastructure to be co-ordinated with economic development priorities. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 1.7) • Employments sites identified and brought forward with business leaders through the Local Development Framework. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) • Work as part of the Eden and South Lakeland Delivery Board to stimulate investment. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.3)

13 Economy We will work with partners to develop and implement an economic strategy for South Lakeland: • Develop a shared knowledge base and understanding of issues facing the local economy to inform joint economic development planning. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2) • Deliver an agreed approach to developing growth economies around creative, environmental, knowledge based and manufacturing sectors. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3) • Create an action plan to tackle economic challenges via the Eden and South Lakeland Delivery Board. (Link to Outcomes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 V1.0 Page 4 of 5 56

Theme VISIT

Priorities We will work with partners to sustain South Lakeland as unique place to visit and enjoy for local people and visitors alike.

Outcomes 3.1 The public realm in South Lakeland is upgraded, protecting and enhancing its special character.

3.2 The visitor industry is sustainable and meets the needs of both local people and visitors.

Targets Targets for Outcome 3.1 • Local: Increase visitor satisfaction with facilities (car parks, toilets, signage etc) in key market towns to at least 4 1/2 out of 5 by March 2011 (Cumbria Tourism figures)

Targets for Outcome 3.2 • Local: Agreed and co-ordinated Lake District brand by March 2011 • Local: Council to work alongside Cumbria Tourism to maintain the 2007 level of tourism revenue / days / employment during economic downturn (as measured by STEAM)

Projects 14 Public Realm We will work with partners to invest in the renewal and management of the district’s public realm: • Invest in and develop our public assets. (Link to Outcomes 3.1, 3.2) • Review opportunities for income generation. (Link to Outcomes 3.2, 1.11) • Review provision, management and improvement of public markets. (Link to Outcomes 3.1, 3.2) • Examine opportunities to improve public parking facilities across the region. (Link to Outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 1.1) • Ongoing review public toilet facilities. (Link to Outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 1.1)

15 Visitor Services We will work with partners to deliver key services for the visitor: • Agree a co-ordinated and need-led visitor product for the district with key stakeholders. (Link to Outcomes 3.2) • Ensure effective handover of TIC facilities to ensure ongoing provision of visitor information. (Link to Outcomes 3.2) • Seek opportunities for visitor services within South Lakeland to benefit from London 2012. (Link to Outcomes 3.1, 3.2)

Theme ORGANISATION Priorities This theme supports all of the priorities for Live, Work and Visit Outcomes 4.1 The Council demonstrates value for money as a provider, commissioner and enabler of services

Targets Targets for Outcome 4.1 • Local – achieve level 2 (Performs adequately) by March 2010 and Level 3 by March 2011 (Performs well) for our CAA Organisational Assessment • NI 179 Increase value for money and cash releasing gains to £2,332,000 by March 2011 • NI14 Reduce avoidable contact by 25% by March 2010 then by 5 % each year • Local: Increase overall satisfaction with the Council to 44.3% by March 2011

Projects 16 Organisational Support and Development To improve how South Lakeland District Council operates in order to deliver excellent support services we will: • Deliver an ongoing service review programme to ensure best use of resources. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Examine delivery of shared services with partners. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Deliver a plan to develop the workforce. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Deliver a Member Development Programme. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Continue to manage key risks and challenges to the organisation. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Embed corporate planning and performance management arrangements. (Link to Outcome 4.1) • Ensure continuity of business through effective planning for emergencies and disaster recovery. (Link to Outcome 4.1)

Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 V1.0 Page 5 of 5 57

58 Cabinet - Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 Appendix 2 (Summary of Changes) Item 8 Appendix 2

Corporate Plan Refresh – Summary of Changes Made

This document summarises the most significant changes made to the 2009- 2012 Corporate Plan, as contained in Version 1.0.

Introduction • Finance and Resources summary section added • Equality and Diversity statement added

Themes • Live, Work, Visit themes remain unchanged • New theme added, entitled “Organisation” to cover internal/organisational issues.

Outcomes • Outcome 1.11 moved to be new Outcome 4.1 under “Organisation”. This deals with internal organisational work in support of all the other themes and outcomes. • Outcome 2.1 reworded to improve scope, clarity and readability. • Outcome 2.2 reworded to improve scope, clarity and readability. • Outcomes 2.3 reworded to improve scope, clarity and readability. • Outcome 4.1 new under “Organisation”. This deals with internal organisational work in support of all the other themes and outcomes.

Targets • All targets reviewed and dates/targets adjusted as appropriate. • Targets for 1.9 removed, as a local target it was too specific and difficult to benchmark/measure.

Key Projects • All – new headings added for each section to indicate area of work. • Most sections reworded – see next page.

59 10 February 2010 Page 1 of 3 Cabinet - Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 Appendix 2 (Summary of Changes)

Changes to the 2009 – 2012 Corporate Plan Key Projects

Old Section What’s Happened New Section 1A Reworded 1 2A Reworded 2 2B Reworded 2 3A Reworded 2 3B Removed - 3C Reworded 2 3D Removed - 4 (Title) Reworded / Demoted 1 4A Removed - 5A Reworded 8 5B Moved 3 5C Removed - 5D Moved 8 6 (Title) Reworded / Demoted 3 7A Reworded 3 7B Moved 3 7C Reworded 3 7D Reworded 3 8 (Title) Reworded / Demoted 5 8A Removed - 9A Reworded 9 9B Moved 9 10A Reworded 4 10B Reworded 4 11A Reworded 5 12 (Title) Reworded / Demoted 5 12A Reworded 5 12B Removed - 12C Reworded 5 12D Reworded 5 13A Moved 6 13B Reworded 6 13C Moved 6 14 (Title) Reworded / Demoted 5 15A Moved 7 16A Reworded 7 16B Removed - 17A Removed - 17B Reworded 7 17C Removed - 18A Reworded 10 18B Removed - 18C Reworded 10 19A Removed - 19B Removed - 19C Removed - 20A Removed - 20B Reworded 16 20C Moved 16 20D Reworded 16 20E Reworded 16 21A Moved 13 21B Reworded 13 21C Reworded 11 21D Removed - 22A Moved 12 22B Moved 12 22C Removed - 22D Removed - 22E Reworded 11 23A Removed - 23B Removed - 23C Reworded 11 23D Removed - 23E Reworded 12 24A Reworded 14 24B Reworded 14 25A Reworded 15 25B Moved 6 26A Moved 15 26B Reworded 14

60 10 February 2010 Page 2 of 3 Cabinet - Corporate Plan 2010 – 2013 Appendix 2 (Summary of Changes)

Summary of Comments/Actions from Engagement Sessions

Consultation sessions were undertaken in December 2009 where key stakeholders were given the opportunity to provide input into the refresh process. Individuals identified points around each of the key themes, which have been considered as part of the refresh.

The table below summarises the points made by identifying emerging themes, and describes the action taken.

Section Comment Action Taken General Difficult to follow Entire section rearranged, duplicates removed. General Language could be improved Entire section reworded. 1 No themes N/A 2 Does it only apply to Kendal? Specific reference to Kendal removed 2 Is it appropriate to include Kendal Sports Village? Reference to Kendal Sports Village removed 3 What is Prescription Initiative? Section removed 4 Reword Sections 4 and 5 have been moved, reworded and some projects removed. 5 Reword Sections 4 and 5 have been moved, reworded and some projects removed. 5 Make more reference to partners Partners referenced where appropriate 6 Explain Affordable Warmth Strategy Not necessary at this level 7 No themes N/A 8 Ulverston East too specific Moved to be part of a different section 8 Reword Entire section on regeneration combined and reworded 9 Do more for Young People Need to establish what Young People need, which is reflected in the plan. 9 Involve Young People more Need to establish what Young People need, which is reflected in the plan. 10 Clarity needed around LDF in the plan Sections referring to LDF have been reworded. 10 Improve reference to partners Reference to partners not made as the plan focuses on what SLDC will do. 11 Merge 11 and 12 Merged 12 Specify partner working Specific reference made to partners 12 Could be under Visit Regeneration not referenced in Visit to avoid duplication but benefit to visitors mentioned. 13 Include Events in title Events has been included 13 Specify partners Too many partners to list concisely 13 Include Sports Sports included in different section 14 Wording needs to be improved Reworded and more detail will be provided in the Service Plan 14 Not appropriate on its own Now included within another section 15 Importance of LAPs Corporate Plan continues to refer to LAPS 15 Community priorities Covered by reference to LAPs and section on Local Communities 16 Needs strengthening Reworded and included in section on Local Communities 17 No themes N/A 18 One Stops Shops important One Stop Shops still included 18 What is Access Channel Development Removed 19 Possibly remove Removed as duplication 20 Section could be removed from Live section to New section created to deal with organisational elements. stand alone 21 Not just universities Expanded to include other higher education establishments 21 Big overlap between 21,22 &23 Sections 21, 22 & 23 redrafted and overlaps removed 21 Improve language Section reworded 22 Wording needs improved Section reworded 22 Lack of clarity Section reworded 22 Better reference partners Clear reference now made to working with partners 23 Not clear Section reworded 23 Too much jargon Section reworded 23 Big overlap with 21,22 & 23 Sections 21, 22 & 23 redrafted and overlaps removed 24 Wording needs improved Section reworded 25 Is this SLDC responsibility Role of SLDC made more clear in rewording 25 Concern over TICs Rewording of section to reflect this 25 Expand section Section 24, 25 & 26 reworded 26 Not just LDNP Reference to general partners working now made 26 Improve language Section reworded

61 10 February 2010 Page 3 of 3

62 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: Cllr Hilary Stephenson Report From: Corporate Director (Monitoring Officer) Agenda 9 Report Author: Human Resource Services Manager Item No: Report Title: Workforce Development Plan 2010 - 2011

Summary This report is to consider the South Lakeland District Council Workforce Development Plan 2010 – 2011. The Plan is being considered by the Human Resources Committee at its meeting on 19 February 2010. Recommendations That Council approves the Workforce Development Plan as attached to this report. Report 1. In 2008 the Human Resources Group produced the People Strategy 2008 - 2011. This document, whilst not specifically a Workforce Development Plan, did contain many elements relating to workforce development and has, in fact, been used as the basis for development of the current draft Workforce Development Plan. 2. Additionally the 2009 Use of Resources assessment highlighted the absence of a formal Workforce Development Plan and hence the Council received a qualified value for money conclusion in respect of this aspect of the assessment. As we move forward with the restructure, the attached Plan has been developed as a matter of priority. 3. The approach for this first Workforce Development Plan has been to adopt a corporate view of workforce development, because many of the service levels structures still need finalisation and/or will not be implemented until 1st April 2010. Future Plans will adopt a service level approach. 4. The Human Resources Committee will be considering the plan at its meeting on the 19 February and any additional amendments or other comments will be reported verbally to the meeting. Alternative Options Not having a Workforce Development Plan is not an option. It feeds into audit commission assessments under Use of Resources. Material Considerations Not applicable Finance The Workforce Development Plan has been developed in parallel with the refreshed Corporate Plan and the short and medium term budget planning process. Significant changes to the way the organisation is structured are reflected in all these key strategies. Some elements of the manpower plan will clearly have associated costs, both one-off and continuing. Council is considering elsewhere on this agenda an item for growth for the training budget to help provide training and

63 development as required by the restructure. It is expected that implementation costs for workforce planning will be met through this and existing budgets for corporate and departmental training, and the transformation budget, as appropriate. Risk Management Risk Consequence Controls required Not to develop the Workforce This is an Audit Commission Adopt and implement the Development Plan key line of enquiry (3.3) within Workforce Development Plan the use of resources assessment. Failure to adopt would lead to continuing qualification on this assessment Not implementing the actions People and skills capacity will Act on the recommendations within the Workforce not be sufficient to deliver on within the Workforce Development Plan the service plans Development Plan

Staffing Responsible officers are identified in the Workforce Development Plan action plan (Appendix C) it is expected that work by officers will be completed as part of their normal working duties. Links to Corporate Plan Links to corporate outcomes 2010-2013 1.1 People’s essential needs are addressed through effective public services. 2.2 South Lakeland has balanced and sustainable economic growth with well-paid jobs in both established and new inward investing businesses. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) Service Plans Equalities & Diversity Arrangements are currently in hand for the Equality Impact Assessment of the Workforce Development Plan to be carried out. Community Safety There are no Community Safety implications associated with the implementation of the Workforce Development Plan. Background Documents Document: Workforce Development Plan Contact: Andrea Wilson

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 2 64 Item 9 Appendix 1

South Lakeland District Council

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

2009 – 2012

1 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 65 Contents

1.0 Introduction...... 4 1.1 Why We Need a Workforce Development Plan? ...... 4 1.2 HR Planning Model...... 4 2.0 The Challenges Facing the Council...... 6 2.1 National Challenges...... 6 2.2 Local Challenges ...... 7 3.0 Workforce Planning and the Restructure...... 9 3.1 Restructure and Budget Planning ...... 10 3.2 Training and Development and Budget Planning...... 11 4.0 Our Current Workforce Profile...... 12 4.1 Age Profile ...... 12 4.2 Disability Analysis...... 13 4.3 Ethnicity Analysis...... 14 4.4 Gender Analysis ...... 14 4.5 Length of Service Analysis ...... 15 4.6 Skills Analysis...... 16 5.0 Workforce Issues We Have Addressed...... 18 5.1 Partnership Working ...... 18 5.2 Member Development ...... 18 5.3 Equal Pay ...... 19 5.4 Job Consultation...... 19 5.5 Equality and Diversity ...... 19 5.6 Learning and Development Initiatives...... 19 5.7 Working with Union Colleagues...... 20 5.8 Communications and Employee Engagement...... 20 5.9 Recruitment and Retention ...... 21 6.0 Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy...... 22 7.0 The Workforce Development Plan...... 23 7.1 The Role of the Manager ...... 23 7.2 Working With the Unions ...... 23 8.0 Review and Evaluation ...... 25

Appendices

Appendix A SLDC Organisational Structure Appendix B Workforce Plan Matrix Appendix C Workforce Development Action Plan

2 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 66 A word from the Chief Executive

South Lakeland District Council is proud to serve the communities of this area. Working with our partners and staff we continue to deliver excellent and valued services to residents in, and visitors to, the South Lakes area.

The 2009-2012 Workforce Development Plan provides an overview of the main issues facing South Lakeland District Council and it’s staff over the next three years. The plan identifies national, regional, and local factors on how services will be delivered, the resulting impact on the workforce, and the actions the Council will be taking to meet current and future needs.

Effective workforce planning will help focus on how the workforce can best be utilised to meet current and future service needs. This is against the background of the significant savings required of the Council in order to balance its budgets.

To serve the communities of South Lakeland as well as possible the Council needs the right people in the right place at the right time. Development and maintenance of the workforce plan will enable the Council to focus, not only on current needs, but also medium and longer- term challenges.

Chief Executive South Lakeland District Council

3 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 67 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Why We Need a Workforce Development Plan?

Change has been, and in the future, will continue to be, a consistent feature of the background against which South Lakeland District Council must deliver the services it provides for both its residents and its many visitors each year. In particular the global economic situation, and the “credit crunch” have affected both the Council and its communities, and seems likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The Council is responding to the changes, needed for the improvements sought by both the districts residents, and the Council itself, by balancing them against the reductions in the amount of funding made available by central government.

With the global financial situation impacting every high street and home, the Council needs to be as efficient as it can, and the Workforce Development Plan needs to ensure that our staff, probably our most expensive resource, are efficient in delivering excellent services, which means ensuring that the Council has, not only the right number of people, but also that they have the necessary skills to deliver against the changing needs of the communities which it serves.

Workforce Planning is about: The link between the Council’s strategies and its people plans Identifying the future skills and competencies needed to deliver new and improved services A knowledge of the current workforce A comparison between present and future skills and competencies and identifying any gap between the two Developing strategies and plans to eliminate those gaps.

Managing the workforce effectively can result in a number of efficiency gains and service improvements including: Reducing sickness absence Managing labour turnover Using temporary, agency, and casual staff more effectively Innovative approaches to working arrangements More effective use of information and communications technology

1.2 HR Planning Model The HR Planning Model on Page 5 outlines the planning process and key activities required to inform the development of a Workforce Development Action Plan.

Step 1 is identifying and understanding the strategic environment of the Council

4 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 68 Step 2 is identifying the services that need to be in place and ensuring the service plans meet the corporate objectives.

Step 3 is about specifying the kind of skills, knowledge and competencies the Council needs or requires within a whole workforce in order to deliver the services required.

Step 4 Is ensuring the Council has sufficient staff, with the appropriate skills, to meet the current and future needs of the service

Step 1 SLDC

Step 2 Services to be delivered

Step 3 Skills to support the services

Staff to provide a range Step 4 of skills

Forecast staff SUPPLY Appropriate requirements, quality education understand local / training and conditions, development recruit, retain, DEMAND refresh

(Adapted from NHSE North Thames)

5 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 69 2.0 The Challenges Facing the Council

2.1 National Challenges The Prime Minister has recently announced that there will be a radical shake-up in the way that councils are funded as part of an initiative to move towards a smarter government. In the longer term, councils will have to develop comparable measures of value for money across a range of services as part of a drive to use comparative data to drive performance. From 2011, only those public sector organisations that can demonstrate they have demonstrated value for money will receive top performance ratings.

This all paints a very depressive picture as it has been proven time and time again that whenever calls are made for budget cuts, the first place where cuts are made are the workforce, often without costing the impact on delivery nor whether the right people are staying behind to deliver the vital community services. The workforce of the future needs to be smaller and have a stronger focus on strategic commissioning, innovation, problem solving, and community engagement.

On a wider front, all councils, with their partners, face the challenge of leading their communities and satisfying rising customer and citizen expectations. They need to be place-shapers and strategic leaders. They need to integrate services around citizens’ needs, to offer greater choice and personalisation. They face new issues such as climate change, an increasingly global economy, a growing elderly population, greater diversity and rising migration. Councils need to respond to complex crosscutting issues such as social exclusion, poor skills, drug abuse, anti-social behaviour and the risk of social polarisation. These contextual changes, and authorities’ response to them, mean changes for workforce practices, skills and jobs.

Authorities will need to maximise employees’ performance, introducing more new technology and new ways of working, promoting innovation, changing attitudes and behaviours, and supporting staff to work in different and more flexible ways. Engaging staff positively in these changes is key to achieving sustainable improvement.

Councils also face these challenges in the context of a highly competitive labour market. Most successful organisations make attracting and retaining talent a top priority. The number of skilled jobs in the economy is increasing and the numbers joining the labour market is reducing. Every big employer is looking for people who are good at problem solving and relationship building. All service organisations are looking for people who have excellent customer care skills.

To ensure success, future workforce quality will be an important consideration in the setting up of outsourced and shared services. There will be a much greater role for authorities in co-ordinating action to

6 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 70 address the key local workforce issues that will affect the delivery of their services, with their partners and outsourced providers. There is also a major opportunity to link action on public sector workforce issues to authorities’ place shaping and economic development role.

2.2 Local Challenges South Lakeland District Council faces a significant number of local challenges during the next few years. Due to the essentially rural nature of the district, there are particular problems including providing affordable housing to meet needs (a large number of properties in the district are classed as second homes for tourism purposes), This has the added disadvantage that it significantly raises the average cost of housing beyond the reach of many local people who seek to live and work within the same district. Typical comparisons are with average house prices, which are at a ratio of 9:1 (capital cost: income) compared to a regional average of 6:1. Whilst Tourism is an important and staple industry within the district its wage structure is traditionally very low. Developing means to facilitate economic growth and also establishing effective transport opportunities are key needs to address this issue. Recent floods highlighted the vulnerability of the Cumbrian transport network and devastated a large part of the county.

Being the third largest county in England but with a density of 73 people to one square kilometre, Cumbria’s population is spread across a large geographic area often in remote communities, which has a significant impact on the cost of direct services and the ability of people to access those services not closely available to them. It also impacts on the council’s ability to recruit and retain from a labour market, as people often look for jobs closer to home due to increasing fuel prices and cost of living.

With an increasing ageing population, the council also has a challenge of recruiting from a sustainable workforce to support their needs. Residents within South Lakeland District Council will have increasing caring responsibilities due to the ageing population and there will be a demand on flexible and term-time working.

The influx of migrant workers is further putting pressure on the provision of housing and other council services particularly as they are mainly in low wage employment. Migrant workers also bring greater diversity amongst the working population, which increases the competition within a tighter labour market with limited job opportunities.

As a district council there is limited access to specific external regional grant funding opportunities.

South Lakeland has traditionally chosen to employ its workforce to deliver the full range of services required by the council. More recently

7 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 71 during 2009 it has commenced a series of procurement exercises to re- tender a range of services including its waste contract and grounds maintenance contract both of which will need to perform against a background of increasing community involvement in the delivery of physical services through the Councils programme of eight new Local Area Partnerships, LAP’s.

The Council has confirmed that it seeks to impose no formal policy on the development of new services and is prepared to pursue services models whether they are ‘in house’ solutions or ‘brought in’ services from third party providers. The critical requirement is that the service delivery is focussed on the recipient and that the procurement process is ‘Value for money’ led. This approach is placing much greater emphasis on the staffs ability to prepare and conclude procurement exercises as part of their formal skill set and represents a training and development need to which the Council must respond.

8 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 72 3.0 Workforce Planning and the Restructure

During 2008 the Council was facing a severe budget shortfall shown in its Medium Term Financial Plan rising to over £2.5 million pounds in a three-year time frame. The morale of staff in the organisation was low following a succession of budget economies over the proceeding two years, which were driven by ‘in service’, needs to economise. These service economies resulted in piecemeal approaches and often did not significantly reduce core organisational costs, which continually rose through the recharge mechanism. Training for staff was at a low level and remained uncoordinated to organisational needs. The demographic and skill level intelligence held by the Council of its workforce was not comprehensive and incapable of informing organisational development to meet the challenges to be faced. Improvement in the organisation was plateauing due to pressures on budgets and a lack of confidence in staff concerning the improvement agenda.

In October 2008, with the appointment of the Chief Executive on a permanent basis, the Council was presented with an opportunity to consider and challenge its current approach and to review its ability to meet the challenges it faced. A report in December of that year to Full Council set out an analysis of the Council’s corporate capacity to improve. It concluded that there was a need for the organisation to reduce its core costs if it was to be successful in achieving a more consistent improvement path with revenue investment potential. The Corporate management needed to become both lighter in touch and more strategic in its focus. That Community needs driven improvements could only arise from dismantling the professional silos within which service delivery was administered and delivered. That the organisation was ‘data rich’ but ‘intelligence poor’ and that this was leading to a clear lack of knowledge led strategy formulation. This was also evident in the measurement of the effectiveness of policy implementation and the capturing of outcomes for communities. That staff training had been neglected as a tool for coordinated improvement and That communication within the organisation needed to be improved.

These issues were brought into focus by an organisation wide staff survey, which provided very useful context information.

The recommendation agreed by Full Council was to authorise the Chief Executive to put in place an organisational restructure of the workforce to

9 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 73 address these issues. That process has been in train during the last 12 months and is scheduled to be concluded by March 2010. It has engendered a strong workforce planning approach to upgrade the knowledge about the organisation and to ensure that three priorities could be delivered by the exercise. 1. That it should create a fit for purpose staff structure, galvanised by the process to deliver a flexible Council capable of meeting change as part of its core capacity. 2. That the organisational changes should result in a targeted reduction of Core costs. 3. That the process should be handled in a sensitive manner seeking to allay staff concerns and to build internal opportunities for staff development, training and growth as part of the new officer structure and assimilation into it.

The impetus of the restructure has provided a very focussed introduction of the tools of workforce planning to meet the organisational gaps, which were present in 2008/09, and to provide a much stronger platform for our approach to future years.

In considering the staffing requirements of the new structure the Council had to undertake some intense workforce planning, which included: • Analysis of current numbers of staff/future needs of the services • Analysis of the skills required to deliver the services • Development of new job descriptions/person specifications. • Recruitment to new/revised posts in the structure.

The new structure and the breakdown of the service areas effective from 1st April 2010 is attached at appendix A.

3.1 Restructure and Budget Planning As stated above the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan approved by Council in March 2009 produced a balanced budget position for the following year but presented recurring cumulative deficits from 2010/11 onwards as follows: 2010/11 £1.3m; 2011/12 £1.9m; 2012/13 £2.5m.

A priority of the restructure was to deliver services from within the resources available and budgets have been developed with that in mind. The 2010/11 budget presents a balanced position. The amount of circa £757,000 per annum has been delivered through the planned reduction of the workforce from 1 April 2010. Other efficiencies, contract savings and increases to income have been incorporated to deliver a further £1.1m, which has enable growth to be included for investment in priority areas.

10 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 74 The improved budgetary position has been fed into the future 5 year Medium Term Financial Plan which is being developed alongside the key strategies of the Council such as the refreshed Corporate Plan. Work is continuing on this, which will be presented for the Council to approve at its March 2010 meeting.

3.2 Training and Development and Budget Planning Once the new structure is implemented a further training needs analysis is planned for April/May 2010. The results will inform the revision of the workforce development action plan and ensure that staff redeployed/recruited to new positions are equipped with skills and knowledge required to assist them in delivering high quality services.

An additional budget of £25,000 has been prioritised as part of the budget and Medium Term Financial Planning process to cover the training requirements following the restructure.

11 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 75 4.0 Our Current Workforce Profile

The statistics set out reflect the staffing position at April 2009.

Once the payroll/HR system is fully utilised, it will enable more comprehensive workforce statistics to be provided.

There are currently approximately ?? members of staff employed by South Lakeland District Council and analysis has been as follows: • Age • Disability • Ethnic Origin • Gender • Length of Service • Skills level

4.1 Age Profile Age %age <21 0.36% 21 to 30 9.09% 31 to 40 18.00% 41 to 50 32.54% 51 to 60 32.18% >60 7.82%

Age Profile

35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% %age 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% Percentage of workforce 0.00% <21 21 to 30 31 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 >60 Age Range

12 Workforce Development Plan Version 0.08 February 2010 76 The age distribution for SLDC shows significant skewing towards older age groups.

Compared with the other Cumbrian districts South Lakeland has the oldest age profile and the least number of young people.

With 43 potential retirements in the next five years (43 staff aged 60 or over) and with a total of 220 employees aged 51 or over, there is a need for the Council to ensure that skills and experience are not lost as these individuals leave employment with the Council.

In addition, younger age groups appear to be significantly underrepresented with only 2 employees under 21, and a total of only 52 staff aged 30 or younger. The Council needs to address this imbalance in the age distribution of the workforce.

The Council is pursuing a number of options in order to address this situation. These include: • the re-structure included a number of career development roles in the new structure to enable staff skills to be developed to meet the future needs of the relevant service. • within the new structure it is hoped that there will be opportunities for individuals to move more readily between services, again with the development of cross service skills being the objective. • the Council is actually pursuing opportunities to increase the number of younger people in the organisation, through discussion with Kendal College about the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme. In addition, work experience and work placement arrangement and attendance by Council staff at Jobs and Careers events would provide greater exposure of younger people to job and career opportunities in Local Government. • In 2008 the Council participated in the National Graduate Development Programme. Whilst financial constraints seen certain to continue in the immediate future the Councils involvement in this scheme should remain on the medium to longer term agenda. • A review of advertising arrangements, particularly where posts would be suitable for younger employees to ensure maximum coverage

4.2 Disability Analysis

Staff known to be disabled % of all staff % of known staff

Total 16 3.40% 4.33%

Not all staff choose to make a declaration on disability. There are, therefore, a number of staff whose disability status we may not be aware of. For this reason two percentages are calculated in connection with the percentage of disabled staff in employment is calculated as: a) percentage of staff who have made a declaration on disability who are disabled, “percentage of known staff”.

13 77 b) Percentage of all staff, regardless of whether they have made a declaration or not, who are disabled, “percentage of all staff”.

The Council continues to meet the criteria for the “two ticks”, positive about Disabled People award.

4.3 Ethnicity Analysis

Area % BME in the area % BME in workforce

England 16.4 n/a North West 10.6 n/a Cumbria 4.0 0.86 Allerdale 3.4 4.9 Barrow 4.0 0.96 Carlisle 4.1 0.4 Copeland 3.4 0.42 Eden 1.5 0.46 South Lakeland 5.1 4.3

The number of BME people in the South Lakeland looks certain to increase, but at the same time remain a relatively small proportion of the population.

The percentage of BME people employed by the Council compares favourable with the district percentage and no further additional action would need to be required in this area.

4.4 Gender Analysis

Male Female Total 253 185 438 58% 42% 100%

Gender profile

300

250

200

150

100

50 Number of Employees Number 0 Male Female Ge nder

14 78

PERCENT AGE OF FUL L - T IM E AND PART - T IM E ST AFF BY GENDER

100.0% 91.6%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%

60.0% 56.1%

F/ T 50.0% 43.9% P/T

40.0%

30.0%

20.0% 8.4% 10 . 0 %

0.0% Male Female

The chart shows clearly that a much larger proportion of the Council's female workforce works part-time than is the case with male employees. Because of home commitments, for example childcare needs, a part-time work pattern may suit some females in the organisation better. In addition many of the Council's policies make flexible working arrangements easier to accommodate. There is a need to ensure that part-time status does not disadvantage employees in terms of career development or learning and development opportunities by, for example, offering full-time posts on a job share basis, where such a working arrangement is possible.

4.5 Length of Service Analysis (Including Permanent Employees Only)

LENGTH OF SERVICE BY GENDER as at 1st April 2009

80

70 67 58 60 49 51 51 50 41 40 41 39 Male 40 34 34 31 32 Female 30 22

Number of Employees 20

10

0 <1 1 to 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 >20 Length of Service

15 79 The Council has a high level of long service employees, with 97 employees having in excess of twenty years service. Of these long service employees there are a larger proportion of males.

LEAV ERS BY LENGTH OF SERV ICE

16 15

14 12 12 10 10

8 6 6

Number of Employees Number 4 33

2 1

0 <1 1 to 2 3 t o 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 t o 20 >20 Length of Service

4.6 Skills Analysis

HIGHEST LEVEL OF QUALIFICATION GAINED SHOWN AS NVQ EQUIVALENT LEVEL (Data does not include 81 staff with no formal qualifications)

160 149

140

120

100 78 80 69 64

Number of staff 60 42 40 21 20 10

0 1234567 NVQ equivalent level

KEY TO NVQ EQUIVALENTS

Level 1 GCSEs D – G, NVQ 1 Level 2 GCSEs A* - C, NVQ 2 Level 3 Levels, NVQ 3 Level 4 CHed, NVQ 4 Level 5 DHed, HND, BTEC, NVQ 5 Level 6 BA/BSc Hons degree, NVQ 6 Level 7 Masters / Post Grad, NVQ 7

16 80

The chart shows the distribution of highest level of qualification attained by staff at SLDC

The chart does not include 51 staff that have no formal qualifications, or 30 staff who, at the time of compilation of this data, had failed to confirm their details.

Since the opening of the Learning Centre, a number of staff have completed NVQs at levels 1 and 2, for example, customer contact centre staff, and Community Services staff, including a number for whom traditionally training opportunities may have, in the past, not been available.

The Skills Award looks at the upskilling of all employees. The Skills Pledge, which it replaced, was concerned only with upskilling to NVQ level 2.

17 81 5.0 Workforce Issues We Have Addressed

5.1 Partnership Working The council has undertaken a number of shared service partnerships over recent years most notably with Barrow for shared Legal services and some Web hosting, and more recently with Lancaster City Council with a shared Licensing manager. Both contracts ended during 2009. Further discussions with both councils to establish shared services around IT and Building Control were ultimately unsuccessful due to difficulties in the geography for delivering such services more efficiently and in the ambitions for both Councils in respect of cost savings compared to service quality improvements. During 2009 a new alliance between SLDC and Eden emerged as a prospective partnership and is the subject of a current project reporting in February 2010 to establish whether a shared service management/delivery alliance can be formed to help both authorities address the efficiencies agenda, resilience and recruitment issues and budget shortfalls over coming years. Early successes arising from this project are emerging with a shared management of IT provided by Eden District and a joint procurement and ultimately lead authority delivery of a Revenues and Benefit service led by SLDC. Both pilot projects are engaging staff early in the process and are demonstrating that the two organisations share a similar culture towards value for money issues linked to service quality.

As part of CIEP the Council will be taking an active part in the wider Cumbria collaboration around shared services which all Cumbrian districts will be involved with.

5.2 Member Development Ongoing investment is made in the maintenance and development of a corporate learning and development programme for employees across the Council. The Council is also committed to providing learning and development opportunities for members. Elected Members are encouraged by the Democratic Support Team and Learning Champions to take part in activities arranged in house through the Member Development Programme. This includes a recent programme of ICT training to support the rollout of laptops to all Elected Members. The Member Development Steering Group drives these initiatives. A recent Task and Finish Group set up by Members to review Member Services recommended that, where possible, joint training events should be held with Officers and Members as both would benefit from the shared training experience and it would also result in savings in training costs. This recommendation has been taken on board and, in addition, the Learning and Development Officer has been included in the membership of the Member Support Steering Group to ensure that such opportunities are identified at an early stage.

18 82

5.3 Equal Pay A Pay and Workforce Agreement has been secured and has achieved single status. South Lakeland District Council also arranged an Equality Audit of the Job Evaluation Scheme, which was carried out, on an independent basis, by North West Employers Organisation (NWEO). The Council is continuing to work, in partnership with its Trade Union colleagues, on the review of all employee allowances.

5.4 Job Consultation The Job Consultation scheme has been embedded and recognised as a key process for identifying individuals’ development needs and ensuring these are met. Certain aspects of the job consultation process are currently being reviewed to improve their applicability and effectiveness for some operational roles.

5.5 Equality and Diversity The Council has signed up to the vision, set out in the equality policy, of ensuring that equality is mainstreamed into all of the activities.

To help achieve this South Lakeland District Council has invested in a Policy Officer with specific responsibilities for embedding the principles of Equality and Diversity in all service provision and employment. The Council is currently working towards the “Achieving” Level of the Local Government Equality Framework by December 2010, and is committed to achieving the “Excellent” Level subsequently.

A mandatory training programme on equality and diversity issues for both Members and employees has been rolled out. Approximately 75% of employees and Elected Members have attended Equality training within the last two years with plans to progress this in 2010. This has included general awareness sessions, EIA workshops and briefings for senior managers

5.6 Learning and Development Initiatives The Council has signed up to the Skills Award in 2009 and is working jointly with the unions to achieve this by December 2010. This assesses our approach to skills development across the whole organisation, including raising skill levels in basic literacy and numeracy where needed. The emphasis is on a joined up and focused approach to developing the whole workforce in the areas required and ensuring accessibility to training for ALL employees.

South Lakeland District Council took part in the 2008/2009 National Graduate Development Programme and provided a training placement for one graduate. Whilst the current financial constraints precluded involvement in the 2009/2010 programme, the Council is keen to renew its involvement in this project when the financial situation allows.

19 83 5.7 Working with Union Colleagues The Council opened a Learning Centre in 2008 in conjunction with The Unions. This has facilitated many training opportunities including: • Skills for Life • NVQ’s • ITQ’s • Corporate training events • Learning at Work Day • Interactive PC based training for Waste Collection team

A Learning in Partnership Committee was set up in 2008/09 and meets on a bi-monthly basis. The committee consists of union learning representatives, senior Management and Human Resources Group representatives. Guest speakers are invited from various organisations to update and inform the committee on funding streams, natural and regional initiatives and partnership working.

The Council works closely with its Union Learn colleagues and holds an annual Learning At Work Day designed to raise awareness of the broad spectrum of learning opportunities which are available, with a view to repeating the successful completion of a level 1 literacy and numeracy IT based course by 8 members of the Refuse and Recycling team, most of whom have had little or no opportunity for formal training in the past. This group have continued in learning and are working towards level 2 literacy and an ITQ (IT based NVQ).

The Learning at Work Day 2008 won the Unionlearn Learning at Work Day Award when it was judged the best from 35 other funding bid recipients. The project came out on top in terms of what it had achieved – producing quality and quantity in terms of partnership working, hard outcomes and adding value to trade union membership.

5.8 Communications and Employee Engagement There is a structured approach to internal communications through the employee magazine – “Inside Story”, team briefings and regular e-mail bulletins have been introduced.

Despite the inevitable uncertainty and concern amongst staff caused by the on-going restructure, morale remains high and staff enjoy and take pride in their work and are extremely focussed on their own local priorities within their teams. There are a number of regular opportunities for employee engagement. These include TalkBack, which is a regular open meeting where staff can raise issues for discussion with senior managers. There is also an intranet-based discussion forum with open- access to staff, and regular Chief Executive’s staff briefings. In addition the Council conducts a bi-annual Staff Satisfaction Survey.

20 84

5.9 Recruitment and Retention According to the Local Government Workforce Survey 2009, the three biggest occupational skill shortages for the North West are: 1. Environmental Health Officers, 2. Planning Officers and 3. Trading Standards Officers.

When comparing this data with all other District Councils in England, the picture looks slightly different: 1. Planning Officers 2. Environmental Health Officers 3. Housing Officers

The top three occupational skill shortages for South Lakeland District Council are: 1. Environmental Health Officers 2. Planning Officers 3. Building Control Officers

It is therefore clear that South Lakeland District Council does not have any specific skill shortages but rather have the same shortages as those currently reported for the whole of England and the North West.

A number of changes have been made to the Council’s flexi-time scheme to provide further flexibility for staff and to ensure a more positive balance between work and home life. In addition, the Council has a number of other policies, which provide opportunities to improve work-life balance.

The recruitment process, revised Vacancy Authorisation Form and procedure, and training for all managers have been improved. The recruitment process is now managed via the MidlandHR Trent HR/Payroll system. The Council is also developing e-recruitment in collaboration with the other Cumbrian authorities. Applicants for posts at South Lakeland District Council can now apply on-line via the “YourCumbriaJobs” website, which is a joint venture with the other districts.

21 85 6.0 Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy

Although the latest national Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy was delivered in 2007, the vision for an excellent national local government workforce stays the same in 2009 and will carry through to 2012. The strategy aims to support authorities in delivering the sustained transformation needed to achieve faster, fitter, more flexible, citizen focused and personalised local public services.

The primary aim of the national strategy is for local government to ‘raise their game’ and get the best from its people. The strategy consists of five aims:

• Organisational development – effectively building workforce support for new structures and new ways of working to deliver citizen- focused and efficient services, in partnership

• Leadership development – building visionary and ambitious leadership which makes the best use of both the political and managerial role, operating in a partnership context

• Skill development – with partners, developing employees’ skills and knowledge, in an innovative, high performance, multi-agency context

• Recruitment and retention – with partners, taking action to address key future occupational skill shortages; promote jobs and careers; identify, develop and motivate talent and address diversity issues

• Pay and rewards – modernising pay systems to reflect new structures, new priorities and new ways of working and to reinforce high performance, including encouraging a total rewards approach.

This 2007 strategy sets out key actions for authorities, regional bodies and national bodies over the next few years. Every council and every region is in a different position in relation to workforce challenges, so needs to decide their particular priorities for action, within the national context. With this in mind, South Lakeland District Council has developed this workforce development plan and aligned all of their actions with the five strategy aims in the Workforce Planning Matrix at Appendix B.

22 86 7.0 The Workforce Development Plan

The Council has previously produced a People Strategy that included the corporate training and development plans. This is the first Workforce Development Plan to be produced in this format. The analysis in the year 2009/10 is corporate but in future years it will be broken down into individual service areas as reflected in the new structure. Analysis at service level will enable workforce planning to be fine-tuned to the requirements of the specific services and their future needs.

The Workforce Development Action Plan (appendix C) details what action the Council will take to ensure it can meet the future needs of the services. The action will not be limited to learning and development but will allow for creative and innovative solutions, such as: • Enhanced role/promotion opportunities for internal staff by reviewing qualifications criteria boundaries. • Provide better benefits package e.g. flexible working policies. • Job redesign. • Process redesign and improvement. • Opportunities for joint delivery with other authorities • Promoting cross-organisational working.

7.1 The Role of the Manager Involvement of managers is essential for the ongoing development of the workforce plan, Managers need to support the process to ensure the plan remains viable and will do so by the following actions: • Ensure all staff have an annual full appraisal plus a review • Considering planned changes to services and service delivery • Identifying current and future recruitment and retention difficulties • Highlighting skill requirement and gaps.

7.2 Working With the Unions The joint work we have undertaken and plan to undertake with the unions to deliver training and development solutions is critical to the success of the Council moving forward to deliver better services.

In conjunction with our union colleagues the Council continually seeks to raise awareness around, and to help widen access to, learning opportunities within the organisation, particularly for those of the Council’s 500 plus employees who traditionally would have only limited access to training and development opportunities.

Unionlearn with North West TUC have funded a 3-day per week secondment for a Project Manager/ULR initially for a 6-month period. This commenced October 2009 and a further application for funding for nine months has been submitted by Unison. The Council’s Unison is the only one in Cumbria and Lancashire to have been offered this opportunity for funding.

23 87 Unionlearn with North West TUC has set aims and objectives for the project manager and these include:

• working with partners to deliver NVQ levels 1, 2 and 3 in English, Maths and ITQ levels 1, 2 and 3. • recruit and train an additional 2 ULR’s (There are currently 5) • to source and provide non-vocational courses, such as languages, and special interest subjects

All these courses are funded by the government and the Council only have to guarantee employees time off to attend the vocational courses.

During 2010/11 the Council along with the union will be looking to introduce apprenticeship into service areas and funding for this will also be available via the unions.

24 88 8.0 Review and Evaluation The workforce development plan must be reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis for it to be effective. It is proposed that the review process will be integrated into the annual service and budget planning processes.

Managers will be provided with support from the HR Group who will collate the information to update the Workforce Development Plan on an annual basis. Managers will be asked to consider the skills required to deliver their services, career paths for staff, succession planning and recruitment and retention issues.

The following will all be taken into account when reviewing and/or evaluating the plan: • Staff job consultations • Service plans • Corporate plan • External and internal audit and inspection • Budget

25 89

90 Appendix A Chief Executive – Peter Ridgway

Corporate Director - Debbie Storr Corporate Director – Lawrence Conway Corporate Director – Phillipa Cook

Assistant Director Assistant Director Assistant Director Assistant Director Assistant Director Assistant Director SOCIAL RESOURCES COMMUNITY COMMUNITY CUSTOMER FOCUS CORPORATE VISION ENTERPRISE (Section 151 Officer) INVESTMENT & DEV SERVICES Simon McVey Vacant Michael Keane Shelagh MacGregor David Sykes Simon Rowley

Asset Accountancy Building Control EHO Food Safety and Communication Climate Change

Management Environmental Exchequer (including Community Engagement (including toilets Culture Dev Protection Complaints procurement) and Industrial Corporate Insurance Homelessness Estates) Development Concessionary Fares Policy/external funding Internal Audit (Planning Community Safety Equalities and Diversity Caravan Site Corporate Legal Development Plans, Contact Centre

Services (including Land Charges) Housing Advice Local Area Partnerships Lake conveyancing and IT Private Sector Housing transportation road Economic Local Strategic

Markets closures Regeneration and Licensing Printing Partnership

Committee Admin Tourism (Strategy) Development Lighting and Cemeteries NPS Client Member Services Research and Organisational Re- Officer LDF Parks, living and open Intelligence Unit Scrutiny/CCfA engineering spaces Electoral Services Public Halls Public Realm Revenue and Benefits Performance Street Care HR Policy Programme TIC’s Employee Relations Strategic Housing Waste and Recycling Management Health and Safety Client Contractor – Third Sector Enabling Risk Management/ Learning and ALMO/Leisure (Grants) emergency planning Development

Payroll Focussing on and Making the Managing all other Place shaping to Providing services Applying our understanding our most effective back office services create the best essential to support customers needs knowledge and use of our and Resources to environment for sustainable through Organisational shaping the Council Physical improve Councils investment in our communities data and Community for Community resources functions in support communities perceptions to create Leadership of Communities knowledge 91

92 Appendix B South Lakeland District Council Workforce Plan Matrix 2009 – 12 5 Priority areas from the Local Organisational Development Leadership Development Skill Development Recruitment and Retention Pay and Rewards Government Strategy 2007 Council’s Vision We will We will We will We will We will We will deliver key services that • Encourage role/knowledge • Enable mentoring by • Develop and nurture a • Refresh our • Design and develop a fair career meet the essential needs of sharing within giving people bank of generic skills Recruitment and progression framework for all residents — homes, warmth, safe teams/directorates to confidence to deliver and encourage very Retention strategy employees food, a clean environment and encourage a seamless and be more creative short secondments • Deliver an HR skills financial assistance where service for our residents • Encourage innovation • Identify talent and analysis based on a appropriate. • Develop centres to and creativity in create a voluntary talent council-wide skills encourage talent to work teams pool audit across boundaries rather • Design and develop a • Develop the potential than vertical moves generic competency of our employees • Investigate and encourage framework with shared service opportunities opportunities for development We will We will We will We will We will We will work with partners to • Encourage a cultural shift in • Identify gaps together • Identify skill sets across • Share resources, • Identify the transferable skills through ensure that everyone has ways of working partners people a skills audit allowing more cross opportunities to participate in • Share knowledge and • Deliver shared learning • Pursue more joint service and partner working and culture and the arts and stay safe, processes and training working within the flexibility in the workforce healthy and active. • Embed our shared values • Develop 3rd sector skills Cumbrian region and throughout the Council to deliver/enable better strategic partnerships partnership working

We will We will We will We will We will We will protect South Lakeland’s • Design different ways of • Develop our Leaders • Develop all employees’ • Recruit and retain • Endeavour to attract excellent staff outstanding natural and built working to counter impact on to ensure they skills in line with employees with the and retain them working towards being environment whilst encouraging the natural environment embrace sustainable sustainable necessary skills in the ‘Employer of Choice’ in South sustainable development. development and development and the sustainable Lakeland combat climate Climate Change development to change agenda ensure the Council • Develop our can deliver on this Members to be agenda ‘Climate Change Champions’

We will We will We will We will We will We will work with partners to • Learn from a range of • Develop the skills of • Develop our staff to • Share resources, • Identify the transferable skills understand sustain and grow organisations and make more our Leaders to allow work with new people through a skills audit allowing more South Lakeland’s economy for the use of joint working the council to work in technology and • Pursue more joint cross service and partner working benefit of its residents and tackle • Design and engage in new ways in encourage new ways of working within the and flexibility in the workforce head on the economic challenges change management training partnership working with other Cumbrian region and in the area. for all our leaders, managers sectors strategic partnerships and staff We will We will We will We will We will We will work with partners to • Empower frontline staff • Develop our • Develop our staff to • Share resources, • Identify the transferable skills through sustain South Lakeland as a • Have a corporate approach to Members to be work with new people a skills audit allowing more cross unique place to visit and enjoy for project management ‘Community technology and • Pursue more joint service and partner working and local people and visitors alike. • Listen and communicate with Champions’ for South encourage new ways of working within the flexibility in the workforce our customers even better Lakeland working with other Cumbrian region and sectors strategic partnerships 193 Appendix B

294 Appendix C

Workforce Development Action Plan Priority Area Action Progress Responsible Officer(s) By When A1 To develop the capacity in- Effectively building Continuing training provided by workforce support for new house to re-engineer services Transformation Project Team Sep-10 through project management. external provider structures and new ways of A2 Maintain and develop a working to deliver customer Redeployment/ Rehabilitation Combination of external training provision for management focused and efficient Policy (Include absence Human Resources Services development programme, and Sep-10 services, in partnership management as a module in our Manager management development internal provision e.g workshops, programme). briefings, etc. A3 Monitor performance acknowledge achievements/ reward exceptional Continue existing monitoring performance/ manage poor/ arrangements and review of inadequate performance existing job consultation Human Resources Services Dec-10 effectively and quickly (Review arrangements tomake Manager Capability policy and include documentation more user-friendly performance management as a and service area specific module in our management development programme). A4 Develop a Stress Work currently being undertaken Management Policy and Action by Human Resources team. Human Resources Services Plan - delivery stress awareness Apr-10 Workshops scheduled for Manager workshops for managers and February 2010 staff.

Page 1 95 Appendix C

A5 Implement quarterly reporting on Departmental/ Service sickness absence levels Regular reporting of sickness to Senior Management Teams Human Resources Services Already absence statistics is done by and half-yearly reporting on Manager implemented Human Resources. whole organisation sickness absence levels to the HR Committee. A6 Ensure compliance with the Human Rights Equalities Commission (six strands) in relation to HR employment Human Resources curently practices: Age, Disability, working with Policy Officer from Corporate Vision towards Human Resources Services Gender, Race, Religion, Sexual Dec-10 Orientation and make Equality Framework (level 2) Manager recommendations to ensure that which will ensure compliance with the workforce is representative this priority area. of the local community.

A7 Introduce and develop Continuing development of methods of consulting and existing communication channels communicating with all Communications Manager On-going eg Talkback, Briefings, staff employees about a wide range survey, forum, etc of issues. A8 Develop and maintain good working relations with the Managers to work at maintaining Human Resources Services recognised trade unions - joint existing good relations with both On-going Manager working on how these could be Unison and GMB further improved upon.

Page 2 96 Appendix C

A9 Partnership working ensuring we work closely with National, Regional and Local partners to ensure a local public workforce Management Team On-going that delivers the aims and objectives of the Council.

A10 Procurement and development of an occupational Current arrangements for occupational health provision to health service to assist Human Resources Services be reviewed to ensure Dec-10 managers and employees in Manager addressing health issues that appropriateness to the Council's affect employees at work. requirements

Priority Area Action Progress Responsible Officer(s) By When Building visionary and ambitious leadership which makes the best of both the B1 Develop an accredited Development work taking place Human Resources Services political and managerial Management/ Leadership with Kendal College and other Jun-10 Manager role, operating in a Development Programme. potential providers partnership context

Priority Area Action Progress Responsible Officer(s) By When Developing employees’ C1 Produce annual/ forecasted workforce planning diagnostic Production of this Workforce skills and knowledge, in an Development Plan initially reports for managers/ develop Human Resources Services innovative, high produced corporately but to be On-going action plans with managers to Manager performance, multi-agency address any current/ future 'hot developed at service level in context spots'. future years

Page 3 97 Appendix C

C2 Succession Planning/ Annual Workforce analysis via the Job Consultation process identifying Production of this Workforce needs, skills gaps, and learning Human Resources Services Development Plan and review of Jun-10 & development needs are Manager Job Consultation arrangements systematically identified through the Service planning process

C3 Review the implications of the IiP standard and Council Priority to be discussed with Human Resources Services Mar-10 commitment to achieve Senior Managers Manager accreditation C4 To embed existing Learning Continuing development of and Development Policy to help learning opportunities for all to promote a common levels of staff. Continuing jopint Human Resources Services On-going understanding of the Council's working with unions, ULRs and Manager aspiration to be a learning development of the Learning organisation. Centre C5 Maintain and reporting a Continue existing monitoring consistent and appropriate arrangements and review of Performance and Development Human Resources Services existing job consultation Dec-10 Framework (Job Consultation) Manager arrangements. 360 degree pilot incorporating 360 degree conducted in 2009 feedback. C6 Develop measures to ensure Restructure designed to present Human Resources Services movement across the Council Mar-10 these opprtunities Manager C7 Develop a management/ generic competency framework This large piece of work needs to Human Resources Services across the Council services be done as a project. Needs time Dec-10 Manager defining and communicating and resource allocated clear expectations.

Page 4 98 Appendix C

C8 Develop clear Policy on The Council's existing Study Study Leave incorporating Leave Guidelines and Learning Human Resources Services Learning Agreements to support Dec-10 Agreements are to be reviewed Manager and retain staff during and during 2010 following the training. C9 Formalise Time Off and Facilities arranagements with This work has now been the Unions incorporating a Human Resources Services completed. The arrangements n/a Learning in Partnership Manager are subject to regular review. Agreement and development of a 'Learning Centre'.

Priority Area Action Progress Responsible Officer(s) By When D1 Review the Council's use of Taking action to address This work has been completed standard advertising / develop key future occupational and will be subject to regular Human Resources Services website/ e-recruitment and n/a review to ensure that recruitment Manager skills shortages, promote ability to make on-line costs are minimisd jobs and careers, identify, applications D2 Monitor and develop inhouse Review of existing induction develop and motivate talent Human Resources Services induction and re-induction arrangements to be undertaken Jun-10 and address diversity issues Manager programme during 2010 D3 Develop a Recruitment & The Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy ensuring Selection Policy was developed Human Resources Services consistent approach across the and implemented in June 2008. On-going Manager Council. All policies are subject to regular review. D4 Develop a Work SLDC supports the National Human Resources Services Experience/ Graduate Trainee Graduate Development On-going Manager Policy/ Scheme Programme

Page 5 99 Appendix C

D5 Maintain and develop use of Employee Opinion Survey (every two years) to ensure Human Resources Services understanding of key factors Jul-09 influencing job satisfaction from Manager which to develop Recruitment and Retention initiatives D6 Monitor and review the Monitoring of these posts has Human Resources Services Council's use of temporary and On-going been introduced Manager fixed term contracts. D7 Review the Council's All requests for Agency staff are arrangements for the subject to the Vacancy Head of Finance n/a procurement of agency staff. Authorisation procedure D8 Develop, implement and Policies for Early Retirement, monitor robust policies around Flexible Retirement, and the management of the older Human Resources Services Voluntary Redundancy have now n/a workforce linked to flexible Manager been implemented. All policies retirement and workforce are subject to regular review. planning D9 Ensure all employees are Training has been provided by an aware of the impact of equality external training provider for all and diversity in their jobs. Managers and Supervisors. Head of Strategy and On-going Deliver a rolling programme of Training has also been Performance equality training to all undertaken for all Members employees. D10 Develop the use of exit Exit interview documentation now interviews and exit checked in Human Resources. questionnaires/ hold data on HR Monitoring/reporting to be Human Resources Services Sep-10 IT System and monitor implemented on MidlandHR Trent Manager

Page 6 100 Appendix C

Priority Area Action Progress Responsible Officer(s) By When Modernising pay systems to E1 Review the non-pay benefits The Council has, in addition to its reflect new structures, new for employees of the Council, family-friendly policies, introduced create a benefits working group a number of non-pay benefits for Human Resources Services priorities and new ways of and consult with employees and employees inckuding child care On-going Manager working and to reinforce introduce new initiatives to vouchers, and the health cash high performance, including develop a total reward plan. This is an on-going encouraging a total rewards packages. programme E2 Develop Performance approach This project is dependent on the Related Pay (PRP) with annual development and embedding of Human Resources Services incremental progression t.b.a. the competency framework. See Manager dependent upon satisfactory also C7 above performance. E3 Examine the options for The Council ran a Staff Awards introducing a corporate scheme Programme in 2008. The Human Resources Services Review status in for recognising and rewarding programme did not run in 2009 Manager Sept 2010 individual and team because of the need to performance. concentrate on the restructure. E4 Examine the options for The Council operates a number introducing a corporate of internal communications suggestion scheme. channels including Talkback, Communications Manager On-going staff briefings, and the intranet discussion forum. E5 Identify and address work- life balance issues across the The Council has introduced a Council through the number of family-friendly policies Human Resources Services On-going development and which are subject to regular Manager implementation of flexible review. working Policies E6 Undertake an audit of the JE The JE scheme has been subject Scheme and address any to an equality audit carried out by Human Resources Services operational recommendations n/a North West Employers' Manager as well as conclude an Equality Organisation. Impact Assessment

Page 7 101

102 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Portfolio Holder: Leader Report From: Chief Executive Agenda 10 Report Author: Debbie Storr Item No: Report Title: Eden and South Lakeland District Councils Shared Services Management/Delivery Alliance

Summary

The attachment to this report sets out the outline business case for a shared services management/delivery alliance between Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council. Recommendations

(1) Members consider the report and that Eden and South Lakeland District Council agree the proposed shared vision and aims of the project;

(2) That the Councils authorise the establishment of a Shared Services Programme Board as detailed within the report, with membership for SLDC as set out in section 6 of this report, and that this Board be requested to analyse the service and financial information and identify transformational projects to be taken forward with priority given to those areas identified within the report;

(3) That the principle of a shared Chief Executive be agreed and the business implications and options for implementation be worked up within a four month period;

(4) That a sum of £50,000 per year from the transformation budget be found in 2010 /11 and 2011/12 to provide resources to take the project forward as set out in the report.

(5) That if approved, and in accordance with appropriate constitutional powers the respective Executives to consider future reports on shared services with update reports to full Council. Report

1. At its meeting on 10 December 2009 Council considered a report on Shaping the Future – Shared Services Management/Delivery Alliance. It resolved on that date that the development of a shared services management/delivery alliance with Eden District Council be supported in principle; and a detailed evaluation on the approach be brought to a future meeting of full Council.

2. Attached to this report is a high-level business case which has been worked up by both Councils. It sets out for consideration the proposed vision and aims of the project and the potential areas to be considered for shared services. It seeks approval for a shared services programme board with agreed terms of reference. It also seeks approval for the Councils to move ahead on proposals for a shared Chief Executive and for a further report to be brought

103 forward on that matter. Furthermore, it identifies that dedicated resources will be required to take the project forward. It is estimated that each Council will need to provide up to £50,000 per annum for the first two years of the project. The build up to this amount is set out in the financial section below. Finally, it confirms that reports will be brought back to respective Council Executives for approval and that update reports will be brought back to respective Full Council meetings.

3. The attached business case report will be considered by Eden District Council at its meeting on 25 February.

Shared Services Programme Board 4. If both Councils agree to proceed with the proposal set out in the high level business case, then a Shared Services Programme Board will be established to take forward the detailed analysis and to identify the relevant transformational project. 5. The Programme Board Terms of Reference are set out in Appendix 4 of the Business Case report. However, it is proposed that the representation on the Board for each authority will be as follows: • Two Management Team representatives (one being the Chief Executive) • Two Executive Members (one being the Leader of the Council) • One representative from the Joint Consultative Panel 6. It is proposed that for South Lakeland District Council, in addition to the Chief Executive and Leader, the representatives on the board would be • Phillipa Cook, Corporate Director (Vision and Strategy) • Councillor Andy Shine together with the observer representative from the Joint Consultative Panel. Alternative Options Alternative options are identified within the report, and other options will continue to be explored as we move forward. This report is to enable members to consider a joint vision and aims for moving the project forward. Material Considerations Finance As indicated in the report there will be resource requirements in moving forward with an alliance and business cases and project plans will identify those requirements. Until the individual business cases are drawn up and confirmed by Members it is hard to put an accurate figure on the likely detailed savings. However, it is possible to say that from the work done to date the combined MTFP deficits for both Districts require at least £6 million to be found over the coming four years. The accompanying report identifies that the order of magnitude of the savings which could arise from the shared service project for the priority areas of investigation could total up to £4 million over a phased period. This is clearly a significant step towards achieving the savings required which is unlikely to be available if the Council seeks to move forward independently. A window of opportunity to achieve this transformation is only available to SLDC because of the work completed through the restructure which has now been implemented. Several shared service examples have achieved savings in the region of 6-8% (arising from shared services and shared management savings).

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 2 104 There will be a range of costs, such as early retirement/redundancy payments, that will offset savings to a degree in the initial years of the project. The timing of the savings will be more accurately determined when individual business cases have been completed. However, some detailed work has just been completed in two of the more advanced, but also complex services i.e. IT and Revenues and Benefits. Some individual elements of shared service may well be realised earlier than 2012 and produce savings. For example, it is possible that the sharing of IT management could be made permanent in advance of a move to additional service sharing.

Much of the work will need to be done by the officers of the two Councils. However, there will be a need to buy in a resource to undertake three key functions as follows;

• Project management- this will be a large and complex project. It is vital that there is sound project management to ensure it is properly run and achieves its stated goals

• Business case support- whilst some officers will have the capacity and skills to prepare a robust business case for sharing their services others may not

• Process re-design- to deliver the maximum efficiencies it will be important that any new shared service is designed to follow best practice rather than replicate the old processes and practices

It is estimated that the costs of the above for Phase 1 are about £100,000 p.a. for two years. This would be a cost of £50,000 for each Council for each of two years. If this is agreed a sum of £50,000 per year will be required for 2010/11 and 2011/12 to be found from the SLDC transformation budget. The cost may be lower as a bid is being made to the Cumbria Improvement and Efficiency Partnership for £30,000 towards the cost in the current financial year. Clearly all investment during this project would be on an invest to save basis.

This fund would also be used as necessary for training purposes and to backfill posts of staff working on shared services projects. Help and advice has been offered jointly to both Councils by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), who are already supporting a number of other Councils progressing and implementing joint chief executive / management team arrangements across two Councils. The IDeA are able to offer a range of support including the provision of member peers and advice and support from relevant councils, facilitation for joint member and /or officer sessions and they are able to arrange visits to relevant council pairs. Both Chief Executives have been invited to join an ‘Action Learning Set’ comprised of chief executives already in joint posts from whom much could be learnt. Much of this support can be provided at no extra cost to Councils Risk Management (list in the table below the risks associated with the report proposal/content) Risk Consequence Controls required Clearly there are risks associated with the proposed alliance. Appendix 7 to the reports identifies risks relevant to this project and these will be reviewed and mitigated through effective project management, robust business cases and challenging process re-design. Some investment as noted under finance will be required to ensure that these functions are properly provided through the project. Staffing As identified within the report.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 3 105 Links to Corporate Plan The proposal covers all aspects for delivery of services within our Corporate Plan. The Council has three corporate priorities which are to make South Lakeland the best place to live, work and visit. Links to Other Strategic Plan(s) The Council’s Corporate Plan and Medium Term Financial Plan are the basis of the work relating to this proposal. The need to address the medium to long-term financial deficit is a key driver for the Council along with the delivery of efficient, quality services. Equalities & Diversity As identified within the report. The Council has to have regard to the elimination of unlawful discrimination and harassment and the promotion of equality under the Equalities Act 2006 and related statutes. All appropriate legislation will be taken into account in moving forward with this proposals. Community Safety Not applicable

Background Documents Document: Previous Reports to Council Contact: Debbie Storr

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 4 106

Eden & South Lakeland District Councils

South Lakeland District Council – 23 February 2010

Eden District Council – 25 February 2010

SHARED SERVICES MANAGEMENT/DELIVERY ALLIANCE –

BUSINESS CASE

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to report on the business case for the shared services management/delivery alliance between Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council.

This builds on the decisions taken by Eden District Council on 26 November 2009 and South Lakeland District Council on 10 December 2009 to pursue this approach and report back to both Councils.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that:

(1) Members consider the report and that Eden and South Lakeland District Council agree the proposed shared vision and aims of the project;

(2) That the Councils authorise the establishment of a Shared Services Programme Board as detailed within the report, membership to be agreed by each Council, and that this Board be requested to analyse the service and financial information and identify transformational projects to be taken forward with priority given to those areas identified within the report;

(3) That the principle of a shared Chief Executive be agreed and the business implications and options for implementation be worked up within a four month period;

(4) That each Council agree to provide a sum of £50,000 per year for two years to provide resources to take the project forward as set out in the report

(5) That if approved, and in accordance with appropriate constitutional powers the respective Executives to consider future reports on shared services with update reports to full Council.

Version final 12/02/2010 1 107

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 Both Councils in considering a shared services management/delivery alliance have a commitment to retain an effective and efficient management of their individual authorities with the minimum amount of resource. In that way, each Council can maximise the resources available for the quality of customer facing services.

1.2 The Councils have agreed to support the principle of a shared services management/delivery alliance and have requested a detailed evaluation on the approach to be brought before full Council.

1.3 It is apparent that as two separate Councils there are large areas of work undertaken by both Councils that are effectively duplications of each other. Examples might be the implementation responses to Government regulation changes, or responses to consultation documents. It is incumbent on both Councils to consider whether this duplication of effort is essential or adds value to either Councils services. Council’s delivering services in partnership are already established and can produce financial benefits from both economies of scale and reductions in duplication.

1.4 The proposal for a shared services management/delivery alliance does not seek to compromise the independent rights of the two Councils as the proposal focuses on the benefits of shared services and reduced overheads produced by joint management and synergies of service. It is intended that each Council will remain a “sovereign body” with the savings generated through joint working arrangements being shared by a mechanism to be agreed mutually by the two authorities. There will be opportunities for closer member working in areas that Members wish to initiate and develop.

1.5 The Councils are aware that an existing initiative within Cumbria is being taken forward through CIEP and Eden and SLDC should continue to contribute to this process. If the report is approved in February then the Councils should seek to act jointly in this regard.

2. NATIONAL LEARNING AND RESEARCH

2.1 This is not a new concept. Research by the IDeA on joint working shows that it works best where the Councils involved:

i. share a boundary;

ii. are not disproportionate in size;

iii. have organisational similarities;

iv. have similar performance levels; and

v. agreed shared focus on savings.

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2.2 Eden and South Lakeland are able to meet four of the five criteria listed above, with the exception of item iii, and are the two districts within Cumbria that are most similar. The Councils do however have some dissimilarities which need to be noted as these may have implications for the progress and success of the project.

• Eden has outsourced much of the direct delivery labour force to external contractors and as a result has a significantly smaller labour force.

• SLDC undertook a fundamental restructure and reduction in core costs by over £1 million in 2009/10. This was aimed at meeting the existing budget pressures on the Council and the need to increase the flexibility of its management and service delivery to establish a ‘needs led’ service approach

• Service alignment across the Councils do not match in all cases

• The Councils do not share the same political leadership

These issues are not considered to be fundamental obstacles to the success of the project providing they are acknowledged and allowance for them is made within the project.

2.3 The IDeA have produced a paper entitled “Shared Chief Executives and Joint Management: A Model for the Future?” which looks at ten joint arrangements operating in 20 District Councils in England (copy attached as Appendix 1).

In this report and through further discussions, a number of key learning points have emerged. These are: • Joint Chief Executives and joint management arrangements can save Councils money. • These savings can be substantial. • The pace of shared service development across two Councils quickens following joining up at the top. • The cultural ‘message’ for two Councils from the appointment of a joint Chief Executive is extremely powerful. • The combination of two Councils can significantly increase the ability to procure more cost effectively. • Two Councils joining together can create a stronger strategic position on regional and even national matters. • Joining up can provide more professional challenges which is an aid to recruitment.

2.4 It is also worth noting that Adur and Worthing Councils have achieved £2.2m of cumulative savings since they started their joint arrangement. Bromsgrove and Redditch have recently agreed a joint approach with the aim of saving

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£3.4m across both Councils in the period to 2012. Starting with a Shared Chief Executive and Management Team Staffordshire Moorlands and High Peaks Councils have reduced senior managers from 37 to 21 realising savings of £560K.1

3. THE CASE FOR A SHARED SERVICES MANAGEMENT/DELIVERY ALLIANCE

3.1 Both Councils are facing challenges on budgets through demands for efficiencies and in respect of service delivery which we are struggling to meet. Neither Council is alone in this experience which is shared across Local Government at all levels.

The opportunities for innovation and creativity within a single organisation are finite and five years of efficiency demands initiated through the Gershon review are beginning to exhaust the capacity of Councils to deliver cashable savings year on year. The economies which have been achieved have been by and large directed away from front line services and this has had an impact on resilience within both authorities. Strength in depth has been lost across professions and capacity has been limited.

Restructures of the kind employed by SLDC are rebuilding capacity within the Council by breaking down professional silos to address service delivery on a needs led basis. These changes have had a beneficial saving to core costs which is likely to be eroded by the pressures on local government finance within a three year time frame.

Whilst Eden District Council have the opportunity to complete their own internal restructure, neither Management Team believes that these alone will be sufficient to safeguard service delivery and quality in the longer term. The Councils need to consider different ways of service delivery.

Although budget efficiencies is the key driver for this business case, it is not the sole driver and ongoing budget pressures will have an adverse impact on future quality of service, performance improvement, the safeguarding of local delivery all of which need to be protected and sustained into the future. 3.2 Savings This report outlines the foundation work that has been done on the potential for savings in an Eden District Council/South Lakeland District Council shared services management/delivery alliance. Considerably more detailed work is needed to refine these conclusions, but this would require resource commitments which can only be justified if the principles which are outlined in this report are accepted by members of both authorities as the way to proceed.

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The savings required by the two Councils in the medium term are significant and real. The table below shows the details of the savings required by each Council in their current Medium Term Financial Plans (MTFP).

Deficit 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 Total £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 SLDC (1) 0 607 907 1,608 3,122 EDC (2) 372 564 690 799 2,425 (1) SLDC figures from MTFP (2) EDC figs are lower than in MTFP as impact of funding the Penrith New Squares site are excluded: this may be funded from borrowing (3) The total net spend of both authorities is approximately £26m (SLDC approximately £16m and Eden £9.9m) It is not expected that the joint services project can deliver the total savings required to full meet the deficits shown above. Both Councils will still need to consider additional financial prioritisation programmes and efficiency agendas within their own organisation to supplement the savings likely to be delivered by this project. EDC will be considering a report on a major savings exercise at its meeting on 25 February 2010. It will set out the process for agreeing a savings plan to balance the Council’s budget by 2013/14. An outline of the level of savings potentially thought to be available based upon the current management/delivery arrangements is contained in Appendix 2. The below is a summary of example savings. Whilst these figures are shown for information purposes they cannot be used as a menu of available options without considerable further work in terms of organisational re-engineering to achieve them. Individual Council’s priorities determine the level of services provided and where high priority is given to a particular service, higher spending may be justified and remain in place. 3.2.1 Staffing The sharing of a joint Chief Executive would be the driver for change to achieve success in the project and could save in the region of £85K with on costs at 2010/2011 prices. It communicates a strong message that this process is a key strategy of the joint authorities and that the process starts at the top and is not focussed on the front line. The sharing of a joint management team would show a further level of commitment and addresses the key advisors relied upon by members. Sharing Directors will address many areas where the two Councils invest currently to deliver the interpretation and response to Government initiatives. This might more effectively be shared with manageable consequences for service delivery. Future sharing of Assistant Directors / Middle managers will be the level at which service synergies could be achieved and sharing of both

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Management Team and Middle Managers has the potential for an approximate potential combined saving of £450K. 3.2.2 Procedural/Procurement Potential savings can be achieved through joint procurement of core supplies, software and accommodation. Resilience benefits could be realised through access to shared cross district support to cover short term absences. The combined procurement spend for South Lakeland and Eden is in the region of £7.3m(This does not include outsourced contract spending for Eden). Potential savings of up to 3% (£210,000) could be targeted from this approach. 3.2.3 Operational This could include a shared Manager of a service delivered independently at both districts. A pilot project is currently the shared IT manager provided by Eden District Council - approximately £50k savings (Case Study – Appendix 3) Shared Service by lead authority. A pilot project may prove to be an extension of the development of the Revenues and Benefit software procurement currently led by SLDC- potential for around £120k savings (Case Study – Appendix 3) Shared procurement of a joint service delivered by a 3rd party provider. No recent successful experience in either authority to date although both Councils have experience of joint service procurement with other Councils. Research from the IDeA and other bodies on learning and experiences nationally will be considered in taking this forward. (Case Study – Appendix 3) 3.3 Community benefits/organisational outcomes Both Councils must deliver savings in order to safeguard future service delivery. The primary driver in achieving those savings is to ensure that community need is met and that quality public services are delivered in Eden and South Lakeland localities. The approach will also present opportunities to increase customer satisfaction through the improvement and transformation of local services and the sharing of skills, expertise and best practice.

4. A SHARED SERVICE PROGRAMME 4.1 Vision The potential financial benefits outlined will only be realised by careful planning and implementation and if the key procedural and service challenges are overcome. In order to do this both Councils will need to agree a shared vision for the project.

A proposed joint vision is as follows:

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“Under the management of a shared Chief Executive (to be subject to decision) Eden District Council and South Lakeland District Council will establish joint working arrangements and a shared approach to the delivery of key services that will improve the quality of people’s lives in both authorities and deliver greater value for money”. 4.2 Aims Also, to support this, the following shared key aims for the project should be agreed and should focus the proposed shared arrangements: • Increase the level of customer satisfaction through the improvement of the quality and delivery of local services • Realise revenue savings to control Council Tax or to be re-invested by Members as appropriate to priorities within each district • Strengthen and share skills and expertise in order to deliver better services and improve resilience. • Preserve and enhance the market towns and rural area services within each local authority area. • Increase the joint Councils’ influence locally/regionally/nationally to secure a ‘better deal’ for all our communities. The above project vision and aims need to be agreed by both Councils and are set out here as a draft for consideration. 4.3 Outcomes It is important that both Councils acknowledge that a shared approach would have to be transformational in nature, as working together in the traditional manner, similar to existing partnerships will not achieve the outcomes required. In order to do this and achieve the outcomes, then both Councils must agree to: • have a longer term strategic focus both for the project and Corporate planning; • implement changes within an agreed timescale; • have strong governance and leadership of process; and • base service delivery changes on sound economic business case informed by intelligence and community need.

4.4 Programme structure and methodology 4.4.1 This section seeks to address the nature and content of a transformation programme capable of delivering efficiencies and savings for both authorities. It will require strong leadership. The key facilitators to ensure that this project will be delivered effectively and consistently are considered to be

• Accurate financial estimates must underpin any business case

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• IT services – Using technology to solve barriers to shared working rather than to create hurdles. • Legal services – Benefiting from consistent legal advice to both executives • HR services –Ensuring that comparability and fairness issues are consistently handled by both authorities through out the project • Communications for both internal and external audiences. Getting these services collaborating or working seamlessly early in the process will be a key deliverable. We have already established shared IT management which is an important step forward for both Districts.

4.4.2 It is recommended that the Shared Service Programme Board be established with the following agreed representation from each authority; • Two management team representatives (Chief Executive plus one) • Two executive representatives (Leader plus one) • Representative from the Joint Consultative Panel/Committee (non-voting)

4.4.3 The suggested terms of reference of the Shared Services Board are set out in Appendix 4 as originally detailed in the draft concordat considered by the two authorities.

4.4.4 In order to develop the transformation programme it is proposed to follow a set methodology which will include : • A High Level Business Case involving a detailed service analysis o Mapping of current service provision and any current plans for change o Current service performance and financial analysis and customer satisfaction if available, data sets from SPARSE, the Place Survey and the Audit Commission (Comparative data - Appendix 5 includes SPARSE and National Indicator Performance comparative data o Contribution the service makes to existing Council Corporate priorities o A detailed assessment of the likely savings (shown in this report on an indicative basis) and the costs of change • Opportunity analysis o Analysis of current management structures to support service and likely changes or impending departures o Identified services for potential shared approach within each authority. o Within this initial assessment, there needs to be an evaluation of: Benefits of implementing a shared approach. This has to look at both community and financial benefit. A review of procurement for contracted services (Appendix 6)

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Ease of implementation. This needs to take account of timescale, risk of success, level of barriers to progress and level of investment required. • Risk Assessment - An initial risk assessment is appended to this report as Appendix 7. A further risk analysis will be needed for any future report and, if the project does proceed, a clear risk management plan should be adopted by both Councils • Equalities Impact Assessments will be required as part of each subsequent business case as the project progresses. 4.4.5 Taking account of the data contained in the appendices opportunities can be categorised into four broad groups: • Service Based Projects. These will be undertaken at service manager level and have little resource implication and little difficulty in implementing. The benefits will be small but will assist in the joint working approach, sharing working papers, training etc. These would involve looking at vacancies as they arise and exploring what opportunities there are for shared management. • Transformation ‘Quick Wins’. These would be projects that would be relatively easy to implement with high level of benefits which include financial savings towards total target e.g. shared Chief Executive • Transformation Projects. These would be projects with a higher level of difficulty but with relatively high levels of benefits and would realise the highest levels of savings. These would be the key work that would generate savings. Examples of such projects are around the further development of shared IT following the pilot project, and exploring development of the Revenues and Benefits project. • Future Projects. These would be those that have a high level of difficulty but with small benefits. These projects would only be undertaken once all other projects completed. Examples being contracted services from 2017. A high level of analysis of the data in the appendices reveals a number of areas for investigation around joint efficiencies and shared services. Research for this report identified opportunities for shared managers as quick wins in the following services based on the case study for the shared IT Manager. Environmental Health where Eden have an interim appointment

Licensing – where SLDC has interim arrangements

Electoral services – where both authorities have a need to increase capacity and resilience at a senior level.

Analysis of the comparative SPARSE data in Appendix 5 reveals 7 service areas where both councils costs are above the average of all District Councils for spending on that service and where they also compare poorly with the spending of nearest neighbour authorities forming part of the SPARSE group. Version final 12/02/2010 9 115

They are Housing Strategy, Tourism, Cemeteries, Environmental health, Economic and community development, Homelessness and Emergency planning. The Environmental Health Service which appears as an opportunity should be considered as a priority looking at the potential for a shared manager to address costs and service quality to deliver significant efficiencies as part of jointly planning service delivery. Appendix 5 also indicates 5 services where the costs of both authorities are at variance and where reducing the cost of the highest to that of the lowest through joint service delivery would bring efficiency savings. In applying this analysis it is important to ensure that the quality of the lower cost service is equal to or better than the cost of the higher priced service. An Analysis of service efficiencies from SPARSE data is provided at Appendix 8. This represents a best case review and proposals in a shared services project to deliver those savings would need to be developed on a case by case basis. Local circumstance will have an effect on these comparisons which needs to be understood. Appendix 9 is an Assessment Matrix template which if the recommendations are approved it is proposed that this be used by the Programme Board for the purpose of considering which projects should move forward. 4.5 Programme timetable A proposed programme timetable is attached as Appendix 10. With regard to the transformation projects, specific detailed business cases would be prepared which identified savings and timescales for approval by the Shared Services Programme Board.

4.6 Resources In order to bring this work together, we clearly need to resource it properly. There are a number of options including: • Secondment of staff – (at least one officer per organisation) • Recruitment • Using external consultants We will need to address these options if sanction for the project from both Councils is forthcoming. In any assessment of these matters a Value for Money approach should be applied which will require that due allowance for the cost of the method will need to be met from the projected savings identified to be found by both Councils.

Costs of any early retirements/voluntary/compulsory redundancies will need to be factored into all business cases.

It is proposed that each Council agree to provide a sum of £50,000 per year for two years to provide resources to take the project forward.

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In addition, help and advice has been offered jointly to both Councils by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), who are already supporting a number of other Councils who are progressing and implementing joint chief executive / management team arrangements across two Councils. The IDeA are able to offer a range of support including the provision of member peers and advice and support from relevant councils, facilitation for joint member and /or officer sessions and they are able to arrange visits to relevant council pairs. Both chief executives have been invited to join an ‘Action Learning Set’ comprised of chief executives already in joint posts from whom much could be learnt. Much of this support can be provided at no extra cost to Councils

5. CONCLUSIONS 5.1 In conclusion, it is considered that all the proposals put forward are realistic and achievable, and there is evidence to support that it has happened elsewhere through the research from the IDeA.

5.2 This discussion paper is intended to enable Members to consider the opportunities that can be explored and for Members to indicate their level of appetite and commitment to a shared management/delivery alliance. Clearly the financial situation for both Councils will continue to be challenging, and neither Council can continue to fund efficiencies as they have in past years without affecting service delivery. The Councils need to look at a shared solution, but recognise that there may be challenging decisions for Members along the way.

5.3 The process will not be without cost. Clearly there will be a need to consider investing monies to save in the longer term. There will be changes in service delivery, and if shared management is pursued, there will be changes in how Officers and Members work together, and working practices, and these are all matters to be explored.

5.4 There are risks, and the recommendations have regard to these. In looking at those risks, the recommendation for looking at a shared Chief Executive in year one, rather than progressing a full shared Management Team, is one such consideration, and it is proposed that this will also address any concerns Members may have around trust and confidence of a shared arrangement. It would retain corporate expertise whilst the Councils consider other projects for development.

5.5 The business case and opportunities presented in this report presents a positive way forward for both authorities where they are in charge of their own destiny where they can make efficiency savings and service improvements to the benefit of the community.

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List of appendices

1. IDeA paper – “Shared Chief Executives and Joint Management: A Model for the future?”

2. Summary of strands of various potential savings

3. Case Studies – IT ; Revenues and Benefits; Lichfield Staffordshire Mooreland & Serco ICT

4. Proposed Terms of Reference for Shared Services Programme Board

5. SPARSE and National Indicator Performance comparative data

6. Review of Procurement for Contracted Services

7. Risk Assessment generic and specific

8. Analysis of service efficiencies from SPARSE data

9. Assessment Matrix template

10. Programme Timetable

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136 APPENDIX 2

SUMMARY OF STRANDS OF VARIOUS POTENTIAL SAVINGS

An adjustment has been made for some implementation costs in corporate management savings.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total £ 000s £ 000s £ 000s cumulative £ 000s Shared Chief Ex 40 85 85 Shared IT 10 50 50 Shared Revs & Bens 20 120 Shared MT 200 200 Shared ADs/Middle 250 Managers Total 50 355 705 1,110

Transformation Projects: Further potential efficiency savings from service based projects (based on average costs of rural district councils – see appendix 8) to be examined in detail £ 000s Housing strategy 189 Tourism 560 Cemeteries 216 Env. Health 800 Economic & Comm Dev. 264 Homelessness 68 Potential Total £2.1M

Potential service based projects: Recreation and Sport 383 Licensing 52 Building Control 101 Development Control 140 Corp & Dem. Core 923 Potential Total £1.6M

Implementation costs not assessed

The distribution between authorities of these savings will be agreed as part of the business case

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138 APPENDIX 3 [i] Case Study – Sharing an IT Services Manager

Background South Lakeland implemented a management restructure and the opportunity was taken to obtain external support to provide an informed view on current arrangements and make recommendations in respect of re-structuring the IT section. A key recommendation from the report was to take the opportunity to share an IT Manager with a neighboring authority and that Eden District Council would be an appropriate partner. The report recognised that Eden has a small but very highly regarded IT team (8 FTEs including the IT Service Manager and the GIS Manager). With such a small team, Eden has an even worse critical cover risk than SLDC and so has much to gain from an expanded pool of resources. The two authorities were already co-operating successfully on the replacement of their Revenues and Benefits software. Both authorities use the Excelsior CRM software and Innogistics application for Planning, Building Control and Land Charges. The report referred to it being tempting to extend the scope of an IT shared service to include everything straight away but concluded that it would be less risky to regard the arrangement, initially at least, as a trial with a shared manager. Over time, this could develop naturally into a more complete shared arrangement but this limited engagement approach also meant that it could start as soon as terms were agreed informally between the two authorities, without the need for full service contracts and joint governance arrangements.

What has happened to date Half way into the six month trial of shared IT Management and some significant benefits have already been realised. Much of the work at SLDC so far has focussed on: • new ways of working for the IT team, and • things that can be done to improve customer perception of the IT Service. This means that that there has not yet been a detailed look at opportunities that may arise from sharing more fully, but already a great deal of potential can be seen. Current benefits One person cannot do the same job twice in the same time; this means working more strategically and delegating more operational work. At Eden an interim a deputy was appointed, and she has really risen to the challenge of additional responsibility. This effect, over time, ripples down the team, giving everyone a sense of enhanced responsibility and worth. There are things (methods, procedures, solutions) that have been applied at one Council and which can be applied at the other. For example, IT at SLDC is rather light on strategy and policy. There is a robust strategy and a library of policies at Eden that can be applied at SLDC with only minor tweaking so a variant on economy of scale. Sharing just the IT Manager is low risk, but it is enough to gain insight into what could be achieved if both authorities commit to sharing.

139 APPENDIX 3 [i] Cashable Savings to date No cashable savings have been realised to date as the current arrangements are temporary and will be reviewed after 6 months. However if made permanent, each Council could save approximately 40% of the cost of having their own IT Manager. Potential Future Cashable Savings There is potential for future benefits realisation including savings. Some examples are: Shared IT infrastructure. For some years now Eden have been working towards the ‘Council in a shoebox’ idea, whereby the IT for Eden can be dumped in a shoebox, carried to another location, started up there and people can carry on working as if nothing had happened. It is based on some core technologies, such as virtualisation and Citrix. SLDC also makes heavy use of these technologies. There is no reason why we can’t extend this idea and work towards having a single data centre – ie a single location with a load of hardware in it and very good telecommunications links. The hardware in there can run virtual servers used by SLDC and Eden. It won’t matter where people are working from, they will be able to access their systems. There would be start up costs associated with this – primarily to establish the communications links - but there would be ongoing savings in hardware, software and staff. Very rough guess: once up and running, the 2 Councils could between them save at least £50K pa in hardware and software. Software systems – and the services that use them. Once there is a shared infrastructure, it becomes even easier to merge software systems. Areas that both authorities have in common include:- • Environmental Health (FLARE) • Elections (Halarose) • Planning and building control (FASTSuite by Innogistic) • CRM (Excelsior) It has not been possible to put figures on these, but we can perhaps extrapolate from the Revs & Bens experience. Other shared IT Services There are other areas where we can successfully share staff: Web strategy - . Eden has an excellent Web Manager who is capable of managing a web strategy for SLDC too. It would be natural for such a strategy to include convergence of the websites. This could mean that both sites would use the same software and be hosted in the same place. Over time, the web sites could merge if this was a preferred option. Web publishing - Eden is currently investigating a move to a centralised web publishing approach. This could be pursued in partnership with SLDC – ie both Councils would share a single dedicated team that was responsible for publishing material to both web sites (and later on, the one merged website) Technical infrastructure management - As mentioned above, with a single infrastructure, the technical management at SLDC could support both Councils easily Disaster recovery - By having a shared infrastructure, but with more than 1 location that we could run the infrastructure from, we have the ideal flexibility for excellent

140 APPENDIX 3 [i] disaster recovery. This should save maybe £10K per Council; possibly a lot more (depending on the nature of SLDC’s DR contracts). Procurement - There are savings to be made here from what we need to buy rather than how much we pay for it. This is because with things like hardware, both Councils already get aggressively discounted products and we couldn’t save much by buying twice as many of anything. Hard to quantify at present. Future Outcomes for the Organisation / Community These are hard to put a cash value on, but some of these things are already proving to be hugely beneficial: Sharing of skills and experience saves time and boosts morale. Lots of examples of this, including two potentially major areas that we’ll be looking at soon: These include getting together to evaluate CoCo 4.1 – what is the best way to tackle this effectively (and cheaply) and also getting together to discuss designing a file plan, and how SharePoint can help with this Sharing in this way is particularly beneficial as both Councils are small, which means that often 1 person can have a problem spinning around in his/her head but when 2 people can discuss it instead, the issues surface more quickly The potential is there for better cover, again important with small teams. For example Eden are particularly stretched when it comes to support for telephone systems More opportunities for staff. Another difficulty that small Councils face is staff development. You get a job in a Council, and there is no progression – there are very few other jobs that you can aspire to. With a single, larger team there are more possibilities There will be much more that can be done – the more we dig into this, the more will be found.

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142 APPENDIX 3[ii]

Case Study – Procurement of Revenues and Benefits Software

Background South Lakeland currently uses the Pericles revenues and benefits software and the Information@Work document management system both of which were owned by Anite Public Sector Ltd up until November 2008 when Anite was purchased by Northgate Public Services. Within months of the acquisition it was announced that Pericles would not be supported beyond December 2010 as Northgate have their own revenues and benefits software. This then placed South Lakeland along with 35 other local authorities using Pericles in a very difficult, high risk position as none were planning to migrate to new systems and none had the resources identified to contemplate such a major project. Initial discussions with Eden DC were already taking place to explore opportunities for closer working. Currently Eden do not have a document management system and are too small to justify the capital investment for such a system. They also had some concerns regarding their own revenues and benefits system, in particular its small customer base. However discussions regarding potentially moving to Pericles and Information@Work stalled following the Northgate acquisition. These discussions resumed and the opportunity was taken for staff from both Councils to jointly attend software demonstrations from the main suppliers. During these meetings it became clear that there is a good working relationship between staff and that the profile of the customer base (especially benefits) is very similar. Although Eden were not being forced to move away from their existing supplier, it was recognised that with only a small number of councils using the same system they may also be in a vulnerable position. Eden therefore considered that the opportunity should be taken to join in the joint procurement.

What has happened to date A joint procurement exercise was commenced with both Council being able to pool resources and share costs. On 16th September an Invitation to Tender [ITT] was issued to the three software suppliers which had responded to the previously issued contract notice. Both Councils had by then agreed that it could be run as a joint procurement. Following a detailed evaluation of the tender documentation both Councils decided to award the contract to Civica. A detailed project plan has been completed with the SLDC implementation commencing in January 2010 and the new system going live from October 2010. The Eden implementation will follow on in December 2010 with their system being live from September 2011. One of the great benefits of the joint approach is that both councils can support each other during implementation. This has been formalised in an agreement between the two councils. The phased approach to implementation will help to ensure that both councils are not at the most pressured point at the same time, thereby allowing the less pressured to relieve the other minimising the risks associated with a project of this scale.

143 APPENDIX 3[ii]

Cashable Savings to date As this is a highly specialised procurement, specialist support was bought in. This was partly funded out of existing budgets and a grant of £9,000 to the two councils from the Cumbria Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. This would not have been available if this had not been run as a joint procurement. Each tenderer was asked to submit prices for each council separately and then a combined price for a joint implementation. By procuring together there is a combined saving of £96,000 in one off implementation costs and £14,500 in annual charges. Total cost of ownership for evaluation purposes was calculated over seven years and so jointly the two authorities have effectively gained a discount of £197,500 by buying together. Potential Future Cashable Savings By implementing in a similar way and working closely together in future, a number of efficiency savings will be realised. These include reduced running costs as it is likely that the systems will run on the same hardware. So things liked shared system administration, shared printing costs, shared training, shared consultancy should all be areas where rather than resourcing individually could be provided by one or other of the councils or procured jointly. Importantly however, a joint procurement could facilitate a move to a shared service, which would realise significant cost savings and approval has been given by both councils to develop a detailed business case for a shared service. Procuring the same software does not guarantee that a shared service will be developed as this will require a separate and extensive business case. However, if the councils were not to share software, a shared service would not be workable. The size of a shared service would be as follows; • £99m Council Tax collected from 73,000 households • £53m Business Rates collected from 10,000 businesses • £28m Benefits paid to 9,000 claimants • Currently 63 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) staff If economies of scale of between 6% and 8%* could be realised this would generate annual savings of £120,000 so when added to the figure above results in efficiencies in excess of a £1million over a 7 year time frame. These may be realised through staff savings. * savings of this order are estimated to arise from the shared revenues and benefits service between Allerdale, Copeland and Carlisle. This is included in their detailed business case. Future Outcomes for the Organisation / Community A final consideration is potential non cashable benefits. If progressed the service will cover a geographic area in excess on 1000 sq miles. Access to latest technology, self service and mobile working could transform the way services are delivered especially from Local Links and one stop shops throughout the districts.

144 APPENDIX 3[ii]

Also with two existing, relatively small teams there are always issues about resilience and an ability to provide a high quality of service at all times. These will need to be assessed and considered as the detailed business case is being developed.

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146 APPENDIX 3 [iii]

Case Study – Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorland and SERCO ICT Partnership

Background Partners: Lichfield District Council Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Serco Solutions – private sector partner

The drivers for each partner to enter into the partnership: The discussion between the Councils to jointly explore options for collaboration initially came from an informal discussion between the two project sponsors at a Staffordshire E-Government Officer Board meeting with neither Council having any history of working together previously. Both Councils had a history of poor ICT provision with problems that included:

- Problems in recruiting and retaining qualified staff – all 3 of the senior technical posts were vacant at Lichfield District.

- Concerns over the level and quality of service provision across the range of IT applications. This was particularly highlighted through the work that was being carried out in conjunction with the Staffordshire e-government partnership, and there were concerns in both Councils that they would not be able to meet their e-government objectives. Business Continuity and error/change management were established as being high risk areas. The absence of clear strategic direction for the IT services function in particular and the provision of IT services across the Councils as a whole.

- During 2001 both Lichfield District and Staffordshire Moorlands independently Underwent a Best Value review of their ICT provision and identified that substantial improvements would need to be made to deliver a service that would meet their current as well as future requirements. SOCITM had been engaged to assist both Councils and it became apparent that there was much to gain from a joint approach. What has happened to date When Lichfield District and Staffordshire Moorlands commenced work towards their e- government objectives in 2000, both Councils felt that an innovative approach was needed in order to create the best service possible. Having discussed the project, the Councils shared a belief that in order to truly deliver on e-government objectives, they needed to exploit the joint vision, expertise and economies of scale presented through a partnership approach.

Initially it was not clear whether this would result in an externalised service, but after a full options appraisal it became clear that by outsourcing the delivery of IT services to an external provider, the Councils would be able to access a greater bank of resources,

147 APPENDIX 3 [iii] rely on 24/7/365 service and be able to acquire all of the skills required to meet the challenges of e-government.

The combined contract size on offer from the two Councils could attract a wider range of better quality service providers. And once a provider had been selected, the Councils shared support costs such as legal fees and consultancy so more funds could be dedicated into improving a wider range of services. In addition, there was twice the number of resources to assess the market and evaluate the various solutions proposed – reducing the overall time invested by each Council.

The partnership model and governance structure, linked to each council/partners’ existing governance structure, with graphic if possible and description of partnership: There is both a shared partnership approach in respect of maximising the potential for the Partnership and also individual contract monitoring, undertaken by the Councils. In essence this can be portrayed as follows: The Strategic Partnership Board is a forum for overseeing the direction of the Partnership, seeking opportunities for further innovation and exploiting the benefits of joint working. Both Councils also meet regularly with Serco in a joint service review meeting to work on the programme for continuous improvement, resolution of any operational issues and implementation of joint approaches. Each Council also monitors the performance of the contract with regard to the achievement of the Service Level Agreements, cost and user satisfaction.

Cashable Savings to date - Shared procurement/legal costs resulted in savings for each Council of approximately £30k - Savings of in excess of £700,000 over the life of the contract as a result of their being one solution covering two Councils - Ongoing efficiency benefits built into the contract year on year e.g. reduced unit prices - Savings through collaboration on projects such as disaster recovery - Partnership funding granted by ODPM towards the investment needed of £150,000 - Sharing of costs and benefits – arrangements agreed

The contract provides for a “risk reward” option whereby the Councils and Serco can identify savings opportunities/innovation on a shared approach basis.

Efficiency non-cashable gains: Efficiency gains, the ‘more for the same’ scenarios. Productivity benefits include: - Helpdesk support to suit business needs – activities like the theatre and leisure centres get the service when they need it - Provision of management information enables problems to be resolved quicker, trends to be highlighted - Continuous improvement built into service delivery plans - Skilled resource pool from Serco at competitive rates to ensure the Councils are at the forefront of e-government through supporting new system implementations (e.g.

148 APPENDIX 3 [iii]

- Document management system), change management initiatives (e.g. Customer First) and upgrades on major back office systems

Service Quality impact: - All aspects of service specified and monitored - Contract operating within budget - Remote diagnostics on every desktop – first time fix rate generally 60% – 70% - User satisfaction good – recently 5.31 against rating of 1 to 6 which is about 88% - Service standards achieving performance rate of 93% - Continued opportunities for collaboration e.g. disaster recovery - Strategic Partnership Board exploring opportunities for innovation e.g. digital pens and mobile/home working - Upgrades completed smoothly

Potential Future Cashable Savings The contract, which was worth about £3 million for a 5-year term and extended a further 2 years, has been in place for 7 years and the partnership is currently out to tender to renew the contract. High Peak Council and High Peak Community Housing have joined in to the shared process and partnership. When Lichfield Council asked 5 of the interested companies what the impact of separating from the process would be, only 1 out of 5 companies said there would be no financial implication, the remaining companies reported significantly raised costs if they went out to tender independently of the partnership. Lichfield has no intention to withdraw from the partnership. Outcomes for the Organisation / Community All aspects of service are now specified and monitored. The contract with Serco Solutions is operating within budget and Serco Solutions is exceeding the initial service level agreements in many areas. Remote diagnostics are on every desktop and user satisfaction has been maintained. Service standards have consistently been achieved. Agreement to a joint business continuity services (reducing the single delivery cost by 30%). The mechanism has been established to allow both Councils to share hardware platforms for common systems. CPA ratings for Lichfield District and Staffordshire Moorlands are Good, as opposed to the other 8 Councils in Staffordshire, which have been rated Fair. The CPA said in their report on Lichfield District that IT was now at the heart of the Council’s developments. Both Councils have gone from a Best Value Review that identifies ICT as a failing service to being given external recognition for their achievements. This includes: Winning an Innovation in Procurement award 2003. Winning the Best IT Outsourcing Deal 2004. Highly commended in the SOCITM/SOLACE/INTELLECT

149 APPENDIX 3 [iii]

Excellence in IT awards 2004. SMDC being shortlisted for a Beacon award in Procurement (outcome awaited) LDC leading on the regional e-government project for the West Midlands, Business Matters, and in the final stage of negotiation to take ownership of one of the national egovernment projects, Working with Business: Both Councils participating with two neighbours in an ODPM funded E-Innovations project The Councils have also been able to fully support the development of the Staffordshire Connects e-government Partnership, which has won the APSE Best partnership award for 2005 and has also been shortlisted for a Beacon award. In the main timelines and objectives have been achieved although it is fair to say that it has taken more time than originally expected to fully realise the benefits of the Partnership given the complexity of working across two Councils and the private sector. The model is now functioning fully and used by Serco solutions to demonstrate how smaller Councils can access a high quality of private sector provision at an affordable price. From an operational perspective the Partnership provided a solid IT platform for the successful delivery of electronic services - without which foundation the Councils’ vision of e-government would never have been achieved. The project has also given the Councils access to management, IT and organisational advice from Serco Solutions. Overall both Councils regard the procurement project as a success, having achieved its objectives within the defined timescales and carrying the relevant staff in both Councils with it.

Perhaps most importantly, IT is now something that is taken for granted and the Council can concentrate on the strategic direction of ICT, not just the day-to-day. The partnership approach has given the Councils financial benefits in terms of sharing resources and economies of scale as well as operational benefits. The year-on-year savings in the contract have been realised, contributing towards efficiency.

Full case study available at: http://www.yhcoe.rcoe.gov.uk/rce/aio/30195

150

APPENDIX 4

Proposed Membership and Terms of Reference for Shared Services Programme Board The Shared Services Board chaired by the Chief Executives alternately, will be established with appropriate management representation from each Council. It will have a reporting line to each Council in the context of respective governance arrangements and delegated authorities. Representation from each Authority 2 Management Team representatives (Chief Executive plus one) 2 Executive Members (Leader plus one) 1 Joint Consultative Panel/Committee member (non voting)

The Board will work to the following term of reference: • To consider proposals for joint working and develop the detailed model and business plan for achieving savings and improving service performance. • To make recommendations for a programme of service reviews and transformation. • To make recommendations to each Council in respect of any proposals under consideration based on a consensus of the Board. • To establish and monitor appropriate performance indicators for services provided under joint arrangements. • To report to each authority as required and a minimum of quarterly, including the monitoring of performance indicators, with a formal review of all activities produced on an annual basis. • To recommend to each Council any amendments to established joint working arrangements following monitoring of the same.

The Board will also call for such further support from both Members or Officers within the Councils and externally, as they may require.

151

152 SPARSE Performance - Revenue Estimates Analysis - 2009/10

The analysis is taken from the RA revenue estimate returns made by each authority to the Government. It shows authority expenditure per head divided into key areas of service and provides a comparison with relevant benchmarks. The data is sourced from RA returns relating to the 2009/10 budget estimates.

Authority: Eden SPARSE Average Authority: South Lakeland South South Eden SPARSE Eden SPARSE Lakeland Average Lakeland Average Parking -3.39 -19.15 -6.05 Highways & Transport Public transport 12.27 17.39 9.39 10.96 -1.08 4.25 Other highways and transport 2.08 0.68 0.91

Housing strategy 7.30 5.92 4.68 Homelessness 4.14 3.90 3.39 Housing Other housing 0.00 0.00 0.56 19.81 16.04 15.96 Housing welfare and Supporting People 0.00 0.00 0.21 Housing benefits 8.36 6.23 7.10

Culture and heritage 5.90 7.14 3.98 Recreation and sport 9.60 13.26 10.94 Culture & Related Services Open spaces 10.73 3.10 5.93 32.24 29.81 23.04 Tourism 6.01 6.31 2.18 Library service 0.00 0.00 0.00 South SPARSE Cemetery, cremation and mortuary services 2.41 1.70 0.60 Eden Lakeland Average Environmental health 21.23 16.70 12.47 Total Expenditure Licensing 0.87 -0.11 0.79 186.80 157.59 150.94 Environmental & Regulatory Services Community safety 4.53 2.37 3.05 58.59 62.84 52.12 Flood defence, land drain. and coast protect. 0.13 1.39 2.44 Other environmental services 0.00 0.00 0.01 Street cleansing 6.47 9.84 8.81 Waste management 22.95 30.95 23.96

Building control 3.14 1.23 2.26 Development control 7.88 5.25 7.67 Planning & Development Services Planning policy 3.37 5.10 5.55 21.56 19.32 20.98 Environmental initiatives 1.91 0.00 0.64 Economic and community development 5.26 7.75 4.86

Corporate and democratic core 32.91 15.59 21.24 Central Services Local tax collection 9.04 4.15 9.73 47.42 30.66 36.77 Emergency planning 0.98 1.03 0.65 Other central costs 4.49 9.89 5.14 Other Services Other services -3.78 0.00 0.13 -3.78 0.00 0.13

Population Eden: 51,900 Key to Colour Coding South Lakeland: 104,400 Authority expenditure is lower than the benchmark 153 Authority expenditure is between 0% & 20% higher than the benchmark Authority expenditure is over 20% higher than the benchmark

154 APPENDIX 5[ii] EDC/SLDC Comparison

Highways & Transport Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: Number of pay & display parking Parking Current N/Ap 294 4461 N/Av spaces within the district

Housing Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: % of previously developed land that NI Housing strategy has been vacant or derelict for more 2008/09 0.67% 0.15% N/Av 170 than 5 years Number of households who applied Homelessness for assistance under the CY 2009 18 73 N/Av homelessness legislation NI Net additional homes provided 2008/09 105 155 143 154 Other housing NI Number of affordable homes 2008/09 23 86 43 155 delivered (gross) Housing welfare and NI Number of households living in 2008/09 18 29 21 Supporting People 156 temporary accommodation NI Changes in HB/CTB entitlements Housing benefits 2008/09 1942.3 1436 N/Av 180 within the year

155 APPENDIX 5[ii]

Culture Related Services Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: Place % satisfied with local parks and open Open spaces 2008/09 64.4% 69.2% 66.4% Survey spaces

Environmental & Regulatory Services Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: NI % of food establishments broadly Environmental health 184 2008/09 95.3%E 96% N/Av compliant with food hygiene law

NI Serious acquisitive crime rate 2008/09 190 463 491 16 Community safety NI Assault with injury crime 2008/09 118 352 387 20 NI Improved street cleanliness - litter 2008/09 1% 5% 3% 195a NI Improved street cleanliness - detritus 2008/09 7% 13% 8% 195b NI Street cleansing Improved street cleanliness - graffiti 2008/09 0% 0% 1% 195c NI Improved street cleanliness - fly 2008/09 0% 0% 0% 915d posting NI Improved street cleanliness - fly 2008/09 3 4 2 196 tipping

156 APPENDIX 5[ii]

NI Residual household waste/household 2008/09 481 507 640 Waste management 191 - kg NI % of household waste recycled / 2008/09 47.86% 46.12% 42.28% 192 composted Planning and development Services Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: NI % of major applications determined in 2008/09 44.44% 76.47% 70.97% 157a 13 weeks NI % of minor applications determined in Building control 2008/09 71.67% 81.36% 77.05% 157b 13 weeks NI % of other applications processed 2008/09 78.91% 87.67% 84.68% 157c NI Supply of ready to develop housing Planning policy 2008/09 114% 161% 127% 159 sites Environmental NI Adapting to climate change 2008/09 0 0 0 initiatives 188 Economic and NI community New businesses registration rate CY 2008 49.9 57.7 47.7 171 development

Central Services Good Reporting South District Service PI Description Performance Eden Period Lakeland Average is shown as: Days sick leave 2008/09 8.42 10 Corporate and NI democratic core % of avoidable contact 2008/09 23.10% 9.70% 29.73% 14 % of Council Tax collected by the Local tax collection 2008/09 99.00% 98.47% authority in the year The district average has been calculated using data from only districts within Cumbria.

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158 APPENDIX 6

Review of Procurement for Key Contracted Services

Contract EDC SLDC Expiry Who Expiry Who Waste 2012 Enterprise 2017 In house Leisure 2012 2012 SLL Services Parkwood Management Audit 2012 Furness 2010 Furness Grounds Maintenance 2012 Enterprise 2017 Building 2012 In-house Cleaning Enterprise Car parking rolling Carlisle In-house City

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160 APPENDIX 7

Risk Assessment

A joint project of this character is not unknown and the risk factors which are likely to arise are documented in guidance available to both Councils. The main risk incurred by both authorities is a loss of public confidence in their ability to function as competent authorities. The matrix has been constructed with this issue in mind. There are a number of generic risk categories which need to be considered

Risk Definition Examples Political Associated with the failure to deliver either local or central New political government policy or meet the local administration’s arrangements, manifest commitment Political personalities, Political make-up Economic Affecting the ability of the council to meet its financial Cost of living, changes commitments. These include internal budgetary pressures, in interest rates, the failure to purchase adequate insurance cover, external inflation, poverty macro level economic changes or consequences proposed indicators investment decisions Social Relating to the effects of changes in demographic, Staff levels from residential or socio-economic trends on the council’s ability available workforce, to meet its objectives ageing population, health statistics Technological Associated with the capacity of the Council to deal with the E-Gov. agenda, pace/scale of technological change, or its ability to use IT infrastructure, technology to address changing demands. They may also Staff/client needs, include the consequences of internal technological failures security standards on the council’s ability to deliver its objectives Legislative Associated with current or potential changes in national or Human rights, European law Appliance or non- appliance of TUPE regulations Environmental Relating to the environmental consequences of progressing Land use, recycling, the council’s strategic objectives pollution Professional/ Associated with the particular nature of each profession, Staff restructure, key Managerial internal protocols and managerial abilities personalities, internal Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 1 161 capacity Financial Associated with financial planning and control Budget overspends, level of council tax, level of reserves Legal Related to possible breaches of legislation Client brings legal challenge Physical Related to fire, security, accident prevention and health and Offices in poor state of safety repair, use of equipment Partnership/ Associated with failure of contractors and partnership Contractor fails to Contractual arrangements to deliver services or products to the agreed deliver, partnership cost and specification agencies do not have common goals Competitive Affecting the competitiveness of the service (in terms of cost Fail to win quality or quality) and/or its ability to deliver best value accreditation, position in league tables Customer/ Associated with failure to meet the current and changing Managing expectations, Citizen needs and expectations of customers and citizens extent of consultation

Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 2 162

The following table contains those which are considered to be the principal risks to be managed at this stage of the project.

WORK IN PROGRESS Name Vulnerability Trigger Likelihood Impact Consequence Mitigation (6) (4) Loss of Public Confidence in Loss of political will to Service failure Government Committed leadership the Councils ability to deliver deliver the project Poor assessment score intervention from a shared Corporate A competent services Difficulty in engaging CAA or UOR 3 4 Increased Management team with public to deliver Poor media coverage of Complaints and Coordinated need led services the Councils performance Ombudsman communications Loss of staff challenges finding Strong Project confidence against the Councils Management approach and benefits realisation process Loss of political will to Service failure Government Clarity about Loss of Member confidence deliver the project Poor assessment score intervention expectation at outset. B in the Corporate Loss of confidence of CAA or UOR Increased Clear deliverables management team to the Management team Poor media coverage of 4 3 Complaints and expected by members. manage the two authorities from the Leaders and the Councils performance Ombudsman Phased delivery of or Key politicians Loss of accessible challenges finding change at Corporate Disagreement between contact between against the Councils Management level to members of the Members and key Disciplinary limit loss of experience corporate team Management staff proceedings and and confidence, Staff morale falls formal investigations retaining independent Directors in first phase to foster the development of trust between authorities Raised focus on communication and scheduled briefings to replace informal contacts.

Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 3 163 Name Vulnerability Trigger Likelihood Impact Consequence Mitigation (6) (4) Service quality deteriorates Loss of focus on Workload pressures. Increased Retain Corporate in one or both Councils as a service Loss of focus due to scale Complaints and Directors to provide C result of shared services Poor management. of delivery 3 2 Ombudsman continuity during year control because of Poor budget prioritisation challenges finding one phase. increased workload. against the Councils Clarity about Raised expectations expectation at outset. within community Clear deliverables expecting service to identified fail. communication across separated teams Investment in IT links The competence of the Loss of expertise Annual audit of accounts Audit letter Using the higher Eden Financial performance of the Mismatched financial Internal audit probe Low UOR score UOR to raise SLDC D Councils is compromised systems UOR investigation 3 3 Potential process Poor financial Government Better use of reporting across intervention Technology to deliver divided services overall financial control Reducing UOR scores for individual Councils Scale need not equal complexity Staff Morale is diminished as SLDC staff question February Council report. Loss of key staff Shared ownership of a result of the project why the need to share Project specification for departing to safer the business case following soon after the shared Corporate jobs Collaboration on all E restructure Management teams. 5 3 Increased sickness aspects of the report Eden ask why do we Project specification for absence and project need to change individual shared Low performance Context of the shared Corporate services. levels services project Management teams at Internal conflicts against a backdrop of both Councils feel between corporate increasing expenditure threatened and staff deficits targeted by the Key learning from IdeA proposals. and others

Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 4 164 Name Vulnerability Trigger Likelihood Impact Consequence Mitigation (6) (4) Communications are not Poor coordination Competing press releases Inconsistent reports Managed harmonised and result in resulting from the Lack of coordination in of the project in the communications within F inconsistent messages about politics for both press releases media the project from a the project authorities, or the Different key messages 3 3 Investigation by the communications plan ambition of one or both about the project media and others Agreed key messages Councils to be seen to delivered by spokes into mismanaged at each reporting stage make the running persons from both project Nominated authorities Reputational damage spokespersons from Poor staff and each authority to liaise member morale with media Loss of political buy Coordinated articles in in from members staff and community Low expectations journals and poor Single press release engagement partners policy and from communities Managers appointed to Chief Executive, Increased sickness Increased absence Clarity in Job deliver joint or shared Corporate absence reduced work output descriptions G services are stretched Management or other Poor interpersonal and 2 3 Decreasing Improved recruitment beyond their capacity and joint management staff intra team relationships satisfaction with and selection process suffer stress or health appointed to joint roles Deteriorating member Council Clarity and honesty breakdowns cannot cope with officer relationships Reduced senior between members and pressure capacity to resolve officers about what is issues and feasible to achieve as challenges a consequence of Reduced flexibility shred management Savings are not realised by Poor business Double accounting Insufficient return on Good business H the joint project planning process Savings on joint services project planning Optimistic accounting that turn into costs Revenue budgets Objective Insufficient rigour in Requirements for last which are not measurement of determining minute fixes for IT and 3 2 sustainable benefits and use of in consequential costs of service procedures which Crisis efficiency house auditors to track planned savings were not accounted for drives the project Insufficient challenge Unplanned and Regular reporting to to the timescale and considered cuts to members the susceptibility of the services Joint political oversight Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 5 165 Name Vulnerability Trigger Likelihood Impact Consequence Mitigation (6) (4) programme to be of project by members delayed by staff or confident to challenge external factors officers Political tensions between The differing political Local Council & General Lack of cooperation Joint presentations and the two administrations lead positions of both election results may raise between authorities training events I to a lack of political will to Councils could lead to concerns 3 4 Failing consensus on Clarity about savings continue with the tensions. Allegations of outcomes and the benefits arrangements a single Council Lack of political will deriving to each takeover or Political to deliver difficult authority conversion change Facilitation for joint meetings where required Inconsistent professional Project advice to Assessments of LA Decisions for Risk issue addressed J advice on financial, legal, HR executives is powers and competencies Executive’s are up front in the project or IT issues provided to each presented from differs made more complex and agreed protocols executive by in house staff perspective of what we Short comings in IT Joint savings can be established for advice can’t do rather than systems are a seen as a 2 2 obscured by the on these issues to be how the Councils can blockage to progress technical difficulties commissioned jointly surmount technical rather than a prescription in achieving them rather than obstacles. for investment to save Pragmatic issues independently HR policies , terms and around joint working Work practices and conditions, and or severance present policies assessed and ER/VR/CR policies not insurmountable aligned where aligned and create problems. applicable. difficulties for joint working Reduced capacity to focus Wider remit of Chief Adverse Audit Concerns Challenge to Regular review of key K on governance issues Executive and MT 2 2 decision making governance issues, could lead to reduced processes, increased including robust project focus on essential complaints planning and delivery governance issues Potential for disagreement Two separate decision Members fail to reach Projects falter, audit Openness and L between the Councils making bodies and agreement on equitable 2 3 challenge transparency and early around apportioning costs duty to deliver value for distribution of costs and agreements on project and savings money for each savings delivery community

Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 6 166

This table shows the profiled risks as assessed by officers. If the project is taken forward the Shared Service Board will be tasked with agreeing scores for likelihood and impact in order that a joint appetite for risk can be profiled.

6 very high E 5 high A 4 significant C, H, L D, F B, I 3 low

Likelihood J, K G 2 very low 1 almost impossible 1 2 3 4 negligible marginal critical catastrophic (mostly (some (almost no success) success) success)

Version 6 12/02/2010 15:47 7 167

168 Eden population 53,300.00 Appendix 8 SLDC polulation 104,800.00

Potential Transformation District potential for potential for projects: Council SLDC diff efficiences EDEN diff efficiences Housing strategy £4.77 £5.92 £1.15 £120,520 £7.30 £2.53 £134,849 Tourism £1.91 £6.31 £4.40 £461,120 £6.01 £4.10 £218,530 Cemetries £0.34 £1.70 £1.36 £142,528 £2.41 £2.07 £110,331 Environmental health £12.32 £16.70 £4.38 £459,024 £21.23 £8.91 £474,903 Economic and Community development £4.36 £7.75 £3.39 £355,272 £5.26 £0.90 £47,970 Homelessness £3.81 £3.90 £0.09 £9,432 £4.14 £0.33 £17,589 £1,547,896 £1,004,172

potential for potential for Sparse 51 SLDC diff efficiences EDEN diff efficiences Housing strategy £5.19 £5.92 £0.73 £76,504 £7.30 £2.11 £112,463 £188,967 Tourism £2.67 £6.31 £3.64 £381,472 £6.01 £3.34 £178,022 £559,494 Cemetries £0.57 £1.70 £1.13 £118,424 £2.41 £1.84 £98,072 £216,496 Environmental health £13.16 £16.70 £3.54 £370,992 £21.23 £8.07 £430,131 £801,123 Economic and Community development £5.24 £7.75 £2.51 £263,048 £5.26 £0.02 £1,066 £264,114 Homelessness £3.55 £3.90 £0.35 £36,680 £4.14 £0.59 £31,447 £68,127 £1,247,120 £851,201 £2,098,321

Potential Service Projects: Diff Between authorities SLDC diff EDEN Diff Recreation and sport £13.26 £3.66 £383,568 £9.60 licensing -£0.11 £0.87 £0.98 £52,234 Building Control £1.23 £3.14 £1.91 £101,803 Development Control £5.25 £7.88 £2.63 £140,179

Corporate & Democratic core £15.59 £32.91 £17.32 £923,156 £383,568 £1,217,372

Total spend (figs from The figures listed above represent maximum potential SPARSE) SLDC EDEN efficiencies which could be targeted in those services but Housing strategy £620,416 £389,090 it is important to note that it may not be possible for the Tourism £661,288 £320,333 authorities to achieve the full level of savings because of Cemetries £178,160 £128,453 local factors within Districts. It is however important that Environmental health £1,750,160 £1,131,559 the project delivers a clear understanding of the reasons Economic and Community why service costs are at above average levels or not development £812,200 £280,358 consistent. Homelessness £408,720 £220,662

169

170 Appendix 9 Assessment Matrix – potential for Sharing Services Service name: ...... Scoring 0 1 2 3 4 Benefit Factors: Performance Reduced No change Modest Currently Significant improvement low, improvement improvement will follow Customer Reduced No change Modest Currently Significant Satisfaction improvement low, improvement improvement will follow Contribution to Reduced No change Modest Currently Significant council improvement low, improvement priorities improvement will follow Preserve / Reduced No change Modest Currently Significant enhance improvement low, improvement market towns / improvement rural areas will follow Resilience Reduced No change Modest Currently Significant /Capacity/ improvement low, improvement Expertise improvement will follow Financial None 1-5% 6-10% 11-20% 20%+ savings % Financial None 1-10K 11-30K 31-50K 50k+ savings £ Implementation Factors: Ease Legal Complex/ Significant Few issues Ripe for factors many issues issues change prevent Risk High High/med Medium Medium/Low Low

Opportunity/ Missed None Low Significant Ripe for Timing particularly change now (contracts ending/ vacancies/ funding) Timescale 3 years + Up to 3 years Up to 2 years Up to 1 year Less than 1 year Investment £100K + Up to 100K Up to 50K Up to 25K None required/ already available 1. Totals: 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Grand Total 8.

1 171

2 172 APPENDIX 10

Timeline for Project Board Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Management Single Chief Exec Review of Directors/ Contracts review: Managers reaching termination Service reviews: Drawing up Reviewing progress. programme Assessing Projects: To prepare benefits and lessons business cases for learned service projects

Recommendations Refining programme include:

Environmental Preparing further Services business cases

Planning Services

Regulatory Services

Elections

IT Revs and Bens

173

174 Item No. 12 (1)

EXECUTIVE REPORT TO COUNCIL

Period December 2009 to February 2010

This report represents a report on the work programme of the Executive for the information of all Council Members. Any questions arising from this report may be addressed during Cabinet Question Time, or directly with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

Executive Decisions

The Executive Decisions made since the last scheduled Council meeting on 10 December 2009 have been published and made available to Members, giving reasons for the decisions and alternative options considered where appropriate.

Reports from Leader and Portfolio Holders

Attached to this report is a summary of meetings attended by the Leader and Portfolio Holders during this period together with details of current issues.

Councillor Brendan Jameson Leader February 2010

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176 SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL

Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Hilary Stephenson Agenda 12(2) Central Services Portfolio Holder Item No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues The following matters have arisen with my Portfolio:- The Cumbrian Authorities and Lancaster City Council Member Development Network met for the second time in Penrith on 20th January 2010. Nine authorities were represented and there was a commitment to establishing a Member Development Programme to which each authority can contribute and the mutual benefits of such an initiative were considered. The aims are to provide excellent quality training locally and thereby cut down on travel costs, as well as share training opportunities and exchange ideas. Shared training could potentially include common core training such as Induction and the statutory services authorities provide such as Licensing and Planning. At the meeting it was agreed that, where possible, Members and officers would share training. All the recommendations from the Member Development Task and Finish Group are now in hand. The main one which is being implemented currently is to ‘Make better use of the Member’s area’. The Steering Group have considered some possibilities. Plans will be on display in the Members Room and comments are welcome. The next Steering Group meeting will consider the comments and as far as possible take account of them. These improvements will be carried out at no cost, making creative use of both the available space and office furniture which has become superfluous as the staff move into different work areas in South Lakeland House. An insight into the work of the contact centre and its advisers

At SLDC working in the contact centre is an exciting time. There has been a cultural change which has been taking place during the last four years. At first we were set in our ways and used to question why we should have to do things differently. Now we all recognise the importance of flexible working. Consequently the work is more interesting, more challenging and more satisfying, we are all developing different skills and have a greater confidence in ourselves.

All the Contact Centre Advisors have followed courses some alongside colleagues in Eden and Carlisle County Council. Sometimes it’s tempting to think that change is only affecting us in South Lakeland, but joint courses have demonstrated that organisations everywhere are responding to change.

177 We want as many services as possible to be dealt with through the Contact Centre, so that we can manage enquiries in an increasingly professional way, customers need only speak to one person, and officers are free to concentrate on aspects of their service which require higher levels of knowledge and expertise. Essentially the aim is for the Contact Centre to manage as much of the routine administration for the authority as possible. In doing so, the work of the contact centre staff becomes much more interesting whist helping us to further develop our skills and knowledge of every service area. Officers have increasing confidence in the Contact Centre Advisors and as this develops, more information can be handled by the Contact Centre. Advisors now have more insight into the work of the services as well as more and more interpersonal skills which are being made better use of. All advisors done up to Level 2 Customer Service NVQ, completed 2009. The Environmental Health Team has found that the utilisation of the contact centre staff, initially to handle more calls and requests for community service is being successful. It is realising benefits by allowing more dedicated business support time for the environmental health team to concentrate on more specialist and technical matters. As the new structure continues to embed it is anticipated that more routine call handling will move to the contact centre for other service areas. Other achievements in the contact centre include:- • Advisors now provide more complex information about Council Tax, take payments, assist with recycling roadshows. • Each advisor now has the ‘European Driving License’ which is an IT qualification taking 26 weekly sessions, from 6.00pm – 9.00pm, which has been a commitment made by each member of staff in their own time. The benefits to the organisation are the enhanced administration process and increasingly quicker ways of working. Meetings/Training attended November 2009 30th CMT/Cabinet Training Finance training LAPs meeting, Central Lakes December 2009 1st Corporate Plan briefing Kendal one stop shop meeting 3rd Equality Training Workshop 7th Corporate Plan Refresh Informal Cabinet 9th Cabinet Corporate Plan Refresh Action Follow-up 10th It Training Transformation Presentation Full Council 11th Portfolio Holder meeting with Chief Executive 14th Ulverston one stop shop meeting 15th Eden/South Lakeland Joint Executive meeting 16th Licensing Sub Committee Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 2 178 January 2010 4th Informal Cabinet 5th Capital Prioritisation 13th ‘Govern It’ Training 15th MSSG 19th NWEO Development Committee 20th Cumbrian Authorities and Lancaster City Council Member Development Network 27th Cabinet, CSPG 28th Windermere CSP February 2010 1st Portfolio Holder Briefing with Corporate Management Team 2nd Briefing with Contact Centre Manager 3rd HR Committee 4th Inspiring Councillors, Inspiring Communities Members Conference 2010 5th Lake Admin Committee 8th Informal Cabinet Eden/SLDC Joint Executive 9th Member Equality Champions Network 10th Cabinet Other Issues Since the beginning of 2009 an incredible amount of work has been done on Workforce Planning. Members will be aware of the council’s very comprehensive People Strategy which has been in place since 2007. The new Workforce plan, which was submitted to the Human Resources Committee on 19th Feb, and which comes to Council today, builds on the original strategy. The new plan provides an overview of the main issues facing South Lakeland District Council and our staff during the next three years. It identifies national, regional and local factors on how services will be delivered, the resulting impact on the workforce, and the actions the authority needs to take to meet current and future needs. Looking Forward In the coming weeks, work will include:- Work continues county wide to support our determination to reach the ‘achieving’ level of Equality and Diversity. At South Lakeland we have already made significant steps in this direction. The creation of the Member Equality Champion Group involving each of the Cumbrian authorities aims to share best practice and regular monthly meetings are intended to help maintain the impetus and drive the initiative forward in a systematic way. The progress of the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Task and Finish ICT Review of the service is in preparation, and will be presented soon.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 3 179

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Peter Thornton Agenda 12(3) Communities and Well Being Portfolio Item Holder No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues The following matters have arisen with my Portfolio:- Clare Lane Railway Bridge, Grange Over Sands • Scott Wilson have been appointed as specialist contractors to prepare the detailed engineering drawings and design work for the bridge, liaise with Network Rail and obtain build acceptance. They are currently preparing the detailed engineering drawings assisted by further detailed ground investigations to enable approval to be sought from Network Rail as to the precise design and engineering assumptions involved with the construction of the bridge. Once that has been obtained BAE will be in a position to fabricate the steel in accordance with the detailed engineering drawings. • We are still working towards an assumption of completion of the bridge by late Summer 2010. • As this report is going to press, I have just been notified that the “bridge” has now been transferred into the ownership of SLDC. Kendal Town Hall • There has been a problem with the boilers at Kendal Town Hall. They are currently running at half capacity which is resulting in some areas of the building being colder than normal. We are sorry about this and hope that the situation will be rectified as soon as possible. • Town Hall bookings have been good in recent months, the Beer Festival, Operatic Society Production of the Hot Mikado and the Mountain Festival at the end of last year were all very successful and all these hirers have booked again for 2010. The Midday Concerts series are again proving popular. A new over 60s keep fit class has proved so popular that they are now hiring the Assembly Room and welcome any Councillors who may wish to join. Ulverston Coronation Hall

• The number of bookings for hall hire remains steady with an increase in business use over recent months. Overall this year, occupancy is up at the moment and should stay up until the end of the year. There is now a people counter for footfall meaning that next year there will be statistics for comparison.

181 • There has been a new business booking - a travel show. The manager hopes it will become a regular feature. The Main Hall and all our technology was used and the event was well attended with the customer being very happy. Sports and Recreation

• A schools’ Judo project has been developed in partnership with Kendal Judo Club. Mike Liptrot and his team of coaches are now delivering 1 hour weekly sessions for 3 local schools and Kendal College. Some of these sessions are taking place at the Dojo and others at school sites. Funding has been secured to deliver more sessions beginning in April 2010 targeting the schools which have not been involved in the current project.

• Lighting has been installed at 2 MUGAs and is in full working order. The official "switch on" is 15th February. The MUGAs are at Sandylands and Hallgarth.

• Work has been completed at the Croftlands MUGA in Ulverston and is now available for youngsters to use. The official opening for this MUGA is the 18th February.

• A coach education programme has been developed for 2010 in partnership with Eden District Council. Courses will be delivered in both districts over the duration of the year. Thus far 16 courses have been booked taking us up to July 2010. Plans are in place with Eden to expand the scheme into the Autumn of 2010 and several courses have been booked for this period and will be marketed closer to the time. Other partners involved in this scheme are - Westmorland FA, Cumberland FA, England Netball and Cumbria Sport.

• Plans are in place to increase the number of participants in this year’s Great North Swim from 7,000 to 10,000. Meetings/Training attended • Various meetings of informal and formal Cabinet • Meetings with officers in connection with my portfolio • Head of Cumbria County Council Childrens Services and her officers in connection with matters pertaining to District Council issues on the Cumbria Children’s Trust • Cumbria Children’s Trust • Meetings of the South Lakeland Play Partnership. • Various meetings in connection with the Corporate Plan • Informal Cabinet meetings with Eden District Council • The Regional Strategic Lead for Sport England met with officers and myself • Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership • Meeting with Cabinet and officers to hear presentation by John Ashford

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Looking Forward In the coming weeks, work will include:- Arts Strategy Action Plan • Progress is being made on the refresh of the Arts Strategy Action Plan for South Lakeland. The task is being done in four stages. The first two stages - a mapping of the activity on actions that have been achieved over the last three years and prioritisation of objectives - has been completed. The next stage is to prioritise areas for development and identify new projects. The final stage will be to write and complete the refresh moving on to a new 3 year action plan. The refreshed document is due to be completed by the end of April 2010. Events • The Arts & Events Programme Manager has been focussing her time on three major events for the district which feature in the NWDA's regional major events strategy for the North West. • Negotiations have taken place with the NWDA working with the Head of Regional Events and the Tour of Britain to secure the visit of the Tour of Britain cycle race to Kendal for a stage start in Kendal in September 2011 which will be the last Tour of Britain cycle race before the Olympics in 2012. SLDC has been working closely with the NWDA who are in the final stages of the contractual agreement with the Tour to host the race in the North West. • SLDC is working as a key location partner on the Great North Swim and planning is underway for this years event which will double in size to 10,000 swimmers making it the biggest open water mass participation swim event in the UK and possibly Europe. Last years event was highly successful generating £1.5 million benefit to the local economy and the Windermere swim was filmed by Channel 4 and shown in an hour long programme in Dec 09. This years event will be bigger and even better. • Work with Kendal Arts International on this year’s Mintfest Kendal's International Street Arts Festival began last year and the planning of the artistic programme and choice of locations is nearing finalisation. SLDC continues to support KAI for its Lakes Alive programme which is being recognised and commended nationally as parts of the national Cultural Olympiad for london 2012. The Council's work with KAI and its support has been recognised by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) in a letter sent to the Council Leader by Bill Morris Head of Celebrations and Live Sites.

Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 3 183

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Graham Vincent Agenda 12(4) Economic Prosperity and Transport Item Portfolio Holder No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues The following matters have arisen with my Portfolio:- South Lakeland Economy The poor summer weather undoubtedly contributed to a somewhat disappointing outcome for the second quarter of the year. However, although profits for most tourism based businesses were lower than hoped, most businesses were pleased to have survived. Our car park usage figures showed very strong improvement in Bowness & Windermere up 20% and over 30% respectively, with Grassmere, Ambleside and Grange-over-Sands roughly equal, although they had not declined so much the previous year. Ulverston suffered a small decline, Kendal had a small increase, and Kirby Lonsdale a significant increase of 13%. The third quarter however was depressed by flooding across the county and by snow and ice, all areas showing decline except Kendal with a 1% increase. The New Year continues these trends. Manufacturing in general held on, the loss of certainly one metal working company however was registered. No doubt there were a number of very small businesses that did not survive. Empty Shops Our quarterly survey of empty shops in Kendal & Ulverston shows a better position. Kendal moved from having 12.8% of shops empty in July to having 11% in January. Ulverston made great progress moving from 11.4% in July to 8.2% in January. It is intended to include a similar survey for the Lakes area in the next quarter. Flooding Impact This has been very serious, A number of large hotels particularly around Windermere have had significant and in some cases very serious flooding, to the extent that bookings have had to be cancelled. This however is not the case for the vast majority of accommodation providers but these have experienced customer cancellation because the perception is that Cumbria is entirely affected by flooding. I will get a final quarter report in my next return. Sedbergh Economic Development staff are engaged with the Parish Council, to help with the formation of a master plan. The main issues are concerned with narrow pavements, parking issues, traffic accessing the one way system, pedestrian verses vehicles and the proliferation of signs. A project board is to be established, to take the project forward, and funding in the region of £30 - £40K will be sought from various partners

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Ulverston Following the November flooding Director Lawrence Conway, Environment PortfoIio Holder Brenda Woof and myself attended a public meeting called by Ulverston Town Council. Following commitments given to residents at that meeting discussions with the Environment Agency regarding fears of flooding at our site at North Lonsdale Road are underway. Ulverston has three companies that work in the low energy lighting field. It is my hope that we can build into works at Ulverston Town Hall a demonstrator system of low energy lighting. This would fit very well within our promotion of local technologies, our commitments to reductions in our carbon footprint, and ambitions to make South Lakeland a centre of excellence for environmental technologies. Retail marketing events/ Shop Doctor - Retail advice for Ulverston on presentation and working practice for retailers. This is delivered by SLDT who specialise in retail support., This is one part of significant retail support that we provide in a number areas to deliver the Corporate objective of vibrant town centres. This will be delivered by the end of March 2010. Windermere & Bowness Windermere Air Show organisers (the Rotary Club) have met with Economic Development staff to discuss this years show. Last year Cumbria Tourism estimated the contribution to our economy at approximately £4.2 million. The application to attain Village Green status for the Glebe in Bowness Bay has been rejected by the County Council. It is likely as a result of this that United Utilities will be able to reschedule their works. This decision will allow further meaningful work to be carried out on the Bowness Bay Master Plan. South Lakeland will have a major part to play in bringing forward some of the key alterations. Ambleside The proposed Waterhead improvement scheme was reviewed by the’ Places Matter’ Panel. This Panel of designers, architects and planners gave criticism to the proposed scheme . This gave us valued focus on the vision backing the scheme and some presentational advice. I found the experience challenging and satisfying. Grange-Over-Sands The Main Street car park has re-opened following substantial refurbishment including stabilising and drainage works. The site is now an attractive part of the Grange public realm. A new application to ‘Parks for People’ is currently being worked on. This is a particularly challenging exercise. The concept that the promenade is really a ‘long park’ is proving hard to sell, and in financially difficult times we need uncontroversial evidence meeting the terms of reference. Kendal The Kirkland enhancement scheme has begun. The scheme involves widening the footways where possible, to improve the pedestrian access. Shoppers will find it easier to browse at shop windows and safer to cross the road because vehicle speeds will be reduced. New white light street lights will add character to Kirkland. Some safety improvements are being made at the Dowker Lane junction and at the entrance to Peppercorn Lane car park. Design consultants Taylor Young have been appointed to produce design standards and schemes for New Road Common, the top of Finkle Street around the ‘Bird Cage’ and for Market place. A number of workshops have been held. The new ‘Signage’ project has been completed, although two signs have not yet been sited due to works at Kirkland and at ‘K’ village. Our Economic Development team and the Kendal Futures programme manager are to be congratulated on the innovative scheme that embraces directions, Date: 15/02/2010 Version No: Amended by: 2 186 historical data and pictures that relate to each individual location with suggested walks for people of different abilities. Each sign has a slate panel displaying the town crest .The signs have received wide acclaim. Kendal College has secured NWDA funding to purchase land to allow their creative campus ambitions to begin. Design practice, Taylor Young, have been retained to deliver a stunning modern scheme. Work on the site is due to start at the end of March, with a twenty-two week build programme. It is demanded that the site be in use by the start of the autumn term. Working with South Lakeland, a future for both the museum and castle dairy has evolved and will be embodied in the scheme. This development is part of the ambition to regenerate Kendal’s Economy. The Kendal Shop Fronts project has received 48 enquiries and improvements are evident within the town. Coniston Economic Development staff are working with the Coniston community to help and advise where possible on the way forward to deliver funding for the institute.

Meetings/Training attended November 25th Corporate plan Refresh 26th SLDT annual Meeting 30th Management/Cabinet FSB Kendal December 1st CV Delivery Board-Penrith 2nd Furness Enterprise – Barrow Kendal Futures Board – Kendal 4th Kirby Lonsdale – TIC 7th Corporate Plan Future 8th Kendal Public realm 9th Cabinet Places Matter –Reghed Flooding Issues - Ulverston 10th Council 11th New Road Common –Man. Committee 14th meet each Ass. Director 15th Eden /S.L Executive Future Ambitions January 5th Management/Cabinet 6th Cabinet Capital programme 12th Public Realm 14th LAP –Kendal 15th Cumbria Excellence Awards 19th Kendal Tourism Group 20th Car park changes- call in 21st Renewable energy Panal-Carlisle 27th Radio Cumbria 28th Windermere Airshow 2010 Cabinet Border TV CSPG

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Regional/National/Other Issues

Car Parking Charges & Conditions Following Cabinet’s approval of charges and conditions for the 2010/2011 budget, the decision was called in. The Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s decision was to refer the decision to Council. Eden/ Southlakeland Delivery Board The Eden/South Lakeland Programme Manager, commenced her duties in January and has been making contact with Officers of all bodies supporting the Delivery Board. Existing projects have been prioritised and heavier weighting placed on job creation and manufacturing industry. Deliverability however is disappointing due to the small numbers of land owners willing to sell. Cumbria County council Cumbria C.C. announced that they will introduce on-street parking charges next year. Tourist information Centres Cabinet confirmed proposals that will result in South Lakeland ceasing to deliver the TIC service. Total Grant values of £150,000 in year 1, £100,000 in year 2 and £ 125,00 total for the following two years, distributed if required to support viable proposals for future provision. An officer has been delegated the task of inviting and evaluating expressions of interest. Looking Forward In the coming weeks, work will include:- B2B The next business to business lunch will take place in March. The venue is yet to be finalised but will be in Ulverston. Marketing Grants Marketing grants of up to £500 for any South Lakeland business to try new marketing activities. This will be effective from April 2010. Kendal Rugby Club Development Proposals The outcome of the delayed Kendal Rugby Club planning enquiry result will be announced on March 1st 2010. This will have bearing on other development proposals within Kendal

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Brenda Woof Agenda 12(5) Environment and Sustainability Item Portfolio Holder No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues The following matters have arisen with my Portfolio. I would like to thank all staff in Customer Services for all their hard work during the last two months. First there was the flooding and then we had the big freeze and snow which remained for almost four weeks. During this bad weather depot staff worked in partnership with Cumbria County Council by providing manpower to help with gritting. Food and Safety Group • At Quarter 3 NI 184 is 95% - that is food businesses that are broadly compliant. Environment Protection Group • The Shoreline Management Plan consultation is ongoing. • Following the recent floods DEFRA has made grant funding available for flood alleviation measures. The EP Group has submitted several bids for areas affected by flooding. • A 30 ft whale was washed ashore near Meathop, and to stop odour complaints the Council arranged for it to be buried. Waste Management and Streetcare • Waste collection services were seriously disrupted during the recent bad weather and collection crews are to be congratulated for ‘going the extra mile’ to collect refuse where they could. • The recycling rates are not as good as they were this time last year. We have an estimated rate for the year so far of 45.30%. We really need some good weather for the next two months to boost both the leaf fall and the green waste tonnages. • New trees have been planted in various locations throughout the District with the aim of improving the amenity of the areas concerned and in line with the Corporate Plan: 3.1 “The Public Realm in South Lakeland is upgraded” and NI5 (LAA) to ”improve overall satisfaction with the local area as a place to live”. The planting of trees throughout the District is environmentally sustainable and is a viable option as carbon offset for the Local Authority. • The Waste and Streetcare contracts have been awarded to SLDC in house team

Talk Toilets Consultation. Making tough choices together. • Talk Toilets launched on Monday 18th January and, as of Wednesday 3rd of February, we have received 110 completed online questionnaires.

189 • There are long term exhibitions in : ( until 4th April ) Ulverston. Town Hall Windermere. Council Offices Ambleside. Library Kendal. South Lakeland House Kirkby Lonsdale. Library • For February only Grange Library • Members Sessions are planned for Thursday 18th February at 10am and 5pm in the Georgian Room

Meetings/Training attended Cabinets formal & informal Council Corporate Plan Public Meeting re flooding at Ulverston Govern IT workshop Work plan review with Director Informal discussion re Allotments Consultation re Shoreline Management Plan Presentation by John Ashton Joint Cabinet SLDC & EDEN Opening of Grounds Maintenance Tenders Looking Forward In the coming weeks, work will include:- The ongoing Talk Toilets Consultation Bulky Waste & Bring Site contracts for next year

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Brenda Gray Agenda 12(6) Housing and Development Portfolio Item Holder No: Report Title: Executive Report

CLIENT ISSUES The following matters have arisen with my Portfolio:- Planning Despite the downturn in 2009, there are signs of economic recovery with the Development Control service going through a busy period in the latter half of the year with the number of planning applications beginning to pick up again. The overall application numbers are down, but this has more than been made up for by the number of new applications introduced under new procedures and much better than the national picture. Income has thus remained in line with budget and performance has also been above the national indicators.

There has also been an increase in activity in the Land Charges Section undertaking property searches. This, combined with the introduction of new procedures arising from national legislative changes in both Land charges and Development Control and 3 major Public Inquiries in the year, stretched the service over the period. Most recently the Planning Inspectorate have announced that the 2nd Windfarm appeal at Sillfield has been dismissed which vindicates the Council's position and the High Court Challenge to the first at Armitstead remains to be heard. The decision on the Kendal Rugby Club site has been further delayed by the Inspectorate which is frustrating other key decisions involving potential retail development, including the Kendal Canalhead Masterplan. Preparations are underway for two further Inquiries relating to long running enforcement cases in the Summer of 2010, whilst further windfarm proposals along with other major applications in the offing suggest the year ahead will be as busy.

All the above has taken place against the backdrop of the introduction of a number of new IT improvements to the planning process, legislative changes driven by Central Government and the authority's internal re-structure. The big challenge over the forthcoming months will be the joining together of the Development Control, Building Control and Land Charges Teams. Undoubtedly the new Team faces a very challenging time ahead

The South Lakeland District Council Core Strategy hearing sessions will begin on 16th March and are due to continue for two weeks. The hearing sessions will be chaired by an independent inspector and explore the soundness of the strategy which was approved for submission by Full Council in the summer last year.

Further early consultation on the Allocations of Land DPD is due to take place in June 2010 after Cabinet approved a revised timescale at its meeting in November last year.

The Council has been consulted on 7 draft National Policy Statements (NPSs) published by government. The NPS form the primary guidance to the infrastructure planning committee in deciding on nationally significant infrastructure projects under the new planning regime (2008 Act).

191 The consultation is geared towards assessing whether the NPSs provide sufficient guidance to the IPC. The NPSs are likely to have most relevant to South Lakeland in regard to the proposed local of new nuclear power stations in West Cumbria and the requirement to substantially upgrade the electricity grid network around Cumbria. Cabinet considered a draft response on 10th February, with the formal consultation deadline of 22nd February. The Council will have further opportunity to comment on any large energy proposals.

The Council has been consulted on a draft new single regional strategy for the north west (part 1). It will seek to combine the currently separate regional strategies on housing, economic development and planning into one coherent strategic plan which sets out a long-term strategic framework for the region. There is concern that the strategy (as drafted) needs to reflect more explicitly the issues, challenges and opportunities of the more rural parts of the region. Cabinet considered a draft response on 10th February, with the formal consultation deadline of 26th February.

Building Control

Eugene McIvor left the service on 31 December 2009, and an Acting Building Control Manager has been appointed until March 30 2010 and will continue to head Building Control as Team Leader from then on within the new structure. The post for the Principal Building Control surveyor is presently being internally advertised and interviews are imminent. An audit of the Quality Management System was carried out by BSI on 1st February 2010, and it was mutually agreed that the system required updating and rearranging to a more manageable process. A further audit will be carried out in August 2010, but at present the service continues under the registration. The K Village development is still hoping to start part functioning by June 2010. Figures indicate that there has been a reduction in applications compared with the last quarter in each of 2009 and 2008. However there have been many enquiries regarding future applications to which SLDC Building Control are promised the work, but the finances for such contracts are yet to be sorted. An application for the development of the flats/shop at the former Stokers garage have been submitted and work is anticipated to start shortly. Housing

The Empty Homes Officer has recently developed a new initiative, called the Matchmaker scheme, this intends to bring together owners of empty properties who are looking to sell them and people looking to buy such properties. The details of each empty property for sale are to be displayed on the Council's website in a 'table', estate-agent style, with a photo on the left and details on the right. Potential buyers requirements be listed in a table on nearby page.

The scheme is to be advertised in the next issue of South Lakeland News, to be issued in March. Hopefully this will generate a good response. We already have 3 empty properties for sale, and 5 potential buyers, without even advertising the site.

The Council's local energy efficiency scheme has been very successful this year, by the end of March 2010 it is expected that over 1000 private households in South Lakeland, who have an elderly person or a child present, to have had free insulation measures undertaken at their homes for free in the past year. The scheme will have made a significant improvement in the energy efficiency of local homes as well as contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions. The scheme is run by the Housing Renewal team and will carry on into next year, when the current eligibility for the scheme will start to be extended in a phased manner across the district to enable in time all private householders to qualify. This can be achieved within identified resources.

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The Housing Renewal team have been working in partnership with Impact Housing to provide free Energy Efficiency Awareness training courses to frontline staff and volunteers from a variety of agencies, using funding from the European Social Fund.

The aim of the free one-day courses is to raise awareness of issues relating to energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Courses have been attended by Age Concern's Village Agents, courses are planned for members of Killington Sustainable Energy Trust, South Lakes Housing officers, National Trust housing officers, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service Officers.

Future options for the Council's housing stock

The project to investigate the future options for the Council's housing stock started in January 2010 with the appointment of a consultant project manager. A detailed project plan has been drawn up, ending in October 2010 with a recommendation to Council on which option tenants should be consulted on, if a change is proposed. Cabinet are to receive a progress report and a presentation from the project manager on 3 March 2010. Just a reminder - this is a critically important project for the Council, South Lakes Housing and the Council's tenants and leaseholders. South Lakes Housing has done an excellent job in managing the Council's stock - as evidenced by the audit commission two star with excellent prospects for improvement - but the financial position now, with the cessation of the Decent Homes funding, necessitates a new approach if we are to maintain the standards of service our tenants and leaseholders have rightly come to expect.

Following a Performance Audit of Town View Fields in 2009, the Supporting People Team has now presented their Provider Report. The inspection investigates the performance in 6 key areas:

Needs and Risk Assessment Support Planning Security, Health and Safety Protection from abuse Fair access, diversity, and inclusion Complaints

The Housing Advice Team are proud to announce that the Hostel scored the maximum achievable score in all 6 categories, the Inspector was very impressed with the service and considered that Town View Fields would be very well placed to meet the increased standards to be introduced later in 2010.

The National Indicator for homelessness is the reduction of homeless people in temporary accommodation, the target is a 50% reduction by 2010 and this was achieved by South Lakeland in 2007, 3 years early. The Team has managed to sustain this reduction throughout 2009 despite the economic factors both nationally and locally which could have had a significant effect on this performance. In addition, further reductions are being achieved and South Lakeland is currently the only Authority in Cumbria which has met and maintained this standard.

The Homeless/Housing Advice service is currently under review. Proposals will be forthcoming with the aim of achieving further improvements in efficiency and with regard to better integration with other Housing related services.

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MEETINGS/TRAINING ATTENDED Meetings (from September 2009- February 2010) Decent Homes Project Heritage Champions event, Stockport. Standards Committee Meeting as Observer Site Visits. Calling Cumbria Full Council meetings Cabinet meetings both formal and informal Corporate Strategy Performance Group Budget meetings Lake District National Park Partnership Working Group Lake District National Park Partnership Lake District National Park design seminars Cumbria Sub Regional Housing Group. Cumbria Sub Regional Planning Group South Lakes Housing Board Meetings Tenants Committee Meeting Older Person Accommodation Working Group. Joint Project with Eden DC Choice Based Lettings seminar Cabinet Away Day Leadership Academy Economic Recovery Programme Politicians in Planning Conference (PIPA) LSP LSP Affordable Housing Task Group Single Conversation. Planning meetings Property Advisory Group Lake Admin Corporate Plan development meeting Neighbourhood Forum Supporting People Penrith Ethical Governance Member Development meetings LDF Steering Group Housing Provision Advisory Group Property Advisory Group Meetings with Officers SLDC/EDC Joint meeting Training A local authority Finance training session. Annotating PDF documents

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Brendan Jameson Agend 12(7) Leader of the Council/ Promoting a South Lakeland Portfolio Item No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues – I have attended the following meetings which are in addition to regular meetings of informal Cabinet, individual meetings with Portfolio Holders, the Chief Executive and the Management Team of the Council and with Officers when required. From Council 10 December 2009:- 15 December Cumbria Leadership Forum 16 December Meeting with Chairman and Chief Executive of Cumbria Tourism Licensing Sub Committee 17 December Corporate Manslaughter training 18 December Cumbria Vision Board meeting 2010 – 13 January Govern IT Workshop 14 January Kendal LAP’s meeting 18/19 January Interviews for Assistant Director (Corporate Vision) 21 January Cumbria Tourism Executive Board 22 January 2012 Torch Relay Seminar 26 January Licensing Sub Committee 27 January Cabinet 4 February South Lakeland Strategic Partnership Executive 5 February Attendance at the late Mrs E Braithwaite MBE funeral Attendance at the leaving presentation of the Chief Executive of Copeland 8 February Informal Joint Executive meeting SLDC / Eden DC 9 February Scrutiny visit to South Ribble BC

195 10 February IDeA Peer Member Assessment. 11 February Presentation at Kendal College Strategy event 15 February Press conference SLDC/Eden DC proposals 16 February Full Council 19 February Cabinet Present at Kendal Foyer ‘Sod cutting event’ at YMCA, Kendal 23 February 2012 North West Steering Group Full Council

Regional/National/Other Issues The London Olympic Games Organising Committee, (LOCOG) representatives recently hosted an event in Chester, to promote the passage of The Olympic Flame throughout the UK, prior to the opening of the Games on the 27th July, 2012. Sub regions are being asked to submit ideas how the Olympic Torch will pass through their area, without having much detail regarding time in an area. The next meeting of the North West 2012 Steering group, later this month, will offer a chance to gain further information on the torch relay, with the intention of putting forward an innovative and inspiring programme of events, dependent on the route taken, and the time allocated for the torch in Cumbria. The popularity of, and the enthusiasm for seeing the Olympic torch as it passes around a country, for it is a huge mass participation event, with an International Olympic Committee requirement for it to be within an hour’s drive for 95% of the population. On a more mundane level, on the 10th February, I was invited to attend an IDeA Peer Member Assessment session in London. The following day, I was delighted to receive an email informing me, that my assessment had achieved a positive response, and I will, subject to suitable references, shortly become an IDeA Accredited Peer Member. The Chief Exec and I attended the funeral of former Chairman of the District Council, Elizabeth Braithwaite MBE, and it was a fitting testament to a remarkable lady to enter a packed church and be absorbed by the stories of someone, who not only fought hard at national level for South Lakeland, but who packed more into her lifetime, than the majority of us could ever hope to achieve. Local Issues There continues to be interest from the North West Development Agency in supporting initiatives put forward in South Lakeland. The £2,000,000 support for the Lakes Alive and Mintfest programmes brought many thousands of visitors into Cumbria, particularly South Lakeland, and many local people out of their homes to enjoy the celebrations. The recently published figures by Kendal Arts International estimate over 75,000 people attended the festivals, with over 40% from outside Cumbria, with an additional boost to the local economy in excess of three million pounds. The Mintfest weekend alone brought in over 25,000 visitors to Kendal.

196 NWDA have also pledged financial support for a start stage in Kendal, of the Tour of Britain cycle race in 2011. Although discussions on a route and exact date for the stage will not be discussed until March or April, it will be a fantastic opportunity for South Lakeland to promote, not only our organisational capabilities, on the back of our success in staging a Tour Of Britain finish two years ago. We can also ask local schools to sponsor a particular team, and look to get children involved in mini events, and local companies to sponsor business breakfasts, where they can meet the teams and race organisers. Other examples of increased NWDA involvement in South Lakeland include the Kirkland Regeneration Scheme, and the new Digital and Creative Arts Campus for Kendal College, at its Wildman Street site. Although less widely known, NWDA have been helping to finance the world renowned Kendal Mountain Film Festival for the last three years. Looking Forward South Lakeland District Council, while facing many challenges, has so many opportunities to improve. A recent visit to South Ribble with our Overview and Scrutiny staff and several Committee Members, sat in on one of their meetings. Although an evening meeting, five Cabinet Members were present, and one Portfolio Holder spent at least 20 minutes being questioned by the Committee. In addition, I spent half an hour with their Leader, Councillor Margaret Smith. South Ribble have been developing partnership working with neighbouring authorities for over two years, including Lancashire County Council. These joint working arrangements are producing savings for South Ribble in excess of a million pounds. Recent information from IDeA is showing an increasing trend amongst local authorities to see partnership working as one of the ways of reducing present costs, and establishing a firmer financial footing for the future. Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) are continuing to evolve, at varying rates, across the district. District and County Council LAP funding, and SLDC’s proposal for a Community Allocation fund, should give the LAPs, and those communities involved with them, some serious money with which to bring local ideas and projects to fruition.

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Council

Date of Meeting: 23 February 2010 Part I Report From: Councillor Andy Shine Agenda 12(8) Policy, Performance and Resources Item Portfolio Holder No: Report Title: Executive Report

Client Issues The following matter has arisen with my Portfolio:- The 2010/11 Budget The final work with regards to the preparation of the 2010/11 Budget has taken place. The revised 2009/10 and 2010/11 Budget proposals have been considered at the same time as the update of the Medium Term Financial Plan (and Capital Strategy). This will be considered by Council at the March Council meeting. It will encapsulate the requirements of the refreshed Corporate Plan, the Workforce Development Plan, Asset Management Plan and annual budget process for both Revenue and Capital expenditure. Meetings/Training attended 25/11/09 Corporate Plan Meeting 26/11/09 LSP Task Group Chairs Meeting 27/11/09 Cumbria 2012 Conference 30/11/09 Cabinet/MT Away day 01/12/09 Leadership Academy (York) 02/12/09 Leadership Academy (York) 03/12/09 Equality Training 07/12/09 Corporate Plan Refresh 07/12/09 Informal Cabinet 09/12/09 Cabinet 09/12/09 Corporate Plan Action Plan 09/12/09 Budget Meeting – Growth 10/12/09 Budget Meeting – Savings 10/12/09 Council 11/12/09 Corporate Plan Follow up with Ads 15/12/09 Eden/SLDC Joint Meeting 04/01/10 Informal Cabinet 05/01/10 Capital Prioritisation 06/01/10 Cabinet

199 13/01/10 Strategic Training 14/01/10 LAP Mtg 15/01/10 Cumbria Joint Districts Meeting (for Leader) Meetings/Training attended 18/01/10 AD Interview 19/01/10 AD Interview 25/01/10 Joint Consultative Panel 25/01/10 Informal Cabinet 26/01/10 Safer Stronger Communities Thematic Partnership 27/01/10 Cabinet 27/01/10 CSPG 28/01/10 Lancaster Canal Restoration Partnership Exec 28/01/10 Capital Monitoring 29/01/10 CDRP

Regional/National/Other Issues Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership The initial signs of Central Government reducing available resources to the regions have now materialised. The Home Office has just announced that the national CDRP Capital funding for 2010/11 has been reduced by 50%. As yet, no announcement has been made with regard to Revenue. The final consequences for the future are still unknown. Looking Forward In the coming weeks, work will include :- Transformation Programme Following the filling of a vacant post in the Department, I expect progress to accelerate over the next few months. Corporate Plan Following the contributions by Members to the Corporate Plan a draft Plan will be produced.

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