Team Doncaster Self Assessment 2014
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team doncaster self assessment 2014 think you know doncaster? think again. doncaster.gov.uk1 DONCASTER COUNCIL’S “PURPOSE IS TO ENSURE DONCASTER AND ITS PEOPLE THRIVE. WE WILL ENSURE THAT VALUE FOR“ MONEY IS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. Our Borough Vision Doncaster is one of the most successful boroughs in England and a gateway to opportunity locally, nationally and worldwide and has: ■ A strong local economy ■ Progressive, healthy, safe and vibrant communities ■ All residents are able to achieve their full potential in employment, education, care and life chances ■ Pride in Doncaster will have increased further. 2 team doncaster self assessment 2014 ContentsContentsContents Foreword by Mayor, Ros Jones 4 Foreword by Chief Executive, Jo Miller 5 20 facts and figures about Doncaster 6 Overview 8 Theme 1. Understanding of the local context and priority setting 9 Theme 2. Financial planning and viability 12 Theme 3. Political and managerial leadership 14 Theme 4. Governance and decision-making 16 Theme 5. Organisational capacity 19 3 Foreword by Mayor Ros Jones There is much to be proud of in our town. Doncaster is a great place to live, work in and visit. Whether it’s our proud heritage, our rural borough and market towns, our busy town centre or great local attractions, there is much to admire and enjoy. We also have unparalleled assets which make Doncaster a smart place to invest in. Not many boroughs can boast a prime location on the national road and rail network, its own international airport and North Sea ports within easy reach. Today our economy is worth £4billion, the second largest in the Sheffield City Region. However, Doncaster’s economic output lags behind the regional average, which itself falls short of the national average. Put bluntly, our economic output is not high enough and it is impacting on the quality of life of local residents. Historically, Doncaster has been a much stronger contributor to the economic success of the region and the nation. However, much of this success was based on industries which no longer exist, have reduced in size or have significantly changed in nature. Doncaster has struggled to adapt to these changing circumstances and the associated loss of employment. Today, one in four people in Doncaster does not earn the living wage and our unemployment is too high. We need more jobs at all levels, particularly skilled jobs that pay good wages. We also need to achieve better performance in our education results and help our young people to have greater aspirations. Linked to our limited economic success are other social issues including lower life expectancies, a higher incidence of long term health issues and higher than average levels of crime and anti-social behaviour. Doncaster Council must play a central role in changing the situation. Whether it is delivering or supporting vital services, enabling residents to help themselves or facilitating investment and business growth, a well-run Council can help to achieve the transformational change needed to make our residents’ lives better. I am fully aware that the Council is an organisation which has had very serious problems and the people of Doncaster have been let down. However, I believe we are changing the situation and that our rate of improvement has accelerated during the last year. We face a significant economic challenge in the face of financial cuts and an increasing demand for services, but for the first time ever we have agreed a three year budget plan ensuring proper forward financial planning. As well as changes to our financial management, we have made progress in relation to, for example, corporate planning, governance arrangements and industrial relations. In my opinion, we are moving in the right direction. However, this peer review will play an important role in helping to continue delivering the change that is required. I would welcome feedback from our colleagues within local government regarding Doncaster Council’s strengths and the areas where improvements still need to be. Ros Jones Mayor of Doncaster 4 team doncaster self assessment 2014 Foreword by Chief Executive Jo Miller Welcome to Doncaster. We have been looking forward to welcoming the Peer Review team here. We want to show you just how far we’ve come since being named the worst Council in England back in 2010. We don’t believe that badge applies any more. We want you to see the scale of our ambition for our place and people, for you to understand the significant challenges ahead and how we plan to manage that. We believe we are a more open, transparent organisation with a good degree of self-awareness. This is serving us well and will help embed the culture and behaviours necessary to fulfil our purpose. The challenges that face Doncaster Council now, are not because of dysfunctional political and managerial leadership, a lack of focus on place and people, or ‘toxic’ partnership relationships. Far from it. Our challenge is to transform public services to operate in the new fiscal climate. The scale of the change undertaken so far, and that which lies ahead is unprecedented. Public service transformation will include us ceasing to carry out some activity, changing the nature of delivery of activity and inviting others to do things which the Council might previously have done. Whilst the Council will be operating by 2017 with only half of the amount of government funding in real terms that was available in 2010, there remains a total £1 billion pounds per year spent via wider public services in the borough. The Council’s challenge, alongside all other Team Doncaster partners is to ensure that all of that sum is spent improving outcomes in our place for our people, exploiting new technology, making decisions based on evidence, and reimagining citizens as assets – not just recipients of service. Alongside service transformation, we must continue to make the very best of Doncaster’s considerable asset base to accelerate and transform economic growth, ensuring that the benefits of growth are enjoyed by local people. New businesses, more homes, new jobs and underpinning growth with greater skills levels are all on our agenda. As is ensuring that Doncaster children achieve at school to the best of their potential – we want all schools, whatever their type, to be good or better. We believe our ambition is clear and achievable, and know that it will stretch every single one of us. We will need to keep a relentless focus on priorities, performance and delivery, on taking staff and residents with us and making sure that we connect with all of the different communities that make up our borough. The transformation of services, new economic growth and harnessing the power of communities anticipates front-line Councillors as community leaders and advocates, ensuring Team Doncaster delivers in the many different places that comprise our borough. Peer Review is a significant opportunity for us to reflect on the journey we have been on so far and to be challenged about the scope and deliverability of future plans. The drawbridge mentality has gone here. We want to learn from others, collaborate and compete and share our learning too. We are more than ready to stand on our own two feet to face the future. This Peer Review will challenge us to make sure we are best placed to do that. Jo Miller Chief Executive 5 20 Facts and Figures about Doncaster Children, Young People Economy, Enterprise, and Families Investment and Skills Doncaster has a £4bn economy, the second largest in the Doncaster is home to 92,000 children and young people 1 Sheffield City Region. We’ve got Amazon, BAE Systems, 1 (aged 0 – 24), 30% of our population BT, IKEA and Next here 4,360 young people in Doncaster took part in the 2013 The proposed DN7 Project will create 3,000 new homes, 2 Make Your Mark survey organised by the UK Youth 2 6,000 new jobs, and a new power station and recycling Parliament. Priorities for our young people were better facility – it will be one of the most advanced carbon work experience, funding to youth services and zero capture and storage facilities in Europe tolerance to bullying in schools The Gateway to the SCR project will integrate road, rail, 1 in 10 young people aged 18 – 24 are claiming Job 3 water (via the Humber ports) and air to provide a major 3 Seekers Allowance UK multi-modal logistics offer known as the ‘Port of Doncaster’ There were 5,798 referrals into social care in 2012-2013 4 (equates to roughly 9 per 100 children), younger children We have the UK’s newest international airport in aged under 5 account for 44% of children with a child 4 Doncaster Robin Hood Airport which has served 7.5m protection plan passengers since it opened in 2005 The birth rate remains high – by 2021 there will be almost One of Doncaster’s great success stories, Yorkshire 5 20% more primary school age children than in 2011 5 Wildlife Park, recently welcomed its one millionth visitor and we have more visitors than Bath, Oxford, Cambridge and Stratford upon-Avon Health and Well-being Stronger and Safer Communities Our population is ageing. We will have an additional 9,300 Our population is steadily increasing. At the 2011 census it 1 residents over the age of 65 by 2021 1 had grown by 5.4% to 302,400 Over £24m will be made available through Doncaster’s The last census also revealed that 6.2% of Doncaster 2 Better Care Fund to help patients and people with care 2 residents were not born in the UK and support needs The burglary of people’s homes is at its lowest level since There