Including Public Health and Wellbeing Matters in the Council Plan Or Strategic Plan a Resource for Local Government Planners
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Including public health and wellbeing matters in the council plan or strategic plan A resource for local government planners Including public health and wellbeing matters in the council plan or strategic plan A resource for local government planners Acknowledgements The evaluation and resource development oversight was provided by a project advisory group. This included: The content of this resource draws on the findings of an evaluation of four of the five councils that applied for and • Department of Health: Prevention and Population were granted an exemption from a stand-alone municipal Health Branch public health and wellbeing plan for the period 2009–2013. • Department of Health regions that had assessed They were: exemptions: Barwon-South Western Region, Gippsland Region and North & West Metropolitan Region • City of Melbourne • representatives of the councils being evaluated • City of Maribyrnong • Municipal Association of Victoria • Bass Coast Shire • a representative of the Local Government Public Health • Borough of Queenscliffe. and Wellbeing Planning Advisory Group (a group It is also informed by the insights of a sample of eight other established by the Department of Health and the councils selected from across Victoria that were surveyed Municipal Association of Victoria to provide high-level on their views on the implications of including public health advice to the Prevention and Population Health Branch matters in their council plan or strategic plan. They were: on implementation of policy related to prevention). • City of Ballarat The Department of Health: Prevention and Population • City of Kingston Health Branch would like to thank all those who generously • City of Manningham gave their time to support the development of this resource • City of Wodonga and PDF Management Consultants, who prepared this resource for the department. • City of Warrnambool • East Gippsland Shire Council Disclaimer • Macedon Ranges Shire Council • Wyndham City Council. This work has been compiled from a variety of sources including material generally available on the public record, reputable specialist sources and original material. Care has been taken to verify accuracy and reliability wherever possible. However, the material does not provide professional advice. The Victorian Government Department of Health does not give any warranty or accept any liability concerning the contents of this work. If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format please phone 03 9096 5506 using the National Relay Service 13 36 77 if required, or email <[email protected]>. This document is available as a PDF on the internet at <www.health.vic.gov.au/localgov>. © Copyright, State of Victoria, Department of Health 2013 This publication is copyright, no part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. January 2013 (1209009) Contents Introduction 1 1. What does the Public Health and Wellbeing Act require? 2 2. What are the benefits? 3 2.1 Strengthening the mandate 3 2.2 Strengthening integrated planning 4 2.3 Strengthening monitoring and reporting 5 3. What are the risks? 6 3.1 Inadequately aligning the planning tasks 6 3.2 Losing sight of the detail of health and wellbeing activity 6 3.3 Weakening stakeholder engagement 7 3.4 Not sustaining the focus on health and wellbeing 7 4. What is the experience of exempted councils? 8 4.1 How did they do it? 8 4.2 What worked well? 8 4.3 What could be improved? 9 4.4 Summary 9 5. Planning to include public health and wellbeing matters in a council plan 10 5.1 Stages to including public health and wellbeing matters 10 5.2 Seeking an exemption 17 Introduction This resource supplements the Guide to municipal public The primary audiences for this resource are: health and wellbeing planning. It is designed to assist • social and health planners and others directly councils to systematically consider the benefits and risks responsible for municipal public health of including municipal public health and wellbeing planning and wellbeing planning in their council plan or strategic plan. This resource also: • corporate planners and others directly responsible • clarifies what is required of councils to be granted an for corporate planning exemption from a stand-alone municipal public health • Department of Health officers supporting municipal and wellbeing plan under s. 27 of the Public Health public health and wellbeing planning or responsible and Wellbeing Act 2008 for assessing exemption requests. • identifies the critical steps in developing a council plan The resource is one of a number of documents that or strategic plan that would satisfy the requirements will provide advice to councils on planning for health of s. 26 of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act and wellbeing. These resources are available • was designed to assist councils to evaluate the on http://www.health.vic.gov.au/localgov/ impact of planning for the health and wellbeing of their communities in this way. 1 1. What does the Public Health and Wellbeing Act require? Section 26 of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 Where they are seeking an exemption under s. 27 of the requires councils to produce a stand-alone municipal Act, councils are strongly encouraged to consider the public health and wellbeing plan (MPHWP). However, priorities established in the Victorian Public Health and s. 27 includes a provision for councils to be exempted Wellbeing Plan in the process of deciding which public from a stand-alone MPHWP if they choose to include health and wellbeing matters will be included in the council public health and wellbeing matters in their council plan plan or strategic plan. or strategic plan. Given the above, including public health and wellbeing Such an exemption is only available where the council plan or matters in the council plan or strategic plan does not strategic plan meets the requirements of s. 27 (see Box 1). materially change what is required of councils. It simply allows for an alternative way of considering and Central to s. 27 is that councils still need to meet the documenting the public health and wellbeing goals and s. 26(2) requirements. strategies that arise from the planning processes. In addition, s. 26(3) of the Act requires that ‘in preparing a Consequently, by choosing to include public health and municipal public health and wellbeing plan, a Council must wellbeing matters in the council plan or strategic plan a have regard to the State Public Health and Wellbeing Plan council should strive for the same good practice as applied prepared under section 49’. to a stand-alone MPHWP (see the Guide to municipal (The statewide public health and wellbeing plan was public health and wellbeing planning). released in September 2011 as the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2011–2015). Box 1: Public Health and Wellbeing Act, s. 27 Inclusion of public health and wellbeing matters in Council Plan or Strategic Plan (1) A Council is not required to comply with section 26 if— (a) the Council complies with this section; and (b) the Secretary grants the Council an exemption from complying with section 26. (2) If a Council intends to comply with this section, the Council must— (a) address the matters specified in section 26(2) in the Council Plan to be prepared under section 125 of the Local Government Act 1989 or in a Strategic Plan prepared and approved by the Council; (b) if the matters specified in section 26(2) are included in the Council Plan, review the Council Plan in accordance with section 125(7) of the Local Government Act 1989; (c) if the matters specified in section 26(2) are included in a Strategic Plan, review the Strategic Plan annually. (3) A Council may apply to the Secretary for an exemption from complying with section 26 by submitting a draft of the Council Plan or Strategic Plan which addresses the matters specified in section 26(2). (4) If the Secretary is satisfied that the draft Council Plan or Strategic Plan adequately addresses the matters specified in section 26(2), the Secretary must grant the Council an exemption from complying with section 26. (5) If the Secretary is not satisfied that the draft Council Plan or Strategic Plan adequately addresses the matters specified in section 26(2), the Secretary must— (a) refuse to grant an exemption from complying with section 26(2); and (b) advise the Council in writing— (i) of the reasons for refusing to do so; and (ii) as to the changes that should be made to the draft Council Plan or Strategic Plan. 2 2. What are the benefits? Planning statements regarding public health and wellbeing 2.1 Strengthening the mandate expressed in the council plan are subject to the same planning, monitoring and reporting requirements of all Planning in councils is characterised by a multitude other strategic objectives and activities expressed in the of plans and strategies. This can extend from 30 to plan. These requirements are set out in ss. 125 to 135 of 50 or more separate documents. Some are required by the Local Government Act 1989. Section 125 describes legislation or a funding agreement, others are initiatives the key elements of a council plan (see Box 2). of councils themselves. These might have quite different purposes or subjects, for example, focusing on a population group such as cultural diversity, positive ageing Box 2: Local Government Act, s. 125 or youth plan, or focusing on specific services such Council Plan as affordable housing, leisure and recreation or parks and reserves. (1) A Council must prepare and approve a Council Plan within the period of 6 months after each In general these plans and strategies are guided by three general election or by the next 30 June, key high-level plans required by legislation.