City and County of Cardiff Dinas a Sir Caerdydd
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CITY AND COUNTY OF CARDIFF DINAS A SIR CAERDYDD COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL 19 July 2001 CABINET PROPOSAL AGENDA ITEM: Cabinet Policy Statement: Ambitions For Cardiff Background 1. Due to the onset of the general election campaign, no Lord Mayor’s Address was delivered at the Annual Meeting of the County Council on 10 May 2001. It is still important to outline the Administration’s priorities and policy agenda, particularly in the view of the new government’s manifesto commitments. 2. Consequently, I am proposing Cabinet agrees the attached statement on the Administration’s policy commitments and aspirations until 2004 (ie. the lifetime of this Administration). Follow-up statements will be published annually to take account of legislative, budgetary and other developments. Issues 3. The Administration’s believes that the current agenda for Cardiff should address the following strategic issues: · Wales and Europe; · Social Inclusion and Neighbourhood Renewal; · Strong Communities; · Education and Lifelong Learning; · Enterprise and Economic Growth; · Environment and Health; · Culture and Sport; · Transport; · Modern Local Government. Page 1 of 3 4. The budget-setting process already provides resources to contribute towards addressing our priorities during 2001-2002. Further details of the Council’s programme for 2002-2004 will be reflected in the Cabinet Policy Statements of 2002 and 2003 respectively. Page 2 of 3 ADVICE This report has been prepared in consultation with Corporate Managers and reflects their collective advice. It contains all the information necessary to allow Members to arrive at a reasonable view, taking into account the advice contained in this section. The Chief Executive is responsible for dealing with this report. Legal Implications The proposals in this report set policy priorities. Legal advice will be provided as proposals are developed to implement the policy objectives. Achievability & Financial Implications The implementation of the Cabinet Policy Statement will have financial implications for the Council and for its Best Value Performance Plan. These will need to be considered before the measures announced in the Statement are fully implemented. Policies relating to 2002-2004 will need to be considered in the context of the budget process for those years. Consequences The Cabinet Policy Statement outlines the Council’s policy commitments and aspirations for the lifetime of the current Administration and will provide the strategic policy framework for the development of the Council’s services between 2001-2004. BYRON DAVIES Chief Executive 4 July 2001 Background Papers: None CABINET PROPSAL Committee of the Council approve the attached Cabinet Policy Statement as the Council's policy objectives for the period 2001 to 2004. The following appendix is attached: Cabinet Policy Statement, 2001: Ambitions for Cardiff Page 3 of 3 CONTENTS AMBITIOUS FOR SUCCESS 2 SIGNPOSTS TO THE FUTURE 3 EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING 4 SOCIAL INCLUSION AND NEIGHBOURHOOD RENEWAL 6 STRONG COMMUNITIES 9 E-GOVERNMENT 11 ENTERPRISE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 12 ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH 14 CULTURE AND SPORT 16 TRANSPORT 18 WALES AND EUROPE 20 MODERN LOCAL GOVERNMENT 22 1 AMBITIOUS FOR SUCCESS Cardiff is an outstanding city. A decade of development has led to an almost palpable sense of confidence and expectation that the City will continue to deliver opportunities for people to prosper. But success can never be taken for granted. New times mean new challenges. Successful cities will be those that innovate and embrace change; that develop a clear vision of future prosperity; that are drivers of the regional economy; that benefit from strong and accountable local government. Successful cities are also ambitious cities. The Council wants Cardiff to become the most successful regional capital in Europe, excellent in every respect, and the best place to live and work anywhere in the UK. We want the people of Cardiff and Wales to share fully in the City’s success and to be able take full advantage of the opportunities created by a diverse and buoyant local economy. We want prosperity to be enjoyed by all citizens and not just by the privileged few. Our ambitions reflect what is best about Cardiff. The City has one of the longest established minority ethnic communities in the UK, with a diversity and multiculturalism that characterises vibrant and progressive cities throughout the world. Local communities have a strong tradition of caring for the vulnerable. Local businesses have the entrepreneurial flair to succeed in a competitive, knowledge-based economy. The creativity of our young people promises a great deal for the future. This abundance of talent and energy needs to be harnessed for the benefit of all. This is the central theme of Ambitions for Cardiff. It outlines the County Council’s policy framework and aspirations in the wake of the recent general election, and is supported by targets in the Community Strategy and Best Value Performance Plan. Follow-up statements will be published annually to take account of legislative, budgetary and other developments, forming the basis of a rolling programme setting out the Council’s agenda until 2004. 2 SIGNPOSTS TO THE FUTURE Cardiff ranks among the most successful and enterprising cities in the UK. Few cities can claim so many strengths. Cardiff Bay is an internationally significant regeneration project, and a hub of commercial and cultural activity. The Millennium Stadium is acclaimed as one of the best sports stadiums in the world. A thriving arts and cultural scene, focusing on a network of facilities and events, will allow Cardiff to mount a powerful challenge to become European Capital of Culture 2008. The city centre is among the top ten retail centres in the UK. Major events have secured Cardiff’s reputation as a thriving European Capital City. In 1998 the European Summit and visit of President Nelson Mandela meant that images of Cardiff and Wales were conveyed to a worldwide audience of billions. The Rugby World Cup, Network Q Rally and FA Cup Final confirmed Cardiff’s pre-eminence as a location for world-class sport. People and businesses throughout the world now associate the City with high profile events. Recent developments take their place in a proud history of civic achievement. In the late nineteenth century Cardiff was one of the coal-exporting springboards of the world economy and was transformed by the combined efforts of civic leaders and local people. The modern transformation is equally startling and has also been based on local authority-led partnership working. One academic commentator recently wrote of ‘a burst of civic activity that has transformed this community in a short period. And what is even more remarkable is that this happened twice in the city’s recent history first in the late 19th century and again at present.’1 Recent achievements are signposts to still greater success and greater prosperity in the future. But there is still a tremendous amount to do. For example, deprivation continues to affect too many communities. Educational standards need to be further improved. Anti-social behaviour continues to undermine communities. Local transportation links need to be improved. Sometimes local services fall short of the standard people expect and deserve. Many of these issues are not the responsibility of the Council alone and public services remain under-funded by the National Assembly for Wales. But the Council’s democratic mandate means that it is the only organisation capable of taking an overall view of local needs and responding to those needs in partnership with others. The following framework and aspirations reflect our belief in the capacity of local government to exercise community leadership and create opportunities for people to prosper. 1 Mike Ungersma, Cardiff: Celebration for a City (2000), p.4. 3 EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING Education remains the Council’s number one priority. It is a crucial part of Cardiff’s agenda for success. The continued development of Cardiff as a city of learning is vital in order to ensure local prosperity - a decent education is still the main pathway to individual self-betterment and achievement. Cardiff’s success in the next decade is dependent on achieving success in creating a genuinely inclusive education system, a system that recognises that learning is for everyone, and where schools, colleges, training providers and universities work together to meet the skill needs of local employers. As well as valuing high-level academic achievements, the Council supports the creation of a qualifications system that gives everybody the chance to achieve their true potential. This means high standards in the key skills – and also more vocational education and more opportunities for some students to follow alternative curricula as they get older with a parity of esteem between academic and vocational qualifications. The Council is committed to providing first-class schools for the children of Cardiff and reaffirms its commitment to increase investment in schools, year-on-year, over and above the level provided by the National Assembly for Wales during the lifetime of the present administration. On top of this, we are committed to making lifelong learning a reality, working with Cardiff’s colleges, universities, and employers to bring about a step change in learning opportunities across the community. In 2001-2002 we will: · continue to raise the standards of pupils’ achievements at key stages 2, 3 and 4; · improve opportunities and outcomes for children from disadvantaged families; · develop a Post-16 Training and Development Plan - a crucial step towards meeting the challenge of lifelong learning. · take further steps to link learning with technology. We will increase IT provision in local libraries and improve IT facilities for adult learning by replacing 100 PCs in adult education centres; · provide 350 alternative learning programmes for young people. 4 Between 2002 and 2004 we will: § make fundamental progress towards achieving our vision of making Cardiff a city of learning, a city that provides accessible opportunities and progression routes for learning at all levels from basic skills to excellence.