Agenda item

Report of the Director of Transformation and Business Services (TBS/24/5), on a framework to deliver change, improvement and performance across the Council, attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the introduction of the Council’s Operating Principles, set out in full at section 3 of the Report, be agreed;

(b) that the introduction of the Change and Improvement Programme priorities, set out in full at section 3 of the Report, be agreed; and

(c) that the Governance Board structure, also outlined in section 3, for leading change, performance, and improvement, also be endorsed.

(Councillors Leaver and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Transformation and Business Services (TBS/24/5), which presented a framework to deliver change, improvement and performance across the Council, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Report reflected the need to deliver change and improvement at pace and built on the work over the last year to reset the Council, through a corporate plan focussed on six key areas set out at Cabinet in July 2023, a Sustainable and Stronger Council approach endorsed in September 2023 and agreement to the principles of a performance management framework in December 2023.

The operating principles set out in the Report below provide a strong foundation for the Council to be high performing, sustainable and future focussed.

The proposal was for six key operating principles (governance and assurance, financial sustainability, people first, partnerships, digital self-service and evidence informed), to frame the Council’s change and improvement agenda. The programmes of work would be monitored and assessed using these principles with a clear Board reporting structure to monitor performance in each area.  The principles and priorities were set out visually in Appendix 1.

The Change Programme Priorities were Children’s Services Improvement, Integrated Adult Social Care redesign, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Safety Valve, Climate Change, Innovation and Infrastructure and Systems Replacement.

Each priority programme would have agreed projects and an Assistant/Deputy director ‘sponsor’ for each programme would be the ‘change lead’.

Aligned to the proposed Change Programme priorities, three Change Boards (set out in appendix 2 below), chaired by members of Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) would operate on a weekly basis in addition to a weekly budget focus meeting with a wider leadership team cohort.

The scale and pace of change required the Council’s approach to communicating with communities, elected members, MPs, partner organisations and staff to be more effective, therefore work was underway to develop a fit for purpose and agile approach for internal and external communication.

The proposal reflected and aligned to the vision and priorities set out in the Council’s Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025 (www.devon.gov.uk/strategic-plan), specifically to ‘Transform the way we work – to make us more resilient and adaptable’.

In terms of Impact Assessment, the exact nature of the anticipated or known impact will be set out at project level and will be made available on the Council’s website: www.devon.gov.uk/impact/published at the appropriate time.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact, risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Hughes, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the introduction of the Council’s Operating Principles, set out in full at section 3 of the Report, be agreed;

(b) that the introduction of the Change and Improvement Programme priorities, set out in full at section 3 of the Report, be agreed; and

(c) that the Governance Board structure, also outlined in section 3, for leading change, performance, and improvement, also be endorsed.