Agenda item

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources concerning approval of the Council Plan 2017-20.

30.1    Council considered the report of the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources concerning approval of the Council Plan 2017-20.

30.2    Councillor James reported the plan had been presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who had given some constructive feedback. He noted that the consultation feedback had been a strong endorsement of the Council’s approach and went on further to explain that further detail would be provided through the service planning process and thanked officers for their work.

30.3    Councillor Hilton referring to specific points within the plan, queried what action was being taken to progress the working Air Quality working group between the City and County Councils. He welcomed the addition of the community builder within the Kingsholm Ward and requested that ward councillors be briefed on the work they would be undertaking. He went on further to state that there was a lack of commitment to building affordable housing noting that this had been picked up in the consultation responses. He concluded by reporting that the Plan failed to make clear the ambition regarding Council Offices in the Kings Quarter Development or the commitment to Gloucester City Football Club regarding a new sporting ground.

30.4    Councillor Pullen welcomed the plan, expressing concern that the Council did not have the resources to achieve objectives laid out within it. Noting the lack of performance measures, he questioned when these would be available in order to gauge the measure of success against the commitment in the plan.

30.5    Councillor Stephens concurring with Councillor Pullen’s comments noted that the lack of a performance framework had been raised by the external auditors as an urgent action. He reported that he had asked for an update on this work at the November Audit and Governance Meeting.

          He went on further to state that whilst a community builder in Kingsholm was a welcome addition, other areas of the City continued to remain neglected, acknowledging that the Moreland ward would benefit greatly from a community builder post. Referencing Members’ comments regarding the lack of social homes he suggested that the Council work with Gloucester City Homes and other providers to promote new developments.

30.6    Councillor D. Norman explained that a new corporate management framework, encompassing the performance indicators and service specific objectives was currently being developed. He noted that this was a live document and would continue to be updated as objectives progressed. He concluded by thanking the Policy and Governance Manager for her hard work in developing the plan.

30.7    Councillor James welcomed the comments from Members and advised that specific queries would be addressed by the relevant Cabinet Member. He advised that the provision for office accommodation within the Kings Quarter Development would be influenced by the results of discussions with colleagues at Gloucestershire County Council and went on further to explain that whilst the Council were assisting Gloucester City Football Club with preparing a planning application, the Council were not in a position to be delivering a new venue on their behalf. He acknowledged the comments regarding the performance management framework and reported that the Managing Director had been tasked with developing a performance management dashboard to analyse the Council’s performance.

30.8    RESOLVED - that the draft Council Plan 2017-20 be approved.