Issue - meetings

Consideration was given to a report on the Council Plan 2010/2013 Part 1. It was reported that the Council Plan was in effect the Business Plan for the Council and therefore was a key document for Members. Part 1 of the Council Plan contained the Council’s priorities which arose from the away day attended by senior officers and Members and would drive officers’ operational plans. Eventually Part 2 of the Council Plan would govern the allocation of resources and level of performance as part of the 2010/2011 budget process. 

It was reported that, following consideration at Cabinet and Council, Value for Money had been added as an additional value, the priorities had been increased from four to six and there had been some amendment to the key deliverables.

There was particular discussion on Climate Change which had been included for the first time as a Council priority the previous year. New legislation and the introduction of a number of new National Indicators relating to the reduction of CO2 emissions and flooding had focussed attention on these areas which it was recognised would be a huge challenge. At present there was no clear strategy in place to address this although the Assistant Chief Executive reported that a plan was being developed by officers and was likely to be produced within four months. 

It was noted that with a view to addressing these issues a Climate Change Officer post had been created on a joint basis with Redditch Borough Council. The Climate Change Officer had recommended that the Council adopts a 2% per annum reduction target for its CO2 emissions (NI 185) and ensures that it continues to work with its partners on meeting the Local Area Agreement target for per capita emissions in the District of 9% over three years (2008/2011). 

Members also considered the need to address flooding issues by working jointly with Parish Councils and other partners, particularly in relation to the challenging target NI 188 (Planning to adapt to Climate Change) and the two Local Area Agreement targets LI 1a and LI 1b which dealt with flood risk management plans and parish flood warning systems respectively.

Members felt there should be consideration of how communication with residents could be developed to reflect the reasons for entering into Shared Services arrangements i.e. in order to pre-empt the anticipated stringent cuts in public spending, how the new arrangements would deliver Value for Money and would improve the resilience of the Council’s services.

In response to queries from Members relating to GCSE results within the Bromsgrove area, including those achieved by “looked after” children, the Assistant Chief Executive undertook to provide this information to Members of the Board.

There was also discussion on NI 39 which concerned alcohol related hospital admissions and which had increased significantly and therefore received a “red flag” marking from the Audit Commission. It was felt it would be useful to gain a greater understanding of how the figure was arrived at, the factors influencing the figure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34