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Kirklees Council 3 year Corporate Plan 2011/12 to 2013/14

2012/13 Revision - Year 2 edition

FINAL VERSION CIRCULATED FOR COUNCIL 21 MARCH 2012 FRONT COVER TO BE ADDED FOR WEB SITE VERSION

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CONTENTS FOREWORD

Page 3

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

• The Local area, Economic position, Levels of deprivation, Demographic changes, Planning and Policy development – including Health and Wellbeing and Community Safety Planning

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• The Kirklees Partnership

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• Council Vision for 2014

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• Values

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OUR INTEGRATED PLANNING FRAMEWORK

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MAKING OUR VISION A REALITY (including our Priorities)

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• Enhance life chances for young people

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• Support older people to be healthy, active and included

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• Lead Kirklees out of recession

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• Provide effective and productive services

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• Contributions from our full range of Council Services, including: o Core business 33 o Two additional Council-wide strategies commissioned or delivered

in partnership:

Tackling Poverty 33 Protecting the environment by reducing CO2

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FOREWORD Welcome to the Council’s Corporate Plan for 2012/13. This is a revision of our 3 year Corporate Plan published last year. The Council’s Corporate Plan summarises what the Council will aim to achieve in the short term as its significant contribution to partnership activity. It provides the framework within which the Council’s priorities can be different and distinct. The Council’s own short term vision sets a high level of ambition for our staff - both about what we should aim for and how we should meet our customers’ expectations in difficult economic times. The Corporate Plan also provides an overview of how we plan, where we allocate the range of our resources and how we measure the effectiveness of our results. Our performance management framework allows us to maintain a strong focus on delivering our objectives, aiming to ensure our services perform well and continue to provide value for money for the people of Kirklees. We provide evidence of our achievements but of course we know that there is still much to do to tackle the challenges facing Kirklees. The Corporate Plan is an essential internal plan providing a Council-wide framework in which we detail our priorities and objectives. This information is used to inform all individual service delivery plans and the associated performance measures. Adrian Lythgo (Chief Executive) Jacqui Gedman (Interim Director for Place) Dr Judith Hooper (Executive Director of Public Health, for the Council and NHS Kirklees) Merran McRae (Director for Well-being and Communities) Alison O’Sullivan (Director for Children and Young People) Dr David Smith (Director of Resources)

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BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Our understanding of Kirklees and the challenges we face is informed by our strategic needs assessment processes including: the Picture of Kirklees (annual partner conference) and our work with the NHS to carry out the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA); along with robust customer intelligence and our consultation exercises undertaken across our communities and neighbourhoods. All of this informs our priorities. The Local area Kirklees is made up of urban and rural communities, with residents having a strong sense of local independence and identity and attachment to local towns and villages. It is the 11th largest local authority in England. The population in 2010 was nearly 430,000 and is predicted to increase to around 483,000 by 2030. Our ‘Your Place, Your Say’ survey tells us that 76% of Kirklees residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live and 54% agree that their local area is a place where they feel proud to live. However, almost a quarter (24%) feel that their local area has got worse as a place to live over the last three years and this is significantly higher in North Kirklees (30%). Economic Position A strong local economy with well paid jobs is important to Kirklees residents. Overall the performance of the Kirklees economy has been below neighbouring areas over the last decade, with lower levels of productivity and growth; and whilst rebalancing and modernisation of the Kirklees economy has been underway for several years, output remains dominated by an over reliance on declining sectors. The impact of the recession on the Kirklees labour market has been significant and wide ranging. Between 2006 and 2010 Kirklees’ economic output contracted with job losses totalling 4,400. The public sector is a major employer and procurer of goods and services in the district. Cuts in public expenditure are likely to severely impact the Kirklees economy over the next fifteen years. The Kirklees economy is projected to expand by £2billion by 2026 and generate 10,540 jobs –which is significantly below that required to meet the future demand for employment by a growing economically active population. Significant economic interdependencies exist between Kirklees and other areas, with 60,000 Kirklees residents employed elsewhere and 30,000 residents of other areas being employed in Kirklees. Advanced manufacturing, the creative sector and green/low carbon industries all offer real economic growth potential for Kirklees. A strong economy is fundamental to the future of Kirklees, and a key to the success of the district will be how the communities of Kirklees and our partners work together to increase economic resilience. Levels of deprivation High levels of deprivation are found within the larger urban centres of Kirklees, for example Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley. Poverty is still a day to day reality for many Kirklees residents. Up to 30% of households in the district live below an acceptable standard of living and large disparities exist in income levels – a difference in household income of £31,000 between the most affluent and poorer areas.

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Demographic changes The young population (0 – 19 year olds) is projected to rise by 13% over the next 25 years. Children who have the best start in life are more likely to achieve in school and work, live longer and experience better health. Disadvantage in childhood compounds problems experienced in later life. Tackling wider influences on health inequalities and eliminating child poverty are key factors in all of our priorities requiring combined partnership action in Kirklees. If we are to improve life chances for children, priority must be given to the early years to ensure that children get the best opportunity to make positive life choices for both themselves and the people around them. The retired population in Kirklees currently represents nearly 18% of the total Kirklees population. Older people are projected to live longer post-retirement, with a predicted increase of 60% (from 2008 figures) in the number of people over the retirement age by 2030. This has specific implications for health and social care services. It is vital to focus on actions to increase the chances that these extra years of life will be healthy and fulfilling ones. The changing demographics of Kirklees represents a challenge for local public services, individuals and communities to be planning ahead and shaping our communities so that we can all live life to the full. This is not just a social care and health issue – it’s about our housing, relationships, leisure, employment, planning and the built environment – everything that goes to shaping the type of places and communities we want to live in. Planning and Policy development There are a number of overarching policy challenges and opportunities in order to achieve the Vision for Kirklees described later in this document. These take place in a context of significant national policy reform which will impact on all public service providers, in particular: - a greater focus on ‘localism’; - the opening up and diversification of public service provision; - the movement of Public Health into Local Authorities. For Kirklees, key challenges are: • Coordinating action, interventions and commissioning across all sectors to ensure maximum

impact within communities - the voluntary sector, social enterprises and partners working with the Council to provide services and shape outcomes.

• Continuing to reform how public services are delivered, with a focus on reducing inequalities, driving economic growth and achieving social return on investments.

• Supporting individual resilience and reducing dependency. • Early intervention and prevention to improve outcomes for people and to prevent escalating

costs to the public sector and society as a whole. • Delivering a safe local environment.

Health and Wellbeing The Public Health function is transferring into the Council from the NHS in 2012/13, as a consequence of government reforms. This is a significant change which provides the opportunity to ensure that Public Health and wellbeing issues are at the heart of everything we do. The Council will have new duties, including:

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• Taking such steps as it considers appropriate for improving the health of its population • Ensuring plans are in place to protect the health of the population (in prevention and response) Bringing these core functions within the Council should strengthen the ability to have a positive impact on local health and reduce the avoidable gaps in health experienced by local people. In the future: • The Council will also use health intelligence in the best way to understand what needs to be

done in achieving outcomes, understanding challenges faced by local people as well as involving them in solutions; helping to inform effective and innovative work across sectors, agencies and disciplines that ensure resources are used based on local needs.

• The Council will have ready access to experience and knowledge to support it in fulfilling its health improvement responsibilities. Public Health brings additional capacity to develop, commission and deliver a wide range of evidence based action and services designed to improve health and wellbeing, and support positive behaviour change for health in both individuals and organisations.

• The Council will undertake its duty to protect the population of Kirklees by working effectively with other agencies locally, regionally or nationally; including minimising the risk of threats to human health, either by prevention, prompt detection and resolution, or dealing with the consequences.

These core functions will be delivered through: a number of mandatory requirements - for example providing appropriate access to sexual health services, ensuring NHS commissioners receive the public health advice they need, and the NHS Health Check assessment ; and the current and future Public Health programmes – for example public mental health services, alcohol and drug misuse services, and accidental injury prevention. Our existing Wellbeing and Health Inequalities (WHI) programme focuses on reducing the differences in health and wellbeing experienced by different groups across Kirklees, to stop further increases in the short term and for them to reduce in the medium and longer term. There are three high level WHI outcomes to which the Council, Public Health and partners contribute: • People in Kirklees live longer, healthier lives. • Narrowing of the gaps in well-being and health inequalities in local communities (both

geographical areas and communities of interest). • Kirklees is a place where more people reach their potential; work productively and creatively;

build strong and positive relationships and contribute to improving their community. The Council has already established an officer and councillor working group to look at the planned transfer of public health functions. One of our key corporate projects in 2012/13 will be to design and implement this transfer between October 2012 and April 2013. As we move forward, the Health and Wellbeing Board will be the formal mechanism for promoting the effective integrated provision of health and wellbeing services. It will monitor the outcomes of partners in improving and protecting local health, and will: • provide strategic leadership of the Health and Wellbeing programme; • strengthen the role of local democracy in shaping local health care; • improve collaboration between the Council, NHS and local community representatives; • strengthen the connections between the Council and Clinical Commissioning Groups, ensuring

that we work to the right priorities.

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Community Safety Planning The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act and subsequent legislative amendments requires the Council to work with agencies such as the Police, Fire Service, Probation and Health to develop and deliver a Partnership Plan which aims to reduce crime and make people feel safer by dealing with issues such as anti-social behaviour, drug and alcohol misuse and re-offending. Based on the current evidence base of community safety problems across the communities of Kirklees, the current priorities identified are as follows: • Cohesive and resilient communities • A strong Voluntary Sector • Crime and preventing re-offending (links to be made to integrated offender management) • Anti social behaviour • Alcohol (links with violent Crime/assault with injury) and Drugs The Kirklees Partnership It is expected that in 2012/13, further implementation of the Localism Act will formally remove the statutory requirement for a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) to agree and publish a ‘Sustainable Community Strategy’ (SCS). This intention was clearly set out during the Bill’s progression through Parliament. The ultimate aspirations of the partnership vision for 2020, set out in the current Kirklees SCS, will be met through the achievement of the remaining partnership and agency strategies and plans, including the Council’s Corporate Plan and the four Council priorities. Partnership agencies in Kirklees will shortly agree their future working arrangements. The current proposals are: • That there will be no formal Partnership Executive Board. • There will be a number of key cross-partner events during the year focused on, for example:

the ‘Picture of Kirklees’, the economy, health and wellbeing. • We will retain a number of Partnership Boards that are focused on specific areas of importance

– i.e. the ‘Children’s Trust’, the shadow ‘Health and Wellbeing Board’ (which will come into a formal setting by April 2013), the ‘Safer, Stronger Communities Partnership Board’.

From the Partnership to the Council’s Vision In early 2011 we created a Council vision that describes where we expect to reach by 2014. It is primarily for councillors and staff to remind ourselves of the high aspirations we have for Kirklees during this period and for us to use as a measure of success. We also use it as a reminder to ourselves of the need for new ways of working, innovation and productivity that will allow us to do “even better with less”. Alongside the vision we developed new values for the Council based on Kirklees and our underlying ethos of fairness and integrity, with a contribution from all our people. Our values are applied Council wide, without exception, and used as a part of individual and organisation development.  

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Our Kirklees Council Vision for 2014 Our Values The Council has a set of values to support our vision, which were developed in a number of discussions with staff who work in all parts of the Council. Our staff are clear that our values should be a small set of guiding principles that we genuinely believe in and which can be recognised by customers. We use them to describe the behaviour that is important to the Council in our day to day engagement with our customers and with each other. We are confident that they will hold good for a number of years.

Kirklees has emerged from recession with manufacturing and small businesses, as well as the public sector, the mainstay of the economy. The Council is smaller but achieving even greater impact and influence in the local and regional economy and quality of life. Councillors set the priorities to achieve this with partners in their community leadership role. Kirklees towns and villages are vibrant places, provide a richness of life and culture and are safe places to live and work. We have evidence that shows the impact that our services make and we tailor our universal delivery accordingly. Through innovative reforms we are having greater impact and making better collective use of public sector resources. As a result, life chances are improving and inequalities are reducing. Our most vulnerable families are supported so that they are less dependent on statutory services. Early interaction with older people means they are healthier and more active and the social care available is responsive to their needs. Basic skills have improved in the economy driven by high performing schools and, longer term, higher skills and better paid jobs. Wealth creation, investment and private sector employment are growing facilitated by the success of our improved engagement with business. Building on the best of Kirklees, our empowered people celebrate the success and diversity of the district and go the extra mile in achieving this vision with citizens, communities and our partners. They take the right decisions at the right time. There is a new relationship between citizens, our communities and public services and we have made significant progress in transforming public services. Effective community leadership has supported more shared responsibility, with communities enabled to do more through cooperation. Communities, the voluntary sector, social enterprise and partners work together with the Council to provide services and shape outcomes in communities. As a result, communities themselves are stronger and more cohesive. They are vibrant, successful and increasingly more sustainable, including the continuing reduction of our carbon footprint. We receive consistent and excellent customer feedback on the quality of the services that we commission. Communities recognise that neighbourhood and Streetscene services are responsive to local needs and to the councillors that represent them. Kirklees is recognised regionally and nationally as a pioneering local authority. We have responded early and successfully to the financial challenges and our modern innovative and proactive engagement with individuals and communities has shaped services that meet their needs within the resources available.  

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Introducing the values into the organisation will make a significant contribution to the culture that will emerge as we go through a period of unprecedented change. As they were developed within the organisation there is a strong sense of ownership that is carrying them through. We will make every endeavour to ensure that they engender loyalty and are not compromised.

OUR INTEGRATED PLANNING FRAMEWORK Most large organisations have statements of objectives, strategies and plans that show how they will look to achieve improvement in the short, medium and long term. Local authorities have been required by government to produce a number of service and corporate plans and strategies that show how they will organise activity to achieve national and local performance objectives. Some of these strategies were widely focused; others addressed very specific issues. In many cases these have been supplemented by strategies and plans that the Council has established either to meet local objectives or to address national issues or regulatory assessment criteria that do not require a specific strategy. In some instances these strategies and plans are necessary simply to help control and manage the Council as a business. Targeting inequalities What is critically important in all of the above is that within any strategy or plan we are explicit about the differences that we are trying to make, for whom and how we will know when we have achieved it. In this context, we place a particular emphasis in Kirklees on understanding and specifically targeting inequalities between individuals and communities. This has been a strong area of focus for a number of years and has subsequently been mainstreamed into all our priorities. Managers are expected to ensure that Inequality is considered at the start of the development of any service delivery plan or proposal. The chart on page 10 indicates those specific strategies and areas of strategic importance which govern the delivery of the organisation’s objectives. The Council’s Governance Framework Like all local authorities, the Council is run through formal management arrangements that reflect the responsibilities and accountability of councillors and officers. In summary: • Councillors set policy. The formal meetings of councillors, for example ‘Full Council’, ‘Cabinet’

and Committees such as the ‘Planning Sub Committee’ have the authority and terms of reference to make different types of decisions or recommendations.

• Council officers, through our formal organisation structure and operational arrangements, are responsible for advising and implementing Council policy.

• The Council’s Constitution sets down the Council’s operating framework. Cabinet is responsible for implementing Council policy and for overseeing effective delivery of the Council’s objectives.

Full details of our governance framework are available through our web site, www.kirklees.gov.uk

Our Values state that: We will work together with a common sense of purpose. We will be passionate about the difference that we make, confident in our abilities to get things done, and flexible in doing what we can, as well as we can.  

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The Council’s Planning and Performance Management Framework We measure progress against our priorities, service improvements and the effectiveness of the delivery of services to customers. We use service delivery plans to assign resources (money and people) to activities so we achieve the best results. Enhanced monitoring of our activities and performance indicators (PIs) ensures we demonstrate whether we are achieving maximum impact and positive outcomes for people. Our new appraisal process demonstrates (with evidence) everyone's contributions in achieving our stated goals. • The ‘Plan of Plans’ (see below) demonstrates how our key plans and strategies fit together. • Our ‘Annual Performance Cycle’ (see page 11) illustrates the comprehensive planning process

the Council undertakes to assign its resources. • Our ‘Performance Management Framework’ (see page 12) monitors and evaluates our

achievements in relation to planned actions and targets.

The ‘Plan of Plans’

Team Plans

Risk strategy

ICTstrategy

Procurementstrategy

Asset mgtstrategy

Capital strategy

Corporate Plan

Workforce development

strategy

MTFP

Enhance life chances for

young people

Support older people to be

healthy, active & included

Lead Kirklees out of

recession

Provide effective and productive

services

Integrated commissioning

strategy

Children and Young People

Plan

Housing strategy

Commissioning strategy – housing

(incl supporting people)

Making it personal – commissioning strategy for adults

& older people

Putting people first –

transformation programme

Integrated investment strategy

incl capital & asset mgt.

Environment vision and strategy

Local transport plan

Employmentstrategy

Local development framework

Municipal waste management

strategy

Equality and diversity strategy

Consultation strategy

Customer strategy

Communications strategy

Service Delivery Plans

Council-wide strategies

delivered in partnership

CO2 reduction strategy

Social care market

development strategy

Kirklees health and well-being

strategy

Tackling poverty strategy

Safeguarding strategy

AppraisalsIntegrated workforce strategy

Safeguarding strategy

* From 2013/14 this will be replaced by the outcome of a strategic review of policy and plans. There will be two overarching strategies – the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Integrated Investment Strategy

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Annual Performance Cycle

Dec

July

Nov

September

June

January

August

October

May

April

MarchFeb Start to “do”

Annual Performance Cycle

Start to “review and revise”

Start to “plan” next year

Draw up annual comparative picture of performance (& refresh quarterly)

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Performance Management Framework In conjunction with our Annual Performance Cycle (see page 11), our Performance Management Framework shows key stages in how we improve, such as planning what we want to achieve (Plan), delivering those plans (Do), measuring, analysing and reporting performance (Review) and adapting the plans (Revise).

The Corporate Plan which sets out:•What the council plans to achieve•How it will deliver this, and •How resources will be allocated to ensure we are effective and provide value for money.

Planning Framework Performance Reporting Cycle

Plan of Plans (within the Corporate Plan) which shows:•The specific strategies (and areas of strategic importance) which govern the delivery of the organisation's objectives.                     

Service Delivery Plans (SDPs) which set out:•What the Service does (its core functions). •What the Service is going to do this year in particular. •Why it is going to do these things. •How it will resource doing these things?•How it will deliver this (action planning), and•How it will know it has achieved this (measures).

Team plans which, when complete, will state:•How teams will deliver the services customers want.•Changes that are needed in order to deliver.•Team priorities and objectives for the year.•How these link into service objectives.•The expected outcomes for customers.

Individual Appraisals, a fundamental part of the new performance management framework, ensuring we are all accountable for setting, showing and meeting:•Individual objectives which link to team objectives•Clearly linking to our vision and priorities•Demonstrating behaviours and ways of working that are consistent with our values.

Quarterly corporate performance reporting system monitors progress on corporate and service priorities and budgets. Reports to Management Board, Portfolio Briefings and Cabinet.

Directorate and service performance reported through balanced scorecards which cover progress on SDP Headline Actions, plus a performance indicator (PI) assessment, with the assignment of relevant Red/Amber/Green (RAG) ratings for each.

Team performance against objectives monitored throughout the year in Team Meetings.

Individual performance against objectives reviewed in regular manager-employee (1 to1) meetings and in annual and 6 monthly Appraisals.

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MAKING OUR VISION A REALITY Our priorities and where they come from We are a large organisation with a huge scope of activity. Our four strategic priorities help us to focus on the things that we need to do to deliver lasting achievements in areas that have been prioritised for improvement across Kirklees. Our priorities for 2012/13 are a continuation of those agreed for 2011/12 adjusted for the circumstances we face. When reviewing and setting our priorities for improvement a number of factors are considered: • our understanding of the communities of Kirklees, their challenges, how these have developed

over the previous twelve months and what we can predict about the future; • our performance in the previous twelve months in our areas of priority and our budget; • our understanding of developments in the national context, for example changes in

government policy or economic climate and the implications for Kirklees, and; the views of community, public and voluntary service, and business representatives.

The Council’s contribution Establishing the strategic shape of the Council’s contribution to areas of critical priority for Kirklees is an important annual decision, agreed in our budget for 2012/13. This drives the Council’s Service Delivery Plans (SDPs) and programmes of improvement and change. It is embodied in the detailed information within this plan and will inform and shape our services in 2012/13. Our four priorities are to:

- Enhance life chances for young people - Working in partnership to improve educational attainment for the under 16s, and enable

them to reach their full potential.

- Support older people to be healthy, active and included - Focussing on preventative work, while empowering those with long term conditions to

live independent lives to the full and be in control of making their own decisions.

- Lead Kirklees out of recession - Making sure we emerge with a stronger economy and better paid jobs

- Provide effective and productive services

- Ensuring services are focused on the needs of the community and delivering excellent value for money.

The following sections show these priorities in more detail. They demonstrate why and how they were established, how the Council has contributed to date and the actions within our Service Delivery Plans stating what we will do in 2012/13 to deliver the priorities.

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THE 4 COUNCIL PRIORITIES Enhance life chances for young people - Working in partnership to improve educational attainment for the under 16s, and enable

them to reach their full potential. 1. Lead Officer: Alison O’Sullivan - Director for Children and Young People 2. Where did the priority come from / the rationale for our focus? The priority was agreed by the Kirklees Partnership in June 2010. It is an expression of a specific, narrower focus on areas of increased priority within the cross-partnership area of ‘Children and Young People’. The main areas of focus within the priority were discussed and agreed by the Kirklees Children’s Trust within its remit to improve the well-being of all children and young people through improving their future prospects and reducing inequalities between the most disadvantaged and their peers. The Children’s Trust is the partnership led by the Council which brings together local agencies and organisations (both commissioners and providers) to lead and take responsibility for the work on making improvements in outcomes. The Youth Council and Children in Care Council also had a significant influence over the content for the priority. The changing national policy context and economic environment require new and radical approaches to services and ways of working. Within this context, the Council continues to have a focus on improving standards of attainment for children and young people and this is now coupled with an intense attention on reviewing a range of services to improve our ability to provide integrated early help to those children and families with the greatest needs. In 2012/13 we will monitor the impact of the Welfare Reforms on care leavers and lone parents with a single income. Safeguarding and child protection and the continuing rising demand for these services remains central to our work as we seek to manage demand through getting better at early intervention and help for children, young people and families. To achieve this in 2012/13 we are continuing with the approaches we have used in 2011/12: radical examination of the functions and services provided by the Council’s Directorate for Children and Young People (DfCYP); innovation in ways of working; greater targeting of resources to communities with the most acute needs, and; greatly enhanced collaboration, joint commissioning and realignment of services to achieve the most effective and efficient use of reducing resources. 3. What was achieved in 2011/12? • Our arrangements for keeping children and young people safe are good and this is

confirmed by Ofsted’s inspections of services and settings. The unannounced inspection of contact and referral and the full inspection of safeguarding and services for Looked after Children provide external validation of our work. The full inspection judged our services good overall with some areas of outstanding practice.

• The proportion of people aged 16-18 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) continues to fall and outcomes for some of the most vulnerable young people have improved with the number of care leavers in education, training or work increasing.

• Our improved performance and rates of improvement at Foundation Stage, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 show we are narrowing the gap and bringing Kirklees in line with national performance:

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o Foundation Stage: Nearly two thirds of children achieve a good level (78 plus points).

o Key Stage 2: the proportion of children obtaining the national benchmark (Level 4 or above) in English and Mathematics is similar to the national average

o Key Stage 4: the proportion of students attaining five or more GCSE passes at Grade A*-C (including English and Maths) is above the national average for the first time

• Completion of an NHS and Creative Partnerships commissioned emotional health/wellbeing project in 14 schools, inclusive of 210 children, including the development of nurturing spaces in 4 secondary schools which has influenced schools’ wider thinking about how to support pupils’ emotional health needs.

• Over 400 children and adults taking part in a range of activities developed in response to the Tackling Childhood Obesity theme of the Reducing Inequalities Grant scheme, which encouraged physical activity and healthy eating through participation in community based activities such as cycling, swimming, cook and eat, walking, local parks and play areas.

• Received two national professional awards re: apprenticeships; gardening (the council has also been recognised for its training programme) and construction, the same apprentice was also a runner-up in the 2011 Local Government Yorkshire & Humber (LGYH) young employee of the year award.

• Supported the long term vision of saving money in the recruitment and retention of children’s social workers by leading the region with a campaign that promotes the importance of the work. The team co-ordinated over 30 regional media interviews and generated over 15,000 hits to the campaign website.

• 16 Modern Apprentices (Customer Service, Highways and Grounds Maintenance) on a 2 year placement offering skills building and relevant NVQ qualifications.

• Continued to tackle fuel poverty and carbon reduction work in Council homes, utilising new funding streams.

• Increased the take up of Free School Meals and school premium, by identifying children who were eligible to FSM but not claiming.

• The MEND 2-4 programme was commissioned and rolled out across Kirklees to improve the knowledge and skills of early year’s staff to enable them to play a key role in the prevention of obesity among children.

• As part of a regional social norms research project, a community group in Dewsbury Moor are working to establish local attitudes to smoking and smoke free environments; a community led intervention will be informed by the findings to challenge the belief that smoking is the norm in Dewsbury Moor.

4. What are the expected high level outcomes for 2012/13? Looked After Children

• The educational attainment and progress of looked after children at ages 11 and 16 continues to improve and young people achieve in line with their predicted outcomes

• A large proportion of young people leaving care find education, training or employment. • A very large proportion of young people leaving care are living in suitable

accommodation • The accommodation strategy for Looked After Children continues to find more children

appropriate placements locally and reduce the number of young people in external residential placements

Early intervention and an integrated approach to working with families

• Family support and children centre services are targeted more at those with the greatest

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needs and provide a joined-up offer of early help which will reduce referrals to children’s social care.

• More disadvantaged two year olds are taking up early education and child care places (as part of a three year programme to expand this provision)

• The market for early learning and child care is supported and developed to ensure sufficient, high quality places.

Teenage parents and those at risk of teenage pregnancy

• Teenage parents in Kirklees receive the support they need to make successful futures for themselves and their children, and avoid any subsequent pregnancies whilst still a teenager.

• Teenage conceptions are reduced. Infant mortality

• Infant mortality rates continue to decline, particularly in the areas with the highest occurrence of infant death.

In addition to achieving outcomes in the areas listed above, the Council is focused on achieving the following outcomes in areas of ‘core business’ in 2012/13: • Arrangements for keeping children safe continue to be judged as ‘good’ through

inspection, and performance on the majority of staying safe indicators is in line with, or better than, similar areas and/or national averages.

• Attainment of children at Foundation Stage, the end of Key Stage 2 and the end of Key Stage 4 is in line with or better than the average for similar areas and/or the national average.

• The gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and young people and their peers is narrowing at a rate which is in line with, or better than, that for similar areas and/or the national average.

• Vulnerable pupils are able to access education and achieve their potential. • The proportion of young people aged 16+ participating in learning is increasing over time

and is in line with, or better than, similar areas and/or the national average • The numbers of young people aged 16–18 who are participating in education, training or

employment is in line with our targets. 5. What areas of work will influence these outcomes, and what engagement and consultation has been undertaken? These high level outcomes represent the core business of the Directorate for Children and Young People and the partnership priorities are agreed by the Children’s Trust Board. The Youth Council and Children in Care Council were consulted in their development. They influence all aspects of our work and are the basis for our planning, for example they will inform the work of the shadow Health and Wellbeing Board. 6. What plans cover this? • Children and Young People Plan, and its contributing sub-plans • Council Service Delivery Plans • Joint Health and Well Being Strategy

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7. Headline Actions in 2012/13 1. Implement the outcomes of the Early Intervention Review on family support and children’s

centres and continue with other strands of the Review (Early Learning, Healthy Child programme and Integrated Youth Support) to create an integrated offer of early help for children pre birth to age 19 which focuses limited resources on those with the greatest needs. Ensure that support and improved outcomes for complex and troubled families is integrated into this approach.

2. Develop the role of corporate parent to ensure that: the accommodation strategy is implemented and meets our sufficiency duty for Looked After Children (LAC) placements; the education, training and employment outcomes for LAC continue to improve; and front line efficiency of children’s social care is improved through the implementation of an appropriate IT system for recording and case management.

3. Develop the role of the Council as champion for children and families to ensure that: we

continue to forge and influence increasingly robust and resilient partnerships with schools, settings and external partners; we encourage institutions to embrace a schools improving schools approach; ensure we commission sufficient high quality school places and early learning opportunities so that the outcomes for all learners are maximised.

4. Develop integrated commissioning arrangements across the Council (including Public

Health) and with NHS partners to ensure coherent pathways and services that meet the needs of children and young people (including universal services, targeted services and those for disabled children).

5. See the Kirklees College developments in Huddersfield completed and opened to students. 6. Develop interventions to reduce infant mortality and improve the health of women of

childbearing age by commissioning ‘Auntie Pam’s’ - a community based pregnancy peer support project and outreach, and designing genetic awareness training and information sessions both for professionals and for key at risk groups.

7. Support and develop maternal and early infant nutrition through the healthy start scheme

and infant weaning strategies.

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Support older people to be healthy, active and included - Focusing on preventative work, while empowering those with long term conditions to live

independent lives to the full and be in control of making their own decisions.

1. Lead Officer: Merran McRae - Director for Well-being and Communities, and Dr Judith Hooper – Executive Director of Public Health for the Council and NHS Kirklees 2. Where did the priority come from / the rationale for our focus? There will be a substantial increase in the numbers of older people in Kirklees by 2020. There are currently over 63,000 people aged over 65 living in Kirklees, 15% of the total population. By 2020 this will have increased to over 78,000 – an increase of 23%. Around 15,000 of those currently aged 55-65 will become ‘older people’ in the timeframe of the Kirklees Partnership Vision for 2020. The largest growth will be in potentially the most frail and dependent group of over 85s with significant implications for planning future service provision to support this group to live as independently as possible and with dignity. Our vision for older people is ‘Living Life to the Full’, which highlights the importance of a range of issues that enable older people to be ‘healthy, active and included’. It is built on strong principles:

• Listening to older people, • Enabling older people to make

informed choices • Involving older people in decisions • Respecting the dignity and privacy of

older people • Involving and supporting carers

• Giving older people time to make important decisions

• Recognising individual differences • Providing integrated services • Providing clear pathways through the

‘system’

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Challenges to Address: We want to make Kirklees a good place in which to grow older, for everyone. As our population ages we need to ensure people are supported to age healthily and remain independent for as long as possible. This in not just about vulnerable older people who need care and support. It is also about: • adults preparing for later life: people in ‘middle age’ who are (or should be) starting to think

about what they want their life to be like when they are older; • adults entering later life: people close to/just past retirement or state pension age who are

actively making changes to their life to reflect the change in their role and available resources;

• older people: people, who are past state retirement age and have ‘retired’, are settled in their new role/circumstances and are still active and independent.

Transformation of Adult Social Care: Preventative and early intervention services are a key area for delivering adult services in Kirklees. There is a move to rationalise current investment from formal assessment services to more community based and targeted non-assessed services. Putting People First and other policy trends have placed increasing emphasis in recent years on the lower end of our triangle of services (see below); preventative and early intervention services. There is considerable and growing national and local evidence that such services can help people avoid the need for more complex care in future.

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Prevention and early intervention can also help more people per £1 spent than more complex care, as it can be delivered through less formal assessment, can utilise new technological solutions that are declining in cost and increasing in sophistication, and can utilise community based services, engendering community support. Personalisation: Older people are expecting a greater choice of, and control over, the support that is offered to them. Government initiatives including ‘Putting People First’ encourages significant changes in the way that support is offered, with increased use of personal budgets and direct payments. This means that the Council’s role is changing from one of provider and purchaser to that of enabler and market facilitator, ensuring that the services people want are available within the market place. The delivery of ‘Putting People First’ is not limited to personal budgets or to public services targeted at people eligible for state support. It is also about how people help themselves and each other as individuals, in groups and communities and how they make best use of the universal commercially and public funded resources available to all citizens in their area 3. What was achieved in 2011/12? • Through our Community Partnerships unit we have offered development and grant

investment to groups and organisations providing projects with a focus on wellbeing, health and social care. These groups also offer people the opportunity to volunteer and run their own projects. Last year 1,400 volunteers gave 187,000 hours of their time to run projects. Almost 100 people have been employed with our grants (15 full time). In 2010/11, at least 8,000 people in Kirklees took part in community projects supported by grant investment each week.

• We have further developed our approaches to prevention and re-ablement for vulnerable older people, maximising the opportunities to refocus resources on early intervention. The re-ablement service went live during 2011/12 and is provided to everyone new to home care.

• We have continued to work on development of the social care market to ensure a sufficient range of high quality choices are available. Shop4support has been appointed to provide the biggest social care e-marketplace ever developed in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

• We continue to progress integrated models of service delivery that deliver improved health and well-being. We are also working closely with health partners to deliver local community support that is responsive to someone’s need. Examples of this include Generic Workers who work alongside community matrons to prevent admission to hospital, and the development of local community care teams that use health and social care resources available in an area to deliver a seamless service.

• We have continued to develop our Self Directed Support offer to enable people to make informed choices about how, where and by whom their support needs are met. Self-Directed Support is about people being in control of the support they need to live the life they choose. Over 6,000 people in Kirklees, who access adult social care services, have self-directed their own support - a significant increase of 3,800 people from 2009/10.

• Contract agreed and work commenced on the ‘Excellent Homes for Life’ project which will provide 35 homes designed specifically for wheel chairs and 140 extra care properties.

• Continued to tackle fuel poverty and carbon reduction work in Council homes, utilising new funding streams.

• Success in civil restraint of “easy Nights” (rogue trader) preying on the elderly and vulnerable.

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• Reminiscence Resources loan scheme used regularly and extensively by elderly care services with over 100 loans reaching over 3,000 elderly residents.

• Moving More Often - focusing on exercise for the frail elderly - 12 courses delivered, with approximately 100 leaders trained, with 3 support meetings held and 11 new sustainable activity opportunities created.

4. What are the expected high level outcomes for 2012/13? Older people in Kirklees and approaching later life: • live longer, healthier lives with the gaps in well-being and health inequalities in local

communities (both geographical and communities of interest) narrowing; • reach their potential to be active and independent, build strong and positive relationships

and contribute to improving their community; • have improved ability to cope with adversity and maximise the money in their pockets,

especially those groups/communities that are most economically vulnerable; • are better able to manage their own conditions and have control of the support they receive

to maintain or recover their independence; • have easy access to information about opportunities and support that help them to be

healthy, active and included, and; • experience respect and dignity in any care that they receive. 5. What areas of work will influence these outcomes, and what engagement and consultation has been undertaken? Whilst work on this priority is a core role for the Wellbeing and Communities Directorate, delivering the outcomes will require contributions from services across the Council and the Partnership, particularly those responsible for the issues highlighted in our Vision for Older People. Older people are involved in setting the vision for older people’s services, principally via the Older People’s Partnership Board, which older people attend on behalf of the Kirklees Older People’s network, along with carers of older people. The Board is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the activity to achieve the vision. Carers are regularly involved in service planning through the Partnership Boards and also the Carers’ Strategy Group, who run open consultation events with wider groups of carers. In the last year we have engaged on issues such as the accommodation strategy and the procurement exercise for home care. We continue to engage with older people in communities where they are active citizens shaping their own lives. This is the case for much of our community investment through grants where community activity is often run by older people. 6. What plans cover this? • Wellbeing and Health Inequalities Programme Plan • Making it Personal - Commissioning Strategy for Adults 2009 - 12 (and all associated

strategies/plans) • Workforce Strategy • Physical Activity Programme Plan • Sport & Active Recreation Strategy • Vision for Older People ‘Living Life to the Full’

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7. Headline Actions in 2012/13 1. Further developing the Kirklees response to Think Local Act Personal and the opportunities

for older people in this, including re-modelling services through co-design with individuals and communities, to meet modern aspirations and opportunities presented by adult social care transformation and personal budgets.

2. Continually grow our Self Directed Support offer to enable older people to make informed choices about how, where and by whom their support needs are met.

3. Enlarge and develop our approaches to prevention and early intervention for older people,

including investing in community based solutions, reducing inequalities to sports and physical activities, implementing the Older Peoples Accommodation Strategy to enable more older people to live independently and engaging more older people in volunteering and buddy programmes.

4. Facilitate continuous development of the social care market to ensure a sufficient range of

high quality choices are available. 5. Build on our current approaches to engagement and promote the principles of co

production to ensure that those entering later life are able to shape the future of Kirklees and shape the delivery of local services, especially adult social care.

6. Expand work with the local NHS using shared commissioning and planning processes to

improve the wellbeing and tackle the health inequalities experienced by older people. 7. Achieve further integrated models of service delivery (including best partnering) that deliver

improved health and wellbeing, working across both commissioning and provider boundaries.

8. Shape a positive and supportive environment for older people through a range of initiatives

including a refreshed co-ordinated approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour and promotion of community based support and individual and community empowerment.

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Lead Kirklees out of recession - Making sure we emerge with a stronger economy and better paid jobs 1. Lead Officer: Jacqui Gedman – Interim Director of Regeneration 2. Where did the priority come from / the rationale for our focus? A strong economy is essential to the district. Generally, those in employment have a higher quality of life and better health than those not in work and residents with higher skills are able to increase their household income by securing better paid jobs. Whilst Kirklees is a low wage/low skill economy, we have the highest percentage of Level 4 skills within West Yorkshire, world-class manufacturing companies and a vibrant small firms sector. The Council and its economic partners is committed to working with the business community to increase economic resilience, support the diversification of the economy, improve skill levels and increase the number of jobs available to residents. An important element of leading Kirklees out of the recession is understanding the local economy. The Local Economic Assessment has been developed to provide evidence of a range of issues that relate to the local economy and to provide analysis about the relationship between these factors and the economy. The assessment has five key messages: The Local Economy Major challenges, but also opportunities, face the Kirklees economy: Transformation in the local economy has seen a steady shift from a heavy reliance on traditional manufacturing and chemicals to greater diversification including much more service-based economic activity (similar to the national trends), impacting upon the rates of participation in the workforce by women, and in turn, changing the way residents live and earn their income. Essentially, the size and performance of an area’s local economy and its ability to generate wealth and employment opportunities will have a direct impact upon the levels of prosperity or economic deprivation that faces its residents. Manufacturing will continue to be a strength for the district but the number of jobs is predicted to decline with highest growth likely to be in the financial services, environmental technologies, creative and digital sectors. Re-balancing provides the prospect for greater economic resilience, higher levels of economic growth and the potential for new job creation. Employment in Kirklees More local job creation is essential to meet the needs of a growing population and to avoid higher levels of worklessness and deprivation. There was no net employment creation by the private sector over the last 10 years and over the next decade and a half the Kirklees economy is projected to generate +10,540 jobs which represents an expansion of +7.8%. But this is not enough to accommodate the number of working age residents looking for employment. Jobs can be created by new businesses starting and growing their workforce, existing businesses expanding, or businesses moving into the district and creating new employment opportunities for residents. Given the contraction in the public sector, support is needed to incentivise job creation and support existing businesses to grow within the district, new firms to start and flourish and new sectors to develop. We must also provide routes to employment for our residents, particularly those most distant from the labour market, and raise the skill levels within the economy to develop

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a next generation workforce. As a Council we are committed to creating the conditions to improve the number of local jobs for residents. Our ambitions, as set out in our LDF draft core strategy, are for 35,000 jobs over the next 15 years. Business and Enterprise There are increasing levels of entrepreneurship in Kirklees but “survivability‟ must increase if these firms are to contribute to employment levels. Few firms employ anyone under 25 and employers are reticent about recruiting young people. Investment in skills and the provision of employment land are priorities for raising local economic capacity. Access to bank finance at affordable rates must be improved, and the council has been working with key business leaders to develop new ways of improving access to finance. The demise of Business Link Yorkshire is likely to have an impact on the rate of new firm formation within the district and one of the challenges we face is to ensure that residents thinking of starting their own business are able to access the support and advice they need and that businesses are supported to grow. In 2012/13 The Corporate Procurement Strategy will be revised and updated to reflect the Council’s procurement priorities and requirements. This will establish mechanisms to realise local economic and social benefits from our procurement activity including the development and integration of local supply chain, SMEs and third sector organisations. Key Strategic Sectors of Importance Business services, Health, Construction and distributions have best chance of seeing growth, but advanced manufacturing, Culture and green technologies will be strategically important Spatial Economic Links and key assets Location is a major asset for Kirklees – at the centre of the Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield City regions - with £130b of economic opportunity for Kirklees residents and businesses to exploit. Access to employment opportunities both within the district and these three City Regions is vital for our residents. Huddersfield University is a key asset for the district and its presence will support the growth of the economy. The development of the Enterprise and Innovation Centre, which the Council is supporting, will be a driver for both inward investment and local economic resilience. Research and data:

- The Implications of the Economic Recession - Government policy - Welfare reform Bill - CSR (Comprehensive Spending Review) and its implications for the Local Economy - Adult skills audit recognises the need to raise skills level to improve local economy - Local employer survey – 10% of businesses consulted.

3. What was achieved in 2011/12? Regeneration • We secured £90m investment from Central Government to provide over 450 new affordable

homes and we have secured the building of 187 new affordable homes by private sector developers.

• We have supported key investment opportunities in our towns through the Waterfront development in Huddersfield and Pioneer House in Dewsbury.

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• The Council approved LDF core strategy for submission to the Secretary of State after the abolition of RSS.

Support to Business • We have worked collaboratively with our local business leaders to create the conditions for job

and home growth. • Review supply chains to increase local procurement. • Maximise opportunity for businesses to reduce costs through bulk purchase. • Combine efforts to recruit apprenticeships. • We worked with local companies to maximise the impact of the Regional Growth Fund - and in

the first 2 rounds of the fund, 5 companies in Kirklees were awarded a total of £5.3m to support their expansion plans and create new employment opportunities.

• We have achieved 5% year on year increase in the visitor sector through supporting the work of Welcome 2 Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire Tourism Partnership.

• We continued to work with Huddersfield University on the development of the Enterprise and Innovation Centre (EIC), including provision of a capital grant towards its development. We are working in partnership with the University to ensure that local manufacturers are linked to the EIC.

Support to residents: • Attracted funding over the next 3 years to take a community development approach to digital

inclusion in Chickenley and Ravensthorpe and the cross-cutting themes of unemployment, health, elderly and BME residents.

• We provided funds to the Kirklees Benefits Advice Services (KBAS) and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) targeted at improving the financial skills of residents with significant debt issues and supporting them to remain in their home.

• We supported Castle and Minster Credit Union to reduce the use of doorstep lenders and so increase household income.

• 604 residents have taken part in the Future Jobs Fund programme, 196 have now found employment, 12 are in full time education and 2 are in training.

• Secured Local Government Yorkshire & Humber (LGYH) funding to pilot the Health & Social Care apprenticeship project. A partnership between the Council, Skills for Care and a local training provider to support independent care homes to recruit apprentices - to date 17 apprentices have been placed within independent care homes.

• 16 Modern Apprentices (Customer Service, Highways and Grounds Maintenance) on a 2 year placement offering skills building and relevant NVQ qualifications.

4. What are the expected high level outcomes for 2012/13? • Delivering economic growth, better quality homes and improved connectivity across our

districts/region for our local businesses and communities through: - Ensuring adequate supply of land for housing and employment - Prioritising growth sectors and supporting Kirklees businesses - Attracting inward investment - Developing skills to meet the needs of local employers - Securing funding for regeneration projects in our towns, especially Dewsbury &

Huddersfield - Ensuring vibrant and thriving town centres - Increasing employment opportunities for young people - Supporting business to reduce its carbon emissions

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5. What areas of work will influence these outcomes, and what engagement and consultation has been undertaken? These high level outcomes represent the core business of the Place Directorate and the partnership priorities agreed by the Council. In developing the content of the priority, the Council consulted with a number of stakeholders, including the Business Leaders forums in South and North Kirklees, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Federation for Small Businesses. Surveys of residents’ views, for example ‘Your Place Your Say’ have informed our service design and delivery and through our local employer survey. 6. What plans cover this?

• Employment and Skills Strategy • Economic Assessment • Integrated Investment Strategy • Local Development Framework (LDF) • Housing Commissioning Strategy • Area and Neighbourhood Working Strategy 7. Headline Actions in 2012/13 1. Implement the Integrated Investment Strategy, through:

a. Prioritising the Local Development Framework (LDF) as the most effective tool to support private sector job growth, housing development and attracting investment to the area. Our aim is to have an adopted LDF core strategy by the end of 2013.

b. Work with the City Region and LEP partners to secure inward investment, prioritising infrastructure investment related to economic growth and improving opportunities for our most disadvantaged communities.

2. Work with businesses to stimulate wealth and job creation:

a. Develop and implement a strategy for skills which matches provision of learning opportunities more closely with the development of skills and qualifications needed to support the economic and social regeneration priorities for Kirklees.

b. Ensure that our businesses are maximising the opportunities of innovation and technology through improved infrastructure and connectivity.

3. Develop a housing strategy responsive to the economic climate and changes in national policy,

bringing forward and implementing new approaches to housing delivery, for example delivering over 450 ‘Excellent Homes for Life’.

4. Ensure vibrant and thriving town centres: a. Huddersfield - a place to make it, hub for creativity, culture, learning, residential and

retail; Dewsbury - focus on sustainable home grown enterprise, creating a place where young people want to live and work.

5. Apply the principles in the Kirklees Compact, to work together with the Voluntary and

Community Sector (VCS) to achieve the vision of a sustainable and flexible VCS. The sector will be able to contribute to sustaining and improving the quality of life for people in Kirklees with the aim of building healthy, safe and strong communities. Key issues to address include: further improvement to communication and involvement; improving VCS sustainability through asset management, grants and contracts; strengthening voluntary activity across Kirklees.

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6. We will use the Council’s assets innovatively to stimulate regeneration and job creation.

7. Progress major regeneration initiatives which have a positive impact on our town centres, including: the development of commercial land for sale on part of the Huddersfield Waterfront site to complement the major investment in the new Kirklees College; development of a new Sports Centre for Huddersfield; preserving and bringing back into use Pioneer House - a prominent historic building in Dewsbury which has been neglected for many years.

8. Support key strategic employment sites to maximise the opportunity for job growth.

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Provide effective and productive services - Ensuring services are focused on the needs of the community and delivering excellent

value for money.

1. Lead Officer: David Smith - Director of Resources 2. Where did the priority come from / the rationale for our focus? This priority was originally agreed by the Kirklees Partnership in June 2010. The rationale for maintaining the priority continues to be the need to respond to a range of national and local issues including the national economic and the local economic and demographic contexts. It is also informed by previous and current work on value for money (VfM). The requirement to achieve substantial budget savings is consequent to the reduction in government specific and general grants over the next three years. Substantial work has been carried out to identify ways of making the Council more efficient and effective by:

• putting customers at the heart of our priorities; • using technology; • using assets effectively; • better procurement; • doing things only once; • effective management;

It is also informed by our performance outcomes for 2011/12 and the outcomes of our Innovation and Efficiency programme embedded in year one of this priority. How does our performance compare with other Metropolitan councils? The national performance framework was dismantled during the 2010/11 financial year. Over the past two years the indicators used to monitor our performance have been reviewed and revised. The Council agreed a group of indicators that give the greatest insight into our performance. Of the indicators that we monitored during the last full performance year in 2010/11, 18 out of 29 have shown an improvement in performance. We can compare ourselves on 25 of these indicators with 36 other Metropolitan Councils. Of the 25 we rated in the top quartile for 4 indicators, 6 in the second quartile, 9 in the third and 6 in the bottom. In broad terms we are a relatively low spending council. The following table gives examples of how costs in Kirklees compare to the average cost for other Metropolitan District Councils.

Area of expenditure or income 2010/11 Kirklees Average Net Current Expenditure for Environmental and regulatory services (1) £s per household 164.90 173.75

Net Current Expenditure Planning and development services (1) £s per household 81.44 121.25

Net Current Expenditure on adult and children’s social care (1) £s per head 387.07 442.50

Net Current Expenditure for Highways and transport services (1)

£s per km of Total Road Length

7,731.43 12,186.49

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Net Current Expenditure for Education services (1) £s per pupil 5,665.85 5,727.38

Local authority average weekly rent (2) £s 56.68 58.52 Source: Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing England 2010-11 Final Outturn - compiled by the Local Government Finance - Data Collection Analysis and Accountancy division of Department for Communities and Local Government. (1) Source: Local Authority Housing Statistics, England: 2010-11, Department for Communities and Local Government (2)

Challenges to address: • Strengthening our approach to Value for Money. • Delivering the savings, efficiencies and change defined in the Powerhouse project. • Workforce development to drive innovation. • Managing and utilising our assets in a way that:

o supports and enables the Integrated Investment Strategy o and to deliver the objectives of our priorities

This will be underpinned and enhanced by a focus on making the changes and delivering the services set out in each service delivery plan. We want everyone to be able to realise their potential and to benefit from the cultural, social, economic and civic vitality of our district. We want to meet people’s needs as best we can, and we realise that treating people fairly does not necessarily mean treating everyone as if they are the same. This is reflected in our Equality and Diversity Strategy. This commitment applies to our work as an employer, a service deliverer, a contractor and funding body and in our community leadership role. We will meet our statutory responsibilities in relation to the Public Sector Equality Duty. We will continue to produce Equality Impact Assessments in relation to our budget proposals, policy reviews development of our Service Delivery Plans. 3. What was achieved in 2011/12? • Increased the take up of Free School Meals and school premium, by identifying children

who according to our records were eligible to FSM but not claiming. • Increasing the proportion of independent sector Supported Living placements for people

with learning disabilities has generated significant savings. • Over 1,000 households who had experienced a burglary fitted with additional security

measures such as locks and lights to reduce their chances of further victimisation and the subsequent consequences of that on their health and wellbeing.

• Management of regular multi agency FOCUS operations throughout Kirklees which bring together partners to address neighbourhood issues such as fly tipping, traffic issues and anti-social behaviour. This has focused on upwards of 25,000 residents living in targeted neighbourhoods.

• Sustained the same level of income collection for the Council from Council Tax, Business Rates and Sundry Debt (£332m).

• Implemented new Dewsbury Customer Service Centre aimed at providing a first class service in one location for customers in North Kirklees.

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• Continued to rationalise the Council’s estate to generate resources for the community’s benefit.

• Led a Council-wide approach through procurement partnerships including rationalising the range of products we buy, achieving savings of £2.4m.

• Reduced carbon consumption in Council buildings by 5,500 tonnes of CO2 (5.69% reduction)

• KNH tenant satisfaction at 83%, highest recorded. • Sustained levels of rent collection - current rent arrears reduced to £1.4m from £1.9m. • Launch of new approach to corporate and service performance management linking

achievements to council objectives and priorities.

4. What are the expected high level outcomes for 2012/13?

• Enhancing opportunities for local businesses to realise benefits by being included in the supply chain.

• Manage our assets effectively and productively to maximise economic and regeneration benefits.

• Achieve more savings, efficiencies, and productive services through ‘Powerhouse’. • Ensuring the council has the right people with the right skills, and the right assets to

deliver high quality services to residents. • Effective management and monitoring of the budget. • Ensuring that decisions made are effective and within the statutory framework. • Contribute to narrowing gaps and the Council’s Tackling-poverty strategy through the

Customer, Exchequer, Welfare and Financial Support strategies; ensuring we maximise income, and direct money and advice to the people who need it the most.

5. What areas of work will influence these outcomes, and what engagement and consultation has been undertaken? Every service contributes to achievement of this priority and evidence of this is captured through our performance management framework. In addition, the specific work programmes and strategies, such as the Innovation and Efficiency programme and Asset Management Strategy and ICT Strategy referred to in this section, drive Council wide and cross service improvements. Consultation is integral to the design of services. Councillors have approved a number of key actions to reinforce the Council’s dialogue with local people. Consultation exercises undertaken in the last year include:

- ‘Your Place Your Say’ – our survey of residents’ views; - ‘Your Voice, You Choose’ – our interactive web-based budget consultation tool. - More detailed service consultations on specific service budget proposals have taken

place, led by the relevant services. These have engaged service users as early as possible, and targeted the groups most likely to be affected.

6. What plans cover this? • Customer Strategy • Exchequer Strategy • Welfare and Financial Support Strategy

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• Asset management plan • ICT Strategy • Office Accommodation Strategy • Disposal plan • Capital plan • Procurement Strategy • Workforce Development Strategy • Learning and Development Strategy • Equality and Diversity Strategy

7. Headline Actions in 2012/13 Vulnerable people/welfare reform 1. Prepare for the impact of Welfare Reform by, for example: developing and implementing

the Council’s Welfare and Financial Support Strategy; bringing together all means tested services and providing welfare advice; mitigating the impact on personal incomes and revenue collection relating to Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) tenants.

Governance and decision-making 2. Strengthen the Council’s policy framework by undertaking a corporate review of policies

and plans, in connection with the Constitution.

3. Maximising the opportunities of the partnership with KNH to deliver the Council’s priorities through robust governance arrangements.

Creating opportunities for communities and groups to have a voice 4. Improve access for Voluntary and Community Groups to the Council’s funding

programmes by establishing a single access point and improving access to information and advice.

5. Maximisation of use of assets including office accommodation, disposal of assets and community transfer where this benefits the people of Kirklees.

6. Increase participation of patient representatives on the Shadow Health and Wellbeing

Board (Healthwatch). 7. Support the creation of community health and wellbeing champions and increase

volunteering as a means of improving health and wellbeing.

Value for Money and effective service provision 8. Develop and implement the Council’s Customer Strategy; providing a variety of access

arrangements which meet our customer’s requirements and reflect their changing needs, for example by encouraging customer contact through web and phone from face to face.

9. Implement the legislative changes affecting Benefits, Council Tax and Business rates:

a. New localised Council Tax Scheme to replace Council Tax benefit. b. New Council Tax discounts and exemption scheme. c. New discretionary payments systems for social fund and crisis loans.

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d. Localisation of Business rates. 10. Implementing new ways of working, including:

a. Expanding the Streetscene area based offer, working with residents to shape local service delivery that is responsive to local needs.

b. Preparation for replacement of our existing financial, HR (and other business) control systems, ensuring these meet the council’s needs, are efficient and effective – delivering the ‘Powerhouse’ project which will radically change our back office working practice and processes.

c. Implementing the Council’s Workforce Development Strategy: providing employees and communities with appropriate skills for the future; improving communication and driving innovation utilising the ideas of the workforce; and developing a workforce that is more representative of the community.

11. Review and strengthen our approach to providing evidence of Value for Money (VfM) in the use of Council resources; introducing flexible commissioning and a ‘best partner’ approach to service provision.

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Contributions from our full range of Council Services The four Council priorities demonstrate our focus on delivering lasting achievements in the areas prioritised for improvement across Kirklees. This plan sets out critical areas where contributions will be made. Ensuring quality of services in all of our commissioning and delivery is critical All of our activities focus on ensuring quality public services are available to the people of Kirklees and contribute to the achievement of our priorities. As we focus our resources on ensuring core levels of essential and basic services we want to be sure that in addition to our priorities we deliver these to as high a standard as we can in relation to our available resources. All Council services are managed and held to account through our performance management framework (see page 12). The aim is to maintain a good standard of service provision to prevent services becoming future improvement priorities. Examples of critical areas of service which, although not necessarily specified within our priorities for improvement, are subject to effective Service Delivery Plan management include: • Environmental services, including waste collection and disposal • Maintenance of the road network • Prompt payment of invoices • Corporate health and safety • Production of relevant evidence to support the annual governance statement (i.e. internal audit

and control, and risk management). Two additional Council-wide strategies commissioned or delivered in partnership We have two Council-wide strategies on which we want to ensure all our Services maintain an additional focus for attention. Our emphasis is on developing collaborative service and partnership approaches to ensure we make the greatest difference. These are: 1. Tackling Poverty Why we need a Strategy now: The Council’s vision is that for 2014 ‘life chances are improving and inequalities are reducing’. Poverty is still a day to day reality for many Kirklees residents. All our recent work on understanding our local communities, including the Picture of Kirklees, Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and Local Economic Assessment, have identified the scale of poverty experienced by people across Kirklees and the major factors that contribute to the persistence of poverty. Aims of this strategy:  • To identify specific challenges and our responses to them and ensure opportunities for

collaboration and innovative approaches are identified and maximised.

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• To co-ordinate the work of the Council (and partners where appropriate) in mitigating the negative impacts of poverty on individuals, families and communities and to enhance positive features through building resilience and raising aspirations and achievement.

• To act as a ‘touchstone’ against which the planning and impact of policy and services can be tested to ensure we are maximising opportunities to tackle poverty.

Our approach to tackling poverty needs to focus on not just surviving but thriving. We will strengthen our support to enable people to return to work whilst ensuring they receive relevant financial and benefit advice. Our 5 strategic challenges are underpinned by two key approaches – involvement and empowerment; creating a new relationship, where residents are more involved and engaged in the solutions, seeking to do things with people rather than do things to people.

2. Protecting the environment by reducing CO2 We understand our leadership role to encourage partners, business and residents to reduce CO2 and adapt to a changing climate and that we must work together to develop and take advantage of a low carbon resource efficient economy creating jobs in Kirklees The council’s Integrated Investment Strategy highlights our commitment to the agenda by committing the District to reductions in carbon emissions (40% by 2020, 80% by 2050- in line with UK targets). A percentage of this will be achieved through national measures but some local action will be required. We have four priority objectives in 2012/13: 1. Maintaining and capitalising on the Council’s leading green reputation –using our profile to

influence the local, regional and national agenda.

2. Stimulating a greener economy– creating local jobs and supply chains, e.g. renewables, insulation, low carbon transport, local food, and green infrastructure.

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3. Improving our resilience to the impacts of climate change - continuing to develop policy, strategy and projects that aim to make the Council and district more ‘resilient’ to the impacts of increasing fuel and food costs and climate change, with a focus on the vulnerable.

4. Efficient use of natural resources in the Council – the Council will lead by example by: a. Using energy efficiently in our buildings, street lighting and fleet transport, and working

towards our target to reduce CO2 by 40% by 2020 from a 2005 baseline (adopted by Cabinet in 2009). This has become increasingly important due to rapidly rising energy costs.

b. Managing CO2 emissions from our housing stock. Working in partnership with Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing we will aim to continue to improve the energy efficiency of Council owned homes in order reduce carbon emissions but with a focus on tackling fuel poverty and helping the vulnerable.

c. Managing our land to protect and enhance biodiversity. We will aim to manage our land in a way which delivers multiple environmental, economic and community benefits including biodiversity, economic regeneration, carbon storage/sequestration, flood risk reduction, local food production and a range of other green infrastructure (ecosystem) services. We will also encourage and support others to manage their land for these purposes, through a variety of mechanisms, including the planning process.