Corporate Peer Challenge: Forest of Dean District Council 18 – 20 June 2008

1. Corporate Peer Challenge: Forest of Dean District Council18 – 20 June 2008

2. The Team • Liz Goodall, Chief Executive, North Dorset District Council • Councillor Claire Denman, deputy leader of Crawley Borough Council • David Covill, Director of Resources, Crawley Borough Council • Andy Bates, IDeA review manager • Matt Maher, IDeA

3. The Process • Not an inspection – invited as “critical friends” • Peer challenge based on Audit Commission KLOE for Corporate Assessment • Familiarised ourselves with Forest of Dean District Council based on self-assessment, wider document review and on-site interviews and focus groups • Well organised and made welcome - people have been open and honest • What you hear is what we’ve been told and seen

4. Key lines of Enquiry Ambition for the Community Prioritisation Capacity Performance Management Achievements

5. A time of opportunity….. • New leader and Cabinet • New Community Strategy • New Corporate Plan • New senior team (directors and group managers)

6. Ambition for the Community Strengths Strong support for new community strategy from partners, widely consulted Good links between the county and district community strategies– an exemplar Council is a good advocate for partnership, highly regarded Housing and Economic development have been aims for the council Forest of Dean Partnership contributes to targets in all 5 blocks of the Local Area Agreement New corporate plan is more focused Chief Executive is well-regarded and respected by key strategic partners

7. Ambition for the Community Areas for consideration The council does not have an effective plan on how to balance the conflicting needs of ‘growing the economy’ and protecting the environment’ The council does not have a track-record of making innovative decisions for the area The council has not identified sufficient resources to fund its ambitions Employees are ready for councillors to take difficult decisions about the future direction of the council The council needs more milestones and outcome based targets to track results The council gives mixed messages about what it is seeking to achieve

8. Prioritisation Strengths The council has used effective mechanisms to consult with its residents to inform the development of new strategies New strategies are clear and concise – showing golden thread through corporate documents informing service planning Council is targeting resources towards improving areas with the poorest levels of service or customer satisfaction

9. Prioritisation Areas for consideration There is a lack of clarity regarding the council’s priorities – resulting in confusion around priorities and non-priorities The council does not always maintain its focus on the task in hand and can be distracted by operational issues and initiatives The council’s priorities are not yet fully embedded or understood throughout the organisation The leader and Cabinet process is very new – there is a recognition of the need to refine and review their priorities in the light of community needs To assist clarity it would be helpful for the corporate plan, improvement plan and medium term financial plan to be integrated

10. Capacity Strengths Senior leadership team and group managers are displaying confidence and team work Staff – good workforce, eager to move forward Partners – examples of joint working and positive relations Internal communications – variety of techniques ICT – investment programme Equalities and diversity – genuine commitment to develop and improve the council’s response and outcomes The council has invested to strengthen its political leadership – through Cabinet structure

11. Capacity Areas for consideration The council needs to clarify councillor roles and responsibilities to work with openness and respect There is an inconsistent approach to the way in which scrutiny is working – it is not open or transparent and it is unclear how it is adding value The council faces a difficult financial position and will need to place a focus on financial challenges and drive efficiency There is a history of inconsistent management practices and the council needs to continue to improve it Does the organisational development function have sufficient skills to meet the challenges of change? The council needs to accelerate progress in its approach to customer contact and make best use of its investment in this area

12. Performance Management Strengths Improving performance management is a priority and has been a focus for investment by the council in recent years The overall performance framework is in place and continues to be refined and improved Some examples of improving under-performing areas Good systems for monitoring performance Starting to develop mechanisms to more actively manage performance Performance is improving overall on key performance indicators (2007-08)

13. Performance Management Areas for consideration Some important performance measures are not being achieved The role and contribution of councillors in performance management is not yet fully developed The council has not yet developed a consistent and rigorous culture of performance management Lack of SMART targets and milestones in some important plans and strategies Limited use of benchmarking and links between performance and financial targets not yet evident

14. Achievements Strengths Positive and effective working relationship with strategic partners Significant progress made on equalities A number of areas of highly valued services, supported by resident satisfaction Partnership with 2 Rivers Housing Association has delivered or exceeded all commitments in the 5-year plan since stock transfer Some innovative local schemes and initiatives Targeting anti social behaviour through joint working with police and other agencies: CDRP seen as exemplar – significant overall reduction in crime levels

15. Achievements Areas for consideration Customer Relationship Management implementation seen as a missed opportunity Successes are not always celebrated and could be better communicated both internally and externally

16. Key messages You have an ambition to be “one team”, the challenge is to be “one council". You need to: • Develop the political roles and ensure that all members are able to make a positive contribution to the organisation • Be clear about what you are going to do, what you are not going to do and the resources needed to achieve it • Involve staff and empower them to succeed • Recognise and celebrate success and tackle obstacles • Commit to good governance and ensure high standards

17. Questions and discussion