Appendix 3 - Outcome Reports PRIORITY OUTCOME ...moderngov.staffordshire.gov.uk/documents/s29964/Finance and Imp… · crimes (4%) compared with 2010-11 and a 37% reduction over five

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire’s economy prospers and grows, together with the jobs, skills, qualifications and aspirations to support it

Achievements (April – May 2012): � Due to our recent successes, we were one of only a few areas visited by Lord Heseltine as part of a review into how national and local bodies support and

deliver economic growth. We were also visited by Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise, to see our plans for growth within the LEP area.

� Up-to-date research on sectors, clusters and economic geographies in Staffordshire has been produced in order to advance the next stage of working with the districts to develop jointly owned long term Economic Visions.

� A draft Strategy and Business Plan for the Stoke & Staffordshire LEP has been developed and published.

� Government has formally approved the project’s Local Broadband Plan. This unlocks a £7.44m allocation from Broadband Delivery UK.

� Staffordshire County Council has made a successful bid to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) for £4.239m (revenue and capital) to improve access to jobs and training in Stafford. The package includes key improvements to public transport, cycling / walking and electric charging points.

� The infrastructure and service package to connect Redhill Employment Park to the highway and sustainable transport networks has been finalised.

� Planning Policy is being co-ordinated through the ‘One Staffordshire’ approach, developing the new round of Local Plans (and evidence base such as the Infrastructure Development Plans) and Community Infrastructure Levy with the Borough/District councils and neighbouring authorities. The approach taken with Staffordshire Moorlands using the ‘Prosperity Wheel’ to influence the Local Plans is considered by both authorities to be successful and is being promoted with the other districts to help shape their Local Plans as they start to emerge.

� The Inward Investment Business Plan and Strategy has been produced. There has been positive inward investment performance over recent months. � The County Council’s Tourism Strategy was signed off by Cabinet in April. � The Destination Management Partnership (DMP) is now implementing the industry standard “attract and disperse” marketing model; securing 73,000

consumer requests for visitor guides and launching the Out and About free tourism newspaper featuring all significant tourist sites in the county.

� The Staffordshire Business Support Fund issued six new loans totalling £176k; supporting 87 jobs, safeguarding 71 FTE posts and creating a further 12. � The Stoke and Staffordshire Business Support Helpline pilot has been launched and received 299 calls during its first three months. 48% of these were

start-up enquiries with a further 20% enquiring about funding.

� Tamworth Strategic Partnership organised a successful post 16 choices event for year 10 pupils in Tamworth schools and Landau Forte Academy. � Adult Learners Week was launched with a display of art, craft and design in Staffordshire Place, including items from 37 community learning groups. � The apprenticeship employer engagement events held in Stafford, Cannock and Tamworth attracted 127 businesses. Early figures show that 25 employers

have recruited or are about to recruit apprentices with another 16 considering recruiting during the summer.

Appendix 3 - Outcome Reports

Key Initiatives:

o A working group associated with the LEP is working with Central Government (DCLG & BIS) to determine if powers could be devolved to the Local Authorities that would act as a catalyst to kick start the economy, particularly in attracting targeted inward investment and utilising the land allocations for commercial and industrial developments. The group are also looking to incorporate part of a strategy for the Rural Economy in Staffordshire.

o Significant milestones are anticipated in relation to some of our capital projects at major employment sites. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will locate onto “i54 South Staffordshire”, planning consent is expected for the Redhill Employment Park, and a start date has been agreed for availability of units on IC5 at Keele Science Park.

o Relationships and process with a number of districts are beginning to form as the draft Local Plans evidence base consultations start to emerge.

o A process to establish governance arrangements around the Community Infrastructure Levy is being perused with an ambition to coordinate this work through the Chief Executives & Leaders Group. Negotiations are anticipated to commence in the next quarter.

o Local Plan development is utilising the ‘Prosperity Wheel’ segments to influence policy associated with housing development, particularly in coordinating consultation responses with the Public Health & Wellbeing agenda that will influence and balance the affordable housing allocations with issues of viability for the development. Developer contributions for infrastructure and linking with our corporate property holdings also form part of this policy consideration.

o Work has begun responding to the consultation on our eight District Integrated Transport Strategies.

o The superfast broadband project is now entering the procurement phase to identify the supplier which will carry out upgrade works. We aim to complete this sphase by Christmas 2012, with work commencing in the new year.

o The County Council’s Tourism Strategy Delivery / Action Plan is being drafted.

o We will be starting to deliver on the joint Inward Investment Strategy over the coming months.

o Evaluation of the Business Support Helpline is taking place throughout its pilot. A decision is expected in June as to the continuation of the project.

o Feasibility work will be taking place on the potential for a Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Equity Fund – an extension of our Business Support Fund.

o We will continue to implement the Enterprise Centres Improvement Plan which was approved earlier in the year.

o A Skills Action Plan is being developed for i54 to understand the skills needs/priorities for the i54 and surrounding area (to include the Enterprise Zone) in relation

to the Engineering/Advanced manufacturing sector. Supply and demand side research will be carried out leading to the launch of the plan in March 2013.

o The Apprenticeship Strategy is currently being updated by the Apprenticeship Group members to show planned activity for the next 12 months. Activity will be linked with the LEP and County Council objectives to grow the number of quality apprenticeship vacancies.

o The DWP / ESF project to support families with multiple problems has been live for referrals since February. Latest performance reports show good progress against target in terms of numbers benefitting from the programme. Work is taking place to align this project with the developing ‘Troubled Families’ agenda.

Risks & Areas for Development

• A deeper and longer recession is still a real possibility. Britain's manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest rate in three years in May; the euro zone banking / competiveness issue continues; and the UK's export potential is much weaker than Bank of England expectations. Staffordshire may be bucking the national trend however, with companies such as JLR due to be located at i54 and JCB issuing record profits and along with Alstom is export led.

Partnership resources are being used for short term actions to create growth and jobs, and work continues with Local Planning Authorities to create conditions for growth in shaping Local Plans. A number of potential commercial and industrial land plots have been allocated and housing developments identified at the scale of urban extensions which are set to reinvigorate the construction industry and control escalating house process to more affordable levels. Work has been done with local employers to understand the skills they need and look for; and businesses and community leaders and the education sector are working to establish an Education Trust to support shared ambitions to transform young people’s aspirations and achievement across the area.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire is a place where people can live safely – increasingly free from crime, the causes of crime and the fear of crime

Achievements:

� During 2011-12 there were 43,541 crimes recorded in Staffordshire, equal to a rate of 52 crimes per 1,000 population. This is a reduction of 1,595 crimes (4%) compared with 2010-11 and a 37% reduction over five years.

� During April and May 2012, 537 violent crimes with injury (non domestic) were recorded in Staffordshire which is a reduction of 10 crimes (1.8%) compared with the same period last year. 181 domestic violent crimes with injury were recorded which is a reduction of 6 crimes (3.2%) compared with April / May 2011.

� 941 serious acquisitive crimes were recorded during April and May. This is a reduction of 63 crimes (6.2%) compared with 2011. Domestic burglary is down 16.6% across the county for April and May compared to the same period last year.

� During April and May 2012 there were 3425 anti-social behaviour incidents recorded in Staffordshire; a reduction of 674 incidents (16.4%) on 2011. � We continue to reduce the number of first time entrants into the youth justice system (by 18.1% / 80 young people for the January 2011-December

2011 cohort, data is from Police National Computer) as a result of the Community Resolution programme and other early intervention crime prevention programmes.

� The following has been provided by the Safer Roads Partnership for March 2012 (latest data available): Fatal and serious injury casualties reduced by 65% at camera sites and all personal injury casualties reduced by 39% at camera sites. Furthermore, 8 joint operations were carried out in April and May under Operation Herald targeting road safety offences at a number of locations across the County.

� 12 rapid response visits to vulnerable people who were at risk from rogue traders and four arrests for doorstep crime, along with eight street bails for counterfeit offences have been made so far in quarter 1.

� Following the county wide operation to remove illicit alcohol from off licences there has been a number of licence reviews completed where licences for selling alcohol have been either revoked or suspended and 7 reports have been submitted for prosecution.

� Health professionals have now joined adults and children’s practitioners in the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

Key Initiatives: o Five key areas for this outcome will be delivered as part of the Crime Reduction Strategy and the People Strategy delivery plans, linked in with

identified needs across the county. These areas are: Troubled Families, alcohol, domestic abuse, crime reduction and Integrated Offender Management.

o Work continues on the ‘Troubled Families’ initiative. A seminar took place in April with key partners to secure strategic buy-in to the approach and to discuss governance and delivery arrangements. Partners have agreed to allocate £90,000 from Staffordshire’s Safer and Stronger Communities Fund in 2012-13 to provide additional funding to the £175,000 being allocated by the Government. This will be used to help fund Troubled Families Co-ordinators at a District and Borough level.

o The Staffordshire Strategic Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Steering Group has brought together agencies to ensure that the offenders whose crimes cause most harm to communities are managed in a co-ordinated way, bringing greater coherence to the delivery of local programmes and approaches to tackle crime, reduce re-offending and protect communities with crime prevention and target hardening.

o The official launch of Staffordshire’s Domestic Abuse Strategy 2012-16 entitled ‘Breaking the Cycle’ took place on 1 June 2012. A multi-agency task group is working to deliver the Strategy, which includes making a business case for the introduction of a domestic abuse perpetrator cohort within the Integrated Offender Management programme that is being rolled out across Staffordshire.

o Preparations are progressing well for tendering Staffordshire’s domestic abuse services in relation to refuge based and floating support. These services will go out to tender before the end of June 2012 with new contracts commencing on 1 April 2013.

Risks & Areas for Development:

• Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) will be elected in November 2012. Some of the resources that are currently paid to the County Council and partners will be paid to the PCC from April 2013 onwards. There is, therefore, a risk that some or all of this money will no longer be used for its current purposes and may not continue to be paid to those who currently receive it. A Staffordshire and Stoke working group has been set up to prepare for the arrival of PCCs looking at how Community Safety partners can work more collaboratively together and to demonstrate how they can assist the PCC with their work. The work of this group will complement the Transitional Board.

• This year will be the first time that Staffordshire’s domestic abuse services have been put out to competitive tender. The decision making process upon which the contracts will be awarded will be fair, transparent and clearly documented, but there could be implications for current providers as part of the process. The Safer Communities Commissioner has been in close contact with the current service providers over the last 12 months to explain the rationale behind the tendering process.

• Tamworth and East Staffordshire have recorded increases in serious acquisitive crime over the last 12 months. However, a multi-agency Burglary Strategy has been compiled by Staffordshire Police’s Crime Reduction Officer that identifies both local and national approaches in tackling Domestic Burglary and Bogus/Distraction burglary; the Strategy offers a menu of tactical options that have previously been applied effectively.

• Data discrepancies between national and local datasets continue to pose a potential area of concern for youth reoffending and first time entrants into the youth justice system, as well as the time lag of national datasets from the Police National Computer (PNC). Local data for re-offending continues to show a decrease in re-offending, whereas national data is showing an increase. This discrepancy is being investigated with partners through the Youth Justice Board. Recognising that this could take time, one risk is that these discrepancies could impact on Payment By Results, which is to be implemented in 2013/14. The youth re-offending rate has increased by 1.4% over the latest reporting period (July 2009-June 2010 cohort). Staffordshire’s youth re-offending rate is in line with the National average youth re-offending of 1.5%.

• Local data has been disaggregated across the 3 youth offending teams and significant differences have been identified between teams - a small group of young people in the North of the County are committing a large proportion of offences. There was a significant dip in the youth reoffending rate in the South West team during the pilot of a more localised partnership approach to youth re-offending as part of Integrated Offender Management (IOM). This pilot is no longer operational but the Head of Service is making representations to the police to resume this group given evidence of positive outcomes.

Key Initiatives contimued… o A half-day seminar for Elected Members entitled “Keeping your communities safe and reassured” took place on 25 June. The event gave Members advice and guidance on

how they can support local communities with crime prevention.

o A steering group is in place to oversee the development of the multi-agency Youth Diversion Scheme - an early intervention tool for screening for mental and physical health needs. This initiative will broaden and localise the Community Resolution Scheme so that District Youth Crime Diversion Surgeries will be supported by their local Targeted Youth Service (TYS) workers and community police. The scheme will go live on the 2

nd July and will result in more young people being given the opportunity of an early

health intervention and an intervention for a police reprimand that should have a further impact on reducing the numbers of young people entering the Youth Justice System o The TRIAGE process is being embedded into the 3 area youth offending teams; all young people starting an order with the Youth Offending Service are screened in areas of

emotional and mental health, education and substance misuse so that an intervention can be delivered at the earliest opportunity to ensure that young people’s needs are being met and to address further re-offending. Group work is also being delivered at the 3 area offices, including programmes that address violent behaviour, alcohol problems and accommodation issues. There are also plans to deliver group work in intervention centres within local communities.

o Road safety issues on the A38 near Burton have resulted in plans for a joint enforcement and media campaign. The first Operation Octane of 2012 will take place over the June bank holiday weekend. This joint operation focuses on the issue of motorcycle casualties on the county’s ‘Ride it Right’ routes with Road Policing Team officers engaging with bikers to promote safe riding and rider development opportunities.

o In terms of preventing door step crime and the impact of rogue traders, we have completed 28 talks and 5 library sessions so far in quarter 1 and we are in the process of setting up two more cold calling zones to prevent unsolicited visits to people’s homes.

Achievements: � DFE Monitoring of Children Services – On the 22

nd May we received notification from the DFE that they will no longer need to monitor our progress in

delivering against the areas of concern identified by Ofsted following the unannounced inspection last year. They have received sufficient reassurance that the issues identified by Ofsted have been resolved and that the service being provided to children and young people in Staffordshire is robust. The letter noted that Staffordshire had moved swiftly to address the area of priority action and other issues identified by Ofsted. They also identified a number of positive areas such as ‘the move to Families First model…welcomed by staff and has had a positive impact on the quality of service…’; considerable work has been done to strengthen partnership arrangements and ensure a ‘One’ Staffordshire approach

� The delivery of the Families First Improving Outcomes Project will be used to measure progress against delivery of this outcome. By delivering the improvements through each work stream of the project they will have an impact on the overall outcomes for children, young people and families relating to this outcome.

� Adoption Score Care - The Adoption Score Cards were published on the 11th May 2012 by the DfE. In preparation of this the ADCS DCS/Social Care leads group agreed to share data within the West Midlands region for information purposes. The scorecards are based around key indicators. The score card data reflects the data within the 903 return and shows Staffordshire as an above average Adoption Service. This is borne out by Ofsted’s Inspection in 2011 which rated the Service as Good. It was also acknowledged that the service was operating at capacity and this has been addressed by additional resources being made available as part of the Mid-term Financial Strategy.

� Phase two of the Older People Modernisation Programme continues to make good progress. Needs analysis has commenced across the in-house day centres. This will inform future commissioning requirements. A comprehensive exercise has been completed to map alternative service provision across the county to highlight gaps in provision, and to provide alternatives to help social workers to promote choice to all older people.

� An All Ages Disability Commissioning Strategy has been produced focusing on the wide-ranging support that children and adults require to enable them to aspire to and achieve their aspirations. The new countywide Learning Disability Service, ‘Independent Futures’ will work with children, adults and their families with disabilities to carry out holistic lifestyle assessments of need. From these assessments, the service will produce outcome focused person-centred plans, which will plan proactively for future life changes.

� We have established the first joint sub-group of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Adult Safeguarding Partnership and Local Children’s Safeguarding Board to establish more effective communication between Staffordshire County Council, District and Borough Councils in relation to Safeguarding.

� The timeliness of responses to referrals at First Response has remained at above 90% of referrals responded to within timescales for a number of months, and is more typically in excess of 95% of referrals responded to within timescales.

� % of re-referrals within 12 months is moving steadily in the right direction reaching 21.6% in April 2012. � 100% of both Initial and Child Protection Case Conferences were held within timescales in the last reporting period. � There has been a significant improvement in children becoming subject to a child protection plan for a second or subsequent time. Last years

outturn for this indicator was 15.5%. However, the most recent outturn is 6.8% which is a very significant improvement.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Family - In Staffordshire’s communities people are able to live independent and safe lives supported where required

Key Initiatives:

• Continued delivery of key workstreams within the Families First Outcome Project; Placement Strategy Project; Adoption; In House Fostering; Level 5 Fostering; Supported accommodation; Supported Lodgings; Intensive Preventative Service; Family Group Conferencing and Case Closures.

• The current commissioning of Community Equipment services is fragmented, leading to duplication, inefficiency and a confusing array of providers for people to deal with. Cabinet has agreed the first phase of the programme to set up a fully integrated service, whereby equipment and telecare services with a total value of £16 million will be brought together across nine separate organisations to facilitate this, the County Council has entered into pooled budget arrangements for the joint commissioning of integrated community equipment services. These services are now subject to a joint tender process with the aim of the new integrated service being in place by April 2013. The County Council will act as lead authority to procure the services on behalf of the various parties (City Councils, District Councils and NHS).

• In May 2012 Cabinet agreed that the County Council should commission District and Borough councils across Staffordshire to deliver the Welfare Rights and Fairer Charging services in order to provide a localised integrated financial advice and assessment service across the county. South Staffordshire DC will be the first to take on the role and it is expected that the service will cover all districts by April 2013. Once the Welfare Rights and Fairer Charging service has been successfully integrated into the District and Borough Councils, an option appraisal will be undertaken on the feasibility of also commissioning the collection function.

• Work is continuing in Staffordshire to drive forward Personal Health Budgets. A new Project Manager will work to deliver 11 pilots with GPs around the county focusing on a variety of areas such as medicine management, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, acquired brain injury and substance misuse. We are exploring a pilot led by a third sector organisation, and a pilot working with troubled families using a ‘team around the family’ approach with a Stafford GP.


• Delivery against the key workstreams for the Families First Improving Outcomes Project is not going as planned due to service resource availability issues, the delivery of this project has been rated by the project team as red. Difficulties in identifying resources with families first to support the TSU designers system picture phase this is likely to have an impact on overall timescales and delivery of the project. Because of current workloads there is a risk that service resources may not be available to assist with the "Capture" phase - case analysis. Timescales will not be achieved or insufficient case analysis will be carried out to safely inform the re-design stage

• Workstream Specialist Safeguarding Units (SSU) / First Response: there is still work to do in relation to this Workstream, but delivery is progressing well. Resources still need to be allocated to complete the analysis of the process following initial assessment.

• Looked After Children - The looked after population at the end of April 2012 was 889 which is the highest all year (April 2011- April 2012) and unlikely to reduce in the near future. The growth in the looked after population is around 11% based on that reported at the end of April 2011 (792) and the outturn of 2010/2011 (793). Of these 11.4% have had 3 plus placement moves in the last 12 months, this is an improvement on the previous months performance of 0.9% (12.3%).

• Because the LAC population has increased since the original financial projections were made, there is a risk that the MTFS savings may not be met. MTFS savings will need to be identified from other areas of Families First.

• Children subject to a Child Protection Plan - There was an increase in the number of children subject to a child protection plan from 409 in March to 419 in April. This is an increase from April 2011 of 78 (18.6%). There has been an increase in the number of children becoming subject of a child protection plan from 30 in March to 44 in April 2012 of which 2 (6.8%) had been on a plan for a second or subsequent time. The number of children on a child protection plan ceasing in April was 39 a decrease of 15.2% (7 cases) from March 2012.

• The total referrals for 2011/2012 was 9549 an increase of 13% (1097) compared to 8452 in 2010/2011. Of the 9549 referrals there were 6095 initial assessments completed (63.8%) of which over half resulted in no further action. This would indicate that further understanding would need to be made about those children that are referred as ‘children in need’ where the majority of ‘NFAs’ are accounted. During April 2012 there were 733 referrals to children’s social care of which 483 had initial assessments completed. 52.6% of initial assessments required no further action.

• There has been a significant increase in the number of Adult Protection referrals received since establishing the Specialist Adult Protection Investigation Team. We are currently assessing the demand and undertaking an assessment of the resources required to undertake this area of work most effectively.

• Following the mapping of alternative provision for specialist day services for people with complex level needs the Council will go out to tender for services in areas where there is no alternative to in-house provision.

• To address the issue of social work capacity to reassess all of the existing older people who use SCC services, detailed project plans will be produced across the county with timelines for social work assessment enabling district leads to plan this appropriately into their workload.

• We will work closely with partners to mitigate the effect of national funding constraints on housing developments, as these may have an impact on what we can achieve in respect of increasing housing options and choice for vulnerable people.

Achievements: � Excess seasonal deaths: During the last winter period SCC secured £360k of funding from the Warm Homes Healthy People Fund to enable

partners to deliver a series of measures across the county, for example, emergency boiler repairs, income maximisation, thermometers and access to emergency heating sources

� Maternal smoking: In South Staffordshire there are a number of accredited providers able to provide support to pregnant women. Women can self refer or are referred into services by a health professional with the majority coming from community midwives. In North Staffordshire there is a Smoking in Pregnancy Advisor providing dedicated support. Whilst the target is still not being met there has been an increase in the number of referrals and quits for this challenging group of smokers.

� Childhood obesity: Childhood weight management services are in place in all areas in South Staffordshire PCT, some commissioned through local NHS provider services and others through Stafford Sport Partnership Trust. A standard evaluation framework has been developed across the county which is being piloted. School nurses deliver a range of initiatives in schools.

� Alcohol related admissions: Direct intervention to reduce alcohol-related admissions remains a priority and additional funding has been secured for alcohol-related admission work at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Hospitals NHS Trust (MSFT) and University Hospitals of North Staffordshire (UHNS).

� Under 18 conceptions: All services have moved to report via the Sexual and Reproductive Health Activity Dataset (SHRAD) which will provide comprehensive data on the service utilisation and other quality and performance indicators. The first report from the SHRAD database will be at the end of Quarter 1. This data will be used to set the baseline targets for the services.

� Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (65 years and over): Uptake is monitored monthly from October to March each year. This gives opportunity to performance manage GP practices where vaccination uptake is below expected levels and to take actions to improve uptake during the season. Any areas of concern are highlighted at the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Within South Staffordshire interactive statistical process control charts which provide a robust and visually intuitive presentation of uptake information, were sent out to individual practices to show their performance compared with other GP practices. In North Staffordshire graphs and tables highlight flu vaccination uptake by practice and are help the GP Practice to maximise vaccination uptake.

� NHS Health Checks: Full roll out of health checks from July 2011/12 in both South and North Staffordshire with the focus on delivery in primary care. Substantial progress was made by Q4 2011/12 with North Staffordshire achieving national targets for Health Check invitations made and population coverage for completed health checks. There is recognition that population coverage is inequitable across Staffordshire and that it needs to be improved to meet national targets overall.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Family - Staffordshire is a place where people live longer, healthier and fulfilling lives

Key Initiatives:

• Excess winter deaths: Staffordshire Public Health are proposing to develop a Weather Planning Group across SCC that will manage the National Heatwave Plan and Cold Weather Plan locally. This group will also develop partnerships in the districts to deliver aspects of the respective plans. The group will be led by a consultant in Public Health who will also sit on the Local Health Resilience Forum.

• Maternal smoking: A pilot project is being developed in East Staffordshire in response to the need to reduce infant mortality. This project includes the introduction of a midwifery adviser post that will provide additional support to engage pregnant smokers with stop smoking services. This post will also work around smoke free homes.

• Childhood obesity: Dedicated weight management services are in place. The Healthy Schools team support this work in schools across the county. Primary prevention programmes such as The Goodlife in Cannock Chase, Nurturing Health, Cook & Eat sessions and a multi agency healthy eating training programme (HENRY) are being piloted in some areas.

• Alcohol related admissions: Mid Staffs – an additional Band 6 nurse is delivering supported discharge schemes and in-reach detox with an initial review at the end of Q1. UHNS have established an A&E diversion scheme for inebriated people.

• Hip fracture admissions: Several workstreams in relation to falls prevention services are underway following recommendations by the Scrutiny Committee.

• 4 week smoking quitters: Making Every Contact Count is being delivered across Staffordshire and is based on the premise that frontline staff in the NHS and partner organisations can support patients and signpost into local smoking services.

• Young people across Staffordshire are being involved in a consultation on government proposals for standardised packaging of tobacco products

• Under 18 conceptions: A review of the ‘Clinical in the Box’ provision is required to inform future service provision for young people and local teenage pregnancy prevention initiatives. Chlamydia screening (15-24 year olds): The extension of screening programmes into pharmacies and GP practices, continued service reviews and a review of procurement options. An action plan is in place to support targeting and provision of testing to the target group across a range of settings in Northern Staffordshire.

• Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake (65 years and over): A new project has been recently initiated in South Staffordshire in order to establish a continuous quality improvement programme for improving the local delivery of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme. It involves the use of statistical process control charts of GP practice performance.

• NHS Health Checks: An overall commissioning strategy has been developed (based on a market test in Q4 2011/12) which offers bespoke support to primary care to deliver NHS Health Checks but provides an alternative service where a primary care delivery is not viable. The strategy includes communication and marketing of the programme and IT support. The 2012/13 contract with primary care (Local Enhanced Service) is being finalised with Local Medical Committees (LMCs).


• Maternal smoking: Nearly 40% of pregnant smokers who agree to a referral to a stop smoking service fail to engage with service providers – further work needs to be done to increase the number of pregnant women using stop smoking services.

• Childhood obesity: There is a shortfall in school nurse provision in some areas of Staffordshire. Funding during transition from PCT to LA may be an issue and also capacity to support programmes at district level.

• Alcohol related admissions: No additional specialist treatment or inpatient capacity has been commissioned in 2012/13 which is insufficient and below levels suggested by national guidance. This continues to highlight the requirement for a more balanced alcohol strategy for the County to cover all elements of the pathway.

• Chlamydia screening (15-24 year olds): It is recognised that current commissioned capacity is insufficient to meet the area target (35% of the eligible population) this is due to the lack of a strong evidence based for effective opportunistic screening in high risk populations. The Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership Trust has accepted a stretch target of an additional 3,000 to help mitigate the risk of insufficient screening capacity. Continue to consider the opportunities to increase the amount of opportunistic screening in venues the target group gather. i.e. youth setting, colleges etc.. A community outreach approach is in place to ensure key at risks groups can access the programme in North Staffordshire DC areas. This service will be reviewed as part of the development of a comprehensive sexual health and well being strategy.

• NHS Health Checks: The tendered alternative service will take time to commission. An action plan is in place and the commissioning approach has been approved by the Staffordshire Cluster Executive Management Team. Liaison with North and South Staffordshire Local Medical Committees is (LMCs) is taking place to support GPs’ uptake of the Local Enhanced Service (LES).

Achievements: � As of the 1

st June, there were 19 Academies in Staffordshire, and eight schools consulting on or have applied to become Academies.

� Number of schools inspected by Ofsted rated as outstanding or good as of the 31st March (year to date) (Ofsted published data), 258/392 (65.8%)

� Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Music Education Partnership have been successful in its bid to become a Music Education Hub through Arts Council England. From August 2012, education hubs will be funded to bring together local authorities and local music organisations, like orchestras, choirs and other music groups.

� Education Support Services project bidders’ day has been completed and was successful. � Quality Learning Services, the traded arm of Education Transformation, had a very successful year in 2011-12 with an increasing level of buy-back from

Staffordshire schools and some outside the county. � In response to increasing birth rates, 200 extra Reception places were provided in Burton upon Trent, Stafford, Stone and Tamworth for September 2012. � On 20 April, 97% of applicants for a primary school place were offered a place at one of their preferred schools for September 2012 (99% for secondary

schools). � On 18 April, Cabinet agreed plans to create 940 permanent primary school places in Burton upon Trent by the end of the decade. � On 26 April, Staffordshire was awarded almost £13m of basic need funding for additional school places. � Cabinet approved a new post-16 transport policy from September 2012 focussing on support for low income families and students with a learning difficulty or

disability. � The Children’s Centre change programme is working at pace following the public consultation. A risk register is in place and has been review/updated during

this quarter and mitigating actions identified/in progress. Scoping work within each of the six workstreams i.e. business support; clustering of centres, leadership & management; outreach work; accommodation and childcare to market are progressing and moving into the design phase. Engagement sessions with staff in children’s centres will complete during the week commencing 11 June. These sessions will be followed up with regular written communication.

� Recommendations from the Children’s Centre public consultation were approved by Cabinet on 16 May. � The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has been working with representatives from the public and private sectors to

establish an Education Trust, with the aim on raising attainment and aspiration, and securing effective progression from learning into work. The LEP has delivered a range of activity to support skills for local growth and prosperity, including through the apprenticeship strategy, via its work plan for 2011/12

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Family - Staffordshire’s children and young people can get the best start in life and receive a good education so that they can make a positive contribution to their communities

Key Initiatives:

• The restructure of the Learning and Skills Team has been undertaken and completed. It is expected that this will help deliver improve outcomes for children, young people and families through improved capacity and commissioning of services.

• The number of young people engaged in apprenticeships across the county has continued to increase

• School Organisation Executive Board – strategic direction for basic need and capital programme for schools

• Burton Places Project – ongoing work to secure additional school places in the town from September 2013 onwards

• Corporate Transport review – OBC agreed to deliver a transport offer that empowers people to live independently, improves outcomes for individuals and communities and drives economic prosperity through improved connections

• Soft market testing event for the childcare to market workstream of the Children’s Centre change programme has been organised and will take place on 9 July


• Stafford College has received an inadequate Ofsted inspection (report published on 28.05.2012). However they are appealing this decision. It is believed that as a result of this inspection they will pull out of delivering some services to young people possible A’ Levels (“Success rates on advanced courses are low, particularly on AS level courses, and only half of these learners progress to A-level provision”). In response to this potential risk schools in Stafford have already began to work together to identify what they can pick up and deliver or what is not a risk as it is already being delivered elsewhere to limit the impact.

• Because of the new, more severe Ofsted inspection framework, there has been a substantial rise in the number of schools in special measures (SM) i.e. rated as inadequate by Ofsted. This increase has put pressure on current resources used to support schools to improve. 16 staff from Education Transformation will undergo training as Ofsted inspectors, which will enable Staffordshire to be more proactive in identifying and supporting schools that possibly may go into special measures, as well as those already judged. Alongside this a series of training session have been held across the districts to train schools on what Ofsted inspectors will be looking for and what to expect. Lichfield Diocese: Staffordshire put in a bid and was unsuccessful to provide school improvement support for all Lichfield Diocese schools which cover several Local Authorities. It should be noted that the contract was awarded to no provider because they believed that none had sufficient capacity. Staffordshire to liaise with the Lichfield Diocese representative to scope what capacity would be needed so that it might be met through the delivery of the ESS Joint Venture.

• The return of the armed forces from Germany is a potential risk for Staffordshire as it is unclear when and who will be settling in Staffordshire. Risk to infrastructure, schools places, children and adult services. The Armed Forces Covenant that was signed at the beginning of May will help mitigate the risks attached to this move. The Covenant will benefit serving and ex-service personnel, covering vital areas including housing, jobs, training, education and health. Under the covenant, the Council will establish a set of principles which set out how it will support ex-Armed Forces veterans in making the transition back into civilian life.

• School Organisation Strategy – revision required to reflect county council priorities and capital strategy, local demographics and recent legislation.

• Further public consultation work on specific proposals to increase school places across the county.

• Corporate Transport review – implement next stage of review to engage with staff and service users, gather information and data and to test new solutions.

• Number of schools inspected by Ofsted rated as satisfactory or inadequate as of the 31st March (year to date Ofsted published data), 116/392 (29.6%)

• There are 18 schools that are publically/Ofsted designated SM (14 schools) or NTI (4 schools).

• Robust information regarding the appetite of private, voluntary or independent provider of childcare wishing to deliver childcare in Children’s Centres is not in place. The event on 9 July will commence testing the market to address this issue.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire is a place where people can easily and safely access everyday facilities and activities through the highways and transportation networks

Achievements (April - May 2012): � As part of the extra £50m investment on the road network, work started on 15 structural maintenance schemes and vital maintenance works to

bridges and structures commenced at a further 5 sites. Delivery of the highway improvement programme started with over £600k of investment in projects to manage traffic demand, improve road safety & enhance accessibility and 2 schemes derived from local community priorities via the Divisional Highway Programme.

� The County Council won a Gold Award at the national Considerate Constructors Scheme for the A5 Vicarage Road scheme which is a vital part of delivering the Waste to Energy Plant. A presentation on Working in Partnership to Deliver Innovation and Achieve Efficiencies was given at the Utility Street Works 2012 conference and a trainee was shortlisted in the APSE trainee of the year.

� Work started on the £5.4m “i54 South Staffordshire” earthworks with contract awards for the site’s £2m Middle Lane Accommodation bridge and, £8m Redhill Business Park awarded through the nationally recognised Midlands Highway Alliance Medium Schemes Framework which the County played a key part in procuring.

� The County Council has made a successful bid to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for £4.239M (revenue and capital) which will directly assist businesses by improving access to jobs and training in Stafford. The package includes key improvements to public transport, cycling/walking and electric charging points leading to reduced levels of congestion along Lichfield/Weston Roads.

� Following the County Council’s decision in March to invest £7.44m to upgrade superfast broadband across the county, Government has formally approved the project’s Local Broadband Plan. This unlocks a £7.44m allocation from Broadband Delivery UK.

� The County Council worked with a wide range of partners including district councils and Staffordshire Police to ensure the successful delivery of the first Olympic Torch Relay to Staffordshire in terms of coordinating traffic management arrangements.

� The infrastructure and service package to connect Redhill Employment Park to highway and sustainable transport networks has been finalised. � The walking initiative WoW (Walk Once a Week) is now well embedded in 87 Primary Schools across the county and overall results from data

collected show an upwards trend in the number of pupils walking to and from school each month. In May a Walk to School day was held to promote the benefits of walking to school, it was hugely successful with 170 schools taking part and more than 40,000 children walking to and from school on the same day.

� Staffordshire has been awarded £325k to deliver cyclist training this financial year, largest bid awarded outside of London. � The South Staffordshire Connect service was launched in May enabling people in South Staffordshire who live away from regular bus routes or who

find it difficult to use standard buses to travel around South Staffordshire.

� Engineering safety programmes have identified antiskid surfacing sites, premium surface dressing sites, mass action sites, cluster sites and vehicle activated signs sites for detailed investigation and inclusion in the programme of works.

� � The following has been provided by the Safer Roads Partnership for March 2012 (latest data available): Fatal and serious injury casualties reduced

by 65% at camera sites (reduced by 60% in March 2007) and all personal injury casualties reduced by 39% at camera sites (reduced by 29% in March 2007).

� 8 joint operations were carried out in April & May under Operation Herald targeting offences at a number of locations across the County. � 3 new Community Speed Watch schemes became active bringing the total number of schemes in operation in the Staffs Police area to 43. � 4 new Community Speed Indication Device (SID) locations were implemented. � For the period April 2012 the % of inspections completed on time for all carriageway and footway inspections was 94.2% (compared to 83.2% in

March).


• Monitoring of accidents to identify changes in accident patterns/locations/increases-each fatal accident assessed in accordance with Fatal Accident Procedure.

• It is anticipated that support by suppliers for the current enforcement technology will be removed - a digital enforcement strategy will therefore be developed.

• The number of defects has increased in recent weeks which will increase the pressure on the available resources in reducing the number of outstanding defects.

• Growth in workload generated by investment combined with a major reorganisation of the way the service is delivered continues to pose a challenge - the risk is mitigated by accessing a range of resources through the Professional Services Partnership & Medium Schemes Framework 1.

• Construction activity in the region continues to create demand for an appropriately skilled workforce across both professional and construction activities and the team is working with the Midlands Highway Alliance to develop the Construction Skills Academy to ensure the necessary skills are available when required.

• The mechanism for concessionary fare reimbursement to Arriva has yet to be agreed for 2012/13. Arriva have appealed to DfT but it is hoped a satisfactory outcome will be negotiated.

� Total number of defects repaired in all categories during March was 3,334 and in April was 1,950. � The County Council secured a number of controlled signalised pedestrianised crossings at a busy junction location in Burton thus providing safe pedestrian linkage

between Tesco’s, residential areas and the town centre. � At the end of May over 300 local community priorities have been identified through the Divisional Highway Programmes. These range from small traffic management

improvements to more extensive feasibility studies into specific schemes in order to establish Local Transport Plan or external/partnership funding.

Key Initiatives:

o Work has been taking place to restructure the Place Directorate to better deliver service and align to the priority outcomes; the restructure will also include re-profiling our contribution to the road safety partnership in order to further promote the localism agenda and partnership working.

o Work has continued on the Transport Review with the outline business case being finalised during this quarter. o Work has begun responding to the consultation on our 8 District Integrated Transport Strategies, refocusing them around the Strategic Plan and the 'Prosperity Wheel' o We have responded positively to a key national transport consultation on the devolution of the Major Highway Scheme funding to Local Transport Bodies based upon

LEP areas (devolution should increase our ability to deliver key schemes) and we have also prepared a response on the decentralisation of WM rail services. o We have been using the Department for Transport Trafficmaster dataset to assess the current extent of the congestion problem in Burton including identifying trends over

the last three years. This will inform the development of any necessary remediation strategies in partnership with ESBC. o Handover of the first phase of works on the “i54 South Staffordshire” site is scheduled for June, with work due to start on “i54 South Staffordshire” Middle Lane

Accommodation bridge later the same month. o The localism of community based activities such as road safety will continue with commissioning/delivery via the Community Highway teams. o Presentations at a national conference on the way highway drainage is managed and the planned launch of a new customer engagement and communications

framework in July are both contributing to the promotion of Staffordshire’s reputation. o The Built County gateway improvement plan will gain pace with the team working with the FA on the opening of St Georges Park (August 2012), and the second visit of

the Olympic Torch. The programme of updating gateways will continue, including work on a report outlining gateway opportunities at major railway stations. o The new Manual for Streets will be completed during the next quarter which recognises the value of the Built County in supporting economic growth and prosperity

through the effective movement of goods and people whilst also making Staffordshire a great place for local communities and visitors.

o We have been assisting in the recommendation of transport infrastructure to support the potential development of two new primary schools in Burton.

o Road safety issues on the A38 near Burton have been discussed resulting in plans for a joint enforcement and media campaign. o The first Operation Octane of 2012 will take place over the June bank holiday weekend. This joint operation focuses on the issue of motorcycle casualties on the county’s

‘Ride it Right’ routes with Road Policing Team officers engaging with bikers to promote safe riding and rider development opportunities. o Additional temporary resource is to be deployed to tackle the backlog of defects over the next 3 months which should reduce the outstanding number of defects. o A report is being progressed regarding the introduction of a night shift for delivery of the winter service allowing a rationalisation of fleet which will enable maintaining the

winter service thus ensuring accessibility whilst at the same time delivering the MTFS. o A ‘Scoping’ exercise is being undertaken as part of the Place delivery models project which is aimed at identifying where improvements to delivering the service might be

made. This will also give some guidance as to a way forward for procuring a new contract for 2014 with a report to Cabinet expected at the end of the quarter. o The superfast broadband project is now entering the procurement phase to identify the supplier which will carry out upgrade works. We aim to complete this phase by

Christmas 2012, with work commencing in the New Year.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire’s communities can access, enjoy and benefit from a range of learning, recreational and cultural activities

Achievements (April – May 2012):

� The Staffordshire Start Active, Stay Active conference has been held, with over 70 attendees from over 30 organisations.

� In Year 1 of “Sportative,” 1,735 young people were retained, exceeding the target of 1,173. The Year 2 Plan is currently being delivered.

� 43 Community Games have registered and 45 disabled children have registered on the “Inspire 2 Succeed” athlete development programme.

� Sport Across Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent were involved in arrangements to welcome the Torch Relay to the area. A circus parade and other events coincided with the Torch Relay in Stafford Town centre on 30

th May. There were an estimated 50,000 spectators across the 14 mile Stafford

Borough route.

� 566 volunteers have registered on the Sport Makers volunteering programme.

� 30 new volunteers have been recruited on the Voluntary Warden Scheme and Countryside Volunteer Project, and 13 volunteers succeeded in gaining an Extended Certificate in Estate Management at Level 2 (with 12 gaining a distinction) on a course run in partnership with Stafford College.

� A new children’s play area has been installed at Greenway Bank Country Park.

� The Adult and Community Learning Service procured high quality provision to meet the range of geographical, community and learner needs of Staffordshire residents.

� The Adult and Community Learning Service led on the submission of an application for a Community Learning Trust pilot. The aim of Community Learning Trusts is to empower local communities to take a greater lead in determining the learning opportunities they need, and to strengthen localism by delegating resources into communities.

� Staffordshire Tourism has launched Out & About in partnership with the Sentinel newspaper. It features all significant tourist sites in the County. There are currently 43,000 Enjoy cards in circulation.

� Lichfield Cathedral is hosting a Staffordshire Hoard exhibition.

� In May a programme of over 250 events was delivered across libraries for Adult Learners Week. The week was launched with a display of art, craft and design in Staffordshire Place which included items from 37 community learning groups from across the county.

� Eccleshall Library launched its garden created by young people and community volunteers.

� The Library Service supported World Book Night on April 23rd

with a range of activities and support for volunteer book givers.

� There is increased activity at the newly opened Cheslyn Hay Library.

Key Initiatives

o The School Games Level 3 Festival is planned for 3rd

July 2012 with approx 1,500 young people set to attend

o On 30th June the Olympic Torch will travel through Staffordshire, and activities will be developed to coincide with the torch journey. District events will be organised for

the Paralympic Torch relay.

o The Adult and Community Learning Service will review the timing of the refresh of the commissioning priorities in light of the emerging Community Learning Trust and its function to shadow the Service’s commissioning process.

o A Skills Action Plan is being developed for “i54 South Staffordshire” to understand the skills needs/priorities for the “i54 South Staffordshire” and surrounding area (to include the Enterprise Zone) in relation to the Engineering/Advanced manufacturing sector. Supply and demand side research will be carried out leading to the launch of the plan in March 2013.

o ACL contract award letters are to be issued in June. Contracts for Services and Service Level Agreements will be issued at the end of July 2012. The ACL Service’s contract monitoring mechanisms will also be finalised.

o The Apprenticeship Strategy is currently being updated by the Apprenticeship Group members to show planned activity for the next 12 months. Activity will be linked with the LEP and County Council objectives to grow the number of quality apprenticeship vacancies.

o The ACL Services Community Learning offer is to be published on the County Council website at the end of July 2012.

o A Heritage Lottery bid to enable wider access to the Staffordshire Hoard through a community touring exhibition is to be submitted at the end of June.

o Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge for children in July to September and Young Teen Fiction event in July will widen opportunities for communities to read for pleasure. Their programme of events in September for Family Learning Month will enable communities to develop skills, acquire new knowledge and progress their learning

Risks and Areas for Development

• The ICT staff restructure has introduced some uncertainty to the programme of increased digitisation and online presence of the Archive and Museum collections, which may now incur increased costs. Furthermore the software “Staffordshire Story” requires is not acceptable to ICT and an alternative with similar functionality is not currently available. Archives are currently exploring alternative solutions with ICT to continue the website development. This may mean amending proposals, seeking alternative solutions and also senior management support.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire’s People are involved in shaping quality of life in Staffordshire

Achievements:

1. To ensure that Staffordshire’s Communities are involved in shaping the delivery of public services commissioned or provided by the County Council � As part of our continuing commitment to ensuring Staffordshire’s people are involved in shaping service delivery, the development of several

initiatives reflects direct input by local communities. The Your Staffordshire Card, the modernisation of our libraries service, new measures around personalisation of care services and the recent initiative of streetlight dimming have all been delivered with engagement with local people playing a vital role in helping us to shape the services.

� The findings of the public consultation to support the Early Years project has directly informed Cabinet’s decision to make Children’s Centre services more relevant to families, offering a wider range of activities and being more cost effective.

� There has been a significant community response to the Superfast Broadband consultation: in the first four weeks 826 people responded, with broadly a third of these people also expressing an interest in becoming a Superfast Broadband Champion.

� Results from Wave 7 of the Reputation Tracker (May 2012) indicated that the proportion of resident who feel informed about the County Council has increased from 42% in Wave 6 to 50% (this compares to 54% nationally). Whilst this is not a return to the average of Waves 1-5 (61%), the results are encouraging. The extent to which people feel able to influence decisions has also increased since Wave 5 from 28% to 32%, a return to levels seen in previous waves.

� The Total Media Score for April was the highest monthly total for 2012 at 1528, an increase of 29% on the total for March. Higher scores mean more positive media coverage, targeted at the right audience. In comparison with nine other ‘best practice’ Councils, Staffordshire’s TMS was the highest for April by over 500 points. Satisfaction with the website also increased in April 2012 - Staffordshire is now the best performing County Council.

� For April and May 2012, the authority has received a total of 154 customer feedback items, of which 59% were compliments, 16% comments and 25% were complaints. “Improved communication” is trending as the most common learning objective from current complaints; with a small number of services receiving complaints about staff attitude and poor service.

2. To ensure that Staffordshire’s people are empowered and supported to play their full role in developing thriving and sustainable communities

� A full evaluation of the Volunteer Staffordshire Awards 2012 has indicated that the evening was a resounding success with positive feedback from the volunteers, category champions and other stakeholders. The Awards news item on the Staffordshire Web was the most read story of the month with 151 unique visitors and over 800 users visited the Volunteer Staffordshire pages post event.

� Full year analysis of the Local Member Community Fund has evidenced £615,000 of direct investment by County Councillors in community groups and activities during the past 12 months. In total the funding provided by County Councillors through the scheme has generated a further £116,000 in match funding allocation.

� South Staffordshire Connect (new local bookable bus service) was launched in April following consultation with local residents, existing voluntary transport schemes, South Staffordshire Rural Transport Partnership, service users, and carers.

� Final evaluation of the Children’s Health and Wellbeing projects and their approach to locality working shows that projects have delivered positive outcomes for residents in these areas, as well as an improvement in community engagement through projects such as the Family Nurse Partnership in Anglesey, supporting ten mothers through pregnancy, and the Community Champions Network in Penkside, supporting volunteers to become involved in their communities.

Key Initiatives:

1. To ensure that Staffordshire’s Communities are involved in shaping the delivery of public services commissioned or provided by the County Council o Engaging Communities Staffordshire was launched as an independent Community Interest Company on the 1

st of April 2012 following the successful

appointment of a Chairman and Board of Directors. From the 1st of June the Staffordshire LINk contract will be hosted by ECS and the company will become

the main point of contact for consultation and engagement across the health and social care sector.

o A good practice case study evidence bank has been developed, initially for internal purposes, to showcase the difference our engagement is making, highlight good practice, and to share learning. This will be populated with more content on an ongoing basis.

o A children and young people programme of engagement activity is being developed to ensure a more coordinated approach. Working with partners, it will include the development of a new survey mechanism run through schools. We are intending to pilot this new programme during September.

o A Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Strategic Research Group has been established to identify potential for joint research and consultation opportunities. There is an agreement to expand the Feeling the Difference survey to become a broader partnership survey, which will reduce duplication and realise efficiencies.

o An Advisory Panel made up of seldom heard communities is being formed as a means to gain their views. A mapping exercise will be carried out with the intention of setting up a panel or local forums.

o From the 1st June all feedback items received by the authority will be logged centrally through the Complaints Team and then any complaints will be distributed

to an appropriate respondent. The change in process aims to give customers a central hub through which any complaints they raise can be monitored. 2. To ensure that Staffordshire’s people are empowered and supported to play their full role in developing thriving and sustainable communities o Work streams currently include the redevelopment of the Volunteer Staffordshire website to improve functionality, obtaining national recognition for the work of

Volunteer Staffordshire, refresh of the 2.5 days Employee Volunteering policy linked with encouraging the giving of professional skills and delivery of the Volunteer Awards 2013.

o Embed and Develop Commissioning Project – The project will now have direct input from the Third Sector Relations Manager to ensure the needs of the VCS and the principles of the Compact are incorporated.

o The introduction of Local Member Focus Events was agreed by Annual Council on the 17 May 2012. These events will provide a means of focussing on the local impact of County Council services and for Members to investigate issues of local concern. The Community Partnership Officers and Scrutiny Team are working closely to link together locality meetings to ensure consistent support to Members and thus to communities.

o We continue to work with our partners in Districts to support locality working and in engaging communities. For example, we have agreed with Tamworth Borough Council to develop a joint approach to community engagement and we will be working with Lichfield District Council on the development of a citizens survey to be distributed to 2000 households in September.


• Figures from current data indicate that whilst compliments remain a high proportion of customer feedback, overall the total amount of documented opinions we receive are dropping, with significantly less comments and compliments logged against our services for the current quarter so far. The risk here is that with lower amounts of vital feedback, we are not receiving the feedback and therefore insight we need.

• Currently 5 complainants have invoked Stage 2 of the corporate complaints procedure, relating to Highways and Libraries service issues. Reports show there is just one complaint at Stage 3, currently in progress.

• Ensuring adequate staff resource from across all key service areas to ensure the successful delivery of the Volunteer Staffordshire Year 3 work streams including the collation and measurement of performance associated with the Strategy Action Plan.

• Community Impact Assessments (CIAs) not adding value to the decision-making process. To mitigate this risk, the process is being reviewed alongside Health Impact Assessments with an action plan now in place.

• Ensuring that engagement and consultation initiatives and activities are joined-up and coordinated across partners. The Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Strategic Research Group has now been established to help identify the potential for joint research and consultation opportunities.

Achievements (April – May 2012):

� 12 solar PV (photovoltaic) installations on County Council libraries.

� Work ongoing to finalise lease for solar PV installations on 25 schools. Technical and structural surveys assessing building suitability are complete. A number of benefits have been secured as part of the scheme including display meters in library receptions and for schools, free installation and

maintenance and free electricity (secured for the next 25 years). The installations form part of our Solar PV project, which is anticipated to achieve both

carbon reductions and financial benefits to the County Council.

� Initiation of project to use some closed landfill sites for biofuel (Miscanthus).

� Corporate climate change strategy refreshed. Awaiting comment from SLT.

� The Climate Change Communication Strategy for 2012-13 has been completed.

� £2.5 million of energy efficiency measures have been identified through the Sustainability Portfolio of the Education Capital Programme 2012-13.

� Collaborative Low Carbon Schools Service (CLCSS) programme pilot has ended, with schools achieving energy reduction and cost savings of up to 20% between October 2012 and April 2013 compared to the previous year.

� Order placed for biomass installation at Whittington Community Primary School.

� Staffordshire and Stoke Climate Change Risk Register published and distributed to key stakeholders. This helps improve organisations resilience to climate change across the county by raising awareness of the most vulnerable locations within Staffordshire.

� South Staffordshire Council adaptation plan and risk assessment completed as part of Service Level Agreement. This SLA is now complete.

� The Climate Change Team has been invited to sit on the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel. The purpose of this group is to provide an efficient forum for dialogue between local and central government and their partners on how best to support local climate adaptation action and to help secure a strong input from local government within the National Adaptation Programme. It includes only 8 local authorities from across England, a number of local government partner organisations and central government departments.

� A new street lighting PFI service delivery contract and countywide street light dimming strategy were endorsed by scrutiny in May. The contract has been renegotiated to achieve value for money, and recent advances in technology have meant that the contract includes measures that should result in both financial and carbon savings by dimming streetlights at certain times of the day.

� A new SLA for short-term climate change support has been agreed with Stafford Borough Council; this commenced in May 2012.

� Work commenced with Northern Districts & Stoke City Council to explore in more detail, joint waste management service delivery. This involved engaging with Local Partnerships who will be reviewing and assessing options.

� Further development of the Staffordshire & Stoke Waste Strategy Review – project group engaged with Waste Collection Authorities to gather information.

� The W2R Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) development is on track with construction milestones achieved including laying the bunker floor and erecting the steelwork for the education building. Veolia have also received the Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency. Work to develop a Contract Manual in conjunction with the Partner Authorities is continuing. Work to develop the combined heat and power (CHP) facility at the W2R facility is ongoing, now focusing on the Featherstone Prisons after links to “i54 South Staffordshire” were discounted for logistical reasons.

� Sustainability Best Practice briefing sessions were held in May to increase the use of recycling materials in Integrated Transport and developer agreement schemes, in addition to reinforcing the message for highway maintenance schemes where recycling is already extensively utilised. The sessions were attended by a total of 25 highway design and delivery staff and have already led to agreement regarding the use of recycled materials on the A34 Redhill development.

� Significant 7km insitu recycling scheme (highway maintenance) was undertaken on Teddesley Road (A34 Brocton to A449 Penkridge) during April/May in 7 weeks, improving the construction and surface whilst alleviating wet accident risks along part of the road.

PRIORITY OUTCOME: Staffordshire’s communities are places where people and organisations proactively tackle climate change, gaining financial benefit and reducing carbon emissions

Key Initiatives

o 2-3 more solar PV installations will be completed on SCC libraries by end July 2012.

o Solar PV panels are to be installed on 25 schools by end July 2012.

o Continue Miscanthus project in conjunction with procurement of closed landfill management contract. In the first instance a Prior Information Notice will be issued to assess the potential for combining both contracts.

o Sustainable procurement strategy to be refreshed.

o Works are to commence on the Education Capital Programme 2012-13.

o Installation of the first biomass boiler to in an SCC school will commence at Whittington Primary School, followed by installations at Kingsmead Technology College and Cannock Chase High School.

o 20 new schools have been recruited for second phase of CLCSS programme.

o An adaptation plan will be developed for Stafford Borough Council as part of the new Service Level Agreement.

o We will actively engage further with Local Partnerships undertaking a review of waste management services, as well as engaging with district/City stakeholders. We will provide key information to Local Partnerships as part of this scoping exercise.

o A Member day will be held on 10th July to share ambitions and visions, and the Recycling Officer Group is to commence the development of a new waste reduction

plan, both forming part of the Waste Strategy Review.

o Continuation of the W2R construction programme as scheduled. The Deed of Grant with Western Power (to enable access to their metering equipment) and road adoption opposite the site entrance are expected to be finalised. Key elements of the Contract Manual in conjunction with the Partner Authorities will be progressed. We anticipate increased engagement with the Staffordshire Waste Collection Authorities, including arrangements for transfer of waste for Lichfield DC and Tamworth BC.

o We will continue to liaise with Veolia, the National Offenders Management Service (NOMS) and G4S (operator of Featherstone 2 Prison), with a view to progressing CHP options; and will follow up with Veolia regarding options for a CHP link to a new development adjacent to the SI Group chemical works.

Risks and Areas for Development

• Solar PV panels will be on our schools for 25 years and we are negotiating key areas of the lease agreement to ensure County Council interests are protected. The time taken over these negotiations means there is a risk the project may not be completed before planned changes to the Feed in Tariff on the 1

st August 2012 and so

the final number of installations may be reduced. We are in daily contact with the PV installer to resolve the outstanding issues and preparing all other aspects of the project in parallel to help ensure the installations can be completed as soon as possible once the lease has been agreed.

• There is a risk of partial delivery of the CLCSS programme, and of the Communications / community group programme due to resource issues. These risks may be partially mitigated by use of volunteers and/or casual staff.

• With regard to the W2R ERF; some elements are beyond the direct control of the Authority, i.e. the development of facilities for the transfer of waste, the Deed of Grant with Western Power and the road adoption.

Making it Happen – A ‘One Council’ approach to support services

Achievements:

Managing Attendance at Work: � SCC has seen an average reduction of approximately 1,000 sick days per month since implementing the new policy, using January 2012 as the

comparator. � In addition to this, the Council has seen a significant fall in the number of periods of absence starting each month since the policy was

introduced. In January 2012 we saw (circa) 900 periods starting compared to April 2012 saw around 550 periods, equivalent to a 40% reduction. � To date (May 2012) there have been 328 referrals to the physiotherapy service, introduced as a result of a PAG Scrutiny Committee

recommendation to support the new policy. Of the 328 referrals 38% were undertaken as a preventative measure, ensuring continued attendance at work. Of the remaining 62% of referrals 65% of those (130 employees) have now returned to work.

� The 6 month review of the new desktop print strategy which is being deployed by Staffordshire ICT has shown that the new print environment for

Staffordshire Place has significantly improved the quality of printing and is also saving the business in excess of £250,000 per year additionally to the £100,000 that had already been taking as an ICT I&E saving.

� The implementation of the Staffordshire Public Services Network (PSN) is continuing with the migration of Lichfield District Council -who now also use the shared telephony and contact centre solutions- and Staffs University Academy completed their migration in quarter 1

� Contact Centre improvements implemented e.g. Queue Buster, Call Recording and an email pilot to help ease congestion and improve the customer interface.

� Staffordshire’s innovative work around a ‘Private Cloud’ was recognised by Microsoft who launched a case study globally highlighting SCC’s excellent work in this area. This facilitates public sector organisations securely sharing services with SCC, in line with a ‘One Staffordshire’ approach to support services.

� From the feedback we have received so far, the public are informing us that our library staff and archive services are continuing to deliver great service, with a large number of compliments received (22- Libraries, 29- Archives) being directed to these service areas. Some of the compliments highlight Newcastle, Cannock, Burton and Shenstone libraries; as having friendly, helpful and dedicated members of staff that provide high quality service.

Key Initiatives: o Complex casework review meetings: Quarter 1 - Working group established to continually review sickness cases in terms of driving improved sickness levels. This working group looks at specific complex cases and comprises of representatives from OHU, HR (Operational), Health & Safety and legal services and the business (where necessary). o Policy review schedule: Quarter 1 - HR are currently in a ‘development and consultation’ phase around a revised policy review schedule – this will align to a one council modernised policy framework for managers. This will include revision of the 5 core employee relations policies; discipline, grievance, capability, harassment & bullying and managing attendance at work. Policies will be commercially focused aligning to a standardised, simplified and streamlined framework. o Looking forward, performance on our response time for complaints is expected to remain very positive with previous quarter results improving each

period. The objective here is to ensure we continue to respond to each complaint within timescale and where possible, within 5 days of receipt. o From the 1

st June all feedback items received to the authority will be logged centrally through the Complaints team and then any complaints will be

distributed to an appropriate respondent. The change in process aims to give customers a central hub through which any complaints they raise can be facilitated and monitored by the complaints team.

o As a part of understanding the impact we are making towards improving outcomes and quality of life for Staffordshire’s citizens and businesses, we are

reconfiguring our existing approaches to performance management in Staffordshire County Council. Our performance management approaches will be developed throughout 2012/13.

o Quarter 2 will see a focus on implementing further alternative access channels for customers, such as Skype, through the Customer Contact Centre.


• Our approach to performance management needs to be clearly understood across the organisation, at strategic, operational and individual

levels, as well as by our citizens. In developing our performance approaches we are engaging closely with key stakeholders to secure appropriate accountability and clarity.

Appendix 4

Revised Budget Qtr 1

Potential Outturn

Qtr 1

Variation

£000 £000 £000

People

Care and Independence 112,052 116,052 4,000

Community Safety 2,892 2,892 0

Business Partner 5,409 5,409 0 Health Development 665 600 (65)

Community Service 397 397 0 Children, Young People and Families 71,828 73,328 1,500 Education and Skills 39,255 39,233 (22)

Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Partnership Trust 71,344 71,344 0

Trading Services 0 3 3

People Total 303,842 309,258 5,416

Place Built County 31,432 31,432 0

Rural County 2,726 2,726 0

Sustainable County 24,560 24,560 0

Transport & Connected County 13,535 13,735 200

Business & Enterprise County 4,195 4,195 0

Tourism & Cultural County 11,437 11,437 0

Economic Planning & Future Prosperity 560 560 0

Property Consultancy & Transformation (911) (911) 0

Strategic Management Overheads 2,080 2,080 0

Trading Services 0 0 0

Place Total 89,614 89,814 200

Corporate / Support Services

Finance and Resources 8,800 8,800 0

Law and Democracy 6,022 6,022 0

Strategy and Transformation 7,414 7,414 0

Customer Service and Communications 2,664 2,664 0 Trading Services (1,421) (1,421) 0

Corporate / Support Services Total 23,479 23,479 0

TOTAL PORTFOLIO BUDGETS 416,935 422,551 5,616

Centrally Controlled Items Interest on Balances & Debt Charges 46,218 46,218 0

Other 12,251 12,251 0

Centrally Controlled Total 58,469 58,469 0 GRAND TOTAL 475,404 481,020 5,616

Reserves (2,000) (2,000) 0 Carry forward Reserves 0 0 0

Contingency / Contribution to Corporate Priorities 2,000 2,000 0

BUDGET REQUIREMENT 475,404 481,020 5,616

Appendix 5

CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2012/13

Original Budget Variation 1st Qtr Budget

£000 £000 £000

People

Basic Needs Work 18,421 (8,982) 9,439

Staffordshire University Academy 9,265 (681) 8,584

Maintenance and Replacement 9,210 3,853 13,063

Special Programmes 10,000 (3,789) 6,211

Carbon Reduction Initiatives 2,305 145 2,450

Schools Devolved 2,778 (211) 2,567

Children’ Projects 2,646 (525) 2,121

Care and Independence 15,899 (5,877) 10,022

People Total 70,524 (16,067) 54,457

Place

Built County (Highways) 43,927 (4,013) 39,914

Business and Enterprise 32,137 1,507 33,644

Sustainable County 2,628 1,040 3,668

Rural County 350 55 405

Tourism and Cultural County 500 30 530

Non-Corporate Place Activity 79,542 (1,381) 78,161

Corporate Property 4,982 (1,415) 3,567

Corporate Projects within Place 4,982 (1,415) 3,567

Place Total 84,524 (2,796) 81,728

Corporate / Support Services

Finance and Resources 5,000 1,896 6,896

County Fleet Care 2,000 (900) 1,100

Corporate Leased Equipment 500 0 500

Corporate / Support Services Total 7,500 996 8,496

Total 162,548 (17,867) 144,681

Appendix 6

Financial Health Indicators 2012/13

Indicator Current Performance

Debtors Level of outstanding general debtors more than 6 months old does not exceed £2.25m

Payments to suppliers At least 90% of invoices have been paid within 10 days of us receiving them during the last quarter

Monitoring Quarterly financial monitoring reports have been issued to Cabinet during the last 12 months The council’s most recent revenue outturn forecast did not vary by more than +/-2% when compared to the overall revenue budget Monthly monitoring reports of progress against MTFS savings have been produced for the Senior Leadership Team during the last 12 months

Indicator not met

Indicator not met by small

margin

Indicator met

R A G

G

G

A

G

R

Appendix 3 - Outcome Reports PRIORITY OUTCOME ...moderngov.staffordshire.gov.uk/documents/s29964/Finance and Imp… · crimes (4%) compared with 2010-11 and a 37% reduction over five

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