Pillar 6: A well-run Council

How we will deliver the outcomes for a well-run Council

1. A financially sustainable and resilient council

   Deliver improvements to financial processes and planning

   1. An integrated revenue and capital budget and business planning cycle which aligns resources with council priorities including resourcing the council’s improvement journey
   2. Improving financial planning and resilience so we can adapt to future risks and opportunities – including our commitments on climate change and real living wage
   3. Embedding financial accountability across the council and implement a business partnering approach, to ensure our financial plans are robust and deliverable
   4. Delivering and embedding audit and risk management

   Manage our resources effectively by

   1. Increasing our income collection and debt recovery levels
   2. Developing an evidence-based Asset Management Plan as a key part of the Capital Strategy
   3. Implementing a procurement strategy ensuring what we buy consistently achieves value for money and supports our council plan objectives
   4. Delivering a council wide transformation and efficiency programme
   5. Exploring the potential for financial devolution and opportunities to increase the city’s ability to generate sustainable finance
   6. Basing the budget on a value for money approach through use of benchmarking to drive out service efficiencies and re-allocate funding towards priority areas
   7. Continuing to review and prioritise our reserves supported by the establishment of a reserves policy
   8. Embedding good financial management across the council to ensure strong financial grip and management of the in-year budget

2. An employer of choice, with a skilled, diverse and healthy workforce

   Develop our workforce capacity and capabilities

   1. Improve our employee offer to attract and retain the best people, with innovative and inclusive policies, practices and a flexible-first approach
   2. Support and upskill our workforce to help individuals realise their potential, managing succession by providing development opportunities that challenge our workforce to become multi-skilled and high performing
   3. Train leaders to instill a culture of collaborative leadership throughout the council, to be compassionate and promote well-being, and to become highly-effective at performance management and achieving transformation
   4. Embed a culture of inclusion and transparency, listening to staff so they feel confident and valued at work

3. High-quality governance and decision-making

   Implement governance changes and improve how we make decisions

   1. Successfully embed the new Leader and Cabinet governance model and ensure appropriate and effective scrutiny of decision making is in place
   2. Ensure the new Constitution is understood and accessible to all stakeholders and implemented in practice within the Council.
   3. Deliver a comprehensive member training programme which develops and strengthens councillor roles as decision makers and community leaders in their wards
   4. Strengthen evidence and intelligence-based decision making
   5. Embed the Nolan Principles and an ethical framework in the Council led by the Council’s Standards & Ethics Committee

   

4. Excellent services

   We will deliver excellent customer services to our citizens, businesses and visitors

   1. Embed a culture across the council which thinks and acts in their interests and which has consistent, quality standards of service across all areas of the organisation
   2. Ensure their voice is heard and considered within our governance and decision making
   3. Improve our processes across all channels to ensure our services are simple and easy for everyone to use
   4. Improve our digital services, encouraging their use for those who can
   5. Resolve queries and complaints quickly and effectively
   6. Improve how we learn from feedback, compliments and complaints

   

5. Strengthened strategic partnerships and networks

   Review and refocus our strategic partnerships to deliver impactful change

   1. Improve engagement and collaboration with key partners, agencies and networks including government, the City Region Combined Authority and Core Cities to learn from good practice and influence policy
   2. Provide strong leadership and a framework for delivery against the City Plan, working with the local public, private, voluntary and social enterprise sectors

6. Quality services and continual improvement

   Drive improvements in the design and delivery of services

   1. Deliver a 3-year (and beyond) transformation programme to bring about fundamental service improvement and value for money
   2. Ensure a mature project and programme delivery capability within LCC
   3. Successfully deliver the Council’s Strategic Improvement Plan and the indictors in the Commissioners Improvement Strategy to secure stability and throughout the organisation
   4. Improve our approach to delivering equality, diversity and inclusion, including refreshing the Council’s equality objectives
   5. Drive improvements in the council’s service delivery by ensuring performance is monitored and practice is improved at every level of the organisation
   6. Use high quality data and intelligence to ensure all decisions and resource allocation are optimised, and to support the ongoing development of our neighbourhood model