south west councils casebook 2009

South WeSt CouNCilSCaSebook 2009:

Introduction 2 By Councillor Roger Hutchinson,

Chair of South West Councils

Section 1 4South West Local Authorities: Delivering the Difference

Case studies from South West local authorities

Section 2 90 South West Local Authorities: Working Together

Section 3 98Regional Organisations

ContentS

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2

IntroduCtIon by CounCIllor roger HutCHInSonChair, South WeSt CounCilS

it has been a busy and varied year for

South West Councils. local government re-

organisation has seen the creation of two new

unitary councils, and the world economic

climate has put further pressure on budgets

and the demand for services.

During this period of financial pressure it is

natural for people to look to government to take

comprehensive action, and local government

in the South West is consistently stepping up

to the challenge, proving that some of the most

important challenges to improving the quality of

people’s lives are local, and that authorities are

able to offer the local solutions required.

Councils continue to strive to improve delivery

of the wide range of services they offer, while

also continuing to shape the future of the areas

they serve.

Consequently, as this 2009 edition of the

Casebook demonstrates, South West Councils

are delivering many exciting and innovative

initiatives to address the wide range of issues.

every council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a very council in the South West has submitted a

case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see case study for this publication, and as you will see

they range from responding to the credit crunch, they range from responding to the credit crunch, they range from responding to the credit crunch, they range from responding to the credit crunch, they range from responding to the credit crunch,

improving school buildings and reducing obesity improving school buildings and reducing obesity improving school buildings and reducing obesity improving school buildings and reducing obesity improving school buildings and reducing obesity

in schools, and improving performance through in schools, and improving performance through in schools, and improving performance through in schools, and improving performance through in schools, and improving performance through

partnership working, to taking action on climate partnership working, to taking action on climate partnership working, to taking action on climate

change and recycling plus improving housing, change and recycling plus improving housing, change and recycling plus improving housing,

transport and leisure services. transport and leisure services. these illustrate the hese illustrate the

wide area of responsibilities and how vital it is to wide area of responsibilities and how vital it is to

people’s lives that we get things right.

this 2009 edition of the Casebook provides a brief

overview of the kinds of excellent successes being

achieved by South West Councils. it reflects the

work undertaken by authorities prior to the June

2009 elections. the election results are reflected

on the political status map on page 93.

this Casebook shows that sharing successful

initiatives between councils, in order to inspire

others by their actions, is as important as ever,

and i hope that authorities in the South West

will use this publication as part of promoting the

excellent work being undertaken.

Councillor Roger Hutchinson Chair of South West Councils

Councillor Roger Hutchinson

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4

1 This section examines a number of case studies, which highlight recent achievements that local authorities across the South West are particularly proud of. Collectively, they represent a sample of the broad array of challenges that local authorities have to find solutions to on a daily basis. They also highlight numerous innovative and interesting ways in which local authorities approach the challenges they face.

CaSe StudIeS

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SoutH WeSt loCal autHorItIeS: delIverIng tHe dIfferenCeCaSe StuDieS from loCal authoritieS

regeneration and development

bath and north east Somerset Council 8Improving School Buildings – More Than Bricks and Mortar

Council of the Isles of Scilly 10Sea Link Harbour Improvements

gloucester City Council 12Gloucester Works

Plymouth City Council 14East End Community Village

torbay Council 16Brixham Regeneration – A Mayoral Vision Project

Climate Change and recycling

borough of Poole Council 18National Acclaim for Recycling Scheme

Cotswold district Council 20Top Marks for Recycling

Purbeck district Council 22Waste Not – Want Not

South Hams district Council 24Top League Recyclers

South Somerset district Council 26Recycling More Business Waste – With a Twist

Stroud district Council 28Climate Change: Target 2050

West Somerset Council 30Local Action on Climate Change

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Partnership Working

dorset County Council 32Dorset Councils Working Together in Partnership

east devon district Council 34Freak Storm Brings Flood of Help and Information

Mid devon district Council 36Partnership Working Provides Out-of-Hours Service

South gloucestershire Council 38Working Together – The Western Improvement Partnership

Swindon borough Council 40Swindon’s Big Weekend

taunton deane borough Council 42Partnership Finds Rough Sleepers a Home

Community engagement

bournemouth borough Council 44Older Residents Front ‘Age Friendly’ Poster Campaign

Cheltenham borough Council 46Get Involved: New Website Looks to the Future

Christchurch borough Council 48New Centre Enhances Nature Reserve

Cornwall Council 50Out and About with Cornwall Council

forest of dean district Council 52Health and Safety Gone Mad

north devon Council 54One-Stop Shops

north Somerset Council 56Council Connect

tewkesbury borough Council 58Parking Enforcement

Wiltshire Council 60Unitary Council Countdown Campaign

SoutH WeSt loCal autHorItIeS: delIverIng tHe dIfferenCe

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Health and Well-being

bristol City Council 62Rating Pioneer: Housing for Health

east dorset district Council 64Live Longer in East Dorset

gloucestershire County Council 66Tasty School Food Helps Fight Obesity

Somerset County Council 68Tour of Britain

economy and finance

devon County Council 70Supporting Devon’s Economy

exeter City Council 72Free Mortgage Arrears Advice to Stave off the Credit Crunch

Mendip district Council 74Working to Reduce Repossessions

north dorset district Council 76Reducing Costs and Improving Services

teignbridge district Council 78Credit Crunch Commission

West devon borough Council 80Top Council in Devon and Cornwall for Managing its Finances

overall Improvement

Sedgemoor district Council 82Commitment to Member Development

torridge district Council 84Lean Thinking Reaps Impressive Results

West dorset district Council 86Championing Member Development

Weymouth and Portland borough Council 88Achievement and Ambition

SoutH WeSt loCal autHorItIeS: delIverIng tHe dIfferenCe

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batH and nortH eaSt SoMerSet CounCIlimproving SChool BuilDingS – more than BriCkS anD mortar

the council recently completed the

construction of a new £4.2 million building

at fosse Way School, radstock, replacing

temporary classrooms with a state-of-the-art

teaching block for the benefit of 120 pupils.

the new facilities opened in april 2009.

fosse Way, a special school, contains eight

classrooms with additional facilities including

a science room, library, media room, group

teaching rooms, and external hard play and

teaching areas with landscaping, seating areas

and external play equipment.

Councillor Chris Watt, Cabinet member

for Children’s Services, having seen the

improvements at first hand, commented:

“Bath and North East Somerset Council believes

this project is about more than just a building:

it provides state-of-the-art learning facilities for

some of our most vulnerable children and young

people. It gives them an outstanding learning

environment to match the outstanding teaching

and learning they experience.”

the new building coincides with an excellent

ofsted report in which fosse Way was again

judged to be ‘outstanding’ by inspectors. David

gregory, headteacher at fosse Way, who was

also praised for his vision and direction, said:

“Staff and students at Fosse Way have worked

exceptionally hard to develop an excellent

school which is a positive choice for parents.

I am particularly pleased that our innovative

work has been acknowledged. The school

is pleased to have moved into the new

building, which contributes to our work as

a 21st-century school.”

Bath and North East Somerset Council continues to meet its aim of improving school buildings to deliver a 21st-century education for local schoolchildren.


8

www.bathnes.gov.uk

Left: The entrance to the new Fosse Way School and, above, during its construction in 2008

the council takes a highly personalised

approach to helping provide high-quality

education for children with special needs.

Children are judged individually. Some require

the full-time support of a special school,

others can enjoy a mainstream school with the

assistance of outreach staff, while some use

parts of both. roughly 150 pupils go to each of

fosse Way and three Ways School, Bath, with

a further 45 at the link School, which also has

new buildings. another 350 disabled children

attend mainstream schools with extra support

from the council’s special needs system.

the completion of fosse Way represents the

latest milestone in the council’s ambitious

building programme. others include the

£28 million project for three new community

resource centres for the elderly and disabled,

the £4.4 million St keyna School in keynsham,

and the £12 million three Ways Special

School project in Bath, which won several

prestigious design awards.

Images: Bath and North East Somerset Council

9

CounCIl of tHe ISleS of SCIlly Sea link harBour improvementS

the Council of the isles of Scilly is the country’s

oldest and smallest unitary authority. With a

population of just over 2,000, the council has

a wide remit including statutory responsibilities

for coastal defences, water and sewerage.

the council also runs the airport and tourist

information centre.

With tourism making up around 85% of the

economy, transport plays a central role in

everyday island life. transport links to the

mainland are vital to the economy of the islands.

the main year-round passenger transport

link with the mainland is the Scillonian ferry

between penzance, Cornwall, and the main

administrative centre of St mary’s on the isles

of Scilly. this service is critical to the continued

survival of the island community for both

personal transport and the movement of goods.

there is also a separate freight vessel.

Sea transport is the preferred method of

conveying freight, but it also provides the

ability to transport passengers when air travel is

suspended because of poor visibility.

in order to maintain and improve its sea link,

the council has been working with regional

partners, including the South West Strategic

leaders’ Board, and the South West rDa

through the regional funding advice (rfa),

to secure funding for a major programme

of improvements to the harbours at St

mary’s and penzance. the aim is to address

operational issues at both harbours and deliver

improvements to the harbours’ infrastructure

to enable a combined passenger and freight

vehicle to operate efficiently between penzance

and St mary’s on an all-year-round basis.

the rfa process covers funding allocations

for transport, housing and regeneration, and

the economy and emphasises the region’s

commitment to sustainable low-carbon

development.

the isles of Scilly Sea link harbour

improvements scheme was supported by the

region when the rfa was submitted to the

government in february 2009, confirming

funding to the tune of £23 million.

The challenge of being a local authority situated 28 miles off Land’s End has created a council where innovation is central to all the work it undertakes.


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www.scilly.gov.uk

the improvements work required at both

harbours include extending and widening

the quays, improving the working area,

reducing the conflict between passenger

and freight activities, improving sea walls,

reducing congestion created by freight

activities and improving security and

freight storage facilities.

this innovative partnership approach to

solving problems faced by the islands

is also reflected in other areas of the

council’s business, the council has Service

level agreements with Cornwall Council, works

with Dorset County Council on social care, and

is planning a strategic partnership with north

Somerset for education.

Council Chairman Councillor Christine Savill said:

“We’ve had partnerships for years out of

necessity. Being such a small authority, we

cannot have every area of expertise; we need

support and advice from other bodies. The

harbour improvement work is a good example

of this approach.”

harbours include extending and widening

the quays, improving the working area,

reducing the conflict between passenger

and freight activities, improving sea walls,

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glouCeSter CIty CounCIl glouCeSter WorkS

this investment is expected to create more than

5,000 new jobs, and by 2015 it is anticipated

that 111,000 vacancies for existing jobs will

need to be filled across gloucestershire.

gloucester Works – does what it says on the tinis a new, collaborative initiative, designed

to enable businesses in the city to take

advantage of these opportunities. it is focused

on identifying and satisfying the needs of all

employers, including existing businesses and

those new organisations that will invest in

gloucester in the coming years.

the plan is funded by major contributions from

the learning and Skills Council (lSC), via its

european Social fund (eSf) programme and

the South West regional Development agency.

gloucester Works is managed by gloucestershire

first, the county’s business-led economic

partnership, and is a collaboration between

gloucester City Council, gloucestershire County

Council, gloucester heritage urban regeneration

Company, the learning and Skills Council,

JobCentre plus, gloucestershire primary Care

trust and the South West rDa.

the board is chaired by the City Council Chief

executive, Julian Wain.

the gloucester Works team liaises closely with

local employers to understand what kind of

staffing, recruitment and training needs are

required, and links these opportunities to local

people across the city through intensive support

and personal guidance.

the programme includes bespoke and

accredited training opportunities for local people

to help them achieve the relevant qualifications

and skills they need to move into long-term

employment or improve the prospects of those in

employment to progress up the job ladder.

The City of Gloucester is changing. An estimated £1 billion of investment is planned for the city’s infrastructure over the next seven years, bringing exciting commercial opportunities.

rimary Care

he board is chaired by the City Council Chief

loucester Works team liaises closely with

rban r

earning and Skills Council,

rimary Care

he board is chaired by the City Council Chief

loucester Works team liaises closely with

local employers to understand what kind of

staffing, recruitment and training needs are


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www.gloucestershire.gov.uk

gloucester Works is also focused on reducing

unemployment levels, particularly in the

inner wards of the city, and works closely with

housing, health and welfare advisory services

to ensure that employment and skills are

integrated into wider neighbourhood services.

a key part of gloucester Works activity has

been to support the launch of the multimillion-

pound gloucester Quays development, which

sees the creation of 1,000 new jobs in the city’s

historic docks quarter. it has supported major

employers, including Sainsbury’s, travelodge,

gap and next, in promoting opportunities and

recruiting staff for their new outlets and will

be working with other investors as part of the

development scheme.

free independent support in training,

employment and recruitment is offered as part

of a plan to meet the jobs and skills needs of

workers and employers in gloucester and the loucester and the

surrounding areas.

the collaboration – the first of its kind in

the South West – has been developed to

make sure that local people have the best

chance of benefiting from anticipated growth

in the job market, stimulated by gloucester’s

regeneration.

Council leader, paul James, commented:

“This is an exciting project that brings

together partner organisations and

employers. We want to make sure that local

people have the skills to take advantage of

the many employment opportunities that

are being created in the city.

“Gloucester Works is a superb example of

partnership working, with the city council

playing a full role in helping to develop a

thriving 21st-century city.”

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It may be right in the heart of a city, but Plymouth’s East End Community Village has got everything needed to create a village feel. What was once a patch of waste ground is now home to a series of striking buildings designed to give an inner city neighbourhood everything a community should have.

PlyMoutH CIty CounCIleaSt enD Community village

the £14 million scheme has only just finished

but it has already picked up accolades. its

ziggurat-style design has created a landmark

in a location once earmarked for a road-

widening scheme.

it won the regeneration category in the

prestigious local government Chronicle

awards, and its astor Court, apartments for

the elderly and frail, was awarded the most

accessible building in the South West in the

regional local authorities Building Control

Quality awards.

the 30 apartments in astor Court are primarily

designed around wheelchair users, and

there’s a host of features such as no steps

in communal areas and colour-contrasting

features for people with sight issues.

the elderly are right in the heart of east

end life at astor Court, which is a partnership

between plymouth City Council, Signpost housing

association and the housing Corporation.

places at astor were snapped up and so

were the affordable houses built as part of

the scheme, said renewal area Co-ordinator

phil mitchell. the younger eastenders enjoy

a revamped astor park, with its funky play

area, basketball court, youth shelter and

events space, and phil says there is much less

vandalism in the area generally.

everyone has benefited from the super-surgery

built to replace the Wycliffe Surgery, which

was too small for the services the gps and

plymouth primary Care trust wanted to provide.

the redevelopment was by reSound (health)

limited, a public/private partnership set up to

improve healthcare facilities in plymouth.

there are new shops and a business centre

where fledgling firms can rent desk spaces and

workshops as well as get business advice and

administrative support and equipment. there

is also a community-run café, which phil is

adamant has the “best coffee in plymouth”.


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15

www.plymouth.gov.uk

phil said:

“I really like the East End. It’s not a one-

dimensional housing estate. It’s a piece of city

which has lots of different aspects to it – industry,

the waterfront, homes and now the village.”

the project has instilled a sense of pride in the

area, which was designated a renewal area in

2000. this status paved the way for potential

funding opportunities.

With the east end partnership, the council

talked extensively to residents about what they

wanted to see. Slowly but surely, the council

acquired land and interested partners, and

began to forge an idea of what could be.

Judges in the local government Chronicle

awards said the scheme exemplifies “close

partnership working to provide excellent new

facilities”, and the amount of collaboration

and patience needed to bring all these new

facilities is a testament to the commitment of

staff and volunteers.

through the east end partnership and the east

end Development trust, the community and the

council obtained funding from a host of sources

including the Single regeneration Budget,

erDf objective 2, Blf lottery, living Spaces

lottery, the Department of health, the Signpost

housing association and reSound health.

the South West rDa supported the project

with almost £2 million through the Single

regeneration Budget towards the creation of

a new business centre.

Councillor peter Brookshaw, Cabinet member

for Safer and Stronger Communities, said:

“The East End regeneration project has

completely transformed what was previously

a rather run-down area of the city, and we

are absolutely thrilled that the team have won

national recognition for their work.”

plymouth’s 2020 local Strategic partnership

set a goal of creating a city that is healthy,

wealthy, safe and strong and wise. With bricks,

mortar, fine facilities and, most importantly,

enthusiasm and commitment, the east end

Community village is playing its part.

torbay CounCIlBrixham regeneration – a mayoral viSion proJeCt

in october 2007 torbay Council launched its torbay Council launched its t

mayoral vision – a regeneration blueprint for

torbay over the next 20 years. torbay over the next 20 years. t

the vision details 23 transformational projects,

including the multimillion-pound regeneration

of Brixham.

the 10-year, £100 million project aims to

revitalise the fishing port with a new state-of-

the-art fish market as well as shopping facilities

and commercial space for businesses in the

town, and it is estimated it will create around

360 new jobs in the long term.

Contractors started work on phase 1 of the

project in february last year to provide a new

quay deck and associated infrastructure and

services such as power and water supplies for

the new fish market. later that year changes to

the euro/pound exchange rate, which effectively the euro/pound exchange rate, which effectively

meant that more money was available from meant that more money was available from

objective 2 and the financial instrument for nstrument for

fisheries guidance (fifg) grant, meant that

the new employment building, previously part

of phase 2, could be brought forward.

phase 1 is now complete, and the contractors

are turning their attention to phase 2, due to be

completed by June 2010, which will provide a

new state-of-the-art fish market, restaurant and

office facilities.

torbay’s Cabinet torbay’s Cabinet t member for regeneration,

Councillor Chris lewis, said:

“A new fish market is a pivotal part of the

Brixham regeneration scheme which will also

provide new shopping facilities and additional

new jobs in the long term.

Torbay, like many places, faces extraordinary challenges over the next two decades, including a changing economy, an increased population and more housing, and the inevitable changing lifestyles of local residents. Torbay must embrace change if it is to survive; it must face up to the challenges ahead but at the same time be mindful and respectful of the things that make it a special place.


16

www.torbay.gov.uk

“Our ambitious plans for Brixham harbour

are aimed at rejuvenating the town’s economy

and providing fishing-related and non-fishing-

related jobs for Brixham people. I have been

hugely impressed by the progress of the work

on Brixham harbour so far and was particularly

pleased that we were able to bring forward

some elements of phase 2.

“We should not underestimate the importance

of this project for Brixham’s future economic

prosperity. Despite the current economic

climate millions of pounds are being invested

in the project. It is on time and on budget and

progressing well and that in itself is a huge

achievement that should be celebrated.”

phase 3 is still in the early stages of development

but will include a new multimillion-pound

northern arm breakwater. the scheme will

create a large area of calm water, enabling the

development of marine activities and allowing

the fishing industry to land in most weathers.

17

borougH of Poole CounCIlnational aCClaim for reCyCling SCheme

Borough of poole’s ‘recycle on the go!’

project (funded by a grant from the local

area agreement) was named runner-up in the

Sustainable Development uk awards 2009. awards 2009. a

the project has led to a dramatic increase

in the amount of street litter being recycled

instead of being sent to landfill. Jonathon

porritt, Chairman of the uk Sustainable

Development Commission and co-founder of

forum for the future, presented the award

to representatives from Borough of poole’s

environmental and Consumer protection

Services. he also called on other local

authorities to follow poole’s example.

in 2008, Borough of poole received a grant of

£257,000 to invest in providing 300 new dual

bins for streets and open spaces across the

town. the distinctive black and blue bins are

consistent with the council’s successful ‘Blue

Bin’ kerbside recycling scheme for household

waste and the national ‘recycle now’ brand.

as a result of the project, 137,000 residents

and three million visitors to poole are easily able

to identify and contribute to poole’s recycling

story by recycling more of their litter when they

are out and about the town.

By collecting paper, cardboard, tins and cans,

glass and plastic bottles, the dual bins are now

recycling an average of 34% of street litter.

Within three months of the scheme starting, up

to 50% of litter that would have been sent to

landfill was being recycled during some weeks

in the summer. and so far, the project has been

successful in diverting 80 tonnes of recyclable

waste away from landfill.

An innovative scheme encouraging people in Poole to recycle more street litter has won acclaim in national awards promoting environmental excellence.

landfill was being recycled during some weeks

nd so far, the project has been

successful in diverting 80 tonnes of recyclable


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www.poole.gov.uk

the new bins are also up to 100% larger,

reducing the likelihood of overflowing causing

windblown litter, demonstrated by a reduction

in complaints and anti-social littering behaviour.

the latest street cleanliness surveys also show

the lowest levels of litter to date.

in addition, the borough has also benefited

from increased efficiency by using two

specialised vehicles to collect both refuse and

recycling at the same time, reducing operating

costs and generating lower carbon emissions.

through the purchase of durable bins, the

cost of maintenance and replacement has also

been reduced. and with cleaner streets, we’ve

reduced the cost of cleansing too, which last

year came to £1.9 million.

Councillor Don Collier, Cabinet portfolio holder

for the environment, Borough of poole, said:

“This is a great achievement and we are

delighted that Poole has been recognised for

its efforts in developing and implementing this

successful recycling scheme. The project has

led to a dramatic increase in recycling of street

litter, with up to 50% of litter that would have

been sent to landfill being recycled. As well

as helping to keep our streets clean, the bins

are saving taxpayers’ money by cutting refuse

collection costs and reducing the amount of

waste being sent to expensive landfill sites.”

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CotSWold dIStrICt CounCIl top markS for reCyCling

the council’s new waste and recycling

collection scheme was launched in June 2008.

the success of the service is borne out by a

high recycling and composting rate of 61% in

2008/9, compared with the previous year when

the rate was 42%. the new scheme has also

diverted 12,000 tonnes from landfill and saved

gloucestershire County Council £1 million in

landfill costs.

Before the new scheme was launched

Cotswold District Council consulted residents

and asked them about changes to the waste

collection service, which would give them

more opportunity for doorstep recycling, with a

fortnightly waste collection. there was general

support for a redesign of the waste service,

and 73% said they would support compulsory

recycling. however, support for fortnightly waste

collections was less clear, with 53% supporting

this change.

there was council backing for a redesign of the

waste collection service, because one of the

council’s main priorities under the banner of

‘cleaner and greener’ is to increase recycling.

the service was redesigned to include a weekly

food waste collection, a weekly garden waste

collection, a fortnightly dry recycling collection,

a fortnightly cardboard collection and a

fortnightly waste collection.fortnightly waste collection.

a comprehensive communication campaign comprehensive communication campaign

was carried out during the build-up to the was carried out during the build-up to the

launch of the new service and during the launch of the new service and during the

early stages. Some of the methods used early stages. Some of the methods used

were leafleting, information packs, posters, were leafleting, information packs, posters,

roadshows, media briefings, doorstep visits to roadshows, media briefings, doorstep visits to

residents and presentations to stakeholders residents and presentations to stakeholders

such as local councillors.such as local councillors.

This year Cotswold District Council expects 61% of household waste to be recycled and composted – one of the best rates in the country and the best rate in the South West. This has seen the council reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill by almost a half, which not only protects our planet by reducing methane emissions, but also cuts the cost of landfill charges to council tax payers.


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the launch of the new service was an

immediate success, with the first 18 weeks

recording a combined recycling and

composting rate of 72%. the success was

partly because of residents, take-up of the

service but a major part of the achievement

can be credited to the communications

campaign and the council’s commitment to

investing in the new service.

mark tufnell, portfolio holder for the

environment (left), said:

“It is our residents, our contractor, officers and

the Cabinet that have contributed to making

our new recycling and waste collection service

a tremendous success. The residents of the

Cotswolds have embraced the new collection

service, and it’s obvious that most people see

the benefits of recycling.

“The new service supports our commitment

to protect the beautiful environment of the

Cotswolds while saving expensive landfill

costs. We made the commitment to put

resources into this area of work because

protecting our environment is one of our top

priorities. It’s paid off, though, and I am very

proud of what we have achieved.”

www.cotswold.gov.uk

21

PurbeCk dIStrICt CounCIlWaSte not – Want not

in october 2005, the refuse and recycling

services in purbeck changed to the new

‘recycle for purbeck’ Collection Service.

households in purbeck were issued with grey

wheelie bins for non-recyclable rubbish and

green kerbside boxes for recyclable materials.

the grey bin is collected one week and the

green box collected the following week.

purbeck’s two main objectives in introducing

the recycle for purbeck Collection Service

were:

1) to increase recycling rates in the

district; and

2) to ensure the best value for residents

of Purbeck.

prior to implementation, the district’s waste

services provider Sita uk anticipated that,

under the new scheme, the recycling rate would

increase from 16% to around 24%. in reality,

the scheme far exceeded this and is currently

achieving a recycling rate of over 34%.

no targets for waste minimisation were

considered during the planning stages.

however, at the end of 2006/7, it was noted

that there had been a 1.5% reduction in overall

waste compared with 2005/6. there was a

further reduction of 1.2% in 2007/8, against a

history of annual waste increases of between

2% and 4% over the previous 20 years.

therefore, over the three years purbeck has

reduced the amount of waste going to landfill

by 3,418 metric tonnes.

the key to the success of the scheme was the

council’s ability to explain to residents why it

was trying to increase the amount of waste

recycled. messages referred to the environment

and climate change, which, at the time, was

just starting to be seen as a scientific reality in

the public’s consciousness.

the success of the scheme was further

assisted by the demographics in purbeck.

With a World heritage coastline and many

Purbeck District Council introduced alternate-week refuse and recycling collections (AWCs) in October 2005 and, in 2006/7 and 2007/8, the council recorded the second lowest amount of waste produced per head of population in England, being out-performed by only Hyndburn, Lancashire.


22

www.purbeck.gov.uk

areas of outstanding natural Beauty and

Sites of Special Scientific interest, purbeck

residents tend to be environmentally aware

and have a genuine interest in protecting what

is a unique environment.

through a very strong ‘hearts and minds’

campaign to gain acceptance of a new way

of dealing with waste in the district, including

limiting the amount of waste that residents can

put out for collection, purbeck District Council

succeeded not only in convincing residents

that recycling should be a part of their daily

lives but that the total amount of waste

they produce could be influenced by their

purchasing and consumption habits. looking

forward, the council would like to enhance

the scheme with the introduction of a weekly

collection of food waste.

Councillor paul Johns, Built environment

Spokesperson for purbeck District Council,

said:

“The district’s natural environment is an

enormous asset. By working together, the

council and the residents of Purbeck have

proved that we can adapt to new ways of

dealing with our rubbish and dramatically

reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.”

23

SoutH HaMS dIStrICt CounCIltop league reCyClerS

every person in the South hams has played a

part in achieving the second highest recycling

rate in england – a whopping 57.07%. that’s

19,000 tonnes of waste saved from landfill,

equivalent to the weight of 46 jumbo jets.

this national accolade is the best the South

hams has achieved and puts the council at the

top of the table for recycling in the South West.

the government figures also highlighted that

the South hams sent the least amount of waste

per household to landfill than any other area

in england.

Councillor John tucker, leader of South hams

District Council, said:

“This is proof of the commitment by South Hams

residents to recycle as much of their waste as

possible and shows that we are now taking a

greater responsibility for our waste than ever

before, not least through the recycling scheme.

Our residents should take all the credit for this

fantastic effort – well done!

“We are encouraging people to recycle as much

as possible and believe it is important that young

people learn about recycling from an early age.

A very good response to our competition for

young people to design artwork to be displayed

on our recycling collection lorries helped put the

spotlight on what we all should be doing – and

that’s taking responsibility for our own waste.

Often it is the youngsters who encourage us

older ones to take more notice and cut down the

amount we waste.”

the council has rolled out its kerbside

collection scheme for recycling to nearly

42,000 homes. food and garden waste goes

into a brown wheelie bin while paper and

cardboard are collected in blue recycling sacks,

plastic bottles and tin cans in clear recycling

sacks and the residual household waste in grey

wheelie bins.

the majority of households receive a weekly

collection service where the brown bins and

recycling sacks are collected one week and the

grey bins the following week.

People living in the South Hams are among the best recyclers in the country – and, nationally, send the smallest amount of waste per household to landfill.


24

www.south-hams-dc.gov.uk

the kitchen and garden waste is sent to a local

in-vessel composting plant where it is turned

into a soil conditioner for use by farmers.

to encourage people to recycle as much as

possible the council has:

introduced council-approved cornstarch •bin liners for kitchen caddies and brown wheeled bins, on sale at town council offices throughout the South Hams as well as the district council;

encouraged young people to get the •recycling habit. Eleven-year-old Alice, a pupil at a local primary school, won a competition to design a poster promoting the message ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ (pictured right). Her art-work is now travelling around the South Hams on our recycling lorries;

visited schools to spread the ‘reduce, reuse, •recycle’ message through waste audits and other activities; and

produced a special ‘brown bin hanger’ to •help people remember which items can go into the brown bin for composting.

25

SoutH SoMerSet dIStrICt CounCIlreCyCling more BuSineSS WaSte – With a tWiSt

But with 4,500 businesses across the district,

South Somerset District Council is pioneering

an unusual and original way to ensure that

commercial waste is re-used too.

Business-savvy staff from the council’s

Community resource Service are enlisting

an expanding group of businesses onto their

monthly ‘green van route’ – which collects

reusable business waste items free of charge,

and then supplies local schools, community

groups and artists with the materials for use in

arts and crafts projects throughout the district.

the hundreds of items, once sorted, are also

sold at the council’s Scrapstore facility which,

together with the council’s art Shop, attracts

over 10,500 customers each year.

the innovative facility is proving a hit with

businesses and residents and word is spreading

fast, with tradespeople and members of the public

now coming in on an ad-hoc basis to donate

materials and pick up items for their projects.

over the past two years the scheme has

collected and recycled over 66 tonnes of collected and recycled over 66 tonnes of

business waste – the equivalent of 10 london

double-decker buses in weight.

Councillor Sylvia Seal, South Somerset District

Council’s portfolio holder for leisure, Culture

and Well-Being, said:

“Not only do businesses get a free collection of

their waste, either regularly or on-call, but there

are also significant environmental benefits to

this scheme. Thousands of children and local

craftspeople have benefited from the resources

we’ve recycled over the years, and tonnes of

waste are being diverted from landfill into much

more worthwhile destinations.

With one of the country’s top recycling rates, residents living in South Somerset are preventing thousands of tonnes of household waste from going to landfill by using their doorstep recycling service.


26

www.southsomerset.gov.uk

“It’s great for their green credentials – it’s a

hassle-free and eco-friendly way to get rid of

unwanted materials that would otherwise end

up at the landfill, and we know there is a big

pressure on businesses to think about their

carbon footprint.

“For us, this scheme represents an innovative

solution. We have over 370 square miles to

cover so the scrap that we are able to recycle

provides useful resource to stock the art section

of the mobile Community Activity Bus. It also

enables our businesses to easily do their bit

for the environment at no cost to them, and

helps us continue to build upon our increasing

recycling rate.”

the council’s Community activity Bus visits 200

locations district-wide each year, effectively taking

a portable scrapstore to the furthest corners of the

district and offering the items as arts and crafts

materials for use by school groups.

the Community resource Service team is now

working to expand its monthly van route to new

parts of the district by contacting businesses

in all four geographical areas within South

Somerset and introducing the scheme.

27

Stroud dIStrICt CounCIl Climate Change: target 2050

almost £1.5million was made available

for investment into the following

environmental areas:

£700,000 for climate change response;•

£525,000 for waste and recycling; and•

£225,000 for public spaces.•

the most significant aspects of the strategy

focused on climate change response. as part of

a £130,000 contract with Severn Wye energy

agency the council embarked on the ‘target target t

2050’ research project. the main thrust of this

ambitious project was to look at climate change

in the context of the entire district’s housing

stock. it wanted to identify a broad range of

households – according to occupancy, property

type and income – and then look at the options

for making them greener.

the project is already going well. it received

176 applications to become part of the scheme,

and from these, 40 homes were carefully

selected. all received in-depth energy surveys

and personal emissions reduction plans, and

23 received support to implement practical

measures. these included:

cavity wall insulation;•

solid wall insulation (internal and external);•

loft insulation top-up;•

sloping ceiling insulation;•

draught proofing;•

hot water tank insulation;•

double glazing;•

conventional fuel boiler;•

wood pellet boiler;•

central heating controls;•

wood burning stove;•

solar water heating; and•

low energy lighting.•

In 2006/7 Stroud District Council undertook a major consultation on the environment. It sought the views of residents, community groups, town and parish councils and other agencies to put together a 20-year Environment Strategy to tackle the issues. Much progress has already been made.


28

www.stroud.gov.uk

at a time of recession, energy efficiency and

saving money are increasingly important drivers

in changing behaviour, and aside from the

practical options, behavioural change is one of

the main aims of the project.

early indications show that the 23 properties

could save 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

emissions over their lifetime and over £800 a

year on their annual energy bills. the results

of this research will allow Stroud District

Council to work towards achieving a massive

60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions

across the district, and just as importantly

help households benefit from smaller bills by

improving their energy efficiency and reducing

their dependence on fossil fuels.

target 2050 also focuses on businesses. a

two-year programme to conduct energy surveys

for 50 small-to-medium-sized enterprises has

already been completed. Community buildings

have received funding for renewable and other

green measures, and businesses spending over

£5,000 a year on energy are eligible for a free

business energy survey and follow-up support.

ian morrison, landlord of the retreat wine bar,

was happy to take part. he has saved 50% on

his refrigeration costs by insulating his cellar.

Council leader Chas fellows said:

“Local councils are in a unique position to have

a practical impact on environmental issues.

Stroud District Council has a responsibility

for promoting the health and well-being of its

residents in the present and in the future.

“The environment has always been important

to us and we have a strong track record of

delivering environmental improvements in

partnership with local people. The Target 2050

project is just one of the initiatives that we’re

using to address the issues raised by local

people, community groups and businesses.”

Sally Daley, Senior Sustainable Energy

Officer, and Ian Morrision,

landlord of The Retreat

29

WeSt SoMerSet CounCIl loCal aCtion on Climate Change

forum 21 produced the West Somerset Climate

Change Strategy, which aimed to reduce the

district’s carbon footprint, keep money in the

economy, and tackle the twin problems of

local deprivation and fuel poverty, which are

well hidden given exmoor’s picture-postcard

appearance.

people in West Somerset emit 11.4 tonnes of

carbon dioxide per person per year – more than

the South West average of 8.9 tonnes per person

and the uk average of 9.3 tonnes per person,

primarily because of lack of a mains gas and a high

proportion of traditional solid-wall homes, which are

hard to heat.

the district has high levels of deprivation, with

one of the country’s largest elderly populations

and much of its younger population dependent

on low-paid seasonal jobs in the tourism

industry. it has poor transport links and no other

large industries.

over £80 million is spent on imported energy

in West Somerset every year, all of which leaves

the local economy. Clearly, the environment, and

people’s pockets, are suffering in the area.

the Climate Change Strategy sought to stop the

money leaving the district while also contributing to

a reduction in national carbon dioxide emissions.

this called for a completely fresh approach, and

so the Western Somerset local action group

(lag), comprising partners from West Somerset,

exmoor, the Quantocks, the 10 parishes of

Wiveliscombe and its hinterland, and neighbouring

parishes in taunton Deane, was set up.

the innovative cross-border partnership of private,

public and voluntary sector organisations, which

are united by similar circumstances and issues,

swept aside traditional borders to find solutions

to common problems, and was key to unlocking

european funding.

the lag used the strategy’s main themes to

successfully secure £2.25 million from the local

action for rural Communities fund for a new,

exciting rural development programme, entitled

‘towards a low carbon economy’.

it proposed harnessing the area’s rich natural

resources and developing sustainable green

technologies to reduce external energy

dependency, keep money in the district to aid

When West Somerset Council and the Local Strategic Partnership teamed up with the environmental group Forum 21 to tackle local fuel poverty and the global issue of climate change, it was to revolutionise the way local action would be taken.


30

www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk

its economy, and provide new employment and

business opportunities. the Western Somerset

lag is now looking to fund grassroots groups

and organisations which want to do something

that fits into these themes.

leader of West Somerset Council, Councillor

keith ross, said:

“The climate change strategy puts issues in

terms that we can all understand. We can all

see that the £80 million leaving the district on

transport, domestic and business energy bills

could be put to good use in our economy and

could help transform local prospects.

“The innovative aspect of the Western Somerset

LAG is that it unites people and organisations

across borders by common issues that need

direct local action, rather than sticking to rigidly

established areas.

“As such, it is a truly inclusive project that

seeks to deliver change to all the communities

affected by common issues. It has the potential

to make this area a leader in sustainable

technologies and could, in turn, provide work

and economic development opportunities for

many years to come.”

31

dorSet County CounCIlDorSet CounCilS Working together in partnerShip

Dorset County Council and six borough and

district councils, with support from consultants,

held the consultation for 14 weeks between

august and november 2008.

now adopted by all the partner councils, the

new strategy will now guide the way waste is

managed over the next 25 years.

it includes 10 key policies and sets an ambitious

new recycling rate of 60%, while also keeping

the technology options open for dealing with

waste that isn’t recycled or composted. the

strategy includes annual action plans to make

it a living document, and these are reviewed,

reported on and updated regularly.

a clean, fresh brand identity was produced

in-house for the consultation to create a positive

approach to waste and tie in with the strategy’s

strapline:

‘Waste… our challenge, our opportunity, our future’

the identity ran through all communications

associated with the strategy consultation.

these included a summary brochure with

questionnaire and displays, posters, flyers,

factsheets and other literature.

Because waste affects everyone, the

consultation was designed to be as wide-

ranging as possible.

Dorset councils received near-unanimous public support for a draft Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy following extensive public consultation and communications in 2008.

Christchurch

Partnership Working

32

33

Waste... Have your say – The brand in action Waste... Have your say – The brand in action

www.dorsetforyou.com

Councillor hilary Cox, Chairman of the Dorset

Waste liaison panel, said:

“This strategy presents a brand new vision for

waste management in Dorset. It is the result

of local councils working closely together and

wide-ranging public consultation that aimed to

give the public every chance to have their say.”

Consultation and communications included:

a preview launch event for the media; •

15 roadshows held at weekends and evenings •

across the county at supermarkets, town centres and other busy locations;

displays and questionnaires at 34 libraries; •

displays at county shows as well as at many •

other stakeholder events and meetings;

six focus groups – one in each partner •

council area;

Dorset Citizens’ Panel survey •

(3,000 members);

special sessions for councillors;•

random mailshots to around •

8,000 households;

Waste Forum meetings;•

New Waste Review Community Panel •

for stakeholders;

communications with town and parish •

councils and other stakeholders;

articles in council newsletters; •

proactive and reactive media relations;•

internal communications; and•

a dedicated microsite (www.dorsetforyou.com •

/futureofwaste) with online surveys and a chance to sign up for email alerts.

the waste strategy consultation was carried

out by Christchurch Borough Council, Dorset

County Council, east Dorset District Council,

north Dorset District Council, purbeck District

Council, West Dorset District Council and

Weymouth & portland Borough Council.

for more information visit

www.dorsetforyou.com/futureofwaste

eaSt devon dIStrICt CounCIl freak Storm BringS flooD of help anD information

a freak winter storm which brought torrential

rain and hailstones cascading down on east

Devon that fateful night resulted in run-off

from fields and drains blocked by frozen water,

causing chaos and heartache for residents of

many communities in the otter valley. murky

water cascaded into hundreds of homes,

damaging living quarters and possessions

to the tune of hundreds of thousands of

pounds. there was further misery for dozens

of motorists whose cars were washed away or

flooded, with some written off.

following the storm, after working with many

other agencies to rehome families and help

relieve the suffering of those directly affected,

east Devon District Council launched its own

relief fund to assist flood victims in practical

terms. the council also stored donated

household goods for use by hard-pressed flood

victims. the fund raised over £10,000, which

was matched by the council. Claims from 31

householders have been paid out, and the fund

has now been wound up.

east Devon District Council also set up a ast Devon District Council also set up a

dedicated website where people could find dedicated website where people could find

details of the fund and the cache of household details of the fund and the cache of household

goods, as well as publicity about fund-raising goods, as well as publicity about fund-raising

events and council tax relief.events and council tax relief.

the council went on to host a series of he council went on to host a series of flood

recovery group meetings aimed at creating roup meetings aimed at creating

an action plan for the future. an action plan for the future. this group is a

partnership of councils and other agencies with partnership of councils and other agencies with

an interest in ensuring that the flood warning, an interest in ensuring that the flood warning,

defence, response and recovery arrangements in defence, response and recovery arrangements in

east Devon are of the highest possible quality.

the aims of the group are to:

establish what caused the flooding;•

assess how agencies performed in the •aftermath;

put into practice any lessons learned; •

make improvements to minimise flood risk;•

advise residents and businesses how to help •themselves; and

keep people informed of progress through •

online and printed information.

When devastating floods brought havoc to parts of East Devon in October 2008, the first priority was dealing with the immediate aftermath of the emergency. But for East Devon District Council the flood response went much deeper.

Partnership Working

34

www.eastdevon.gov.uk

to ensure that residents throughout the district to ensure that residents throughout the district t

are kept fully informed, east Devon District

Council is collaborating with the environment

agency, Devon County Council and the Devon

and Somerset fire and rescue Service to

publish a newsletter tracking progress with the

action plan.

the occasional newsletter is also available in

libraries and other outlets in villages. in some

communities, copies are available in association

with parish newsletters.

the work of the flood recovery group is already

showing results, and this work will continue until

– and possibly beyond – the first anniversary of

that fateful night in october 2008.

leader of east Devon District Council, Sara

randall Johnson said:

“The experience with the MSC Napoli, though

a different kind of emergency, stood us in

good stead to respond to the floods, as the

various agencies came together well and have

continued to work tirelessly for the benefit ofthe

community.”

communities, copies are available in association

roup is already

Flood Recovery Update is an A4 information

sheet delivered to 11,500 homes in the affected communities

Aerial view of the Otter Valley after October’s storm

Imag

e: E

ast D

evon

Dis

tric

t Cou

ncil

35

MId devon dIStrICt CounCIl partnerShip Working proviDeS out-of-hourS ServiCe

Customer feedback indicated that, for some

customers, contact times were limited and it

would help to be able to contact the council

outside normal opening hours.

Devon County Council already had a very

successful contact centre, ‘my Devon’, with

extended opening times outside the normal

9-to-5 sevice operated at mid Devon District

Council (mDDC).

at the start of 2008 officers from both councils

met to discuss how my Devon could help

mDDC to provide a service to customers outside

normal working hours.

the initial project brief demonstrated very

quickly that there were some real opportunities

to improve customer service and that closer

working would be beneficial for

both organisations.

a project group was set up to look into

collaborative working and it was agreed that

it would be possible to implement a service

from 5pm to 8pm each evening and on

Saturday mornings.

the project group worked on setting up the

technology to seamlessly transfer callers to

mDDC to the my Devon team.

Systems were put in place to ensure the

prompt transfer of information between the two

organisations, and training was provided to my

Devon staff to familiarise them with the new

services not covered by a county council.

Since october 2008 my Devon has taken

calls on behalf of mDDC from 5pm to 8pm on

weekdays, on Saturday mornings and over the

Christmas and new year holiday. year holiday. y telephone calls telephone calls t

to mDDC are answered by the district council as

normal during working hours.

Mid Devon District Council is a rural authority in the heart of Devon. Its Customer First staff deal with around 80,000 contacts from customers across a range of access channels, including by phone, in person, by email and via the internet.

Partnership Working

36

Both members of the project group and

management have been very pleased with the

outcome of the project, which has seen both

organisations working closely together and

bringing real benefit to people throughout mid

Devon. Callers can now access key services from

both organisations to 8pm each weekday and

on Saturday mornings. this has come about at

no additional cost to taxpayers and highlights

the opportunities of improving service and

maximising efficiency through partnership.

the executive member for Corporate

performance at Devon County Council,

Councillor Des hannon, pictured on the right of

the photo, said:

“It is great that we have been able to enhance

the level of service that Mid Devon District

Council can provide its residents. Both councils

have the objective of answering queries with one

phone call and this is an important step forward”

Councillor Dennis knowles, portfolio holder for

the Working environment and Support Services,

mid Devon District Council, pictured on the left

of the photo, said:

“By working together we are moving towards

being able to provide a single service for our

customers in Mid Devon regardless of whether

you contact the district or county council. Staff

have gained a greater understanding of the

services provided by both organisations – which

means customers are less likely to be passed

from one authority to the other.”

37

www.middevon.gov.uk

SoutH glouCeSterSHIre CounCIlWorking together – the WeStern improvement partnerShip

the five authorities formed the Western

improvement partnership (Wip) in 2007, driven

by a desire to work more closely together on

areas of common interest around business

transformation and change.

the five authorities involved strongly believe

that by sharing knowledge, opportunities and

responses to challenges they will make better

use of the resources available.

Wip successfully bid for SW riep funding

to develop the partnership by appointing a

programme manager to identify and take forward

joint working opportunities, to build capacity and

to share best practice.

the first main task was to understand the scope

and detail of the authorities’ existing business

transformation and improvement programmes

and their key priorities. from this analysis

work, commonalities and opportunities for joint

working were identified and developed into a set

of programmes which have since been taken

forward.

Working together has led to real benefits for South Gloucestershire Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, North Somerset Council, and Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

Northomerset

C O U N C I LS

Partnership Working

38

www.southglos.gov.uk

key benefits achieved from partnership working

in Wip to date are:

negotiation by WIP of a discount on customer •insight software with a leading supplier which several of the WIP authorities have taken advantage of, saving their authorities money;

creation of a sub-regional flexible working •group to share good practice, lessons learned and documentation. This group has also been involved with the development of hotdesk facilities for local authority staff in retained fire stations;

identification of and targeted information on •funding sources to the partner authorities, along with support on the preparation of bid submissions;

creation of a web portal for key documents and •useful information for member authorities;

learning and development sessions for •partners on subjects such as partnership working, use of consultants and CAA;

raising awareness of and involvement •in regional activities; and

signposting authorities to good practice •in partner authorities and facilitating the exchange of knowledge.

in the future, Wip plans to build on these

successes by supporting the partner authorities

in attracting more funding, by further developing

the learning and development sessions and by

proactively shaping and progressing sub-regional

joint working opportunities.

the leader of South gloucestershire Council,

Councillor John Calway, said:

“The five authorities involved are committed

to working together proactively to share

best practice and to build capacity in the

organisations to respond to future developments.

“Being involved in the partnership has

been a very positive experience for South

Gloucestershire. As well as benefiting from and

sharing knowledge, it has enabled us to be more

closely involved in and informed about regional

activities. The early signposting to potential

funding opportunities has also been invaluable.”

39

SWIndon borougH CounCIlSWinDon’S Big WeekenD

The Radio 1 Big Weekend is the biggest free live music event in Europe and is held annually in a town or city in the UK. This year was the ninth staging of the event, and Swindon Borough Council co-hosted the event with BBC Radio 1 at Lydiard Park in Swindon in May.

the council recognised what a fantastic

opportunity this was for Swindon and the

national and international profile it would bring

to the borough.

the big weekend featured a line-up of top

live music on both days, with 20,000 people

attending on each day and approximately 65%

of the ticket allocation going to the

local population.

hosting the radio 1 Big Weekend hit a

number of targets for the council, which more

than justified the significant amount of time

and money that was invested in hosting the

event. these included:

helping to achieve many of our Local Area •Agreements targets (engagement in arts, belonging, overall satisfaction with the area you live in);

a place marketing opportunity an estimated •value of £1.5 million – national exposure, blanket BBC coverage for two months, the first area and council in the South West to host the event, Swindon Borough Council branding on all printed material and publicity;

an opportunity to showcase all of our events •and venues to a regional and national audience and drive up footfall and revenue;

an estimated additional £1.3 million into •the local economy over the weekend; and

fringe and outreach events in the weeks •before and after the event around the town, with local bands showcased and BBC DJs visiting schools.

Partnership Working

40

41

there were a number of challenges in

organising the event, not least the short

timescale involved, with Swindon only being

confirmed as the venue in march.

all areas of the council came together in

the project, and even more importantly our

established partnerships with the police, the

fire and rescue service and the primary care

trust stood up to the test of delivering a high-

profile, high-risk event at short notice.

Councillor phil young was the Cabinet

member overseeing the project, and he was

determined to use the event to create a legacy

for Swindon.

he said:

“Hosting the Radio 1 Big Weekend was a hugely

complex undertaking, but it forced us to come

together and work in different ways and with

partners. The legacy is a national profile for

Swindon and a whole generation of young people

in the borough who are used to Swindon being a

great place for live music and events.”

the council was able to test some new ideas

and approaches to project management, traffic

planning and communications and take the

learning forward to apply to other initiatives.

for example, it deliberately tried to channel

its information by using predominantly

electronic-based methods (email alerts, social

networking sites etc) from the platform of a

comprehensive campaign website

(www.swindonbigweekend.com)

where people could self-manage the

information they needed.

Swindon Borough Council now has a tried and

tested blueprint for staging large-scale events

and is creating a dedicated corporate events

team that can take the learning from the Big

Weekend and use it to stage more events in

the future.

to find out more go to

www.swindonbigweekend.com

or www.swindondoesarts.co.uk

www.swindon.gov.uk

Images Courtesy of the BBC

taunton deane borougH CounCIl partnerShip finDS rough SleeperS a home

the project was ambitious but, thanks to

judicious use of government funding, and

the close working relationship with taunton taunton t

association for the homeless (tah), the

aspiration became a reality when norie house

opened its doors just before Christmas 2008.

and it has proved its worth.

the number of people sleeping rough on the he number of people sleeping rough on the

streets in taunton Deane has fallen dramatically aunton Deane has fallen dramatically taunton Deane has fallen dramatically t

since the opening of the specialist unit in since the opening of the specialist unit in taunton.taunton.t

norie house, owned and managed by ouse, owned and managed by tah and

supported by taunton Deane Borough Council, aunton Deane Borough Council, taunton Deane Borough Council, t

opened its doors in early December, providing opened its doors in early December, providing

simple, basic accommodation for rough simple, basic accommodation for rough

sleepers as well as seven ‘move-on’ bedsits.sleepers as well as seven ‘move-on’ bedsits.

and, in its first few months of operation, it

has been virtually full around the clock, with

24 people having used the hostel, with an

average stay of 23 days. of those who have left,

almost half have done so ‘positively’ – moving almost half have done so ‘positively’ – moving

into tah’s own housing or other alternative ’s own housing or other alternative

accommodation.accommodation.

the unit’s opening coincided with one of the he unit’s opening coincided with one of the

most severe winters in 20 years and provided most severe winters in 20 years and provided

people who would otherwise have had nowhere people who would otherwise have had nowhere

to go with a roof over their head, warmth, food to go with a roof over their head, warmth, food

and support. the average age of residents is he average age of residents is

around 30, with the youngest aged 19 and the around 30, with the youngest aged 19 and the

oldest 70.

the bedsits, which provide a stepping stone he bedsits, which provide a stepping stone

on the way to independent living, are now fully on the way to independent living, are now fully

occupied, with the majority of residents moving occupied, with the majority of residents moving

in directly from norie hhouse.

the project – the first of its kind in Somerset – he project – the first of its kind in Somerset –

is now being hailed as a major success and an is now being hailed as a major success and an

example of partnership working at its best.example of partnership working at its best.

Partnership working has proved to be the key to unlocking the door to a specialist unit for rough sleepers in Taunton. Taunton Deane Borough Council was aware of the need to provide practical help to the single homeless – not just a roof over their head but access to the sorts of service they may need.

Partnership Working

42

www.tauntondeane.gov.uk

in the year before the opening, regular n the year before the opening, regular

meetings were held between all involved – meetings were held between all involved – tah,

taunton Deane Borough Council, the police, aunton Deane Borough Council, the police, taunton Deane Borough Council, the police, t

Supporting people, Safer Communities from eople, Safer Communities from

Somerset County Council, the Drug and Somerset County Council, the Drug and alcohol

team, team, t open Door and turning point.oint.

ppictured right with Councillor ictured right with Councillor hazel prior-rior-

Sankey outside Sankey outside norie house, John Shipley,

managing Director of anaging Director of tah, said:

“Without those meetings, and the care that

went into planning everything, the project would

not have worked as well,

“The relationship with the police, in particular,

has been really positive and extremely

valuable.”

police officers often drop in to olice officers often drop in to norie house to

chat to residents and staff, which has helped chat to residents and staff, which has helped

build trust and a strong rapport. build trust and a strong rapport. Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey and John Shipley, Managing Director of Taunton Association for the Homeless, outside Norie House in Taunton

Wes

tern

Dai

ly P

ress

43

bourneMoutH borougH CounCIlolDer reSiDentS front ‘age frienDly’ poSter Campaign

a number of Bournemouth residents aged

65 or over volunteered to be pictured, after

an article in the local newspaper advertised

for older people who live life to the full. the

older people included the members of a

Bournemouth barbershop choir, a table tennis

player, a fencer and a pilates fan.

posters were produced for billboards, bus

shelters and lamp-post banners situated

throughout the borough and were displayed

during the month of november.

Councillor Barry goldbart, Cabinet member for

adult Services, said:

“Our older population is increasing, not only in

Bournemouth but nationally, and we need to

recognise the value and the achievements that

our older residents bring to the town.

“It’s fantastic that local older residents have

been able to get involved to front the campaign

and help us to celebrate Bournemouth as an

‘Age Friendly’ town as well as trying to tackle

outdated stereotypical views of older people in

the community.”

this campaign linked with his campaign linked with national older

ppeople Day on 1 ooctober 2008, when the ctober 2008, when the

council hosted a special day of events to council hosted a special day of events to

celebrate the day and to launch its celebrate the day and to launch its oolder lder

people Strategy, which details how the town eople Strategy, which details how the town

aims to improve the quality of life of all aims to improve the quality of life of all

Bournemouth’s older people.

Bournemouth Borough Council launched a poster awareness campaign in November 2008 to tackle stereotyping of older people and promote Bournemouth as an age-friendly town.

This campaign, branded ‘Age Friendly Bournemouth’, attempted to dispel myths and stereotypes of older people and to celebrate the contribution that they make to the community.


44

following the poster campaign a special

calendar was produced featuring images

from both the poster campaign and images

taken at the national older people Day event.

Copies were circulated to the council’s town

partnership members, Bournemouth 2026

local Strategic partnership and local residents

through its libraries.

www.bournemouth.gov.uk

45

CHeltenHaM borougH CounCIl get involveD: neW WeBSite lookS to the future

Cheltenham Borough Council found its

initial inspiration through the experience of

the gloucestershire floods in 2007, when the

council’s web team created a blog to broadcast

a constant stream of information during

the emergency.

the team adopted an informal writing style,

linked to video content on youyouy tube and hosted

images using an online gallery. the council’s

Chief executive, andrew north, said that the

design of the new website should “build an open,

participative approach to communication for our

routine services and not just for emergencies”.

the council adapted the BBC’s web principles

to guide the creation of their new site, which

include:

Do not attempt to do everything yourselves: •link to other high-quality sites instead.

Treat the entire web as a creative canvas: •don’t restrict your creativity to your own site.

The web is a conversation. Join in. Adopt •a relaxed, conversational tone. Admit your mistakes.

Let people paste your content on the walls •of their virtual homes. Encourage users to take nuggets of content away with them, with links back to your site.

Cheltenham Borough Council has re-launched its website to embrace new technologies which will enable the council to engage with groups and individuals that may not normally consider visiting the site. The council believes that the technology known collectively as Web 2.0 is the way ahead for online council services.

Cheltenham Borough Council’s web team


46

www.cheltenham.gov.uk

a new content management system, which

included the functionality required for a Web

2.0 platform, was acquired, and the supplier

shared the council’s vision and enthusiasm

for the project. in fact, the council found that

its passion and enthusiasm for delivering the

vision was infectious, and this energy got the

web content authors on board without a word

of complaint, despite them being required to

rewrite every single word from the old site.

“All pages are written in plain English with as

few words as possible. The emphasis is on

quick, no-nonsense access to local services.”

the designer was asked to develop a surprising,

original approach to create a site with a strong

sense of place and personality. the site,

like Cheltenham itself, is simple, clean and

elegant, with a ‘don’t make me think’ ethos.

the site needed to be attention-grabbing, fun,

entertaining, informative and quick to deliver

on its promise, with a fresh, uncluttered, newsy

and relevant design.

every web page on the site has links to social

networking sites: Digg, Delicious, Stumbleupon,

facebook and twitter.twitter.t

the result has been notable changes in the usage

of the council’s website. visitors stay for shorter

periods and view fewer pages, and feedback

shows that visitors are able to find the information

they need faster and can interact in ways that

were not previously possible.

Cheltenham knows there is still much to learn

and many mistakes to be made. But the council

has created a platform to engage with the

public, who will ultimately explore and guide the

website to its full potential.

Cabinet member Councillor Colin hay says:

“All pages are written in plain English with as

few words as possible. The emphasis is on

quick, no-nonsense access to local services.”

Imag

es: C

helte

nham

Bor

ough

Cou

ncil

Cheltenham Borough Council’s new website

47

CHrIStCHurCH borougH CounCIl neW Centre enhanCeS nature reServe

Stanpit marsh was designated as a local

nature reserve in 1964 and as a Site of

Special Scientific interest in 1986. it is home

to over 300 species of plants, 14 of which are

nationally rare and endangered.

until recently, information for visitors to the

marsh was only available from a caravan at

the entrance. Christchurch Borough Council

decided it was time for something more

in keeping with the surroundings and so

instructed architects to develop a design for

a new information centre which would not

only sit happily within the environment of the

marsh but also be sustainable. as the building

would be far from conventional electricity or

water supplies, it would have to be capable of

providing these ‘off-grid’.

architects were appointed, and they produced

a design which met everything that the

council had specified. Conceived as a low

environmental impact building, the design

maximises natural daylight and natural

materials. Specific environmental features

include a small wind turbine, photo-voltaic

panels, a composting toilet for staff, a rainwater

harvesting system and untreated, locally sourced

timber certified by the forest Stewardship

Council. By generating its own electricity, the

building is, in effect, carbon neutral.

the timber used in the decking and cladding

is untreated sweet chestnut, which will turn

silver over time, continuing to blend in with the

surrounding trees throughout the seasons.

Christchurch Borough Council contributed the

majority of the £133,000 required to complete

the building. however, a group of local

volunteers, the friends of Stanpit marsh, also

raised funds towards the project and were able

to contribute an additional £20,000.

the information centre was opened by the

mayor of Christchurch, Councillor David flagg,

in September 2008.

Christchurch Borough Council is justifiably proud of the nature reserves which lie within its boundaries and which contribute much to the character of the borough. One of the most important reserves is Stanpit Marsh, which is situated on the north side of Christchurch Harbour, just below the confluence of the rivers Avon and Stour. The 65 hectare site has an unusual combination of habitats, including salt marsh with creeks and salt pans, reed beds, freshwater marsh, gravel estuarine banks and sandy scrub.

Christchurch


48

on opening the Centre, the mayor said:

“As a council we have a duty to ensure our nature

reserves are preserved, and we all owe it to future

generations. Building this information centre helps

the council fulfil its obligation to this beautiful

location. As the centre is totally self-sufficient in its

use of energy, we believe it could be a model for

other nature reserves to follow.”

Since being built, the information centre

(pictured here) has already won two major

awards: Best Sustainable Development at the

local authority Building Control South West

region Building excellence awards, as well as a

green apple award.


Stanpit Marsh Information Centre Images: Christchurch Borough CouncilAerial view of the centre

49

CornWall CounCIlout anD aBout With CornWall CounCil

When you’re the second biggest county in

england in terms of area, many of whose almost

500,000 residents are scattered across sparsely

populated and remote rural areas, it’s clear that

ordinary approaches to service delivery aren’t

going to do the trick.

Cornwall Council’s response to the challenge

was to build on the best and adopt the

successful out and about service that had

been used to provide advice and information

on council services to people in north Cornwall

since 2003.

one of the service’s biggest successes has

been providing advice and support to local

people applying for benefits, bringing an extra

£4 million into the local economy by increasing

the take-up of housing and council tax benefit.

now the out and about service is being

extended to other parts of Cornwall to help

people living in rural areas that are not covered

by Cornwall Council’s 22 one-stop shops.

the service offers friendly advice on all council

services and specialist help with housing and

council tax benefits, including quick quotes

that let residents see whether they can claim.

advice is available on other benefits, such as

Working tax Credits and tax Credits and t pension Credits – and, ension Credits – and, ension Credits – and,

as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also as befits a truly bright idea, the service also

hands out free energy-saving lightbulbs.hands out free energy-saving lightbulbs.hands out free energy-saving lightbulbs.

Jackie Barton Jenkins, manager of Cornwall anager of Cornwall

Council’s out and about service, said:

“We promised to keep things local when we

went unitary. It’s really important to make

sure that people in rural areas have the same

access to advice and information on council

services as those who live in our towns and

villages. By taking the council and its staff out

to our communities, we can target the areas

where we’re needed most and can make the

biggest difference.”

Cornwall’s new unitary council is already going places – quite literally – with an ‘Out and About’ service that aims to reach the parts other council services can’t.


www.cornwall.gov.uk

50

Geraldine Richards Welfare Visiting Officer, Sonia Williams Out and About Advisor.

51

foreSt of dean dIStrICt CounCIlhealth anD Safety gone maD

group manager of environmental Services,

roger garbett, believes that the team’s light-

hearted approach is the key to getting a very

serious message across to the public. he said:

“We’re a team of health and safety officers.

In our own time we’ve embarked on a unique

campaign to show that health and safety,

properly used, is about saving lives not

stopping them.

“We want to ensure that by using sensible

risk management, traditional play, adventure,

eccentricity and fun can continue to thrive

in the United Kingdom and that health and

safety is not used as an excuse to stop people

enjoying themselves.

“We offer help to small organisations who

put on ‘risky’ traditional events and, leading

by example, we’ve been joining in! We also

highlight inaccurate health and safety stories in

the media in a way that should make you smile.

“Behind the fun is the serious message that

health and safety saves lives but doesn’t stop

them. We think that by using sensible risk

management, ordinary people can do some

extraordinary things.”

under the banner ‘health and Safety

gone mad’ the team promote sensible risk

management through eccentric ‘fun’ activities

in their own time while debunking some

popular myths in the process – and they have

been commended for this by the Chair of the

health and Safety executive.

Dressing up as a Christmas tree, chariot racing and bog snorkelling are just some of the extensions to the day job for the environmental health team in the Forest of Dean.


52

53

www.fdean.gov.uk

recent challenges have included:

competing in the World Mountain Bike •Chariot Racing event along a course of obstacles, mud and potholes;

celebrating the New Year with an open water •swim in freezing conditions; and

dressing up as a Christmas tree in response •to stories that you need to be a qualified electrician to put one up.

the team’s drive and focus are just as

much in evidence during work time and the

unique nature of the forest of Dean presents

opportunities for unusual solutions, including:

reducing environmental crime through a •‘raves protocol’ with the police and Forestry Commission;

issuing a criminal ASBO for noise nuisance; and•

introducing an innovative ‘sheep ASBO’ •to protect settlements and gardens from marauding forest sheep.

they have recently won praise for the sensitive

handling of investigations into two fatal riding

accidents, building confidence in the council’s

service, and helping a local food supplier whose

freezers failed by providing evidence in support

of an insurance claim.

leader of the Council, Councillor marion

Winship, said:

“I believe that this team operates over and

above the requirements of their jobs, therefore

I was pleased to nominate them for the LGA

Council Worker of the Year award. They show

leadership and innovation in tackling some of

the complex issues that worry and concern local

people. I was delighted to learn that the team

have been shortlisted for an award and hope that

they will do well in the final.”

nortH devon CounCIlone-Stop ShopS

Working in partnership with the local town and

county councils, not to mention a whole range

of local charities and community organisations,

the council is helping to provide vital services to

people in two of its major towns.

the ilfracombe Centre was the first to be

opened in april 2008, in the popular seaside

town. housed in the town council’s classic art

deco building in the heart of high Street, the

centre provides a base for 10 separate agencies,

making it the first port of call for residents in

need of advice and training.

north Devon Council and ilfracombe town town t

Council are available full time in the centre,

providing advice on benefits, housing, planning

and environmental issues.

the Citizens advice Bureau, Jobcentre plus,

Devon and Cornwall police and the housing

charity Shelter also use the building to provide

services locally in ilfracombe.

Six months after the ilfracombe Centre opened

its doors, the amory Centre was launched in the

market town of South molton.

north Devon Council and South molton town town t

Council are both based permanently in the

building, which also houses the town’s main

library. as in ilfracombe, the amory Centre is

located right in the centre of the town, making it

easy for people to access while carrying out other

daily business.

also available at the amory Centre is the Citizens

advice Bureau as well as a number of other

local agencies and charities serving the local

community. a range of meeting and conference

rooms are available for hire, giving local

businesses and organisations a modern and

professional environment to make use of.

Both projects have brought access to much

needed services right to the heart of north

Devon’s communities. no longer do people from

the South molton and ilfracombe areas have to

trek half an hour into the area’s main town of

Barnstaple to have basic queries dealt with.

This year, North Devon Council has been proud to be part of a major project to introduce new one-stop shops right at the heart of two of its communities.


54

Councillor Colin Wright, who led on the project, said:

“To introduce one facility like this in a year is an achievement, but to open

two was outstanding. It demonstrates our determination to improve the way

people can access our services – something that everyone at North Devon

Council strives for. It is also a blueprint for how many different organisations

can work in partnership for the good of their local community.

“Living in Ilfracombe myself, I know what a pain it was to have to travel

into Barnstaple to speak to someone at the council or carry out a simple

procedure. Being able to do all of this now, right on my doorstep, has made

things so much easier.

“We very much see ourselves as setting the standard and hope that other rural

districts will see what we’ve achieved and follow in our footsteps.

“But we’re not stopping here. Our quest to increase access to our services

carries on at full pelt as we look to modern and innovative ways to get right to

the heart of our rural communities.”

www.northdevon.gov.uk

North Devon and Ilfracombe Town Council’s reception staff at the Ilfracombe Centre

55

nortH SoMerSet CounCIlCounCil ConneCt

Northomerset

C O U N C I LS

improving customer services has been identified as a corporate priority for

north Somerset Council. the council is aiming to achieve improvements in this

area while delivering services in a more efficient, co-ordinated and

cost-effective way. to achieve this, the council has embarked on an ambitious to achieve this, the council has embarked on an ambitious t

programme, called ‘Council Connect’, which includes:

improving the range of services available electronically from the council website;improving the range of services available electronically from the council website;•

providing access to a broad range of services via a dedicated new contact providing access to a broad range of services via a dedicated new contact •centre, covering over 70 services ranging from sorting out bulky waste collections to helping older people fill in benefits forms; and

improving face-to-face service provision through a network of community •‘gateways’ to council services.


56

www.n-somerset.gov.uk

Significant investment has been made

in technology, including a new Customer

relationship management system, integrated

with back office systems; new telephony;

and a major investment in staff training and

development. this investment has been repaid

handsomely with significant improvements in

customer satisfaction and service standards,

including:

96% customer satisfaction with contact •centre services (in fourth quarter of 2008/9);

90% of council information enquiries to •‘gateways’ dealt with at first point of contact (in fourth quarter of 2008/9);(in fourth quarter of 2008/9);

a 6.4% call abandonment rate within the •Council Connect contact centre (compared with a public sector average of 15%); and

ranking of the council website in the top •12 unitary authority websites nationally by the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM), with high scores recorded for usability and transactional capability.

Councillor tony tony t lake, executive member for

finance, human resources and Community

Services, said:

“We are delighted with the progress made with

the Council Connect project over the last 12

months, and have an aggressive programme to

build upon the concept over the coming year.

The project will contribute significantly to our

vision for customer services, making it easier

for customers to access services through a

variety of contact routes, while also reducing

our costs.”

plans are advanced to provide a range of new

services through Council Connect in the coming

months, including theatre and event bookings,

environmental protection services, all

library-related enquiries and tourism enquiries.

from June 2009 the Council Connect contact

centre will also be providing services for older

people on behalf of nhS north Somerset and

avon and Wiltshire avon and Wiltshire a mental health partnership,

as well as for the council. to help the contact to help the contact t

centre advisers deal with these more complex

calls, a full-time nurse, occupational therapist

and social worker are now based within the

contact centre on a full-time basis to provide

support and advice, ensuring a comprehensive

single telephone triage service for older and

more vulnerable residents.

57

58

teWkeSbury borougH CounCIl parking enforCement

in just 15 months, the team has successfully

introduced a number of changes to local

parking, which has pleased businesses locally.

on-street parking management has been

dramatically improved since the council took

over parking enforcement from the police in

november 2007.

nominated for the enforcement team of the

year award, the council competed against four

other authorities at the annual British parking

awards 2009. tewkesbury Borough Council’s

parking team was victorious – a nod to their

hard work and innovative strategy.

Changes successfully delivered by the council

have included: reducing congestion in the

town centre; making sure that ‘free’ on-street

restricted parking bays are used correctly;

improving traffic flow; and taking action against

misuse of specific parking areas such as

disabled bays, loading bays and taxi ranks so

that they can be used by those who need them.

prior to taking over responsibility for

decriminalised enforcement, the new parking

Services team at tewkesbury Borough Council

was helping with the huge flood relief programme

in the town, following record-breaking floods that

made news headlines everywhere.

But team spirit wasn’t dampened. Just one

year later the team was celebrating a massive

turnaround in parking compliance and

traffic flow within the main market towns of

tewkesbury, Winchcombe, Churchdown and

Brockworth. Working in partnership with its

it support partner, imperial Civil enforcement

Solutions (iCeS), the team has exceeded

all of its targets despite the flood upheaval

and the challenges presented by the traffic

management act (tma) 2004.

Without question, success can be attributed

directly to indomitable team spirit and the

quality, skills and enthusiasm of the entire

parking Services team, as well as the transport

department’s commitment to an effective

working partnership with iCeS. they overcame

Parking enforcement in towns and cities isn’t always popular, but Tewkesbury Borough Council’s parking enforcement team has won support from local traders by working alongside the local community.


www.tewkesbury.gov.uk

the flood upheaval, took the new challenges

presented by tma 2004 in their stride and

tackled a plethora of unforeseen obstacles

without ever losing sight of their objectives... or

their smiles!

tewkesbury now has much better availability

of free on-street parking for anyone needing

to collect or shop for goods. this success has

helped considerably to win over residents and

short-stay visitors from outlying areas and

proven very beneficial to local retailers and,

in particular, local restaurants and cafés, who

have reported an increase in lunchtime trade.

the local Chamber of Commerce & industry

has also stated clearly that it has noted the on-

street improvements have made a significant

difference to everyone who lives in, works in

or visits the towns.

put simply, the new enforcement team at

tewkesbury Borough Council has delivered

everything expected of it, fulfilled all objectives

and exceeded all targets at all operational levels.

and, as a result, it has made a huge difference

to the quality of life and commercial vitality in the

main town centres for which it is responsible.

Councillor phil taylor, lead member for

economic Development and enterprise at

tewkesbury Borough Council, comments:

“This is very much a team that deserves all

praise, and their award genuinely reflects the

hard work that every member of the team has

put in since we started in November 2007.

The benefits are there to be seen, and all of

this helps in these difficult times to support the

viability of the borough.”

Picture from L to R: Mike Macey, British Parking Association (BPA) Judge; Cilla Mellors, Parking Supervisor, Tewkesbury Borough Council; John Horsey, Parking & Transport Manager, Tewkesbury Borough Council; John Oswell, Parking Administration, Tewkesbury Borough Council; Sam Lynch, Civil Enforcement Officer, Tewkesbury Borough Council; and John Sergeant, who presented the award

59

WIltSHIre CounCIlunitary CounCil CountDoWn Campaign

a highly successful campaign to raise

awareness of the changes was implemented

in the lead up to the creation of the new

council. the campaign included roadshows,

competitions, written publications, an

informative DvD and – for the first time – the

use of social networking sites to spread the

message and engage with the communities.

the campaign reached thousands of people

and culminated in a seamless transition to the

new Wiltshire Council on 1 april.

in order to ensure everyone was aware of

the changes, awareness roadshows visited

more than 20 towns across the county during

february and march 2009. a former library

van was re-branded and transformed into

a flexible campaign vehicle, complete with

plasma screen, tables and chairs and online

computer facilities.

the roadshows provided an opportunity for

local residents to speak with council officers,

pick up information leaflets and take part in

competitions, sponsored by local businesses.

roadshows were also successfully used to

engage with the public on their aspirations for

the new council.

In Wiltshire a new unitary council was created on 1 April 2009 to deliver services previously provided by the county council and four district councils.


60

www.wiltshire.gov.uk

During September 2008 the transition

campaign took to the road to get local people

involved in shaping the identity of the new

authority. more than 240 local residents gave

suggestions to help the new council decide on

its strapline, ‘Where everybody matters’, which

is now being used beneath the Wiltshire Council

logo to identify the new authority and what it

stands for.

engaging the public in this way meant that the

new branding, logo and strapline were designed

entirely in-house at minimal cost and with the

endorsement of the community and staff.

use of social networking sites also made

an innovative and valuable addition to the

campaign. to raise awareness of the 100-day to raise awareness of the 100-day t

countdown to the new council, an online photo

competition was launched in December 2008.

local people were asked to submit photographs

of numbers from 100 down to one to help mark

the transition to the new council – and three

lucky entrants won an ipod, paid for by a local

company, for their efforts.

Council staff helped launch the 100-day

countdown with the first photo – staff forming

the shape of 100. and the second image in

the countdown got the backing of the local

government minister, John healey, pictured

opposite, who posed with the number 99 when he

called in at one of the Wiltshire Council roadshows.

photographers snapped images from birthday

cakes to a pair of spring lambs. other entries

included vehicles, from buses to racing cars,

clothing, from baseball caps to rugby shirts,

and even the famous avebury standing stones. avebury standing stones. a

the 700-plus entries were hosted on the

Wiltshire Council website, facebook and flickr.

Wiltshire Council leader, Jane Scott, said:

“It was important during the move to one council

in Wiltshire that we really involved local people

and celebrated the change. We used a variety

of ways including social networking websites to

engage with as many people as possible.”

61

brIStol CIty CounCIl rating pioneer: houSing for health

the main driving force was Bristol City

Council’s four key corporate priorities (2008–

11), which provide a framework for all services.

these are:

Ambitious Together • – Going for growth in Bristol that we all can contribute to and benefit from.

Making a Difference• – Raising standards in the key services that we need to improve:

– for efficient, responsive services;

– for children and young people; and

– for older people and disabled people.

Safer and Healthier• – Ensuring that citizens feel safe from crime and anti-social behaviour and can enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

Better Neighbourhoods• – Ensuring that Bristol residents experience significant change in the physical quality of their neighbourhoods and have opportunities to shape improvements at this level.

Bristol City Council was a pioneering authority in the development of the housing, health and safety rating system. Its private housing service had been involved in the initial trials of version 1 of what was to become the rating system, and was part of a groundbreaking shift away from a property-focused approach to one centred on the people living in those properties and the impact housing improvements could have on their health.


62

as part of this new perspective, Bristol’s private

housing service needed to answer some housing service needed to answer some

important questions in order to size up the important questions in order to size up the

challenges ahead:challenges ahead:

What were the risks to people’s health in •Bristol’s current private housing stock?

What significant health issues did •occupants face?

How should services be tailored to produce •meaningful health gains?

thanks to its pioneering role in piloting the

rating system, Bristol has been recording

incidents of category 1 hazards since 2003,

through:

requests from homeowners for financial •assistance to repair their properties;

inspections of privately let accommodation •following a complaint from a tenant; and

inspection of houses in multiple occupation •licensed under the Housing Act 2004.

While this data does not offer a representative While this data does not offer a representative

sample, with just under 5,000 properties sample, with just under 5,000 properties

inspected it does provide a snapshot of inspected it does provide a snapshot of

the main risks and as identified the most the main risks and as identified the most

commonly occurring hazards. commonly occurring hazards. these were

excess cold; falling on level surfaces; falling on

stairs etc; damp and mould growth; electrical

hazards; and entry by intruders.

a house condition survey carried out during

2007 refined this information further and

enabled housing officers to make a robust

prediction of the risks in the city’s private

housing stock, providing a close comparison with

its in-house data gathering. the survey showed

that around 5% of properties had a category

showed that 1 hazard, with the most commonly

occurring hazards being falling on stairs, falling

on level surfaces, excess cold and entry by

intruders.

having established a picture of the hazards

in the housing stock, the housing team next

identified significant forms of ill health across

the city. a number of data sources were

tapped, using local nhS primary care trust

health profiles and relevant local authority

statistics, to determine the current baseline of

health.

from the research undertaken, the housing

team identified the following issues for

targeting:

a rate of hip fractures among older persons •that was higher than the national average;

children under 15 years old ‘not in good health’;•

early death from heart disease and stroke; and•

fear of crime.•

Bristol City Council found that the importance

of having sound data on housing conditions

and risks cannot be overemphasised. if

environmental health practitioners are to justify

their involvement in tackling health inequalities

with partners, it is vital that they have this

information to hand.

www.bristol.gov.uk

63

eaSt dorSet dIStrICt CounCIl live longer in eaSt DorSet

Studies by the office for national Statistics

show that people living in the district are more

likely to reach 75 than those anywhere else in

england and Wales.

the studies show that female residents of east

Dorset have an 86% chance of surviving to 75,

while men have a 78% chance of reaching

the same age. these figures compare very

favourably to all other areas of the country,

where some rates for men fall to below 52%.

also, the Department of health profile for east

Dorset shows that the district’s rate of reported

crime is one of the lowest in the country and that

early death rates from cancer, heart disease and

stroke are low and falling. Smoking and binge

drinking rates are also well below average.

east Dorset District Council is very pleased to

serve an area that is renowned as one of the

healthiest and safest places to live in england

and Wales. however, it strives for even better

figures in the future.

one of the ways the council is reaching

this goal is with the production of its health

improvement Statement.

health can be influenced by many factors:

economic conditions; social support; the

physical environment; access to health and

social care; and personal lifestyle choices. no

agency or group on its own is in a position

to tackle all of these factors. improvement

in the health of the district’s population

requires contributions from a wide range of

statutory agencies, voluntary organisations and

groups, the local community and individuals

themselves.

the health improvement Statement highlights

how the council is positively influencing the

health of local residents, employers, employees

and visitors, and outlines the council’s plans to

further this contribution over the next five years.

the council is now developing plans to turn

these commitments into tangible actions.

If you want to live a long life, then East Dorset is the place for you!


64


Councillor Spencer flower, leader of east Dorset


“The council is very pleased that statistics show

East Dorset to be the healthiest place to live in

England and Wales.

“However, the council is not complacent and

is continuing to tackle health problems and

obstacles faced within East Dorset.

“The council is committed to work in

partnership and actively support its residents,

businesses and communities to be physically,

mentally and socially healthy.”

Moors Valley, the council-owned country park, provides a wide variety of opportunities for people to get active and stay healthy in over 750 acres of local countryside

65

glouCeSterSHIre County CounCIltaSty SChool fooD helpS fight oBeSity

With childhood obesity rising, Gloucestershire County Council is tackling the problem head on, through innovative partnerships and great food – and even a celebrity chef!

the council has been working alongside

schools to encourage healthy lifestyles and

combat obesity, and it is already seeing great

results. gloucestershire has 275 schools –

that’s 89% of the total – that have achieved

national healthy School status, one of the

highest rates nationally. it has also introduced

healthier, freshly cooked meals, made with

locally sourced ingredients.

the healthy Schools plus initiative focuses on

encouraging healthier lifestyles in poorer areas,

where obesity levels and associated health

problems are greater. gloucestershire County

Council has 38 schools taking part, and the

council has selected combating obesity and

encouraging healthy lifestyles as its main area

of focus at a county level.

the programme requires participating

schools to demonstrate that their activities

and interventions have made a measurable

difference in improving health outcomes among

children and young people.

all schools in the county are supported by the

council to meet the nationally agreed nutritional

standards. Schools are no longer allowed to sell

fizzy drinks and chocolate to pupils. Cakes and

dessert can only be served as part of school

lunches, not sold as snacks, and deep-fried

products can only be served twice a week.

there is a lot of work going on to encourage

children (and their parents) to bring in healthier

lunchboxes and to encourage higher uptake

of healthy school meals, particularly for those

children entitled to free school meals.



here is a lot of work going on to encourage

products can only be served twice a week.products can only be served twice a week.



here is a lot of work going on to encourage

schools to demonstrate that their activities


difference in improving health outcomes among

ll schools in the county are supported by the









difference in improving health outcomes among difference in improving health outcomes among

ll schools in the county are supported by the ll schools in the county are supported by the











difference in improving health outcomes among difference in improving health outcomes among difference in improving health outcomes among




66

www.gloucestershire.gov.uk

teaching children how to cook healthy meals teaching children how to cook healthy meals t

is also a priority. there are many initiatives

designed to make children more active,

including ‘wake and shake’ sessions, helping

children get more active at school.

the council isn’t working alone – tackling

obesity is based on partnerships with health

services, schools, the county sports partnership

and district councils.

Councillor Jackie hall, lead Cabinet member

for Children and young people, said:

“We are proud of our work on healthy schools,

and one of our main priorities is to improve

the health and well-being of Gloucestershire’s

children by providing healthy and tasty school

meals and encouraging schools to minimise

junk food.”

67

SoMerSet County CounCIltour of Britain

in 2009 the South West will become the first region ever to host two

stages of the tour of Britain, bringing Britain’s biggest live sporting

event to Devon and Somerset for two days in September.

emilien Bergès, pictured right, won stage 3 of the 2008 tour of Britain,

completing the 115.5 mile route through Somerset and Devon in four

hours, 49 minutes and 22 seconds – an average of 24mph. on his way

he passed an estimated 107,000 people watching the spectacle, who

– along with more than 400 team personnel, race officials and media

professionals – brought a gross visitor spend of £4.96 million to the

region. the net impact was to support 48 full-time equivalent jobs.

the tour also brought the media spotlight, with 453,000 people

watching network digital and satellite television highlights programmes;

coverage in national and regional newspapers; and more than 1.5

million page views of the tour of Britain website during the race.

meanwhile a series of support events engaged local people and

encouraged participation.

as well as the obvious visitor benefits and exposing the region to a

wider audience, the tour is helping Somerset County Council’s wider

transport, health and tourism aims. it has encouraged a growing

interest in cycling among all Somerset residents, with increased hits

on a website giving information on cycling in the county and phone

enquiries to Somerset Direct.

Somerset has hosted a stage of the Tour of Britain – the country’s biggest professional cycling event – since 2007, when Somerset County Council signed a five-year deal as the South West regional sponsor. Interest in the sport is growing following Team GB’s successful performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and in the run-up to London 2012.


68

www.somerset.gov.uk

as well as offering health benefits as part of an s well as offering health benefits as part of an s well as offering health benefits as part of an s well as offering health benefits as part of an

active lifestyle, an increased uptake of cycling active lifestyle, an increased uptake of cycling active lifestyle, an increased uptake of cycling active lifestyle, an increased uptake of cycling

is one way of helping people find an alternative is one way of helping people find an alternative

to the car for transport. With cycling as a leisure to the car for transport. With cycling as a leisure

activity increasing in the activity increasing in the activity increasing in the activity increasing in the uk, the , the tour of Britain tour of Britain t

has promoted Somerset as an ideal destination has promoted Somerset as an ideal destination has promoted Somerset as an ideal destination has promoted Somerset as an ideal destination

for active outdoor tourism.for active outdoor tourism.for active outdoor tourism.

plaudits for the organisation of previous stages laudits for the organisation of previous stages laudits for the organisation of previous stages laudits for the organisation of previous stages

in the South West and closer partnership work in the South West and closer partnership work

with Devon County Council have led to the region with Devon County Council have led to the region

being awarded two stages of the race in 2009, being awarded two stages of the race in 2009,

on thursday 17 and hursday 17 and friday 18 September.riday 18 September.

Jill Shortland, leader of Somerset County

Council, said:

“The Tour of Britain has helped to raise

Somerset’s profile both regionally and nationally.

The 2008 South West stage was a great

success, and we are confident the 2009 stages

will be even better. It is a privilege to host such

a prestigious event for two days.”

69

devon County CounCIl Supporting Devon’S eConomy

Investing in the future

Devon County Council is supporting the local

economy and boosting economic activity.

a total of £48 million has been invested in local

projects across Devon, funded by the sale of

exeter airport. investments are being used to

attract matched funding from other sources,

bringing even more money into the county.

further millions are being invested in major

Devon schemes, including Skypark, just

east of exeter; renewable energy for Devon;

development of the county’s iCt infrastructure;

and development of the community

infrastructure in coastal towns.

Saving local post offices

Sixteen communities have had the future of

their village shops secured thanks to funding

from the county council. the shops, which

are the only remaining shops in those villages,

are being given annual grants of £5,000 for

the next three years plus free business advice,

enabling them to be sustainable in the long

term. all 16 faced possible closure after last

year’s changes to the post office network.

Skills and training

the council is giving over £1.7 million to various

projects and schemes over the next two years to

promote local business growth and create skills

and training opportunities.

Prompt payment

to help local businesses, the council speeded to help local businesses, the council speeded t

up its payment to suppliers and other creditors

by reducing it from the standard 30 days

down to 20 days to help the cash flow of local

businesses considerably.

Supporting local food producers

the council is helping the food and drink

sector with a series of business workshops

covering topics such as developing websites,

The current financial situation is putting huge pressure on people, communities and local businesses across Devon. Devon County Council is committed to using its resources wisely to help the county and its people to weather the current storm as well as get in shape for the recovery that will follow.

economy and finance

70

71

www.devon.gov.uk

e-marketing and e-commerce, as well as more

traditional business support. grant funding is

also helping local businesses take advantage of

the latest technology.

Helping devon residents

the council is giving extra support to local

credit unions and to South West pound, an

independent, not-for-profit company which

provides people with a single access point to

get the financial assistance they need to move

towards financial security. last year South West

pound helped 1,700 people to save £79,000 by

a combination of reducing interest payments on

debts, finding benefits that people were entitled

to, and helping them find affordable loans.

Devon County Council support is also helping

older people and parents of children with

special needs to claim benefits they are entitled

to. a sum of £20 million has been claimed

by people needing it, and the council has

committed a further £850,000 to benefit advice

and support schemes over the next three years.

the council’s executive member for economy,

Councillor humphrey temperley, said:

“This year we are targeting our support to

help Devon weather the economic storm,

channelling millions of pounds into projects that

support people and businesses.

“There is a great deal that Devon County

Council can do with its partners to help people

through the difficult times, and I am pleased

that we have been able to act so quickly.”

exeter CIty CounCIl free mortgage arrearS aDviCe to Stave off the CreDit CrunCh

exeter City Council is funding a mortgage advisor

service to help home owners through the ‘credit

crunch’. people who are in arrears or struggling

to pay their mortgage are able to receive free

advice from the council-funded service.

Councillor rob hannaford, lead Councillor for

housing and Social inclusion, said:

“We decided to fund the post to meet

the predicted demand for advice around

mortgage arrears.

“It is reassuring to know that during these times

of financial hardship, there is someone out there

who is willing to listen and help out. Buying a

house is the single biggest purchase most of us

will make, and if your financial circumstances

change for one reason or another it can be quite

a scary situation to be in.”

the service is hosted by homemaker

Southwest, and the council received £5,000

worth of support from abbey national to work

on promotional and information packs.

already the mortgage advisor has dealt with

dozens of enquiries from home owners eager

for advice.

one elderly lady came to the mortgage advisor

with debt problems following the sudden death

of her husband. the mortgage advisor was able

to give her advice on benefits available and to

help secure her a one-off payment to alleviate

the debt. this enabled her to continue paying

her mortgage top-up and avoid possession

proceedings.

As more and more people struggle to keep up with mortgage payments on their homes, Exeter City Council has become one of the first local authorites in the South West to offer free mortgage arrears advice.

economy and finance

72

www.exeter.gov.uk

in another case, a man contacted the

service to advise of his high mortgage

arrears. he queried whether he had been

mis-sold his mortgage. after looking into the

case, the service was able to support the

man in court and was successful in getting

possession proceedings adjourned. the

service is also pursuing a complaint to the

fSa ombudsman.

Councillor hannaford added:

“This is proof in the pudding that the service

is working and giving people invaluable

support and advice to enable them to do

everything possible to keep their home.”

Imag

e: A

pex

Councillor Rob Hanniford, and Homemaker Mortgage Arrears Advisor Jane Sandfield with the new pack

73

MendIP dIStrICt CounCIlWorking to reDuCe repoSSeSSionS

the money has helped fund a drop-in solicitor

service at county courts in Bristol, Bath,

trowbridge and yeovil, which is available to

householders who have been summoned to

court and are at risk of losing their homes.

the service is available to anyone attending

these court hearings no matter where they live

and what type of tenure they have (including

owner occupiers, private tenants, local authority

tenants and housing association tenants).

the money has been spread over three years,

with £20,000 being given each year.

although a representative was available on

days when repossession and eviction hearings

were being held at the four county courts,

funding for the posts was never co-ordinated

and was inconsistent.

this latest funding, secured by mendip District

Council, will now ensure that a properly funded

representation scheme is available in each court.

During 2008/9 a total of 87 sessions were

funded, which provided advice to 302

households at an average cost of £42 per case.

of these cases only 16% resulted in an actual

repossession order being made.

the court desks, as they are referred to, are

now staffed by solicitors or trained advisers

who provide advice or will represent anyone

summoned to court for mortgage or rent arrears.

Some of the funding has also gone towards

promotional literature highlighting the service.

leaflets are given to each person who attends

court, explaining the court desk service and

how it can help them in their situation.

Councillor nigel Woollcombe-adams, the

council’s portfolio holder for Built environment,

said:

“In the current financial climate we are hearing

about more people facing money worries and

In October 2008 Mendip District Council secured £60,000 of government funding to help householders at risk of losing their homes, and within the past six months over 300 households have benefited from some of the cash.

The Somerset council was awarded the funds after working closely with the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government.

economy and finance

74

www.mendip.gov.uk

the threat of falling behind with their rent or,

even worse, possibly having their homes

repossessed.

“This is why Mendip District Council’s housing

options team is so pleased to announce that

it has secured thousands of pounds to help

those in these types of situations. Being in rent

arrears or the threat of losing your home is a

tough time for anyone facing housing problems,

so having someone on hand to offer advice and

stand up for you in court, at no cost, will be a

huge help.

“Of course, the district council will continue to

offer help and advice to anyone facing possible

homelessness, and works closely with housing

associations and landlords to ensure that

homes are provided to families in need.”

the scheme has been extremely well received

and is now being recognised as a model

scheme nationally.

75

nortH dorSet dIStrICt CounCIlreDuCing CoStS anD improving ServiCeS

in 2005 the council was capped, and its

council tax rate has remained the sixth lowest

in england from that time. interest income

has significantly declined in the intervening

years, and some severe budgetary and service

changes were required from 2005 onwards.

it quickly became apparent that discretionary

services such as public toilets, tourist

information centres and sports and leisure

centres could not be sustained within the

capped budget. a medium-term revenue

budget indicated what would be necessary

over five years to balance the books. essentially

north Dorset District Council (nDDC) would

need to make major cost-effectiveness

improvements in its statutory services, as

well as ceasing its funding of all discretionary

services.

Councillor peter Webb, leader of north Dorset


“Driven by the principle of local democracy,

we considered innovative ways to sustain those

discretionary services that retained local support.

Meanwhile, ways of reducing costs at the same

time as improving performance in the statutory

areas were explored. A pragmatic political

consensus emerged within NDDC aimed at

retaining key local services whilst recognising

budgetary strictures.”

members and officers identified that many of

the threatened services could be delivered by

alternative means, including community trust

companies and parish or town councils. a major

information and consultation process involving

the 70 or so parish councils and four community

partnerships within the north Dorset area took

place between 2005 and 2007.

as a result, a number of services were

transferred to alternative providers, including

two tourist information centres, five public

In 2004 the council tax rate at North Dorset District Council was half the national average. Consultation indicated the council would need to increase its level of council tax towards the national average rate to replace the anticipated decline of income earned on capital reserves, while maintaining service provision.

economy and finance

76

77

www.north-dorset.gov.uk

The Mayor of Gillingham, Councillor Ian Stewart, and Mark Hebditch, Chairman of the Three Rivers Community Partnership, get help from the community to get construction for the Gillingham Centre under way

Image: Western Gazette

toilets, some street cleaning duties, some street

markets and two leisure centres. an open-air

community pool had already been devolved to

the local community in 2003, showing that a

local strategy of devolution was in place even

before the 2005 capping strictures accelerated

the process.

however, it was not a case of handing over

run-down, inefficient services: five sets of

public conveniences were totally refurbished

before being handed over to the relevant

town councils; and £4 million of capital was

provided to the local community partnership

in gillingham when it assumed responsibility

to rebuild the leisure centre in the town – with

considerable financial and moral support from

the town and parish councils.

operating costs are lower since devolution, and

local satisfaction and control have improved.

Devolution to suitable trusts can be seriously tax

efficient, as liability to business rates and vat

can reduce substantially. at the same time as

the discretionary budget was being unloaded,

statutory services were also being challenged

and costs managed.

the last four years have seen some noteworthy

achievements: the local democratic will has

been largely sustained; nDDC has more

or less balanced its books; its assessment

under Cpa has gone from ‘weak’ to ‘good’;

public satisfaction with visible local services

has risen; relationships and morale among

council members and officers have improved

substantially; and the local press has become

supportive. the district council tax rate remains

the sixth lowest among district councils, at 60%

of the national average.

finally, it would be wrong to leave the impression

that this position is sustainable: yet further

innovation and change affecting statutory services

will be necessary in the future to balance books

under the current capping and funding regime.

In November 2008 Teignbridge District Council announced the creation of an independent ‘Credit Crunch Commission’, made up of members of the local government and private and voluntary bodies. The commission’s remit would be to identify ways in which the council could work in partnership to help mitigate the negative impacts of the credit crunch on local people and businesses. In December 2008 it produced a report containing 35 proposals, creating an informed starting point for action.

teIgnbrIdge dIStrICt CounCIlCreDit CrunCh CommiSSion

TeignbridgeD I S T R I C T C O U N C I LS o u t h D e v o n

the measures – including facilitating money

management lessons in schools, an interest-free

loan to a local credit union, and lobbying the

government for small business rate relief – have

been considered by the council throughout its

budget process for 2009/10. the development of

all the recommendations involved contributions

from a wide range of stakeholders.

Councillor Stephen purser, Chair of the

teignbridge Credit Crunch Commission, said:teignbridge Credit Crunch Commission, said:t

“There has never been a more important

time to demonstrate community leadership

than in the current economic climate, and

Teignbridge is determined to support local

customers and businesses.

“The establishment of the Teignbridge

Credit Crunch Commission demonstrated

a clear, proactive approach to tackling our

communities’ top priorities, and the package

of measures we are taking forward provide the

very best in current advice and support.”

economy and finance

78

www.teignbridge.gov.uk

the following five examples represent some of

the detail of the work undertaken so far.

1. Increased debt counselling service: teignbridge has agreed additional funding

of £10,000 to ensure the continuity of the

Dawlish and east teignbridge volunteer Centre.

however, this project provides benefits advice

and not debt counselling. it has been proposed

that teignbridge Citizens advice Bureau

(CaB) could help close the gap. CaB advisers

are trained to deal with debt problems, and

discussions are under way to form a relevant

Service level agreement (Sla) to ensure that

targeted resources meet the needs of the

community.

2. newton abbot rent deposit Scheme: teignbridge has approved an additional grant

of £7,000 in 2009/10, to support the newton

abbot rent Deposit Scheme, helping around

75 people in the year.

3. Credit union: Discussions are afoot to

extend the number of offices which could be

used as access points for the Credit union. the

council has also agreed to make a one-off grant

of £5,000 to promote the Credit union scheme

across the district.

4. benefits take-up campaign: the media and

Communications team is highlighting benefits

take-up as one of its key campaigns for the next

financial year.

5. financial and general support for businesses: teignbridge has arranged for Business link

Devon and Cornwall to offer one-to-one

business advice clinics locally.

Work continues to progress the work of the

Credit Crunch Commission and to ensure

that it translates into real action for the local

community. in particular, the next steps will

include the development of a wider anti-

poverty strategy for teignbridge, which will

provide a long-term and proactive approach to

addressing issues resulting from a downturn in

the economy.

this strategy will also build upon the

commission’s work, and ownership will be

encouraged and shared with wider partners

through the commission and the teignbridge

Strategic partnership.

79

WeSt devon borougH CounCIltop CounCil for managing itS finanCeS

league tables issued in the spring by the local

government watchdog, the audit Commission,

show that West Devon has come out top in the

two counties in a tough assessment of how well it

uses its resources.

it’s the fourth year running that the council has

come out as the best performing authority in

Devon and Cornwall, and that includes unitary

and county councils too. the results were

published at the same time as the council

received its annual audit and inspection results.

against the backdrop of the recession and a

housing slump, the audit Commission says that

West Devon Borough Council has made “good

progress with its plans to strengthen the local

economy” and is “taking effective action to

address the housing needs of local residents”.

the commission has this year again awarded the he commission has this year again awarded the

council a rating of three out of four, confirming council a rating of three out of four, confirming

that it is a well-performing authority. that it is a well-performing authority. in the

‘financial reporting’ category it maintained an ‘financial reporting’ category it maintained an

excellent score – the highest possible.excellent score – the highest possible.

this means that the council is one of the best in his means that the council is one of the best in

the country for its accounts and how responsible the country for its accounts and how responsible

it is in spending public money.it is in spending public money.

inspectors assessed the council in five areas: nspectors assessed the council in five areas:

– financial reporting, financial management, – financial reporting, financial management,

financial standing, internal control and value financial standing, internal control and value

for money.for money.

West Devon Borough Council is the top local authority in Devon and Cornwall for the way it manages its finances and gives value for money, with almost half its services among the best 25% in the country.

economy and finance

80

www.westdevon.gov.uk

they reported several key strengths at the

council, including:

good processes in place for monitoring and •reviewing value for money;

effective leadership from the leader, deputy •leader and chief executive;

one of the best performers nationally for •reducing the amount of household waste, with a 7.5% reduction in waste going to landfill;

delivering 177 new affordable homes in the •last 16 months, working towards its target of 675 houses by March 2011;

working effectively with the police, making •the borough a safer place to live;

making good progress with meeting •its priorities; and

extending its rural outreach surgeries to •more areas, giving residents the opportunity to take up more services.

the commission adds:

“The council has performed well again this

year, which is particularly noteworthy against

a backdrop of potential local government

reorganisation and national conditions of

economic recession and a housing slump.”

Councillor margaret garton, Deputy leader

of the Council and Chairman of the council’s

Strategies and resources Committee, said:

“To achieve this when we have the smallest

staff of any district council in the country,

serving one of the largest areas, is truly the

icing on the cake.

“This is a tremendous tribute to the work of

the Strategies and Resources

Committee and confirms our view

and belief that the financial

management of West

Devon Borough Council is

extremely sound.

“The council is run to the highest standards of

financial efficiency and probity. Every penny is

looked after and is put to good use in providing

quality services to our residents.”

mrs lisa Buckle, head of finance, said:

“We are delighted with this recognition from

the Audit Commission. Our staff and members

see value for money as a key priority to help

residents and businesses, particularly during

these difficult times.”

81

SedgeMoor dIStrICt CounCIl Commitment to memBer Development

Whatever way councillors arrived at Sedgemoor,

the council wanted to make sure that they were

given support to find their feet and to equip

them with skills that would make sure their

term of office was beneficial to them and their

electors.

Sedgemoor applied to SW riep and was given

£5,000 to design and implement a member

improvement programme to supplement what it

already did. although aimed at new councillors, it

also served as a ‘refresher’ course for re-elected

councillors, keeping them fully up to date with the

pace of change within local government.

to start with, the council produced an easy-to-

read guide for prospective candidates, to give

a flavour of the role of a councillor, so that they

were fully aware of what may be expected.

once they were elected, a full and thorough

induction programme of training and

development was offered, including items such

as detailed presentations by senior managers

as to their roles; an exhibition of council

services (internal and external); practical

matters such as office access where facilities

such as photocopying etc could be found;

chairing skills; media relations; and the services

available within the revamped members’ room.

a culture of ‘understanding buddies’ was created

whereby new councillors could call upon a more

experienced colleague, on the understanding

that any question, however seemingly trivial,

would be explained. roles and responsibilities

of councillors, whether committee members,

executive members or concentrating on ward

matters, were clearly set out so that there was

clear understanding of what was needed and

expected.

a little further into the municipal year, Sedgemoor

reinforced this training with opportunities to

‘job-shadow’ more experienced councillors and

officers and a training skills analysis to make sure

that councillors were equipped with the skills they

found they had needed.

During past elections, Sedgemoor District Council realised that new members could be daunted at the prospect of joining a large, diverse organisation, especially if they had not had many dealings with local government before.

overall Improvement

82

www.sedgemoor.gov.uk

Councillor Duncan mcginty, leader of

Sedgemoor District Council, pictured right, said:

“We are very proud of the way in which we

welcomed new councillors to Sedgemoor and

gave them a thorough induction and grounding

to help them fulfil their potential as councillors.

“Here at Sedgemoor, we invest heavily in staff

training and development, as is shown by our

excellent Investors in People accreditations

over the years. We wanted to reflect this level

of investment and training in our councillors,

as we fully recognise them as frontline contacts

between Sedgemoor – the organisation – and

its residents and electors. We wanted to slightly

formalise the somewhat ad hoc arrangements

that had previously existed in this area to make

sure that every councillor – new or re-elected

– had ample opportunity to train and learn new

skills to help them help others.

“The money from RIEP gave us that added

impetus to put into place the Member

Development Plan, which we are more than

happy to share with other councils.”

83

torrIdge dIStrICt CounCIl lean thinking reapS impreSSive reSultS

lean thinking focuses on understanding

a customer’s requirements and changing

processes to meet those needs. the principle is

‘right first time’.

thinking lean brought such impressive

ratings in all of the three pilot schemes – in

development control, benefits and housing –

that the council has extended the principles of

lean thinking to other service areas.

Significant improvements in development

control have seen performance move out

of the bottom 25% nationally, and standard

planning application turnaround is now well

above average. these improvements have

been acknowledged by the Department for

Communities and local government.

in benefits, improvements in processing new

claims and changes in circumstances have

lifted torridge from the bottom to top quartile

in just two years. overall satisfaction with the

benefits service is also in the top 25%. this

level of service delivery has been maintained

despite a recent 50% increase in new claims.

government targets in respect of homeless

families have been met four years early as a

result of a change of emphasis by the council

towards prevention, improving the overall

service provision and creating genuine savings

along the way.

the council has also adopted an ‘excellence

plan’, which includes full reviews of all services

incorporating lean thinking, shared service

opportunities and improving access with a

baseline value-for-money model for assessing

the impact of improvement work.

the value-for-money indicator shows the

relationship between cost and performance

– with performance being measured by a

balanced scorecard approach that incorporates

a number of performance measures (quality,

satisfaction, efficiency and access).

once the value-for-money benchmark has

been established, each service undertakes

an excellence review that incorporates the

following considerations: customer expectation,

customer demand analysis, shared service

and income generation opportunities, and a

Torridge District Council was one of the first councils in the South West to adopt ‘lean systems’ methodology and has made an impressive leap forward in service delivery and satisfaction over the last few years.

overall Improvement

84

www.torridge.gov.uk

schedule of realised benefits traceable against

the value-for-money baseline which can be

recognised as gershon efficiency savings.

Since the council adopted the plan less than two

years ago, the following progress has been made:

Twenty officers have been trained in lean •thinking methodology, enabling multiple internal reviews to be co-ordinated at the same time.

A new Lean Programme Manager post has •been created to co-ordinate the reviews.

Reviews covered the areas of land charges, •payroll/HR, council tax, business rates, housing options and waste management.

The reviews are considered formally by the •Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The value-for-money benchmark has been •incorporated into the council’s performance management framework. The Excellence Plan is the key strategy underpinning the council’s ‘effective and confident council’ priority. It has integrated improvement initiatives and provides a continuous improvement focus around the council’s determination to put the customer first and strive for value for money.

new initiatives such as monthly benchmarking

and the introduction of 10/10 customer surveys

continue to drive improvement.

Council leader James morrish said:

“We have come a long way in such a short time

from being a ‘poor’ council to a ‘good’ one and

now find that all is looking positive for the future.

“Not being afraid to aim for the stars was

our first step forward, and the fact that our

members stood together across the political

divide has proved to be a successful strategy for

everyone, most importantly of all for our local

residents and businesses.”

85

WeSt dorSet dIStrICt CounCIlChampioning memBer Development

in order to achieve the charter the district had n order to achieve the charter the district had

to demonstrate its commitment to developing to demonstrate its commitment to developing

and supporting its elected councillors by and supporting its elected councillors by

meeting five key principles:

commitment to member development;commitment to member development;•

strategic approach to member development;strategic approach to member development;•

having a member learning and •development plan in place;

effective learning and development effective learning and development •(evaluation); and

development of elected members which development of elected members which •promotes work–life balance and citizenship.promotes work–life balance and citizenship.

meeting these charter principles has ensured eeting these charter principles has ensured

that West Dorset councillors are well placed that West Dorset councillors are well placed

to support their local communities and the to support their local communities and the

council’s priorities.

investing in member development has nvesting in member development has

improved cross-organisational working, improved cross-organisational working,

developed the community leadership role developed the community leadership role

and embedded equalities into the council’s and embedded equalities into the council’s

decision-making processes. having a

structured approach to member development

has also helped the council to focus on meeting

its corporate priorities.

Councillors are now encouraged to review their

own personal development needs through the

annual personal development plan process to

ensure that they are fully equipped to fulfil their

councillor role. the council is also keen to work

in partnership with other councils in Dorset

and supports inter-authority training events,

which provide members with the opportunity to

understand cross-border issues and promote

joint working.

West Dorset’s Champion for member

Development is Councillor mary penfold.

Councillor penfold was supported in her role by

undertaking the advanced award for award for a elected

member Champions, and was among the

first to be recognised nationally for gaining a

qualification linked to her civic role.

West Dorset District Council has demonstrated its commitment to member development within the authority by providing a framework to continuously develop and improve its elected members in line with what is recognised as good practice.

Evidence of this is the achievement of the South West Charter for Member Development, awarded to the authority by South West Councils in early 2009.

overall Improvement

86

8787


Councillor penfold, of the left in the picture,

who was presented with her champion award

by the Deputy minister for the South West,

anne Snelgrove mp, pictured right, at an

award ceremony organised by South West

Councils, said:

“The skills I gained by studying for the Advanced

Award are already being utilised by myself and

the wider council, particularly in respect of

partnership working with other authorities.

“In my role as Member Development Champion I

support other elected members in identifying their

learning aims and objectives in order for them to

meet the needs of their varied communities.

“The charter framework has enabled us to adopt

a structured approach to member development

and support, which will provide measurable

benefits for individuals and the wider community

if we are to meet the demands of the local

government modernisation agenda.” Imag

e: K

iera

n B

attle

s

WeyMoutH and Portland borougH CounCIlaChievement anD amBition

in february Weymouth and portland

Borough Council was rated as ‘good’ in its

Comprehensive performance assessment

(Cpa). this showed a marked improvement

from the council’s earlier 2004 ‘weak’ score,

and was just four points away from an

‘excellent’ rating.

inspectors noted how the council has clear

ambitions for Weymouth and portland and

that these ambitions are shared with partners

countrywide. Clarity of focus in addressing its

four priorities – economy, housing, environment

and being well managed – was also noted.

other key achievements that were highlighted

by inspectors included:

an improved approach to meeting •housing needs;

the best recycling rates in Dorset; and•

an improvement in the •borough’s parks and gardens.

the Chair of the council’s management

Committee, michael goodman, said the rating

reflected the hard work of staff and councillors.

Beacon status was awarded to team Dorset, a team Dorset, a t

group incorporating Weymouth and portland

Borough Council, Dorset County Council and

West Dorset District Council. team Dorset’s team Dorset’s t

aim is to use the potential of Weymouth

and portland’s hosting of the 2012 olympic

games sailing events as a catalyst to generate

improvements and opportunities for Dorset.

By March 2009 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council already had two exciting reasons to celebrate. In February the borough increased its Audit Commission rating from ‘weak’ to ‘good’, and soon after it was awarded ‘Beacon’ status for its part in building an Olympic Games and Paralympic legacy. Both achievements demonstrate that the council is continually striving to improve services and performance for people across the borough.

overall Improvement

88

www.weymouth.gov.uk

the Beacon award recognises local government

excellence and innovation in improving quality

of life for their residents and communities.

By winning the award, team Dorset received team Dorset received t

a share of £3 million government funding

to expand its work and help other councils to expand its work and help other councils

achieve the same success. achieve the same success.

Beacon award assessors were impressed by

the range of 2012-inspired work being carried

out by the council and its partners. this work

includes the Weymouth relief road, the Spirit

of the Sea festival, the regeneration of osprey

Quays, skills training, and new employment and

business growth.

the Communities minister, Sadiq khan,

explained the council’s achievement:

“Team Dorset is among the top performers in

its field, setting the standard for innovation,

service excellence and improvement.”

89

2 SoutH WeSt loCal autHorItIeSWorking together

90

local government is a huge public service

provider – education, environmental health,

housing, social services and many more

services and facilities, all of which benefit

the local community. Councils either provide

services directly to the public or arrange for

others to do so. most of these services affect

the daily lives of local people in a major way.

the leisure centre you keep fit in, the

collection of your household rubbish, the

school you or your children go to, the care

of those who are disadvantaged, the hygiene

standards in your local restaurants and shops,

the range of reference materials in your local

library – all of these are the responsibility of

local authorities, plus many more besides. in

the South West, local government is also a

major employer.

in this section you can find further information

on local government in South West england.

representing the local community

local residents may wish to become involved

directly through submitting their views to

public consultations, local area committees

or survey panels, responding to planning

proposals, listening to a council meeting,

or even by standing for election. however,

residents also participate in local democracy

by voting for councillors at a local election,

whose work is supported by local government

council administration.

there are around 2,300 councillors in the

South West, serving on district, county or

unitary councils.

the average councillor in the South West

spends over 22 hours a week on council or

political business. on top of this, nearly half

of all the South West’s councillors are in work,

carrying out council duties alongside their jobs:

17% in full-time employment, 10% in part-time

employment and 21% self-employed. nearly

three-quarters of those working work for private

sector companies.

Councillors are not paid a salary or wage

(they are not employees of a council), but are

entitled to allowances, which are designed

to partly repay them for the costs incurred

in carrying out their public duties. they may

also receive additional allowances for special

responsibilities, for example being the leader of

the Council or a Cabinet portfolio holder.

Councillors may also sit on other representative

bodies in their area (such as local Strategic

partnerships, responsible for developing

community strategies, or primary care trusts).

South West councillors also sit on regional or

national bodies such as South West Councils,

South West employers, the national local

government association or the Board of the

South West rDa.

WHat IS loCal governMent all about?

91

the South West also elects 51 mps and

6 meps to represent its interests nationally and

in europe. in 2008, there were 22 Conservative,

13 labour and 16 liberal Democrat mps

(elected on a constituency basis); and three

Conservative, one liberal Democrat and two

uk independence party meps (elected on a

regional basis, to represent the South West).

How is local government organised?

the South West of england currently comprises

41 local authorities:

the four county councils of Devon, Dorset, •Gloucestershire and Somerset;

25 district councils within county boundaries, •which share responsibility for delivering services with the county councils;

11 unitary authorities: Bath and North East •Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay, Wiltshire; and

the Council of the Isles of Scilly. •

in July 2007, the government gave the go-

ahead for the establishment of two new unitary

authorities, Cornwall and Wiltshire. the new

unitary authorities replaced the existing district

and county councils and became operational

in april 2009. exeter also applied for unitary

status; however, the government responded

by requesting that the Boundary Committee

(a division of the electoral Commission) carry

out a thorough review of local government

arrangements in Devon.

in march 2009, the Boundary Committee

published proposals for two alternative patterns

of unitary local government in Devon: either a

single Devon unitary authority, or two unitary

authorities (a combined exeter and exmouth

unitary authority and a unitary authority

comprising the remainder of Devon). following

consultation, a decision is expected to be made

by the Secretary of State in autumn 2009.

the election procedure varies by council type.

elections for county councils are held every four

years with the whole council up for election.

unitary and district authorities have their own

arrangements, and timings for elections vary

across the region. Sometimes only a third

or half of the seats on a council will be up

for election, depending on the area – but all

councillors serve four years.

92

Conservative

Independent

Liberal Democrat

Labour

No overall control

Party Majority in 2009 -District and Unitary Authorities

© Crown Copyright. South West Councils.Licence No. 0100038233

Party majority in 2009: district and unitary authorities

Party majority in 2009: county and unitary authorities

most South West local authorities (except

torbay, which has a directly elected mayor

and some smaller councils with the traditional

committee system) have a cabinet-style

democratic arrangement. this is an executive

grouping consisting of a leader, elected by all

councillors, and a small cabinet consisting of

some portfolio-holding councillors. a cabinet

can make recommendations and certain

decisions within the policies approved by a

full council, the plenary meeting of all elected

councillors in a local area, where budgets,

proposals and policies are debated and agreed.

most councils have established overview and

scrutiny committees, to review cabinet policy

and engage the public in the decision-making

process. on particularly difficult or contentious

issues, overview and scrutiny committees have

the power to ‘call-in’ decisions made by the

cabinet or full council.

throughout the South West, local authorities

are a major employer, providing work for around

204,000 people. local government tends to

images: © Crown copyright South West Councils 2009. licence no. 0100038233

the political status of South West councils

following elections in June 2009 was as follows:

Conservative

Independent

Liberal Democrat

Labour

No overall control



Conservative

Independent

Liberal Democrat

Labour

No overall control


Party Majority in 2009 -County and Unitary Authorities

Conservative

Independent

Liberal Democrat

Labour

No overall control



93

employ far more women than men (74.5%

compared with 25.5% in 2008 nationally),

and 33.7% of the local government working

population in 2008 was aged 50 or over,

compared with 25.4% in the wider economy.

How is a council’s performance assessed?

in 2008 the performance of local authorities

was rigorously assessed by a number of

external audits, including the national audit

Commission’s Comprehensive performance

assessment (Cpa), which undertook an in-depth

assessment of the council’s work, from fostering,

to waste recycling, public satisfaction surveys

and council tax collection rates.

the figures on page 95 refer to the 2008 Cpa

scores for county and unitary authorities in the

South West. overall performance is represented

by a 0–4 star ranking. in 2008, four

authorities (Devon, poole, Somerset and South

gloucestershire) were awarded the maximum of

4 stars and no authority received 0 stars. more

than two-thirds of authorities were classed as

‘improving well’.

the local authority performance assessment

is changing. the government has recently

replaced the Cpa with the new ‘lighter touch’

Comprehensive area assessment (Caa). in

contrast to the Cpa, the Caa will not only

assess the work of each council, but will also

assess the work of all organisations providing

local public services, such as health bodies and

fire and rescue authorities. increasing emphasis

is placed on the overall quality of frontline

services and tailored to meet the priorities of the

local area. the views of the local community, as

service users and taxpayers, will be central to

the assessment. Caa is under way and the first

reports are due in november 2009.

further information on the 2008 Cpa scores

and Caa is available on the audit Commission

website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk

94

South West star ratings

Councils 2006 2007 2008*

Bath and north east Somerset

3 3 3

Bournemouth 3 2 3

Bristol 1 2 2

Cornwall 3 3 3

Devon 3 3 4

Dorset 4 3 3

gloucestershire 3 4 3

isles of Scilly exempt exempt exempt

north Somerset 2 3 3

plymouth 2 2 2

poole 3 4 4

Somerset 4 4 4

South gloucestershire 3 3 4

Swindon 2 2 2

torbay 2 2 2

Wiltshire 4 3 3

South West direction of travel

Councils 2006 2007 2008*

Bath and north east Somerset

improving well improving well improving well

Bournemouth improving adequately improving adequately improving well

Bristol improving well improving well improving well

Cornwall not improving adequately improving adequately not improving adequately

Devon improving well improving well improving well

Dorset improving well improving adequately improving well

gloucestershire improving well improving well improving well

isles of Scilly improving adequately improving adequately improving adequately

north Somerset improving well improving well improving strongly

plymouth improving well improving well improving well

poole improving well improving well improving well

Somerset improving well improving strongly improving strongly

South gloucestershire improving well improving well improving strongly

Swindon improving well improving strongly improving well

torbay improving adequately improving well improving well

Wiltshire improving adequately improving adequately improving well

* Published by the Audit Commission in March 2009

95

local authorities are responsible for a huge

range of services provided within their area.

unitary authorities are responsible for all the

services provided within their area. all local

authorities are also empowered to undertake

any measure to improve the economic, social

or environmental well-being of their area, where

this is not specifically prohibited.

the responsibilities for local services are

broadly divided as follows:

WHat ServICeS do loCal autHorItIeS ProvIde?

County councils district councils Shared responsibilities between county and district council

Shared responsibilities between district and parish councils

Adult social care•

Bus shelters •

Children’s services •

Community and youth services •

Consumer protection •

Coroner services•

Country parks •

Diseases of animals •

Education (policy, schools, adult education, •learning support, standards, school meals, cleaning and supplies)

Highways (policy, network planning, maintenance, •design and development, street lighting, road safety)

Libraries •

Public transport •

Registration •

Rent tribunals •

School transport •

Economic development•

Trading standards •

Waste disposal •

Building regulations •

Cemeteries and crematoria •

Council tax collection •

Electoral registration •

Environmental health •

Housing •

Leisure centres •

Licensing •

Local planning application •

Meat inspection* •

Refuse collection •

Sewerage maintenance** •

Street cleaning •

Swimming pools•

* As agent of the Meat Inspection Agency** As agent of the Water Authority

Archives •

Concessionary bus fares •

Conservation •

Derelict land •

Economic development •

Emergency planning •

Museums and art galleries •

Recycling •

Tourism •

Allotments •

Markets •

Park and playing fields •

Public conveniences •

Village halls and •community centres

96

local government services are funded through

a mixture of central government grants,

nationally set business rates and locally raised

council tax, which is based on the value of

houses in the local area. Council tax provides

approximately a quarter of local government

funding. however, the exact amount raised

from the tax varies between local authorities

and from year to year. this is because local

councillors set council tax on an annual basis,

within limits set by central government, in

order to balance the amount of funding a

council receives with the amount of spending

necessary. average council tax per dwelling

in the South West for 2008/9 was £1,209,

compared with £1,145 for england as a whole.*

in recent years, there have been significant

annual increases in council tax as local

services have become more expensive.

the modernisation of public services, an

increasingly ageing population and higher

public expectation are among the factors that

have led to increased council costs. however,

2009 saw the cost of the average council tax bill

increase at the lowest rate for 15 years.

“Councils are now the most efficient part of the

public sector providing an ever better deal for

the taxpayer.”

(Sir Simon milton, former Chair of the local

government association, 2008).

Councils work to ensure that optimum use

is made of public money in the delivery of

services and this is demonstrated by their

commitment to the value for money agenda.

through this agenda councils aim to achieve

£5.5 billion of savings nationally in the period

2007 to 2011, via greater efficiency rather than

cuts to services.

the South West regional improvement and

efficiency partnership (SW riep) plays a key

role in helping local authorities achieve value

for money. the SW riep is a partnership of

South West Councils with fire and rescue

authorities, improvement and Development

agency, government office for the South West,

South West rDa and nhS South West. the

riep has a crucial role in setting the strategic

vision for improvement and efficiency, providing

a strong, early first line of external support for

localities, and a mechanism for ensuring that

performance issues are challenged and tackled.

in supporting local authorities over a range of

projects, the SW riep will be helping them

deliver over £100 million of efficiency gains

(over a five year period starting in april 2008).

fundIng

* Department for Communities and Local Government, 2008, Local Government Finance Key Facts

97

3 regIonal organISatIonS

98

South West Councils

South West Councils exists to represent and

promote the regional interests of the population

of the South West, and the local authorities

that serve them. South West Councils brings

together representatives of all of the region’s local

authorities to ensure that matters of concern to

the local government community are considered

at regional level and that the voice of South West

local government is heard by the government

and regional bodies. South West Councils:

provides a voice for constituent local authorities •on major issues affecting the South West;

influences government policy as it •affects the region;

encourages partnership working between local •authorities and other organisations and agencies in the South West on policy issues where a broader regional approach is required;

promotes the sharing of good practice; and•

supports councils through delivery of •the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (SW RIEP).

South West Councils supports a range of local

authority improvement and support networks

across the region on numerous policy areas, from

economic development, to migration, scrutiny and

working with authorities on digital tv switchover.

the organisation also undertakes technical peer

reviews and other improvement and awareness-

raising events.

Strategic leaders’ board

the Strategic leaders’ Board (SlB) is the

executive arm of South West Councils.

Currently, until legislation goes through

parliament, the SlB is the regional planning

Body. in discharging these functions the Board

is augmented by 3 rDa Board members, 6

Stakeholders and a representative from the

national parks.

the SlB aims to provide a local government,

democratic input into strategic decisions and

priorities for the region.

the 20-strong SlB is a grouping of local

authority leaders made up of county and unitary

council leaders and one each from the districts

in Devon, Dorset, gloucestershire and Somerset.

99

the SlB will be working jointly with the South

West regional Development agency Board on

developing new plans for the region, particularly

relating to spatial planning and economic

development.

key for the SlB is the recession and how local

authorities in the South West are responding

to these difficult times and being even more

effective in delivering key services. the leaders

will be advising the regional minister on these

issues and will also ensure that the region’s

voice is heard and the South West gets a fair

share of resources from government.

the SlB has already had a key role in signing

off regional funding advice which will decide

how £9 billion of expenditure is invested over

the next 10 years, for housing and regeneration,

economic development, transport and the

skills agenda.

South West regional Improvement and efficiency Partnership

South West Councils’ members lead the South

West regional improvement and efficiency

partnership (SW riep), set up by authorities

in June 2006 as a “hub” to drive innovation,

efficiency and progress against regional priorities

and to share information and knowledge in

conjunction with other public sector bodies and

support agencies. it has a good track record

supporting authorities to deliver change in the

region and the new arrangements offer further

opportunities to ensure that support is led by

members and the local government sector as

a whole.

the national network of nine rieps work closely

to minimise duplication, and all are funded by

central government, which means that much

of the support available is provided free of

charge. the SW riep will receive £23 million

between 2008/9 and 2010/1 to support regional

improvement and efficiency programmes.

the riep encompasses six key workstreams of

investment and activity. the services offered by

these workstreams vary from bespoke support

for authorities or services in difficulty, through

to regional programmes of support and pump-

priming for innovative, difficult or collaborative

projects. the workstreams include:

1. Corporate Capacity Workstream

Local Strategic Partnership and Local •Area Agreements

Business transformation •

Tackling exclusion and promoting equality •

Overall improvement •

Safer communities •

Stronger communities•

100

2. driving value for Money Workstream

Asset management •

Property construction •

Smarter procurement•

3. Sustainable economy Workstream

Local economy •

Climate change •

Housing •

Waste services•

4. Social Care Workstream

Adult health and well-being •

Children and young people•

5. fire and rescue Service Workstream

6. Innovation fund Workstream

South West employers

South West employers (SWe) has an excellent

track record in working with and supporting

local authorities, police and fire authorities and

other organisations with all aspects of their

employer role.

in addition to baseline support from the team,

which includes exclusive use of an employment

advice ‘hotline’, authorities can also access

bespoke support to respond to individual

circumstances, such as organisation reviews,

job evaluation and recruitment, including

psychometric testing and dispute resolution –

all tailored to individual clients’ needs.

the elected members and SWe form the

employer’s side of the joint consultative body,

South West provincial Council, with our regional

trade unions. SWe is also the regional partner

of the national employers organisation, local

government employers.

101

learning and development

SWe also offers a wide range of learning and

development courses to support all members

and partners in developing a highly skilled and

motivated workforce.

the learning and development team has an

extensive history of training local government staff.

Courses are designed specifically to meet the

needs of people who work in local government.

SWe offers a wide range of services that

support individuals and local authorities to

improve performance and meet the rapidly

changing demands placed on those providing

public services. many of these can be delivered

in house and tailored to the customer’s specific

needs. Committed to continuous improvement,

the team revises courses and regularly develops

new events.

Supporting elected members in their development

SWe is working to provide an integrated

approach to member development through

improving support and provision. the Charter for

member Development is key to achieving this.

Six local authorities (Bristol City Council,

Devon County Council, South gloucestershire

Council, South Somerset District Council,

torbay Council and West Dorset District

Council) have achieved the charter,

demonstrating their commitment and good

practice in relation to member development.

SWe also actively encourages members

to recognise the importance of their own

development and receiving acknowledgement

of their achievements. to support this, we

provide two nationally recognised qualifications

for elected members. one of these is linked

to their general civic role and the other is

focused on the role of member Champions.

approximately 80 councillors have enrolled onto

these qualification programmes.

Contact us

for more information about South West Councils, or to find out more about the

employment services, learning and development and the improvement and efficiency

partnership, visit the website:

www.swcouncils.gov.uk or call 01823 270101

102

Four South West authorities – Devon County Council, South Somerset District Council, Torbay Council and South Gloucestershire Council – were among the first to gain the Charter for Member Development. The awards were presented by the Deputy Minister for the South West, Anne Snelgrove MP

Image: Kieran Battles 103

Contact us

For more information about South West

Councils, or to find out more about the

employment services, learning and

development and the improvement and

efficiency Partnership, visit the website:

www.swcouncils.gov.ukor call

01823 270101

South West Councils

Dennett house 11 Middle Street taunton Somerset ta1 1Sh

Telephone 01823 270101 Fax 01823 425200 Email [email protected]

Website www.swcouncils.gov.uk

Thank you to all the South West Local Authorities who contributed their case studies for this publication. Casebook 2009 was produced with financial support provided by SW RIEP.

Printed on paper made from 75% recycled fibre containing at least 50% post-consumer waste.

south west councils casebook 2009

Documents