To consider progress made on the actions within the Corporate Improvement Plan (CIP).

1.  That the progress against the objectives set in the CIP be noted.

2.  That where actions are out of target, responsible officers are asked to provide reasons as to why these have not been completed and plan for how they intend to complete the action as quickly as possible be agreed.

3.   That the following actions in the plan be agreed:

12.03 Assess the appropriateness of the actions within action plans in relation to 2010 results

12.04 Identify any patterns or trends following the completion of the second survey.

4.   That the target date of 30 September 2011 for the following action be agreed:

020.05 Explore options for a more specialised central project management or project support function.

5.  That a Corporate Peer Review in September 2012, to consider how the needs of residents are being met and addressing the Corporate and Customer Excellence Priority, be agreed.

6.   That undertaking an additional Peer Review for Planning in January 2012, to consider how the corporate priority for Maidstone is met, for a growing economy, be agreed.

The purpose of the CIP is to identify and monitor progress on key areas for improvement.

Fourteen actions have been completed since the last report in March.

Appendix A to the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny shows the ongoing actions within the plan. There are currently five outstanding actions of which four are out of target.

It has been requested that the following actions are removed from the plan:

12.03 Assess the appropriateness of the actions within action plans in relation to 2010 results

12.04 Identify any patterns or trends following the completion of the second survey

The Place survey is no longer a requirement. A residents’ survey will be conducted to replace this. However, options for methodology are still being discussed. These actions are therefore no longer relevant. Replacement actions will be included in the plan once the new customer satisfaction survey has been agreed and carried out.

An extension has been requested on the following action;

020.05 Explore options for a more specialised central project management or project support function

Requested target 30 September 2011

Recently an officer has temporarily been acting as Corporate Project Manager, providing project management expertise for a number of projects across the Council. This post sits within the Change and Scrutiny Team and has recently been extended until March 2012. At present the Head of Business Improvement coordinates the Council’s approach to projects and provides reports to management team.  Project management for the Hazlitt capital works is currently being provided by another officer not based in the Hazlitt team.  Moving the deadline for this action to 30 September 2011 will allow a report to be prepared for Management Team by the Head of Business Improvement that considers how well these arrangements have worked and suggests a way forward.

Continuous Improvement

It is recognised that with the abolition of the Audit Commission and inspection regime the Council has made a commitment to be proactive in how it monitors performance and seeks improvement going forward. There will be other additions to the plan following peer reviews. The Council will be undertaking a Corporate Peer Review in September 2012 to consider how we are meeting the needs of residents and addressing the Corporate and Customer Excellence Priority. An additional Peer Review is also planned for Planning in January 2012, to consider how we meet our corporate priority For Maidstone to have a growing economy. Both of these reviews will result in actions being added to the improvement plan.

The corporate approach to improvement at the Council was discussed  at the Cabinet away day on 13 July 2011. It was identified that improvement and change should be driven by efficiency and customer satisfaction. A report summarising the discussion and options for implementing change will be taken to the next away day on 24 August 2011. This should result in a number of actions that will be added to the CIP. 

A decision could be made not to produce a CIP or consider its progress. If not properly monitored, improvement actions may not be delivered. This would have a detrimental impact upon service delivery and the Council’s reputation.