Decision details

The Strategic Plan and the Medium Term Financial Strategy are the key corporate planning documents for the Council. The Strategic Plan sets out what we want to achieve, the actions we will take and how we will measure our performance.

Cabinet were asked to agree the Draft Strategic Plan for 2015-2020 for consultation with scrutiny prior to approval for submission to Council in February.

That the Draft Strategic Plan 2015-2020 be approved for consultation with Strategic Leadership and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee prior to approval for submission to Council on 25 February 2015.

The Draft Strategic Plan at Appendix A to the report of the Chief Executive outlined a vision for the borough, supported by a clear mission for the Council to put people first and a set of clear priorities.

During the course of the plan’s development there have been staff consultations at One Council briefing sessions, outlining the vision and priorities for the next five years and asking them to identify how we could achieve the priorities and what the barriers may be. This feedback has shaped the actions outlined in the priorities and will be used by heads of service and unit managers in their service planning. Work was also carried out with unit managers to look at how we measure achievement considering which indicators would give us the most useful information.

Several budget roadshows with the public were held to discuss the priorities; asking residents to identify which are most important to them. There was positive feedback from this exercise and the results were shown in Appendix Bto the report of the Chief Executive.

As a result of the feedback, clean and safe environment and transport improvements are proposed as top priorities for the Council. This has also been reflected in the medium term financial strategy.

The Draft Plan has been developed giving careful consideration to performance data and other contextual information including the most recent residents’ survey results, national research and other emerging strategies and plans. Information on the Borough Profile and 100 people was provided at Appendix C to the report.

The plan has been deliberately kept short and focused to ensure it translates into action easily and it is clear to residents and council employees and our partners what we want to achieve over the next five years.

There is synergy between the council’s previous strategic plan and the new plan that has been developed. The mission to put people first continues the theme of Great People and underpins all of the council’s priorities going forward. Keeping Maidstone an attractive place for all and securing a successful economy continue our previous priorities of Great Place and Great Opportunity. There is a renewed emphasis in the plan on listening to our communities and working with our Parishes. The Draft Plan contains a balanced set of priorities that reflect all parts of the Borough both rural and urban.

As face to face and on-line consultation has already been carried out on the priorities with residents and staff, the next phase will be on-line consultation on the draft plan itself and consultation with Overview and Scrutiny and all elected Members.

The current Strategic Plan finishes in March 2015, the draft Strategic Plan sets the vision and corporate priorities for the next five years. Without a Plan to set our priorities and provide clear focus for employees and related plans and policies the effectiveness of the Council would be significantly reduced.