Council and Democracy >> Corporate Plan
Local Performance Plan 2005/06
Each Year the Council produces a Local Performance Plan setting out how well we perform against our plans and targets in the previous financial year and giving details of priorities, plans and targets for the year ahead.
You can view the summary leaflet for 2005/2006 below:
The more detailed, full Local Performance Plan, is available to download by clicking the following link:
The following document reports on our progress against performance indicators half way through the year.
The following document is presented in Adobe .pdf format. You may find it useful to read our Help before downloading information.
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Introduction
Councillor Jeremy Birch
We are calling this plan 'Clean, Green, Safe, Active and at the Heart of Regeneration' because that is what local people have told us to focus our efforts on. During November 2004 to February 2005, we involved more people than ever before in discussions about our work plans and budget for 2005/06. Indeed if you may have been one of the thousands of residents randomly selected to take part in our Citizens Panel survey, which helped us shape our plans for the forthcoming year.
This plan demonstrates the huge amount of activity that Hastings Borough Council is committing itself to in the next twelve months. And all this intense activity is aimed at improving the quality of life of Hastings people.
This Plan describes the local services we will deliver and shows how we have performed against both government and local targets. The Plan provides information on past results, shows our future plans and how we intend to achieve our targets.
Over the last year we have begun to see steady progress in the physical regeneration of the town with the completion of a brand new rail station, the new multi-media centre in Robertson Street and the entrance to the University Centre Hastings in Havelock Road, which will shortly have 700 students registered. Alexandra Park won the prestigious Green Flag Award and we celebrated its reopening with a family day attended by 10,000 local people. And the improvement to our seafront is commented on by everyone.
Over the next year we intend to build on these achievements and we will all see even more dramatic steps forward. The residents of Hastings and St. Leonards, as council-tax payers, have a right to expect a great deal from us. We must continue to listen to and learn from what residents have to say about our plans and encourage those who we do not usually reach to have their say.
We hope that this Plan will help you judge whether or not we are providing value for money and give you the opportunity to hold us to the promises we make. We'd like to thank everyone who helped shape this plan, whether by completing a survey at home, inviting us to come and meet with you or writing in to tell us what you thought - we continue to work energetically on behalf of all the people who live and work in the town!
Leader of the Council
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About this Document
This Local Performance Plan 2005/06 contains not only full details of all our plans and targets for the financial year 2005/06, but also a full report back on our performance in 2004/05. We hope you will find this document useful in giving a clear indication of what we achieved so far and what we aim to achieve in the future. We welcome any comments you may have on this document or our activities and will use these to improve the way we develop our plans in the future.
How we decided on our plans for 2005/06
We have produced this annual Performance Plan to set out our work plans for the forthcoming financial year and explain how well we performed against our targets for the previous year.
To help us set our priorities a survey was sent to 16,000 local residents randomly selected to take part in a Citizens Panel Survey. We asked if 'Clean, Green, Safe, Active and at the Heart of Regeneration' were the right priorities for us to focus our activities on in 2005/06. The response showed that local people supported these priorities and using this information we drafted the 2005/06 Local Performance Plan and Budget.
During February we invited comments on the draft Local Performance Plan and Budget via our website and also went out to meet with stakeholders directly. We met key representatives from the business sector, local community groups and our staff. Over 250 people were engaged in reshaping the draft Plan and the Council agreed the revised version in February 2005.
A summary of the Local Performance Plan was sent to all households in March this year so that residents could see what we aim to accomplish in the forthcoming year, from 1st April 2005 - 31st March 2006.
What are we working towards?
This Local Performance Plan looks back at last year (2004/05) and forward to the current year (2005/06). In order to understand how we are performing, it is important to know what our longer-term priorities are.
10 Year Vision For Our Town
The difficulties faced by our town have been recognised and since 2001 we have been the focus of significant external investment. We have already started to address those areas requiring improvement and will continue to work alongside our partners on the Local Strategic Partnership to tackle the social, physical and economic issues that inhibit the long-term prosperity of our town. The 10 year vision for regeneration, agreed with local people and our partners is:
"We want our town's strong community spirit, culture, young population and extraordinary natural environment to be the foundations of a safer, healthier and more prosperous place with lasting opportunities for everybody."
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Community Strategy
This vision was created after one of the biggest partnership consultation exercises the town has ever seen. In November 2002 over 4,000 people gave their views on a whole range of ideas and plans that will affect the long-term future of our town.
These views were then used to create the Hastings and St Leonards Community Strategy and our 10 Council Priorities. The Community Strategy is the overarching strategy for improving the quality of life of all people living in the town and focuses on 21 key targets. We will be reporting progress on the Community Strategy Targets in 2005/06.
The Strategy is monitored by the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), a coordinating body bringing together key people including representatives from local voluntary and community groups, business leaders, Hastings Borough Council, East Sussex County Council and agencies such as the Police, Health Care, Education, Employment and Housing.
Hastings and St Leonards is one of just four places in the South East (and one of only 88 nationally) to receive significant amounts of Government money called Neighbourhood Renewal Funding to address the problems in areas of the town which suffer high levels of poverty and crime and poor levels of housing, educational attainment and health problems.
Areas of the town which have the most significant problem areas are called our Priority Areas and these have Neighbourhood Forums made up of local people and agencies who develop local action plans to address issues of concern in their area. In addition, the Greater Hollington area in St. Leonards is a Government "Pathfinder" project piloting Neighbourhood Management. This means that local people are able to work alongside those who deliver services direct to the area and tailor services to meet local needs.
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Council Priorities
To meet this vision the Council agreed 10 priorities* that will guide our work and investment over 2003 - 2008.
- Lead the social, physical and economic regeneration of the town.
- Develop strong, stable communities - with a decent home for everyone.
- Make our town cleaner, greener and healthier, and manage traffic, transport and parking for the benefit of everyone.
- Work in partnership to reduce crime and the fear of crime, and make our streets safer.
- Increase opportunities for participation in culture, arts, sports, play, heritage and the natural environment.
- Continue to improve as a forward-thinking Council with a skilled, knowledgeable and motivated workforce.
- Reduce deprivation by narrowing the gap between the most deprived areas and the rest of the town.
- Increase opportunities for young people.
- Involve local communities and businesses in the planning and delivery of accessible, cost-effective, quality services.
- Work effectively with our partners to achieve the 21 key targets set out in the Hastings & St Leonards Community Strategy.
* These priorities encompass the 'Statement of Shared Priorities' agreed between Central and Local Government and the priorities of local people identified in the Hastings & St Leonards Community Strategy.
Turning Our Priorities Into Action
Our longer term and annual priorities are shared with our Partners on the LSP, Councillors and staff, so we are all clear about what we want to achieve. To ensure the Community Strategy and Council Priorities are reflected in what staff do in their day-to-day jobs, we translate these into annual service delivery plans and targets. Progress and performance is monitored through quarterly review meetings and the staff appraisal process.
Community Strategy -> Council Priorities -> Local Performance Plan -> Service Delivery Plans -> Staff Objectives
New Impacts on the way we work
As a Council we are committed to making the most of new opportunities for gaining new freedoms and flexibilities, joint working and to focus on local issues.
A number of new initiatives and requirements will impact on the way we work over the next three years. These include:
Joint Working
Over the last year, we and the other local authorities in East Sussex have been working together to formulate a Joint Improvement Plan. Driven initially by the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) we all underwent, the East Sussex authorities are finding ways to pool their resources and share learning in order to improve the quality of, and value for money provided by services across all authorities.
Delivering Efficiency in Local Services
Since CPA, the Government has set out its plans for delivering efficiency in Local Services. The Government's 2004 Spending Review required local government to achieve total savings of £6.45bn by 2007/08. Working towards meeting the future years targets will form one of our key challenges for 2005/06.
The Audit Commission will also assess the Council's ability to provide 'Value for Money' under the Use of Resources judgement that it will apply to all Councils annually from this year (2005/06).
Area Co-ordination
The Government's desire is to take a more neighbourhood-based approach to service delivery. We are responding by working with our partners to move towards Area Co-ordination, whereby partners can work together to improve and shape service delivery, based on area needs and influenced by local people. The principles of Area Co-ordination will build upon already existing structures such as Neighbourhood Forums and the Greater Hollington Partnership. In the Priority Areas we have already received significant amounts of funding to work more closely with local people, so these areas will have considerable knowledge to share about the best ways of taking area co-ordination forward into other parts of the town. The four Areas will have a key focus on community engagement and have their own Area Delivery Plans along with Multi-Agency Tasking Teams to co-ordinate and deliver the plans.
Local Area Agreements
Local Area Agreements (LAA) were introduced in 2004 and are a new set of agreements that require County and Unitary level Local Strategic Partnerships to agree with Central/Regional Government what outcomes will be delivered using the money that the Government puts into their area.
In East Sussex, under this new type of arrangement the County Council will act as the accountable body for funding purposes. A negotiated agreement will build on the existing framework for CPA, Public Service Agreements and Neighbourhood Renewal 'Floor Targets'. East Sussex will be one of a second round of pilot LAA areas in 2005/06 and we look forward to working with East Sussex County Council and neighbouring authorities on this.
How is the Information in this Plan Organised?
The following chapters tell you how well we meet the targets outlined in last year's Plan and explain any shortfalls in performance. Also included are our work plans for 2005/06 and relevant 'Performance Indicators'.
The chapters are organised under our Directorates:
Regeneration and Planning
Environment and Safety
Housing, Communities & Neighbourhoods
Leisure and Cultural Development
Communications and Organisational Development
Financial and Central Services
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Regeneration and Planning
In 2004/05 we ...
- Worked with the Task Force to progress Regeneration Projects such as the Station Plaza, Pelham Square and Priory Quarter (previously referred to as the Campus Core).
- Engaged 220 disadvantaged young people in the Tressell Training Project, offering vocational courses for a wide range of skills e.g. carpentry, IT and childcare.
- Secured European Social Funding to establish an intermediate Labour Market Project which will provide training and employment opportunities to people who have been long term unemployed.
- Worked with the Town Centre Management Group and Priory Meadow to develop an evening economy, including late night shopping over the Christmas period.
- Developed and installed a new decorative lighting scheme in West Marina Gardens that met both community safety needs and enhanced the attractiveness of the local area.
- Assisted 24 local businesses to lower their costs and comply with environmental legislation by providing free advice and financial support through the Hastings Sustainable Business Partnership.
- Worked with partners to launch a new independently constituted community transport scheme, Hastings Area Community Transport, funded by the Urban Bus Challenge.
- Worked in partnership with Stagecoach and East Sussex County Council to improve bus services through the Quality Bus Partnership action plan, resulting in the number of bus passenger journey increasing by 6.75% compared with 2001.
- Offered £655,545 worth of grants for conservation repair works in Central St. Leonards to preserve and restore the historic character of the area.
- Agreed a Public Arts Strategy, providing guidelines for the inclusion of high quality public art to be included in all new major developments and regeneration initiatives.
- Received the Nautilus Report - a study into the fishing industry, which identified key actions that need to be taken to support the growth and sustainability of this industry.
- Carried out a review of our processes for developing, delivering and measuring physical projects and set up a new Project Review Board.
- Improved our procedures for submitting external funding bids and consequently secured an additional £1.9 million of external European and national funds to support regeneration projects in the town.
Changes and Shortfalls
- As planned, we adopted the Hastings Local Plan in April 2004 and commenced work on the new Local Development Framework (LDF). The Government timetable for the production of the LDF has changed and we are now working to this. We have appointed a Community Involvement Officer to develop a Statement of Community Involvement in consultation with key stakeholders and commissioned a series of studies, including a Retail Needs Assessment and a Social Inclusion Study, to inform the development of a Core Strategy.
- Although we successfully carried out a Housing Needs Survey, this delayed the start of the Housing Market Assessment, which we will now carry out in 2005/06 in conjunction with Rother District Council.
- Although we developed a lighting scheme to install in the Old Town, there were concerns about conservation issues and we are now working with the local community to explore ideas for an alternative scheme, in keeping with the character of the Old Town.
- Our work to develop an Economic Inclusion Strategy has been delayed, but following an intensive study into the extent and reasons for economic inactivity, we have developed a draft Economic Inclusion Action Plan, which we will consult on during Autumn 2005.
- Our work with the Task Force to commission a Seafront Strategy in consultation with key stakeholders was delayed. We expect to take a draft strategy to Cabinet by Summer 2005.
In 2005/06 we will:
- As a key partner in the Hastings and Bexhill Task Force we will continue to ensure progress is made on delivering the large-scale physical regeneration projects in the town including Station Plaza, Priory Quarter (previously known as the Campus Core), Marina Pavilion and Pelham Square.
- In our role as planning authority, facilitate the bringing forward of proposals for the future development of the town and guidance and provide professional advice and input as required.
- As part of the new Local Development Framework for the town:
- actively engage local people in drawing up an overall vision for the town's planning policies
- agree and publish a Statement of Community Involvement providing clear guidance on how the Council will achieve community involvement in planning issues
- introduce a new structure for environmental and sustainability issues to be properly integrated into the development of new planning policies.
- Seek to influence the development of the South East Plan so that the special circumstances of Hastings are recognised at the regional level, and build on the already successful lobbying for improvements to the road and rail transport links.
- Adopt a plan and begin to implement our part of the Seafront Strategy jointly commissioned with the Hastings and Bexhill Task Force.
- Support and promote Hastings' fishing industry and seek funding to enhance fishing and tourism activities on The Stade, as recommended in the Nautilus study on the future of the fishing industry. Employ a Fishery Development Officer as part of this work.
- Establish a Board of Trustees to administer the land contained within the Hastings Foreshore Trust.
- Continue to use our enforcement powers to improve the physical appearance of the town through zero tolerance of neglected and derelict buildings.
- Provide a further £200,000 of grants for the Conservation and Repair of buildings that form part of our historic townscape in the Central St. Leonards Renewal Area.
- Improve the town's image through the HBC/1066 Enterprise initiative to make a further £140,000 of improvements to accommodation for visitors.
- Make Hastings a more lively, attractive and safe place for people of all ages to come to at night by implementing the Evening Economy Action Plan:
- Continue to encourage greater use of the town centre, particularly by families and older people, with the introduction of a programme of live evening entertainment and a trial period of late night shopping.
- Increasing the number of businesses that operate in the evenings such as restaurants and cafes to attract new customers and investors.
- Continue to fund and improve the evening bus service between the town centre and the Conquest Hospital.
- Identify and map the specific barriers to employment and economic inactivity in deprived areas, and produce a targeted 5-year action plan to reduce the levels of economic exclusion.
- Provide opportunities for disadvantaged young people via the Tressell Training Scheme to develop skills that match the needs of local employers such e.g. motor vehicle skills.
- Work with partners to develop and then deliver an integrated programme of business support to meet the specific needs of existing businesses and those looking to start-up, relocate or expand in Hastings.
- Employ a Construction Skills' Co-ordinator to work with developers, construction firms and training providers to increase the number of construction jobs and skills training for local people.
- Continue to promote Hastings and 1066 Country as a great place to visit, targeting in particular, high-spending short-breakers and those visiting out of the peak summer season.
- Install the Public Art feature, selected after consultation with local people for Alexandra Park Lake.
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Environment & Safety
In 2004/05 we ...
- Were one of five local authorities in the country to be awarded the Quality Standard Award by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for our Warden Service.
- Were awarded Together Action Area status by the Home Office in October 2004, which has enabled us to work more closely with the community, the Police and other partners to tackle antisocial behaviour and 'enviro-crime' to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the town.
- Continued to develop web pages using the Crime and Disorder Data Information Exchange (CADDIE) system, enabling the public to obtain a detailed picture of crime statistics in their area.
- Worked with partners to produce the Safer Hastings Strategy for 2005-08, which aims to tackle crime and disorder and reduce the fear of crime.
- Agreed a protocol with our partners on the Safer Hastings Partnership to deal with crack houses and worked in partnership with the East Sussex Drug and Alcohol Action Team to tackle drug and alcohol misuse in Hastings.
- Employed additional staff and launched a new Anti Social Behaviour Unit in partnership with Sussex Police and 1066 Housing, to tackle anti-social behaviour.
- Worked alongside key partners on the development of Evening Economy plans to ensure community safety issues form an integral part of plans to provide evening entertainment and extend the town centre opening hours.
- Continued our work towards developing a parking strategy to effectively manage short and long term parking provision during the regeneration of the Town Centre.
- Dealt with the removal of 501 abandoned vehicles and 743 unlicensed vehicles, taking action within 48 working hours after they were reported.
- Succeeded in obtaining additional Government funds to promote recycling and publicise our new recycling scheme, which now includes the fortnightly collection of cardboard, plastic and cans in addition to paper.
- Invested additional resources into the removal of fly tips and rubbish as part of the 'Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish Campaign', resulting in a number of major clear up projects in the Bohemia area, Blackman Avenue and Waterworks Road.
- Implemented the recommendations from the Improvement Plan developed following the Best Value Review of Highways, and focused particularly on communicating with the public and website development.
- Succeeded in encouraging all key licensees to sign up to the Bar Watch code of practice in the Town Centre.
Changes and Shortfalls
- After extensive consultation with stakeholders, we developed a new Licensing Policy, published in December 2004. However the Government delayed the implementation of their new licensing regime and we are now transferring records as applications arrive.
- In agreement with DEFRA (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) the timetable to develop an Air Quality Management Action Plan has been delayed, to enable us to review the implications of the proposed Hastings/ Bexhill link road. We are now expecting to submit the plan to DEFRA by Autumn 2005.
- We invested additional resources to ensure that all businesses were inspected under our Health & Safety and Food Safety programme. However after identifying the forums that are currently in operation, we concluded that it would be more productive to work with existing structures rather than set up an additional Local Business Forum.
- Our planned expansion of closed circuit television (CCTV) coverage to provide 24-hour surveillance has been delayed until 2005/06, to enable us to further review the staffing implications of extending the operational hours of the control room.
- Although we have made good progress towards enhancing the town's key car parks and completed the partial resurfacing of Rock a Nore car park, work is still ongoing to install CCTV into the car parks at Rock a Nore, Cornwallis Street, Castle Hill and the Bourne. This will be completed in Summer 2005.
- Although standards of street cleanliness were monitored, the standard of monitoring was not maintained at an appropriate level for the entire year.
- This is being addressed in 2005/06 by the Refuse and Cleansing Team, who are now working more closely with the Warden Service.
- Although we were unable to take part in national Noise Nuisance Day, we were able to raise awareness about noise nuisance issues at the Council's annual Street Fair, where the public were able to find out more about how to deal with noise nuisance.
In 2005/06 we will:
- Implement the Government's 'Together Action' initiative, working with Sussex Police and other partners, to provide an even more effective response to anti-social behaviour and environmental-crime. This will bring together work of the Environmental Protection, Licensing, Warden and Ranger services; the Antisocial Behaviour Unit; the Police and their Community Support Officers in 4 Together Action Zones covering the whole town, with special emphasis on Priority Areas and other identified pockets of deprivation.
- Work with the other members of the Safer Hastings Partnership to implement the Crime Reduction Strategy for 2005/8 and meet the targets set for 2005/06. In particular to ensure the rise in violent crime is halted, domestic violence reduced, and persistent and prolific offenders are targeted to reduce burglary and other crime.
- Support the work of the Domestic Violence Group including the White Ribbon Day and continue to promote their activities through a quarterly newsletter.
- Work with the Police, Housing Associations and other agencies to continue to use Antisocial Behaviour Orders as a means of addressing persistent behaviour that affects the quality of life of local people.
- Introduce fixed penalty tickets for dog fouling and dropping litter.
- Ensure effective implementation of the transfer of liquor and entertainment licensing to the Council.
- Expand the collection of recycled materials to include cardboard and plastic, cans and extend this kerbside scheme to as many households as possible.
- Participate in national campaigns on Food Safety and Health & Safety, to raise public awareness of good practice.
- Agree and begin to implement an action plan to comply with our duties under the Civil Contingencies Act working with the other East Sussex councils, the emergency services and other partners.
- Carry out a comprehensive consultation exercise to inform our decision of whether to extend controlled parking zones into parts of Central St Leonards, and review some elements of the existing scheme.
- Further improve our performance in dealing with untaxed and abandoned vehicles by making our target to respond within one working day of reporting.
- Produce an air quality action plan for the Air Quality Management Area in the Bexhill Road, and submit it to the Government.
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Housing, Communities and Neighbourhoods
In 2004/05 we ...
- Developed a 10 year strategic plan for the Central St. Leonards Housing Renewal Area, began our programme of investing £1m to improve the area and set up a Community Information Centre in Silchester Road.
- Were awarded a further £96,000 Homelessness Grant by the Government, in recognition of the progress we have made in implementing our Homelessness Strategy Action Plan.
- Reduced the need to use Bed and Breakfast accommodation in incidents of homelessness, by working with Registered Social Landlords to provide an additional 37 new homes in 2004/05, bringing the total to 80 new homes since the scheme began in November 2003.
- Implemented the Affordable Warmth Strategy and by promoting energy efficiency and providing financial advice and assistance to fuel poor households, successfully delivered 83% of targets.
- Successfully maintained the Quality Mark for our Housing Advice service following an audit by the Legal Services Commission.
- Made Housing Advice information available on our website to provide advice and support to residents who have lost or may be at risk of losing their home.
- Awarded nearly £650,000 to voluntary and community groups through the Community Partnerships Fund, the Small Grants Fund, the Black & Minority Ethnic Grants Fund and the Community Transport Fund. These fund are administered to strengthen the ability of voluntary and community groups to carry out activities that enhance the quality of life for residents and increase their involvement in the community.
- Appointed Executive Directors as 'Area Champions' in each of the Neighbourhood Renewal Areas to support the delivery of the Local Action Plans developed by Neighbourhood Forums.
- Worked with local people in the Neighbourhood Forums and other partners to deliver the Priority Area Local Action Plans for 2004/05 and developed Local Actions Plans for 2005/06, which will focus on a shared approach to the work of the Council, the County Council, the police, health and other key service providers.
- Worked with Sussex Police to deliver the Policing Priority Area Pilot Project in Central St. Leonards, focusing on a multi agency approach to tackling community concerns on antisocial behaviour, community cohesion and environmental issues.
- Worked as a leading member of the Local Strategic Partnership to implement a Performance Management Framework approach and adopted good management practices, to enable all partners to monitor the progress of Community Strategy targets more effectively and take action to ensure they are delivered.
- Launched the Hastings and St Leonards Seniors' Forum to establish a stronger voice for older people in the town.
- Worked alongside the Disability Forum to raise awareness of disability issues and in particular the impact of the Disability Discrimination Act.
Changes and Shortfalls
- Work with Black & Minority Ethnic (BME) communities was reduced when a key member of staff left their post. We have now appointed a new BME Partnerships Officer and expect them to start work in Summer 2005.
- Delays in major developments, such as the Millennium Community Project, resulted in a shortfall in the number of new affordable homes provided. A total of 14 new affordable homes were provided against our target of providing 75. We expect to encounter similar problems in 2005/06 until the Millennium Community Project progresses.
- Considerable progress has been made in implementing the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) Improvement Plan, but some housing related actions have been delayed. In particular, a new Borough Housing Strategy has not yet been finalised, although we expect to complete this work very shortly.
In 2005/06 we will:
- Continue our focus on improving housing standards in the Central St Leonards Housing Renewal Area through the annual £1m investment of grants to homeowners to renovate their properties.
- Submit our Central St Leonards Masterplan for approval and funding for improving the local environment and public spaces.
- Continue to raise housing standards in the private sector by working with partners in East Sussex to:
- improve living conditions in 200 homes in Houses in Multiple Occupation
- attain the Decent Homes Standard (minimum criteria for homes occupied by vulnerable people) for 30 homes in Central St Leonards
- adapt 100 homes through provision of Disabled Facilities Grants
- Further develop our understanding of the local housing market, including the future supply and demand for all types of housing across all tenures by undertaking a Housing Market Assessment.
- Work with Housing Associations, the Hastings and Bexhill Taskforce and developers to deliver 70 affordable homes.
- Bring an additional 50 units of temporary accommodation into use by working with Housing Associations and the private sector, in order to reduce the use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for homeless households.
- Work with partners to implement the 2005/06 Local Action Plans, developed by local people in the Priority Areas and agreed with service providers.
- Ensure that 50% of residents have a Neighbourhood Forum or similar body to influence services to represent their local area.
- Continue to engage with people with physical disabilities to ensure their needs are considered in decision making, support meetings of the Disability Forum and work with them to build capacity.
- Support meetings of the Seniors Forum and its special interest groups on community safety and transport to ensure older peoples' needs are addressed. Develop a model for engaging formally with the Council and explore ways of promoting intergenerational work.
- Continue to support young people in getting their voices heard through facilitating the Young Persons' Council and an annual conference of young people. Work with partners to continue implementation of the youth strategy and report back to the Local Strategic Partnership.
- Continue to build effective relationships with the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Community and build capacity within groups to ensure their needs are addressed. Undertake an audit of residents in various BME communities and identify languages spoken.
- Allocate grants to community and voluntary groups in line with Council priorities through the Community Partnership Fund; the Small Grants Fund for community initiatives, arts, sport and play activities; and the fund for BME projects.
- Review progress made against the 21 Key targets in the Community Strategy and work with partners in the Local Strategic Partnership to promote the successes and address any shortfalls in performance. We will also undertake a review of the targets to ensure they continue to reflect local priorities.
- Work with partners and the Government Office for the South East to ensure the Local Strategic Partnership continues to develop its role as the 'umbrella' partnership for Hastings, overseeing and co-ordinating action to improve all aspects of life in the town.
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Leisure and Cultural Development
In 2004/05 we ...
- Worked with and consulted with young people and our partners to identify 19 key objectives from our Youth Strategy and consolidate these into a detailed three-year action plan.
- Worked with local schools to engage over 1100 young people in a Young Persons' Panel to establish statistical information, which will enable us to measure the progress of the Youth Strategy.
- Expanded our web pages to promote opportunities for young people to improve their health by participating in sports and leisure activities across the Borough.
- Provided free swimming at Summerfields Leisure Centre throughout the summer holidays for 800 young people, aged 8-16 years, who live in the town.
- Celebrated the restoration of Alexandra Park and its reopening with a Family Fun Day attended by gardening celebrity Charlie Dimmock and 10,000 local people.
- Were awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award for Alexandra Park by the Civic Trust due to our successful community involvement and management of the park.
- In conjunction with the neighbourhood forums, implemented environmental improvements in the priority wards to enhance the overall look of green and open spaces.
- Submitted a bid to obtain funding which will enable us to carry out restoration work in St. Leonards Gardens and West Lodge. The outcome is expected in October 2005.
- Worked with East Sussex County Council, the Arts Council, Hastings College and others to launch the Creative Partnerships project. A Director and team have now been appointed to work with eight local schools to develop creativity in all aspects of learning through art.
Changes and Shortfalls
- Progress in providing indoor tennis courts was delayed when planning permission for a proposed development was turned down. We will continue to look at options for providing indoor provision.
- Although we commenced work on developing an Open Spaces Strategy by carrying out an audit of all the parks and open spaces in the Borough, we have not completed this work and will draft a strategy later this year based on the results of the audit.
- Following a successful Heritage Lottery-Funding bid to improve access to the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, work on the physical development has been delayed. However, we have completed the design work and expect to begin work on site by Autumn 2005.
- Work to produce a Museum Artefacts Catalogue is ongoing and we have begun scanning images from the Museum's wider collection to enable the public to access pictures of artefacts online.
- Work to complete a biodiversity audit was delayed due to other priorities and will now be carried out in 2005/06.
In 2005/06 we will:
- Take action to improve the accessibility of our green spaces and leisure buildings following on from the disability audits carried out recently.
- Implement the actions in the first year of the Management Plan for Hastings Country Park and Countryside Stewardship agreement, and formally designate most of the Park as a Local Nature reserve.
- Following from last year's success, retain the Green Flag Award for Alexandra Park and also apply for a Heritage Award.
- Work with Rother District, the County Council, partners and local people on aspirations for the future development of Pebsham as a Countryside Park.
- Appoint the contractor to deliver Grounds Maintenance services from November 2005, and ensure there is a smooth transition from the existing service when the new contract starts.
- Commence restoration work in St. Leonards Gardens subject to a successful bid for funding.
- Achieve European Seaside Award/Blue Flag status for Pelham Place beach and 'A' Grade result from the Annual Resort Survey.
- Continue to maintain St. Mary in the Castle as an Art Gallery, information point for arts and cultural activities, introduce tours of the building and make the auditorium available for about twenty events during the year.
- Agree and begin to implement a new Arts Development Action Plan. This and similar contributions from Sports and Play development will help us to meet our targets in the Cultural Strategy and the Community Strategy.
- Install six new multi use games areas in the first of a three-year, town wide programme of providing activities for young people, following our successful bid to the Sports England's Active England programme.
- Work with partners to engage young people in community football, as a means of diverting those at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and crime.
- Appoint the contractor to deliver Leisure Facilities Management services from November 2005, and ensure there is a smooth transition from the existing service when the new contract starts.
- Undertake joint feasibility work with Rother District and the County Council on identifying a transit site for Travellers and Gypsies for the Eastern part of the County.
- Introduce a Museums community outreach education programme to work with schools and community groups.
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Communications and Organisational Development
In 2004/05 we ...
- Developed and implemented measures, which would increase our organisational effectiveness by:
- Introducing a management training programme to raise our standards of management, support the development of our staff and improve performance
- Adopting a recruitment and retention policy to attract and retain a workforce with the skills and knowledge we need to deliver our services more effectively.
- Commenced measures to ensure all our buildings comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and began a process of moving staff out of buildings which cannot be adapted, into larger sites which are more accessible to staff and visitors.
- Worked with the community, staff and stakeholders to achieve Level 2 of the Government's Equalities Standard
- Created web pages for all Councillors who wished to utilise the website as an additional resource to provide information for their ward.
- Met our target to ensure 80% of all Council transactions are available to the public either by telephone or the internet.
- Worked with the Hastings && Bexhill Task Force to provide a Broadband Centre in Robertson Street where expert staff give free, impartial advice and training on what broadband (fast internet access) can offer local people and businesses.
- Launched a combined Holiday Guide for Hastings and 1066 Country, which enabled us to share expert local knowledge more efficiently and improve the quality of information available to the travel industry and potential visitors.
- Delivered a marketing campaign to promote Hastings as an attractive town for short breaks and encourage high spending visitors to the area.
- Introduced an effective record management process to ensure we comply with the Freedom of Information Act, launched in January 2005.
Changes and Shortfalls
- We piloted a range of initiatives instead of adopting a formal staff recognition policy. Our fun approach to performance management through PIGSTARS (Performance Indicator Group Stars) has been highlighted by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). We have developed the idea and will be holding a second staff awards ceremony 'GEMs' in June for staff who 'Go the Extra Mile'.
- Work to expand our use of Geographical Information Software (GIS) been delayed. We have chosen a system to make planning and property history available to the public via our website and this will be implemented during 2005/06.
- Work to develop a Green Travel Plan has been delayed. We have consulted staff on their travel to work habits and have developed proposals which are currently being finalised.
- Work to undertake a review of our processes for dealing with administrative tasks, office support and procurement was delayed due to relevant staff supporting office moves.
In 2005/06 we will:
- Report on progress on implementing the Improvement Plan agreed following the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) in 2003. Agree and begin to implement a further 2-year plan that will enable us to achieve excellence when we are next assessed.
- Implement actions from our CPA Improvement Plan to improve our organisational capacity and skills, including staff reward and recognition initiatives and management training programmes. Implement the outcomes of our review of women-friendly employment best practice, to ensure we do not discriminate by gender.
- Achieve level 3 of the Government's Equalities Standard by reviewing all services and key policies in accordance with the Race Relations Act and Equalities Standard.
- Implement our Recruitment and Retention policy to ensure we can recruit to posts where there are national shortages of skilled people and provide opportunities for people to develop careers within the Council.
- Develop in consultation with local groups, and implement initiatives to broaden the representation and contribution of underrepresented groups (eg members of BME communities and people with disabilities) in our workforce.
- Agree and implement a Green Travel Plan for the Council.
- Implement a new and more efficient Geographical Information System (GIS) to make property and planning history available to local people in the form of electronic maps.
- Work with all East Sussex local authorities in the Access East Sussex Partnership, pooling our resources to create countywide computer systems for public information and service delivery.
- Continue our programme of delivering Information and Communication Technology projects to support and streamline the Council's operations to monitor service delivery from request to completion.
- Ensure we keep residents well informed about our services through press releases, promotional leaflets and our own quarterly About Magazine and pilot new techniques of keeping in touch eg text messaging.
- Meet our e-government target of offering a complete package of online information and services by the end of 2005.
- Ensure that the Council responds to all requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act within the time limits set by legislation.
- Ensure all our reports, documents and communications are accessible under the Disability Discrimination Act and are in 'plain' non-technical language.
- Promote positive stories about Hastings, the work of the Council and our partners, including the huge range of Council events, schemes and services we provide.
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Financial and Central Services
In 2004/05 we ...
- Began the implementation of our Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) Improvement Plan, which although we are a 'Good' Council, identifies areas where we can further improve.
- Agreed a process for the Overview & Scrutiny Committees to review the progress of the CPA Improvement Plan and identify areas they would like to review as part of their Scrutiny role.
- Held a Street Fair in October 2004 as part of Local Democracy Week to encourage local people to find out more about what their local Council does and give an opportunity to meet Councillors and staff.
- Were the first local authority to prepare a Climate Change Policy and Action Plan in East Sussex. This addresses the cause and effects of climate change and ensures climate change implications are taken into account when developing new policies or procedures.
- Integrated our Local Taxation and Housing & Council Tax Benefits Services into one department, now called Revenue Services to deliver a more effective and efficient service.
- Carried out a series of communication initiatives to promote awareness about Housing and Council Tax Benefits Entitlement, including displays in Priory Meadow shopping centre and new leaflets offering guidance on all aspects of claiming benefit.
- Undertook a Priorities, Income and Expenditure Review (PIER) in Autumn 2004 which identified £700,000 savings for our 2005/06 budget. Our 3 year Corporate Plan was revised to reflect the outcome of this review.
- Sustained our focus on performance management by continuously involving all our staff in developing, monitoring and reviewing the local performance indicators we use to measure our performance and drive improvements.
- Maintained our commitment to enforcement by prosecuting offenders and publicising these cases to deter others. We successfully prosecuted four offenders for benefit fraud, five offenders for non-compliance with planning notices and an employer for failing to comply with health and safety standards.
Changes and Shortfalls
- Work to install a new Financial Management System to enable us to access 'real time' financial information, was delayed whilst we trained staff across the organisation to use the new system which is now expected to go live in Summer 2005.
In 2005/06 we will:
- Begin implementation of a three-year plan of prioritised actions to make our buildings accessible for all staff, service users and visitors, following the comprehensive disability audit of all premises we occupy.
- Take steps to further develop the effectiveness of the Overview and Scrutiny function to maximise their contribution to the efficient running of the organisation, and raise awareness of the outcomes and successes of Scrutiny Reviews.
- Work in partnership with other East Sussex local authorities to develop and begin the implementation of a joint plan for improving service efficiency.
- Agree and begin to implement the Council's Climate Change Action Plan setting out how we will reduce our CO2 emissions, and build on our already successful work by reducing our energy consumption by a further 5%.
- Continue to develop our Best Practice approach to performance management by involving staff in the development and monitoring of their services' work programme and publishing regular reports on our website about our performance against national and local targets.
- Improve the way we capture information about both the complaints and positive feedback we receive, demonstrate how we learn from our experiences, and make more systematic the way we share good practice.
- In line with national best practice, build on our good practice locally and undertake a programme of initiatives to improve the cost efficiency of our procurement activities.
- Raise awareness of benefit entitlement, particularly among non-claimants and undertake outreach work to encourage residents who are entitled to Housing and Council Tax Benefit to apply, as part of implementing our Benefits Take Up and Publicity Policy.
- Continue to monitor Benefits applications to a high standard to prevent fraud from entering the system and ensuring the right amount of benefit is paid to the right people.
- Continue to improve service delivery by working towards all national targets for benefit processing in line with the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Action Plan and the Department for Work and Pensions Performance standards.
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Plan, Do and Review
We have stated in this document what we have achieved in 2004/05, our 10 priorities for the next 3-5 years and what actions we will take towards delivering them in 2005/06. This planning and reviewing is part of our Performance Management Framework, which has three main areas - plan; do; and review.
How well are we doing?
Comprehensive Performance Assessment
In 2003/04 the Council underwent an inspection by the Audit Commission known as a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). The Commission ranked Hastings Borough Council as "good" on a scale of excellent/good/fair/weak/poor. The assessment covered the whole of the Council looking at corporate governance and community leadership as well as service delivery. More details of the assessment, including the Audit Commission's Inspection Report can be viewed on the website at http://www.hastings.gov.uk/cpa/default.aspx along with our Self Assessment.
We welcomed the Good rating given by the Audit Commission and aspire to an Excellent rating at the next performance assessment - whenever that may be and we await the Audit Commission's proposals for District Council's CPA later this summer.
Improvement Planning
We considered the Audit Commission's comments along with our own performance self-assessment and devised an Improvement Plan to address areas of weakness.
Our Improvement Plan focuses on:
- Increasing our capacity to maintain good quality services while still contributing to the expanding regeneration programme
- Increasing the effectiveness of Scrutiny and ensuring activities are an important aid to focus
- Improving our learning processes and increasing customer satisfaction
- Achieving a higher profile for waste management issues and a greater emphasis on waste minimisation education and awareness
- Complying with the Disability Discrimination Act (for our office accommodation, public areas and open spaces)
- Having corporate contracts for energy
- A more strategic approach to meeting young people's leisure needs
- Improving our research, policies, guidance and processes for balancing housing markets
Progress against this Improvement Plan has been made and many aspects have been reported on in the previous chapters referring to performance in 2004/05. In the autumn the Audit Commission will assess our 'Direction of Travel' and identify whether we have made 'Significant Improvement', 'Some Improvement', 'No Improvement' or if we are 'Weakening'.
Some notable improvements are that we:
- Identified £700,000 savings/increased income by prioritising our income and expenditure, and over £1m of efficiency savings for 2005/06. This enabled us to use resources to improve our capacity.
- Agreed our Retention and Recruitment Policy and took measures eg payment of market supplements for hard to recruit to jobs and the funding of career grades
- Made significant progress in implementing our accommodation strategy
Areas for further improvement include:
- Ensuring we hit the 18% recycling target now that we have been successful in obtaining external funds to increase our recycling capacity and promotion.
- Finishing putting measures into place that mean we achieve Investors in People status in November 2005
Best Value
One of the ways we continually identify improvements to our services is through Best Value Reviews. Since April 2000 we have undertaken 24 such reviews to:
- Challenge the way we provided services and identify the improvements that can be made.
- Compare our performance and the way we do things with the best.
- Consult with local people, service users, staff and the wider business community on quality and effectiveness of these services.
- Confirm whether we are competitive compared to other providers of services and, if not, examine the potential for other providers to be involved in delivering these services.
Each review results in an Improvement Plan stating how we will improve the service/function and sets targets that are monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.
Review Programme
The Government guidance issued in March 2003 stated that Councils should balance the effort and resources put into a review against the potential gains. With this in mind we undertook a Scrutiny Review of Best Value, which identified an improvement plan and criteria for selecting future areas for review as:
- The importance of a review to members of the public
- The relation to the Council priorities
- The degree of impact that a review may have
- The likelihood of the review producing tangible results
- The availability of resources to undertake the review
- Timescales by which a review needs to be undertaken (particularly policy development and the need to meet external deadlines)
2004/05
The Best Value Review programme for 2004/05 included two reviews - Enforcement and Housing Advice:
Enforcement - The review looked at what could be done to improve the Council's service delivery of enforcement carried out by the street and open spaces based staff ie Street Wardens, Dog Wardens, Parking Attendants, Park Rangers and Community Wardens.
The review concluded that:
In undertaking its enforcement duties, using a number of street and open spaces staff, the Council provides a good service and plays an important role in carrying out these enforcement activities which have a key impact on the environment and quality of life issues for local people.
Areas for improvement included:
- The need to secure mainstream funding
- The need to encourage a more joined up and cohesive approach to tackling community safety and related issues
- Investigating the feasibility of establishing a single point of contact for all street and open spaces based staff
Since the review the Street, Dog and Community Wardens have formed a generic Warden Service providing a more joined up approach.
Housing Advice - Following the publication of the Hastings Borough Council Homelessness Strategy in 2003 it was agreed to undertake a Best Value Review of Hastings Borough Council Housing Advice Services. During 2004, Housing Quality Network Services carried out a review of housing advice services available throughout the Borough. We concluded that it would be wise to feed the results of this work into Best Value Review.
Once the Housing Quality Network Service review had been completed we commenced the Best Value Review of Housing Advice. We are focusing on the provision of housing advice by Hastings Borough Council and will review how this service is delivered, explore options for greater efficiency and effectiveness. We aim to complete by Autumn 2005.
2005/06 Best Value Review Programme
The focus of implementing our Comprehensive Performance Assessment Improvement Plan and carrying out a significant programme of Scrutiny Reviews means, that we have limited our Best Value Review programme in 2005/06 and will review the Council's Cash Collection Service.
Scrutiny Reviews
Scrutiny Reviews undertake a detailed assessment of a service which affects the quality of life of local people. The reviews are carried out by a Review Group made up of 4 non-Cabinet Councillors from all parties. The Review Group examines how and why services are provided in a particular way, and identifies improvements which are recommended to the Cabinet.
In 2004/05 Scrutiny Reviews on the Cliff Railways, Electoral Register and Bus Services were undertaken and will be completed in 2005/06.
Public Service Agreements
Public service agreements are agreements between the County Council and the Government to stretch targets and performance in specific priority areas. On agreement of the targets, the Government allocates 'pump-priming' money to help achieve the targets, and also rewards the Council if the targets are met. We have chosen to enter into four Local Public Service Agreements with East Sussex County Council to improve specific areas in Hastings. These are set out below:
- To improve 470 private rented housing units with particular focus on fire safety by March 2006.
- To halt the increase of violent crime in a public place. - To increase the reporting of domestic violence by 15% in the Hastings area and to reduce repeat incidence of domestic violence in the Hastings area by 15% over three years where there is power of arrest.
- To improve delivery and value for money of local services by overall annual improvements in cost effectiveness of 2% or more.
The District Auditor's View
The Audit Commission assess how well we are managing public money, and the arrangements we have in place to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of our resources. They review each Local Performance Plan we produce including the arrangements we have in place to report Performance Indicators (PIs). In the Statutory report produced on the 2004/05 Performance Plan, the Audit Commission reported that:
"We have audited the Council's 2004-05 best value performance plan and are satisfied that it complies with statutory requirements. The Plan provides useful information on the Council's activities, aspirations and achievements. It is both informative and attractively designed."
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Measuring Up
'Best Value' is all about making sure that our services offer good value for money. With this in mind, the Government has introduced a set of measures against which all local authorities must assess their performance. To help you decide whether or not we are measuring up, we have put our 'performance indicator' information into tables in each relevant chapter of this Plan.
Two Types Of Indicator
Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs)
The Government sets these indicators nationally. Only those relevant to the Borough Council are listed. The majority of the BVPIs were introduced in 2000/01, however there have been changes in each subsequent year, with some BVPIs being deleted or amended and some new BVPIs added. The Government consulted with local authorities in 2004 and made further changes to the BVPIs for 2005/06. We have introduced these changes where appropriate. We expect a major revision of the BVPIs for 2005/06 to better inform progress towards national agendas and our next Comprehensive Performance Assessment.
Local Performance Indicators (LPIs)
Local Authorities are encouraged to develop local indicators in addition to the BVPIs specified by the Government. We have introduced local PIs, to enable us to measure effectively whether we are achieving our service objectives, 10 priorities and Community Strategy targets. We started monitoring these in 2004/05, although some were already in place in 2003/04.
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Managing your Money
This statement provides an overview of:
- The Council's medium term financial strategy;
- Revenue expenditure; and
- Capital investment plans for the period to 31 March 2008.
In preparing the revenue and capital estimates, account has been taken of the Council's priority objectives and its medium term financial plan.
Medium Term Financial Plan
The Council is a relatively high spending authority and its annual spending is only sustainable by the use of reserves built from savings in previous years. Once these reserves have been used, annual spending will need to be reduced in real terms.
We need to respond to this and other anticipated changes in our resource base. Therefore we will continue our wide-ranging review of spending priorities, costs and income to ensure that the use of external funds are maximised. We will also continue to promote income generating initiatives, including the use of powers to trade as appropriate.
The Council will continue to need to find money to support new initiatives that reflect stakeholder priorities. These can only be financed from external sources or by re-focusing existing budgets or by generating additional income.
We will aim to reduce Council expenditure or increase income to a level that is sustainable in the medium term and which is focused on our shared core priorities.
The Council seeks to maximise investment initiatives by gaining external finance from the Government and our other partners. The revenue consequences of investment expenditure are taken into account in our forward revenue expenditure planning.
Revenue Expenditure
The allocation of resources to services is:
Communications & Organisational Development:
Last Year: Spend £'m: 3.5
Income £'m: 0.5
This Year: Spend £'m: 3.8
Income £'m: 0.2
Environment & Safety:
Last Year: Spend £'m: 9.8
Income £'m: 5.9
This Year: Spend £'m: 10.0
Income £'m: 6.0
Housing, Communities & Neighbourhoods:
Last Year: Spend £'m: 8.3
Income £'m: 2.9
This Year: Spend £'m: 7.5
Income £'m: 3.1
Leisure & Cultural Development:
Last Year: Spend £'m: 7.0
Income £'m: 1.6
This Year: Spend £'m: 7.2
Income £'m: 1.5
Central Services (including Finance):
Last Year: Spend £'m: 44.0
Income £'m: 42.2
This Year: Spend £'m: 46.6
Income £'m: 45.2
Regeneration & Planning:
Last Year: Spend £'m: 7.2
Income £'m: 4.8
This Year: Spend £'m: 4.6
Income £'m: 2.5
Total Last Year:
Spend £'m: 79.8
Income £'m: 57.9
Total This Year:
Spend £'m: 79.7
Income £'m: 58.5
Net Service Expenditure:
Last Year: £'m: 21.9
This Year: £'m: 21.2
Net Capital Financing and Interest Charges:
Last Year: £'m: (7.7)
This Year: £'m: (5.7)
Reserves, Contingency and Other Items:
Last Year: £'m: (0.6)
This Year: £'m: (1.4)
Totals:
Last Year: £'m: 13.6
This Year: £'m: 14.1
Last year's provisional overall net expenditure is generally in line with original budget expectations.
This year's net revenue expenditure is supported by a Council Tax increase of 3.8% to ensure that we continue to develop and invest in our services, and encourage others, to meet the needs of our residents. This year's net expenditure is funded by:
Government Grant: £'m 8.2
Local Council Tax: £'m 5.9
Total: £'m 14.1
The budget has been framed to resource the priorities and initiatives set out elsewhere in this Local Performance Plan.
Investment Expenditure
In formulating the investment programme, reference has been made to the following scheme criteria:
(a) is of a major social, physical or economic regeneration nature;
(b) meets the objective of sustainable development;
(c) levers in other sources of finance such as partnership/lottery funding, or provide a financial return to the Council;
(d) does not incur ongoing revenue costs (in addition to financing costs) or reduces ongoing revenue costs to assist the revenue budget.
Over the planning period to 31st March 2008 the Council plans to invest £43.4m in Hastings & St Leonards. This relates to:
Communications & Organisational Development
£'m: 0.6
Environment & Safety
£'m: 3.2
Housing, Communities & Neighbourhoods
£'m: 13.5
Leisure & Cultural Development
£'m: 6.2
Central Services (including Finance)
£'m: 3.5
Regeneration & Planning
£'m: 16.4
This investment expenditure is heavily dependent on external funding sources.
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Corporate Governance
Statement of assurance on Corporate Governance and Internal Control Systems
Scope of responsibility
Hastings Borough Council acknowledges its responsibility for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently, and effectively. In discharging this accountability, Members and Senior Officers are responsible for ensuring proper arrangements for the accountability of the Council's affairs and the stewardship of the resources at its disposal. The Council's corporate governance arrangements are set out in a Local Code of Corporate Governance, which was agreed by Cabinet on 28th April 2003. The Local Code is consistent with the principles and reflects the requirements of the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework Corporate Governance in Local Government: A Keystone for Community Governance.
Hastings Borough Council is also responsible for ensuring that there is a sound system of internal control which facilitates the effective exercise of its functions and which includes arrangements for the management of risk.
Purpose of the system of internal control
The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure. It can, therefore, provide reasonable (but not absolute) assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an ongoing processes designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of Hastings Borough Council's policies, priorities, and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised, the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically. Increasingly, the emphasis is on 'positive' controls to ensure the achievement policies, priorities, and objectives, rather than 'negative' controls for the avoidance of risk.
The internal control environment
Key elements of the internal control environment include:
- Processes for maintaining internal control include a framework of regular management information, financial regulations, administrative procedures (including segregation of duties), management supervision, and a system of delegation and accountability.
- A performance management system that includes commentary on service-level risk, the setting of targets for service delivery and monitoring of performance against targets and plans.
- An internal Audit and Investigations Division that reports to an Audit Committee
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment, carried out by the Audit Commission in 2003-04, gave internal financial control the maximum score.
Commitment to continuous improvement
In accordance with its commitment to continuous improvement, during 2004-05 the Council put in place new committee arrangements to enable it to satisfy itself that its approach to the delivery of its priorities is both adequate and effective.
Financial regulations, Contract Standing Orders and Finance Operational Procedures have been revised to ensure the full accountability of all Members and Officers.
Processes for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control
The key process for review is the Council's internal audit provision. In May 2004, the Benefit fraud investigation unit combined with internal audit to create the Audit and Investigations Division. The division now consists of 8 people: two Group Auditors, one assistant auditor in training, and an investigations team of 4. The Chief Auditor manages the division. The Audit and Investigations Division operates to the standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The Audit Commission monitors compliance with these standards, and in the recent Comprehensive Performance Assessment, gave the internal audit service the maximum score.
The risk-based internal audit programme provides a continuous programme of review of corporate governance and risk management arrangements, together with the audit of the systems of internal control, including the accounting systems.
The Chief Auditor reports the findings of each audit review to the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive, and the Audit Committee. Annually, the Chief Auditor provides an opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Corporate Governance arrangements and systems of internal control to the Audit Committee.
Signatures
On the basis of the Chief Auditor's report, we are satisfied that the Council's Corporate Governance arrangements and internal control systems are adequate and operating effectively.
Signatures:
Leader:
Chief Executive:
Deputy Chief Executive:
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Addendum to original Plan: Transfers of Staff
1 member of staff was transfered back to Council employment from Onyx during the year. This transfer was conducted in accordance with the Code of Pracice on Workforce Matters in Local Authority Service Contracts.
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This page last updated: 19/12/2006
