Each of the 59 major strategies and plans currently in operation, many of which are statutory, has been assigned to one of the Council’s six priorities.  Figure 1 shows the integration of Community Priorities with Council Priorities, how the strategies, statutory plans and business plans come together and their direct relationship with Partnership Forums, Cabinet portfolio holders, Scrutiny and Review Panels and Council Directors.

Business plans provide a framework of activity consistent with the new corporate political and management structures, which will see many of the “day to day” management decisions, previously made by the Council, delegated to Officers.  The new structure builds upon years of a business planning culture within Bournemouth interwoven with the delivery of Council priorities aligned to the Community Plan.  The annual approval of business plans by Council, together with their monitoring by Scrutiny and Review Panels, ensures that services are corporately defined at the highest level and their performance regularly assessed against targets.  This is enhanced through business plans incorporating Best Value Action Plans and budgets, and these being supported by and complementing the Financial Strategy.

Our Best Value framework concentrates on connecting community priorities from the Community Plan, corporate priorities from the Best Value Performance Plan and service priorities in our business plans. 

These are then communicated to individual staff work programmes, through PADR (Personal Achievement and Development Reviews).  In this way, our approach is driven by local priorities based upon a well-established business planning process meeting statutory requirements.

The Best Value Performance Plan, Business Plans and Budgets are inter-linked forming the basis of decision-making and priority setting.  Members have been involved in all aspects of the Review process, which has generated a wide level of understanding and good collaboration between Members and Officers.  Major cross-cutting reviews completed or under way include transportation, culture, community safety, IT, children and older people.

Bournemouth as a new Unitary Council in 1997 has come a long way in a short time.  As only the fourth Unitary Authority to achieve Investors in People for the whole organisation in 1999, internal communication is a strength and our Personal Achievement and Development Reviews for staff, link the Business Plan to their job roles.  We work with staff, unions, managers and Members to implement and improve frameworks which reflect the Council’s responsibilities as a major employer, who value their staff, including equality, training and development, recruitment and a new grading structure, aligning these to our corporate goals.

Financial Planning

The Unitary Council has operated within a planned financial environment using three-year revenue budget forecasts that have enabled longer-term decision-making and sustainability of service levels.  As a result decisions have been taken that have switched resources between competing priorities, responded to Government initiatives (such as passporting Education Statutory Spending Assessment increases) and allowed individual services to develop financially viable business plans. 

The establishment of the Community Plan and the modernisation of the Council has brought with it a need to identify accountabilities and responsibilities more clearly, with the recognition that resource allocation techniques could be improved. 

This has led to a new Financial Framework being approved as part of the new modernised arrangements and took effect from 1 April 2002.  This ensures that all the plans of the Council are financially sustainable and that mechanisms are in place to identify changing priorities and redirect resources as necessary. 

The Financial Framework forms part of the Councils Constitution and sets out the procedures and responsibilities for Cabinet Members, all Council Members, Directors, Heads of Business Unit and other Senior Officers and relating to:

• Managing Budgets by the Cabinet on a monthly basis from the 1^st Quarter of 2002/03
• Managing Budgets by the Scrutiny and Review Panels on a Quarterly basis
• Virement of Revenue Funding between services within a Cabinet Portfolio that must be approved by the Portfolio Holder and funding between Portfolios which must be agreed by the full Cabinet.

More detail is given in the Summary of Recommendations of the Best Value Service Review on Financial Services, to view this section click here.

With the formation of the Cabinet, Portfolio Holders will work closely with the Directors and monitor monthly financial position statements.  Any variation from Budget must be shared with Cabinet members and steps taken to check any overspends and underspends, both actual and estimated at an early stage.

In July 2002, the Cabinet will be presenting a Financial Strategy for Resource Allocation for recommendation to Council. This will enable priorities to be identified and resources allocated accordingly.

Council expects service levels to be maintained and wherever possible to be improved. Cabinet will need to evaluate services in line with Best Value and to review our assets.

Monitoring Arrangements

Each Scrutiny and Review Panel is responsible for monitoring the performance of their associated portfolio and ensuring that the Best Value Performance Plan is delivered.  They will monitor service performance and spending through quarterly reports based on the Business Plans, which include the outcome of the Best Value Service Reviews and local performance indicators and targets linked to the Best Value Performance Plan.  They will also receive quarterly reports on the national performance indicators.

Scrutiny and Review Panels will raise areas of concern or issues which need to be addressed through recommendations to the Cabinet.