Agenda item

Best City Ambition

To consider and comment upon the initial proposals for the Best City Ambition, which has been designed to replace the Best Council Plan.

Minutes:

The Head of Democratic Services presented a report on proposals for the Best City Ambition which will replace the Best City Council Plan.

 

Unfortunately, the officer due to attend for this item had to submit his apologies at short notice. However, due to timescales the item could not be deferred, officers present offered to provide information where they could.

 

At its meeting on 10th November 2021, Members of Council resolved to approve the necessary constitutional amendments to enable adoption of the Best City Ambition. Council requested a report be brought to the February 2022 meeting detailing the final proposals for adoption of the Best City Ambition.

 

The Executive Board at its meeting in December 2021, agreed a period of public consultation on the proposals.

 

As required by the budget and Policy Framework it was also agreed that the proposals would be referred to Scrutiny for consideration and comments, to inform Executive Board in its final proposals.

 

Members’ discussions included the following:

·  A requested that officers consider the language that is used when writing reports, especially if the subject matter is for public consultation. Officers should use plain English and provide explanations for the use of certain language and acronyms.

·  The plan did not include housing in the inner-city areas and Members were of the view that this should be included.  It was the view that better housing with green space would improve the health and well-being of inner-city communities. It was noted that a report in relation to Housing Mix Inquiry was due to be presented at the next meeting of this Scrutiny Board.

·  The aspirational and ambitious goals set out in the plan could in some cases be considered to be contradictory. However, it was recognised that measuring, monitoring and consulting on issues and work with partners was crucial for the success of the plan.

·  Members were of the view that the plan did not make mention of disabled people. It was the view that the plan needed to be more inclusive on issues of accessibility.

·  The Board were of the view that inclusive growth should be looked at as a priority across the whole city not just focusing on certain areas.

·  Measurable outcomes were required to enable the Council to look back and identify what had been achieved and what needed to be reviewed. Members were advised that the Social Progress Index to be discussed later in the meeting would be able to address this.

·  Members wanted to know how the plan would be supported. It was noted that the Best City Plan already used numerous Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to measure progress and achievements. It was proposed that these KPIs would be reviewed and where applicable those indicators would continue to be used for the Best City Ambition plan. The plan would also include new indicators where required to ensure that the right issues were being measured. Performance reports would still be presented to Corporate Leadership Team, Directorate Management Teams, Scrutiny Boards and via an annual performance report to Executive Board. 

 

 

RESOLVED – That the comments and recommendations be included in a composite statement with the views of all five Scrutiny Boards to be provided to the Executive Board in February before final proposals are referred to Council.

 

Supporting documents: