Agenda item

Following the May 2019 elections, the formation of a new Council and a new administration, this report requests agreement for the Council’s main strategic targets to try to achieve between 2019 and 2023.

            The Leader of the Council, Councillor Dr Walsh, presented this report and stated that the Council currently had three main aims; to deliver the best services; to support those that needed help; and to plan in the future.  These aims would remain.  However, as a result of the new administration the Council needed to be clear what it wanted to achieve.  The strategic targets set out in the report had been worked up with the Council’s Senior Management Team.

The report set out the new proposed strategic targets which would take the Council through to 2023.  The targets had been set out in the Appendix to the report and had been divided into priority order.

Councillor Dr Walsh stated that by agreeing these additional targets, the Council’s Chief Executive would be able to allocate resources to try to achieve them, in an agreed way and within an agreed timetable.

In debating the report varying comments were made.

It was outlined that the six items listed as being of high priority should be considered with caution.  This was because when tasks were listed as a high priority and urgent, they were often not achieved – there was the potential for an element of overload in terms of available Officer time and the timescales confirmed, was this achievable? 

There were Councillors who were disappointed with the targets and they felt that they showed a lack of ambition.  There were no targets looking at the health and well-being of the District; or about the need for residents to be able to own their own home; and nothing about the seafront areas of either side of the District.  These Councillors asked how public engagement would be achieved.  Some questioned why there was such urgent pressure to change the governance arrangements of the Council as a high priority rather than focusing upon the care of the District’s residents.  Concern was also expressed over the financial impact of completing some of the targets, especially as some of these were unknown or to be confirmed.  Councillors asked for the financial gaps to be filled and wished to know how these areas would be funded.  There was concern that this would result in residents having to pay yet another increase in Council Tax next year. 

Another point of concern was that the Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Chapman, had not been fully involved in the work undertaken in progressing the targets to reach this final stage as suggested by the report.  The Chief Executive confirmed that Councillor Chapman had only been initially involved at the start of the process and not at later stages.

Debate then focused on those supporting the targets put forward.  The point was made that the Appendix was not a business plan but a confirmed route as to how, if accepted, the targets would be achieved.  The aim behind all targets was to improve the lives and quality of lives for Arun’s residents - tackling climate change was highlighted as a significant part of this.

            As a new administration it had been essential to set out the future direction for the Council.  The new targets proposed were in addition to what the Council was already working hard to achieve for its residents.  It was accepted that some targets would cost money, however a lot of work was underway to ensure that as far as possible targets would make the Council financially buoyant, this had been why a Commercial & Acquisition’s Manager post be created to allow the Council to make money and to the relieve pressure on council tax payers.  It was highlighted that the Council needed to run like a business; tackling the varying wage levels across the District which contributed to the affordable housing problem in Arun.

            Councillor Oppler, as proposer of the recommendations, stated that urgent regeneration was needed and that this had to happen now.  The Towns of Littlehampton and Bognor Regis were crying out for regeneration and it was essential to look at developing a new planning framework to deliver priorities whilst continuing to deliver the Local Plan whilst improving the quality of life for residents. 

As proposer to the recommendations, Councillor Dr Walsh, reminded Councillors that as the strategic targets were developed all Councillors would have the opportunity to debate them as they would all report through the decision-making process of the Council, via a Committee or Sub-Committee in the future. The proposals presented were a list in order of deliverability, not priority, for the Council and set an indication as to what this might cost.  He reassured Councillors that they were not being asked to make any financial decisions now as this would come later.  These were the priorities of the new administration.  These were tough targets, but he believed were deliverable in the life of this Council.

The Council

                        RESOLVED – That

(1)           that the strategic targets, timetable, route to achieve them and ‘Lead Member;’ as shown in the Appendix to the report be agreed; and

(2)          The financial impact of these new targets be noted with the Council seeking to establish financial viability through future Medium-Term Financial Strategies (MTFS).