Annual Performance Report 2011-12 - South Northamptonshiremodgov.southnorthants.gov.uk › documents › s686 › Appendix D... · 2014-12-01 · Page | 3 South Northamptonshire Council

South Northamptonshire Council

Annual Performance Report

2011-12

working to preserve, protect and enhance South Northamptonshire

Page | 2 South Northamptonshire Council

Contents

Page

Introduction 3

Welcome to South Northamptonshire 4-6

Priorities and Performance at South Northamptonshire Council 7-8

2011 / 2012 – A Year of Achievement 9-15

Managing Our Resources 16

Looking Forward – Our Priorities for 2012/13 17-19

Contacting the Council 20


Introduction

Welcome to our Annual Report which provides a high level overview of the Council’s performance and achievements over 2011/12. It sits alongside our Business Plan which sets out our long term vision and strategic priorities for South Northamptonshire and this report sets out our achievements under each of these priorities. The last year has seen a good deal of change affecting all local authorities and we are proud to be able to report a year of strong performance. Across all of our strategic priorities and key projects we are able to report progress whilst delivering significant savings and managing the impact of the economic downturn upon the Councils services as our budgets reduce. Indeed our strong management of resources has been recognised and our finance team has won a national award ‘finance team of the year 2011/2012’. Against a background of rapidly reducing financial resources our performance over the last year and our plans for the future ensure we have been able to freeze council tax and set a sustainable budget for the long term to maintain services and continue to deliver major projects to support the economic sustainability of the district. The Council continues to focus on maintaining strong good standards of service, whilst controlling costs to its communities. Over the coming years we have exciting plans for Moat Lane regeneration, sustainable development in Brackley and Towcester and significant economic development opportunities at Silverstone. Our challenge is to balance growth with protecting and preserving the quality of the built and natural environment of our district. We remain committed to drive down costs and deliver sustainable efficiencies in order to achieve a balanced budget year on year. We hope you find this report interesting and if you would like any more information about the priorities and performance of this council please get in touch using the details on page 20. Councillor Mary Clarke Sue Smith

Leader of South Northamptonshire Council

Chief Executive, Cherwell District and South Northamptonshire Councils


Welcome to South Northamptonshire Location Profile South Northamptonshire is a mainly rural district, covering an area of approximately 634 km2 (26.8% of the area of the county), and with a growing population of about 88,800 people. The district consists of two historic market towns – Brackley (with 13,750 people) and Towcester (with 9,700 people), 96 villages and 78 parishes.

With its central location, halfway between London and Birmingham, easy access to the M1 and M40 motorways and a number of rail stations, South Northamptonshire is a great location for commuters and businesses. The Silverstone Circuit, as well as attracting a number of visitors through the year, is also a significant employer, home to a number of internationally recognised, high-technology motorsport industries. Building on its current success there are ambitious plans to develop the circuit further with new facilities including a university technology college and plans for 4500 new jobs. Rolling countryside, the canal network, stately homes and other natural and cultural attractions have helped the district’s tourism industry to grow. Development and growth are centred on the market towns of Brackley and Towcester. The employment rate in South Northamptonshire is high, compared to the regional and national average, at 77.6% of 16-64 year olds occupied. Figures have consistently shown that South Northamptonshire has a lower percentage of younger people in the Job Seekers Allowance claimant numbers than the regional and national average.


South Northamptonshire Key Facts:

People

Projections by the Office for National Statistics for South Northamptonshire predict a rise in population from 88,800 to 100,000 by 2019 and 111,000 by 2030. (ONS data 2010)

Population projections over the next 15 years show a marked reduction in the number of younger people (0-19), a reduction in 20-44 age groups and an aging population.

The Office for National Statistics have projected that from 2007–2017 South Northamptonshire will have the 2nd largest increase in the country in the number of people aged 65 and over at 50%.

Wellbeing

Life expectancy for men in the district is 80.4 years and 83.9 years for women. This is above the England averages of 78.3 and 82.3.

South Northamptonshire is ranked 323rd of 326 local authorities, making us one of the least deprived districts in the country and no South Northants residents live in any of the 20% most deprived areas nationally.

Education

According to 2010 results, South Northamptonshire has a higher attainment level compared to the county and nationally in each of the key stages shown, although this gap has narrowed in recent years.

South Northamptonshire has a higher proportion of young people aged 16-18 in post compulsory education compared to the county overall.

Economy

There were 4,845 VAT registered businesses in South Northants in 2010 an increase in 255 from the previous year.

In South Northamptonshire there are 64 jobs for every 100 working age resident in the district. This is a much lower density in comparison to neighbouring Milton Keynes (0.94) and Northampton (0.96). Low job density and limits on accessibility to public transport add to the difficulties some young people in the district may have in finding employment.

Housing and

Transport

South Northamptonshire is located close to major national transport road networks. However, the geography of the district means that some residents in the more rural areas and with limited access to transport may feel isolated.

78% of properties in the district are owner occupied, 7% are private rentals and 11% are rented from registered social landlords.

Despite a fall in house prices over recent years, the average house price in South Northants remains above the national average.


South Northamptonshire: map of the district

Other sources of useful information about South Northamptonshire:

Ward profiles

Health profile

State of the economy

Population estimates

Youth profile

Deprivation profile

All online at http://www.southnorthants.gov.uk/2964.htm

http://www.southnorthants.gov.uk/2964.htm


Priorities and Performance at South Northamptonshire Council South Northamptonshire Council has an annual cycle of business planning which

ensures resources and activities are aligned around our long term strategic priorities

and vision.

This annual cycle is underpinned by a rigorous approach to budget setting aimed at

identifying opportunities for increased efficiency and performance. We also have a

transformation programme, which through working in partnership with other local

authorities, aims to deliver significant savings whilst protecting frontline services.

Vision

We will show strong leadership across South Northamptonshire to preserve what’s special, protect the vulnerable and enhance performance.

Enhance

performance

Preserve what’s

special

Protect the vulnerable

Key Objectives

Financial viability Environmental

well-being

Benefits, welfare advice and housing

Partnership working Economic

well-being Transport

Effective communications

Social

well-being

Neighbourhood services

Customer service

Transformation Programme


Managing our performance Performance management is part of our assurance and accountability process, it

helps us ensure we are focused on the delivery of our strategic and operational

objectives and helps demonstrate to elected Members and local residents where we

are achieving and where issues or challenges are arising.

As part of our business planning process we align resources to our priorities and each

service produces an operational plan which demonstrates how it will deliver against

the strategic priorities.

During the service planning process all council employees are set personal objectives

and targets which outline how they will contribute to delivery.

Reporting our performance South Northamptonshire Council reviews its performance on a quarterly basis and

these performance updates are published on our website. In addition to the senior

management team the Council’s Cabinet and Review and Development Committees

also consider performance issues. This document provides an annual summary of our

achievements and is supported by our corporate business plan and quarterly

performance management reports.

Vision

Strategic Priorities

Operational Outcomes

Outputs

Inputs

Effective

strategy

Effective

delivery

Performance

management


2011/12 A Year of Achievement

During 2011/12 we have focused our efforts on delivery against our strategic priorities. We have reduced our costs through partnership working, procurement and efficiencies and ensured that our core services are as accessible and customer focused as possible. Whilst we are not complacent we believe our successes in 2011/12 strongly reflect our commitment to performance. This section provides a summary of our achievements. More information about our performance, including detailed quarterly reports can be found on our website. http://www.southnorthants.gov.uk

Enhancing our performance

Financial viability To ensure the financial viability of the Council over the

five year life of the medium term financial plan whilst protecting services as far as possible.

Our work to reduce council costs is based on an innovative transformation programme which aims to protect frontline services through:

Effective procurement

Exploration of joint working with other councils

Improving service efficiency, for example getting more of our services available online

During 2011/12 this programme ensured we were able to freeze council tax

for the coming year and our budget for service delivery has reduced from £10.9 million in 2011/12 to £9.8 million in 2012/13.

http://www.southnorthants.gov.uk/


Partnership working To participate in partnerships which benefit the public.

During 2011/12 the Council has entered into a partnership with our neighbouring authority Cherwell District. As a result of this partnership we have implemented a number of joint working and shared services activities which have resulted in savings. These activities include:

A joint senior management team

A shared building control service

A joint democratic and elections team

A shared ICT service

Advanced plans for shared support services including finance, procurement, performance and administration.

Other successful partnership activities include: Working with Yardley Gobion Parish Council to secure funding from the

department for Communities and Local Government for a pilot neighbourhood planning scheme.

The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership has been established and the Leader of South Northamptonshire Council is a member of the board. A Chief Executive for the partnership has now been appointed and the aim of the partnership is to maximise investment for the area. Priorities for South Northamptonshire include: supporting company growth at the Silverstone circuit, closing infrastructure gaps and tourism growth.


To ensure we understand what people want and that people understand what we do.

Effective communications remains a priority for the council and over the last year we have worked to build relationships with the local media to improve the amount of information available to the public. Over the last year the amount of coverage the council has received in the local media has increased by 5% and this helps local residents find out more about our services. Areas of communications focus over the last year have included the water meadows in Towcester winning a national award, the development of Moat Lane, and work to campaign against High Speed Rail Link 2 which affects a significant proportion of the district. Over the year we have also published three editions of SNC review delivered to households across the district the publication provides information about council services and local events.


Customer service To provide strong customer service as efficiently,

effectively and economically as possible

Providing accessible and high quality customer service has been a longstanding priority for the council. This includes improving access to our service via our website, answering calls effectively, customer satisfaction and managing complaints.

Key achievements in 2011/12 include:

Customer satisfaction – we use the ‘gov metric’ system to assess our customer service which enables people to rate us across the three service channels (face to face, telephone and web). Over 2011/12 performance has remained consistent with face to face and telephone contact rated as good throughout the year and the web rated as average. Comparative information is also provided and during 11/12 we have appeared in the top ten best authorities on 6 occasions.

During 2011/12 our website achieved a 3 star rating from the Society of IT Managers. This represents an improvement on our rating of 1 star in the previous year and follows a fundamental redesign and improved ability to book and pay for services online. The maximum score available is 4 stars and we are aiming to continue to improve the quality and usage of our website during 2012/13.

Key performance measures:

Measure Target 2011/12

Performance at year end

Website usage Improvement

on 2010/11

202,060 unique website users recorded, this

represents an improvement of 63,681.

Total number of complaints

about council services

received by the

Ombudsman

Improvement

on 2010/11

Two complaints received, one has been

dismissed and the other is still being reviewed.

This represents an improvement on 2010/11

where 5 complaints were received.

Total number of complaints

received

Improvement

on 2010/11

Our total number of complaints received in

2011/12 was 116. This is an increase on the

2010/11 figure of 83. Where we receive

complaints we review the causes and look to

improve our processes. We publish our findings

on our website as ‘you said we did’.


Preserving what’s special

Environmental well-being

To protect the existing sense of place in our villages

and landscape, direct future growth to appropriate

locations, secure dynamic towns and ensure quality

developments.

The council has continued to play an active community leadership role in

working to campaign against High Speed Rail Link 2. We continue to be part of 51M group, a Local Authority consortium which is working to reduce the impact of the rail link on the district.

We have adopted a new Conservation Strategy for the district and during 2011/12 conservation reviews have been completed for Litchborough, Nether Heyford, Brackley and Brackley Old Town. We have worked to consult on these reviews and allocated additional resources to complete the programme. There are a series of reviews currently underway which include: Towcester, Rothersthorpe, Harpole, Morton Pickney, Eydon, Greatworth and Oxford Canal.

Environmental

well-being

To deliver services which enhance environmental well-

being.

During 2011/12 we have worked to enhance the environmental quality of the district. Achievements include: Recycling or composting 49.5% of our waste and a reduction in average

amount of household waste from 510 kg in 2010/11 to 507 kg in 2011/12.

Customer satisfaction with our environmental health services was at 94.7% for 2011/12

The planning pre- application advice service has shown strong performance over the year with all enquiry meetings held with customers within 15 working days and written advisory reports provide within 25 days.


Environmental

well-being

To deliver key projects which enhance environmental

well-being.

We have worked to improve our own environmental performance by effectively implementing our climate change strategy, this has resulted in: The installation of photovoltaic panels on the Tove Depot helping to reduce

our carbon emissions and energy costs, this has helped reduce electricity consumption at the depot by 18.8% on the previous year.

Reducing our electricity usage at the main council offices by 11.8%

We have also worked to encourage energy efficiency across the district by providing advice on our website.

Economic well-being To develop the economic strength of the market towns

and the rural community.

Our work to support economic development has been innovative and aimed to support both local employers and local job seekers. During 2011/12 we have: Launched a major new food and drink guide to the district helping to

promote local food tourism and food providers.

Continued to provide a job clubs and job matching service, including outreach work to rural communities.

Worked to support superfast broadband in the district – a Northamptonshire Strategy has now ben approved and we will be part of steering group to phase the roll out.

Progressed the Moat Lane regeneration project in Towcester by selecting a

private sector developer partner.

Social well-being To deliver affordable local housing which results in

balanced communities

During 2011/12 we have worked to ensure appropriate affordable housing and housing development across the district that benefits local residents and communities. Achievements include: Delivery of 304 new homes across the district.

Delivery of 115 affordable homes including shared ownership and affordable

rent options.


Protecting the vulnerable

Benefits, welfare advice

and housing

To deliver key services as efficiently and effectively as

possible.

During 2011/12 we have worked to provide support and advice to vulnerable residents, in particular those affected by the down turn in the economy. Significant achievements include: Provision of money and debt advice service for households across the district.

This has resulted in financial gains to service users of £262,386 through support with accessing benefits and grants, 29 grants totalling £24,856 to help clear utility bills, provide essential items or prevent eviction for vulnerable people.

The benefits team have worked with housing to support those benefits claimants who are adversely affected by changes to the benefits system.

Our benefits processing performance is excellent with new claims being

processed within an average of 8 days and the average time to process changes in circumstances 2.5 days. This puts us amongst the best performers in the country.

We have provided 58 disabled facilities grants to adapt housing for local

people and the average time to assess these grants has been just over 5 days.

At the end of 2011/12 there were 27 households living in temporary accommodation within the district. This is an improvement on the previous year’s figure of 32.


Neighbourhood

services To protect and deliver key services

Our work to provide leisure and community services and to work in partnership to support safer communities continues to enhance quality of life. Achievements include:

Sports and Leisure

The provision of a summer sports programme with significant increases in attendance.

Initiatives to support health and Nordic walks have been successful with events taking place in Hartwell, Kings Sutton and Nordic walking taster sessions in Brackley. ‘Learn to’ courses are planned in Deanshanger, Litchborough and Roade. Over the year 9839 people have participated in these activities.

The provision of a summer arts programme with an increase in attendance.

The percentage of people volunteering in sport has increased (11.9% in

comparison to 6.7% in 2010/11) and is the highest across the county of Northamptonshire.

Safer Communities

South Northamptonshire Council works with Northamptonshire Police and other criminal justice agencies such as probation services as part of a safer communities partnership which aims to reduce crime. Key performance measures for 2011/12 include:

Measure 2011/12 Performance at year end

Vehicle crime 358

No change in performance between 2010/12 and 2011/12

Domestic burglary

In 2011/12 there were 150 domestic burglaries in South

Northamptonshire which represents a significant drop of 23.5% on

figures from 2010/11.

Criminal damage 2011/12 - 537

A reduction on the figure of 552 for 2010/11

Anti social behaviour (reported to the police)

2011/12 – 2216

A reduction on the figure of 2731 for 2010/11


Managing our resources

Since the recession, which began in October 2008, and the continued economic

turmoil the Council has faced challenging financial times, as have all public sector

agencies. In formulating the budgets for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 we reduced

our base budget by £1.846m.

The Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, published in October 2010, set

out a four year funding position. For local government, this has meant the largest

overall reduction in funding (28%) of the main public sector spending areas, with

cuts front-loaded into the early years of the settlement period. Nearly three quarters

of the cuts have had to be found in the first two years (2011-12 / 2012-13).

During 2011/12 we have ensured we have delivered a robust and balanced budget,

meeting these external challenges through efficiencies, reducing lower priority

expenditure or increasing income. These reductions have been necessary to deal

with external pressures faced by the Council which can be attributed directly to the

downturn of the economy through reducing central government grant, increased

demand on local services as a result of the impact of the recession on local residents

(for example housing and homelessness), or reduced income from sources such as

planning or building control fees.

The strength of our approach to managing resources has been externally recognised

and our Finance Team won a national ‘Finance Team of the Year Award’ for 2011/12.

Our performance in this area can be summarised as follows:

Key performance measures:

Measure 2011/12

Target

2011/12

Performance at year end

Percentage variance against

our revenue budget +/- 3%

-7.8% - underspend monitored throughout the

year, areas include ICT and senior management

costs.

Percentage of Council Tax

Collected 99%

99% - good performance, target met and among

top performers in the country

Percentage of Business

Rates collected (NNDR) 99%

99.3% - good performance, target exceeded and

among top performers in the country

Percentage of Invoices paid

within 30 days 99% 99.93% - target exceeded

Sickness absence 6.8 days 8.91 days – target missed due to an increase in

long terms sickness rates


Looking Forward – Our Priorities for 2012/13

Our objectives underpinning each of the strategic priorities are summarised below. For more information about our plans and priorities, please see our business plan for 2012/13 which covers key services, strategic projects and performance targets.

Enhance performance

Financial viability To ensure the financial viability of the Council over the

five year life of the medium term financial plan whilst protecting services as far as possible.

The SNC Budget must not exceed £10m and service levels must be maintained or improved for 2012-13.

Identify further savings of £150,000 pa which can be delivered from April 2013.

Achieve a third (2013-14) and fourth year (2014-15) freeze on council tax.

Partnership working To participate in partnerships which benefit the public.

Progress the localism agenda and explore opportunities for the delivery of local public services.


To ensure we understand what people want and that people understand what we do.

Put effective communications at the heart of the council placing additional dedicated resource at SNC to deliver the specific needs of this district.

Forge improved relationships with community groups, parish and town councils.

Customer service To provide strong customer service as efficiently,

effectively and economically as possible

Review and redesign business processes across the organisation, stripping out any activities that add no value to the public.


Preserve what’s special

Environmental well-being

To protect the existing sense of place in our villages

and landscape, direct future growth to appropriate

locations, secure dynamic towns and ensure quality

developments.

Ensure that the Pre Submission Core Strategy is submitted by January 2013.

Influence the design of major development proposals (e.g. major housing and

other development, wind turbines, other renewable energy) through pre-

application discussions and robust planning application negotiations.

Investigate the possibility of promoting an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Engage with Government and HS2 to obtain the best possible mitigation and

compensation measures for this district.

Environmental

well-being

To deliver services which enhance environmental well

being.

Ensure effective planning control by proactive monitoring and enforcement.

Ensure development management achieves quality developments.

Increase the recycling rate to a minimum of 50% at no extra cost.

Environmental

well-being

To deliver key projects which enhance environmental

well being.

Deliver the Moat Lane regeneration project and complete the build out by 2017.

Support the delivery of an urban extension in Towcester that maximises the

provision of infrastructure and community benefits from the development.

Support the implementation of the Brackley, Towcester and Roade Masterplans.


Economic well-being To develop the economic strength of the market towns

and the rural community.

Implement an inward investment plan for this district.

Accelerate the provision of superfast broadband across the district to ensure all business locations and communities are connected.

Work closely with Silverstone Circuits to deliver their Masterplan for the overall benefit of the district.

Social well-being To deliver affordable local housing which results in

balanced communities

Identify and deliver a South Northamptonshire Council Diamond Jubilee project.

Deliver and implement a new Housing Strategy for the district.

Protect the vulnerable

Benefits, welfare advice

and housing

To deliver key services as efficiently and effectively as

possible.

Providing welfare and debt advice

Continuing to support job clubs across the district

Maintaining performance in benefits processing

Neighbourhood

services To protect and deliver key services

Work with partners to maintain low levels of crime within the district

Inspire young people to take up new sporting opportunities offered throughout the district during the Olympic year

Ensure that services are provided on an accessible and fair basis across the district.


Contacting the Council

To find out more about the Council’s performance, plans and priorities contact:

@ [email protected]

01327 322340

Performance and Research Team


Springfields,

Towcester

Northamptonshire NN12 6AE

Or check out the website http://www.southnorthants.gov.uk

For general enquires check out our website or contact customer services. www.southnorthants.gov.uk [email protected] Customer Service 01327 322322

mailto:[email protected]



mailto:[email protected]



Annual Report 2011/12 July 2012

Documents

Annual Performance Report 2011-12 - South Northamptonshiremodgov.southnorthants.gov.uk › documents › s686 › Appendix D... · 2014-12-01 · Page | 3 South Northamptonshire Council