Angie's update 15 April 2024
Hello everyone, I hope that you all managed to enjoy the recent bank holidays. As always, my thanks go out to those of you that worked during this time.
Looking to the future
Thinking about the future always give us the opportunity to lift our heads and consider how we might move forward in our ambitions and aspirations. There are always opportunities and achieving them is dependent on taking the first or next step. Sometimes we hesitate to do this because of barriers we face or that step does not solve the whole problem. But as long as we are moving forward and incrementally improving things for our residents, we are making a positive difference and creating a more favourable future for them.
Like all councils we continue to innovate and embrace opportunities around AI, digital services, devolution, and much more. We're also focused on building a talented, inclusive workforce, investing in skills and connectivity, and driving the sustainability agenda. All of which will move us forward on our journey making us more impactful and better able to focus on those person-centred engagements particularly with those most in need of our support and guidance.
As part of this, we're getting ready to publish our ‘productivity plan’, a new requirement of local councils announced as part of the financial settlement earlier this year. This gives us an opportunity to highlight the improvements we are making in service delivery, efficiency, and innovation. The plans are designed to help build trust with our residents and spread good practice across the sector. Not only will we be able to showcase our good practice and those areas where we are market leading, but we can learn from other councils too. Working with the new Office for Local Government in Whitehall, councils will share these plans over the summer. We look forward to showing how we're using smarter processes, good management of our assets, a motivated, inclusive workforce, and working with our partners to deliver better services in Lancashire.
Reviewing our finances
You will know that we are in a position of relative financial strength due to our effective financial management over recent years. We are not complacent though and recognise that we need to continue to exercise care with our finances, which are entrusted to us by our residents, including you and me. An exercise is being undertaken over the next few months to look at where our costs indicate an unwarranted variation from our peers and therefore present opportunities to maintain a sustainable financial position for the future. We are working with IMPOWER, an external consultant that specialises in innovation and transformation by focusing on better outcomes as well as cost, to help us understand our data and shape our services for the future.
Focussed workshops will be scheduled over the next few weeks to look at specific areas of the business, where our costs appear relatively high. These include adult social care, children's social care and waste disposal. This offers us the opportunity to better understand our cost drivers and what may account for the differential. It also offers the opportunity to explore improved partnership working and the use of innovative digital technologies to enhance our performance.
Not all service areas are included in these workshops and those that are not will be undertaking their own review activity. This will be on the same timelines and use the same principles of looking at ways of improving service delivery at the same or reduced cost wherever possible. Many of you will be invited to contribute to this work and I would encourage you to share ideas when you are asked.
Resources directorate changes
Mark Wynn, our Executive Director of Resources has been undertaking a review of the Resources directorate. This review will create a structure and a way of working that better supports us to deliver quality services to our residents and helps shape the council for the future.
Services will be led by:
- Neil Kissock, who will take up the new role of Director of Finance and Commerce
- Lucy Thompson as the Director of People
- Heloise MacAndrew as Director of Law and Governance
- Peter Lloyd as Director of Digital
As part of this review, John Morrissy our current Director of Organisational Development and Change and Mike Kirby our current Director of Strategy have decided to take the opportunity to retire following long careers in local government. I'm sure you will join me in wishing them well for a long and happy retirement.
We are currently recruiting to a new post, Director of Strategy and Transformation, and hope to make an appointment before the end of the month to complete Mark's management team.
Sickness absence
As you may have seen our quarter three Corporate Performance Report, which is available on our website, shows some of our indicators are now off target, one of which is our staff sickness levels. To ensure that we can accurately report sickness levels it is important that all absences are recorded on Oracle and closed once staff return to work. This not only gives us an accurate picture of absence levels but ensures people are paid correctly. Please can managers and staff check Oracle to ensure that the records are accurate and where appropriate absences are closed. All absences should be closed as soon as individuals return to work.
Of course, if you are absent from work due to sickness, it is not only about reporting figures. It is also about supporting you while you are absent and when you return to work. A comprehensive guide on how these instances should be managed is available on our intranet. Your return to work discussions and the completion of the return to work form, should be arranged by your manager as soon as you return.
Scheme of Delegation
Our new Constitution came into effect on 1 April. It is now shorter, and easier to read and navigate, making it clearer for councillors, staff, and members of the public to understand and participate in council decision-making. Included in the changes is our new Scheme of Delegation to Officers, which sets out which decisions officers, primarily executive directors and directors, can make to help our business run more smoothly whilst maintaining good transparency.
Please familiarise yourself with these changes and make sure that any decisions you take follow the new Constitution and agreed delegation processes. For more information or advice about any of these changes, please email democratic.services@lancashire.gov.uk.
Putting our museums on the map
And finally, I would like to highlight and thank the teams involved following last week's special Royal visit to one of our fantastic museums. On Wednesday 10 April, Helmshore Mills Textile Museum in Rossendale welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. I understand the visit and subsequent tour was a great success and much enjoyed by Her Royal Highness. I would like to thank everyone in the museum, conservation and collection and heritage learning teams along with Heather Davis (Conservation and Collection Manager), David Brookhouse
(Heritage Learning Manager) and Louise Jacobsson (Museum Manager), for working so hard to make the visit instructive and showcase Lancashire for Her Royal Highness. Well done everyone! You can read more about this on our Digital Newsroom.
Have a super week.