The Performance Plan 2006

This section highlights progress made by services in 2005/06 and plans for improvements in 2006/07.

Housing Services.

Considerable work has taken place to enable services to be maintained in the future within reduced resource levels. For example we have: -

• Re-organised the Housing Services management team and housing management services to produce savings of £70,000 pa.
• We have achieved savings of £500,000 pa to assist in balancing the housing revenue account.

Progress has been made in the following areas in 2005/06: -

• The Council’s programme of house maintenance and improvement has continued and the Council is still on course to achieve Decent Homes standard for all its dwellings.
• We have reviewed the sheltered housing service and established a new link with the Primary Care Trust to provide out of hours assistance.
• We have reviewed our responsive repairs procurement and are committed to develop an in-house building maintenance team.
• We have eliminated the use of bed and breakfast (B&B) as temporary accommodation for homeless families and reduced the number of families in other forms of temporary accommodation.

In 2006/07 the main Housing Services areas of activity will be to: -

• Reduce homelessness, in particular reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation; reducing length of stay in hostels and bed and breakfast; and increasing the number of homelessness cases prevented.
• Introduce a Choice based lettings scheme to provide greater choice to applicants and more effective use of the housing stock.
• Implement, and where appropriate, re-let refurbishment contracts to remain on course to achieve the Decent Homes standard for the Council’s housing stock.
• Implement the Responsive Repairs Improvement Plan to improve the financial performance and service provided by the housing repairs service.
• Develop a new Tenant Compact and Tenants’ Handbook.

Travellers.

We have already done more than most authorities to address Traveller issues and we continue to work towards a mutually acceptable and realistic district solution.

The Council has granted planning permission for more authorised Traveller sites than most other districts. In July 2005 South Cambridgeshire had the highest number of caravans (350) on authorised private sites in the country. There are more caravans on the two public sites managed by the by the Council (at Milton and Whaddon) than in seven out of every eight other districts. Despite this, South Cambridgeshire had the second highest number of caravans on unauthorised sites in the country (July 2005). These include sites at Smithy Fen, Cottenham; Chesterton Fen; Histon; Swavesey and Willingham.

The Council is following a strategy of: -

• Fair, firm and consistent planning enforcement.
• Contributing to a regional response to accommodating traveller needs.
• Promoting community cohesion.

Considerable progress was made in 2005/06. This includes: -

• Applying for and obtaining injunctions against those persistently breaching enforcement notices and against anticipated unauthorised development.
• Responding to planning appeal decisions and making South Cambridgeshire District Council's (SCDC’s) case in planning inquiries and in the Regional Spatial Strategy examination in public relating to Traveller site provision.
• Working with partners to analyse the findings of the Travellers’ Needs Survey and making preparations for a Development Plan Document on future Traveller site provision as part of the LDF.
• Setting up a Traveller Liaison Forum and maintaining a dialogue with parish councils, the Travelling community, Go-East, the Commission for Racial Equality and other partners.
• Raising cultural awareness via the South Cambs Magazine, support for a play by the Romany Theatre Company; and a workshop and tour of Traveller sites for councillors.
• Updating SCDC’s Race Equality Scheme, which places priority on Travellers’ needs, as they form the largest ethnic minority in the district.

In 2006/07 the key Traveller related actions will be to: -

• Continue to seek injunctions through the courts against ongoing or anticipated breaches of planning control.
• Provide evidence for planning appeals and implement the verdicts arising from recent public inquiries.
• Publish the Travellers’ Needs Survey results and use consultants to carry out the research for the Development Plan Document on criteria for future sites and possible locations.
• Explore possibilities for facilitating future sites via housing associations.
• Widen the Travellers Liaison Forum and continue to raise public awareness and develop good relationships with partners.

Planning Services. 

The Planning Service is of great importance in pursuing the Council’s priorities (growth areas, affordable housing and customer service).

In 2004/05 the Council was in the bottom quartile of district councils for the time taken to determine major planning applications. However, significant progress has been made in 2005/06 in improving this performance through the appointment of a “majors champion” and other measures.

In 2006/07 the key Planning Services actions will be to: -

• Complete the major steps toward the adoption of the LDF.
• Develop the planning framework for Northstowe, including urban design, landscape and biodiversity strategies.
• Work toward the timely determination of planning application/s for Northstowe.
• Continue action to reduce the time taken to decide planning applications.
• Improve customer service through the implementation of service standards, use of ICT and the web site, working with the Contact Centre; establishing an Agents’ Forum and other measures.
• Develop and implement an action plan to address issues raised in the planning inspection.
• Work with partners on environmental projects such as village green spaces; green infrastructure projects; and strategic green space projects (e.g. Coton Countryside Reserve and the “Forest of South Cambridgeshire”).

Environmental Health and Waste Management. 

In 2005/06 we continued to make great progress in achieving high levels of recycling: -

• The percentage of waste recycled or composted was one of the highest in the country (49%).
• The Council and other local authorities in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Municipal Waste Management Partnership (PMWMP) were awarded Beacon Council status. The service will need to support the resulting Beacon Council activities in 2006/07.

The service has been working to address “enviro-crime” such as litter, graffiti and fly-tipping.  For example, we have been working with the police, parish councils and the probation service to remove graffiti and remove litter. This work is part of our Cleaner Streets Strategy and we are looking at the additional powers now available under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, such as fixed penalty notices. This work will also tie in with other initiatives such as the Reputation initiative of the Local Government Association (LGA) to tackle the things that matter to people and help to achieve LAA targets with potential income to the Council in reward grant.

Other key areas of Environmental Health and Waste Management work in 2006/07 will be to: -

• Support the effective planning of Northstowe and other growth areas by contributing to Health and Environmental Impact statements and supporting other relevant planning activities.
• Improve customer service by implementing customer care standards; investigating improved web transactional services; supporting training for use of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system etc.
• Continue to maximise recycling through education and information.
• Respond to new regulations and legislation in areas such as private sector housing, houses in multiple occupation, collection of stray dogs and the Gambling Act etc.
• Work with the Director of Public Health and partners to produce an alcohol harm reduction strategy.
• Implement a Trade Waste Business Plan to generate income and improve customer service.
• Achieve LAA stretch targets in relation to street cleaning; smoking reduction; waste minimisation; enviro-crime and anti-social behaviour; and improving the quality of life of older people.

Revenues and Benefits.

The service continues to improve customer service and efficiency through ICT and other means and to implement recommendations from Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspections.

In 2006/07 the key Revenues and Benefits actions will be to: -

• Review how transactions are conducted with the public through the Transformation Project in order to improve customer service and achieve efficiencies.
• Introduce on-line access to enable customers to view Council Tax and Business Rate account information.
• Introduce payment of benefits through BACS to improve customer service and efficiency.
• Continue to improve in relation to government Council Tax and Benefits performance indicators (PIs).
• Improve rents arrears collection through better procedures and proactive publicity campaigns.

Sports, Arts and Community Services. 

The Council’s spending on these services is one of the lowest among district councils in the country. This position was exacerbated by the cuts we had to make in response to Council Tax capping. At the same time there are substantial pressures on the service – for example the development of sustainable communities at Northstowe and other growth areas; the aims of partners in the Community Strategy and LAA; the importance attached by local people to issues such as community safety and youth provision; and the need to support the voluntary sector and the development of parish plans.

Nevertheless, a great deal is achieved by these services through partnerships with other organisations, parish councils etc. In 2005/06: -

• Funding has been received from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to give greater help to parish councils to develop and implement Parish Plans.
• We worked with partners to recruit and train volunteers to work in Community Access Points (CAP) and to develop a joint CAP website that will act as a signpost to services for people in rural villages.
• We worked with Directions Plus in developing two disability forums for South Cambridgeshire.

In 2006/07 the key Sports, Arts and Community Services actions will be to: -

• Develop a joint strategy for arts, sports and community services which reflects the Council’s financial position and supports the LAA and second Community Strategy.
• Support the planning and development of community services (including public art, play, sport and community facilities) through Section 106 agreements at Northstowe and other new developments (e.g. Cambourne, Longstanton and Arbury).
• Develop a joined up approach to consultation and community engagement in relation to the growth areas.
• Improve customer service through the publication of standards for grant applications etc.
• Support the Voluntary Sector Compact and Parish Plans.
• Support the achievement of LAA stretch targets in relation to the reduction of anti-social behaviour, reduction of illegal drug use, and improving the security and quality of life of older people.
• Work with Cambridgeshire County Council to support the development of a Disability Access Group from the members of the South Cambridgeshire Disability Forum that can influence planning decisions in terms of the Access Statements, which are applicable to planning applications, particularly in relation to growth areas.