Corporate Assessment (part 3)
What has the Council achieved/ not achieved to date
Achievement In Quality of Service
Investment and priorities for the Council are directed by priority themes within the Corporate Plan and many services meet more than one theme. Examples of quality services are:
Revenues & Benefits - Housing, Citizenship and Community
These services were assessed as 2** and although judged with uncertain prospects of improvement, have continued to improve, eg. the introduction of the Benefits Verification Framework and the achievement of ISO9001. Performance initially dipped due to their introduction, but the service is now in the top quartile for five of the six DWP indicators. New housing benefits claims are processed in 24.37 days, but the processing of renewals has dropped as a result of recent changes in legislation. The BVRC identified the need for improved interview facilities, which was accepted by Cabinet. The main reception area was revamped and three new interview rooms provided. Customer satisfaction for Benefits is increasing, reaching 86.5% in June/July 2003.
Planning & Land - Regeneration, Housing and Environment
Planning and Land services were assessed as 2**. Developments such as Bluewater and Ingress Park, which received the RTPI National Award for Planning and Urban Design, contributed to this. Early standards were established at Crossways Business Park.
Development Control procedures changed in 2000 resulting in a marked increase in performance: top quartile performance on planning applications 2003: – 60% major; 71% minor; and 81% other. The service is dealing with some of the largest planning applications in the country. The cost of the Planning service, per head of population was identified as high (BVPI 107), but is comparable with many Kent Authorities, who don't have such a complex workload.
Representation from the public was introduced to the Development Control Board and public satisfaction levels are high - Planning Service 80% and Building Control 90%. 68% of development is on brown field sites (BVPI 106) although this will drop as Eastern Quarry is excluded from the definition. Completions of affordable housing rose sharply in 2002/2003 to 72 units and the aim is to ensure funding for a minimum 80 units per annum, with land being provided for 2,500 units between 2002 and 2011.
Open Space - Regeneration, Environment and Leisure Time
Whilst seeking the provision of open space through Section 106 planning agreements the Council also works in partnership on projects such as Darenth Country Park which, at 40 hectares, is the second largest public open space in the Borough.
- Waste & Recycling - Environment
Waste collection is a vital public service and kerb-side recycling is available to all residents (BVPI 91), resulting in a significant increase in recycled material. The indicator for missed collections has always been low (17 per 100,000 in 2001/02). The success of the dry recycling scheme meant the recycling target could be achieved without the need to introduce composting and the way forward on this is now being considered.
- E-Government - Housing and Citizenship and Community
Online services for payments, housing repairs and rent accounts have been introduced. These have particular significance for residents with mobility problems or those living in areas with poor transport links to the Civic Centre.
Satisfaction
Residents' satisfaction with services is improving. The 2003/04 General User Satisfaction Survey (unweighted) shows household waste (+5.6%), recycling (+12.7%), sports and leisure (+5.6%), museums and galleries (+7.4%), theatres and concert halls (+3.8%) and parks and open spaces (+12.8%). Referrals to the Ombudsman are low, with no cases of maladministration.
Achievement of Improvement
The Council has an ethos for continuous improvement and established a Service Review Committee in 1997. The Best Value reviews for Street Scenes and Planning and Land (covering 15 services) were both categorised with ‘promising prospects of improvement'. Best Value Indicators show an upward trend, with 55% of comparable indicators improving upon 2001/02 to 2002/03. Quarterly monitoring reports for 2003/04 show continued and significant performance improvement in key service areas such as Benefits, Planning & Recycling . Continuing improvement is embedded in the ISO9000/01 accreditation in a number of service areas.
However outcomes of the General User Satisfaction Survey process show three areas have lower achievement - satisfaction with the Council overall; the way complaints are handled and litter. A Contact Centre is planned offering a ‘one call one voice' service which should address the first two concerns. Litter is being tackled through the Deep Clean initiative and improved cleansing schedules.
Environment
The kerbside recycling scheme has driven recycling from 6.9% in 2002/2003 to a projected 14% for the current year, but costs per head of population have also increased.
Introduction of Deep Cleans in July 2003 improved the local street scene and engaged communities in maintaining and enhancing their local environment. Kent Fire Brigade, the Police, DVLA and Dartford Borough Council piloted CUBIT to deal with abandoned vehicles. The 12 week pilot saw over 1,000 vehicles processed from Kent Thameside and a 42% decrease in the number of fires in the target wards. CUBIT was so successful, it has been extended to the whole of Kent.
Best Value reviews of Street Scenes and Housing Services brought about coordinated estates inspections and new cleaning arrangements for communal areas in flats, monitored by residents.
Housing
Housing Management was brought back ‘in-house' at a time when other Councils were considering externalisation, to enable a thorough review of policy and procedures and to examine options for the future management of the housing stock. The recently commissioned ‘light touch' inspection report acknowledged progress had been made. Void turn around has been improved to an average of 26 days, from a high of over 40. A close working relationship with Registered State Landlords (RSLs) operating in the Borough is maintained, particularly with regard to allocations and Council availability.
Citizenship and Community
A range of community safety initiatives has been introduced including the introduction of Town Centre and Rural Community Wardens and Police Community Support Officers and a CAB Watch Scheme for taxis. Improvement has been recognised by a “Safer Shopping Award” for the Town Centre.
A partnership with the Primary Care Trust, the Diocese of Rochester and others is improving services through the Temple Hill Healthy Living Project , with projects such as the Youth Shelter which will improve the quality of life for young people. The Town Centre Foyer, a facility supporting housing and training, was also developed in partnership with the YMCA.
The Council introduced a ‘Dartaround' scheme, in Summer 2003, which gives concessionary travel to young people complementing the established concessionary fares scheme for older persons and Dartfare 20, an alternative concessionary scheme for the elderly, funded directly by Dartford Borough Council.
Leisure Time
Returns from performances at The Orchard fell significantly in 2001 and the Council subsequently invested heavily in refurbishment of the Auditorium and revised its programming. Full houses have risen by 7% to 61% over the last three years.
Safety for people using the parks and open spaces has improved with a new parks security contract, extended CCTV coverage and the employment of a Park Ranger.
What Has Not Improved
While many services are improving, some are not. Housing Service costs are high and are not helped by the need to review operations and establish new practices and procedures. The Housing Revenue Account is rigorously monitored and reviewed as part of each year's budgetary process. The Stock Options Appraisal has been delayed by the need for a second Stock Condition Survey and the findings will be considered by the Council towards the end of 2004.
Bed and breakfast usage is increasing and will be addressed in the Homelessness Strategy. The Private Sector Stock Renewal Strategy identified the need to ensure that standards of housing rise and that unfit properties are improved and brought back into use. The Council is seeking to address this problem in part, by a ground-breaking use of Section 106 agreements. Additional input from Private Sector Housing is leading to improvement of BV 166 - the environmental health checklist.
The Implementing E-Government (IEG) submission has not yet been assessed as satisfactory. Additional data has been included and it is currently being reassessed, with initial indications being positive.
Monitoring of the BVRC Service Improvement Plans has shown that some of the proposed actions were ambitious and revised timescales have been approved.
Museum attendances, particular among school children, are decreasing. A review of the service will take account of school curricula and increased use of the internet for research.
Investment
Investment can take a number of different forms, ranging from direct investment by the Council, through to contributions by other agencies and developers. A large element of the Council's investment is in establishing building blocks for the future.
Building Blocks & Council Investment for the future
Corporate Health
- Additional funding for training and development
- Staff competency framework supporting recruitment, development and empowerment
- Adoption of the Equal Opportunities Policy and preparation of draft Comprehensive Equality Policy
Quality Services
- Investment in e-Govt. projects of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) linking back-end systems to service response and delivery
- Investment in new IT systems e.g. finance, revenues and benefits
- Electronic document management for Building Control and Development Control
Citizenship and Community
- Establishing and working with groups – Youth Council, Friends of Hesketh Park, Heath Protection Committee
- Working on health issues with the PCT and other partners
Regeneration
- Working with partners to establish the ODPM Delivery Board
- Completing the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy for Swanscombe .
- Investment in Dartford Park
- Delivery arrangements for Fastrack public transport system
- Working with investors to deliver Town Centre Regeneration
Leisure Time
- £1m playground refurbishment programme
- Skateboard park design in consultation with a group of young people from Dartford
- Managing the Marshes initiative to create a nature reserve on Dartford Marshes
- Stone Lodge proposals including resiting Dartford Judokwai
Environment
- Joint estate inspections with Members and residents
- Enhanced graffiti removal service
- Opportunities to invest capital to deliver revenue savings on contractual services
Housing
- Funding early completion of window replacement programme for housing stock resulting in increased Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating
- Following a review of Housing Needs, established an increased figure of 30% for affordable housing to include key worker provision
- Development of a Key Worker Housing policy
External Funding
Recent funding successes include:
- Community initiatives from Urban, Dartford & Gravesham Children's Fund, SureStart and Single Regeneration Budget
- ODPM for regeneration infrastructure and pump priming investment
- Arts Council England and businesses towards the Dartford Festival
- Central Government and Housing Corporation for new housing
- Development partner for Dartford Park
- Home Office for CCTV expansion, Town Centre Warden, Community Safety Partnership including ASB Coordinator, Temple Hill retail security scheme including shop shutters and CCTV, Police Community Support Officers and Home Office/Sport England for Positive Futures community football scheme
- Kent County Council and DEFRA for recycling
- Millennium Fund and Groundwork Kent Thameside for Darenth Country Park
Challenges
Internal and external challenges are used to seek improvement to services.
- Member, tenant and stakeholder involvement in Best Value Reviews and development of the Housing Strategy and Business Plan
- Housing staff challenge groups - Big Sister initiative involving a group of volunteers acting as new tenants, Aardvark Groups, looking at best practice in Housing
- Questionnaires for The Orchard, user surveys in Environmental Health, Dartford Talking Events, the Community Safety Partnership Survey, the Tenants' Forum and the Dartford Talking Trailer.
Examples of external challenges:
- KCC commissioned to undertake a Corporate Governance Audit, resulting in Action Plan.
- Deloitte & Touche reviewed the Internal Audit Service, leading to the engagement of management from KCC.
- Housing Inspectorate carried out a ‘light touch assessment' of Housing Services with subsequent action plan.
- Commissioned NACRO and Crime Concern to review the Community Safety Partnership, resulting in amendments to the action plan.
In the light of what the Council has learned what does it plan to do next
Learning
The Council uses its Best Value process to learn from others and reassess the objectives and cost-effectiveness of its services. Best Value reviews have led to:
- A higher standard of parks maintenance
- A more robust monitoring regime for contracted services
- Better environmental enforcement
- Better interview facilities for benefits applicants
- Public participation at Development Control Board
It uses pilot studies to assess the effectiveness of new initiatives, before they are introduced permanently:
- Dry materials recycling scheme was developed after researching other councils, but was modified during the pilot scheme
- Deep cleans – scope widened after the pilot
- Graffiti clearance programme was extended after the pilot
- Housing void standard was amended after monitoring
- Graduate recruitment scheme trialled and extended
- Electronic document management piloted, before roll out across services
The Overview function reviews aspects of service planning and delivery and recommends changes to Cabinet. For example:
- Dartford Youth Council – proposals adopted
- Mayoralty & Back Benchers – revised arrangements introduced
Research and evidence helps to inform and review policies and services. Some examples of evidence-based decisions are :
- Retail Capacity Study leading to Local Plan shopping policies
- Housing Needs Assessment leading to revised affordable housing policy
- Training Needs Assessment leading to draft training strategy
- Staff exit interviews leading to comprehensive review of pay and benefits and management arrangements
The Council learns from public consultation and complaint, and adjusts its service delivery and policy accordingly. Examples include:
- Planning for Real exercise at Greenhithe Riverfront, following objection to development and proposals leading to a draft Design Brief
- Planning for Real exercise at Stone Lodge, to establish a new approach to recreational development following an unsuccessful planning application
- Design of new / refurbished playgrounds based on local consultations
- Swanscombe Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy is based on extensive community involvement
- Tenants' Participation gave priority to window replacement
- Draft Licensing Policy ‘saturation area' is based on results of Town Centre residents' consultation on Night Time Economy
- CCTV in Alamein Gardens based on public consultation, together with associated security measures
- CCTV in Hesketh Park in response to public consultation on park management plan
- Enhanced graffiti and environmental cleansing services, based on rising complaints and reduced satisfaction levels
- Improved provision of information to planning objectors, based on analysis of corporate complaints received
Dartford Borough Council compares itself with others to critically assess performance and identify scope for improvement. It does this in the context of Best Value Reviews and also in relation to individual service issues, for example:
- Housing best practice is shared through Housemark and South East Benchmarking Club
- Visits to Beacon Housing Authorities at Leicester and Canterbury led to new estate cleaning arrangements
- Highways best practice sessions operate in Kent. Dartford Borough Council's General Maintenance Unit for urgent repairs was recommended for adoption by other Districts
- Human Resources systems were compared with those of other organisations, before the introduction of a combined HR and Payroll software system
- Exchange of information and experiences with Kent Authorities on Illegal Encampments led to the adoption of a county-wide protocol and more effective information sharing
Sharing learning experiences to derive maximum benefit from them. For example:
- The CAPITA system for on-line customer services has been trialled in Housing, and the outcomes are now being shared with Street Scenes services, prior to the expansion of the system to these areas
- Electronic Data Management is being trialled in Planning and Building Control and the results will be reviewed, before extending the system to other service areas
- A Town Centre Officers' Working Party has been established to ensure opportunities to co-ordinate services and initiatives are maximised
- Co-ordination of enforcement activity on planning, illegal encampments, fly tipping and nuisance, to maximise intelligence sharing
External challenge to services, policies and internal organisations are welcomed. Some recent examples are:
- External auditors considered the impact of external challenges arising from Dartford's position in the Thames Gateway
- Human Resource consultants assessed training needs and recommended a Training & Development Strategy
- External facilitation for a comprehensive self-assessment by the Town Centre Partnership, leading to new Partnership arrangements and new town centre regeneration objectives and an Action Plan
- An early Peer Challenge was arranged and outcomes taken on board with a resultant detailed action plan approved by Cabinet
While sections/teams learn from their own and others' experiences, the lessons are not always shared across the Council. Mechanisms such as ‘Excellence groups' need to be established.
The Corporate Complaints procedure is also not utilised to best effect as, although issues are addressed, learning is not widely shared.
Future Plans
Based on its experiences to date and the lessons learned, the Council is clear about its priorities for improvement. Dartford Borough Council is engaged in an ambitious programme of change, which will enable it to focus on the things that matter to residents, at the same time as responding to the external challenges of the Thames Gateway regeneration programme. The scale and pace of development and changes to Government priorities have a significant impact, so a clear programme is essential. The elements are:
Establishing robust Corporate Planning and Performance Management Arrangements
The Council has established a programme of improvements to its corporate planning and performance management arrangements and by April 2004 intends to have in place:
- A formally adopted Corporate Plan setting out objectives, priorities and key actions, with an assessment of delivery risks and an action plan to address these
- A Budget which reflects the Corporate Plan and gives financial effect to its priorities
- A Service Plan for every Council service, linked to the Corporate Plan and budget, with SMART targets for service delivery, performance measures and effective monitoring techniques
- Risk Management Plans for services as well as for the Corporate Plan
- Processes to monitor and review performance at both strategic and operational levels, with focused reporting to Cabinet and Management Group.
Enhancing the capacity to deliver
By Spring 2004 the Council will have agreed the principles of its staff reorganisation. The aims of the reorganisation are to:
- place resources where they are most required – where they can deliver services
- deliver a more strategic role for the Management Group
- empower service managers to deliver more effectively
- respond to the quickening pace of regeneration and the progression from planning to implementation
- address rising expectations from customers for access and responsiveness
Some staff find it difficult to accept the scale and rate of change and this needs to be managed carefully. The Council will build on its competency framework and training needs assessment to agree and implement an ongoing Training & Development Strategy. This will concentrate in particular on building generic skills to promote organisational flexibility and expand capacity.
Dartford Borough Council will complete its review of effective partnership arrangements recognised as vital to the achievement of corporate and shared objectives, but the Council acknowledges that present arrangements are resource-intensive and may not be delivering outcomes in the most cost-efficient manner. It aims to bring focus and a renewed sense of purpose to these partnerships.
Using its influence on the new Kent Thameside Delivery Board, the Council will ensure that its corporate objectives are realised through regeneration and large scale investment and that significant and worthwhile community benefits arise from this development. The policy work below, which the Council will complete in 2004, will focus on this.
Completing the policy framework
The Council will complete outstanding work for the establishment of a comprehensive system of adopted policies, targeting those relating most directly to the priorities of the adopted Corporate Plan.
It will adopt a Regeneration Strategy in acknowledgement of the weakness found in this area through the Planning and Land Best Value Review. The strategy will include “daughter documents” for the Town Centre and Swanscombe and the Ebbsfleet Valley . These will pave the way for significant investment under the Government's Sustainable Communities Plan and through the two focus areas for developer activity. A key priority of these new policies will be the capture of significant, worthwhile and early community benefits from development.
The Local Plan Review will be concluded and a new-style Local Development Framework adopted, which updates policies for development density, town centre redevelopment and affordable housing.
A review of housing policies will take place, ensuring the Council's strategy addresses needs across the board and takes advantage of the widest possible range of procurement options. This will include Key Worker Housing, Allocations and, most critically, the Council's review of options for the future of its housing stock. A management strategy will be set in place to achieve the Decent Homes Standard.
At the same time the Council will strive to improve the Housing Strategy and Business Plan from its current rating of ‘ above average' to ‘fit for purpose' and progress the actions within the Asset Management Plan currently rated as ‘good'.
Improving customer relations and providing an outward-facing Council
The Council will extend electronic access to most of its services during 2004, building on the housing repairs, rent and council tax payment systems, introduction of planning and licensing applications and more effective ways of reporting environmental issues.
Recognising the public's concerns about complaint handling and responses, the Council will agree a strategy and programme for the introduction of a Customer Contact Centre with the objective of achieving a “one call, one voice” service for the majority of callers.
Continuing the programme of service improvement
Service improvements identified through Best Value Reviews will be driven forward, with rigorous reporting against Service Improvement Plans.
Subject to financial constraints, Dartford Borough Council will press forward with initiatives, where pilot schemes have been tested e.g. the Deep Cleans , Recycling . Services such as the Museum will be reviewed.
The assessment has highlighted a number of areas where improvement can be achieved and future plans will address these. Main actions are carried forward to the Improvement Plan.
These are exciting times for Dartford and the Borough Council is determined to make the most of the opportunities available to realise its vision ‘to make Dartford “the place of choice”. A place where people choose to live, work and enjoy their leisure time' .
