(a)

his remit was to work with the four Scrutiny panels and the Co-operative Scrutiny Board to co-ordinate scrutiny of the Transformation Programme;

(b)

the GAME Transformation Programme did not fit in with the remit of Ambitious Plymouth;

(c)

the Co-operative Scrutiny Board would review the plan for the scrutiny of the Transformation Programme at the meeting on 23 April 2014;

(d)

all Scrutiny panels would receive their Transformation Programme presentation by 23 April 2014;

(e)

the problems that the programme needed to address were –

·         the need to accelerate and co-ordinate economic growth and housing delivery within the city whilst incentives remained;

·         financial imperatives, reducing financial envelope in which to deliver services, whilst improving quality;

·         a range of services that were designed around service provision rather than customer need with varying degrees of service quality to the citizen;

·         lack of customer data, capability and skills to introduce commercialism across the council thus not maximising revenue;

(f)

the overall aims of the programme were –

·         an increase in income and a reduction in expenditure;

·         an increase in sustainable income streams from new homes and businesses;

·         an increase in investment in Plymouth;

·         an increase in sustainable income streams from charged and commercialised services;

·         more efficient use of and increased revenue from, corporate and commercial estate;

·         an improvement in the quality delivery of front line services at reduced cost;

·         an increase in employment opportunities, reduced dependency on benefits and increased local economic activity;

·         an enhanced reputation for growth and opportunity;

(g)

specific projects included in the programme were –

·         Growth and Assets – the encompassing of existing and future economic and housing development within the programme to ensure delivery;

·         Municipal Enterprise – an umbrella term for a range of projects.  This includes the review, development and delivery of the new street service, the development of new delivery models and the new/enhanced commercial focus to existing and future service provision;

o   waste collection reorganisation;

o   commercialism – to include the expansion of commercial waste;

o   category management – fleet services;

o   street services review;

(h)

specific issues excluded from the programme included –

·         facilities management;

·         commercial activity from Children’s and Adults services;

(i)

substantial financial benefits were anticipated during the course of the programme;

(j)

there were a number of key desired non-financial benefits/outcomes which included –

·         the growth of partnerships within the city and beyond the city boundaries;

·         support for the building of 2000 new houses to support the population;

·         the growth of a stronger economy creating a range of jobs and new business opportunities within the city;

·         the growth of Plymouth’s economy making it an attractive place to live, work and do business;

·         the development of more opportunities, thus reducing benefit dependency, resulting in improved health outcomes;

·         the development of efficient, well run, joined-up targeted services delivered to residents and businesses making Plymouth a brilliant place to live and work;

·         citizens and businesses who choose to live and work in Plymouth as a default;

·         an improvement in service delivery and a pioneering approach to improving service delivery and making Plymouth best in class;

(k)

the investment costs in the programme were anticipated to reduce over the course of the programme;

(l)

the main equality and diversity issues for the programme included –

·         the overall programme should not result in equality and diversity issues;

·         each project would be aligned with the outcomes and recommendations of the Fairness Commission;

·         each project would include an equality and diversity impact assessment which would be completed by the end of May;

(m)

key partners were engaged in the development of the programme by ensuring that –

·         a full stakeholder analysis had been undertaken for the projects;

·         the communications plan for the programme had been developed and each project would have its own engagement and communications plan;

·         elected members had been consulted at early stages of the projects;

·         external partners (which included AMEY, Plymouth Community Homes, Derriford NHS Trust and Plymouth University) had been part of the development of the projects and work streams;

·         voluntary groups and third sector organisations had worked on the street services review;

·         Trade Unions and staff had been part of Blueprint (programme and project development);

(n)

 a number of risks were associated with the programme and included –

·         the revaluation of business rates which would now take place in 2017, with the resulting outcome that there was a residual risk to the financial benefits after the programme life cycle;

·         no clear indication that Central Government would continue with the New Homes Bonus after 2015, with the resulting outcome that there was a residual risk that this revenue stream would cease, resulting in a significant loss of income;

·         people who saw the programme as a cost-cutting exercise and ignored the growth element;

·         staff who did not understand or engage in the programme as messages about transformation were unclear and inconsistent;

(o)

there were a number of key events/actions for the Ambitious Plymouth panel and included –

·         the development of detailed project business over the next three months for –

o   Growth and Assets project;

o   waste collection re-organisation project;

o   category management – fleet;

o   Street Services review;

·      communications and equality impact assessments for each project;

(p)

scrutiny would add value to the programme over the next six to twelve months by –

·         provision of feedback on plans and progress;

·         examination of decisions and progress towards savings targets and other benefits;

·         ensuring the project promotes the vision of the programme for the benefit of the people of Plymouth.

Following members’ questions it was reported that –

(q)

the main objective of the programme was to generate income – by the building of houses and the creation of jobs;

(r)

the Council need to investigate the possibility of sharing resources with other partners;

(s)

there were risks involved with each of the five programmes;

(t)

three of the programmes were currently in operation;

(u)

the greatest risk for this programme involved municipal enterprise;

(v)

the commercialisation of services needed to improve and was vital to generate additional income;

(w)

Transformation was a three year programme and more projects would be added during its duration;

(x)

it was vital that the Council align themselves with the rest of the peninsula, especially in relation to highway maintenance.