This is the first annual report since the Council embarked on it transformation programme (T18), to create a model for local government that closes a gap in their funding and enables them to continue to deliver front line services.
In the report, Leader of West Devon Borough Council, Cllr Philip Sanders explains some of the changes that the Council has been through. “In early 2015 a new leadership team was formed to lead the organisation through the transformation programme and to become more customer focused. Our aim was to radically change how we work in order to save money and ultimately to explore ways of generating an income for the Council.
“Our small leadership team now consists of two Executive Directors and three Group Managers. During the year there has been a 30% reduction in staff across both West Devon and South Hams, with whom we share staff. This has generated an annual on-going saving of £5 million (across both authorities) with no statutory front line services removed.
“We are aware that the changes which we have brought in have touched every corner of the organisation. This combined with the introduction of a new IT system, has meant that our performance in some key areas has been below what our customers expect. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused and thank our communities for bearing with us during our transition.
“We have now introduced improvement plans, and made a commitment to provide extra temporary staff to help us complete our transformation. Our performance in the last quarter has improved and continues to do so and we are confident that the residents will start to see the benefits from now on.
“Through all of the upheaval of change there have been some really good achievements, such as the report from the external auditors which said that they were satisfied that in “all significant respects the Council has put in place proper arrangements and have therefore been judged as providing value for money”.
“In recognition of our achievements so far, South Hams and West Devon have jointly been awarded an IESE award for Council of the Year and a Workforce Transformation Award in the Municipal Journal Awards, for our transformation programme.
“We have also started to introduce more ways for customers to be able to interact with us. Customers can now make a benefit claim online in their own time, making the whole process quicker and easier, we have an online account system so that we can keep an accurate record of all of our customers contacts with us, which customers can log into as well.
“We have introduced more front line officers in the community who can do location based tasks so skilled officers can concentrate on their area of expertise, such as planning or environmental health.”
In the report West Devon Borough Council sets out eight key priorities for the forthcoming year, the things that really matter to the Councillors and the communities that they represent, they are:
- Homes: Enabling Homes that meet the needs of all
- Communities: Empowering residents to create strong communities
- Wellbeing: Supporting positive safe and healthy lifestyles
- Infrastructure: Securing services and facilities that meet the needs of our communities
- Heritage: Celebrating our past and protecting our heritage for the future
- Resources: Promoting energy efficiency and more effective use of our natural environment
- Environment: Protecting, conserving and enhancing our built and natural environment
- Economy: Creating places for enterprise to thrive and business to grow
Looking to the future Cllr Philip Sanders continues: “Over the next twelve months we are continuing on our transformation journey. We will be improveing our website and increasing the number of ways our customers can communicate with us, making processes easier and more convenient for them. We will be improving our levels of service, so that customers can start to feel the benefits of our transformation”. In addition to this West Devon Borough Council are working with other councils and other agencies across Devon and Somerset on the Devolution Deal and with Plymouth City Council and South Hams District Council on the Joint Local Plan.
The Annual Report is available to view on the Council’s website and will shortly be available at the Council Offices in Kilworthy Park and at local libraries