Agenda item

Decision:

That the following recommendations be approved by Council (23 July 2024):

(1)         That the draft Corporate Strategy, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive be adopted, subject to such amendments as may be necessary in consequence of the approval of the Executive’s response to the comments submitted by the Overview & Scrutiny Committees as set out in Appendix 2 to the Supplementary Agenda Pack circulated prior to the Executive meeting.

(2)         That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director for Strategy and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Leader and the Lead Councillor for Community and Organisational Development, to make any necessary minor typographical changes and to finalise the document’s design and imagery, prior to publication.

Reasons:

·      The proposed new Corporate Strategy has been prepared to set out the Council’s key priorities for the period up to 2034.

·      The timings of the meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny committees meant that their comments and feedback could not be incorporated into the proposed Strategy (Appendix 1 to the report).

Options considered and rejected:

To not recommend adoption of the Corporate Strategy.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Executive considered the draft Corporate Strategy appended to the report. It was recommended that the Executive endorse the draft and forward to full Council for adoption. The draft was the result of many months intensive work and officers were commended for their role and support in bringing to the finalised version.  The draft had been considered by both Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) committees during the previous week and comments and recommendations were set out in the Supplementary Information Sheet. There were twenty-one substantive suggested changes to the draft from O&S. It was recommended that the Executive accept all of them. The chairmen and members of O&S were thanked for their consideration and input.

The draft, entitled ‘A greener, fairer, thriving Guildford’, covered all areas of the council’s work and would be its key strategic document for the coming ten years. Five key priorities were set out in the document covering environment, business development, inclusivity, housing and organisational resilience. Beneath each priority lay a series of actions and outcomes. Alongside the suggested amendments from the O&S committees and some of the design and typographical elements were still to be finalised and consequently delegated authority was sought to make to those minor amendments.

The Executive heard that once the Strategy was adopted by full Council, a delivery plan would be drawn up. This plan would be intrinsic to the council’s budget setting process. Service plans and individual staff appraisals and objectives would be refreshed and updated to incorporate the new strategic priorities. Delivery of the strategic objectives would also be tracked at corporate level by quarterly performance reporting to be reviewed by both O&S committees and the Executive itself. The suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be realigned to reflect the new areas of focus. A dedicated webpage on the council’s website would accommodate the new Strategy and associated relevant material. Consultations would continue as set out in page 7 of the draft. It was noted that the design of the document had been undertaken by a local graphic designer.

The Executive welcomed and accepted the suggestions made by O&S and was content to recommend to Full Council that it was adopted.

RESOLVED:

That the following recommendations be approved by Council (23 July 2024):

(1)         That the draft Corporate Strategy, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive be adopted, subject to such amendments as may be necessary in consequence of the approval of the Executive’s response to the comments submitted by the Overview & Scrutiny Committees as set out in Appendix 2 to the Supplementary Agenda Pack circulated prior to the Executive meeting.

(2)         That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director for Strategy and Corporate Services, in consultation with the Leader and the Lead Councillor for Community and Organisational Development, to make any necessary minor typographical changes and to finalise the document’s design and imagery, prior to publication.

Reasons:

·        The proposed new Corporate Strategy has been prepared to set out the Council’s key priorities for the period up to 2034.

·        The timings of the meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny committees meant that their comments and feedback could not be incorporated into the proposed Strategy (Appendix 1 to the report).