PORTFOLIO HOLDER: PLANNING, HOUSING AND COMMISSIONING (CENTRAL)

Collective Cabinet Accountabilities

Cabinet members are collectively accountable for leadership that results in the Council commissioning outcomes through ip&e or through other means based on working better, cheaper, faster and together with communities and partners in pursuit of:

• Keeping children safe
• Looking after vulnerable people
• Ensuring high quality education
• Creating economic growth

This will involve Cabinet Members working collectively and with the Director Team to:

• Lead system-wide reviews leading to a complete redesign of what we do, commissioning outcomes based on need whilst reducing and wherever possible, eliminating future costs.
• Eradicate all avoidable costs associated with customer contact.  Where contact remains necessary, drive out costs by enabling customers to get what they need quickly, simply and cheaply on-line.
• Encourage conversations with and listen to customers to help us radically redesign what we do to maximise its efficiency.
• Give customers as much information about what we do as possible to help them make informed decisions.
• Equip staff with the right kit, backed up with the right systems – letting them work face-to-face and on the move with our customers – giving great customer service, eliminating time-wasting process and costly premises.
• Rationalise and continuously review our property so that it is always at the absolute minimum level required to meet the Council’s needs at that time.  Where property is needed it should offer modern, flexible, networked customer drop-in space and resources to support staff who will mostly now work flexibly, from our hubs, home and on the move.
• Maximise the flexibility of our staff to anticipate and respond to current and future organisational needs equipping them with the best chance to contribute to a healthy Shropshire economy.
• Ensure almost all roles are filled from the talent we already have, helping talented individuals to continue to grow within the Council, ensuring our workforce adapts in size to meet the funding challenge, with the skills we need for the future.
• Challenge everything we do so that resources are solely devoted to achieving our priority outcomes.  Where discretionary activity is found that has weak links to these we will consider options for redesign, transfer or stopping.
• Respond when faced with difficult financial dilemmas about discretionary services so that we consider how important they are to our county as a whole, and explore options of how their outcomes and be delivered, but in a different way.

This will need to be achieved through the following scheme of delegation ensuring that each Portfolio Holder undertakes their responsibilities taking advice from the relevant Chief Officer in order:

1.    To work in accordance with the Council Plan, the values and ethical standards of the Council, the agreed Business Investment Plan for each outcome area for which they are accountable and the Council’s Financial and Contract Procedure Rules.

2.    Through co-operation with Scrutiny Committees as they relate to matters dealt with by Cabinet.

3.    To incur expenditure or make decisions in connection with achievement of outcomes for which they are accountable, within the budget and policy framework approved by Council subject to a limit of the major contract threshold per project.

4.    To approve the appointment of consultants and monitor their work subject to a limit of £250,000.

5.    To approve the award and monitor the delivery of all contracts exceeding the major contract threshold.

6.    To approve and monitor all capital expenditure up to a limit of £250,000.

Specific portfolio purpose

To enable sustainable development meeting the needs of business growth and of Shropshire’s communities.

To lead redesign how the council commissions outcomes in the centre of Shropshire, based on customer demand, working with partner organisations resulting in action that is better, quicker and cheaper.

Specific portfolio accountabilities

To give political leadership to the Council’s Management Team in respect of the following key challenges:

·         Commissioning –lead new ways to commission outcomes based on understanding customer need, encouraging innovation and working with partners leading to better, faster and cheaper ways of working. Community resilience –encourage development that increases the resilience and self-supporting capacity of communities.

·         Planning policy – co-design policies with communities that incentivise and enable sustainable development Planning delivery – commission a cost effective and highly competitive approach to enabling appropriate development, meeting customer demands, providing end to end support and helping create economic growth.

·         Housing mix – work through the planning system, and through effective relationships with ST&RT and all other housing providers to deliver the right mix of housing for the county’s future prosperity including affordable, decent housing across all tenures.

·         Impact on regional, sub-regional and national thinking – get the best outcomes for Shropshire through relevant LEP and national frontrunner activities.