The Assistant Chief Executive submitted a report to the City Executive Board on 13 February asking for the Board’s approval of the annual update report of the Corporate Plan 2016-20.

Recommendations: Council is asked to note the annual update of the Corporate Plan 2016-20, subject to any amendments agreed at the City Executive Board meeting on 13 February.

Council considered a report submitted to the City Executive Board on 13 February which seeks approval of the annual update report on the Corporate Plan 2016-20.

Council resolved to note the annual update of the Corporate Plan 2016-20.

The Assistant Chief Executive has submitted a report seeking approval of the annual update of the Corporate Plan 2016-20.

Recommendation(s):

That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1.     Approve the Annual Update report on the Corporate Plan 2016-20, as set out in Annex 1.

2.     Delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive to make minor textual/formatting changes to the Annual Update Report in advance of formal publication

3.     Delegate authority for the Assistant Chief Executive to add new success measures to the Annual Update Report (point 13) once agreed with Service Heads and the Chief Executive.

The Assistant Chief Executive had submitted a report seeking approval of the annual update of the Corporate Plan 2016-20.

Cllr Price Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development, introduced the report which provided a broad framework for the Council’s activities and had provided an opportunity to ‘tidy up’ the Council’s priorities.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Approve the Annual Update report on the Corporate Plan 2016-20, as set out in Annex 1;

2.    Delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive to make minor textual/formatting changes to the Annual Update Report in advance of formal publication; and

3.    Delegate authority for the Assistant Chief Executive to add new success measures to the Annual Update Report (point 13) once agreed with Service Heads and the Chief Executive.

The Scrutiny Committee considered the Annual Update Report on the Corporate Plan 2016-20.  The Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development, the Executive Director for Sustainable City, and the Corporate Policy, Partnership and Communications Manager presented the report and answered questions.

The Committee noted the two new proposed success measures for 2018-19 around measuring ‘channel shift’ (i.e. increases in the proportion of self-service customer interactions), and the change of focus from targeting overall increases in leisure centre usage to increasing usage amongst target groups while stabilising usage amongst non-target groups.  The Committee asked for further context around current leisure usage and heard that leisure centre attendances were projected to total 1.2m in the current year against a target of 1.45m.  The Committee explored the reasons for this and identified key factors as being lower growth in demand for local authority provision, increased competition from budget providers, and the availability and popularity of alternative ways of keeping fit (e.g. ‘green gyms’, pitch sports, dance, martial arts, etc.).

The Committee concluded that the Council should adopt a new measure to reflect this changing picture and recognise the Council’s wider role in enabling people to lead fit and healthy lives in the city.  Consideration should be given to any suitable national measures that could be adopted, such as Sport England’s new Active Lives Survey, which replaces the Active People Survey.  It was also noted that sports facilities and community centres in the city could be asked to provide data to support a local measure, if required. 

The Committee commented that the addition of a corporate performance measure linked to the promotion of the Oxford Living Wage would be very welcome in light of the Council’s longstanding policy commitment and the recent scrutiny review (which is due to conclude in March 2018).

The Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development said that this was a useful suggestion and that £5k had been allocated to the Economic Development Team for the promotion of the Oxford Living Wage.  The Committee agreed to bring forward the recommendation of the Oxford Living Wage Review Group on setting living wage targets.

The Committee identified the following key points as having emerged from the discussion that could be presented to the City Executive Board as recommendations:

1.       That the Council sets an additional corporate target for wider engagement in sport, exercise and leisure activities in the city.

2.       That the Council sets additional targets for the promotion of the ‘living wage’, with at least one such target monitored at the corporate level:

a.     The number of accredited living wage employers based in the city (e.g. doubling the current number of 69 within 2 years).

b.     The number of local employers paying the Oxford Living Wage.