Agenda item

1.           That the Quarter Two Business Report covering Residents Survey feedback, people performance, financial stewardship and individual Directorate performance be noted.

2.           That the progress made in implementing the One County One Team People Strategy 2012/17 be noted.

3.           That the progress made in implementing the One County One Team Fairness and Respect Strategy 2012/17 be noted.

4.      That the Leadership Risk Register as of 25 September 2012 be agreed.

Reason for Decisions

To ensure effective business management of the County Council to deliver improved outcomes and value for money for Surrey residents, ensure proper implementation of the Council’s One County One Team People Strategy 2012/17 and the One County One Team Fairness and Respect Strategy 2012/17 and proper consideration of Leadership Risk.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee]

The Cabinet acknowledged the success that Surrey County Council had achieved during the second quarter of 2012/13.

Key points highlighted by Cabinet Members included:

·          The survey of residents had returned some of the highest scores so far, including 96% of those asked were satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live and high scores for value for money

·          The Superfast Broadband agreement with BT would see Surrey become the best connected county in the UK for fibre optic broadband by 2014

·          Surrey’s hosting of Olympic and Tour of Britain cycling events had been a widely recognised success with an estimated one million people having lined the roads of Surrey to watch over the summer

·          155 businesses had taken up the council’s offer of support to get young people into apprenticeships. The council would also be continuing its own internal apprenticeship scheme to help young people in the county

·          The council had developed an excellent relationship with the new clinical commissioning groups and would be continuing to support GPs in gaining NHS accreditation. Work was also continuing to integrate the wider public health role into the council’s ways of working

·          Surrey, working in partnership with its highways contractor May Guerney, had turned a previously poor position on road maintenance into a high performing area and done so with speed and alacrity. Key performance indicators had been met for the fifth month in a row and both council officers and May Guerney deserved to be complimented for their work

·          Recycling rates in the county were increasing and showed the benefits of close working with Boroughs and Districts

·          A tremendous job had been carried out across a range of council services to ensure that additional school places were delivered on time. The work of the Cabinet Member, Education, the individual schools, Finance, Property and others had demonstrated the shared commitment to, and benefits from, working as one team

·          GCSE results in Surrey had reflected the national picture with those assessed in January doing well and in some cases receiving better marks than those assessed in the summer. The council had been in contact with the Department for Education and would continue to work at the national level to ensure fairness for all Surrey students

·          Two community partnered libraries were now up and running and more were in progress

·          The Winter Service Delivery Plan had been well received and Surrey was seen to have prepared well for winter conditions.

The Chairman noted that the performance achieved by the council was the best that he had seen so far. Whilst noting that there would be no room for complacency, the Chairman paid tribute to the efforts of staff across the council and in particular the policy team.

RESOLVED:

1.           That the Quarter Two Business Report covering Residents Survey feedback, people performance, financial stewardship and individual Directorate performance be noted.

2.           That the progress made in implementing the One County One Team People Strategy 2012/17 be noted.

3.           That the progress made in implementing the One County One Team Fairness and Respect Strategy 2012/17 be noted.

4.      That the Leadership Risk Register as of 25 September 2012 be agreed.

Reason for Decisions

To ensure effective business management of the County Council to deliver improved outcomes and value for money for Surrey residents, ensure proper implementation of the Council’s One County One Team People Strategy 2012/17 and the One County One Team Fairness and Respect Strategy 2012/17 and proper consideration of Leadership Risk.