Corporate Strategy
Ambitious for Redbridge
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Please Note
The Corporate Strategy has been produced to be an online document. We have placed
paper copies in libraries so that residents without internet access can still see what we are
planning and what the Corporate Strategy 2014 -18 plans to do.
For this reason this document reflects the page layout on the website. The online version
has additional functionality including:
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Links to relevant information in other parts of the Council i.e. Local Forums,
Fairness Commission, Cross Rail updates
A search engine to find other strategies that the Council delivers and which
contribute to the overarching Corporate Strategy
A brief video explaining how the strategy will work
If the content seems repetitious in places this is due to the different ways that pages can
be navigated to online. If the whole document is not being read in one then we have tried
to ensure the relevant context is set on each page.
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The next few years present a major challenge to Redbridge. Our population projections
suggest that there will be an increase of over 25,000 people in the next four years to
316,800 in 2018. We will need to save £70m due to the increased pressures on our current
services and the reductions in government funding.
Despite this we are:
Ambitious for Redbridge
We understand that we are going to have to do things differently to meet the pressures
we face. However, we remain positive and we believe we can achieve the aims set out in
our Corporate Strategy. There are some excellent strengths of our Borough including the
diversity of our population, large amounts of green open spaces, regeneration through
the Crossrail expansion and a thriving small business sector.
There will be some hard choices that we cannot make alone, but we have strong links with
partners such as health providers, the Metropolitan Police Service, businesses and
community and voluntary groups who all help to improve our Borough. By building on
these strong networks, working together and sharing resources we can resolve local
problems.
We will work with partners to understand what residents are facing and how services
should be targeted to meet their needs. A combination of highly deprived communities
and more prosperous areas will mean people need different services and support. We will
therefore change how we listen and work with our residents in the future to adapt the way
services are delivered.
Corporate Priorities
Four key themes arose from the work we did to develop the Corporate Strategy. These
have become the overarching corporate priorities, to which all of our work in the next few
years will be aligned.
1. Increase fairness and respond to the aspirations of the Borough
2. Empower our communities to help shape our Borough and the services we deliver
3. Improve the quality of life and civic pride amongst our communities
4. Transform our Council in tough times to be dynamic and responsive to the challenges
of the future
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1) Increase fairness and respond to the aspirations of our Borough
We want to make sure everyone has a fair chance to succeed. We are no longer able to
deliver the same range of services to all of our residents; we must target our services
where possible. By intervening where we can, using service data and local information, we
will make sure we have the greatest impact for those people who need it most.
We will:
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Design services with residents to make sure that they are able to take responsibility for
improving their own health, be independent and achieve their full potential
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Target services to intervene early, rather than providing universal services, to help
those that need it most to have the best chance in life
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Work with partners to provide services to help the children and young people of the
Borough meet their aspirations
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Improve life chances of our most disadvantaged children and young people
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Ensure that all our residents feel safe where they live, work, socialise and go to school
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Support sustainable growth to allow a fair opportunity for our businesses to thrive
Key priority projects:
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Launch a Fairness Commission to:
o Understand inequality in the Borough by listening to our residents
o Develop a report outlining where there is inequality in Redbridge and
recommendations to tackle it
o Use the evidence from the report to inform how we target services in the future
o Work with partners and residents to implement changes
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Provide Council support to local services and initiatives which address the pressures of
the cost of living. For example:
o Providing high quality advice
o Access to short term emergency support i.e. food banks
o Support to manage money responsibly i.e. credit unions
o Alternative methods to reduce household bills i.e. London’s Big Energy Switch
•
Develop a new Equality Strategy to raise the profile and ensure consideration is given
to equalities within the Council and our communities
•
Engage with residents and partners to review the Cultural Strategy and set the vision
for service delivery for 2015– 19
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Meet the demand for school places and further improve quality so even more children
are educated in good or outstanding schools
•
Create a care system fit for the future by improving work across health, children and
adult social services
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Increase the housing supply, expanding opportunities for more family homes,
increasing opportunities for residents to own their own property and providing money
for investment
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We will improve external support for the business community of all sizes by working
with partners to safeguard employment space, facilitate access to superfast
broadband and ensure routes to workforce, training, skills and labour
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2) Empower our communities to help shape our Borough and the
services we deliver
The next few years are going to be hard; we will be faced with tough decisions as we
prioritise what we do. We cannot make these decisions in isolation from our communities,
so we will make sure that there is a meaningful conversation about how we deliver
services in the future. The changes we will make are not just about cuts but also about
innovation to ensure we strengthen our communities and find new ways of achieving our
aims.
We will:
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Involve communities in Council decision making so we are as open as possible; helping
residents understand the changes, manage expectations and provide alternative ways
for people to engage with the Council
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Improve our local leadership to encourage residents to participate in their community
•
Use Council resources to develop the ability for residents to support one another
within the community
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Use technology to provide accurate, timely information and allow people to contact us
when it is convenient for them
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Work with partners to develop a community spirit and sense of belonging by involving
residents when we can in the decisions that affect them
•
Improve internal communications so our employees can give us their views on how we
can improve and they can accurately represent the vision of the Council in all the
services we provide
Key priority projects:
• Launch Local Forums to:
o Bring Council services to residents in the form of a marketplace, with stalls for
different services, partners and local groups
o Provide ways to meet the Leader and the Council’s partners to discuss local
issues
o Provide a format that is accessible for more residents to provide their views
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Use the Redbridge Conversation to discuss budget pressures, changes and
implications with residents, which will help to create lasting change in the Borough,
not short term solutions
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We will lead the way in transparency through using open data i.e. presenting data
related to the Council through DataShare (an online portal on our website Redbridge i)
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Develop a Customer Access Strategy, to ensure that the resident experience with the
Council is good and that we encourage residents to access services online because we
choose to go digital by design rather than default
3) Improve the quality of life and civic pride amongst our communities
We are going to focus our work to ensure that Redbridge continues to be a place of choice
to live and work because of the good quality of life it provides. We understand that the
look and feel of an area deeply impacts on this and so we will ensure that the Borough
maintains high standards to help create civic pride amongst our residents. Acknowledging
the population growth expected and the new communities arriving, we will work to try to
ease our housing shortage.
We will:
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Support our vulnerable people to live independently through the development of
services which promote dignity, safeguarding and good quality advice
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Encourage residents to take responsibility for their local area, helping to maintain their
patch and create stronger community spirit
•
Provide a high quality environment for families to bring up their children by keeping
our streets clean and safe
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As future challenges emerge, continue to adapt so that we are proactive and have a
strong vision for development across the Borough
•
Use our role in the regional economy to generate investment and regeneration.
Sustain growth by investing in local businesses and encourage residents to shop
locally
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Offer learning opportunities for all, by providing enough school places, supporting
adult education and increasing access to work and training
Key priority projects:
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Undertake an enforcement review to increase powers to penalise, punish and deter
anti-social behaviour, vandalism and abuse of public places i.e. fly tipping, graffiti,
untidy private land, all of which can cause public eyesores
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We will create better places (including our high streets and town centres) for
entrepreneurs, retail, leisure and entertainment operators to operate by harnessing
public and private funds reviewing the public realm, physical infrastructure and
devolving management.
•
Build a public swimming pool to improve resident access to healthy lifestyles
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Implement a property licensing scheme to improve the quality of private rented
accommodation and tackle anti-social behaviour
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Work with key partners to generate income to provide new housing and improve
existing homes
4) Transform our Council in tough times to be dynamic and responsive
to the challenges of the future
We try to provide the best services possible for our residents at the lowest cost. However
with such unprecedented pressures we acknowledge that there needs to be change on a
greater scale. We will be proactive to tackle the challenges and innovative in our solutions,
but always with the residents at the heart of our work. These changes will impact in the
internal culture of the Council and will be reflected in the work of all of our employees.
We will:
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Identify new ways for residents to access services in the Borough, by providing
information for residents to make choices on alternatives e.g. Personalisation within
adult social services
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Create an environment where local residents, partners, service providers, businesses
and communities are able to work in partnership to create change
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Develop and implement technology that can support our employees, improve the way
we work across the Council and deliver services to residents
•
Change the culture of the organisation to increase engagement with our employees
encourage them to shape services and to provide ideas for new ways of working
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Become a leaner organisation, redesigning or reducing services where necessary
Key priority projects:
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Transform the Council by delivering services in different ways and in partnership, at a
lower cost to our residents
•
Review existing organisational structures to become leaner, create savings and work
more effectively to deliver services
•
Improve the use of data and information to inform how we provide services
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Develop a People Strategy to:
o Reflect a new employment offer
o Provide the opportunity for us to listen to our employees
o Ensure our employees understand what is expected of them
o Support employee health and wellbeing
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How Did We Write The Corporate Strategy?
We needed to consider a lot of different views and priorities when writing the Corporate
Strategy. We were not starting from a blank page and so we listened and talked to
employees, partners and residents:
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Grass Roots – we listened to residents; looked at existing Council plans &
strategies
Leadership – we identified the priorities for Councillors and senior managers
National Context – we understood the local impact of the changes to Central
Government funding and policy decisions
We have developed information to help answer your key questions about the Corporate
Strategy and to explain why we have developed a vision to be Ambitious for Redbridge.
Corporate Strategy Overview
Why do we need a Corporate Strategy?
How will the Corporate Strategy work?
Redbridge Context
What makes Redbridge different?
How will we fund our services in 2015 – 2018?
What engagement did we do?
Delivering the Corporate Strategy
What engagement is planned for the future?
How will we adapt how we work?
How will our employees contribute to the vision?
How will we monitor and deliver the Corporate Strategy?
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Why do we need a Corporate Strategy?
The Corporate Strategy is a document which co-ordinates all of the Council’s activities
together. We will use our Corporate Strategy to explain the work we plan to do and how
we are going to deliver it.
Externally the Corporate Strategy will:
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Provide a shared vision for the Borough
Identify corporate priorities for the coming years – being honest about what we can
and can’t do in the future
Describe how we will face challenges, minimise risk and improve outcomes for people
in the Borough where possible
Internally the Corporate Strategy will:
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Provide a clear vision for employees to work to
Ensure that all strategies and plans are working towards the same goal
Represent political priorities across the work we do
Provide employees with an understanding of how they contribute to the vision of the
Council
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How will the Corporate Strategy Work?
Everything that is delivered by Redbridge Council should be clearly linked to the
Ambitious for Redbridge vision and corporate priorities, to ensure that the whole
organisation is working together to deliver our shared priorities.
This means each employee should be able to articulate how they are supporting the
delivery of the Council vision and the service plan should reflect how their team is
achieving this. It is expected that each service plan will be themed by the four Corporate
Priorities.
We will no longer be able to afford to deliver the same range of services and where we
cannot identify a connection to our vision or corporate priorities those services will be
reviewed.
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What makes Redbridge different?
Redbridge is an outer north east London Borough, with a culturally rich, well-educated
community of 288,300 (June 2013). Despite having many green affluent areas that people
choose to move to, there are also areas of deprivation where our residents are struggling
to manage the rising cost of living. Balancing targeted service delivery and providing
facilities for all the different communities is both a challenge and an opportunity to
embrace diversity in the Borough.
Our People
The population has grown by nearly 50,000 people since 2001 and is predicted to
continue to grow at a faster rate than the rest of London. Population projections suggest
growth to 316,800 by 2018 and 401,600 by 2037.
Redbridge has a diverse population, with a wide variety of religions. The 2011 Census
showed that Redbridge was the 4th most diverse community in England and Wales with
the third highest proportion of under 16s in London. This diversity has been embraced
locally. The 2014 Life in Redbridge Survey showed that 58% of respondents felt that
Redbridge is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together.
Between 2010 and 2013 levels of crime have fallen by 8.6% and current figures suggest
that it continues to reduce.
Local Facilities
Redbridge boasts one of the best living environments in London with 40% of the Borough
comprised of open spaces (many have been awarded Green flag Status) which provide a
wealth of outdoor leisure opportunities. It enjoys an enviable reputation for its excellent
transport connectivity, 16 minutes from the city, which will be further enhanced through
the ‘Crossrail Corridor’.
In addition there is a growing evening economy including a theatre, two cinemas, a wide
range of restaurants, night time venues and bars. We are working hard to develop this
further benefitting from Business Improvement District status in two locations that has
enabled businesses to manage and invest in their local trading environment. In addition
there is a host of attractive parks, historic buildings, busy town centres and wellestablished businesses.
Housing
A growing number of young professionals are choosing to join the property ladder in East
London. In contrast to neighbouring boroughs, Redbridge is becoming more than a
stepping stone in housing because the local amenities, cheaper housing and diverse
community make it attractive for families to choose to live here.
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The 2011 Census showed that 64% of households owned their homes, a decrease from
75% in 2001. The median house price in Redbridge of £275,000 was £46,000 lower than for
London; however this is still not affordable for many of our residents. As home ownership
decreased, private renting increased from 15% of households in 2001 to 23% in 2011 and
Redbridge had the second lowest proportion of households in London living in social
rented accommodation at 11%.
Education and Employment
There are high levels of educational attainment in Redbridge. The 2011 Census showed
that 34% of the population aged 16 and over were qualified to degree level, compared to
27% in England & Wales. In 2013 over 70% of pupils achieved 5 or more GCSE grades A*-C
(including English and Maths), the sixth highest in London. Our employment rate of 67% is
lower than the London average of 70%, while our unemployment rate of 8% reflects the
London average (March 2014).
The changes over the last decade have provided opportunities and challenges for
Redbridge. We have responded to these and will continue to do so. We are Ambitious for
Redbridge, so we will utilise regeneration, provide adequate housing and ensure we
intervene early where necessary to support our communities to gain a fair and good
quality of life.
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How Will We Fund Our Services in 2015 -18?
There are huge changes to the Council budget that will deeply impact how we operate as
a Council. Although we are looking at efficiency savings to work smarter and more
cheaply, we have to acknowledge that this will also mean service cuts.
Current projections indicate that the Council needs to save £70 million by 2017/18,
approximately a third of our total net revenue budget.
The level of savings needed to address this is bigger than we have ever had to face before.
We will have to operate with fewer employees and so we simply will not be able to
provide all of the services we currently do. These decisions will be difficult to make but we
will not be making them in isolation. We will be talking to residents and local stakeholders
in many ways:
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Redbridge Conversation – our budget discussion to inform decision making
Online – via Facebook, Twitter, Surveys
Face to Face – Local Forums, Councillor Ward Surgeries
Why is there such a budget gap?
Many councils in the country are facing these sorts of challenges. However some of the
reasons why we have such a high budget gap are because:
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Government’s core settlement funding assessment has been cut (£12 million (10%)
in 2014/15 and £15 million (15%) in 2015/16 with further cuts expected)
Targeted grants from Government have been reduced
An increase in demand on our services. For example the implementation of the
Care Act, an increasing population and a shortage of housing
Income Generation
We are committed to identifying external sources of income to supplement the money
raised through Council Tax, rather than adjusting the levels we collect to avoid placing
increased pressures on residents.
Depending on the financial regulations connected with the money we receive, this may
either be added to the overall Council budget or will be set aside for a specific project, so
none of the money can be spent elsewhere.
For example:
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Business Rates – 30% are retained locally with 70% going in to a London pot for
larger regional projects
Council Tax Freeze Grants
European Social Fund bids
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What engagement did we do?
We know that listening to our employees and residents is essential in developing a
Corporate Strategy. We cannot write something in isolation because it simply will not
represent the views of the many communities and businesses in the Borough.
The development of the Corporate Strategy has been done over several months to ensure
that we had sufficient time to listen to people in our Borough. This work included:
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Life in Redbridge an online survey from which we have had over 1,000 people
respond from all parts of the Borough – thank-you to all those people who took the
time to contribute
Strategic Sessions with Councillors and senior managers – discussing the impact of
the pressures the Council faces so the work that we do minimises the risks the Borough
is faced with
Internal Consultation with senior managers – to understand the implications of
potential changes to some of the services we provide
Reviewing Existing Work – understanding the good work across the Borough and
information from service consultations to guide our thinking when setting the
direction of the Council. (Please see the Strategy Tree and Search Engine)
Some of the key messages from respondents of the 2014 Life in Redbridge Survey told us:
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61% were satisfied with Redbridge as a place to live
58% felt that Redbridge is a place where people from different backgrounds
get on well together
39% wanted to be more involved in the decision making in the Borough and
46% said they would depending on the particular issue
The top five areas that respondents felt most needed improving were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Road and pavement repair
Clean streets
Levels of crime
Parking
Leisure facilities
When asked whether the Council is “making my local area a better place to be” of those
that expressed an opinion the results were evenly divided, 50% agreed and 50%
disagreed.
We believe engagement is essential to ensure that we can build on our strengths and
improve on the areas highlighted.
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What engagement do we have planned for the future?
We know that things are constantly changing and we need to continue listening and
talking with people in the Borough so that we are as responsive as possible. These
conversations will inform our thinking and the annual refresh of the Corporate Strategy
will reflect this.
We have developed how we listen and talk to people so that we can increase engagement
in the Borough. For example:
Local Forums
We have launched Local Forums to improve local engagement in the Borough, opening
the access to senior politicians and managers to larger part of the population to debate
the issues that matter most to them.
These monthly meetings will be held all over the Borough, bringing our services to you.
The forums will have two parts:
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A market place will have stalls of Council and partner services ready to answer
your queries and involve you in their current work
A question time session with the Leader that will discuss large Borough wide
project work, such as budget proposals, in an open and transparent manner. You
can ask the Leader your own questions on the night
Redbridge Conversation
Redbridge Conversation will provide you with the opportunity to give your views on how
we should fund our services. You will be able to use the online tool to submit your views
on where services should be cut and be provided with information about what the
implications of your views will mean. It is not an easy task and we hope that you
understand the difficulties that we are faced with.
Your views will help to inform how we decide the priorities for running our Council,
including changes that we need to make.
Councillor Ward Surgeries
Councillor Ward Surgeries are a chance for you to come and meet with your elected
Councillors and discuss concerns in your local area.
To find out more about who your local Councillors are and when the surgeries are held
please click here.
Public Participation at Meetings
We welcome public participation during the open parts of all the Council’s
formal meetings of Members. You can ask questions at committee and Council meetings,
and be involved in petitions and deputations that are considered at Council meetings.
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Recent changes mean that you now have clear rights to record and share what happens
at these meetings via social media such as facebook, twitter or YouTube.
You can find details of these meetings and see their agendas on Council pages.
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How will we adapt how we work?
There is not going to be a simple way to make savings to meet the budget gap; we will
have to change fundamentally how we deliver services and in some cases stop them all
together. For this reason we are going to have to adapt how we operate as a Council.
We will focus our energy on ensuring we are accessible, responsive and provide value for
money. We will target our resources on those areas where we can have the most impact.
We believe that this will mean:
1. A consistent, joined up approach when people contact us, so they only need to tell us
once and we aim to resolve issues first time whenever possible
2. Providing accessible ways for people to engage with us, that are convenient for them
3. A better understanding of the needs of the Borough so that we can provide support at
the earliest possible stage, preventing the increase of need
We have already begun some changes to how we operate internally, including:
• Reduction in the number of buildings we work from by being more efficient in how we
use office accommodation
• Review of alternative delivery methods to provide services
• Re-evaluation of how services work looking for new techniques or efficiencies
• Assessment to improve management structures
Projects we are going to be working on in the future include:
• Review of current arrangements for Leisure, Culture & Arts
• Parking strategy and operating system review
• Private Sector Landlord Registration scheme
• Number of new schemes including a more joined up Enforcement programme
We are already working in partnership with a number of other service providers because
we realise we can share our knowledge and resources to have better results for our
communities. Many of our partners are being squeezed as well and so we must build on
these partnerships going forward, rather than work in isolation.
Over the next three years we will have to continue to adapt how we work. We will
constantly be looking to reduce the budget gap through smarter working so that when
we make service cuts we know it is a last resort. We will consider the impact on fairness at
all stages to ensure that the decisions made are in accordance with our statutory
requirements as identified in the Equalities Act.
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How will our employees contribute to the vision?
In addition to changing how we deliver services we need to change the culture of the
organisation. We believe that our key strength moving forward is our employees. We will
inevitably have to become a smaller and leaner organisation to meet some of the budget
challenges. However we are committed to providing an environment in which our
employees contribute to the ongoing success of the Council. We will encourage an
atmosphere of determination and pride to deliver the best services we can for our
residents.
To enable the Council to be dynamic and for employees to feel valued and motivated in
the work that they do, we need to be clear about how we work together and the
standards that we expect of all employees.
Our Core Values
We believe these are the foundation of our work, informing how we conduct ourselves
and perform as Redbridge Council. In a time of change and uncertainty the core values
remain certain and must be represented in all areas of the work that we do.
Our four core values are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Put the people of Redbridge at the heart of what we do
Work together
Take personal responsibility
Find better and cheaper ways of working
Behaviours Framework
Employee behaviours underpin the organisational values and set standards of expectation
that we need to aspire to in our daily work. Meeting these standards will lead to improved
performance, increased productivity and improved success of Redbridge Council.
The behaviours of all Redbridge employees should demonstrate how they:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Drive improvement
Are adaptable
Communicate with and influence others
Focus on customer service
Work together
Maintain a strategic perspective
Use analysis and judgement
8. Lead and manage people
We believe that by working to these core values and encouraging our employees to
adhere to the behaviours framework we will be able to be dynamic and responsive in the
face of the challenges ahead. The organisation is not a single person but needs everyone
working together to achieve our shared vision to be Ambitious for Redbridge.
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How will we monitor and deliver the Corporate Strategy?
There is not a separate action plan that is connected to the Corporate Strategy. This is a
deliberate decision because in a time of reduced funding it is essential we use our existing
mechanisms effectively rather than create another layer of bureaucracy potentially taking
up essential resources.
We are delivering good work in the Borough through our strategies and plans; however
we need to realign this work and the resources attached to them, to ensure that the Vision
and Corporate Priorities are central to the outcomes delivered.
There are six overarching strategies and action plans (with a number of strategies that sit
underneath them) that deliver the work in the Borough, they are:
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Children and Young People’s Plan 2015 - 18
Health and Wellbeing Plan 2013 -16
Housing Strategy 2014 - 19
Redbridge Environment Action Plan 2010 - 2018
Local Development Framework
Safer Redbridge Strategy 2013 – 16
These strategies and plans have been developed in consultation with residents and key
stakeholders and so we reflected them within the Corporate Priorities. Each has their own
action plan and will monitor specific projects or themes of work.
Please see the Strategy Tree or use our Search Engine to look for a specific strategy or
action plan.
Corporate Monitoring
In such a complex and rapidly changing time it is important that we are able to monitor
and track how we are performing at a corporate level as well. We have re aligned our
existing performance indicators to reflect our new corporate priorities so that we are able
to understand what areas are working well and when we need to intervene.
We will be monitoring the indicators in a number of ways:
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Quarterly through the Council Management Board (weekly meeting of all senior
officers)
Bi monthly Portfolio meetings between the Leader, Chief Executive, Cabinet
Members and Directors
Overview and Scrutiny – meetings of Councillors to review the decisions made by
Executive Councillors and performance of service areas
Regular monitoring of project outcomes for each strategy - if there is anything
urgent or unusual this will be raised with senior managers
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Annual refresh of the Corporate Strategy, highlighting achievements and areas of
continued focus
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