Resource Service

RESOURCE SERVICE

Resource Service Plan (2009 – 2012)

Introduction

The Resource Service encompasses four sections within the Council that provide a range of services to support the effective and efficient running of the Council, its elected members and its employees. It represents the internal and corporate backbone of the Council and provides the platform from which all the Council’s services can be delivered. We support the delivery of the Council Plan, Themed Business Plans and Council Priorities and provide a lead on Legal Services, Financial Services, Democratic and Member Services and Human Resources within the Council.

The service comprises approximately 29 employees working in four areas, Finance, Democratic Services, Human Resources and Legal.

What we aim to achieve

The Resource Service works to:

We want to be a Council that continually improves; that engages well with our community; and one that uses our resources in ways that have the greatest impact on improving the quality of life for residents, business and visitors.

Our Management Structure

Resource Service Structure

Service Objectives

Key objectives for the Resource Service are as follows:

We will assist in the development of Shared Service Delivery

We will have delivered both cash releasing efficiencies for re-investment in services, and non-cashable efficiencies to make our services more effective.

We will have embedded efficiency into the culture of the organisation within financial, risk and performance decisions and efficiency planning into service delivery.

To review our existing office accommodation and improve or replace it where necessary

We will invest in and develop our resources to support the delivery of the Corporate Plan

Key Drivers (Resources)

The key drivers for us over the next five to ten years are:

Consultation – Actively consult with and listen to our residents and visitors by:

Fully involving the community, residents, visitors and business in setting our future priorities and budgets over the medium & long term.
to hold a workshop on community leadership based on the North Yorkshire Improvement Programme for Members
Increase the number of people taking part in the democratic process by maintaining a 96% or above return rate on Annual Canvass forms
To hold a State of the District debate

Communicate – To clearly communicate the reasons for our decisions by:

Utilising all forms of contact with the public such as the web site, curlew and Area Based Working forums

Improvement - To deliver improvements in our performance, policies, processes and procedures:

To adopt and implement a revised Medium Term Financial Strategy
To respond to the updated Use of Resources findings
To adopt and implement a revised Human Resources Strategy (People’s Strategy) and joint Learning and Development Plan
To be an exemplary employer, by promoting active and healthy lifestyles via internal networks e.g. Women at Work.
To develop Scrutiny role in conjunction with Performance Clinics to monitor and challenge our performance against the LAA targets, the National Indicator set and locally set indicators

Key Actions

Key actions in support of our Corporate and Themed Business Plans, delivered by the Service, can be found in the appropriate plans as follows:

The Corporate Plan 2008 – 2012
An Improving Council – Themed Business Plan
Themed Business Plans relating to Green Living, Healthy Lives, Strong Neighbourhoods, Safe Places, Prosperous Communities

Actions to support our service objectives

Finance

The Finance team deals with all areas relating to Finance. The primary functions of the team include setting the Capital and Revenue Budgets for us, the monitoring of expenditure throughout the year, the closure of the accounts at the end of the year, and the production of our Statement of Accounts. These functions are provided for the General Fund (income and expenditure relating to all services that we provide, excluding our Housing stock) and for the Housing Revenue

Account (statutory ring-fenced account containing all income and expenditure relating to the Housing Stock).

Our objective is;

Improve budget management across all Council service areas
Manage an accurate 5 year medium term financial strategy
Promote the efficient delivery of all services across the Council

To find out how we are meeting these objectives please see Finance Action Plan

Legal

The Legal team which operates as a single team, serving both Hambleton District Council and Richmondshire District Council, deals with all of the legal issues affecting the Local Authority. The Legal Team are also heavily involved in Asset Management, Risk Management and offering advice on Corporate projects that affect the Council as a whole.

Our objective is;

To provide a prompt and efficient legal service to the Council

Our objective is;

To provide a prompt and efficient legal service to the Council

To provide practical solutions to problems encountered in service delivery
To assist the Standards Committee in promotion of high ethical standards throughout the Council

The Legal team will be working on developing a new action plan in conjunction with Hambleton District Council.

Human Resources

The team is responsible for looking after our most important assets – our people. Through the development of policies, plans, advice and guidance we support managers in every aspect of people management, from entry into our organisation, development and management within our organisation, through to departure. In short, we guide and support our managers to ensure that we get the right people, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time.

Our objective is;

To ensure that Managers have the information and support they need to manage their teams
To ensure that the Council always has an up to date set of HR policies and toolkits

To find out how we are meeting these objectives please see Human Resources Action Plan

Democratic Services

The team takes full responsibility for the support of our elected Members and for the provision of a dedicated service in respect of all the Council meetings, Committees, task groups and forums.

Our objectives are;

To provide proactive supporting role to our elected Members
To assist Lead Officers in the implementation of our new Community Engagement Strategy through the setting up of Area Based Working

To find out how we are meeting these objectives please see Democratic Services Action Plan

Key performance indicators for the service

Find out about the core performance measure, indicators and targets for the Resource Service (check link)

Risks

The key risks facing the service are as follows:

Lack of robust emergency and business continuity plans
Meeting required standards in respect of our buildings for health and safety and disabled access
The effect of the current economic climate on Council investments

Communications

We understand that communication is a key part of being a responsive service delivering the needs of the departments that we support. Good communications will be maintained and improved through the following actions

Internal Customers

Customer satisfaction surveys following completion of tasks
Attendance at service management team meeting where appropriate to gather feedback
Use of the staff panel on specific projects such as office accommodation
Development of service charters for specific areas of work

Internal Customers

Customer satisfaction surveys following completion of tasks
Attendance at service management team meeting where appropriate to gather feedback
Use of the staff panel on specific projects such as office accommodation
Development of service charters for specific areas of work

External Customers

Full public consultation to be carried out in conjunction with Ward Members on sensitive asset management matters
Publicising and maintaining a user friendly complaints system and gathering information from complainants at the conclusion of the local assessment process

Stakeholders/Partners

Regular meetings on Council wide issues such as asset management and procurement
Training sessions on ethical conduct for Parishes

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