Transformation Strategy 2022 - 2027

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Context

One of the most significant areas of new legislation to emerge in the last 10 years that will have a major bearing on the delivery of the Council’s Transformation Programme, is the Well-Being of Future Generations Act, introduced by the Welsh Government in 2015. This is a statutory duty for every Council in Wales and requires a significant change in Council processes and behaviours. The Act is designed to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales, in accordance with sustainable development principles. The law states that: 

‘... the public body must act in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’

This provides a significant opportunity to align the aims and objectives of the WBFG Act with those of the wider transformation agenda and ensure that the ‘5 Ways of Working’ are fully considered and integrated into the design, delivery, and evaluation of the Transformation Programme.

 

Way of Working

Opportunities for Transformation Programme

Long-term

The Transformation Programme will seek to identify and deliver sustainable solutions in supporting the Council to make better use of its resources.

The programme will aim to deliver on a balanced set of priorities to support the Council in achieving its objectives in the short, medium, and longer term.

Integrated

The delivery of priorities within the transformation programme will also need to consider the impact on, and interdependencies with, other transformation priorities and wider Council and partner objectives. Any initiatives or proposals for change will also consider opportunities to integrate work programmes and processes with others where there is clear benefit to the end user.

Involving

The current transformation has adopted a very inclusive and participative approach to its work and has to include staff from all parts and levels of the organisation in its work. The new phase of the transformation will now place greater emphasis on the use of co-production – to ensure that users of the service are fully engaged in any review or redesign of processes and service delivery models.

Collaborative

One of the key principles that will underpin the transformation programme will be that the Council will commit to collaborate and work in partnership with others where there is a clear benefit in terms of positive outcomes for the end user.

Preventative

One of the key features of the Council’s service improvement methodology involves supporting services to better understand the nature of the customer demands coming into their service areas, and to identify issues which could be prevented if the Council placed more emphasis on understanding and addressing the root cause of these requests and thereby preventing issues from escalating.

There is also a need to consider the implications of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, and how the Transformation Programme can support the Council in meeting some of the key requirements of the Act. For example, Part 6 of the Act provides for an enhanced improvement regime for Councils and seeks to 'establish a more regularised performance and governance system that puts the onus on the Council to take ownership of its own improvement.'

 

Challenges

The longer-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be far reaching and will present a number of challenges for the organisation moving forward, but also some opportunities. 

Pre pandemic, local government was already experiencing an increasing demand for many of its services, within the context of shrinking budgetary resources. It is likely that the pandemic could make these challenges far more acute, although the full impact on the organisation in the medium to long term is still unknown. 

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a vast financial outlay by the UK Government, and the need to tackle the historic levels of national debt may result in a future tightening of public spending in the short to medium turn, which in turn could result in another extremely challenging financial environment for the public sector, including local councils. The significant increase in energy and food prices in the first 6 months of 2022 is already presenting financial challenges for the Council.

The effectiveness of the Council’s response to the Covid pandemic may have also increased the expectations of our customers, especially in the way that they access and receive services. This may result in the Council having to review the way that it delivers these services and consider a move to a 24hr/7-day approach to service delivery.

The recruitment and retention of a well-trained, flexible workforce is a key aspiration of many organisations, but the current labour market represents a significant challenge for many in the public sector. The Council is now operating in a far more competitive environment in respect of opportunities and wages, and number of services are experiencing significant difficulty in recruiting suitable, qualified staff.

Further advances in the use of technology brought about by the pandemic now presents a significant opportunity for the Council in terms of widening access to services and the automation of back-office processes.

Climate change represents one of the biggest challenges that currently confronts this organisation.  At a meeting of Full Council in February 2019, the Council declared a ‘climate change emergency’ and unanimously agreed to become a Net Zero Carbon authority by 2030. Although the Council has agreed to adopt a phased and pragmatic approach to this work, it is recognised that transformational change will be required in some areas if these ambitious targets are to be achieved. There is now an opportunity to align the aims of the decarbonisation agenda with those of the wider transformation programme.

 

Transformation – Our Vision

‘To deliver substantial and rapid internal change over a 5-year period which will allow the Council to successfully deliver its aims and objectives as set out within its Corporate Strategy.’

The Programme will aim to drive significant change and innovation throughout the Council and help us provide the very best outcomes with the resources available.

It will aim to allow the Council to:

  • Be a modern, innovative, and dynamic organisation.
  • Achieve a sustainable financial future.
  • Develop a skilled and flexible workforce and become an ‘Employer of Choice’.
  • Deliver more purposeful, high-quality services to meet customer needs at reduced cost to the Council.

 

Key Objectives

  • To support in the development of a financially sustainable Council, which can deliver high quality, value for money services.
  • To identify and help deliver financial savings through efficiencies or cost reductions.
  • To develop a more commercial approach to the delivery of Council services with the aim of increasing income generation opportunities.
  • To implement a service improvement programme that ensures that the Council can deliver high performing services with the highest standards of customer care. 
  • To support on the remodelling of services to deliver modern, flexible, and dynamic services designed around the needs of the customer/end user.
  • To become a more creative and innovative organisation.
  • To work in collaboration with stakeholders and end users to identify the most appropriate way of delivering services.
  • To continue to develop an agile, well trained, flexible and empowered workforce, committed to delivering high quality services with the highest standards of customer care.
  • To make further use of technology in support of the Council becoming a more modern, dynamic organisation. 
  • To act as an intelligent Council by making effective use of data to manage and improve performance, and to effectively manage demands through prevention and early intervention.
  • To provide an opportunity to share and recognise good practice across the organisation.
  • To identify where additional capacity and/ or resources may be required to support the process of change and transformation.
  • To make effective  use of communications, staff engagement and Learning and Development programmes to help create the necessary culture and behavioural change. 

 

Proposed outcomes from the Transformation Programme:

  • Improvements in service quality and value for money
  • More cost-efficient services
  • Purposeful, responsive, customer focussed services
  • A highly trained, flexible workforce
  • A more engaged, motivated workforce
  • Further development of a learning and ‘can do’ culture
  • The best standards of customer care
  • Delivery of financial savings
  • Environmental savings and benefits
  • Increases in the level of income generated
  • Modern and efficient work processes