Agenda item

The Board received a report of the Strategic Director Corporate and Policy which presented the findings of the 2009 State of the Borough Report and its implications for the mid-term review of the Sustainable Community Strategy.

The Sustainable Community Strategy was adopted by 2006. It contained a long-term vision and objectives with targets for the period 2006-2011. Since it was prepared:

(1)     A national indicator set and local area agreements had been introduced;

(2)     Statutory Guidance under the Local Government and Public Health Act had been issued; and

(3)     There had been revisions to underpinning policies and strategies such as the Children and Young People’s Plan.

The Board was therefore advised that it was necessary to conduct a mid-term review of the Sustainable Community Strategy. It was intended that this would be an update, not a complete revision. Surveys to date confirmed that the underlying vision and priorities remain relevant. The main areas for the review were outlined in the report.

Members were advised that the five Specialist Strategic Partnerships had been consulted and work had commenced on the mid-term review. A consultation draft would be available for consideration by partners, SSPs and PPBs with a view to a final version being approved at the Halton Strategic Partnership Board in May and by the Council in July 2009.

It was noted that as part of the preparation for the mid-term review of the State of the Borough report had been updated. It was important to note that much of the data reflected the situation before the current economic downturn due to the time lag in the availability of statistics.

Members were advised that the final “scorecard” as set out in the report assessed the state of Halton in terms of three main dimensions of sustainable development. There had been no significant changes since the last report. The scores represented the quintile where the district fell on each of the measures and this was further outlined in the report in relation to Economic Development, Social Development and Environment.

The report also set out the most significant changes since 2008 and these were outlined in detail in the report.

Members were advised that the opportunities and challenges faced by Halton were well-known. The Sustainable Community Strategy set out the steps we needed to take to bring improvement and how we would measure progress. The LAA was a set of targets agreed with the Government which reflected the Community Strategy. The mid-term review was an opportunity to bring these together in a single coherent document.

The State of the Borough report provided further evidence to support our priorities. It did not, however, fully reflect the impact of the economic downturn. The recession should not deflect us from our long-term ambitions but may affect the pace at which we could move forward.

            The Board discussed the crime rate that appeared high, in response it was reported that Halton’s crime rate was consistent in comparison to other authorities in the same “demographic family”, figures were above the National Crime Rate and were currently decreasing.

RESOLVED: That

(1)   the revised State of the Borough report be noted; and

(2)   the Policy and Performance Boards be consulted on a mid-term review of the Sustainable Community Strategy.