ABOUT OXFORDSHIRE

•	Everyone is familiar with what might be called the “Inspector Morse” images of Oxfordshire: the city of dreaming spires surrounded by sleepy Cotswold villages. The reality is more complex. Oxfordshire is a county of great diversity encompassing traditional rural landscapes, busy market towns and the undisputed buzz of a world-class university city. The county is home to a whole range of outstanding achievements in fields as different as biotechnology, motor sport and rock music. At the same time the challenges of twenty-first century living are evident in debates about traffic, environmental issues and rural poverty. 

•	With its central position in the south of England, Oxfordshire has always been a unique centre for commercial, creative and academic success. In both the manufacturing and service sectors, the county is geared towards high skilled, high value-added occupations and its workforce is one of the most highly qualified in the country. However the county’s favourable strategic position also means that it faces intense development pressures. 

•	Oxfordshire’s economy is highly robust, and is now being recognised as the dominant player and is home to some of the world’s most advanced scientific research companies. A number of research establishments of international importance are also located in Oxfordshire.

•	Farming remains an important industry in Oxfordshire and the County Council recently published a highly-acclaimed Oxfordshire Farming Study - expand. 

•	Oxfordshire has had a long tradition of car manufacture. It now has the highest concentration of performance car development, testing and manufacturing in the world, the new Mini is being produced in Cowley.
•	Oxfordshire also has the largest concentration of printing and publishing companies in the UK outside London.  It is at the forefront of the UK’s medical and reference publishing industries.

•	However, like other parts of the south-east, Oxfordshire faces significant labour market pressures. Unemployment currently stands at 1.2%, and skills shortages are starting to make themselves felt, not least among key workers in the public sector. House prices are high and traffic congestion is a growing problem. 

•	Amidst the overall affluence of the county are areas of both urban and rural poverty and of low pay, which the County Council has been mapping in a unique partnership with the University of Oxford.  Regeneration funding has been obtained for a range of projects both in Oxford and - uniquely - in some of the county’s market towns. 

•	Oxfordshire’s countryside and its rich heritage are key factors in the county’s quality of life.  However, transport pressures within Oxfordshire are increasing steadily, particularly within Oxford itself but also in the county’s towns and villages. The Oxford Transport Strategy involves a wide range of measures designed to achieve easier travel, better public transport and a more attractive environment in the historic city centre, including a pedestrianisation programme in busy shopping areas, the expansion of the successful Park & Ride service and the introduction of low emission buses.  Outside the city, an initiative to introduce 30mph limits is being implemented across Oxfordshire’s villages to help reduce traffic speed in rural areas. 

•	Oxfordshire is home not only to one of the world’s most famous “old” universities but also to one of the most successful “new” universities, Oxford Brookes. The addition of the new Said Business School to Oxford University is an example of the city’s tradition of academic excellence being extended into new areas.

INSIDE OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

A New Style of Governance for the County Council

2000-2001 has seen a significant change to the way in which the Council runs and how major decisions will be made.  The old system where Committees of Councillors took decisions on services has been replaced by a new Executive system.  The law now sets out for all local Councils three options for the Executive system from which the Council has had to choose.  These are:-

•	A Leader of the Council and Cabinet of up to nine other Councillors
•	A directly elected Mayor with a Cabinet of up to nine other Councillors
•	A directly elected Mayor with a Council Manager

Before deciding which of these to choose, the Council undertook an extensive programme of consultation between September 2000 and May 2001 to gauge public views on which option was best for the County Council and for Oxfordshire.

Overall, the consultation came out in favour of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet of Councillors option.  Following the County Council elections in June 2001, the full meeting of Councillors in July formally selected this option.

EXECUTIVE
The new arrangements began officially on 5 November 2001. Most decisions of the County Council will now be taken by an Executive of nine drawn from Councillors in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Groups. Although it will initially take all its decisions collectively, each County Councillor in the Executive will take the lead for a major area (or areas) of the Council’s work.  

Further information can be found in: [link to ‘A New Style of Governance for Oxfordshire’ – on Oxon CC website]

SCRUTINY
Five Scrutiny Committees have also been set up to provide some ‘checks and balances’ for the new system.  The areas of responsibility of the Scrutiny Committees echo the responsibilities of the Executive lead members on the Executive. Councillors who are in the Executive cannot be on a Scrutiny Committee.  The Scrutiny Committees are all chaired by members of the Labour group which is also the official opposition political group on the Council.

Scrutiny Committees have a very important role in helping the Executive to develop and review Council policies. They can commission their own independent review work; take up issues of concern to the public and communities; will be looking at ways in which stakeholders and the public can suggest issues which they would like to see the Council review; and will also be able to review the impact of the policies of other organisations on Oxfordshire.  They also act as a check on the Executive and can challenge the decisions they are taking.  

Further information can be found in: [link to ‘A New Style of Governance for Oxfordshire’ – on Oxon CC website]

COUNCIL
Under the new system the full Council remains responsible for setting the budget and deciding on the amount of money (including Council Tax) which will be required to run services.  The Council is also responsible for agreeing some other significant policies.

There are still a small number of decisions which the Government have said that the Executive cannot take, these are mainly to do with planning and other regulatory matters.  These will be taken by a small number of Committees which will report if necessary direct to the Council.

CONSULTATION

Our commitment to public consultation
The County Council is committed to listening to all members of the community and to involving local people and organisations in service planning and delivery.  The guiding principles for all our consultation exercises are to keep an open mind, to ensure that all interested parties are consulted, and that local people are well informed about the issues. We aim to ensure the process is conducted openly and honestly, and that all views expressed are taken into account when decisions are made by County Councillors. We are committed to communicating those decisions to the people who took part in the consultation process. 
The County Council has an agreed Consultation Strategy, which sets out a number of initiatives to improve our communication with local people. 
The main elements are:

•	To set up a research panel of 1,000 local people who will be asked on a regular basis for their views on issues of importance to the Council – the “Oxfordshire Citizens’ Panel” is now in place and its members have already completed two surveys.  A third survey is planned for February 2002.
 
•	To undertake a comprehensive, county-wide survey of local people’s views on service priorities and satisfaction with Council services - the first survey was carried out in 1999 and next survey is planned for autumn 2002. 

•	To publish an annual plan (like this one) and summary leaflet, setting out our performance in all key service areas and including targets for future performance.

•	To develop our Council website (www.oxfordshire.gov.uk) to give more information about Council services and to seek comments from local people – the County Council website is planned to be re-launched in spring 2002.

•	To establish a consultation strategy for each Department which include annual plans of key consultation activity - each Council department has a consultation strategy which will be re-visited in early 2002 when the Corporate Consultation Officer will compile the annual consultation plans.

If you would like any information about the Council’s consultation activities, please contact Carole Dixon, Corporate Consultation Officer on (01865) 815445.  Alternatively you can email Carole at carole.dixon@oxfordshire.gov.uk or write to her at County Hall, Oxford, OX1 1ND.

Recent consultation exercises

The County Council has undertaken a range of consultation exercises during the past year, including:

•	A county-wide interview survey and community workshop on new arrangements for political management.

•	A community workshop with Oxfordshire residents to discuss the Council’s proposed budget strategy and explore proposed Council Tax Levels for 2002/03.

•	Three Citizens’ Panel surveys with over 1,000 Oxfordshire residents which explored themes such as community safety, customer care, use of information technology and street lighting.

•	A county-wide interview survey of Oxfordshire parents to inform the implementation of the Foundation Stage of Learning.

•	A consultation about the re-organisation of homes for older people.

•	A county-wide postal survey by Oxfordshire Fire Service to explore service priorities and customer satisfaction.

If you would like any information about the Council’s consultation activities or survey results contact Carole Dixon, Corporate Consultation Officer on (01865) 815445, or e-mail at carole.dixon@oxfordshire.gov.uk or write to her at County Hall, Oxford, OX1 1ND.

PERFORMANCE 2000 - 2001

There is a range of methods by which we can assess our performance.  These include best value performance indicators, monitoring progress towards key improvement targets, reviewing the results of consultation exercises and information from the various inspections that the authority has been subject to.  For a review of our financial position [ financial position ]

In the Best Value Performance Indicator section we provide a summary of our performance against the targets established for each of 150 measures.  The section also provides links to more detailed information from these sources.

In last year’s Best Value Performance Plan we identified some key activities as improvement targets.  Progress in some of the priority areas is detailed in Key Improvement Targets

How satisfied members of the public are with our service is summarised in Consultation/Surveys/Results

The views of the District Audit and the Best Value Inspectorate on our performance are outlined in Audit/Inspection

In addition to these traditional methods of assessment the new Chief Executive, Richard Shaw took office in May 2001.  After a period of detailed research an assessment of the County Council was published in the summer of 2001.  The report is a wide-ranging review of the authority’s strengths and weaknesses and it proposes ambitious targets for the future.   For full details please go to [‘Raising our Performance’]   

The County Council also invited the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency to conduct a ‘Peer Review’ in the autumn.  This provided further valuable information to help develop our plans to improve the performance of the authority.  For full details please go to [ Peer Review]

As one might expect in an organisation of our size, we have a number of strengths and weaknesses.  For a summary of these please go to [ Summary of Performance}

Best Value Performance Indicators

Introduction

Best Value Performance Indicators have been established to monitor performance for local authorities.  For the year 2000/01 there were 150 indicators.  Full details can be found in [Performance Indicators]

It is a statutory requirement that a summary of the year’s performance indicators is published in a local newspaper.  The 2000-2001 summary was published in the Oxford Times on the 26 October 2001.

This report summarises the position for the year ending 31 March 2001 and is based on a comparison of performance against the targets established by the authority.

Performance Over view 2000/01

PIs 2000-2001			
	Number	%	
Exceeded target	47	30.9	
Equal to target	13	8.6	
Less than target	43	28.3	
Publish target	40	26.3	
No target set	5	3.3	
Not applicable	2	1.3	
Total	152	100	

Performance overview by department - where target is achieved or exceeded

	Achieved/Exceeded target	% of total (152)	
Corporate	8	5.3	
Education	23	15.1	
Social Services	4	2.6	
Environment	2	1.3	
Transport	6	3.9	
Planning			
Cultural Services	6	3.9	
Community Safety	2	1.3	
Trading Standards	1	0.6	
Fire Service	10	6.6	
Performance overview by department where target has not been achieved

	Number	
Corporate	7	
Education	12	
Social Services	12	
Environment	0	
Transport	3	
Planning	0	
Cultural Services	3	
Community Safety	1	
Trading Standards	0	
Fire Service	5	

Summary of BVPI performance against target 2000 - 2001

We are achieving target in 66% of the Best Value Performance Indicators.  A further 19 target areas are close (within 15%) to achieving target, representing 12.5% of the total.   In 28% of all of the indicators we are failing to achieve target.

Comparison with other authorities

It is useful to compare performance with other authorities.  There are 34 county councils and we have completed some analysis of the county’s performance based upon the provisional data issued in November.  [LINK]

In broad terms our performance falls into the top quartile of comparisons in 22.4% of the indicators, bottom quartile in 21%.

Conclusion

Within the majority of areas monitored by Best Value Performance Indicators the County Council is achieving target.  There are several areas where the authority’s performance could be improved, especially within Social Services and Education.  (It should be noted that performance within Social Services is primarily monitored by the Health Department’s Performance Assessment Framework, which contains around 50 ‘PAF’ indicators).  For further details please go to [DIAGRAM OF HOW BVPP FITS WITH OTHER PLANS] over 65% of the indicators related to them met the targets established

Key Improvement Targets 

For the financial year ending March 2001 the authority had adopted 10 strategic priorities.  In last years BVPP, we listed, under each of these, our Key Improvement Targets.  In most instances these related to the targets that had been set for statutory performance indicators, in others these related to specific activities.  This section reports progress against two of the most important activities.

Work towards developing a Community Strategy is progressing well.  The Local Strategic Partnership has been created, the first meeting takes place in January 2002 and it is envisaged that a Community Strategy will be in place in 2003.

The authority is also contributing to the development of Community Safety Strategies, working in partnership with District Councils and other services such as Thames Valley Police.  The strategies bring together the collective resources of the partnerships to address issues such as crime, the dangers from drug and substance abuse and road safety.  There are 5 strategies and there are on schedule for publication in April 2002. 

Adopting the benefits of technology to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered to the public, has moved forward on several fronts.  The County Council has approved plans for making all services capable of being delivered electronically by 2005.  These include the development of the Oxfordshire Community Network, an improved web site (due to go live in the Spring of 2992) and enhanced management information systems   For further details please go to [ e gov statement]

Consultation

To be completed

District Audit

District Audit completed their audit of our performance indicators on 31 October 2001.   The purpose of the audit is to check that the authority has ‘put arrangements in place, which are producing indicators that are reasonably accurate and complete’.  The District Auditor’s report states that the working papers in several areas (especially in Environmental Services) were incomplete.  17 reservations have been made on 2000-2001 performance indicators and these are detailed below.

		Reservations	
Environmental Services	10	•	Insufficient supporting documents provided
•	Contact unavailable
•	Insufficient explanation of method of data collection
•	No explanation given for significant increase due to unsatisfactory supporting documents/no contact officer	
Social Services	1	•	Non submission of data due to inaccurate collection of data	
Education	3	•	Insufficient supporting documents provided	
Corporate Health	3	•	Incomplete data
•	No officer to provide papers to support PI figure as authority does not directly fund service
•	Figure expressed incorrectly	
Summary		•	Did not refer to some new indicators
•	Noted that authority intends to develop inclusion framework for 2001-2002 summary	

A work programme had been in place to ensure the accuracy of the processes that support the provision of BVPI information.  In view of the criticism we have received this has clearly not been effective in a number of cases.  Further work in this area has been arranged and was initiated during December.  These include developing generic guidance notes and checklists for the establishment of working papers and a review of the targets established for each BVPI.  This work will be completed by the 31 January 2002.

Best Value Audit Report 2001 – 2002

District Audit undertakes an annual audit of our Best Value Performance Plan and assesses our overall progress in relation to Best Value.  Upon completion of the audit a report is produced, together with a series of recommendations which are contained within an action plan.

This year District Audit reported that: ‘The Oxfordshire Plan (BVPP) is well presented, easy to read and understandable and complies in most respects with statutory legislation. Progress has been made in the development of Medium Term Plans (MTPs) within departments, although there is a requirement to tighten the overall corporate approach to performance management across the Council. Much has been achieved with successful delivery of the Best Value review programme.’

18 recommendations were made, of which 5 were categorised as ‘statutory recommendations’ to which the Authority is required to make a formal response.  The authority provided responses to all of the 18 recommendations contained within the action plan.

We monitor completion of the action plan.  All of the statutory recommendations have been actioned.  Of the remaining 13, further work is required to respond effectively in 3 areas.  District Audit will assess how effectively we have addressed their recommendation during their audit in 2002.    Full details of District Audit report, action plan and our response can found in [DISTRICT AUDIT ACTION PLAN]

Inspections

In February 2001 the Audit Commission’s Best Value Inspection Service visited Oxfordshire to inspect its Best Value review of Highways Management. This was the only inspection carried out during 2000/01.

The Inspectors assessed the Council as providing a one-star service for Highway Management. This recognises that the service to the public is ‘fair’ but there is significant scope for improvement. They also considered that the service will ‘probably improve’ in the next five-year period.

A noticeable difference was found in the condition of Oxfordshire’s non-Principal Road network which was generally in poor condition, and contributed to a relatively low level of public satisfaction. They also found that performance management systems and the systems for dealing with public contacts were not to modern standards.

However, the Inspectors recognised that the Improvement Plan, funded by a 3-year revenue budget and a 5-year capital budget, represented a significant increase on in funding from recent years, and that it covered many of the important areas identified for improvement in the Best Value review.

A number of recommendations are made in the Inspectors’ report on how to further improve the service, which have been accepted and incorporated into a revised Improvement Plan.

To read a summary of the Inspectors report 
http://www.bestvalueinspections.gov.uk/SEARCH/REPORT.asp?REPORT_ID=8001

To read the full report (you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader etc)
http://www.bestvalueinspections.gov.uk/data/bvis/report8001/FULL.pdf 

Inspections carried out during 2001/02;
Arts and Recreation
Transport Capital Procurement 
Legal Services 
Audit and Risk Management 
Social Inclusion
Early Years and Childcare
Special Educational Needs Transport
Schools of Concern
Student Support
Support for ICT in Schools

Inspections likely to be carried out during 2002/03
Waste Management Service
Library Service
Support for Older People

Summary of Performance
In broad terms the County Council offers good value for money.  It exists in an expensive area of the country and delivers its range of services economically, when compared to other county councils.

There are many areas where the council has been successful, in terms of both outright performance and specific activity.  The County Council has achieved top quartile performance, by comparison with other counties in 24% of the areas assessed by Best Value Performance Indicators.  In over 60% of them, the Council achieved the targets it had set.  

Many of our departments have achieved notable successes.  We are recognised as a Centre for Excellence in Transport.  Our Trading Standards department has been awarded Beacon Status and Social Services won a Social Care Award for its work in partnership with Age Concern.  Our Education Department has recently had its work on Early Years Development recognised.

At the same time we have many areas where we need to improve our performance.  We have not achieved the targets we set for ourselves in 28% of the areas covered by Best Value Performance Indicators and our performance does not compare favourably with that of other County Councils in 21% of them.

During 2001/02 a comprehensive review of the authority was undertaken to achieve a detailed understanding of the areas that should be addressed if we are to achieve a ‘step change’ in performance.  

How we intend to address these issues are described under the Strategic Goal ‘Raising our Performance’.  For further details please go to [Raising our Performance]  

Strategic goals

2001 witnessed many changes that have influenced the strategic direction of Oxfordshire County Council.  Of these the most important are

•	The local government elections in May 2001 which led to a power sharing agreement between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Parties.

•	The government’s proposals for the modernisation of local government which led to the adoption in Oxfordshire of a Leader and Executive model of governance.

•	The newly formed Executive developed a strategic framework which defines the priorities for the authority over the medium term.

•	The authority revised its internal planning processes to provide a greater focus on corporate strategic objectives and align the planning processes adopted by departments within the County Council, in keeping with recommendations made by the District Auditor

Oxfordshire County Councils Strategic Goals

Five Strategic Goals have been identified by the Executive and this section of the Oxfordshire Plan provides details of the key activities and targets that illustrate how the County Council will realise those ambitions.  For details please click on the appropriate goal.

Helping people to fulfil their potential

Protecting our environment

Safeguarding our communities

Sustaining prosperity

Raising our Performance  

Additional details can be found within departmental plans.

Helping People to fulfil their potential

The County Council provides a range of services to help ensure that people have access to opportunities that will enrich their lives and help them to fulfil their potential.  Details of these can be found within the plans prepared by departments.

The Executive have identified a specific focus for 3 areas within this strategic goal and they are:

•	Ensuring that children leave school well equipped to make a positive contribution to society and able to achieve a fulfilled life in the years that lie ahead of them.

•	Providing opportunities to continue learning and education throughout life by improving access to schools and libraries.

•	Helping older people and the disabled to lead independent lives with as much responsibility as possible for the arrangements that enable this.

Detailed below are some of the key activities and related targets to illustrate how the County Council will deliver this strategic goal.  They have been selected as they are regarded as priorities and progress will be monitored carefully throughout the year.  Departmental plans contain details of other important initiatives related to this strategic goal.

Strategic goal 2 Protecting our Environment

The attractive Oxfordshire countryside is a major asset of the County, supporting a strong agricultural industry as well as providing opportunities for, leisure and tourism.  Of equal importance is the need to protect this potentially fragile facility.  The County Council plays a significant role in the protection of Oxfordshire’s environment and has a range of major responsibilities in key areas. Details of these can be found within the plans prepared by departments.

The Executive have identified a specific focus for 3 areas within this strategic goal and they are:

Preserving our Oxfordshire heritage so that successive generations are able to enjoy it and benefit from the wide range amenities it offers. 

Conserving and improving access to the countryside to encourage an interest in the environment and support local businesses.

Protect the environment by reducing the impact of waste disposal upon it.  This will be achieved principally by managing a reduction in the levels of waste produced by the County and increasing the percentage of waste materials that are re-cycled.

Detailed below are some of the key activities and related targets to illustrate how the County Council will deliver this strategic goal.  They have been selected as they are regarded as priorities and progress will be monitored carefully throughout the year.  Departmental plans contain details of other important initiatives related to this strategic goal.

Strategic goal 3 Safeguarding our Communities

The County Council is a significant partner in the efforts made by a wide range of public organisations to the safety of our community.   Details of our contributions can be found within the plans prepared by departments.

The Executive have identified a specific focus for 3 areas within this strategic goal and they are:

Working with partners to reduce death and injuries at home, at work and on the road.

Working with partners to reduce levels of crime within the community.

Working with partners to support vulnerable people within the community.

Detailed below are some of the key activities and related targets to illustrate how the County Council will deliver this strategic goal.  They have been selected as they are regarded as priorities and progress will be monitored carefully throughout the year.  Departmental plans contain details of other important initiatives related to this strategic goal.

Strategic goal 4  Sustaining Prosperity

Oxfordshire is fortunate to have a strong local economy with a wide variety of employers and businesses, although areas remain which need special attention.  The major challenges are to ensure that the local infrastructure continues to support our economy and helps to maintain these advantages in the future.  At the same time action is required to help support those areas of the County that are not so fortunate.

The Executive have identified a specific focus for 3 areas within this strategic goal and they are:

Providing and maintaining an effective transport infrastructure within the County is a major challenge.  The Executive wishes to focus upon 2 key initiatives within this area.  Maintaining highways promptly and in a way that minimises disruption to the travelling public.  Ensuring that the use of public transport continues to make a major contribution to a reduction in road congestion.  Developing improved public transport systems by supporting the Guided Transit Express and the East West Rail link.

Developing the Oxfordshire Network to improve information technology links for both the County Council and local businesses.

Work to sustain the rural economy by supporting diversification into additional areas such as tourism and small businesses.

Detailed below are some of the key activities and related targets to illustrate how the County Council will deliver this strategic goal.  They have been selected as they are regarded as priorities and progress will be monitored carefully throughout the year.  Departmental plans contain details of other important initiatives related to this strategic goal.

Raising our Performance

The Executive has determined 3 key areas as a focus for improving the services offered to the public.  They are:-

Making it easier for members of the public to contact the authority and enabling the County Council to respond more effectively and efficiently to their needs.

Standing up for Oxfordshire to ensure that the County’s needs are effectively represented with central government and local partners.

Ensuring the continuous development of County Council services to improve both value for money and the quality of services provided. 

Access to County Council Services

The County Council plans to offer electronic access to all of its services by 2005.   Access will be provided by a range initiatives of which the most important are the development of a Contact Centre and the creation of a ‘broadband’ network to service both County Council needs and those of local business.   Examples of the sort of facilities this will provide range from being able to resolve council tax issues, report street lighting defects, obtain information on Social Service facilities, through to ordering library books.  All of these services will be available by contacting just one telephone number or via a computer terminal.  For those without computer links at home, terminals will be installed for public use in all libraries and there are plans to provide training in the use of computers in some areas.

.
{ for more details of our E government Strategy please go to}

Standing up for Oxfordshire

There are two specific issues in this area which the Executive are focusing upon.  These are the levels of Council Tax and maintaining control of key planning decisions.

County Council revenues come primarily from 2 sources, Council tax which is collected locally and from Central Government.  The method by which Central Government payments are calculated is changing and there is a need to ensure that these do not disadvantage Oxfordshire.  Any reduction in these payments can only be offset by increases in Council Tax or reductions in services.  [For more details please go to]   The Executive is very conscious of recent increases in Council Tax and will take every opportunity to protect Oxfordshire’s position in the negotiations with Central Government.

Similarly there proposals from Central Government to change the current arrangements for determining planning decisions, removing them to a regional tier of Government.  The Executive believes this would be a retrograde step, primarily because it severs this key responsibility from local democratic control.  Accordingly the Executive will argue to maintain the existing arrangements and ensure that the local population maintains control over this important area.

Improving the quality of our services and value for money

This area has been the subject of considerable focus during 2001 and will be a priority during the forthcoming year.

In May 2001 a new Chief Executive joined the authority.  During the first 3 months a wide ranging review of Oxfordshire County Council was undertaken.  A report was produced entitled Raising our Performance, which made a series recommendations to improve the performance of the authority. {For further details please go to Raising our Performance.}

One of the recommendations proposed a ‘Peer Review’, to provide an independent and external assessment of the County Council.  The review took place in the autumn of 2001 and it was organised by the Local Government  Improvement and Development Agency.  The full report was received in January 2002.  {For further details please go to } 

On the basis of these reports a comprehensive action plan has been developed to be completed by 2004.  Work commenced upon this in the autumn of 2001 and will continue throughout 2002.

The Peer Review identified Performance Management as a significant weakness in many areas of the County Council.  In January 2002 proposals were accepted by the Executive to address these weaknesses and these will be implemented during the year.  Within the proposals there are 4 key elements:

1.	A performance management framework which sets out arrangements that will ensure a robust co-ordinated planning structure throughout the authority.

2.	Focused target setting arrangements that are structured around corporate objectives and regular reports on performance in key areas for the Executive. 

3.	An improved approach to Best Value Reviews which links the planned reviews of our services to strategic goals, develops the review process so that it is more efficient and provides a more focused approach to secure the 2% productivity improvements required by the Best Value regime.

4.	A stronger approach to financial management achieved by improved management information and more robust monitoring and control systems.

{For further details please go to} 

The following targets have been established for this strategic goal: 

•	100% of contacts with the public, by type, can be made electronically by telephone through a contact centre or via the Internet -by 2005.

•	Establish a contact centre by 2003. 

•	All public libraries to provide public access to the Internet by March 2003 

•	Campaign during 2002/03 for the protection of Area Cost Adjustment.  This provides Oxfordshire with grants to cover the higher costs of living in the S.E. of England without which council Taxes will rise faster.

•	Identify 2% efficency savings for all services by March 2003.

•	Complete the action plan from Raising our Performance by 2005 

•	The 4 key elements of the County Council Performance Management framework adopted and in use across the authority by March 2003.

Draft Notes BVPP

•	Summary of how OCC and Services performed against budget in 2000-01

This was a challenging year for OCC financially. Balances at the start of the year were £6m and had reduced by £2.5m to £3.5m by the year end. There were four major calls on balances; Social Services was awarded additional budget provision of £0.6m to meet the unachievable element of budget cuts from previous years; £0.2m was spent bringing the number of retained firefighters closer to full establishment; £0.4m of additional commitments in respect of firefighters pension payments arose during the year; the cost of accommodating asylum seekers exceeded grant levels by £1.7m. Even so, balances remained broadly in line with the level in the Council’s Medium Term Plan.

All other expenditure pressures were managed by individual services as part of  the Council’s budget management arrangements. Education and Social Services had deficits of £58,000 and £288,000 respectively, with all other Committees underspending by £3,559,000 giving a year end balance for all Committees of £3,213,000.

Additionally, schools balances rose by £3 million to £11.8 million.

•	How plans are being financed over 02-07

The Council agreed a three year Medium Financial Plan on 13 February 2001. The Medium Term Plan to be approved at Council on 5th February 2002, will roll forward the Plan an additional two years to give a forecast over the life of this Council. The forecast showed a drop in the rate of increase in Council Tax from 7.2% in 2001/02 to 5.2% in 2002/03, falling to 3.5% in 2003/04. ( The plan is currently being worked on and so all figures will change).

•	Impact of  strategic priorities/service plans

The Medium Term Financial Plan agreed by Council on 5th February will reflect the Executive’s Budget Strategy which states ‘ Our Financial Strategy, encompassing both revenue and capital elements, has to match our long-term strategies as set out in the Oxfordshire Plan. Top level strategies have to be congruent with departmental plans and must be realistic and deliverable’. These include; passporting  Education SSA increase; funding Broadband and developing a Contact Centre,; establishing a Modernisation Fund over 4 years; and allocating £1m to Environmental Services to eliminate potholes and improve pavements.

•	Pressures 02/03

The unmet service pressures are being presented to the  programme areas Scrutiny Committees currently, and corporate pressures to Corporate Governance Committee. These will be prioritised for the Plan to be submitted to Council.

BEST VALUE

The County Council has established a 5-year rolling programme of best value reviews.  Each review seeks to identify and implement improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of services provided to the public.

Details of our programme for last year and that planned for this year, can be found in Reviews Completed and Reviews Undertaken.  We have also included details of the reviews we plan to undertake during the following year in Changes to the Review Programme.

Best value reviews are subject to inspection, by both District Audit and the Best Value Inspectorate, which is a division of the Audit Commission.  

District Audit reviewed our programme for 2000 – 2001.  To read the report please click here...\District Audit\STE06OX006BV-01.doc 

The Best Value Inspectorate inspected one review in full and completed a series of ‘desk top’ reviews on others.  To read a summary of the Inspectors report 
http://www.bestvalueinspections.gov.uk/SEARCH/REPORT.asp?REPORT_ID=8001

To read the full report (you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader etc)
http://www.bestvalueinspections.gov.uk/data/bvis/report8001/FULL.pdf 

Considerable practical experience has now been obtained from the efforts of local authorities to put the principles of best value into practise.  The government announced an intention to complete a 3 month review of best value as the Best Value Performance Plan was being written.  The Audit Commission has issued a publication entitled ‘Changing Gear’, which provides useful ideas for improving the effectiveness of best value reviews.  We also have been monitoring the implementation of last years review programme and learning from our experiences.

In broad terms the advice we are receiving suggests a smaller review programme, where individual reviews are clearly focused upon the County Councils strategic priorities and significant areas of weakness.  As a result we have modified the review programme from that published last year.  In terms of our approach, we are changing the way we undertake and resource reviews, taking into account both our experience and the advice received.

Many commentators have suggested that a key change following the Governments review will be a move away from a 5-year rolling programme of best value reviews.  Both District Audit and the Best Value Inspectorate have encouraged us to amend the programme to take account of priorities.  On this basis we have developed the programme for 2002 – 2003 but are awaiting the outcome of the review before proceeding further.

Reviews Completed 2000-2001

Summaries of BV Reviews 2000-01
Audit (Internal Audit, External Audit and Risk Management)
Focus of the Review
This review reported to the Best Value Committee on 13 March 2001. The purpose of the review was
To fundamentally appraise the present nature of the audit and risk management services as a whole. In doing this, the review sought to identify the forward needs of the Council for these services including:
•	Undertaking comparative exercises with other organisations (not just local authorities)
•	Consultation with Chief Officers, service users and members
•	Reviewing and developing performance management for the service
•	Considering how the service can develop effective controls to meet standards of corporate governance
The review explored the different models of service provision in terms of external/joint/partnership arrangements.
There was a review of the current External Audit arrangements that included:
•	Comparing costs and impact of different external auditors used by other local authorities
•	Exploring the scope for reducing the future external audit fees
•	Reviewing Managed Audit arrangements within the Council
•	Reviewing effectiveness of current dialogue with District Audit
Agreed Outcomes
Merge the Internal Audit Service and Risk Management Service to form a new Audit and Risk Management Service with a new purpose and emphasis. The outcomes for the Council of the new service will be, for example:
•	Independent assurance to Chief Officers that high risk areas are being managed effectively
•	Evidence that managers are accountable for risks and controls. 
•	Risk assessments become an integral part of planning, project management and best value reviews
•	The principles of corporate governance (openness, accountability and integrity) are widely understood and practiced across the Council.
Improve the service given to the council by District Audit
Improve the perception of the service provided by District Audit.

Care Management and Commissioning Physical Disability
Focus of the Review
The review focussed on the following key areas:
Strategy: The strategy was reviewed to ensure it consistency with the declared objectives, ‘meeting the needs of physically disabled people by enabling them to live independently’ and ensuring that the authority’s statutory duties are fulfilled. The review aimed to evaluate the County Eligibility Criteria for assessment and service.
Structure: The way in which the service is currently structured was reviewed to ensure it was established in the most appropriate manner to achieve its objectives, statutory duties and performance targets in the most effective and efficient way. The review considered whether advantages lie in significantly different approaches to service delivery.
Operational Management: How the service is managed was be reviewed to ensure: it focussed upon and measured performance against objectives and targets.That all statutory duties are fulfilled. That resources are used in the most effective and efficient manner, in particular purchasing support at home and contracting for residential nursing care.
Consultation: We will evaluate the current approach to consultation to ensure we capture the views and opinions of service users, carers, working partners, voluntary organisations and other statutory bodies, in the most appropriate way.
Within this review, budget savings of £547.000 have to be achieved by March 2003. Seeking ways to achieve these savings will be a key part of the review in each of the above areas.
Agreed Outcomes
Effective Monitoring of Business Processes including
•	Business processes implemented and used by all staff by July 2001
•	All assessments, care plans and reviews are in line with the business processes by March 2001.
Improved budget structure, information and management including:
•	Budgets communicated to managers for 2001/2 by April 2001.
•	Expenditure targets set.
Reporting system available to managers monthly by April 2001.
•	‘Bottom up’ budget process in place by Oct 2001 to predict a budget for 2002/3 that matches client needs.
•	Budget 2001/2 is achieved.
•	Creation of one purchasing budget by June 2001.
•	Process for predicted Section 28a expenditure in place by Oct 2001.

County Legal Services
Focus of the Review
The review focussed on the key improvement options identified through consultation together with other areas identified for improvement. These are:
•	An exploration of the opportunities of working with other public/private partners/providers to ensure depth and consistency of service and its cost effective provision.
•	An improvement in financial information given to client departments, both in terms of strategic budget information, and spending on individual cases
•	Improvement of individual service agreements with service departments for legal work
•	A review of the existing management arrangements, including the split management responsibility and the current “trading unit” operation to encourage cost efficiency
•	A review of the way in which the corporate role is undertaken in order to ensure the Council as a whole operates lawfully.
In addition an opportunity has arisen for direct comparison and competition between general litigation work and private practice by virtue of the fact that the County’s insurance work is about to be offered up for tender.  An in-house bid for this work would provide direct comparisons with private practice both in quality and price.
Agreed Outcomes
•	To identify preferred firms to provide legal services to the unit leading to a 10% reduction in the cost of contract and conveyancing work.
•	To increase the income from existing clients
•	To establish new public sector partners to increase income generation
•	To improve financial information provided to departments

Cultural Services: Arts and Recreation
Focus of the Review
Overall:
•	Explore opportunities for new and creative partnerships to achieve objectives (eg: with District Councils)
•	Identification of key objectives and actions to be incorporated in Local Cultural Strategy
Arts:
•	initiation of grant aid agreements to monitor outputs/outcomes from arts grants
•	analyse value for money achieved through subscriptions to organisations such as Southern Arts.
•	development of an inward investment strategy to maximise funding opportunities (e.g. Lottery funding)
•	determination of value for money of outsourced arts strategy arrangement (e.g. versus in-house)
School of Sport:
•	fundamental review of whether the school of sport is the most effective and efficient way of achieving our policy objectives.
•	fundamental evaluation of nature/location, its strategic significance and options for outsourcing
Recreation grants:
•	review of content of service level agreements and continuing priority attached to the specified outputs/outcomes
•	initiation  of a service level agreement with ORCC with specified outputs/outcomes
Tourism:
•	review policy objectives
•	develop an action plan as part of a corporate approach to tourism strategy (eg: through links to economic development)
•	examine the relationship between County Council activity and District Council activity.
Agreed Outcomes
•	Develop performance monitoring arrangements for arts funding including service level agreements for all grants in excess of £5000.
•	To create a partnership with Southern Arts to increase the influence we have over their work.
•	To improve the arrangements for managing the outsourced arts consultant including a formal contract and agreed work programme
•	To conduct a consultation exercise to determine priorities for arts, recreation, sport and tourism as part of the development of the Local Cultural Strategy for Oxfordshire
•	To develop service level agreements for recreation grants
•	To cease subscription to the Southern Tourist board

Customer Care
Focus of the Review
The review focussed on the need to develop an up to date corporate approach to customer care. Including:
•	what this should be
•	what it should cover
•	standards that should be set
•	how it could be communicated with relevant individuals and organisations
•	training/facilities required by staff in front line contact with customers
•	how OCC responds holistically to customer needs including evaluation of potential benefits of front office/ back office structure
Comparison with others (both public and private sector) to see different approaches, targets, mechanisms and standards.
Re-evaluation of our current performance and operation for each of the four channels identified in question 1, and ideas for improving how we perform for our customers:
•	phone
•	letter
•	in person
•	e-mail/Internet
Re-evaluation of the corporate complaints procedure
Agreed Outcomes
Develop and implement an up to date customer care policy in the light of changing public expectations. To include
•	Standards of response and service covering all forms of contact with customers.  Monitor these and publish our performance against them annually.
•	Increasing the satisfaction of the general public with the helpfulness and efficiency of staff; the net proportion saying that it was easy to get hold of the right person; and the net proportion saying they were satisfied with the outcome of their contact by 10% within two years of launching new policy
Improve telephone access to services by extending opening hours and answering a greater proportion of queries at the first point of contact. Proposed targets for OCC are:
•	By November 2001:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
•	By November 2002:  as above plus 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday.
•	By November 2003:  8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 am to 4 p.m. Saturday.
•	50% of calls answered at first point of contact by March 2002.

Domiciliary Care (focussing on the clients of the older persons team)
Focus of the Review
The following are the main issues and are directly associated with the areas already identified as in need of improvement
Identification of, and action to reduce, the factors creating high unit costs including, benchmarking, varying the method of provision and minimisation of avoidable costs by management action.
Review of the charging regime (particularly as a result of the Audit Commission publication “Charging with Care”)
Identification of strategic aims, objectives and specific targets, linked with a performance measurement system to support them including: preformance framework, emerging issues, organisational structure and processes as well as non-core services.
Investigation of the volume of service required and control mechanisms including: the boundary between health and SSD, comparison with other authorities’ service levels, the assessmennt processes and identification of budget responsibilities
Innovation in service delivery including: use of consultation information and new methods of delivering services.
Agreed Outcomes
Refocus domiciliary care service within a strategic framework with clear outcome objectives
Reprovide shopping service
Unit Cost Reduction/Service Re- profiling
Increase take up of Section 28a (Health) Funding commensurate with volume of health care related activity
Implementation of Electronic Time Monitoring System
Establishing a charging policy and with explicit aims and objectives

Early Years Education and Childcare
Focus of the Review
Compare costs with other local authorities in order to establish whether our services are providing value for money
Establish long term comparative and benchmarking links with other Authorities/partnerships and use the information gathered from these to identify areas for improvement and development
Identify key strategic issues within the development of the service to be addressed as part of future plans e.g.:
•	implementation of the new Foundation Stage of learning.
•	expanding the number of early education places for 3 year olds
•	development of integrated early education/ childcare/ family support provision
•	improving information services for parents
•	expanding early years educational provision for 0-3 year olds
Consider the current balance of the mixed economy of early years and childcare provision in Oxfordshire and how this might be changed/ developed over the next few years.
Consider carefully the extent to which early years education and childcare should be seen as a core part of the developing agenda for children and young people’s services and how they should be linked to family support generally.
Explore in greater depth the arguments for and against developing integrated management of early education/ childcare/ family support across education and social services, and examine how this might be achieved in practical terms.
Agreed Outcomes
Create an integrated early education and childcare unit within OCC so that public and providers will have access to a single main source of information and advice about early years and childcare matters by April 2002
Change early education funding and admission policy for 3 and 4 year olds in order to achieve savings and generate additional income that can be used to finance future service improvements
•	Pupil-led funding for attached nursery schools (from April 2002)
•	Summer-born 4 year olds admitted to primary schools from January of each year (from January 2003)
•	All rising fives funded for full-time rather than part-time attendance (from January 2003)
•	Reception year 5 year olds funded at the nursery unit of resource (from April 2004)

Fire Service Control Room Function (No BV3 or 4, Review Report and Action Plans instead)
Focus of the Review
•	Comparison with Thames Valley Police/Oxfordshire NHS Ambulance Trust control functions for best practice.
•	Exploration of joint working with other brigades (likely to be other Thames Valley brigades –Buckinghamshire and Berkshire – because of good working relationships).
•	Exploration of complete externalisation to commercial sector and review of commercial sector practices, e.g. Green Flag, that could be employed within the Oxfordshire service.
•	Investigation of the areas identified by the benchmarking exercise to determine best practice from other brigades which should be applied to Oxfordshire.
Agreed Outcomes
•	Evaluation of the advantages of a combined Fire Control Centre for more than one authority. ( Elected members working group )
•	Ensuring  consistency in the way benchmarking statistics are provided and compared
•	A cost benefit analysis of service improvements that can be achieved to place Oxfordshire Fire Service within the top quartile in each comparative area
•	Introduction of a national framework training program for Control Room Staff (Integrated Personal Development System)
•	Establishment of an operational development group for all three Thames Valley Brigades to ensure consistency of future protocols as part of the initiative to improve collaborative working.
•	Completion of the Home Office Staffing Model and to consider the recommendations in relation to non core activities in the Control Room
•	Implementation of strategy for the reduction of Unwanted fire alarms.
•	Review of results of User Survey, in particular for other emergency services and utilities to see how communication can be improved.

Highway Management
Focus of the Review
Comparison, cost, performance and specification issues.
•	Improve performance as measured by BVPI’s;
•	Closer examination of unit costs and quality indicators 
•	Review current policies and priorities for each of the various highway maintenance activities
Structural Issues (client staff organisation and agency agreementa)
•	Review the role and structure of the client organisation, and take into account its findings in a review of the current Depot Rationalisation Strategy.
•	Review the current and potential working arrangements with District and Local Councils.  To look at Agency agreements and Section 42 activities.
Operational issues (consultation, customer case, travel delays)
•	Examine the potential for managing traffic to reduce the need for highway maintenance.  
•	Develop consultation methods for Highway Management 
•	Investigate alternative customer care arrangements 
•	Minimising the impact of road works on the travelling public, 
Developing the existing partnering arrangements with consultant, Babtie Group, and contractors, Isis Accord, was identified as a key contributor to continuous improvement.
Agreed Outcomes
•	To improve the service plan and BVPI Action Plan
•	To improve the monitoring of BVPIs
•	To make the most effective use of the budget to reduce the decline in standards of non-principal roads
•	To spend each year’s budget where practicable in line with public expectations of the service
•	To improve service delivery of the National Street Gazeteer
•	To identify the needs of internal customers and implement use of highway network clasifications as appropriate for them.
•	To improve utility companies compliance with the new Road and Street Works Act
•	To develop a central call handling facility and a departmental customer care code of practice
•	To improve the control of roadworks carries out by others and to provide more accurate and timely road works information

ICT Support for Schools
Focus of the Review
•	Develop a regular benchmarking approach for the service against other providers to identify ways of improving.
•	Develop consultation and feedback mechanisms with users and other stakeholders – initially to identify their views on current needs and the extent to which services meet these needs or could be improved.
•	Identify what further technical support should be provided or brokered by the LEA for schools.
following the work above,
•	Review the structure of service delivery (including the in-house/external split) in the light of benchmarking, users’ needs and other external factors (including the completion of the NGfL programme in Primary schools in 2001).
Agreed Outcomes
•	To develop the performance management framework for ICT support for schools to include an annual survey of schools satisfaction and comparative data from other authorities.
•	To improve the effectiveness of NOF training for teachers
•	To improve the technical support available to schools
•	To revise the structure of the Education Department ICT staff to improve strategic leadership and focus on meeting schools’ priorities

Personnel
Focus of the Review
Structural/Strategic Issues.
•	Structure of Personnel and system of delegation of decision-making
•	Proportionally high resource areas i.e. training / management development and recruitment 
•	Grading structures and systems 
•	Employee communications systems
•	Developing measurable targets and objectives by which to monitor personnel performance
Operational Issues
•	Streamlining recruitment, including possible outsourcing of job applications handling
•	Redeployment processes
•	Management of poor performance
Agreed Outcomes
•	To maintain and strengthen the devolved structure of personnel and introduce measures to ensure that it is working effectively
•	To increase the delegation to chief officers in the areas of regrading decisions and establishing new posts.
•	Abolish the requirement to re-advertise temporary posts wich become permanent where it can be shown that the temporary post holder is satisfactory
•	Devlop and introduce corporate guidelines for managing poor performance of all employees
•	Develop a cross-departmental personnel strategy and departmental annual plans with measurable targets and objectives
•	Develop, in consultation with unions, a consitent appeals procedure
•	Implement a job evaluation scheme across the organisation

Schools of Concern
Focus of the Review
Gather detailed information and data in a systematic way on structure, processes and costs of other Authorities and providers identified as performing well by OFSTED. This will involve an investigation of the cost/quality benefits to be gained from involving other Authorities or providers who wish to market their services in this area.  Other Authorities to be approached include North Tyneside, Camden, Suffolk and Blackburn with Darwen (Beacon Status Authorities) and Norfolk (also undertaking a Best Value Review of this work).  Other providers to be approached include CfBT (independent educational consultants).
Evaluate, with the assistance of external consultants, the implementation of the strategy with a view to improving the Ofsted grading from 4 to 3 or 2.
Consult in a systematic and structured way with the headteachers & the Governors of schools in special measures or with serious weaknesses on the effectiveness of the restructured approach to support & their own consultation with their school community. The outcomes of this consultation to directly influence the direction of the service. The consultation to take place in September.
Develop further the Authority's drive on the recruitment and retention of headteachers and teachers by maintaining the post or at least the work of the Recruitment Strategy Manager beyond April 2001 and linking it with further innovative initiatives in this area.  This may entail strengthening the work of the local Consortium of Education Authorities and Higher Education in support of schools of concern and recruitment to them as well as developing closer operational links with teacher recruitment agencies.
Agreed Outcomes
Establish a system to monitor performance of the service (using consultation and external evaluation) & thereby in Summer 2002 be able to assess whether the structure of provision should change, eg through changes to the in-house service, a partnership with other authorities or providers, or outsourcing.
Coordinate support structures and data gathering through dedicated administrative support, disseminate descriptions of the service and case studies, and investigate the benefits of increased involvemenet of parents through a pilot project
Disseminate specific guidance for SM/SW schools, develop links with teacher supply agencies, and double the Oxford School Improvement Team

Social Inclusion
Focus of the Review
This review focussed on OCC’s overall systems and mechanisms for tackling social exclusion including poverty, rather than examining the contributions of individual services (as these services will be subject to their own Best Value reviews as part of the statutory five year review programme).
The work focussed on a range of geographical patches of the county, in order to reflect a cross section of Oxfordshire’s population. For example, the review might look at a relatively deprived ward in Oxford City (using the Index of Local Deprivation; or current Poverty Mapping data), as well as rural areas and villages, where there may be less obvious pockets of deprivation.
The review examined where County Council services have had a positive impact and where they may have been detrimental to people’s quality of life, and whether a more strategic approach to co-ordinating and integrating all work to tackle exclusion (as used by other authorities) would yield more success.
Flowing from this we will be in a position to review:
•	Our internal co-ordination mechanisms
•	The level of partnership working
•	Our use of Performance Indicators
•	How we assess the impact of services
•	Our use of budgets and funding
•	How we communicate with and involve socially excluded people themselves
In addition to specific outcomes, this should provide the foundation for the planned revision of the existing anti poverty strategy.
Agreed Outcomes
Improve our use of data and information relating to poverty and social inclusion
Improve our understanding of the impact of our decisions on people experiencing poverty and disadvantage
Improve our consultation with disadvantaged and socially excluded groups and individuals through a co-ordinated and corporate approach

Special Needs Transport
Focus of the Review
Education
•	The determination of entitlement criteria to increase budget control drawing on examples of good practice from other LEAs and making use of Resources Panel from September 2000 to check and develop criteria.
•	Clarify roles and responsibilities of Schools Officers and of the (procurement) Transport Section.
•	Possible pilot project looking at transport provision for pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties.  This will be undertaken as part of this review.
•	Tighter monitoring and control of the budget.  This will be partly influenced by the development of the specific selection criteria  and the use of the Resources Panel.
•	Also focus on the use of specific type of transport – minimise the use of taxis, reduce parental expectation of transport as a right.
•	Establish a better management information system.
Education / Social Services
•	To assess the effects of combining the Education (SEN) and Social Services procurement function within one unit.
•	Benchmarking work to compare criteria and performance with similar and any identifiable best performing LEAs.
•	Explore if any benefits could arise from changing the way in which the defined service is delivered (In-house, External, Different Balance or New Organisation).
•	Consult with Commissioners, Users, Carers and Day Services Providers specifically regarding: appropriateness, reliability, consistency, drivers (courtesy, helpfulness and appearance), and administration (courtesy, helpfulness and speed of response)
Agreed Outcomes
SEN & mainstream education transport to be restructured, in particular to improve SEN procurement and increase review and monitoring
SEN performance management information to be improved through the collection of accurate benchmark data in order to set targets and adopt the Performance Management Framework outlined for SEN. In addition to install management information systems to enable managers to monitor these targets
Ensure professional transport & contract negotiation skills in order to procure flexibly, assess transport staff & implement training where required – and so achieve tighter cost control
Implementation of SEN selection criteria & encourage transport independence in young people
Improve access for clients e.g. parents, guardians, schools and centres through a hotline. Improve information for users, establish regular user panel meetings and consult users annually
Coordinate strategy in Oxfordshire and collaborate to find savings where there are overlaps. Explore the feasibility of co-locating Education transport alongside Social Services’ transport procurement

Student Support (formerly Awards)
Focus of the Review
Service specification, standards and targets with external validation (eg Chartermark or IIP).
Collection of feedback from public/users and use of this feedback to improve services.
Exploring the feasibility of contracting part or the whole of the service out to an external organisation/supplier.
Exploring how the present service might be improved, taking into account the results of the feedback exercise, and using the specification developed as part of the review ((c) above), with a focus on:
•	dealing effectively with the public and promoting the services of the student support section within the community;
•	providing an on-line service to the public;
•	reviewing work practices, structures, and the distribution of responsibilities within the section and identifying staff development needs;
•	examining the issues/practicalities involved in contracting with a new software supplier in 2001/02;
•	developing regular benchmarking arrangements with other similar LEAs.
Agreed Outcomes
Adopt Performance Management Framework see BV3d: Performance Management Framework, eg:
•	1.2 Staff cost per live applicant (99/00 £31.88; target 2001/2 £31.88; 2005/6 £24.32)
•	5.5 Members and senior officers evaluate performance against policy objectives
Establish lead roles for key areas; multi-functional working; flexible working; and develop monitoring and appraisal of staff e.g.
•	5.3 Systems to monitor and appraise performance of staff
•	5.4 Number of staff who leave voluntarily as a % of all staff (current 29%; target 2001/2 26.7%; 2003/4 17.6%)
New working practices
•	Service performance standards
•	Administrative efficiency service standards
•	Publicity and accessibility service standards
•	Customer care standards
Achieve Charter Mark e.g.
•	1.3 Customer satisfaction (“acceptable” or better: current 96%; 2001/2 target 97%; 2005/6 target 97%)
•	5.1 Feedback actively sought from applicants (in addition to satisfaction levels)
•	5.2 Feedback actively sought from partners: Student Loan Company, colleges, schools etc

Transport Capital Programme Procurement
Focus of the Review
The capital programme for which the service is responsible for delivering is within an area being promoted by national government. The outcomes of this review will have to ensure that the department is able to deliver a significantly larger programme to time and to budget. 
For all of the options below we will be looking at how other authorities and organisations work and perform.
Structure: We are aware that other authorities deliver the service in different ways. The advantages and disadvantages will be explored. There is potential for a different use of the existing structure e.g. more or less use of consultants, different working arrangements between the client, consultants and contractor. The advantages and disadvantages will be explored.
Operational management:
•	Performance management – there is no formal process to compare the service outcomes with objectives on a regular basis. We will be reviewing the existing approach to performance management.
•	Forward planning and programme management performance is poor. We will be examining current practices to identify weaknesses in the control of in-house and external resources.  We will also review Committee involvement in scheme prioritisation and how this might be streamlined to speed up the process.
•	Project management disciplines are not being followed. We will identify the reasons and recommend procedures that ensure that schemes of appropriate quality are delivered on time and to cost. 
Examination of the current processes for consultation, to improve efficiency and effectiveness.  This will involve benchmarking with other providers to compare consultation processes, and a review of consultation techniques used by the service.
Agreed Outcomes
Provide a structure to support effective project management which will provide greater control and monitoring of the capital spend
Developing the processes by which the Partnership Development Team manages the operational aspects of the partnering with Babtie and Isis Accord.
Improve communication within the partnership
Develop a process to validate proposed schemes against the objectives of the Local Transport Plan (LTP)
Improve performance management to enable us to meet the objectives of the Local Transport Plan and the Environmental Services Medium Term Plan
To develop and maintain the client’s technical competence to an appropriate level.
Improve Project Management disciplines within the department
Improve existing procedures for consultation.

A review of Best Value 2000-01 

Background

In June 2001 the Best Value and Audit Sub Committee was presented with a report, detailing the progress that had been made, adopting and implementing the requirements of Best Value.  

In particular the report detailed the costs and benefits resulting from the Best Value programme of service reviews in 2000/01.

The report stated that a progress update would be produced at the half-year point.
Findings

The Performance and Review Team have held a series of discussions with the relevant areas to determine progress.

Annexe A accompanied the report issued in June and highlighted a range of important activities that should have been completed by the 31st October.   This has been updated with the comments received from Departments and forms the basis of this report.

In overall terms progress to implement the specific selection of key improvement options is good.  Of a total of 43 actions, only 5 are recorded on the annexe as outstanding. 

Details related to specific reviews

In some areas, particularly those related to the Customer Care Review, work plans have been modified in the light of subsequent developments.  In this case the decision to introduce a Customer Contact Centre has had a significant impact on the action plan.  

Within the work related to the Domiciliary Care Review, progress is more advanced than originally planned.  The new intermediate care service is now available in all parts of the County, rather than just the 2 areas originally envisaged.
The Home Shopping Service has been introduced successfully.

Good progress has also been achieved to implement the outcomes of the Personnel Review, particularly the job evaluation exercise.  This was originally planned to commence in 2003 but in fact will be completed by August 2002.

In other areas departments have decided to achieve outcomes in a different manner from that envisaged by the Review Team.  

The Transport and Capital Programme Procurement Review recommended the creation of  -  ‘dedicated Project Management Teams within the Major Projects and Road Safety Groups of Transport Development to act as a focus for work being undertaken by Babtie and other consultants. Defined Project Managers will also be required in other groups delivering the capital programme, such as Bridges and Highway Maintenance.’  This was to be achieved by - ‘Creating a project team to look at the process of restructuring existing teams to meet the new requirements’.  

The departmental management team has chosen to progress this in a different way.  So long as the department achieves the key objectives, in this case to utilise 100% of the available capital grant within a 2-year period and be able to demonstrate effective levels of project management, then the situation should be regarded as satisfactory.

In some areas action is not on schedule or may need further work to achieve the desired outcomes:

The Action Plan for the Highways Review should be complete at this stage but it is not fully implemented and needs to be amended to take into account the findings of the Best Value Inspectorate following their review.

Within Special Educational Transport a planned re-structure should have been completed by 30th Sept but this has not been started and the action plan has not been revised to accommodate the delay.

Similarly 2 actions required by the Schools of Concern review are outstanding, although many of the other improvement options have been actioned.  

Cost savings and efficiency improvements

The report presented in June 2000 predicted cost savings in the region of £1.6m.  At this point it is not possible to compute the savings achieved so far.  

We intend to provide a further report at the end of this financial year and will ask departments to provide information on this aspect of the programme at that stage.
Conclusion

The monitoring exercise suggests that the efforts to implement improvement options from the majority of last years’ Best Value reviews, are progressing satisfactorily.

There have been tangible improvements in some of the services received by the public in a number of cases. 

In some areas more needs to be done to progress implementation plans.

At this point we have only been able to assess how specific activities are being progressed.  

The more important test will be that the action plans realise the service improvements envisaged by the Best Value reviews together with the projected cost savings.  We will report on these issues in the new financial year.

Reviews undertaken during 2000 – 01

Following completion of the review programme for the year ending 31 March 2001, a report was provided to the Best Value Committee in June 2001.  This detailed the efficiency and effectiveness improvements that should flow from the best value reviews.

The implementation of the action plans from this series of reviews is being tracked centrally, in addition to the monitoring which is being carried out by the relevant departments.

In November, a report was prepared for the Best Value committee that reported on the progress that had been achieved by the 31 October 2001.  The report was able to record that 88% of the action plans monitored were making satisfactory progress.

[New page – BVR 2000-01 report.doc] & [New page – BVR 2000-01 report update]

[BEST VALUE/REVIEW UNDERTAKEN]
Reviews undertaken during 2001-02

The full programme of reviews is as shown below.  Copies of the full reports which describe the work undertaken and the outcomes of the reviews are available from Sean Gibson Performance and Review Officer who can be contacted on 01865 815482 or by e-mail sean.gibson@oxfordshire.gov.uk or by writing to him at County Hall, Oxford, OX1 1ND.

Best Value Review Title 		Date reported to Best Value Committee
Charging Policies
20.02.02
Construction
20.2.01
Exclusions, attendance and behaviour
29.11.01
Fire Service communications
29.11.01
Fire Service procurement
29.11.01
Impact on the LEA on the quality of leadership and management in schools
29.11.01
Learning Disabilities
20.02.02
Libraries
27.03.02
Pensions
27.03.02
Support for Older People
07.01.02
Waste Management
07.01.02
 
Summary of reviews 2001-2002

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Charging Policies – The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared. The Council charges for a wide range of services, in some cases these are fixed by legislation, in others the ability to charge and the scale of charges are discretionary.  The contribution fees and charges make to council revenues are considerable, £23.4m in 2001.  The review is not considering how individual charges are set but will focus upon the following areas: 

1.	Develop corporate policy and detailed guidance for managers.
2.	Define common target groups and systems of identifying persons for concessions.
3.	Review income management to ensure money recovered from fees and charges is maximised.
4.	Ensure we are making best use of technology eg. payment methods.
5.	Investigate where economies of scale might be achieved from services using resources jointly eg. common billing systems.

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Construction – The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared.  The Council manages a considerable construction programme, currently £85m, principally around highways and property.  Partnerships with consultants and contractors have been developed to complete these works and the review focuses upon the arrangements established to ensure their effective and efficient working by considering the following areas: 

1.	Comparison of the current service against the principles laid out in ‘Rethinking Construction’ the standard against which all construction procurement is being measured.
2.	Review the type of contract being used to procure construction projects and make recommendations on the benefits offered by newer forms of contract.
3.	Look at how consultation is undertaken; both on how the various parties perform and on whether the end users objectives are being met.
4.	Benchmarking against other authorities and the private sector.

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Exclusions, attendance and behaviour -   This review reported to Best Value committee on the 29th November 01.  The Council provides a range of services to assist schools in the following areas:  Strategic planning of provision for pupils with behaviour or attendance difficulties including arrangements for effective co-ordination between agencies.  Support to schools improving the management of behaviour and attendance.  Support for individual pupils with behavioural and attendance problems, in particular pupils who are known to be over-represented in current exclusion statistics eg children in public care, children from ethnic minorities.  Providing educational provision for pupils out of school, including pupil referral units, in particular ensuring that excluded pupils receive full-time education within 15 days of exclusion (by 2002).

The review assessed the following key areas:

•	Strategies for improving attendance and reducing unauthorised absence including an analysis of good practice within the County and in other LEAs.
•	Strategies for securing full-time education for excluded pupils, particularly through links with business and looking at best practice in other authorities.
•	Consultation with schools and other stakeholders about their requirements for further support in relation to behaviour and attendance.
•	Reviewing the role and restructuring the management of pupil referral units to provide a coherent, cost effective behaviour support service based on existing good practice.

The review resulted in an action plan to improve the quality of service provided by the Council, which was approved by the Best Value Committee:

Action 1	Strengthen support to schools in improving standards of behaviour.	
Action 2	Establish a Countywide Rapid Response to Exclusions Service which integrates multi-agency support for children at risk of exclusion from school.	
Action 3	Reconfigure PRU provision to provide a Countywide PRU and reintegration service to provide full-time education for excluded pupils and others who are out of school.	
Action 4	Implement a comprehensive action plan to secure a significant improvement  in school attendance.	
Action 5	Improve multi-agency strategic planning and integration of services for children at risk of social exclusion.	

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Fire Service communications – This review reported to the Best Value Committee on the 29th November 01.
This review reported to the Best Value Committee on the 29th November 2001. The review was originally scheduled to report in March 2001, but was extended to November 2001 following a national Home Office review of control room functions.
The provision of an efficient means of receiving emergency calls is a statutory requirement under Section 1 of Fire Services Act 1947 . The review investigated the following :

1.	Comparison with Thames Valley Police/Oxfordshire NHS Ambulance Trust control functions for best practice.

2.	Exploration of complete externalisation to commercial sector 

3. 	Exploration of joint working with other Thames Valley brigades (Buckinghamshire and Berkshire)

4. 	Investigation of the areas identified by the benchmarking exercise to determine best practice from other brigades which should be applied to Oxfordshire

5.	In addition to these, further work, including consultation with service users and staff, and analysis of non core work was undertaken

The review resulted in an action plan to improve the quality of service provided by the Council, which was approved by the Best Value Committee:

	Action
	
1	Evaluate the advantages of a combined Fire Control Centre for more than one authority. ( Elected members working group )	
2	Ensure consistency in the way benchmarking statistics are provided and compared	
3	To undertake a cost benefit analysis of service improvements that can be achieved to place Oxfordshire Fire Service within the top quartile in each comparative area.	
4	Introduction of a training program for Control Room Staff based on the national framework for training and development  within the Fire service known as the Integrated Personal Development System	
5.	To establish an operational development group for all three Thames Valley Brigades to ensure consistency of future protocols	
6.	Complete the Home Office Staffing Model and consider the recommendations in relation to non core activities in the Control Room	
7.	Reduce the number of unwanted fire alarm calls by 20% over 5 years with a reduction of 7% by March 2002	

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Fire Service procurement – This review reported to the Best Value Committee on the 29th November 2001. The Home Office has required a review of procurement across all Fire Services to be carried out in 2001/02. In advance of this, and in the knowledge that the service was not performing to a satisfactory standard, it was decided to instigate an independent audit in May 2000 to act as a precursor to the national review.  

Informed by the outcome of the independent review, and the Audit Commission’s national study on fire service procurement in January 2001, the focus of the best value review was to; 
•	develop a procurement policy
•	develop key contract strategies 
•	develop collaboration groups (other Fire Brigades, OCC depts etc.)
•	review uniform (non-firefighting) supply chain against best practice
•	review Store stock, to consider appropriateness 
•	develop performance indicators and management information to ensure appropriate levels of service are being achieved,
•	develop ‘e-procurement’ (ordering on-line, use of purchase cards)
•	develop cost management centres to facilitate the use of purchase cards
•	market test Fire Service procurement activities

By the end of the Review the following actions had already been completed
•	A procurement policy was developed and introduced in May 2001
•	Key contract strategies now operate, including major expenditure items being transferred to a ‘total care management’ service, and call off contracts introduced for repeat items of stock.
•	Collaborative working with Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes was introduced in November 2000. for fuel procurement and leasing emergency response cars. 
•	A substantial reduction in stock has been achieved by better managing the stores function, and selling stock back to the supplier at market value, and also through using externalised contract strategies
•	The introduction of purchase cards to specific budget holders by November 2001 to reduce the volume of low value orders to be processed.
•	Ensuring specific terms and conditions are included on all orders, and actively pursuing price reductions and other benefits.
•	Local performance indicators have been established, and are being monitored using the Service’s Performance Management System
•	Redeploying staff within the Service to reflect the revised procurement function, and to reduce overhead costs.

The review resulted in an action plan to further improve the quality of service provided by the Council, which was approved by the Best Value Committee:

Action 1	Establish a single procurement function to cover the brigades in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. Form a project team by January 2002 to develop an implementation plan with specific timescales to achieve this.	
Action 2	In the intervening period, develop more extensive collaborative working between the three brigades. Specifically;
•	Develop common replacement policies and specifications for fire appliances by May 2003, with a view to aligning procurement programmes where possible 
•	Establish a managed service for uniforms jointly with Buckinghamshire by December 2001, and seek to  include Berkshire in the arrangements at a later date.	
Action 3	Establish if there are any advantages in using the approach to risk assessment and design used by consortium groups that may benefit the fire service by March 2002	
Action 4	Fully implement Cost Centres for all establishments by April 2002, and provide each Cost Centre Manager with purchase cards.	
Action 5	Rationalise the IT system used for stores management, to avoid duplication with the current LAFIS system and the proposed County MIS, by March 2002	
Action 6	Roles and responsibilities of other staff to be modified to suit the future needs of the function, dependent upon whether contingency stocks of operational equipment are retained centrally or stored elsewhere.	

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Impact of the LEA on the quality of leadership and management in schools – This review reported to the Best Value Committee on the 29th November 01.  It was undertaken because Ofsted reports indicated the need to improve the quality of leadership and management in schools in Oxfordshire

The research undertaken included 
a.	visits to three Local Education Authorities that were identified by Ofsted as providing effective support and challenge for management and leadership in schools , 
b.	investigation into alternative providers who could work in partnership with Oxfordshire to enhance service to schools
c.	potential ways to enhance support and training in financial and personnel management
d.	two consultation exercises, the first with Governors, Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers, the second with governing bodies of schools who had recently appointed a new headteacher

Overall, the research undertaken in the review resulted in the identification of 5 areas for service improvement, which was approved by the Best Value Committee:

1.	The LEA will encourage headteachers and Governors to take more responsibility for their leadership and management performance. The LEA will set higher challenges and targets for schools to achieve, and will also increase support to enable this.  As part of this work, schools that are underachieving will be given extra support.

2.	The LEA will help schools by
a.	reducing the levels of unnecessary administrative pressures on schools to enable them to concentrate on their core task of improving teaching and learning 

b..	improving the information and mechanisms whereby schools can purchase advice, training and support in the event that locally agreed provision does not fully meet their needs.

3.	The LEA will increase the potential for all schools to access a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for teachers at any stage of their career, and for serving senior teachers to be able to share best practice. It also allows the LEA to build some further capacity to provide consultancy services to other LEAs and individual schools

4.	Improve management of resources (finance and personnel) in schools.  

5.	Formalise a consultation process with all schools and provide a forum for representative groups to regularly advise on improvements in advice, consultancy monitoring, support and challenge functions.

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Learning Disability - The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared. This service is one of four service areas within the Disabilities Division of the Social Services Department. It has a complement of 26.5 FTE and an annual budget of £34.06m. The review aims to examine the care management and joint commissioning process, and specifically the following areas;
1.	Getting into the Service
2.	Care Planning and Reviewing 
3.	Meeting Needs 
4.	How well does the care management and commissioning service work?
5.	Managing the performance of the service

The Review Team consists of people with a learning disability, and those that support them. Using their input the scope of the review was changed slightly: 
1.	Getting into the Service: improve access to services for people with learning disabilities and carers.
2.	Care Planning and Reviewing: improve the way care plans are drawn up, the way they provide services and how they are reviewed to make sure that everyone works together in the best way
3.	Commissioning and Monitoring: recommend ways to improve how services are bought, commissioned and monitored to make sure they meet peoples’ needs
4.	Performance of the Service
5.	Consultation: recommend ways to make sure that everyone that needs to be is consulted and involved in planning and delivering the service
6.	Comparison: look at other authorities that perform well to see if lessons can be learned from them

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Libraries - . The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared. The library service reflects a national trend of declining visitors and issues, set against strategic ‘pulls’ in a number of directions and limited local resources. The review fundamentally questions the role and strategic focus of the library service, and also encompasses:
•	development of clear policies to tackle social exclusion and to improve take-up by socially excluded groups, including a review of charging policies in the light of 'The Price is Right' report
•	examination of what would comprise an appropriate network of service points and what would be appropriate opening hours to achieve the service aims and objectives
•	exploration of the potential to work with other organisations to achieve the aims and objectives
•	scrutiny of those performance measures where this is significant disparity with other authorities, with a view to understanding the reasons, and where appropriate actions that can be taken to improve performance
•	consideration of specific operational issues including staffing levels, management structure and the timetable for replacing the computerised book-issuing system and its extension to all libraries.

In order to define exactly what action needs to be taken, four work areas have been established:  
•	The stock of books 
•	The provision of information to the public 
•	Opening hours and access
•	The management of the service and the use of resources

The key elements within the Best Value Specification will be addressed in each work area.

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Pensions - The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared.

The review focuses on the administration of records, benefits and pensions for some 24,750 local government pension fund members and pensioners. It includes:
1.	the administration of the firefighters’ scheme and teachers’ compensation scheme. 
2.	all issues concerned with the delivery of the service including
3.	service levels, best practice, specifications, and performance measurement.

The review recommendations will be incorporated in a new service delivery arrangement that will supersede the existing external service provision due to end on 31 March 2003. 

The review does not include any matters related to fund investment including management and custody of such investments and the valuation of the fund. These areas are not included for the following reasons:

•	This area was comprehensively reviewed in July 1999 and the review was carried out using the four Best Value principles of challenge, compare, consult and compete
•	Investment performance is subject to continuous review by the Pensions and Investments Sub-Committee and requires specialist expert advice. It is conceivable that the Sub-Committee may wish to take action during the course of the Best Value review
•	The Sub-Committee plans to review the fund investment benchmark in light of the recommendations contained in the HM Treasury Review of Institutional Investment (Myners Review). A change in the benchmark may have an impact on investment management. This review is awaiting the results of the triennial fund valuation and probably an asset liability study so the review will not take place before mid 2002. These issues are highly technical and will require appropriate external consultancy advice, which the Sub-Committee are likely to subject to a tender process.

The review will report to the Best Value Committee in March 2002

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Support for Older People - The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared. The proportion of the population over the age of 50 has doubled this century and this trend is set to continue with over 40% of the population likely to be over 50 by 2021. It is estimated that by 2021 there will be over 12 million pensioners, nearly 20% of the population in the UK, over 2 million more than present levels.

This review follows Oxfordshire’s participation as a Better Government for Older People pilot authority, and was tasked to carry out the following work;

1.	Re-examine County Council structures for involving older people in decision making about services and access to them. This will lead to options for improvement to ensure older people really do have a voice in shaping future services.

2.	Investigate current arrangements for access to information and services for older people. Develop cost/benefit analysis of different service options and draft measures of effective performance.

3.	Collate information about, and access to, all services which support older people - to ensure the overall objective of ‘helping older people to live as independently as possible for as long as possible’ is achieved.

4.	Develop an overarching strategy, with strategic partners, and identify a champion, to drive ‘support for older people’, in order to identify how we can do it better

It became clear during the course of the review, as a result of local consultation and analysis of national research, that transport is a key issue for older people in preventing their access to services. It was therefore included within the scope of the review as a separate work area.

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Waste Management - The review will report to the Best Value committee after this summary was prepared.  The Council is responsible for the household waste management system for Oxfordshire and this includes processes for the collection treatment and disposal of waste by local authorities, County and District.  Household waste is collected by the District Councils.  Some of the waste is recycled at the kerbside and the remainder is delivered to the County Council for treatment and disposal.  The County Council also provide Civic Amenity Sites (Waste Recycling Centres – WRCs) for receipt of waste delivered directly by householders.   The review focus upon;

1.	Developing a seamless and consistent waste management service across Oxfordshire.
2.	Reducing the proportion of waste disposed of to landfill to deliver the statutory targets on time.
3.	Influencing public behaviour to achieve national and local objectives for managing waste.
4.	Providing high quality waste recycling facilities which meet users’ needs and thereby encourage improved levels of recycling.
5.	The effectiveness of waste management contract arrangements.

CHANGES TO REVIEW PROGRAMME
Best Value Review Programme 2002-03

Many commentators have suggested that a key change following the Government’s review of best value will be a move away from a 5-year rolling programme of best value reviews.  Both District Audit and the Best Value Inspectorate have encouraged us to amend the programme to take account of local priorities.  On this basis we have developed a programme for 2002 – 2003 but are awaiting the outcome of the review before proceeding further. 

The Executive of the County Council have determined their 5 strategic goals for the medium term.  Taking these into account and our performance, as assessed by best value performance indicators, we have developed the following programme of reviews. 

Helping people to fulfil their potential
•	Achieving higher levels of educational achievement
Output focused review that considers the mechanisms in place to help and influence schools to establish challenging targets, monitor performance and provide support to achieve high standards.
The review will include children within the care of the authority.
The proposed review will be much more wide ranging and concentrate upon the needs of schools to deliver a high performance.
Drivers – Government priority, Executive priority, Current performance.

•	Promoting Independence in vulnerable people
An output focused review that considers how well our services encourage and support independence in vulnerable groups within the community.
The review will consider the methods by which this is and could be achieved and how well options and possibilities are communicated to clients.  The review will assess the potential to avoid and reduce independence as well as the financial impact of independent clients.
Previous reviews have considered aspects of this but it has not been the focus of a review to date.
Drivers – Government priority
 
Protecting our environment

•	Property Services

An input focused review that considers how effectively the County Council is served by the existing arrangements to build and maintain property.

Drivers – A major contract in this area comes up for renewal within 24 months, scale of operation.

Raising our Performance
•	Developing our Staff
An output focused review that considers how effectively our staff are motivated and developed.  Areas to be covered are the application and effectiveness of the appraisal process and supervision.  It will review the effectiveness of management development and training activities (including the Fire Service) against the current needs of the authority. The review will assess the resources dedicated to these functions and determine if the authority maximises value for money under the current arrangements.

Raising our Performance (continued)
A range of reviews has been identified to support key operational requirements.  Additional reports for these reviews will be provided to CCMT

•	Efficiency review.  The authority has an objective to achieve efficiency savings equal to 2% and to make cash savings of £1m during the year 2002/03.  The review will assess the effectiveness of departmental arrangements to deliver these requirements.  Within SSD, significant unit cost increases have been experienced in key areas.  As part of this review they will be investigated to support the department’s efforts to balance expenditure and budget.
•	Delivering Strategic Goals within the Oxfordshire Plan.  Each of the activities identified to deliver strategic goals will reviewed to assess the effectiveness of current arrangements to deliver the required level of performance.
•	PSA target areas – areas required to deliver the targets identified for the PSA will be reviewed and monitored on an ongoing basis.  The reviews will ensure effectiveness of action plans, accuracy of performance measurement systems and communication systems within areas that need to interface operationally.

Reviews planned for subsequent years

Safeguarding our communities

•	Supporting Vulnerable Children  (Year 2003/04)
An output focused review that considers how well the authority protects vulnerable children and works with partners to ensure their safety.
Drivers – High profile area and some performance issues.

Sustaining Prosperity

•	Delivering a better local transport system.  (Year 2003/04)

An output focused review that considers how well we implement the objectives of the Local Transport Plan. 
Drivers – High profile area – Government priority