Refreshing the Council Plan

In 2019, Warwickshire County Council engaged with residents and other stakeholders in the County on the proposed objectives for the Council Plan 2020-2025. This plan launched in February 2020, but implementation and delivery were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in autumn 2020 the plan was superseded by a Recovery Plan. Following this Warwickshire County Council wanted to develop a refreshed five year Council Plan. We wanted to understand people’s views on the importance of a series of draft objectives for the new Council Plan under three strategic outcomes.

The three proposed outcomes were for Warwickshire to be:

1. A county with a vibrant economy and places with the right jobs, skills, and infrastructure.
2. A place where people can live their best lives; where communities and individuals are supported to live safely, healthily, happily and independently.
3. A place with sustainable futures which means adapting to and mitigating climate change and meeting net zero commitments.

Draft objectives on delivery of these outcomes were also presented and views sought. In addition, respondents were asked about priorities for spending.

Vibrant economy and places

• The majority of respondents felt that all proposed areas of focus to achieve the ‘Vibrant economy and place’ strategic outcome were either very important or important.
• ‘Educational attainment’ was the area of focus that most respondents said was either very important or important - 94.8% of all responses, 100% of responses from young people.
• The area of focus that respondents were least like to say was very important or important was ‘Connected County’ - 89.3% of all responses, with 7.2% saying it was of little importance or not important.
• When asked what key actions Warwickshire County Council could carry out to deliver the areas of focus within the ‘Vibrant economy and places’ outcome, the most common responses related to: investment in and improvement of sustainable (public) travel and transport options (e.g. walking, cycling); access to quality education (including good schools, learning, development and training opportunities); concerns regarding (housing) developments/urban expansion; general environmental concerns (e.g. importance of green spaces, wildlife, cleanliness, pollution concerns); and improvement to/investment in local infrastructure (e.g. road maintenance, access to local services, facilities and amenities).

Best lives

• The majority of respondents felt that all proposed areas of focus to achieve the ‘Best lives’ strategic outcome were either very important or important.
• ‘Safe communities’ was the area of focus that most respondents said was either very important or important - 95.2% of all responses.
• The area of focus that respondents were least like to say was very important or important was ‘Develop the conditions for a Community Powered Warwickshire’ - 85.8% of all responses with 10.9% saying it was of little importance or not important.
• When asked what key actions Warwickshire County Council could carry out to deliver the areas of focus within the ‘Best lives’ outcome, the most common responses related to: promotion/support for health and wellbeing initiatives (e.g., physical exercise, mental health); investment in/support for children/young people (youth service provision, access to good education, education/career opportunities); and safety/security (policing, speeding, violence, anti-social behaviour, drinking/drug-taking).

Sustainable futures

• The majority of respondents felt that all proposed areas of focus to achieve the ‘Sustainable futures’ strategic outcome were either very important or important.
• ‘Biodiversity’ was the area of focus that most respondents said was either very important or important - 93.8% of responses.
• The area of focus that respondents were least likely to say was very important or important was ‘Net zero council’ - 78.3% of all responses with 17.2% saying it was of little importance or not important.
• When asked what key actions Warwickshire County Council could carry out to deliver the areas of focus within the ‘Sustainable futures’ outcome, the most common responses related to: investment in/improvement of sustainable or ‘green’ (public) travel and transport options (e.g. walking, cycling); general environmental concerns (e.g. importance of green spaces, wildlife, cleanliness, pollution concerns); and focus on/support for/investment in renewable energy schemes/initiatives.

Delivery of outcomes

• The majority of respondents felt that all areas of focus propose to achieve delivery of the strategic outcome were either very important or important.
• ‘Delivering value for money’ was the area of focus that most respondents said was either very important or important - 92.6% of responses. This was closely followed by ‘Great partnership working’ - 90.6%.
• The area of focus that respondents were least likely to say was very important or important was ‘Putting the customer first’ - 80.6% with 15.2% saying it was of little importance or not important.
• When asked what key actions Warwickshire County Council could carry out to deliver the areas of focus within the sustainable futures of outcome, the most common responses related to: improving communication and engagement (with local residents) – opportunities to listen, learn and feedback; importance of integrated working, joined-up thinking and collaboration with partners; and delivering value for money (transparency on finance, resources and plans).

Spending priorities

• The areas of focus that respondents were most likely to choose for Warwickshire County Council to make savings on if required were: ‘developing place’ (10.5% of responses); ‘investment, jobs and growth’ (10.1%); ‘future skills’ (9.9%) and ‘connected county’ (9.4%). The areas of focus chosen by the lowest number of respondents were ‘Child Friendly Warwickshire’ (5.7%); ‘Safe communities’ (5.8%) and ‘Biodiversity’ (5.8%).
• The areas of focus that respondents were most likely to choose for Warwickshire County Council to spend more on if it became available were ‘educational attainment’ (13.3% of responses); ‘healthy, happy and independent lives’ (9.3%) and ‘developing place’ (8.9%). The area of focus that respondents were least likely to choose as an area where money could be spent if it became available was ‘Future skills’ (4.6%).

Future Challenges

In response to the question: ‘What three things do you think could improve life in Warwickshire for future generations?’ the most common themes from responses were:

• investment in/improvement of sustainable ‘green’ (public) travel and transport options (e.g. walking, cycling) (28.9%, n=121);
• general environmental-related concerns (e.g. importance of green spaces, wildlife, cleanliness, pollution concerns) (28.4%);
• the importance of education and skills (including good schools, learning, development and training opportunities) (24.8%);
• and concerns regarding (housing) developments/urban expansion (20.0%).

In response to the question ‘What do you think we could be doing now to work towards these?’ the most common themes from responses were:

• investment in and ensuring access to good quality education (16.3%);
• improve communication and engagement with local residents providing opportunities to listen, learn and feedback (15.7%);
• comments on housing, developments and urban expansion regulation/policies (15.2%);
• and investment in and encouragement for protection of green spaces and local environment (inc. recycling) (14.9%).

This feedback was considered by Warwickshire County Council Cabinet together with a State of Warwickshire evidence base.

Having asked for feedback on 18 areas of focus these were distilled and simplifies to reflect the feedback received and further consideration by the Leadership team.

Having asked for feedback on 18 areas of focus these were distilled and simplifies to reflect the feedback received and further consideration by the Leadership team.

The final approved Council Plan has includes the three strategic priorities that were proposed and seven areas of focus. These are to:

• Create vibrant places with safe and inclusive communities
• Deliver major infrastructure, digital connectivity and improved transport options
• Promote inclusive, sustainable economic growth, successful business, good quality jobs and future skills
• Tackle climate change, promote biodiversity and deliver on our commitment to Net Zero
• Deliver our Child Friendly Warwickshire strategy - Happy, healthy, safe children
• Through education, improve life opportunities for children, young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities
• Support people to live healthy, happy, and independent lives and work with partners to reduce health inequalities.

To make this happen, we will be a great Council and partner: One which harnesses community power, uses data and digital solutions to improve service efficiency and is a great organisation to work in with outstanding leadership and a talented agile workforce.

To read the published Council Plan 2022-2027 please click on this link.