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Council Achieves Against Top Priorities And Commitments - July 2010

In line with its strategic vision, 'Building on Excellence', Elmbridge Borough Council has successfully met 69 of the 70 objectives it set itself for 2009/10.

These objectives cover a range of activities, such as improving recycling rates across the Borough, reducing the level and fear of crime, ensuring that food premises operate safely and hygienically, supporting residents and businesses during the economic downturn, and effectively managing the Council's resources.

The Council likewise delivered on over 80 per cent of a smaller number of 'flagship' pieces of work, which deliver on its five top priorities: commitments to better services for our residents, to value for money, to our community, to staff and volunteers and to the environment.

These priorities have been determined by members and residents through consultation and reflect what is most important for them and their communities.

A report outlining the Council's performance against its 2009/10 Corporate Plan was presented to Cabinet on Wednesday the 14 July.

Amongst others, some of our key achievements include:

• maintaining a zero percent increase in council tax in three of the preceding four years
  (Elmbridge is one of just 9 local Councils in England to have achieved such a result);
• the introduction of Elmbridge's enhanced bin collection service and improving recycling rates;
• continuing to successfully provide a wide range of services to protect vulnerable people;
• continuing to work around reducing homelessness and cutting the number of households in temporary accommodation;
• increasing the total number of pupils taking part in the Countryside Education scheme;
• increasing use and improvement of Council leisure facilities;
• reducing energy consumption at the Civic Centre.

Councillor John O’Reilly, Leader of the Council, said: "2009/10 has been a challenging year for both the Council and our residents. The recession has placed a considerable strain on residents and businesses across the Borough.

"We were forced to undergo a painful savings process last year which resulted in finding savings of £1.8 million.

"However, our overriding priority has been to protect frontline services. It is encouraging that we have continued to successfully deliver and improve the quality of these services to our residents and businesses in the current difficult climate.

"A measure of our commitment is the zero percent increase in our share of the council tax, as well as the introduction of the |Elmbridge Civic Improvement Fund, set up to assist and strengthen local businesses.

"At the same time we have protected and improved the quality of services to our more vulnerable communities. We could not do this without the support of volunteers and voluntary groups from the community itself. In 2009/10 our Community Support Services relied on 20,089 individual volunteering sessions, and we continue to promote ways in which residents can get involved. The 'Big Society' is thriving in Elmbridge and we are all the better for it.

"The objectives and priorities in our Corporate Plan reflect what our residents tell us is important for them. Achieving 69 of the 70 objectives is a demonstration of our continuing commitment to these priorities."
 

Trouble pubs in Elmbridge face closure - 2010
By Jonathan Portlock Elmbridge Guardian

Pubs which allow violent and threatening behaviour have been threatened with closure by the new chairman of Elmbridge Council’s licensing committee.

At a meeting on Monday, June 22, Councillor Ian Donaldson warned owners of “problem pubs” that they faced having their licences revoked if they did not crack down on drink-fuelled violence and other antisocial behaviour.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced last week that local authorities could get extra powers to cope with the extended opening times the previous Government introduced in 2005.

The plan then was to engender “cafe culture”, but Coun Donaldson urged fellow members to report problem pubs to the council. He predicted the committee would face a year of reviewing previously granted licences.

He said: “The cafe culture in England hasn’t worked – it’s meant people on a night out have just got more drunk. Crime and disorder from alcohol costs £13bn a year and means every household is paying £600 to pay for it. Residents are concerned. It is frightening when you see 20 to 30 youths outside a pub fighting.”

Cllr Donaldson is working with officers to make pub owners more accountable for the behaviour that takes place on their premises.

Cllr Donaldson’s warning followed a story in last week’s Elmbridge Guardian of a fight involving 20 to 30 people outside the Percy Lambert pub in Weybridge High Street.

One Weybridge resident, who asked not to be named, said fights in the Percy Lambert had become a “common occurrence”.

He said: “I don’t really like to go in there anymore because there always seems to be trouble and I don’t want to spend my money in a place I don’t feel safe in.

“It’s not the local crowd it used to be. Maybe that’s the problem. People don’t like to cause trouble on their own doorstep, but they’re happy to come into another town, get drunk and start fights.”

Fights outside the Bear pub in Esher High Street have also sparked complaints.

One resident said: “There’s always quite a lot of drunk youngsters hanging around, making noise and falling over and eventually the police are called. You see fights outside there as well. I sometimes have to remind myself this is Esher, not Magaluf.

“It’s quite intimidating and can ruin your night if you go out for a meal. If you stay in, it disturbs you all night, with the shrieking and police sirens. I think it should be up to the person who runs the pub to stop these things happening.”

Jonathan Dunne, who owns the Albert Arms pub and the George Bar and Brasserie in Esher, said the Bear was not a problem pub, but agreed that landlords have the power to prevent antisocial behaviour.

He said: “We won’t serve anyone who is already drunk and we monitor the outside areas to make sure they are clean. We also have a zero tolerance on anyone who is aggressive to staff members. If anyone is caught acting in an antisocial way, they are banned forever.”

Both the Percy Lambert and the Bear did not wish to comment.

and

Licensing issues top safety group's agenda - 2010
By Vicki Eltis, Surrey Herald

Rob Moran, chief executive of Elmbridge Council and chair of the Community Safety Partnership, said: "The annual public meeting gives us an opportunity to seek confirmation that we are working on what is important to our communities and also to hear about their specific concerns.

"I am pleased that we received the public endorsement of the priorities, but we were also given a strong

message regarding those who hold alcohol licences within the borough and the need for effective and responsible management.

"This is something we will take note of and work to achieve over the next year."
full story

Editor’s Note:

Cllr Ian Donaldson, Chairman of the Licensing Committee quoted:

‘ We are co-ordinating with all partners and EBC officers to ensure all licensed outlets including public houses and restaurants keep to their special conditions. We are campaigning that all licensed premises display their special conditions on a front window display so police officers and even members of the public can stop anti-social behaviour and excessive drinking, by reporting the premises to the necessary authorities if the conditions are broken.’
 

ELMBRIDGE HEALTH PROFILE - 2010

Elmbridge at a glance

• The health of people in Elmbridge is generally better than the England average and life expectancy is high.
• Overall, Elmbridge is one of the least deprived districts in England. However, there are health inequalities within the area. Life expectancy for men from the most deprived areas is almost 4 years lower than for those from the least deprived areas.
• While the level of overall poverty is low, there are over 2,500 children living in low income households.
• Rates of early deaths from cancer, and from heart disease and stroke, have fallen over the last 10 years and are lower than the England average.
• Both the teenage pregnancy rate and the proportion of mothers who smoke during pregnancy are low. The average. The percentage of children in Reception year breast feeding initiation rate is higher than the England classified as obese is below the England average.
• Estimated levels of healthy eating and physical activity among adults are above the England average. Hospital stays for alcohol related harm are low, but an estimated 1 in 6 adults binge drink. An estimated 1 in 7 adults smoke and while the smoking related death rate is low compared to the England average, smoking accounts for over 140 deaths each year.
• Priorities for action identified for Surrey include hospital admissions for alcohol related harm, childhood obesity, smoking, social care and teenage pregnancy. .....

full report

 

Conservative Administration make Elmbridge top place to live in UK for the second year running.

Elmbridge topped Halifax's quality of life survey 2009, which scored local authorities in Great Britain according to a range of factors, such as employment, earnings, home-ownership, the environment, education and health, for the second year running.

The group said 95% of people in Elmbridge were in good health, people in the area had a high average life expectancy of 81.1 years, higher than average weekly earnings of £1,064, while 76% owned their own home. The area also had above average employment rates, while children got above average GCSE results, and it typically enjoyed a good climate with 32.7 hours of sunshine a week and less than average rainfall.

Spokesperson stated ‘This shows the Conservative Administration of Elmbridge Borough Council are running a tight ship and also offering great services to people of all ages.’

Articles: Times   Sky News  Guardian  Daily Telegraph
 

Conservative administration makes Elmbridge one of the best places to live in England!

Elmbridge Borough Council organisational assessment 2009

Overall, Elmbridge Borough Council performs well

• Managing performance 3 out of 4
• Use of resources 3 out of 4
• Managing finances 3 out of 4
• Governing the business 3 out of 4
• Managing resources 3 out of 4

Summary

Elmbridge Borough Council performs well overall. The Council is addressing the issues that its residents see as a priority. These are; making Elmbridge a safe and healthy place to live which has a pleasant town centres with a strong economy, supporting the local community, delivering affordable housing, providing good levels of service to its residents, ensure people get on well and have equal access to services and protecting and sustaining attractive, green and unique character of the borough. The Council has strong and clear leadership with which to deliver its aims and objectives. Councillors provide effective challenge to Heads of Service to ensure delivery of priorities and key projects.

The Council has been proactive in the way in which it has tried to address the issues created by the current recession. The Council has created the Elmbridge Civic Improvement fund to help invest in projects to promote the boroughs businesses and facilities. It has also provided wide ranging advice through its ‘Recession buster' web pages.

Elmbridge scores 3 out of 4 for managing performance. It understands what is important to local people and is making improvements in these areas. Over half of residents are satisfied with the way the Council runs things this is the 46th best result nationally. The Council is working with other organisations to address the need for affordable housing through the East Surrey Housing and Employment partnership. The provision of affordable housing in a relatively affluent area with high average house prices remains a challenge and the Council is taking action to facilitate increased availability. The recession has affected the demand on services and the Council has coped well with the rise in demand on its benefits and homelessness services. The Council involves its community is making Elmbridge a good place to live, it uses effective consultation to shape its services and is continuing to develop ways in which residents can gain access to its services.

The Council score 3 out of 4 for Use of Resources. The Council has a history of excellent financial management and was in a strong financial position heading into the current economic downturn. The Council has a proven history of managing its finances well against its budgets. The Council has sound budget monitoring arrangements in place. The Council's culture ensures continuous challenge of service costs and value for money. This is supported by strong performance management arrangements The Council has good people management systems in place. The Council's progress on equalities issues remains slow. The Council is only meeting level 2 of the Local Government Equalities Framework

About Elmbridge Borough Council

Elmbridge is the second biggest district in Surrey, located 15 miles from central London. It is densely populated, with 131,000 residents. There is a mixture of towns, villages and countryside, with over half the land designated as Green Belt.

There are low levels of deprivation, unemployment is low and wages are high. House prices in Elmbridge are high. People are generally better qualified than in other areas. The ethnicity of the area is mostly white, however, people from Black or Minority Ethnic backgrounds is above average for the South East.

Health of people is generally good, with high life expectancy. However, men living in the most deprived areas live 5 years less than those in less deprived areas. Although overall poverty is low, over 2,500 children live in low income households.

The Council is Conservative-led, with 21 of the 60 seats being held by residents' associations. The borough has a five year vision with five top priorities, these are:

- Commitment to better services for our residents;

- Commitment to value for money;

- Commitment to our community;

- Commitment to our staff and volunteers; and

- Commitment to the environment.

Organisational assessment in detail

How well is the organisation delivering its priority services, outcomes and improvements that are important to local people?

Elmbridge’s priorities reflect the needs of local people and good progress is being made in delivering outcomes against them. The Council is good at involving local people in setting its priorities and improvements to its services. The Council is effective in identifying its priorities through effective consultation. The Council regularly collect feedback from service users and residents to ensure that priorities are aligned with residents needs and to test satisfaction with services and progress against priorities.

Safe and healthy communities, vibrant town centres and a strong local economy.

The Council is working in partnership to deliver its priority to create a safe and healthy community. The Community Safety Partnership recently engaged with local residents in Walton at a Community action day attended by Surrey Fire & Rescue; Elmbridge Borough Council; Surrey County Council and Surrey Police. Residents were also asked to complete a community safety questionnaire to understand perceptions of safety and levels of antisocial behaviour.

The Council and its partners are tackling crime, the Council, County and local police have created ‘no cold calling zones’ across the borough to help reduce distraction burglaries. Following successful consultation in the pilot areas of Claygate, part of Hersham and a small section of North West Cobham the launch of zones was extended in August. Levels of crime within the borough have reduced significantly in the last year. The Community Safety Partnership has reported a 16.5 per cent reduction during 2008/09. The most significant reductions are in vehicle crime. Activities have included increasing the number of accredited car parks to 16 and dedicated road shows to raise awareness and promote crime reduction.

The Council is working with local businesses to ensure a vibrant economy and cope through the current recession. The Council is taking action to assist local business through the current recession. The Council has created the Elmbridge Civic Improvement fund (ECIF) which will provide funds to local businesses to help them improve the local street scene and help promote business in the area. The Council accepts that the amounts involved will not necessarily create jobs, but will help allow businesses to survive the current challenges.

The Council has identified a significant part of these funds to increase its capacity to deliver its key flagship activity to improve Walton town centre. Over a third of the ECIF budget has been awarded to the Walton High Street improvement project to allow the areas profile and identity to be raised. It has increased membership of its business network, over 250 businesses are now members and are being invited to join projects and events. Further promotion of the Network continues including the use of local radio. Community safety and fire safety messages have also been promoted to businesses. A grant has been awarded to support the development of a website for Cobham Chamber of Commerce.

The Council is delivering changes to support the local economy and promote the health of residents. It has delivered a campaign to increase take up of small business rates relief, launched a two year free swimming initiative in April 2009 and increased the tennis for free offer to 2 sites allowing an additional 80 children to attend sessions monthly.

High quality community services and affordable housing, and efficient public services.

The Council continues to deliver affordable housing in the borough. The Council achieved 64 homes against its own target of 34 during 2008/09, this was a result early completion of one project and other initiatives. Targets for 2009/10 have been amended to reflect the current economic conditions. Wherever possible the Council is working to make land available for development and to encourage the provision of affordable housing. The Council will need to develop innovative solutions to encourage further development in the coming years.

The Council is working in partnership to increase access to affordable housing. It has signed up to the East Surrey Housing and Employment local partnership. Joint funding has been agreed for this partnership for the next two years. The aims of the partnership are to deliver housing, employment and training advice through enhanced housing options services, improve further the areas homelessness prevention activity and to involved social landlords and address issues resulting from the current recession.

The Council is using new IT solutions to increase capacity within its services. In October 2008 the Benefits service implemented an electronic document management system which has built capacity helped manage the increased demands during the recession. A new land charge administration system is being implemented which will allow the Council to deliver the service with a reduced resource allocation.

A thriving and inclusive borough.

The Council is supporting community organisations and residents to make a difference to the local area. The Council has a dedicated voluntary support officer who works with community groups and organisations to provide advice and assistance in securing outside funding. It has 800 active volunteers; it has committed to enhance and renew this strong base and has held a number of volunteer recruitment and development events.

Work is being done to promote community cohesion. The Council is working with various sectors of the community to promote understanding. Centres for Retired People have developed a strong Childrens Centre Agenda. The Claygate and Oxshott Childrens Centre is one of the first centres for both older and young residents, activities such as the Teatime dance project in partnership with local schools and the RC Sheriff. The aim is to bring young and old together through dance in a fun and creative way whilst improving health. Through the One Elmbridge Partnership the Council is targeting actions towards its most deprived areas. Work continues on projects in the St John’s Estate and its surrounding areas in Walton.

The Council has launched the 'DisableGo' website which provides information to people with disabilities on access issues. Over 1000 premises have been reviewed and visitors to the website are able to consider if access is suitable for them prior to visiting. The website is proving popular with significant numbers of hits.

Better access.

The Council is improving access to services. A customer services improvement programme has been introduced which has delivered a number of changes to the service. Including a review of the Councils customer service standards, changes to the main reception area, a new information service at Walton library and a standardisation of open hours for all services at the Civic Centre. These improvements have lead to increased levels of satisfaction. The overall customer satisfaction increased to 72 per cent from 65 per cent in local surveys.

Enhanced electronic access to Council services is being delivered. The Council has revised its website.. Work continues to enhance the ‘My Elmbridge’ service on the front-page of the website. The new look website enables residents to, at a glance, check out the services that affect or interest them. Users can now personalise what they see or don't see on each page, and check out what is "nearest" to them.

Environmental responsibility and climate change.

The Councils is taking the lead in promoting environmental responsibility, and the challenges of climate change. A Climate Change Group, including Members and officers is in place. The group is looking at where the Council can reduce its own impact on the climate. Refurbishment works at the Civic Centre and water and energy saving measures have been implemented. Water butts have been installed to provide water for the green areas outside the Civic Centre, a reduction of nearly 1 million litres of water per year has been achieved following installation of water saving cisterns. Energy consumption is expected to be reduced by more than 80,000 KWh at the Civic Centre, enough electricity to power 14 houses. Since April 2008 more than 150 people have been helped with energy advice through its Care and Repair service and web portal to Warmfront. Also, 2000 energy saving light bulbs are being distributed free of charge to vulnerable residents.

The Council is promoting the use of public transport as an alternative to driving to work to reduce its carbon footprint. In partnership with local businesses, a pilot shuttle bus between Esher station and the town to make it more convenient for people to travel by train and also help to reduce congestion is in place.

Elmbridge is recycling and composting more household waste than last year. The Council reviewed the specification of its waste collection service and took on board local objection to alternate weekly waste collection. A trial of segregated weekly kitchen waste for composting was introduced. It has allowed the Council to jointly procure equipment with two other authorities, achieving significant long term savings, addressing residents concerns and meeting local demand for weekly kitchen waste collection. The full roll out of this service will be during the later part of 2009. It has also introduced a direct debit facility to encourage take up of the garden waste service to its already growing garden waste collection service-currently with almost 13,000 households subscribing.

The Council and its Environmental forum are promoting environmental awareness among residents. The Council’s Winter 2008 magazine was focused on sustainability and promoted ways in which residents could reduce energy consumption. It included specific help for vulnerable people including the elderly. The Forum produces regular newsletters and involves residents in environmental projects.

Retaining the Borough’s attractive, green and unique character.

Residents are satisfied that the area is being kept clear from litter and refuse. Results from the 2008 place survey show that 7 out of 10 residents are satisfied with the local area being kept clear of litter and refuse, ranked 18th best nationally. The street cleaning service achieved a 5 star rating from the British Cleaning Council which recognised the work being done to keep the borough clean and tidy.

Grass and verge cutting has improved following the return of the service to the Council. The number of annual cuts has increased from a reported five to eleven. A more effective mapping process is being developed to ensure all areas are covered by the service.

The Council is improving public open spaces. It is investing in maintaining and improving Esher Commons Site of Special Scientific Interest. This has improved access to the Black Pond area, allowing more light and providing a pleasant place for walking and exercising. It will also allow the remaining trees space to develop and spread, as well as developing woodland for the longer term. The second year of restoration was undertaken on Oxshott Heath and Fairmile Common during the winter of 2007/08.
view full report

Elmbridge Is A Champion

Elmbridge Borough Council, under the Conservative administration, is delighted to announce two recent successes in relation to Investors in People (IiP).

Firstly, Elmbridge Borough Council has retrospectively been awarded Gold Status in its Investors in People assessment (IiP). This is the very highest accolade among the 38,000 public and private organisations that have IiP and requires them to achieve above a threshold score on the higher "Profile" standard. Elmbridge has exceeded this and becomes one of a handful of organisations to have their people practice accredited at this level.

In addition, Elmbridge Borough Council has been selected to be an Investors in People Champion. Investors in People Champions are a prestigious group of role model organisations that promote Investors in People through a series of best practice sharing activities.

The purpose of the Championship programme is to:

• Recognise and reward organisations which have been outstanding in promoting the values and principles of Investors in People. They lead by example in the way they manage and develop their people
• Share and learn - encouraging the dissemination of practice in people management, to support the continuous improvement, and raise performance

Champion Investors in People
|Cllr Christine Elmer, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Development said, "This outstanding result is well deserved and the achievement says a great deal about the Council as an organisation and the quality of staff it employs".

|Robert Moran, Chief Executive for Elmbridge Borough Council, said, "The new champion status reflects the emphasis we place on investing in staff development. We know that developing quality employees helps ensure we deliver quality services. The result is well deserved and puts Elmbridge Borough Council at the forefront of IiP nationally".