Paul Boyce, Director of Children, Families and Education introduced the report of the Assistant Director: Corporate Office that Members gave consideration to a report that informed that through the development of Wirral Council’s new Governance arrangements and the approval of the Wirral Plan 2025 (currently being refreshed to reflect strategic priorities, as a result of Covid-19) the Authority had committed to developing a budget and performance monitoring framework, which honoured the Council’s dedication to a more accountable, transparent way of conducting business, policy formation and decision making. The Adult Social Care and Health Performance Report Q2 2020/21 was attached as an appendix to the report.

It was proposed that the Performance Framework be modelled on the Covid Dashboard set up at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. This would enable clear and accessible data to be presented in a timely and meaningful way. There was a very wide range of data sets that could be included in the Dashboard, and it was proposed that the specific selection would be co-created with members to ensure it was of most relevance and benefit to members.

This was aligned with this is the Wirral Plan 2025. The Plan was currently being refreshed to reflect the Covid-19 situation and emerging Recovery Plans. This Plan would set out what the Council could commit to delivering over the next 5 years. Wirral’s public services: the Wirral Partnership had a shared duty to improve the quality of life for residents and the report set out the ambition for the Borough including its economy, residents and services.

The report set out the ambition for:

• A prosperous, inclusive economy where local people could get good jobs and achieve their aspirations.
• A sustainable borough that was not only environmentally friendly but one which played its part in urgently responding to the environment and climate crisis
• Brighter futures for young people and families – regardless of their background or where they live
• Safe, vibrant communities where people want to live and raise their families
• Services which help people live happy, healthy, independent, and active lives, with public services there to support them when they need it.

Moved by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Moira McLaughlin, it was:

RESOLVED – That

1)  to ensure that Governance in Wirral allows for open, transparent, and responsive decision making the decision that robust performance and budget monitoring be incorporated to ensure that the individual policy and service committees have sufficient oversight of these areas be agreed.

2)  discussions take place with the Committee Chair and Group Spokesperson in early November as part of pre-briefing meetings with the aim to take forward the outcomes of the P&R Committee workshop on Performance and Budget reports, so that they can be further shaped for the purposes of the Children, Young People and Education Committee.