This report sets out a new Council Plan which will run for the four-year electoral term from 2023 to 2027 following the local government elections earlier this year. The Council Plan is the primary document in the Council’s Policy framework. It has been developed to align with the Council’s refreshed Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). In this regard, it supports the Council’s progress towards financial stability and continuous improvement in response to the External Assurance Review commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in November 2021 and Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge in April 2022.

The new Council Plan builds on and replaces the existing Wirral Plan 2021-26 which was approved by Council 6 September 2021 and refreshed on 11 July 2022. It also supersedes the Council’s Improvement Plan which was approved by Council 11 July 2022. The new Plan acts as a single plan for the organisation, articulating a vision and priorities for the next four years to deliver in line with the needs of residents whilst transforming and modernising the Council to maximise opportunities for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

The Head of Corporate Office presented the report which set out a new Council Plan for the four-year electoral term 2023 to 2027, following the local government elections in May 2023

The Council Plan is the primary document in the Council’s Policy framework and had been developed to align with the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

In this regard, it supported the Council’s progress towards financial stability and continuous improvement in response to the External Assurance Review commissioned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in November 2021 and Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge in April 2022.

The new Council Plan built upon and replaced the existing Wirral Plan 2021-26 which was approved by Council 6 September 2021 and refreshed on 11 July 2022. It superseded the Council’s Improvement Plan as approved by Council 11 July 2022. The new plan acted as a single plan for the organisation, articulated a vision and priorities for the upcoming four years and delivered in line with the needs of residents. Members were informed that the new Council Plan transformed and modernised the Council to maximise opportunities for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Members queried the measurability of the framework for Community Wealth Building and were assured that all the measures contained within the Community Wealth Building Strategy would be brought forward as part of the Council Plan. Also discussed was the progress made in regards to the Council’s improvement plan which had been noted by the Independent Assurance Panel. Members wished it noted their thanks to officers and all Members for their hard work, engagement, and collaboration during the development of the Council Plan.

Resolved – that the new Council Plan be recommended to Council for approval at its next meeting on 4 December.

The Head of ICT and Digital presented the report. Members were informed that Digital transformation supported a customer focussed, digital-first approach to customer experiences, business processes and operations.

Digital transformation was about embedding and adopting technologies across the Council to deliver change and efficiencies.

Members were reminded that on 1 December 2021, the Policy and Resources Committee approved the Strategic Change Programme which had set out the Councils plans for delivering the objectives within the Wirral Plan and the required efficiencies to deliver the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP). As detailed within the report for Policy and Resources Committee in December 2021, digital transformation was one of the key components of the Strategic Change Programme.

Since the approval of the Strategic Change Programme, digital transformation had started across the Council but as part of the new Council Plan, IT and digital transformation sought to further improve automation of processes and customer access.

Approval was requested to progress with a competitive tender to procure a partner to support the acceleration of the IT and digital transformation. This partner was referenced in this report as the ‘Digital Transformation Partner’.

Members queried how this would benefit residents and were assured that core to digital transformation was better communication and engagement between residents of the council and vice versa. A discussion was had in regards to digital exclusion and retaining access to existing telephone or face to face services, as well as querying the numbers of people currently accessing services and effectively managing and overseeing the work of the Digital Transformation Partner. Members were assured that this had been considered as part of the business plan, and effective digitisation also helped free up call centre telephone lines for people who required this service. It was noted that in 2021, 25.4% of people in Wirral did not have access to fixed internet services, however that number was reduced when taking into consideration smart mobile phones.

Resolved - that

1. Director of Finance in consultation with the Committee Chair and Group Spokespersons be authorised to commence the competitive commission of a Digital Transformation Partner for a period of up to 3 years with the option of two one-year extensions. The expenditure will not exceed £5m for the first 3 years.

2. The Director of Finance be authorised to appoint the successful bidder following the commissioning process.

3. the Director of Law and Governance in consultation with the Director of Finance be authorised to finalise the associated legal documentation associated with the commission.

4. Following appointment of the successful bidder, the Director of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Committee Chair and Groups Spokespersons be authorised to formulate options to oversee the work of the bidder and present a report to the Committee accordingly

5.That the Director of Finance be authorised to finalise the associated legal documentation associated with the commission.

6. Following appointment of the successful bidder, the Director of Law and Governance, in consultation with the Committee Chair and Groups Spokespersons be authorised to formulate options to oversee the work of the bidder and present a report to the Committee accordingly

The Director of Finance has approved the award of a contract to C.Co for a duration of 6 months at a cost of £140,000 to support the delivery of Transformational change at Wirral MBC to fundamentally shift the ESR Programme from a short-term tactical programme to over-arching (from short through long-term) and strategic objectives. There will be resultant restructures from the ESR Programme which deliver the short-term benefits and in parallel the mobilisation of programmes which deliver both medium and long-term benefits.

The Assistant Director Strategic Commissioning and Integrated Services presented the report of the Director of Care and Health which detailed the results from a Task and Finish Session held in May 2023 on Mental Health Transformation. This had followed a report by the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership to the 14 June 2022 Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee which provided a background and summary of the activity undertaken within Cheshire and Wirral in respect of delivering the NHS Long Term Plan ambitious targets for community mental health.

It was suggested that a detailed report on the progress since the workshop be presented with the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership. 

Councillor Phil Gilchrist was thanked for his work in Chairing the Workshop and then helping to prepare and present the report.

Resolved – That the contents to the report be noted and a further update report come to a future committee.

The Head of Primary Care for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside presented the report of the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) which provided an update on the commissioning of primary care dental services, and gave details of the Dental Improvement Plan 2023/25 which was to ensure that access is improved for both routine, urgent, and dental care for our most vulnerable populations and communities impacted by the COVID pandemic. The aims of the Plan included developing access sessions for new patients across 60 practices in the ICB and

add an additional 30,000 appointments across Cheshire and Merseyside. It was noted that:

·  lack of access to dental services was a national issue primarily connected with an NHS contract that was considered no longer fit for purpose.

·  patients had a general misunderstanding that they registered with a dentist in the same way as registering with a GP, but the dental contract allows for their removal.

·  Oral health had deteriorated since the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in vulnerable patients, and dealing with those takes longer which exacerbates the time pressures.

·  The NHS contract was not attractive to the workforce so recruitment and retention was difficult although this was covered in the workforce plans of the NHS and ICB.

·  Urgent Dental Care Centres within existing practices had been set up during the pandemic and had continued since.

Members questioned the approaches and about reaching particular groups such as schoolchildren, care home residents and children in care. They also requested additional information for particular issues.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

The Chair presented the report of the Director of Law and Governance.

Additional items were suggested, which were:

• End of Life care
• Maternity Services

Resolved – That, subject to the addition of End of Life care and Maternity Services, the work programme be noted.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meetings held on 19 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

The Director of Public Health and the Head of Health Protection presented the report of the Director of Care and Health which provided an update on the partnership work undertaken to deliver Wirral’s Health Protection Strategy. This had been approved at Committee on 23rd January 2023 and set out the collective approach for ensuring a resilient health protection system and response in Wirral. It was emphasised that a partnership approach was vital as no single agency could deliver all that was required.

Members questioned whether particular issues were being considered including Hepatitis C, cold and hot weather, Urinary Tract Infections, shingles, and air quality.

Resolved - That

1.   the progress made to date in the implementation of the Wirral Health Protection Strategy be noted;

2.   annual updates on progress against delivery of the Health Protection Strategy be received from the Director of Public Health.