Agenda item

RESOLVED:

·  To note that the Council has developed a Strategic Plan that will be taken to Cabinet for adoption this month;

·  To note the key issues that the plan is seeking to address which are set out in the report.

9.1  The Head  of Policy and Strategic Delivery introduced the report. Hackney Council adopted a corporate plan in 2018 which set out borough and corporate challenges. This was refreshed in the light of the pandemic with a direction of travel for the plan agreed in July 2020. The plan identified the direction of travel for new ways of working, learning from work that had been accelerated during the pandemic. With new corporate leadership and a new political administration elected in May 2022, a new Strategic Plan has been developed. The move to describe this as a “Strategic Plan” rather than a “Corporate Plan” is reflective of the outward facing nature of the plan, which considers the role of the Council within a wider partnership.

9.2  The Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery highlighted:

·  The emphasis on the wider framework of partnership working;

·  The Plan contained the key policy commitment for the coming 4 years, reporting on a yearly basis to ensure stakeholder accountability;

·  The emphasis was to work with existing statutory Boards on cross cutting issues;

·  There was a need for increased working in localities with neighbourhood work and a place based approach;

·  The entire plan needed to be seen as supporting health and wellbeing and priorities for tackling the wider determinants of health;

·  The Health and Wellbeing Board involvement could include around the drivers of poor mental health, social connecting opportunities, financial security, impact of impact on in work poverty, drivers of serious violence, climate change, etc.

9.3  Mayor Glanville referred to the possibility of an enhanced role for the Board in particular around shared areas of responsibility. He emphasised that the Health and the Wellbeing Strategy was reflected in the Strategic Plan with an increased emphasis on working with existing Boards across the system. He re-emphasied the need to focus on mental health, financial security and social connection and the challenges involved given the budgetary work that was currently underway. It was necessary to recognise the dangers of retrenchment under financial pressure with partnership work sometimes suffering such as around reducing social isolation. 

9.4  The Director of Public Health stated that she welcomed the opportunity to take health and wellbeing into the community strategy and make a firm connection between the health and wellbeing strategy and the community strategy with an offer of support from the public health team in developing this during the strategy refresh. 

9.5  The Director of Delivery, City and Hackney’s Place Based Partnership thanked all those involved in the engagement with wider partners on the Strategic Plan. She stressed the need for strong links between the Strategic Plan and the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, together with the City and Hackney Integrated Care Board, given the overlap in ambitions. 

9.6  The Chief Executive of the North East London Foundation Trust welcomed the potential for joining up of corporate responsibilities in terms of community cohesion.

9.7  The Head of Policy and Strategic Delivery highlighted:

·  That the Strategic Delivery Team was involved in the next steps of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy to ensure that the necessary join up with stakeholders was in place;

·  The need to bring together a wider set of individuals from the Council to support the cross cutting significance of Health and Wellbeing;

·  The Council was facing difficult financial challenges and saving would be required with the strategic plan utilised to understand the full impact. Whilst there was no new funding to fund, for instance social connection, the Plan could assist in ensuring valued partnership working and decision making in the wider frame.

RESOLVED:

·  To note that the Council has developed a Strategic Plan that will be taken to Cabinet for adoption this month;

·  To note the key issues that the plan is seeking to address which are set out in the report.