Agenda item

The Chairman outlined the key points from the report and provided an update on items that had an ‘amber’ rating. He advised members that with the reorganisation of local government underway, the number of actions would be reviewed and reduced over the next year to reflect a shift in priorities to a significant focus on service delivery and core services.

Cllr N Dixon asked whether an analysis would be undertaken on the opportunities presented by local government reorganisation and the Council’s strengths and weaknesses as it entered the ‘transition’ period, as well as identifying the threats and risks ahead. He added that all organisations going through considerable change were at risk of ‘performance dip’ and thought should be given as to how to mitigate against this.

The Chairman agreed and said that this work would be developed in the coming months. The Chief Executive added that the points raised by Cllr Dixon were appropriate. He said that there was no detail at the current time as to how local government reorganisation could look. The published guidance was minimal and indicated that new unitary authorities should have a minimal population of 500k, which was very challenging in a diverse county such as Norfolk. Work was ongoing with district and county partners and further guidance was awaited. As soon as this was available an all member briefing would be held. He said that a report on the Corporate Plan Action Plan would come to the next meeting of Cabinet and it was proposed that space would be created within this to ensure that officers and members engaged and ensured that North Norfolk’s interests were promoted in the context of local government reorganisation. A request had already been submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government seeking clarity regarding the district’s tourism offer and how it might be financed going forward. He added that the pressure on discretionary provision was likely to increase over the coming months and that officers were aware of this. He assured members that senior management was abreast of the situation and would keep members updated. The Chairman added that there were a lot of questions regarding the future of the Council’s assets.

Cllr Dixon acknowledged that it was hard to move forward until further information was available but reiterated the need to be prepared.

Cllr Dr V Holliday commented on mobile coverage and said she was surprised to this rated as ‘green’ as at least two villages in her ward had limited coverage. She then asked about the need to recruit a Strategic Head of IT, given the focus on reorganisation and whether there was a business case underpinning this.

Cllr J Toye, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, said that he was aware of the challenges around mobile coverage and that he was working to tackle it but ultimately there was no government department responsible for this and it was down to individual companies to provide a mast. He assured members that there was work ongoing and he was engaging with county council colleagues to address the shortcomings and possibly identify pieces of land where a mast could be sited. Cllr Holliday said she had undertaken some work on this and it would be helpful if she could work with Cllr Toye to ensure that they were coordinating efforts.

Regarding recruitment of a new Head of IT, the Leader said that services needed to continue for the foreseeable future as local government reorganisation would not happen imminently.

RESOLVED

To note the report.