Gloucestershire Looking to the Future 2019-2022 - gloucestershire.gov.uk - Gloucestershire County Council
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Gloucestershire Looking to the Future 2019-2022 gloucestershire.gov.uk
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Introduction Furthermore, our natural environment is
incredibly varied with a range of different
types of landscape, 143 Sites of Special
with the number of older people living
in the county increasing in the coming
years, at the same time as there being
Scientific Interest and three Areas of very little increase in our working age
Outstanding Natural Beauty, as well population. Having said that, there is
as nature reserves and other great strength within our communities
Gloucestershire is a natural assets. that we must make the most of.
great place to live, work However, we know that too many We benefit from close partnership
and do business. Most of our residents miss out on these
opportunities through reasons of
working in the county and, in the
years ahead, we must work creatively Councillor
local people enjoy a high deprivation or isolation. This is not
acceptable and we want everyone in
together to make the most of available Mark Hawthorne MBE
Leader of the Council
funding and even against a tough
standard of living, and the county to have the best possible financial backdrop, we must go
start in life and go on to become on investing in the future
our levels of health and engaged and successful members of Gloucestershire.
of their community.
wellbeing are comfortably By setting out a clear vision of where
We want a shared vision with
above the average for the the people and communities of
we want to go and an ambition about
what we want to achieve, we will
Gloucestershire that reflects what
country. Generally, local matters to them and that sets high
give businesses the confidence to
invest in Gloucestershire, making sure
people are well-educated, expectations for the future. our economy goes from strength to
strength. We have already seen the
unemployment is low and To achieve this we are increasingly
focussed on what sort of county we
benefits of this approach through the
Pete Bungard
Chief Executive
Gloucestershire 2050 conversation
Gloucestershire’s economy want for the future, and how we can with local people, communities
work with communities and partners to
is strong and resilient. bring about the required change. To be
and businesses.
successful, it can’t just be about what Our greater focus on future planning
the council can do, it’s about what we does not mean we will stop doing
can achieve together. the essentials well – we will continue
to have a strong focus on providing
Doing nothing leaves our future looking excellent services that make a real
very uncertain and our economy likely difference for local people.
to stagnate. Perhaps our greatest
challenge relates to our population,
2
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Our vision
To make the most of all that Gloucestershire has to offer, help improve the quality of life
for every community, support businesses to be successful and make sure the county
is a place where people want to live, work and visit.
Our ambition is for Gloucestershire to be:
A Magnet County A Healthy County
A growing working age population, with more 18-40 year olds with People to have a good work/life balance and improved health
high level qualifications choosing to live and work in the county and wellbeing
An Innovative County A Connected County
More businesses starting up, growing and investing in research and innovation Improved transport and internet connections so that people
and businesses can connect with each other more easily
A Skilled County
A Sustainable County
More people with high-level skills and jobs in skilled occupations
More efficient use of resources and
A Prosperous County more use of sustainable energy
Rising productivity and household incomes offering higher living standards
A Resilient County
An Inclusive County Active, resilient local communities that keep people safe, provide
them with support and help them to make a positive contribution
The economic and social benefits of growth to be felt by all communities,
including rural, urban and our areas of highest deprivation. Opportunities to
be available for all and good relations between those who have protected
characteristics and those who do not
3
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Challenges and Demographic change
Gloucestershire’s population is ageing more quickly
Rural isolation
As well as being one of our best assets, the rural
opportunities than the UK average. The increasing number of retired
people in the county will bring experience, resources
and time to their communities, but as they grow
nature of the county makes it difficult for some
people to access the services they need. This is a
particular challenge for the three out of every twenty
older and more frail will also need more support from Gloucestershire households that have no access to
health, social care and safeguarding services. We are a car or van.
In order to achieve our also seeing increasing numbers of people living with
disabilities and other long-term conditions in all Financial reforms
vision and ambition for age groups.
The basis on which councils are funded is changing
Gloucestershire, we At the same time, our 18-64 population is expected to dramatically. Over recent years we have seen big
reductions in the level of funding we receive from
remain static. Young people tend to leave the county
need to understand and in their late teens and early twenties - the net loss can Central Government. Whilst we do not yet know
be as many as 400 19-25 year olds per year. While the outcome of the Fair Funding Review for Local
plan together for the the concept of ‘working age’ is shifting, we do need Government or the next Comprehensive Spending
Review, we expect to see further significant changes,
opportunities and to respond to this challenge to make sure we have
the skills we need to keep the county competitive including the phasing out of the Revenue Support
challenges we are facing. and support economic growth. Grant and the introduction of a funding model based
on business rates retention. This would mean that
We can also expect to see a trend towards more future funding would be more closely linked to growth
people living as single person households. This will in the local economy than has previously been the
make it less easy for people to rely on immediate case. We are also likely to see more of a ‘whole
family for help and support in the future, and make system’ approach to funding, such as through the
it more important that they are part of resilient current pooling pilot with district councils and the roll
communities that look out for one another. out of ‘Integrated Care Systems’ with the NHS.
Inequalities and deprivation Our economic potential
While living standards are high overall, there are as a growing county
areas of the county where residents’ outcomes fall The growth that is planned for Gloucester,
well below national averages and where, as a result, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury is a game-changer.
local people are more likely to depend on the services It allows us to think imaginatively about the role we
we provide. 21,000 people (3.4% of the county’s want Gloucestershire to play in the sub-region, and
population) live in areas amongst the most deprived the infrastructure we need to put in place to make
10% in England. that happen. It has the potential to free us from some
of the constraints that would otherwise hamper
economic growth, and to enable change on
a significant scale.
4
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
The power of our communities
Gloucestershire has a thriving voluntary and
While the impact of these issues and the speed with which
community sector and already benefits from the ideas, they will affect us is hard to predict, what will matter is our
effort and energy of the many thousands of people
who are active in their communities. We are already ability to anticipate, respond, and reposition ourselves.
seeing a willingness from communities to play an
increasing role in the early and preventative steps for This means we must be forward looking, adaptable and
health and social care. We know there is an appetite
in many communities to do more, and we want to
innovative as a council and capable of providing effective
work more effectively with those who want to make
a difference to the places they live and work.
leadership across our communities.
The readiness of our
partnerships and relationships
Gloucestershire already benefits from the fact that
almost all our key public sector partners work to
the same geographic boundary and serve the same
population. Changes to the way the public sector is
funded, and the potential for different relationships at
the sub-regional, national and European level make
it more important than ever to work creatively with
partners to make sure Gloucestershire punches
above its weight and attracts inward investment
and national funding.
The potential of digitisation
to transform public services
The rapid growth of digital technology provides
tremendous opportunities to innovate and transform
the way we deliver services for local people. For
example, social media is changing the way we
communicate and interact with communities. Local
government has yet to explore fully the potential of
‘big data’ to predict future demand for services and
to design and deliver preventative solutions. In terms
of the wider economy, the potential of robotics and
artificial intelligence will be critical given our likely
limitations on working age population numbers.
5
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Since 2007 the Assuming current population Since 2007 the growth of the older
population has trends continue, the population population (aged 65 and above)
in Gloucestershire will reach has outpaced that
grown
population
of the younger
Gloucestershire
by 7.3%
has a population of
(compared to 8.6% for
628,139 England & Wales over
the same period)
667,400 &
715,300
by 2026 by 2041 28.0% 2.1%
Gloucestershire
Although Gloucestershire has around Manufacturing and health
675
generally benefits from are significant sectors in
a high standard terms of employment
of living, Children in accounting for The council
20,946 Care and the County provides a
Council supports network of
people 6,315 31 libraries
11.3% and 12.3%
(3.4% of the county population) adults receiving and supports local groups
live in areas that are in the most long term care to provide a further 8
10% deprived nationally of employment respectively community libraries
Gloucestershire has
143 Sites There are
of Special Scientific 3,326 The County Council
has 53 councillors
Interest and
miles and employs
3 Areas of road within 3,155 staff
of Outstanding Natural Beauty which the county
cover 51% of the county’s area
6
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Our Priorities for Gloucestershire
The first part of this strategy has set out our long-term vision and ambition for Gloucestershire. The remaining sections show
how that relates to our work as a council, and sets out our priorities and the actions we will take over the next three years.
Children’s wellbeing and safeguarding Communities and Localities
• Make Gloucestershire a child-friendly county • Make sure no community is left behind
• Increase the resilience of children and families • Increase the resilience and safety of local communities
• Intervene effectively to keep vulnerable children and young
people safe
• Make sure children in care and care leavers get the best Transport, Economy and Infrastructure
possible opportunities
• Secure the benefits of high quality growth for local
people and communities
Education and Skills • Help business in Gloucestershire to thrive, grow
and connect with the wider world
• Make sure children have access to a good quality education
• Safeguard the county’s natural landscape and environment
• Help children and young people with additional needs to
learn and succeed
• Develop skills for the future Highways
• Invest in improving the county’s roads
Health, Care and Prevention • Improve customer service and satisfaction
• Design an adult social care system that helps people
stay healthy and independent and supports people with Council leadership
long-term needs
• Promote better mental health for all • Get the most out of the shared public sector estate
• Help people of all ages to stay healthy and well • Transform services through digital innovation
• Join up health and care services • Develop a future focussed workforce 7
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Children’s We want Gloucestershire to be a place where
safeguarding • Every child can thrive, learn, develop and contribute to
their communities and where no child is left behind
and wellbeing • Every family is resilient, equipped to deal with challenges
when they arise and are able to get back on their feet
• Vulnerable children and young people achieve the best
possible outcomes
• Children who are in need or at risk get high quality
support that makes a real and lasting difference in
their lives
Investing in Gloucestershire’s future means placing We recognise that the council has an important part
children at the heart of everything we do. What we to play in making this happen. We want to spread this
achieve today in making Gloucestershire a place vision and capture the imagination of people across
where children and young people can thrive, develop Gloucestershire to work together to raise our ambition
and reach their potential will shape and influence for local people. We also want to act as a champion
our communities for generations to come. We want for vulnerable children within our county. The 2017
to make Gloucestershire a great place for children Ofsted inspection showed us that our services were
to grow up, and we can only do that if individuals, not keeping children safe or making the difference
families, communities, businesses and other partners in their lives that we would want. We are making
work together. progress in improving the quality of those services but
we know we have much further to go to make sure
that all children and young people get the quality of
support that they need and deserve.
8
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Reviewing, redesigning and joining up early • Implementing our Child Sexual Exploitation
help services to make sure they work together strategy of Prevent, Protect and Pursue and
• Make Gloucestershire a child-friendly county, effectively to provide the support that raising awareness of CSE with our partners;
where all partners take into account the needs of families need;
• Continuing to use the voice of children
children when making decisions, by: • Working with partners to identify, as early as and young people to shape, challenge and
• Working with our ambassadors for vulnerable possible, those children and families that need improve everything we do.
children and young people to engage help and support;
with local children and young people to • Supporting parents through effective parenting
• Do everything we can to make sure children
understand what will make Gloucestershire in care and care leavers get the best
programmes;
a better place for them to live, play and possible opportunities to grow up healthy,
grow up; • Increasing use of Family Group Conferencing; stay safe and do well in education and work by:
• Setting out a clear commitment to listen to • Making more use of early help coordinators • Improving the stability of placements for
and consider the needs and aspirations of and community social workers; children in care by planning their entry into
children and young people in everything we care more effectively to get more placements
• Extending use of family support working
do as a council; right first time;
through Families First Plus, across all levels of
• Encouraging our partners, local organisations need; • Increasing the availability and variety of high
and communities to join us in listening to quality, local placements for children in care;
• Implementing our strategy to prevent and
children and young people when we are build resilience against adverse childhood • Strengthening our care leaver strategy and
making decisions that affect their lives; experiences (ACEs); launching our local offer for care leavers to
• Developing a toolkit to help local organisations make sure they have a smooth transition to
• Adopting and promoting a restorative,
place children at the heart of what they do; adulthood and independence.
strengths-based approach across all services;
• Working together to raise the aspirations of • Working with schools to reduce the need
children and young people and to reduce for exclusions.
We will work with:
health inequalities amongst children and
young people; • Intervene effectively to keep vulnerable Schools Community
• Making sure children get a good start in children and young people safe and make a and colleges and voluntary
life and enter school with the skills and positive, lasting difference to their outcomes by: groups
knowledge they need in order to learn • Working through Gloucestershire District
and succeed. Safeguarding Children’s Board to implement councils Health
a quality framework;
• Increase the resilience of children and Police
families by: • Focussing relentlessly on driving up the quality
of social work practice;
• Promoting effective local partnerships that
work together with families in a holistic way • Actively exploring alternatives to care
to address their needs; and exclusion;
• Building and retaining a high quality children’s
social workforce;
9
Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Education We want:
• Every Gloucestershire child to have a high quality education, suited to
and skills their needs, that equips them with the skills and attributes they need to
make a positive contribution to their community and succeed in life
• Children and young people with high needs to learn and succeed in
local schools that understand, respond to and meet their needs in a
flexible way
• To grow the working age workforce by keeping and attracting more
18-40 year olds with high level qualifications
• Gloucestershire’s economy to be driven by a flexible, well-trained
workforce which can provide the skills local employers need in a modern,
diverse and successful economy
The council’s role in education is evolving. Against a backdrop of increasing Education Health & Care Plan and rising expectations from families. We cannot
independence, school autonomy and the developing role of Regional School continue to do things in the same way. We need to change the way that the
Commissioners, the council has three key roles in education: council and schools work together to meet the needs of these children.
• Making sure that the system works for families – that high quality school
Looking beyond the role of schools, the economy will provide opportunities
places are available in the right location, that meet the aspirations of families
for a more flexible, more adaptable workforce, able to develop and acquire
and reflect the needs of all children.
new skills. We will need to help forge stronger links between training
• Improving outcomes for vulnerable children and all those with providers and local employers to make sure we understand what they
additional needs. need, are responsive to emerging trends and can equip the workforce
with the tools they need.
• Championing the needs of vulnerable children and young people so that
there is an inclusive learning system for all.
Even more challenging is that the county’s working age population is
Increasingly, we achieve this by influencing and working with others, expected to remain static. There is demand for more people to replace
including the leadership of academies, free schools and the Regional workers retiring from the county’s workforce, and the county loses up
Schools Commissioner. to 400 young adults to other parts of the UK each year. We will need to
be creative and bold in order to make sure that the county can provide
We also know that while Gloucestershire children achieve well overall, this the workforce that will drive economic growth.
masks the reality for some. In particular, too many children with additional needs
experience poor results. We are seeing increasing numbers of children with an
10Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Support young people and adults to develop We will work with:
skills for the future by:
• Work with schools to make sure children have • Working with local employers to create 5,000
access to a good quality education that new apprenticeships, at least 2,000 of which Children, young Education, skills and
prepares them for adulthood, by: will be in engineering; people and their employability funding
• Developing and delivering a school places • Increasing the uptake of apprenticeships and families bodies
strategy (which includes a new comprehensive other training opportunities both within the
school for Cheltenham); council and with local businesses; Schools, colleges, Regional partners,
• Supporting and challenging schools, headteacher including GFirst
• Making sure the new technical level associations and neighbouring
academies and other settings to improve qualifications include sufficient and
where needed; and governor LEPs and combined
appropriate work experience with local authorities
• Making sure that the way we allocate school businesses and organisations; Further education
places and home to school transport is fair, • Dealing with replacement demand by providers including The Regional
equitable, clear and transparent. increasing opportunities and options for older leading universities Schools
workers and influencing businesses’ and Commissioner
• Help children and young people with individuals’ expectations of what constitutes Local and regional
additional needs to learn and succeed, by: ‘working age’; employers Employment
• Developing alternative provision and providing and Skills Board
• Strengthening links between schools, colleges
alternatives to exclusion; and businesses; improving and making better
• Supporting schools to keep children and use of labour market information;
young people in mainstream provision; • More effectively coordinating digital skills
• Providing more flexible support to meet the development to build on the strengths of the
needs of individual children; Gloucestershire economy in terms of cyber
and digital;
• Giving schools better access to
specialist support; • Linking local businesses with schools to
develop early aspirations;
• Passing more funding directly to schools to
help them respond to the needs of children as • Increasing access to good quality work
they arise; experience opportunities.
• Providing peer support for parents and carers
within their community;
• Developing post-16 placements that offer
routes into employment and community
based support.
11Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Health, We want:
Care and • Inclusive and supportive communities
• Gloucestershire people to make choices that lead to
Prevention healthy lives
• People to enjoy increased wellbeing, independence
and personal resilience
• Good quality care and support available when people
need it
People today can expect to live healthier, longer lives than any generation that health and care needs of an ageing population. That will mean doing more to make
has gone before. This is changing the way they choose to spend their later years. sure people can live independently for longer, including exploring the potential of
The idea of a fixed retirement age is disappearing and being replaced by a more robotics and artificial intelligence.
gradual transition from working life to retirement. This is positive for local people.
Many people choose to use their retirement years to ‘give something back’ and We recognise that there is an extremely strong link between a person’s mental
get involved in voluntary work or other community activities. health and their physical health. A positive approach to mental health and making
good lifestyle choices will help them to stay healthy for longer, and to minimise the
However, we also know that an ageing population will put increasing pressure on impact of any long-term condition on their lives.
public health and social care services. We expect the number of over-75s (the age-
group most likely to rely on council services) to increase by an average of 2,330 We are already working with communities and voluntary organisations to help them
per year over the next 25 years, and we are already seeing an increasing number respond to a growing number of more vulnerable people, and to make sure that
of people of all ages with complex, long-term health conditions. our services work effectively in partnership with those communities. We are also
working more closely with the NHS and other partners to help more people back to
While, in the short term, the county council and Central Government have invested independence, for example, after a stay in hospital. These things are already easing
additional resources into health and social care, we need a solution that is pressure on the system and allowing us to provide good quality care for those who
sustainable in the long term. We need to think differently about how we meet the need it most, but we need to do more.
12Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Joining up data to better understand the term health and wellbeing, building resilience
impact we are having; and helping to prevent the impact of ACEs
• Design an adult social care system that helps • Working with partners to develop a being passed on to the next generation;
people to stay healthy and independent and sustainable social care workforce. • Joining up our data to better
supports people with long-term needs, by: understand and improve health
• Making sure we focus on the strengths of • Promote better mental health for all by: outcomes across Gloucestershire.
individuals and communities – their skills, their • Creating a county wide movement that
networks and resources – rather than just focusses on the factors that contribute • Joined up health and care services through
their needs and vulnerabilities; to good mental health; an integrated Care System to provide:
• Helping people to do things for themselves; • Promoting better understanding and • An even greater focus on supporting people
awareness of mental health; and to keep healthy and independent and
• Working with community groups to help them
offer support and help to vulnerable people; • Encouraging other organisations to join us; developing active communities;
• Improving the impact of short term help to • Embedding thinking about mental health • More joined up care and support for people
in everything we do through a ‘no health with long term health conditions – in their
make sure people regain their confidence and
without mental health’ approach; homes, GP surgery, community or hospital;
independence whenever possible;
• Working with other health and care • Offering free mental health first aid training • More control for people over the care
for organisations that sign up to our they receive;
professionals to promote positive
risk taking that helps people to achieve shared commitment; • Greater freedom and control to make
their personal goals; • Making sure that mental health services local decisions about services.
• Increasing the range of local housing achieve the best possible outcomes across
options available to allow more people to live the spectrum of need. We will work with:
independently;
• Help people of all ages to stay healthy and
Voluntary and Gloucestershire
• Supporting those individuals who find well by:
themselves vulnerable to help them cope community groups Care Services
• Working with partners to review our approach NHS Trust
with daily living and adapt;
to make sure we are focussed on prevention Gloucestershire
• Responding proactively to frailty and on reducing health inequalities; Clinical 2gether NHS
and vulnerability;
• Helping people in vulnerable circumstances Commissioning Foundation Trust
• Continuing to make Gloucestershire a to improve their health, supporting them to Group
dementia-friendly county; live independently and preventing them from GPs and other
• Making sure that carers are identified early becoming homeless; Gloucestershire primary care
and have timely access to quality information, • Working with children, parents, schools and Hospitals NHS providers
advice and guidance to enable them to partners to reduce childhood obesity; Foundation Trust
maintain independence; District councils
• Encouraging inter generational activity and
• Maximising use of technology to help people other ways of helping people to be active in
live independently; Police
their communities;
• Exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence • Raising awareness of the impact of Adverse
and robotics to support carers and improve Childhood Experience (ACEs) on people’s long
the quality of care that people receive; 13Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Working with We want:
Communities • Healthy, resilient and engaged communities that work
together to improve the places they live and work
and Localities • Everyone to have the same opportunities regardless of
where they live
• Thriving voluntary and community groups that support
innovation and collaboration
• To work with partners for the good of local people -
inspiring confidence in public services
• Councillors that are active and knowledgeable in their
communities and can support change at a local level
Along with our partners, we have a strong track We recognise that the county has a thriving
record of understanding local communities and using community sector and already benefits from the
data about local needs to inform what services we enthusiasm and effort of countless volunteers as
provide and how. However, more could be done to school governors, community activists, carers and
work with communities to understand what assets more. We also know that there is an appetite to do
and strengths they can offer and to help them more if we work with communities to make that
articulate their goals and ambitions. We know there is happen. We don’t want to miss any opportunity to
greater scope to gather, analyse and act on feedback help local people improve the places they live
from communities. We have tended to rely on and work.
traditional methods of consultation and engagement,
and have not yet begun to fully explore the potential of
social media and other less formal ways to shape our
understanding of what local people want and think.
14Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: knowledge and expertise about their We will work with:
local areas;
• Make sure that no community is left • Working collaboratively with parish councils
behind, by: and community groups to join up services and
• Working with local people and communities share resources at a local level; District councils
to understand what they want to achieve and, • Building on and developing the strengths
with our partners, to help them to improve the within individual communities; Police
places they live and work;
• Using digital technology to connect people Local
• Piloting our approach to community and tackle social isolation and loneliness; community
engagement through a plan specific to
• Targeting community safety advice and groups and
Gloucester City;
support (including fire and trading standards) voluntary
• Focussing on neighbourhoods and areas to ‘at risk’ groups; organisations
where need is greatest;
• Further developing the innovative work of the Parish and
• Ensuring that no-one’s opportunities or fire & rescue service in identifying vulnerable town councils
aspirations are limited because of where people and helping them to stay safe and well
they live; in their homes;
• Helping people develop skills in areas where • Using firefighters to provide a falls ‘pick up’
outcomes and prospects are poorest to make service and a telecare response.
sure they benefit from the opportunity of a
growing Gloucestershire economy;
• Enhancing library services in our three major
centres (Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud)
to meet community needs;
• Supporting local councillors to use the
‘Growing Our Communities’ grants to help
meet the aspirations of their communities.
• Build the resilience and safety of local
communities by:
• Encouraging and extending the use of our
31 libraries and 21 fire stations as
community hubs;
• Promoting councillors as community leaders
and champions and tapping into their
15Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Transport, We want:
Economy and • More Gloucestershire businesses starting up,
growing and investing in research and innovation
Infrastructure • Rising productivity and household income,
offering higher living standards
• The economic and social benefits of growth to be felt
by all communities, including rural, urban and areas of
highest deprivation
• Improved transport and internet connections so that
people and businesses can connect with each other
more easily
• More efficient use of resources and more use of
sustainable energy
Changes to the county’s population, and to the way that local government is funded, means that we will be
increasingly reliant on the success of our economy to fund vital public services. We know that over the next
20 years 60,000 houses need to be built in Gloucestershire. We welcome that growth and the opportunities
that brings with it, but need to make sure that it is delivered in a way that works for Gloucestershire and its
communities. That means planning for and bringing investment into local infrastructure and making sure that
our rural areas are accessible and well connected to the urban centre of the county.
16Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Working in partnership with Network Rail and We will work with:
regional partners to improve rail connectivity;
• Secure the benefits of high quality growth • Working with partners and developers to
for local people and communities, by: create a cycle superhighway across the centre
• Delivering transport access for the new UK of the county.
Cyber Business Park in Cheltenham; • Delivering superfast broadband to every home Sub-National Developers
by 2021; Transport
• Making sure that we plan the infrastructure
Body Local
needed to support sustainable growth; • Commissioning work to develop plans for a Economic
• Continuing to negotiate with developers to full fibre network. Sub-regional Partnership
secure investment in the infrastructure that LEPs and
communities need. • Safeguard the county’s natural landscape combined Local Nature
and environment for future generations by: authorities Partnership
• Help businesses in Gloucestershire to thrive, • Embedding green infrastructure into our
grow and connect with the wider world by: thinking and planning for Gloucestershire’s District
Growth hubs
future development and regeneration; councils
• Supporting GFirst to develop a Local Industrial
Strategy for Gloucestershire; • Planning and designing with health
• Continuing to help central government push and wellbeing in mind;
ahead with the improvement work on the • Tackling poor air quality to reduce its impact
A417 missing link; on people’s health;
• Working with Highways England and sub- • Taking preventative measures to increase the
regional combined and local authorities to county’s flood resilience;
make sure that the extension of the smart
motorways from Worcester to Bristol and • Reducing reliance on landfill and recovering
junction improvements at J9 and J10 are value from non recyclable waste;
included in their plans; • Continuing to work with district councils to
• Promoting and delivering transport and reduce waste and increase recycling.
infrastructure schemes including the South
West Bypass and A419 Stonehouse
improvements;
• Improving the public transport offer
across the Central Severn Vale including
high-impact, high-efficiency rapid
transit bus “super routes”;
17Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Highways We want:
Delivery • A highways network that keeps people and goods
moving and helps Gloucestershire’s economy
• High levels of satisfaction with roads
• To be at the forefront of highways technological
transformation, encouraging early adopters to base
themselves in Gloucestershire
• More efficient use of resources and more use of
sustainable energy
Highways is probably the most visible service that we in more rural parts of the county are particularly
provide. Our roads affect everyone on a daily basis, dependent on private car ownership in order to
and in many cases shape how local people feel about access education, work and essential services. We
the council. Whilst significant progress has been made know that we need to keep the county moving. The
in improving the road network in recent years, more solution is likely to lie not in building more roads, but
needs to be done to improve people’s perception of in using technological advances to improve the flow
our roads and their satisfaction in the service they of traffic.
receive. The easier we make it for customers to
interact with us digitally, the more we can focus our Self-driving and semi-autonomous vehicles, the roll
time and money on repairing and maintaining roads. out of 5G mobile technology, changing patterns of
car ownership and growing public awareness and
More people using the roads and more frequent concern about air quality, will all shape the way
severe weather will put more pressure on our road we use and think about the road network in
network. This will affect everyone, but residents coming years.
18Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Improve customer service and satisfaction by: We will work with:
• Bringing customer contact back in house;
• Continue to invest in improving the county’s
roads by: • Making it easier to report and track progress
of repairs online;
• Completing our £150m investment in
resurfacing highways; • Keeping flexibility within the service to
carry out a range of basic highways
• Focussing maintenance on those high speed maintenance functions at a local
and high capacity roads; Highways District Parish
level in response to local priorities. contractors councils and town
• Exploring new opportunities to generate councils
income from the highways network in order
to invest it in maintenance;
• Investigating the potential for developing
a world class traffic signal infrastructure to
reduce congestion;
• Setting up a highways skills academy to
work with local contractors to grow
construction skills;
• Starting to plan for the introduction of
5G technology;
• Promoting active travel, including walking
and cycling and looking for opportunities to
accelerate the uptake of cleaner vehicles.
19Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Ambition
tracker
Council We want:
leadership • To be a council that focusses on the future and stays
ahead of the curve by developing resilient services and
a skilled, empowered workforce
• To focus on the needs of residents and refuse to be
constrained by organisational boundaries
• To be serious about innovation, deploying technology
to transform services and improve access
We want to be at the forefront of challenging services across the local public sector to champion
changing local government and the way it is the needs and aspirations of our residents. We want
sometimes perceived. Over recent years, we have to be a force for good across Gloucestershire, striving
worked hard to make sure that we are financially to do the right thing, not the easy thing.
resilient by making choices (often difficult ones) about
what services we can provide and how we should In order to do that, we will need council leaders and
provide them. That gives us a solid base from which staff that are not only up for that challenge, but who
to build for the future. relish it – who are innovative, creative and motivated
to achieve the very best. Our culture will need to be
We know there is more that can and should be done underpinned by strong values and an appetite for
to change the way we work. We will use our influence doing things differently.
and our resources to stimulate Gloucestershire’s
economy. We will provide leadership and join up
20Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
We will: • Increasing provision of digital services; We will work with:
• Maximising the use of technology to support
• Get the most of the shared public sector independent living and reduce the need for
estate, by: people to go into residential care homes;
• Championing housing solutions that will help • Developing a customer access strategy that District West of
us reduce the need for long-term care; provides clear, joined up service pathways councils England
• Selling surplus buildings and land to generate for customers and stakeholders. Combined
capital receipts and support wider community Local NHS Authority
• Develop a future focussed workforce by: trusts
aspirations around housing and employment;
• Setting out a clear, attractive and competitive Police
• Improving customer service and creating Gloucestershire ‘offer’ to attract the
efficiencies by sharing facilities. best people; GFirst LEP
• Transform public services through digital • Empowering and equipping staff to be
innovation by: innovative and work across boundaries to
achieve the very best for local residents.
• Helping residents and communities develop
digital skills; • Providing clear development opportunities
and making it easy for staff to gain new skills
• Using data to better understand the needs of and experience.
our residents and customers;
21Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
Achieving our vision through our values and behaviours
Over the past year, building on conversations with staff about what is important to them,
we have agreed the following values that will inform and underpin the way we work.
Accountability Respect
We do what we say we will. We value and listen to each other.
Integrity Excellence
We are honest, fair and speak up. We continually improve through
listening, learning and innovation.
Empowerment
We enable communities and
colleagues to be the best they can.
22Our Council Strategy 2019-2022 Gloucestershire County Council
23GCC_2325 10.18
Gloucestershire
Looking to
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the Future
2019-2022You can also read
