Part 2 - Thanet District Council

14IMPROVING OUR SERVICESKey improvements undertaken in the pastthree years:■ Major projects undertaken in close co-operationwith the private sector to restore derelictbuildings back into use in both Margate andRamsgate town centres■ Closer working with other Council services todevelop a broader approach to regeneration■ Public realm projects undertaken in Margate,Broadstairs and Ramsgate, including making useof heritage-based funding■ Support for Turner Contemporary developmentin Margate■ Further strengthening of Ramsgate TownPartnership and successful re-profiling of MargateTown Partnership■ Support for town centre based ThanetSafe radioschemes, resulting in Safer Shopping Awards forRamsgate and Margate town centres■ Financial support and advice for new MarketTowns Initiative in Minster (MATCH), toencourage regeneration in Thanet’s rural areas■ Development of a partnership of agencies toproduce the Central Margate Strategic UrbanDesign Framework, including engagementthrough high-profile public consultation■ Kent Innovation Centre opened, providing 3500square metres of serviced office space to supportthe establishment and growth of knowledgebased business in Thanet. The Centre has fulloccupancy and has 28 businesses operatingfrom the premises■ The Workforce Development Grant Schemecontinues to provide a unique service in Thanetassisting local businesses to provide bespoketraining for their employeesKey Improvements planned for the nexttwo years:■ Closer working with other Council services toencourage wider ‘ownership’ of regeneration■ Closer working with a partnership of agencies toencourage development of regenerationopportunities, including Area InvestmentFramework and Central Margate RegenerationFramework■ Continued support for Kent County Council’sinitiative to develop Turner Contemporary inMargate■ Continued development of projects with theprivate sector to bring derelict buildings back intouse, including Ramsgate King Street and MargateOld Town Cultural Quarter■ Further projects to improve the public realm,including public art■ Encouraging development of a wider role in towncentres for Ramsgate and Margate TownPartnerships, including events management andsponsorship, a possible town centre maintenancerole, together with consideration of BusinessImprovement District concept■ Continued development and support forrural-based regeneration programmes■ Development of new funding streams to replacecurrent programmes of Single RegenerationBudget and European Regional Development■ Margate Media Centre will be opened, providingmanaged work space to new and growingbusinesses from the creative and culturalindustry sectors■ Launch of the Business Growth Grant Scheme.This scheme will provide grants to start-up andmicro businesses in Thanet who are purchasingcapital equipment necessary to establish orimprove the effectiveness or range of theirproduct offering

17IMPROVING OUR SERVICESKey improvements undertaken in pastthree years:■ Launch of new corporate website and CouncilIntranet■ Introduction of on-line news service■ E-gov programme and delivery team established■ Pilot Digital TV initiative■ Planning applications and Council committeeminutes on-line■ E-government communications plan■ Communications Strategy complete■ Consultation Strategy complete■ Improvements in response time to mediaenquiries and more media coverage■ Introduction of design and editing service forcorporate publications to save money■ Improved standards of corporate literature■ Introduction of an Events Liaison Grouppartnership to deliver safer public events (groupmade up of Thanet District Council andemergency services)■ Improved public consultation for major projects,for example Margate MasterplanExplanation of differences betweentargets and actual performance for2003/2004BVPI 4 A fluctuation in the resourcesavailable to the service during a period ofreorganisation and review has resulted in adrop in performance, which is now beingaddressed as follows. The introduction of anew Customer Relationship ManagementSystem to capture complaints informationat first point of contact with the Council.The system is expected to be introduced in2005 and it will be accompanied by newcomplaints service standards and aprogramme of staff training in complaintshandling.Key improvements planned for next twoyears:■ Development of corporate model for consultationto improve customer feedback to improveservices■ On line consultation portal■ A Members' portal established■ Improved on-line communication with ParishCouncils■ All sections of the corporate website to meetaccessibility standards■ Development of targeted web-pages for specificcommunity sectors■ Guidelines for event organisers and land hireforms on-line for events on Council land■ Marketing of film location business■ Improved complaints handling under newCustomer Relations Management system toenable the Council to learn from complaints andimprove service plans■ Reduced overheads for in-house printing costs

18CUSTOMERSERVICESAreas of responsibilityCustomer ServicesInformation Technology ServiceKey objectives 2003-2005F.1 To agree the corporate vision on how we willdeliver services to all Thanet District Councilstakeholders over the next five yearsF.2 To develop a set of service standards that aremeasurable and can form part of TDC’sCustomer Service plan – which will includecustomer feedback and surveysF.3 Undertake a project to ascertain theselections of services to be offered at one stopshops and contact centreF.4 Undertake a project to investigate themethods of accessing Council servicesF.5 To investigate the location and quantity of onestop shop outletsF.6 To ensure our staff are trained andempowered to be able to deliver the level ofservice that our customers should expect from amodern service providerProgress on key objectivesF.1 Draft Customer Service and Access ChannelStrategy written.F.2 Draft service standards written. Initial KeyPerformance Indicators written for all areaswithin Customer Services. Discussions withTraining Officer to develop a suite of CustomerCare training courses. Draft ConsultationStrategy written by Head of Communications.F.3 Service areas identified for Phase I and PhaseII of Thanet Service Centre. Process maps beingcreated for all Phase I service areas.F.4 Draft Customer Service and Access ChannelStrategy written.F.5 Funding being sought from Interreg III (viaKent Connects).F.6 Discussions with Training Officer to develop asuite of Customer Care training courses. Trainingprogrammes being written to enable staff tomulti-skill across service areas.

19IMPROVING OUR SERVICESKey improvements undertaken in past threeyears:Over the last six months a series of restructures hastaken place within Council Services, this has resultedin a new Customer Services Department beingcreated and a greater focus towards improvingservice delivery to our customers.Key improvements planned for next twoyears:A target of 10% over the next three years has beenagreed for customer satisfaction.This will be achieved by improving how we handleour customers – the aim is to have 75% of allenquires resolved at the first point of contact. Thiswill be through face to face, telephone and webaccess.Explanation of differences betweentargets and actual performance for2003/2004BVPI 3 The current target of 70% isunrealistic for this authority to achieve withinthe timescale set. Through a proper plannedprogramme of improvement we should seean increase of approximately 10% over thenext three years. This is a new indicatorwithin this department, currently no historicalinformation.

20HOUSING ANDPROPERTYSERVICESKey objectives 2003-2005I.1 To bring all Council homes up to the DecentHomes Standard by March 2005, ahead of theGovernment’s target of 2010I.2 To undertake consultation on, and implement,a new fair and transparent allocations policy forsocial and affordable housingI.3 To enter into a new partnership contract in2004/2005 to improve customer satisfaction inthe Council’s responsive maintenance serviceI.4 To implement ‘From Eyesores to Assets’ –The Council’s Empty Properties Strategy – toreduce the number of long term emptyresidential properties, and increase the housingsupply in Thanet by bringing them back into useI.5 To conduct a feasibility study on the creationof a renewal area in Margate with the aim ofimproving the quality and appearance of PrivateSector Housing in chosen areas

21Progress on key objectivesI.1 TDC are on target to meet the Government’sDecent Homes Standard in full by end of March2005, and improved 65 properties during 2003/04as part of the programme.I.2 The new Lettings Policy is at the final draft stageand a report will be submitted to Corporate StrategyBoard and Cabinet in June prior to consultation.I.3 The key objective to enter into a newpartnership contract in 2004/2005 is on target.I.4 Empty Property Strategy formally approved byCabinet in July 2003 and implemented immediatelywith targets set.I.5 Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment underway,due to be completed end of June 2004 with reportto follow.Areas of responsibility■ Housing Revenue Account (HRA) landlordresponsibilities■ Tenant Participation■ Housing Needs – homeless services, advice,allocations and lettings■ Council property and land management■ Improvements for private sector housing■ Enforcement of private sector housing■ Empty properties■ Coastal protection and engineering■ Surveying and technical functions

24Explanation of differences between targets and actualperformance for 2003/2004BVPI 64BVPI 74BVPI 75BVPI 164BVPI 185A good return on a high target achieved, particularly in view of the fact that theStrategy was not approved until July 2003. Momentum has been built and manyschemes are due to start, some of which will take a long time to come to fruition.However, future targets are believed to be achievable with knowledge of currentprojects underway.Results were lower than hoped for. The survey sample is fairly small and it is thoughtthat one of the main drivers for the results is the repairs service which is beingaddressed through the new partnering contract. Realistic improvement is expected,with top quartile in 06/07. Consultation with tenants, followed up by high profilefeedback will allow tenants to see changes as a result of consultation. The newpartnering contract is expected to improve satisfaction with the repairs service. Moreuse of Anti Social Behaviour Orders, alongside publicising these Orders should help toreduce anti-social behaviour on our estates. It is difficult to make any judgments relatingto satisfaction levels of black and minority ethnic tenants based on a response fromonly five households. The Audit Commission have observed that “There is a statisticallysignificant relationship between this indicator and deprivation. You need to keepthis in mind when judging the result. We (CPA Inspection Team) can predict the resultwe would expect to find based on deprivation alone (73%)”.The result is less than the target expected. Work on different ways of enabling participationand communicating this to residents will be a key part of improvement. TheAudit Commission have observed that “There is a statistically significant relationshipbetween this indicator and deprivation. You need to keep this in mind when judgingthe result. We (CPA Inspection Team) can predict the result we would expect to findbased on deprivation alone (54%)”.Work will be carried out to ensure that we can evidence each part of this indicator.Specific areas that need to be addressed to achieve a target of ‘yes’ have beenidentified and plans are in place to ensure they are carried out to include trainingand reporting.Difficulty has been encountered in obtaining all the data to evidence this BVPI and wecannot, therefore, return an end of year figure. However, the figure of the first sixmonths period was 73%. Top Quartile performance for District Councils in 2002/03for this BVPI is 57%. The new partnering contract will provide better performancemonitoring and reporting methods.

25IMPROVING OUR SERVICESKey improvements undertaken in pastthree years:■ Implementation of public sector Best Value Review■ Established a specialist leasehold team■ Established a Strategic Communication team■ Employed a Housing Support Systems Officer toimprove management of the Housing andProperty Services computer systems■ Brought together Homelessness and Allocationsto form a new Housing Needs team to createa more robust service and respond to changesin legislation■ Responsive repairs have been placed in PropertyServices which has developed in consultation withkey stakeholders a new partnering contract toimprove the quality and professionalism of theservice■ A neighbourhood renewal assessment in Margatehas been undertaken■ Council has agreed a new discretionary policy onprivate sector grants in response to governmentRegulatory Reform Order■ Housing Response Team created■ Tackled Thanet’s derelict land and property with a‘From Eyesores to Assets’ StrategyKey improvements planned for nexttwo years:■ Fully meet Government Decent Homes Standardfor all Council Homes by March 2005■ Reduce the placement/stay of young people andfamilies in bed and breakfast or other unsuitabletemporary accommodation to less than six weeks■ Improve access and choice through developmentof the Rent Deposit Scheme and establish aPrivate Sector Leasing scheme for HomelessHouseholds and those in housing need■ Continue to implement the Council’s ‘FromEyesores to Assets’ empty property strategy byuse of Compulsory Purchase powers and discretionaryhousing renovation grants to bring emptyhomes back into use■ Declaration and acceptance of Renewal Area/s forThanet arising from the Neighbourhood RenewalAssessment feasibility study■ Maximise impact on the supply of qualityaffordable housing to meet housing needdescribed in Thanet Housing Needs Survey 2002■ Achieve agreed proportion of affordable homes onthe proposed Westwood Housing development■ Develop the benefits of the new repairspartnering contract■ Implement the new allocations policy