PUBLIC MEETING REPORT (05/06/09)
Part 1:
Commentary and transcript by J. Brock for 100X Transcription Service
A public meeting on the draft island plan for 2009/14 was held in the Court and Council Chamber of the Town Hall. Present were Councillors Cockwell (RC), Birmingham (JB), Robertson (JR), Stevens (RS), Summers (MS), Rendell (MR), Hansen (IH) and Clausen (AC).
Cllr Summers introduced the Chief Executive who made opening remarks about the draft island plan 2009/14 and why the Falklands needed it. The 40 people who attended had a copy of the draft plan for reference during the meeting. “We have a number of amendments we are going to make,” said Cllr Summers. “Some of them have substance and many have to do with the lay-out and the way it is presented.” He went on to say remarks made during the course of the meeting would be taken away and acted upon. He concluded his opening remarks by saying that there were plans to update the Islands Plan on an annual basis.
The draft islands plan is set up in nine sections: (1) the right to self determination, (2) sustainable economic and fiscal management, (3) education, (4) transport and communications, (5) Health, (6) good governance, (7) Camp, (8) environment and (9) quality of life and community safety.
Remarks by the Chief Executive Mr Tim Thorogood (TT):
Thanks very much. I thought it might be helpful just to explain in a bit more detail the approach we have adopted this year in putting together the Islands Plan. Clearly we produced a document that looks very different from previous versions of the plan and certainly is longer and more complex. There are certain reasons for that. Let’s just remind ourselves what is the purpose of the Islands Plan – what it actually is.
This is the Government’s comprehensive plan for the country. It should be setting down in full all the key priorities, policies and objectives that the Government has for the country. Clearly not all of those priorities will necessarily be achievable but in a wider sense an aspiration. But also, believe it or not, the Government doesn’t control everything so that some of the objectives that are in there are reliant on other people so they can be achieved. A good example is reducing the micron size in wool. We think that’s a good aim for the country, we hope that people agree that but clearly we ourselves can’t make that happen. We are reliant on many farming folk to try and make that happen as well.
The plan, in a bit more detail, is intended to do several things. First of all, it is intended to give direction, focus, to the work of all the departments across the civil service. Civil Servants have been saying that they can’t see the big picture and are not always clear about what our priorities are and so on. Well, this plan is intended to set down in one place for everyone in the civil service the priorities and what they should be focusing on. I am hoping that people will find that helpful.
It’s also designed to try and provide an even better basis for taking budget decisions. Sometimes we take budget decisions incrementally. We’ve made adjustments to previous year’s budgets but not always related to those decisions very closely to out-cuts to clear such priorities. Now, we’ve still got a way to go to try and get that process perfect but certainly in this plan we are trying to link decisions on priorities, service and standards and so on to specific decisions on the budget.
Of course one of its other purposes is to provide the public with exactly the same information so that you are clear with what we are trying to achieve and what our priorities are.
Lastly, though, and this point does explain the approach that we have. It’s designed to provide the basis to be able to measure as the months and years go by, whether we’ve been successful in achieving our aims. But that’s important, isn’t it? We need to know (if we) are being successful and indeed the public need to know in holding us to account if (government) achieved what we set out to do.
Now, that particular aim, as I’ve said explained much of the format that we’ve adopted. And, to explain that a bit more, basically the plan has the nine of ten or the overriding policies the government set out in it. Each one of those, we’ve broken down into much more specific objectives. And, each of those objectives, we have set specific targets for. Let me give you an example. It’s all very well saying we will improve education standards but who doesn’t want to do that? Not everyone wants to improve educational standards. Of course but what does it actually mean in practice? Hey? What standards at what age groups (and at) what extent? So we’ve taken a broad aim like that and said what we mean by that is that at Key stage 2 and at Key stage 4 we will increase the results that are achieved in Math, English and Science, for example. Let me say quite specifically that next year we hope to achieve “X%,” the year after, a bit more and the year after, a bit more than that. So we try to be specific to give more focus and reality to our work and so that you can then ask, with ourselves, have we succeeded in achieving all those aims not just ignored them and where we haven’t, why not?
If you think about it we can almost provide a more practical, more meaningful document that isn’t just (sounds like – a multiple factor pie chart). We can have something that really does provide focus and direction and a means of measurement, in fact, get quite detailed.
We’ve also listed against each of these specific objectives and targets both the Director and the Assembly Member who is directly responsible for that objective or that target. And that brings out personal accountability. As the year goes by we can be asking the relevant portfolio holder, the relevant director, “how are you doing, if there’s a problem, what is it?”
As a process, we’ve spent, as a government several months now trying to work out exactly how we break down these four main topics, perhaps, what objectives make sense, what targets are both relevant and meaningful but also realistic and achievable because there is no point having something that is so aspirational you are never going to achieve it. There is no point in having a target so easy to achieve it’s not going to make any difference. There are some in the middle there that are stretching but achievable and that’s how we try to pitch them. It’s taken a lot of work actually because many of us aren’t used to think like that. It’s not easy to measure many of these things and, of course, there is an element of guess work. One thing is for sure is we will get backlog in some cases.
But we are now in a position where we think we have a programme that’s comprehensive, it’s meaningful, it does set out what we are trying to achieve and on the whole is pretty measurable and pretty practicable.
It is a draft, and as Mike has said, we are very keen. We need to have comments and feedback on what we’ve put so far. We’ve got a number of areas where we know there’s more work to do. Some of the things in there we will do ourselves. We need a bit more debate on other things. So (it’s) very much a draft. And it’s hoped, I think, that Legislative Assembly at its budget session later this month will find some time to have discussion of the priorities and objectives in the plan. Of course, once the budget has been set we can then finalise the plan quickly. Obviously, if certain budget decisions are made they will effect on some of the objectives and targets in that plan, (I. E.) this money’s allocated to Education – we might have to cut back on some of those targets. So, that’s just the way it goes, obviously.
Going forward on this next point – it’s the last sort of major point for me but it’s very important – once we start the next financial year in July, I have been saying to Heads of Department and members have been saying to those same Heads of Department, we are not simply going to put this plan on the shelf and leave it till a year later. Every quarter each Head of Department, with their portfolio holder will be required to report formally on their progress against the objectives and targets they have agreed with us. And it will be a fairly formal system. There will be papers which will document what they are doing and they will give their reasons if they have fallen behind and a formal meeting with other Members and myself and people who will explain how they are doing.
And, in many cases, people will have slipped behind the targets. What we do then is try and understand why. And, if it is resources out there or if the world has moved on – fine – we can understand that. There may be one or two cases where there needs to be just a bit more “umph.”
Hopefully we will be able to provide that but the delivery of the plan – I think what I am saying is – next year – monitoring it – following it up – making sure people are aware of it – pursuing their objectives is really, really key.
And, at the end of next year – probably about this time, maybe a bit earlier, we as a Government will be reporting to the public how over-all we’ve done. And, where we have not succeeded, we will also be explaining that.
The very final point, then, is, of course, there are elections in November and a new Assembly may well have different priorities for the country, in which case, next year’s version of the plan will of course look quite different. Well, that’s the democratic process, isn’t it?
But please do give us your feedback. Although it’s quite a dense document – and I appreciate that and we may have gone too far with the detail – I don’t know, you have a year on that – there are some really important specific points in it and I will just close on one example.
In the education section there’s an objective about developing business studies in the curriculum. And, at the moment, I think it says something like I can’t remember – it could be 50% in five years’ time – 50% of young people – 40/60 should be taking business studies. We have already had further debate with Members about whether that’s right. Members, I think I am right in saying you feel that’s maybe going too far – maybe 25%. It’s an important issue. Do the public feel we should give that much emphasis to business studies in the curriculum – have that as an objective – if so, how far do we push it? I just give that as an example.
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