Update from Interim Chief Executive Mark Wynn, 5 February 2025

Hello everyone,

Wow what a busy month January was! I have been busy working with colleagues on the budget for 2025/26 which goes to Cabinet this week and then Full Council for approval at the end of the month. Another area of focus has been the upcoming launch of the County Combined Authority and looking at the White Paper on Local Government Reorganisation.

Convention of the North

You may remember that in July we announced that Convention of the North 2025 will be taking place in Preston. The event will take place on 27 and 28 February, at County Hall and the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. The event aims to bring together business, community, academic, and political leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the North of England. This year’s focus will be on skills and innovation, highlighting Lancashire’s strengths and its role in driving national economic growth. The event is particularly significant in the post-election period, aiming to present a coordinated agenda to the new government.

As we will be expecting hundreds of delegates on 27 February at County Hall, I am asking those of you who would normally work from County Hall to work from a different location if possible. Parking will be very limited that day with Arthur Street carpark closed, and our Pitt Street entrance will be closed to all staff. There's a helpful directory of our bookable meeting rooms and workspaces available on the intranet.

Refreshed approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Over the past few months, we’ve been reflecting on our approach to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to ensure all staff voices are heard. This reflection has been shaped by your feedback from the staff survey, conversations within our employee networks, and workforce data. We aim to build on our existing policies and practices, progressing towards our People Strategy ambition of being an inclusive employer for all of you. Your input has been invaluable in helping us understand where we need to improve and how we can better support everyone. Please read Lucy Thompson's recent post here about Equality Diversity and Inclusion including what to look out for in the coming months. Thank you for your continued engagement and contributions.

Recognising our staff

I am pleased to be hosting an event on 19 March for staff that have been with us for 40 years or more. This is the second time we have run an event like this with the first taking place in June last year. A key area of focus for us is to ensure our workforce feel valued and supported, and recognising staff that have spent their careers with us goes someway in doing this. We'll be sending invites out soon and I hope those of you that receive these are able to make it.

Corporate Performance Report

On Thursday our quarter three Corporate Performance Report will be presented to Cabinet. The report gives an overview of how we are performing against 41 key performance indicators. The reports are important, ensure we keep high standards, enhance our services, and make sure we meet our communities’ needs effectively.

Overall, we have achieved or exceeded our targets in 56.1% of our key performance indicators (KPIs), with 23 KPIs meeting or exceeding expectations. However, there are areas where we need to improve, with 12 KPIs slightly below target and 6 significantly below target.

Children’s Services: We have seen strong early years education take-up and effective preventative approaches in childcare. However, we face challenges with children missing education and pressures on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system.

Adult Services: We are preparing for our first inspection of compliance with the Care Act and focusing on improving our assessment and review performance.

Growth, Environment, Transport, and Health: Our performance has been strong, with progress in devolution, environmental initiatives, and health checks. Nonetheless, we face challenges with waste recycling income and road maintenance.

Resources: We have seen encouraging performance in customer access services and the delivery of our capital programme. Our focus remains on sustainable financial management and the implementation of our digital strategy.

We have also agreed our Council Plan for the next five years, which outlines our strategic priorities. This plan will guide our efforts to ensure high standards in all services, including adult social care, and align our work with broader goals of sustainability and community well-being.

These achievements are a testament to your hard work and dedication. As we move forward, we will continue to prioritise delivering high-quality services and addressing the challenges we face. Thank you for your continued commitment and efforts in providing high quality services to the people of Lancashire.

Quarter Three Financial Monitoring Report  

Cabinet will also consider our Quarter three Financial Monitoring Report. The report sets out how we are performing budget-wise. Our budget is split into two main sections: revenue and capital. The revenue budget is for day-to-day running costs, such as salaries, utilities, and services, while the capital budget is for long-term investments, like building new schools or roads.

The report predicts that we will overspend by £12.737 million at the end of the financial year. This is a reduction of £4.338 million from the last quarter’s report. While it is good that we have reduced the amount we will overspend by, more needs to be done. Like other councils, we face challenging times, and we must all be mindful of how we use our budgets.

You can read the full Financial Monitoring Report on our website.  

New look

Work has recently begun on two exciting projects: creating a new SharePoint intranet site and upgrading our public website, Lancashire.gov.uk. The aim for both sites is for them to be more engaging, user-friendly and efficient.

The new intranet will incorporate feedback from last year's survey and will allow more people to manage content, ensuring information stays up-to-date and relevant. There will also be opportunities to help give the intranet a new identity, so look out for this in the coming weeks. You will have the chance to provide feedback on further developments and take part in some testing.

There's a lot of work to do on both projects, but we will involve you wherever possible and keep you informed of any key changes as they occur. Your participation will be invaluable in shaping these platforms to better serve our needs, so look out for updates on staff news.

National Apprenticeship Week

Another key area in our People Strategy is our commitment to develop our staff, and a key part of this is making best use of the apprenticeship levy. National Apprenticeship Week runs from 10 to 16 February and allows us to shine a light on the value that this has on our organisation, allowing existing staff to gain qualifications from GCSE to Masters level.

Our Talent and Performance Careers Team will be outside Reflections at County Hall on the 11, 12, and 13 February 2025. They will be available to talk to you about opportunities in the council and advice for anyone who may be a parent/guardian of a young person interested in exploring apprenticeship opportunities.

You can find out more about apprenticeships in the guide available on the intranet.

Have a great rest of the week,

Mark