Executive Information Bulletin — Issue 23, April 2005

Will the public ever learn to love local government?

Photograph:
Street scene services have more impact than any other on councils’ reputations, according to MORI

What makes people satisfied with their council?

That was the crunch question asked at a gathering of the country’s local government communications professionals, held in Liverpool last week.

In a sparkling keynote presentation to the annual LG Communications conference, Ben Page of the survey organisation MORI unveiled the most detailed ever research into the reputation of local councils — and the findings are very relevant to Wigan.

Mr Page revealed that MORI’s latest research shows the key influences on resident satisfaction to be:

Services such as education and social care were not found to be key drivers of satisfaction because a minority of the public use them. The council services that have most influence on reputation are those dealing with ‘street scene and liveability’ issues.

In other words councils that keep their areas clean, green and safe normally fare better in the way the public thinks of them than those that are seen to neglect these issues. You may have the best schools in the UK but the impact on your reputation is marginal.

Ben Page also highlighted the critical link between satisfaction and communication.

Every public survey now suggests that councils which keep their residents well informed have a higher reputation than those that don’t. Council magazines and newspapers, and direct council communication through the letter box are fundamentally important. The best councils of ALL political persuasion have recognised this.

However Page also pointed out another obvious finding — council communications that are poorly presented and simply used to pat yourself on the back are unlikely to have any credibility with readers.

The role of the media is also important in influencing people’s perceptions about their council, according to Page, and he urged all councils to put communications at the very top of their priority list.

According to residents, the most valued single council publication is an A-Z directory of services, and MORI suggest councils seriously consider sending an A-Z to every household annually. Also seen as important is the council tax bill, and councils should improve the way they present this information, said Page.

He urged councils to look at their visual identity and the way they ‘brand’ themselves. Is it consistent, and does it help people understand their council’s role in providing services?

Head of PR David Mather was at the conference. He says:

“What was striking is how good communications (which is not the same thing as ‘spin’) transcends politics. There is an overwhelming correlation between useful information and communication, and resident satisfaction. Officers and politicians of all parties now realise this.

“In Wigan it was pleasing to note that many of the issues raised by Ben Page are already included in our communications strategy, which was adopted last year.

“We have a cross-departmental communications officers group, chaired by Katherine Fairclough of the PPI team, that is working hard to improve the way we communicate both externally and internally.

“One of the key issues will be to look at the range and quality of publicity produced across the authority, and ask if it is actually providing value for money.

“The chief officers’ management team has also asked for an action plan designed to improve the way we manage our reputation and customer relationships, and Katherine and I are now working with Assistant Chief Executive Adrian Hardy on this.”

Townships

Township plan review

Members of the Wigan Borough Partnership (WBP) Board, and its operations group, are meeting representatives of township forums at the end of May to review their action plans.

Forums are being asked to identify their top five priorities with the aim of agreeing how agencies and services can help them make quick progress with these.

A series of meetings are being held on the 24th, 25th and 26th May, avoiding any major council commitments and township forum meetings. Meetings will be held in both the west and the east of the borough, and during the day and evening, to accommodate as many as possible.

It’s expected that those attending the review meetings will include:

Forums are being asked to prepare in advance of the review by considering how they are currently working as partnerships. The Board acknowledges that forums are not all at the same stage but feels it is right that forums are asked to reflect on their development needs.

Information about the progress of township forums will be included in the local self-assessment of our local strategic plan. The annual review of the Local Strategic Partnership (Wigan Borough Partnership) will take place on 15th July in a joint meeting with Government Office North West.

Township staff are currently in the process of briefing joint chairs on these arrangements and agreeing how the wider forum will identify priorities.

Mayoralty

Baby boost

The mayor’s charity fund has now reached a splendid £44,000. The ventilator for Wigan Infirmary’s special care baby unit has already been bought, and the mayor is now meeting with the hospital trust to look at other items.

The Sheriff of Wigan

Former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Sir David Wilmot was named as the new High Sheriff of Greater Manchester during a ceremony at Wigan Town Hall earlier this month.

The unpaid post of High Sheriff involves being the main point of contact in the

county for visiting judges, escorting members of the royal family on visits to Greater Manchester and attending high profile events.

The Mayor played host to Sir David, who as a Culcheth resident chose our borough for the ceremony, during his installation.

Public Relations

What’s the story?

Media enquiries are on the increase — and so is the speed of the council’s responses.

46% of the 165 enquiries logged by the PR team between January and March 2004 were responded to within the hour; 197 calls came in during the same period this year, with 49% of journalists receiving a response in less than 60 minutes. And, slow responses (over 24 hours) are down from 10% to 9%.

Generating most media interest last year were Engineering and Planning department issues, accounting for nearly 50% of all calls.

The picture is changing though, with enquiries relating to those two departments now dropping to one third at the expense of corporate and legal issues. Not surprisingly, e-mail responses are up from 10% to 41% because of the increasing need for unequivocal statements that cannot be misinterpreted by journalists.

Three quarters of all media enquiries continue to emanate from Martland Mill, home of the Wigan Evening Post, Wigan Observer and Wigan Reporter.

A day in the Life

Photograph:
Benefits advice in the recent Borough Life led to over 250 new clients winning cash.

Distribution of the spring edition of Borough Life has now ended, and individuals and managers involved in some of the featured items have been asked to help monitor the magazine’s effectiveness.

Editor David Mather asked whether they had experienced increased interest as a result of the article or feature. The Borough Life team want to show that the council’s flagship publication is not just an attractive product, but brings real benefits to members of the public as well as the council, its partners and other contributors.

The summer issue of Borough Life will be distributed between 17th June and 8th July. The distribution firm aims to reach over 90% of households (a guarantee the Royal Mail is unable to meet within an acceptable timescale), but where there are gaps in coverage we are keen to hear of them.

Policy & Improvement

Wigan leads on improvement

Councils from all over the North West met at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton on 8th April to launch the North West Improvement Network and Knowledge Hub. Chief Executive Steve Jones has been the driving force behind this new approach to education and learning for employees and councillors in all types of council across the region.

The network will encourage every council to identify what it needs to do to build capacity for ensuring modern public services are delivered, and provide access to £7.9 million over the next three years from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Photograph:
University of Manchester

The network will be supported by a ‘knowledge hub’ provided by a consortium led by Manchester University and SOLACE Enterprises, the consultancy arm of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives.

All the national bodies like ODPM, the Audit Commission, Improvement & Development Agency and the Employers Organisation have joined in supporting the network, which is the first of its kind in the country.

Wigan Council will be the accountable body for the funds, employ the co-ordinators and manage performance, so we will also have a place on the management board.

Chief Executive, Steve Jones says:

“This was the result of more than a year’s hard work from many people across the region. For the first time, councils of all sizes and performance will have access to government ‘capacity building’ funds. The Knowledge Hub will be a resource for everyone and develop approaches to meet our needs here in the North West.”

It’s CPA time again

A few months ago we reported to Members that the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) for councils was being updated for 2005-08.

Work has already started within the council to prepare for these changes and we will be arranging an information session for councillors over the summer.

The Audit Commission has already made it clear it expects a tough new test, and currently excellent councils are by no means guaranteed to retain their status.

Treasury praise for council

Last year’s national budget documents included a report on ‘Devolved Decision Making’ that highlighted the quality of leadership and focus on performance in Wigan Council.

This year’s post budget papers included a report on Securing Better Services: Developing a New Performance Framework that highlighted Wigan’s approach to managing and improving services.

Personnel

Just the job

As part of the local government pay settlement last year, all councils agreed to carry out a major review of employees’ pay and grading.

In Wigan a new Job Evaluation team has been brought together to start work on this exercise. It’s being led by Anna Harasymiw — a familiar face in Corporate Personnel Services. Anna has been involved in Job Evaluation in Wigan from the outset.

Andy McFarland, the project manager, comes to Wigan from Salford Council with a wealth of knowledge about job evaluation.

The job analysts are: Craig Clegg, another import from Salford, Sue Taylor previously of MCCS, Glenda Blackburn who joins the team after 27 years with a national retailer, and job sharing Amanda Bibby & Susan Anderton who have both transferred from an HR role with Lancashire County Council. Admin assistant Sharan Naylor joins the team from Engineering Services.

During the next 18 months the job analysts will be visiting all the authority’s sites to interview about 1700 job holders.

The process will look at the responsibilities and demands of the job and the circumstances in which it is done. The analysts will be using the computerised version of the NJC (National Joint Council) job evaluation scheme to evaluate the jobs.

Their aim is to make sure we have a fair and equal pay and grading structure

Senior appointments in Adults and Children’s Services

Following the reorganisation of education and social services into children’s and adult services departments, several of the senior appointments have now been confirmed.

Adult Services

New deputy director is Joe Blott, who will have particular responsibility for adults under 65 and providers.

Assistant directors include:

The post of head of mental health is vacant and under review.

Children’s Services

Gerald Meehan, former deputy director of social services will be the new deputy director of children's services. Other appointments will be confirmed shortly.

Registrars

The Brit awards

This week Wigan town hall will see another three people officially become ‘British’.

Over the past year the council’s registrars have hosted a dozen ceremonies and granted British citizenship to some 50 residents of our borough. The ceremonies, introduced across the country in February 2004, are now the last piece in an often complicated jigsaw that applicants applying for British nationality have to complete.

But as superintendent registrar Hilary Walker says, they are normally happy affairs.

“Often people have had to wait several years to get to this stage. They bring their families with them, and the mayor welcomes them and presents them with their certificate.”

The would-be citizens have to either swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen or – if they prefer – affirm their allegiance. A portrait of the Queen and the British flag is on display in the town hall atrium, and the national anthem must be played.

Pledge

They are then required to utter the pledge:

“I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms. I will uphold its democratic values. I will observe its laws faithfully and fulfil my duties and obligations as a British citizen.”

The council’s registrars receive notification from the Home Office of the people who have been granted British nationality and these are carefully cross-checked before the ceremony takes place.

Member Services

The cross-party councillor services group, which advises the cabinet on member training, met on April 18th and made three important recommendations.

Councillors’ web pages

Members will get their own web pages where they can expand on the information they make available to the public. The group believes these would be a valuable way for members to engage with their constituents.

A protocol on what is legally permitted will be drawn up, and if they agree this then members may be able to update or revise their pages directly.

Similar schemes are being developed around the country, and having member web pages is one of the 'e-targets' that all councils will have to meet by the end of the year.

Broadband access

Currently many members find the existing dial-up laptop technology creates problems when they try to open large files or print documents. It is slow by today's standards and can be frustrating for regular IT users.

Although a growth bid for installing hi-speed broadband technology in members' homes was unsuccessful, an alternative plan now looks likely to go ahead.

This will involve members using their own broadband service for council business. Where a councillor does this they will receive a payment from the council corresponding to the cost of a typical domestic broadband service minus the charge levied for personal use of the internet.

Member Development Charter

The group endorsed a proposal for the council to seek accreditation under the North West Employers Charter on Member Development.

At its core is the belief that elected members should be supported and given access to training and development. Accredited organisations commit to helping councillors play their key community leadership role in local government, and provide suitable training.

Assessment will take place before the end of the year.

And finally, it's goodnight from me…

Photograph: A youthful Steve Jones
and it's goodnight from him…
Photograph: Steve Jones today.
Fifteen years at the top does wonders for your image… Above, Steve Jones when he joined the council in 1990, and below, the 'maturer' vintage.

Thursday May 19th will be Steve Jones’ last working day after fifteen years as the council’s chief executive.

He gave his first interview to the Wigan Observer on 19th April 1990 — just days after the council was ‘poll tax capped’, and had to send out new bills and make sweeping cuts. He told the paper:

“People need to understand that you WILL get to the end of it. There may be bad news at the end of it but you will get there, rather than be involved in a total shambles.”

On his approach to management :

“I believe in a style of management which is not wishy-washy or headless but which is fairly open. I believe that the resource that there is within the employees has to be captured, nurtured and trained.”

Potential

Speaking of Wigan he said:

“It seemed to me it had done a lot. It had also had problems and therefore there was the potential for it to do a lot more… an area which has a down-to-earth, cautious reserve about flashy experiments.”

And of the council:

“A fairly tight-run authority, perhaps not as corporate as it might be, very strong political control, a good reputation in a number of areas, for example education.”

We survived capping, and fifteen years on there are few who will deny that Wigan Council is a stronger, more corporate place to work. It has an excellent reputation in local and national government, sound finances and a workforce whose satisfaction and motivation levels are better than in many private sector organisations.

Steve Jones has played a key role in our transformation and we wish him well.

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