Report of the Executive Head of Strategy and Communications and Head of Enterprise Programme Management Office

Cabinet received a report of the Executive Head of Strategy and Communications and Head of Enterprise Programme Management Office which provided the latest update on the council’s delivery of the commitments contained in the

·      Council Plan 2020-24 and Delivery Plan 2022-22

·      Organisational Development Strategy 2020-24 and

·      Covid-19 Road to Renewal Plan

The Mayor introduced the report and highlighted some of the key achievements over the last two quarters from each of the plans.  He thanked officers for their continuing hard work.  These included

·      17 Green flags

·      Preparations for Watford Centenary

·      New Heritage trail

·      Market Lates events

·      Dementia work

·      Agile working for officers

·      Kickstarters scheme

·      Audentior Awards

The Mayor noted the strong progress across all three plans.  He invited the Managing Director to comment.

The Managing Director reported that over 180 young people attended the second Generation Watford Careers Fair.  The council’s Local Plan examination had been completed.  The council’s investment portfolio continued to make positive contributions to the council’s finances.  There had been an enormous amount of work over the last quarter and she thanked all the staff who had been involved.

Councillor Watkin commented on the Organisation Development Strategy as it was led by HR, which was within his portfolio.  He noted the development of agile working and was pleased to see it had been met with enthusiasm by staff.  He commented that being more agile would breakdown any silo working that may exist and ensured officers worked collectively as one team.  He said that he liked the statement ‘that everyone was a leader’, and felt this reflected Watford as an organisation.

The Mayor noted the reference to agile working and said that earlier in the day he had visited Watford Community Housing and had seen some of the council’s officers working there.  He thanked the council’s partners for their support.

In response to a question from Councillor Bell about the Young Entrepreneurs Programme with University of Hertfordshire, the Managing Director advised that 57 young people aged between 18 and 30 had taken part.

Following Councillor Bell’s question about the funding for the Centenary celebrations, the Mayor advised that this was being led by the Group Head of Community and Environmental Services.  He understood that £50,000 had been set aside for the centenary.   There would be various events throughout the year.

Councillor Bell then asked about the costs associated with the Shop Local campaign.  The Mayor and Managing Director commented that there were no additional costs as the project was delivered within existing officers’ time in the communications and economic development services.

RESOLVED –

1.         that Cabinet notes the progress updates within this report relating to:

·      the Council Plan 2020-24 and Delivery Plan 2020 -22 (Appendix A)

·      the Organisational Development Strategy 2020-24 (Appendix B)

·      the Road to Renewal Plan (Appendix C)

2.         that Cabinet notes the impact of external factors on some of the areas of delivery. Where this is the case, the areas have been reviewed to reflect the current environment during the last period. The focus on delivery within the life of the plans remains a corporate commitment.

3.         that Cabinet notes the report will be presented to Overview and Scrutiny Committee in March 2022.