Agenda item 4 - MTFS (Final) Cab 070213 , item 9. PDF 1 MB

ANNEX 1.3: COMMISSIONING INTENTIONS – COMMUNITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Context
Communities and Infrastructure covers a wide range of services and functions, including
highways, transport, planning, economic development, waste, fire and rescue, trading standards,
carbon reduction, police contract, community offer and libraries.
Strategic Direction
The strategic direction is to create greater integration between the delivery functions within the
commissioning portfolio with the aim of:
• Helping communities to help themselves, targeting resources where necessary and
expanding the big community offer into a variety of other areas where the community has
demonstrated it can deliver
• Building good physical and social infrastructure that enables links between and within
communities
• Supporting the creation of good quality, safe and functioning places
• Contributing to a strong public sector presence in localities, able to deliver services in a coordinated
and effective way
• Stimulating economic growth and contributing to the national recovery effort
Needs Analysis
The specific needs analysis varies for each area of delivery. There are 3 key areas of over-arching
need that are driving change within communities and infrastructure:
• Changing role of the state - through policy and legislative changes, the need for ever more
active communities is crucial (e.g. big community offer, libraries).
• Public sector funding reductions – redesigning services to meet statutory responsibilities
(e.g. planning, trading standards, police contract, fire and rescue) and to minimise the
financial risks and cost pressures faced by the Council (e.g. highways, transport, carbon
reduction, waste)
• Economic recovery – using all of the resources available to the Council and its partners to
promote economic growth (e.g. economic development, planning)
What is becoming clear is that expenditure on Communities & Infrastructure will increasingly be
squeezed from two directions – firstly, the continued reduction in government funding –
secondly, the upward pressure from social care, where demand is increasing. In responding
there are a number of key issues that will be addressed by commissioners:
• Meeting expenditure targets through the right balance of service reductions and demand
management;
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