Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate, Performance and Safeguarding.

That Cabinet endorse the vision and principles of a modern, sustainable unitary council and the overall journey required to achieve this.

Reason for the decision

To ensure members understand the proposed direction, how it supported delivery of council priorities, and how it aligned with existing change programmes. To ensure members were sighted on how this organisational journey would develop over time, with appropriate links to democratic processes built in.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report stating that Dorset Council was operating in a time of significant change. The demand for services was rising, resources remained limited, and expectations of public institutions were shifting. Alongside this social, technological and policy change was accelerating, meaning traditional ways of working were no longer sufficient to meet the needs of residents or sustain services in the long term.

In response to a question about duplication of work and the potential for a mechanism enabling councillors to report such issues to the relevant officers, the Leader agreed to take the matter away for further consideration.

The Chief Executive advised that the council had an ambitious plan and to succeed it must be outcome focused, aligned across services and with its partners. 

Cabinet Members unanimously spoke in support of the report, the vision and welcomed the focus on long-term sustainability through improvement and position changes across the council. 

It was proposed by Cllr N Ireland seconded by Cllr R Biggs

Decision

That Cabinet endorse the vision and principles of a modern, sustainable unitary council and the overall journey required to achieve this.

Reason for the decision

To ensure members understand the proposed direction, how it supported delivery of council priorities, and how it aligned with existing change programmes. To ensure members were sighted on how this organisational journey would develop over time, with appropriate links to democratic processes built in.