Reigate & Banstead 2030

"To operate effectively the Council needs to be well governed and managed, have sound and sustainable finances, have staff with suitable skills and experience, and have access to the right equipment and resources."

The third theme of the plan is 'A resilient Council'. The theme includes three priorities: Robust governance; The tools to do the job; and People and skills. This page provides a summary of the theme and its priorities and objectives.

Priority 3.1: Robust governance

This priority includes three objectives to ensure Council decisions are well informed, made correctly and provide good value for money.

Sound financial planning and value for money

To manage our finances and provide the best value we can, we will:

• Produce balanced annual budgets supported by planning for effective and efficient services
• Maintain high levels of revenue collection and effective fraud prevention
• Use our commercial property to generate income to help fund and support our services
• Operate effective and cost-efficient procurement and contract management

Effective and ethical governance

To help ensure our decision-making is sound and ethical, we will:

• Maintain effective performance monitoring and risk management
• Reflect financial, legal, environmental and equality implications in our decisions, and be consistent with the highest standards of public life.
• Work to continuously improve services
• Promote the interests of the borough by lobbying government and others
• Plan for emergencies and business continuity to be ready to respond to the unexpected

Evidence based decisions and services

To make good decisions based on accurate information, we will:

• Develop our capacity for using data and use data and evidence to inform decisions
• Deliver our Equality Objective to plan and shape services using data and local knowledge
• Manage data responsibly, with strong information governance compliant with national standards

Priority 3.2: The tools to do the job

This priority includes three objectives to make sure the Council has the resources it needs to deliver its goals.

Council properties that meet operational needs and sustainability goals

To keep our buildings and key sites working well, we will:

• Upgrade the Earlswood Depot to meet future service needs
• Improve the efficiency of our buildings, including through energy saving and on-site renewable energy generation
• Regularly maintain our buildings and review current and future needs

Effective and secure IT systems

To ensure we have IT systems that are safe, secure and work well, we will:

• Provide IT systems and tools which enable the Council and its staff to operate efficiently
• Maintain a secure and resilient network, protected against cyber-crime and other disruption
• Explore opportunities to provide additional benefits and efficiencies through technology

A fit for purpose and environmentally sustainable vehicle fleet

To keep our fleet working well and work to reduce our carbon emissions, we will:

• Maintain an effective operational vehicle fleet, supported by planning for future needs
• Explore options to improve the fleet's sustainability while delivering key functions

Priority 3.3: People and skills

This priority includes three objectives to ensure Council staff and councillors have the right skills, support and experience.

An effective and resilient workforce

To have the right people in the right roles and be prepared for the future, we will:

• Use workforce planning to respond to demands and priorities and understand resource needs over time
• Recruit, retain and develop staff to meet the skills needs of the organisation
• Maintain workforce capacity and resilience by supporting staff wellbeing

A clearly defined, inclusive, and positive organisational culture

To help ensure we have a culture that makes us a good employer and lets us operate effectively, we will:

• Update our organisational vision, with associated values and behaviours
• Deliver our Equality Objective to embrace equality and inclusion as an employer
• Have a continued commitment to staff wellbeing and protect staff health and safety
• Empower our staff to be pro-active and confident to help residents

Support and training for elected members

To enable councillors to effectively fulfil their roles, we will:

• Provide elected members with induction and training to give them the skills and background they need
• Ensure elected members have access to the necessary resources, information and officers to make effective and informed decisions
• Maintain a positive relationship between elected members and officers and shared commitment to the Council's vision