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The Service

Corporate Planning Process

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Best value reviews - programmes and outcomes

Review process

The Local Government Act 1999 placed a duty on Local Government (including fire authorities) to secure best value in the services it provides and to review all of its functions within a five year period. Later guidance removed the requirement to review all functions within five years but where reviews are conducted they should:

Review methodology

Challenge

We will challenge whether the function/service/activity is really required, and whether it contributes directly or indirectly to the achievement of our corporate objectives; and, if so, whether it could be provided by another agency. We will ask:

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Compare

We will compare our performance with others. Comparisons will be made with public, private and voluntary sector organisations as well as with potential suppliers. Performance will have to be assessed against specified performance indicators (national and local). Assessment will go beyond the new performance indicators and consider cost, quality, effectiveness and satisfaction. In particular, comparisons will be made with:

       
 

Avon

Kent

Cheshire

Lancashire

Cleveland

Leicestershire

Derbyshire

Northern Ireland

Essex

Nottinghamshire

Hampshire

South Wales

Hertfordshire

Staffordshire

Humberside

Surrey

Consult

Consultation can be a powerful tool for improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of services and for ensuring that policy-makers stay in touch with citizens. We have extended our consultation with the public and other stakeholders.

We have a duty under Best Value to consult the public about their services at least once every five years, and about overall priorities more frequently. Publication of this Corporate Plan is an essential part of the consultation process.

We recognise that successful consultation can result in:

There are many different consultation techniques. Some are appropriate for one-off issues, whereas others are useful for broader consultation across a range of issues. It can be an expensive process, so the key to success is matching the methods used to the purpose of the exercise and service. The methods we will use include:

Method

How it is delivered

General surveys:

Postal or interview survey of a sample of local people or service users.

Surveys of stakeholders:

Face-to-face surveys of stakeholders (including service-users) or surveys through correspondence and forms that are routinely issued to stakeholders.

Focus groups:

Small groups of local people invited to attend informal discussion sessions on a particular topic to obtain qualitative responses.  We intend to repeat the format that proved so successful in Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Southampton.

Virtual consultation:

Developing our internet website to publish all our plans and to consult by e-mail.

Staff surveys:

We consider it essential to consult all our own staff about the services they are helping us to provide.  They have expert knowledge and are a valuable source of suggestions for improving the quality and efficiency of services. The first of these surveys has been completed and an action plan to respond to the issues raised has been approved by our Service Management Team.

E-panel:

This is a new and exciting method of gaining fast and accurate (qualitative) information from respondents. FIRES is compiling a database of citizens who have access to the internet and who are willing to take part in periodic consultation exercises about the Fire Service.  Still very much at the early stages it will, when complete, be one of the first such consultation methodologies in use for local government studies.

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Some forms of consultation require specialist skills and we have already entered into a contract with Opinion Research Services (ORS), a spin-off company of the University of Wales, Swansea. ORS are conducting major surveys for us: a complaint satisfaction survey and an 'after the fire' survey.

In 2003 we conducted a major public opinion survey (upload survey). This survey was in compliance with the Local Government Act 1999 Section 3(2) which required local authorities to consult representatives of those liable to tax, precept or levy to establish satisfaction with the levels of service they provide.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority commissioned Opinion Research Services (ORS) to conduct the survey. ORS conducted the previous survey in 2000 (upload survey).

The survey was sent to 4,000 randomly selected Hampshire households and looked at a variety of aspects associated with the Service and the influence on householders. In line with ODPM guidance, two reminders were sent to each non-respondent. A total of 1,674 questionnaires were returned yielding a 42% response rate (described as excellent by ORS). The postal returns were supplemented by an additional 44 forms completed online.

The findings of the 2003 survey (upload survey) will be a useful supplement to the public consultation exercises carried out as part of the Integrated Risk Management Planning process.

This survey was conducted within months of the recent industrial action in the fire and rescue service and this may have had an impact on public perceptions of the service and overall satisfaction levels.

Most importantly, we will, whenever possible, use every consultation exercise as a means of raising public awareness about fire safety.

Compete

Although there is no requirement to tender for the provision of specific services, competition is considered an essential tool for bringing about continuous improvement. We will address the following issues: