B General Personal Responsibilities

 

Be the principal political adviser and point of contact for appropriate officers for the services included within the Portfolio for which the Executive Member has been appointed the Portfolio Holder, and within any constraints imposed by legislation, approved Council policy and budgets and the Council's Scheme of Delegation be responsible for in relation to services included in the Portfolio (and subject to the role of the Leader in Policy and Performance Review):-

 

(1) Maintaining an understanding of the issues involved in the delivery of those services.

 

(2) Being apprised of developing issues and policies at Borough, County, Regional and National levels, insofar as they relate to those services.

 

(3) Giving direction on and ensuring the development of the vision for those services, consistent with the overall strategic approach of the Council.

 

(4) Playing an appropriate part in promoting and improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of the Borough.

 

(5) Balancing the social, environmental and economic components of sustainability in the development of services and their delivery.

 

(6) Liasing with other Portfolio Holders and in particular developing arrangements to ensure clear linkages with cross-cutting issues being addressed by, or affecting, the Council, and reporting thereon to the Executive.

 

(7) With regard to the preparation, amendment and revision of any statutory or non-statutory strategic, technical or service plans relevant to those services:-

 

(i) identify the strategic element of service objectives;

(ii) play an appropriate part in promoting the principal policy issues to be included;

(iii) ensure adequate arrangements are in place to fully involve all Councillors, employees where appropriate, residents and all other stakeholders in the preparation and reviews of any relevant plans;

(iv) identify and take full account of any cross-cutting issues;

(v) play an appropriate part in making provision to disseminate the content and implications of any proposed or adopted plans throughout the Borough and where appropriate regionally and nationally;

(vi) ensuring implementation and regular reviews.

 

(8) Defining the standards of service, targets and budgets for those services to include:

 

(i) preparation of schemes for implementation or proposals for submission to the Executive and Council as part of the expenditure plan process;

(ii) Monitoring service standards, performance and budgets and initiating action to meet service, performance and budget targets;

(iii) the content and implementation of action programmes to achieve the aims of adopted strategies and service plans;

(iv) Being responsible for the efficient delivery of the relevant services;

(v) implementing changes to meet requirements of legislation;

(vi) an appropriate role in the development of any annual process of policy and performance reviews;

(vii) implementing arrangements for involving the Council, Executive, Overview and Scrutiny employees, residents and other stakeholders in the preparation of strategies, policies and budgets;

(viii) developing strong relationships between service policy aims and those of the Council corporately, as well as between service aims and service delivery.

 

(9) With regard to Best Value, liaising with Overview and Scrutiny to ensure that:

 

(i) the applicable elements of the programme and dates for review of services within the Portfolio are met;

(ii) the adopted means of review are used;

(iii) relevant cross-cutting issues are fully considered during reviews;

(iv) the need for the development of new policies and strategies following reviews is identified;

(v) following reviews, action plans with challenging targets for continuous service improvements are set and that progress against those plans is regularly monitored.