REPORT TO:

Planning Committee Cabinet Member - Performance Cabinet Member – Regeneration

DATE:

24th June 2009 7th July 2009 8th July 2009

SUBJECT:

Planning and Economic Regeneration Department – Performance Report September - April 2009

WARDS AFFECTED:

All

REPORT OF:

Andy Wallis, Planning and Economic Regeneration Director

CONTACT OFFICER:

Andy Wallis 0151 934 3543

EXEMPT/ CONFIDENTIAL:

No

PURPOSE/SUMMARY: This is the Department’s six-monthly report on progress towards meeting its Service and Corporate Plan objectives and targets for the period to April 2009.

REASON WHY DECISION REQUIRED: It is a requirement of the Council’s Performance Management process.

RECOMMENDATION(S): That Members note the progress achieved to date.

KEY DECISION:

No

FORWARD PLAN:

Not appropriate

IMPLEMENTATION DATE:

Following the expiry of the “call-in” period for the minutes of the meeting.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

IMPLICATIONS:

Budget/Policy Framework:

Financial:

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

2006/ 2007 £

2007/ 2008 £

2008/ 2009 £

2009/ 2010 £

Gross Increase in Capital

Expenditure

Funded by:

Sefton Capital Resources

Specific Capital Resources

REVENUE IMPLICATIONS

Gross Increase in Revenue

Expenditure

Funded by:

Sefton funded Resources

Funded from External Resources

Does the External Funding have an expiry date?

Y/N

When?

How will the service be funded post expiry?

Legal:

Risk Assessment:

Asset Management:

CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN/VIEWS

CORPORATE OBJECTIVE MONITORING:

Corporate

Objective

Positive Impact

Neutral Impact

Negative Impact

1 Creating a Learning Community ü

2 Creating Safe Communities ü

3 Jobs and Prosperity ü

4 Improving Health and Well-Being ü

5 Environmental Sustainability ü

6 Creating Inclusive Communities ü

7 Improving the Quality of Council Services and Strengthening local Democracy

ü

8 Children and Young People

ü

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS RELIED UPON IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT

1. Background 1.1 Attached to this report is a summary output from the Council’s performance reporting

(SPRINT) system which records the Department’s progress against all the Service Plan actions and targets. The purpose of this report is to highlight some key aspects of the Department’s performance in the past six months.

2. Service Achievements Business support and employment services 2.1 The Invest Sefton and Sefton@work services, with financial assistance from

Stepclever (the re-named SLEGI programme), Working Neighbourhoods Fund, ESF, ERDF, Deprived Area Fund and the LSC, have made significant progress on a number of fronts:

Stepclever Enterprise Gateway project

2.2 At its 11th June meeting the board approved funding of £7,809,720 for

businessliverpool (now Liverpool Vision) and investsefton to deliver the Enterprise and Business Support Gateway project. The project is a mix of direct and sub-contracted delivery with the latter being procured through Liverpool City Council’s PQQ tendering system but with Sefton MBC as contractor. The Board also awarded £2,871,331 funding for a combined Premises project.

2.3 Teams have been established in two outreach offices in Kirkdale (VNC) and Anfield

(Liverpool Lighthouse), complementing services in Bootle (Pinnacle House). The Business Managers’ located in the outreach offices have started to establish partnership links with other agencies in the area to ensure a more cohesive approach for clients. The ‘Gateway’ has started to see a good number of ‘word of mouth’ referrals in the local communities including local job centres, JETs and Sefton@Work. The project also works closely with Enable who operate the Sirroli enterprise facilitation model in north Liverpool working with individuals at grassroots level. This includes business outreach staff participating in panel meetings which offer support to individuals.

2.4 Specialist sub-contracts have been let to promote entrepreneurship to women (Train

2000) and to support social enterprise (a consortium led by Merseyside Expanding Horizons and including South Sefton Development Trust).

2.5 Key achievements up to 31 March 2009 are:

q 289 businesses and 384 individuals assisted q 96 new businesses created including 12 Social Enterprises q 202 jobs created including 22 within Social Enterprises q 118 grant awards to new start ups & expanding businesses q 14 grant awards to Social Enterprises q 56 people helped into self-employment of which 30 are Women

Sefton Integrated Business Support (SIBS) 2.6 SIBS is a £2.4m Business Support intervention commissioned under the Sefton

Working Neighbourhood’s (WNF) Fund, and delivered by PERD. It complements

services available within the Stepclever area (Derby/Linacre wards) by offering a lower intensity service to businesses across the borough. The project includes dedicated business start up, business aftercare and inward investment managers. The project works closely with Sefton@Work to maximise local employment opportunities in new and expanding businesses.

2.7 There is a financial support programme for start -ups and growing businesses in the

WNF priority areas. The project provides Town Centre management support in Altside and Southport through Sefton BVPs. There will be direct links to Sefton Chamber and Southport Partnership, and Business Link ‘hot-desks’ in Southport Business & Investment Centre and The Investment Centre, Bootle. An additional £1.3m funding from the Operational Programme for the NW has also been allocated to Sefton to support the enterprise elements of the project.

2.8 Business support in both the Stepclever and WNF areas has been reviewed in light

of the current economic downturn and Invest Sefton has worked closely with Business Link NW to ensure that new products such as loans and grants are made known in the business community. This has included free advice surgeries in Bootle and Southport for businesses seeking advice on employment support through ACAS and business forums on the current ‘Real Help Now’ for businesses, which were attended by over 200 business representatives.

Build Sefton/Stepclever Construction support

2.9 Build Sefton is designed to support businesses in the building related sector and local

residents either already employed in or seeking to work in the industry. The project currently focuses on the core Stepclever wards and serves as a gateway linking local businesses to both public and private sector construction programmes across the city –region. Support includes:

• Ensuring that Contractors and Developers working on Merseyside source their requirements locally.

• Helping local contractors/suppliers to win additional businesses

• Assisting individuals wishing to become self-employed in the building industry

• Assisting young people to prepare for accessing employment 2.10 Achievements to date include:

• 687 of individuals assisted

• 193 trained

• 150 businesses assisted

• 33 residents into employment

• 23 new jobs created

• 42 businesses referred to Enterprise Gateway for self employment support

Skills & Employment Team 2.11 The Employment and Skills team, located within PERD is responsible for the design,

development and delivery of the single Employment Plan endorsed through the Sefton Local Strategic Partnership. The Employment Plan consists of a number of strands of funding which have been attracted to the Borough to respond to the problem of worklessness in key areas and among priority groups. The Employment

and Skills team provide the performance management functions for Sefton@work and other local welfare to work service providers contracted to the Council and also undertake the fundraising, audit, evaluation and programme development aspects of the Employment plan. The team also provide the officer link between Sefton and the Liverpool City Region Employment Strategy Pathfinder and this partnership has increasingly been the policy focus for much of the worklessness strategy and has provided the sub regional conduit to a number of essential elements of funding to support Sefton’s employment plan.

2.12 The Skills and Employment team has key responsibilities for servicing the skills and

employment subgroup of the Economic Development and Sustainability Thematic Group of the Borough Partnership. The sub group has responsibility for monitoring progress related to the LAA targets on employment and skills ie NI 116, NI 153 NI163 and NI 164.

2.13 During the period, the Sefton Skills and Employment Strategy is being updated and

refreshed in order to reflect changing economic circumstances affecting the Borough and the evolving context of national, regional and sub-regional responses to the recession. Once completed, this strategy “ refresh” will be fed into the Borough Partnership structures for endorsement and approval.

2.14 During the period October08-March 09 the following funding has been secured:

• Sefton@Work is also acting as a sub-contractor to Mercia Training to deliver a ‘response to redundancy’ programme. (also LSC-funded) This has a potential contract value of £36,000 and runs until December 2010.

• Sefton@Work has also secured £296,293 from ERDF to deliver an SME pilot project under the Pathfinder Enabling Project via the City Employment strategy, to provide support to small businesses without a formal HR or personnel function

2.15 In addition, the following submissions has been made for additional project funding

which have been successful and post contract negotiations are currently still underway.:

• An LSC contract value of £269,987 from February 2009 – December 2010 to deliver the Routeway to Employment programme, targeting those furthest from the labour market and requiring a package of individualized support.

• The Employment & Skills team submitted a Sefton based delivery plan for the utilisation of ERDF resources under the new NWOP through Action Area 4.2. This delivery plan formed part of a wider CES application with Knowsley MBC acting as lead bidder. It was anticipated that the programme of activity would be approved for implementation by January 2009. However, after an initial approval from NWDA, certain aspects of the bid were deemed ineligible and the approval was rescinded. A re-submission has since been made to take account of these changes. Sefton’s element of the bid is for £445,000 and will now carry certain restrictions on employment sectors the project can service. The balance of the funding has been requested via an additional submission for ESF through complimentary strand in partnership with the CES. This is for

a project entitled “ Tackling Hidden Disadvantage “ and if successful will enable the full service offer to be delivered across the Borough.

2.16 In order to support the increasingly holistic direction of the Sefton Skills and

Employment Strategy, the Employment and Skills team has a range of collaborations with key agencies.

• Key collaborations related to the Housing Market Renewal Service Level Agreement with registered social landlords have taken place throughout the period and this has led to a range of actions to engage with workless social tenants. An end of year report has been supplied to Housing Market Renewal, which it is hoped will assist the programme to demonstrate its impact on the relevant economic prosperity of key neighbourhoods. This agreement has also prompted all key RSLs to take on Routeway placements within their organisations.

• The Department of Children, Schools and Families has approved Sefton’s submission for a Local Authority Innovation Pilot for Child Poverty. This is a work focused pilot which has been developed by the Employment and Skills team in partnership with Sefton’s Childrens Service, Sefton CVS and Sefton NHS/PCT. The pilot will attract a grant of £1040816 over two years and will be focused in Southport on both working and workless families. More detailed reports have been supplied to both Childrens Services Cabinet and Regeneration Cabinet.

• A Worklessness Plan has been designed in partnership with Sefton NHS/PCT This has opened up dialogue on a number of opportunities to be developed using the NHS as an employer. It has also led to a more strategic approach to enabling people claiming sickness benefits to access support required to re-enter work. This dialogue is ongoing and has been fed into the SME Shared Services Pilot and the sub-regional Fit for Work Pilot bid submitted through the City Employment Strategy.

2.17 The majority of Sefton’s complimentary employment and skills activity continues to be

delivered through Sefton@work. However, third sector organisations have been contracted to deliver Intermediate Labour Market Schemes as a result of the tendering round earlier in the year. Contracts have been issued to Green Apprentices (to support a One Vision Housing-led project), Fun4Kidz, and SingPlus and the Plaza Cinema. All the ILM opportunities have been advertised and successfully filled by formerly workless residents.

Sefton@work

2.18 In response to the business growth within Southport and the Southport Investment

Strategy, Sefton@work has recruited an Employer Liaison Officer in conjunction with the Tourism Department to help to support Tourism focussed businesses in recruiting staff and focussing their recruitment and progression wherever possible to local workless communities. This partnership with Tourism continues and has supported TMP’s production of the Sefton Skills Survey for the tourism sector together with delivering a range of customised per-recruitment interventions in the town.

2.19 In the period, a total of 284 vacancies were secured by the Employer liaison team, with 163 of them filled as yet. These were from a combination of 30 new employers engaged and 53 employers giving repeat activity.

2.20 Sefton@work has built up a significant employer base within the Borough, in

particular, focussing on larger scale recruitment campaigns focussing on getting local unemployed residents into these additional opportunities. In particular, Sefton@work has undertaken significant recruitment campaigns for Weatherspoons in the South of the Borough, dealing with 38 vacancies, including 11 filled via the Priority Sector Routeway. We have worked closely with Arvato, dealing with 11 vacancies so far and provided information to Capita should the need for staff arise. Vacancies are increasing in the Tourism and Leisure sector in Southport. We have supported Jobcentre Plus with recruitments for Next, Wilkinsons and Morrisons. Asda placed an additional 7 vacancies. They were nominated for an award by Sefton @ Work at the Bootle Awards. They won a special regeneration award. Referrals between Invest Sefton and Sefton @ Work are continuing and a referral process has been agreed so that monitoring can take place. Negotiations are continuing with Tesco for 125 guaranteed jobs being delivered through the LSC funded Priority Sector Routeway. The SME Project has already identified a number of employers to work with and negotiations are taking place to source specific support for employers.

2.21 Routeways performance – Sefton@work has continued to successfully deliver the

Priority Sector Routeway contract on behalf of the LSC. 162 individuals have accessed this programme, with 97 achieving employment so far (59.8% job outcome rate). In this period 38 new Routeway jobs have been created. Although no longer funded by the LSC, Sefton@Work continues to deliver its own version of the public sector Routeway, targeting workless individuals in providing skills and experience within the public sector, through work placements Sefton@Work has started to deliver the LSC-funded Routeways to Employment programme, which delivers more individualized support for those furthest from the labour market 25 clients have registered on this programme which commenced delivery in February 09.

2.22 The dedicated outreach staff employed in partnership with Sefton CVS have

delivered a wide ranging engagement and outreach plan, collaborating with other public sector partners across the Borough. The activity with Registered Social Landlords in particular has yielded a significant number of enquiries from individuals who would not otherwise have sought help to enter the labour market.

Neighbourhoods Division 2.23 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund came to an end on 31 March 2008 and was replaced

by Working Neighbourhoods Fund. However, Working Neighbourhoods Fund has much more of an emphasis on tackling the economic aspects of deprivation with a focus on joining up neighbourhoods to areas of opportunity and tackling worklessness.

2.24 The national allocation of WNF was determined based on the levels of worklessness

according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007. Based on this Sefton was awarded £21.5milion for 2008/09 – 2010/11. The proportionate split of WNF across Sefton has been calculated based upon the proportion of Lower Super Output Areas that have more than 25% worklessness across the Borough.

2.25 September 08 to April 09 has seen interventions move into full delivery, with some exception for those affected by Sefton MBC’s recruitment and spending freeze. This has produced a number of significant outcomes over the 6 month period.

2.26 Key outcomes in relation the LAA indicators are as follows:

• a reduction of 3% in the working age population on DWP benefits resident in the Lower Super Output Areas with the 25% worst rates of worklessness by 2010

o 163 people successfully obtained employment, through targeted support; job creation and as a result of indirect support

o 172 people were helped to stay in employment through the provision of out of school childcare

o 40 people have accessed advice on starting a business which will help people move into self employment and potentially create new jobs

o 10 businesses have directly received financial support to either enable them to stay in employment, retain staff in employment or create new jobs

• reduction of children in households in poverty by 2 percentage points by 2010;

o this is impacted by the outcomes achieved in relation to training and employment

o 2 sessions were carried out in schools with the Credit Union which allowed parents to access advice and Credit Union services

• an increase in the working age qualified at Level 2+ by 9.3 percentage points by 2010;

o 85 people have received training

o 20 people on placement

o over 400 young people participating in programmes to develop their skills and qualifications

• percentage of people who think they can influence decisions in their locality

o interventions are encouraged to involve service users in their planning of services and seek feedback on delivery.

2.27 The programme performance overall showed a lower than anticipated spend against

profile in September to December 08 but this improved significantly in the period January to April 09; this resulted in the programme achieving a 97% spend against profile.

The following sets out the key areas commissioned to date:

• Employment Creation - Business Support – despite reduced staffing due to recruitment restrictions Business Support activity has been delivered within the target NI 153 wards plus outlying areas where businesses are recruiting from within the NI153 target wards. Residents have been able to seek advice and resources to enable them to start their own businesses and a number of businesses have been given grants to support development and expansion

• Integrated Job Brokerage – two main arms of delivery a main part of this service is delivered through the Skills and Employment Team as set out in para 2.11 onwards :

i. Residents – a number of residents have been supported into employment

through major recruitment campaigns with employers such as Asda, plus through sourcing vacancies from employers across the Borough and targeting them as jobseekers. Through support Sefton@Work have ensured at least 40 people have retained employment after three months addressing revolving door issues

ii. Business – continuing to work with employers to identify current and

potential future employment opportunities to build in incentives and support for employers to take on local unemployed residents.

iii. Residents – providing intensive and targeted support for those seeking

work through providing pre-employment training, support with job search and application and bespoke solutions to help workless individuals secure employment (eg purchase of tools or equipment). This works Borough wide with an emphasis upon working within areas experiencing significantly high levels of worklessness.

iv. Business – working with existing and potential employers to identify current

and potential future employment opportunities to build in incentives and support for employers to take on local unemployed residents.

• Neighbourhood Improvements – has delivered a number of enhanced environmental services that would operate across south Sefton:. A key component of the intervention is the introduction of an 11-month trainee placement in Environmental Protection resulting in the achievement of NVQ Level 2 qualification. This has successfully seen over 30% of trainees gain employment. Accredited placements are also offered as a 10-week ‘taster’ programme in Environmental Protection through Routeway.

• Educational attainment and aspiration – This covers four key strands

i. Support for parents – parents have been encouraged to access the services of the credit union; training has been offered for parents; activities have been provided to get parents working with their children

ii. Support for primary school pupils to ease transition into secondary school

– supported pupils experiencing difficulties in school through assessment and puts in place appropriate support arrangements; individual and group visits to secondary schools to help those pupils who may have concerns about the progression into secondary school; recruiting peer mentors in secondary schools to offer sustainable support once pupils move into secondary schools

iii. Motivation and self esteem programmes for secondary school pupils – a

range of approaches to tackle issues of low self esteem and low aspiration

which has involved targeted work with specific cohorts of pupils; training for teachers to enable them to incorporate this within normal teaching practice

iv. Specific basic skills programme for Key Stage 4 pupils – dedicated English

and Maths consultants to work with both teachers and pupils to focus upon basic skills development; provision of alternative qualifications for English and Maths

• Out of School Provision – this has provided a number of out of school childcare places that have enabled over 150 people to access employment.

• Youth skill building – over 400 young people have benefited from programmes targeted at building skills and gaining alternative experience and qualifications. Experiences have ranged from Young Advisors operating as consultants; training for ASDAN awards and young people accessing placements in voluntary and community sector organisations

• Building the capacity of the third sector - There are three key strands to this element:

i. Community Research - includes training and support to gather

neighbourhood level research, including worklessness related findings ii. Community Accountant - provides customised financial services support

to local groups within priority areas

iii Community Development in North Sefton.

Area Management 2.28 Progress made in relation to Area Management has focused upon ensuring that the

correct infrastructure is established to enable effective delivery to all parts of the Borough

Business Neighbourhoods

2.29 Business Neighbourhoods is a part of the Stepclever programme which is a joint Sefton and Liverpool venture working in the six wards of Linacre, Derby, County, Anfield, Kirkdale and Everton.

2.30 This project commenced in January 2008, and has to date assisted over 900

businesses, 466 of which have received advice and guidance in the period September 2008 to April 2009.

In the same period Business Neighbourhoods have also provided: - § 6 Target hardening grants amounting to £16,773.58. § 162 businesses have been provided with crime reduction / personal safety advice. § As a by-product of the cleansing operation 195 scores in all six wards have significantly improved. (195 scores are a national indicator in measuring and

reducing unacceptable levels of litter, detritus, fly-posting and graffiti forms, which is a key part of the Government’s “Cleaner Safer Greener Communities”).

§ 362.76 tonnes of fly tipping and detritus has been removed from industrial estates and arterial routes.

§ We have worked with over 20 vacant business properties to enhance the appearance. 2 of which have since reopened as functioning businesses. (Only 4 businesses have been claimed for through Stepclever as this was out total output amount to be claimed).

§ Over 30 young people have supported through the project via job ready training including, CV writing workshops, first aid training and session with JET services to look at employment opportunities.

§ Ongoing diversionary activities via two youth providers. § Town Centre Manager programme has delivered 3 events within Bootle Strand which aimed to increase footfall into the town centre.

§ 44 businesses have received guidance on how to obtain a trade waste agreement. § 30 businesses signed up to ENCAMS tidy business awards scheme. § 100 businesses benefited from enhanced environmental conditions assistance with included area clean ups.

§ Participatory Budgeting pilot scheme has taken place on Irlam Road in Linacre Ward. Works have included: -

o Repairing external electric lights o Graffiti removal o Replacement of wooden benches with new stainless steal benches. o Repairs to three wooded canopies at the Irlam Road cemetery site o Installation of 2 new litter bins o Demolition of damaged brick wall to the left of William Hill, and installation of

anti climb fencing. o Painting of external overhang. o Painting of 1 vandalised roller shutter.

2.31 Total income for this project for the given period was £257,900 with £256,435 being

paid out in grant contributions to sub contractors. 2.32 A full review of the Business Neighbourhoods project was carried out in February

2009. 2.33 Yearly reviews of the Stepclever projects have been carried out to help evaluate the

projects to date and identify any issues in need of actioning. Business Neighbourhood Officers held meetings with each of the project leads and action plans were agreed.

2.34 Annual questionnaires where sent out to businesses in the StepClever wards on the 1st March 2009. This is a repeat of a task, which was carried out in March 2008. This survey was carried out to: -

1. Assess the impact of the programme so far. 2. To establish if any businesses have not yet been assisted through Business Neighbourhoods

3. To make referrals to partners 4. To update business database

Neighbourhood Element – Park Lane Neighbourhood Team 2.35 The team based upon the Netherton Park estate have been delivering a number of

activities to support residents on the estate including:

� Supporting residents through establishing a tenants group; holding a residents’ fun day; supporting the Netherton Park Neighbourhood Centre and Gordon Youth Centre;

� Working in partnership with local services to deliver estate clean ups; distribute Smartwater crime prevention packs; developing multi-agency groups and work;

� Promoting the work of the team and services across the estate through newsletters.

Major Development Projects

Sefton WATER Centre 2.36 The Sefton WATER Centre was completed ahead of schedule at the end of March

2009, although there is still some snagging taking place that should be finished in mid-June. Some elements of fit-out need to be completed by the new operator once exchange of lease has taken place which is imminent, and the building will be fully operational 8-10 weeks after the lease is exchanged. The water quality engineering works are about to start and the booms with suspended strings from which mussels will be seeded are in place.

Lydiate Village Centre

2.37 Sefton Council, on behalf of Lydiate Parish Council is managing the delivery of a

£881,523 Village Centre on Lambshear Lane, Lydiate. Sefton Council owns this parcel of land, but is being transferred to the Parish Council on peppercorn terms. Big Lottery is contributing £500,000 towards the cost of the project.

2.38 Earlier this year Sefton Council invited six contractors from its approved select list to

submit tenders for the construction of the Centre. The Lydiate Village Centre Management Group, chaired by the leader of the Parish Council, at its meeting on 15th April 2009 agreed to appoint J Armor Limited as the preferred contractor. It is anticipated that with completion of the legal agreement between Sefton Council and Lydiate Parish Council within the next two weeks, physical construction should commence on site by the end of July 2009 and be completed by early 2010.

Southport Commerce Park

2.39 The Bus Link Road project, which would provide public transport access improvements to Southport Commerce Park, and at the same time bring forward a further 2.9 hectares of the remaining 20 hectares of development land within the Park, has now completed its first phase, which is the removal of topsoil, and the compaction of the base. The second phase is expected to start in July, which entails the actual construction of the road surface. The project is expected to be completed by November 2009.

2.40 The second project on the Commerce Park involves bringing forward a new office

development, which would create some 5,776 m² of commercial floor space (1.2 hectares of land) in order to provide quality office accommodation to meet potential local demand. The total cost of this project is approximately £9,773,000, and due to additional costs associated with land remediation works, Blythes Development Ltd, the company responsible for this project, is seeking some £1.3 million from the new European Programme. However, this project is now at risk as a result of Blythe’s other company undertaking the Scarisbrick Avenue development project going into administration, as indicated in paragraph 2.48 below.

2.41 Members may be aware that on the back of the proposed Blythe’s development

above, Sefton Council was able to ‘secure’ £3.07m of RDA funding for the provision of electric power supply and some remediation work. However, if Blythe’s proposals to create additional commercial space does not progress then the argument for needing additional electric power capacity will not be accepted by the RDA, thereby putting the project at risk. Officers are currently working with the RDA and Blythe’s to explore potential options.

An Independent Living Centre

2.42 The White Paper ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, provides a framework for the

future delivery of health social care, and imposes a statutory duty on local authorities to provide Independent Living Centres by 2010. The Cabinet at its meeting on 30th October 2008, agreed to the development of an independent Living Centre on Tulketh Street Car Park (West), Southport. However, the location of the Centre at this site would have resulted in loss of car parking income, and would have entailed the relocation of the Cleansing operation, the cost of which were not quantifiable at the time.

2.43 Cabinet at its meeting on 26th February 2009, considered a report setting out the

background into the development of part ERDF/HLF grant funded 19–35 Scarisbrick Avenue, Southport project by Blythe's, and the difficulties the developer was encountering as result of the current economic climate. In order to ensure the completion of this project, and minimise the possibility of claw-back of grant Members agreed to the location of the Independent Living Centre on the ground floor of this development.

2.44 Unfortunately, the developer Blythe’s has recently been put into administration, and

officers are currently having discussions with the appointed administrators, PriceWaterhouseCoopers to explore potential options for the completion of this project.

Atlantic Gateway

2.45 The Atlantic Gateway Steering Group, responsible for the delivery of £70m Atlantic Gateway Programme, which was funded from the Objective 1 Programme that came to an end on 31st March 2009, met for the last time on 3rd December 2009 to finalise outstanding issues and to wind down the partnership.

2.46 External Consultants URS, appointed by the Steering Group, undertook a detailed

evaluation of the programme, the findings of which were well received by the local community. Officers are currently assisting PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete an audit of the Atlantic Gateway Programme so that outstanding grant can be drawn down from Government Office. A final report on the Atlantic Gateway Programme, covering the above issues will be presented to Members in the near future.

Southport Seafront Action Plan (SSAP)

2.47 The Southport Seafront Action Plan, which attracted some £7.5m of ERDF grant from

the Objective 1 Programme came to an end on 31st March 2009, and as with other Objective 1 funded projects officers are currently assisting PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete an independent audit of the Action Plan to facilitate the draw down of outstanding grant.

2.48 As indicated in paragraph 2.40 above, the developer undertaking Scarisbrick Avenue

Project as gone into administration as a result of the current economic downturn. Consequently, the project is not yet completed, and unless Sefton Council as the accountable body can demonstrate before the end of June 2009 that the project will be completed, not only will the Council lose outstanding grant, but will be required to repay the grant already claimed to date.

2.49 A full report on the Southport Seafront Action Plan, together with the findings of the

evaluation undertaken by an external Consultant will be presented to Members in the near future.

ESF/LSC Co-financing

2.50 Officers from PERD assisted CSF Department in successfully bidding for two LSC

Co-financed ESF projects. These projects focus on improving retention of young people in education and tackling NEET. Both Key Stage 4 (£699,999) and the Post 16 (£574,170) projects are scheduled for completion by December 2010.

2.51 Whilst CSF is delivering the two projects, officers from PERD provide overall management and monitoring support, and are currently working with delivery partners and the LSC to bring the projects in line with the original beneficiary profiles.

Objective 1 Programme Closedown

2.52 The whole of the Objective 1 Programme came to an end on 31st March 2009, and

officers are currently finalising financial claims and assisting consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete an audit of all EDF funded projects and programmes. The deadline set by Government for the completion of this exercise is 30th June 2009.

2.53 All ESF Project Closure Reports (PCR's) submitted to GONW and some final payments have already been received.

2.54 On completion of this exercise, a detailed report will be presented on the whole of the

Objective 1 Programme as far as it relates to Sefton.

SRB 6 Programme/South Sefton Partnership 2.55 xternal Auditors have now completed an Audit of the SRB6 Programme, the findings

of which have been sent to Government Office as the funding body. Officers are currently awaiting comments from the Government Office, but initial indications are that Government Office is reasonably satisfied with the results of the audit exercise undertake.

2.56 Officers are currently completing an Asset Register, which was one of the issues

identified in the audit findings, and on completion of that exercise all the records will be achieved in accordance with the grant offer letter. Final report will be submitted to Members on financial completion of the programme.

New Funding Opportunities

2.57 Under the previous Objective 1 Programme, there was a specific Measure dealing

with rural issues. However, with reclassification of Merseyside as Phasing-in region it is no longer eligible for dedicated resources, and consequently national Programme, called the Rural Development Programme for England has now been approved by both the national Government and the European Commission. The national and European funded Rural Development Programme for England would provide £3.9 billion to assist agri-environment and other land management schemes. This funding is aimed at helping farmers to manage the land more sustainably, and deliver important outcomes on bio-diversity, landscape and access, water quality and climate change. Of the £3.9 billon, some £74m is earmarked for the Northwest of England, with Merseyside being allocated some £2.2m. For the purpose of delivery, the Northwest element of the Programme is divided into four axis, with axis 1,3, and 4 being the responsibility of the Northwest Development Agency, and axis 2 the Forestry Commission.

2.58 For a number of reasons rural areas in Merseyside have generally been undervalued

and underexploited, and yet they have significant potential to grow and prosper and add value to the overall economic base of the region. Linked to this is the fact there are significant areas of deprivation in rural areas, which the government has recognised as needing to be addressed. The Merseyside local authorities are working with the Regional Development Agency to develop a Merseyside Rural Economy Action Plan that would provide an opportunity to get a comprehensive picture of the rural economy and to identify actions required. The Regional Development Agency is part funding this study, and has indicated that projects emanating from this Action Plan would be eligible for grant funding from £2m already allocated from the Agency’s single pot budget for rural areas over the next two years.

Canal Improvements

2.59 The Canal Improvements Project was a £2.5m environmental improvement project,

with an aim to improve a section of the Leeds/Liverpool Canal corridor in South Sefton; from the Sefton/Liverpool boundary up to Litherland, and also across

Rimrose Valley to enhance the link between the canal and Crosby Coastal Park. Over £1m was secured from ERDF Objective One and the rest of the funding was made up of match, including British Waterways, SRB, LTP and NOF. The project came to a close in December 2008. The three main elements of the project were to improve access, the general environment, and safety and security. This was implemented through a range of schemes such as towpath re-surfacing, new access points, boundary replacements and improvements, a public art trail, two new footbridges, and the installation of five CCTV cameras. All the work was done in partnership with British Waterways who have taken on the ownership and maintenance of many of the improvements. Regular community consultation was carried out, including Area Committee updates and local resident consultation.

Local Development Framework 2.60 The Local Development Scheme (LDS) which sets out the 3-year work programme is

in place and approved by GONW. The priority continues to be the preparation of the Core Strategy. Spatial profiles have been developed though discussion with stakeholders and these have formed the basis of presentations to all the Area Committees. This has led to discussion on the key issues and opportunities in each part of the Borough. Presentations have also been made to the Sefton Area Committee of Local Councils (the ‘Ten Parishes’) and to individual parish councils. Members have continued to contribute to this process through meetings of the

Member / Officer Working Group. 2.61 A major element in the preparatory work for the Core Strategy is ensuring we have

up to date information on which to develop policy. In this regard, a number of key evidence gathering studies are nearing completion, though progress has been slower than anticipated partly because most of the studies have been more complex than anticipated and , in the case of the latter two studies, the work has been carried out jointly with other authorities with Sefton leading. The studies include:

• Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) – this study assesses the need and demand for housing (and especially affordable housing) in Sefton . A draft report was issued for public and stakeholder consultation in March 2009..

• Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) – this is a joint study being undertaken by consultants White Young Green for Knowsley, West Lancashire and Sefton. The study assesses the need for and amount of land that is available or likely to be available for housing development.

• Employment Land and Premises Study (EL&PS) – this is a joint study being undertaken by consultants BE Group for Halton, Knowsley, West Lancashire and Sefton. The study assesses the amount of land and premises that are available and are needed for employment purposes.

2.62 The Local Development Scheme (LDS) which sets out the 3-year work programme is

in place and approved by GONW subject to confirmation of the updated Waste Development Plan Document timetable. Satisfactory progress continues to be made on most of the plans identified in the LDS and during this period Supplementary

Planning Documents (SPDs) for the Knowsley Linacre Peel area, and Greenspace and Trees have been approved. A key priority is preparation of the Core Strategy. Member engagement has been maintained through meetings of the Member / Officer Working Group. Local area spatial profiles are being developed through consultation with stakeholders including the Area Committees and Parish Councils.

Preparation for 2011 Census 2.63 Following 2001 Census consultation and evaluation of the 2007 Census test, it was

recommended that every Local Authority in England and Wales should appoint Liaison Managers to work with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the preparation of the 2011 Census. This partnership working, between the ONS and Sefton is extremely important in order to achieve mutually beneficial, high quality results.

2.64 Within Sefton, the Planning and Economic Regeneration Directorate will undertake

this liaison role and assist the ONS in their preparation for the 2011 Census (taking place on the 27th March 2011).

2.65 Over the next two years, Sefton will assist the ONS by providing:

• Address Register development to ensure fullest coverage.

• Enumeration intelligence for targeting delivery methods and follow-up resources.

• Identifying and developing Community Liaison contacts.

• Recruitment of enumeration staff, publicity and logistics.

• Provision of local information to support Data Quality assurance. Regulatory Services 2.66 Quarterly reports on regulatory performance are submitted to Planning Committee.

The Regulatory Group has met all the statutory Best Value targets for determining planning and building regulation applications over this period; for the municipal year as a whole 90.8% of planning applications were determined within 8 weeks. In respect of planning appeals, there have been 40 decisions April-March; 12 appeals have been allowed and 28 dismissed. This would meet the DCLG target (and is slightly better than performance nationally) and is only marginally outside the Council's local target. In respect of planning appeals, there have been 19 decisions April-September; 6 appeals have been allowed and 13 dismissed. This would meet the DCLG target and is only marginally outside the Council's local target.

2.67 In respect of local targets it has been a period of consolidation. The Department has

been encouraging submission of applications electronically (approx 40% are submitted this way now) and liaising with local agents and partners. The public make very good use of the information on the Council’s web site concerning planning applications; far fewer members of the public now call to the offices to view plans and the practice of holding weekly “surgeries” at Formby and Maghull has been discontinued. During this period we have seen a continuing fall in planning application volumes. This is having a consequential and significant impact on fee income.

2.68 There are now 12 up-to-date published Conservation Area Appraisals.

3. Risks 3.1 The main risks to service delivery remain as set out in the Service Plan. As

previously reported a key risk, particularly for economic regeneration, was the continuity of funding and the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in particular. Sefton has been successful in attracting external resources through the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, ERDF, ESF and other smaller funding streams. Services are now on a stronger foundation for the next three years. However, the recent deterioration in the financial climate and the recession may well limit the effectiveness of the Council’s contribution to its LAA targets for worklessness, enterprise and qualifications.

3.2 The Department continues to experience a reduction in the number of planning and

building regulation applications with consequential impact on fee income. 4. Performance Indicators 4.1 There is a comprehensive suite of national Best Value Performance Indicators for the

statutory planning services (Development Control, Local Development Framework, Conservation). Although there are no BVPIs relating to the Economic Regeneration service, there are key National Indicators and LAA targets for the delivery of Economic Development and Enterprise activities which are shown in the table below.

4.2 Overall, the table shows that performance against all key targets is strong, and we

are exceeding targets in a number of areas. However, attention is drawn to some areas of concern identified in the comments column.

BVPI

Indicator Target Progress/Comment

106 New homes on previously developed land

70% Although there are no final figures yet available for the past six months, it is clear from applications approved and completions that we will continue to deliver well over 90% of new homes on previously developed land.

109a/b/c

Planning applications

• 60% major applications in 13 weeks

• 65% of minor applications in 8 weeks

• 80% of other applications in 8 weeks

60% 65% 80%

All BVPIs on our performance in dealing with planning applications have been met over the last twelve months.

200a/b/c Plan Making

• Local Development Scheme

• Plan Milestones Achieved

• Annual Monitoring Report

Achieve all target dates

LAA

Indicator Target Progress

NI 153 Working age people claiming out of work benefits in the worst performing neighbourhoods

29.7% (2011)

GoNW has been advised that the deteriorating economic climate may impact achievement of this target.

NI 171 VAT registration rate Tbc This is a key measure of enterprise, but DCLG is replacing the existing indicator with a better measure of business start-ups, and a new target will be negotiated in January 2009.

NI 116 Proportion of children in poverty Tbc Also to be replaced by a new measure, no date announced for its introduction. New target to be included in refresh of LAA next March.

NI 163 Working age population qualified to at least NVQ level 2

76.7% (2011)

Sefton starts at a higher point that other Merseyside LAs, but has made slower progress in 2008. Achievement of this target may also be affected by a recession.

5. Corporate or Cross-Cutting Issues Equalities 5.1 The Department has successfully completed level 4 of the Equality Standard for

Local Government, as part of level 4 of the Equalities Standard all service areas continue to have equalities targets on their respective service plans. Virtually all staff managers have now received training for including equalities in PRDs and specialised training for Equalities and Procurement and Equality Impact Assessments is also being accessed.

5.2 A successful Equality Impact assessment on the Neighbourhoods Division

Participatory Budgeting Pilot scheme has been completed and an EIA for the Green Space Strategy is very near completion. The EIA completed in 2008 by Sefton@Work is currently being reviewed as per the requirements of the EIA process. The Department has been involved with the Equalities Monitoring steering group, consultation on the Single Equalities Bill and has contributed to the emerging Consultation and Public Engagement Strategy.

5.3 The Neighbourhoods Division have developed a Values Statement on the Netherton

Park estate to tackle issues around hate crime and a rise in extremist politics in the area. The Police, Social Landlords, Local Authority, Elected Members, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Youth Service attended the launch of the statement with a formal signing by the aforementioned partners and community members. Work on promoting the statement in the local area is continuing, as are plans to possibly roll this out across the rest of the Borough.

Sickness Rates 5.4 Staff attendance record remains acceptable. Absence levels for long term and short-

term sickness for the period September 2008 – March 2009 have reduced very marginally to 4.12% (from 4.13%).