A forward-looking and resilient Council

We're always looking to make services more efficient and sustainable and better meet people’s needs, and will carry on looking at ways to develop our services and change the way we work in the future.

As a large County Council we have a range of central services that work across the whole of the Council to provide and support our day-to-day services for residents.

This includes our customer service centre, legal and governance teams, finance, human resources, procurement, communications, IT and business support.

These services are the 'engine room' of the Council and help us provide and deliver our customer-facing services, ensuring we have the resources we need to work efficiently and adapt for the future.

Colleagues in our central teams also make sure that we work in a lawful and transparent way, reducing any risks, and making the best use of resources to protect services while delivering value for money for local people.

Our staff stepped up during the pandemic and worked hard to adapt services and protect the most vulnerable. We want to continue to support them by giving them the skills and knowledge they need and providing a positive, inclusive culture. We'll also continue to develop new and innovative ways of working, including some which came out of the pandemic, like hybrid home/office working, and using 'virtual visits' to connect social care staff and residents. We're always looking to make services more efficient and sustainable and better meet people’s needs, and will carry on looking at ways to develop our services and change the way we work in the future.

We’ll keep developing our technologies to reach those in isolated communities, and make it easier for people to communicate with us and access our services. We’ll create effective, easy-to-use systems and processes to ensure we get it right for residents first time, every time. And, we’ll keep listening and using residents’ feedback and other data to make services better, working closely with partners to get the best for people.

Finally, we’re working hard to secure more powers and resources for Nottinghamshire. We know this would help us improve our services, support local businesses, create jobs and attract much needed investment for infrastructure and the economy. We are doing this by collaborating with other councils in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and our many partners, all of whom share in our ambition. We’re talking with Government about our proposals, and how they link to our broader ten-year vision, and the national levelling up agenda.

Over the next four years, we’ll focus on:

Delivering our Council-wide Improving Residents Access Programme, to give people better access to information and services, develop technology that helps people access our services more easily, and empowering vulnerable people to be as independent as possible.
Maintaining the financial sustainability of the authority through our Medium Term Financial Strategy, allocating resources appropriately to achieve the ambitions in this Plan and working with partners and the Government to maximise the resources available.
Developing our Council-wide approach to service transformation. This will help us to identify and develop new ways of delivering services that create the best possible long-term outcomes for people. It will find better ways of managing costs and demand.
Managing the transition from our current Committee system to a Cabinet system of governance that will help speed up and improve our decision making.
Continuing to develop our hybrid-working model to enable staff to deliver services in new ways, whilst reducing our carbon footprint from staff travel and reducing our property costs.
Continuing to invest in supporting and developing our workforce, so that our staff are resilient, adaptable, and equipped to face the challenges of changing services and workplaces.
Ensuring that the way we work with our partners, residents and with each other across the Council reflects the values we set out in this Plan.
Joining up our commissioning activity across Council services to achieve financial benefits and improve services for people.

In 2024-25, to achieve this, we will deliver the following actions:

Assess service delivery models, ensuring we provide or commission services that meet statutory duties as efficiently and effectively as possible.

This will include increased use of new technologies and digital tools and delivery of our programme of approved savings/efficiencies through the Council’s budget report. So that we are an organisation that continues to be fit for the future, represents value for money and is financially sustainable and that embraces new approaches, including new digital and partnership opportunities.

Work to support the establishment and operation of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) through 2024-25, focussing on the delivery of core functions like transport, growth, and infrastructure.

So that Nottinghamshire residents gain the maximum benefits from the investment and opportunities generated by the new Combined Authority.

Continuously improve how people are able to access information, advice, guidance, support and services.

This will include improvements to Notts Help Yourself and the Council’s website, trialling new technology to improve the customer experience whilst continuing to ensure that people are able to speak to someone over the phone or in person, where this best meets their needs. So that support is provided through the most cost-effective channel, each of which will be quick, easy to use and designed to suit all needs and accessibility restrictions.

Support our Adult Social Care and Public Health Department through a series of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Quests, to be one of five social care departments to pilot the Local Government Association Diverse by Design Framework.

So that we better understand and improve the lived experience of our workforce and people we support, as well as self-assess ourselves against the framework and then develop an improvement action plan.

Deliver on our Resourcing Strategy, which will include opportunities for joint workforce arrangements where there are opportunities across public services.

So that we can ensure we maintain a diverse and sustainable skills pool to deliver the services that matter most to residents.

Implement the Council’s new Data Strategy and supporting Action Plan, including the review and development of secure, integrated data systems, improved reporting and performance systems and offering training and development for relevant employees.

So that we are able to strengthen our ability to make decisions based on robust data and analysis and use data and insights to improve performance, efficiency and enhance productivity.

Review the Council’s traded service to schools to ensure that they are effective, financially viable and support the Council’s core responsibilities to support all children’s access to high quality education that meets their needs.

So that the Council continues to maintain a strong and positive relationship with Multi Academy Trusts and schools across the County, and that the County Council services provided are appropriate.

To find out more about what we’ve got planned for the current year, you can read our full Annual Delivery Plan 2024-2025.