Working with partner organisations across the city, Cardiff Council has taken action to cut bureaucracy and red tape by combining four previous policy plans into one.
By replacing these four key planning documents with one new integrated plan, the Council is also helping to ensure that various organisations in the city will be able work together more effectively to deliver shared priorities.
The What Matters strategy, which was launched on Friday (December 10), has been developed over the last year by key partners in the private, public and voluntary sectors and for the first time, combines four existing statutory plans – the Community Strategy, the Children & Young People’s Plan, the Health, Social Care & Wellbeing Strategy and the Community Safety Strategic Assessment – to optimise resources, reduce duplication of services and deliver evidence-based improvements for residents in the city.
A 12-week consultation on the strategy will start from today with a number of events in the New Year to discuss the plan and an online questionnaire seeking views on the priorities for the city made available on the askcardiff.com website.
What Matters sets out a vision and plan for how Cardiff can move forward over the next 10 years to become a world-class European Capital City.by 2020. For the first time, ‘Team Cardiff’, which comprises all of the city’s key partners, has agreed to work towards delivering shared outcomes to ensure that:
- People in Cardiff are healthy;
- People in Cardiff have a clean, attractive and sustainable environment;
- People in Cardiff are safe and feel safe;
- Cardiff has a thriving and prosperous economy;
- People in Cardiff achieve their full potential;
- Cardiff is a great place to live, work and play;
- Cardiff is a fair, just and inclusive society
Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Rodney Berman, said: “Many of the issues within the What Matters strategy are complex and if they are to be successfully tackled it will require a truly collaborative approach to be taken. There is already a strong commitment across the city to partnership working and I’m confident that What Matters will enable organisations across the city to work more closely than ever.
“The ‘Team Cardiff’ approach is even more important given the current economic challenges and I’m pleased to see Cardiff leading the way in developing a new approach to long term strategic planning and service delivery in Wales. By working together we can make a real difference for the citizens and communities of Cardiff.”
David Francis, Chair of the Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, said: “The needs assessment has highlighted that Cardiff has an estimated 60,000 people living in deprivation. It is also shocking to note that the life expectancy of Cardiff’s residents can vary by almost 12 years between the most deprived and most affluent parts of the city. What Matters will helps us to tackle these issues in a focused way.”
Andy Marles, Chief Fire Officer of the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service, said: “The process of developing What Matters has emphasised the huge amount of enthusiasm and support for this new approach from all partners. Ultimately people don’t really care which agency is responsible for delivering their services, they just want their problems or needs addressed. What Matters will therefore give us a framework which encourages greater multi-agency working and which will help us provide more effective and joined-up responses to citizens.”
For further details on What Matters and the consultation process please visit www.askcardiff.com or email / telephone the Proud Capital Secretariat [email protected] / 029 208796. The consultation closes on Friday, March 4, 2011.
