Agenda item

To provide a progress report and consider further activities for the update of the West Berkshire Vision document.

Catalin Bogos (Performance, Research and Consultation Manager) presented the item on the West Berkshire Vision 2036 Update (Agenda Item 9).

It was noted that the vision was owned by everyone and not just the Council. It was adopted in January 2019 and set out the long-term local aspirations to 2036. The vision had 5 ‘hopes for the future’ and 58 ‘we will’ statements (aspirations).

The document was assessed in the light of Covid and other events such as the war in Ukraine, but it was agreed that much of the vision was still relevant, so it was proposed to refresh the vision rather re-write it.

The first step was to review progress made against each of the ‘we will’ statements by inviting feedback from officers and partner organisations. Feedback to date showed that the majority of statements were ‘work in progress’. The priority around eliminating rough sleeping had already been achieved, but it was recommended that this be retained. It was felt that most of the other statements should be retained, but some were no longer felt to be relevant or were considered to be ‘business as usual’ activities and should therefore be amended or deleted. A few new statements had been proposed.

The needs analysis was being updated. Census 2021 data was awaited, which would provide information on the local population and structure. Feedback from the Residents’ Survey would also be incorporated. The focus would be on evidence relating to domains that were more likely to have changed. This work would inform the revised set of aims in the Vision.

Key areas of focus would include:

·         Covid-19 impact

·         The sustainability agenda

·         Inequalities / equity / fulfilling potential

·         Understanding changes vs the initial analysis

·         Links with other strategies and plans

·         Incorporation of experience regarding community engagement

Efforts were being made to engage with seldom heard demographics, and to conduct qualitative consultation rather than relying on online questionnaires.

Prioritised groups included:

·         People not part of the usual groups who are already represented

·         Younger people

·         Rural communities

·         East of the district

·         Areas with pockets of deprivation

·         Groups with lower response rates in the Residents’ Survey

·         Residents who do not think about the distant future

·         Business community

·         Voluntary sector

Initial comments included:

·         A section on wellbeing / mental health / dealing with loss

·         People are connected and supported – need to harness the Covid experience

·         The need to tackle loneliness

·         A section on spiritual wellbeing

·         The need to address active drug dealing in a new neighbourhood

·         Clarity for signposting and reporting issues, with more face-to-face interaction

·         Housing availability for homeless / people on benefits

·         Progressive / stage based solutions for homelessness

·         Equal opportunity

·         Infrastructure integration, access to public toilets and affordable transport for people who are struggling

·         Rent affordability

·         Electric cars / fuel / heating affordability

·         Stop building unsustainable homes

·         Phone connectivity in rural areas to support home working

The key tasks in updating the vision were:

·         Refine the list of aims

·         Establish ‘we will statements’ with input from partners

·         Write the vision document and design work

·         Formal public consultation (July to September 2022)

·         Approval with final adoption at Health and Wellbeing Board in December 2022

Councillor Martha Vickers noted the current cost of living crisis and suggested that more could be done to ensure that people had information about the benefits they were entitled to, and support available from the Council, as well as community initiatives. She also welcomed the inclusion of sustainability issues within the vision.

The Chairman stressed that it was a vision document rather than a strategy or delivery plan. He indicated that the aim was to understand what had changed since the vision was first adopted in 2019.