A plan to create an improved, lean and financially stable council that is focused on delivering essential high-quality services to Dudley borough residents, will go before cabinet next week.

The plan is based on the government’s Best Value Framework and has seven themes – leadership, culture, governance, use of resources, service delivery, partnerships and community engagement and continuous improvement.

It sets out how the council will deliver services differently in future, always keeping residents’ needs in mind and will include all change activity, including service improvement and transformation plans. 

The DMBC Improvement Panel has been set up to provide external assurance and challenge on progress being made with delivering the plan and associated outcomes. 

Councillor Paul Bradley, deputy leader of the council, said: “We continue to face unprecedented challenges. Reductions in central government funding, increasing and costly demands, along with unavoidable cost increases, means we face the huge task of doing more, with less resources. 

“We are determined to make radical changes to the organisation and structure and the way in which we do business and deliver services.

“This plan will be at the heart of our new ways of working and will guide everything the council is doing to improve to ensure we can evidence we are delivering high quality, value for money priority services to residents. 

“It will build on the progress made and create an improved, lean, financially sustainable and efficient council, well placed to face the current, and any future challenges. 

“For the first time we have a single integrated plan and are confident this will lead us forward successfully in the next phase of the improvement journey, while delivering essential high quality service that our residents can rely on.”

Cabinet will be recommended to endorse council to adopt and approve the DMBC Improvement Plan and agree to establish the improvement panel when it meets on January 30.