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Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2003

Application form

This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically (pdf version) on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning . Please complete all four questions. The deadline is 12 September 2003. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.

Please provide a name and contact details of the organisation responsible for this work. If partners were involved, identify the lead organisation, and then list the other partners/bodies who had a key role.

Name of key partners (if appropriate)

Please complete the form by providing a brief summary (in no more than the space provided) of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude, with a key reason, as to why you think this work merits an Award.

Please tick the key criteria which relate to this entry:

You must describe in your written submission (below) how the criteria which you have ticked relates to your project.

Description of project

This application affords West Lothian Council's Development Control Unit the opportunity to demonstrate its continuing commitment to improving its service delivery.

Our goal has been to develop a responsive and improving customer orientated public service over time by examining what we do, how we do it, challenging conventions where necessary and validating our service with our customers to provide them with the services they want.

Our "project" is therefore not concerned with just one specific or identifiable piece of work but is instead about a step change in the dynamics of service provision generally. Effective service improvement is the cumulative effect of lots of small improvements made at every level. It requires changing the culture from one that accepts the status quo to one that is excited about change and continuous improvement. Innovating service practices and redefining service delivery is therefore regarded as everyone's job.

We have a well developed process of staff inclusion and we have engendered within our staff a strong culture of customer care. We are constantly seeking to respond to the needs of all of our customers in a number of distinct ways.

Our standards of service and our performance, which we systematically monitor, have been the subject of improvement initiatives for many years and have themselves provided a catalyst for change and innovation.

We actively advise the public of what to expect from our service and our procedures have been opened up to greater scrutiny. In particular, we have facilitated greater participation in the planning process and have tried to ensure that all participants are kept better and more fully informed.

We recognise the importance of efficient and effective two-way communication with our users. We have sought to improve and extend the ways in which we disseminate information and how our users contact us, making use of new technology where appropriate. We promote choice in the way our service is accessed. We are also continually extending the scope and revising and improving the content and the quality of the information we provide.

The views of our customers are vital in the cyclical process of monitoring and improving our services. We consider it important to actively consult them on a regular basis to obtain suggestions on how we can improve our services, to validate our actions and to inform our programme of further improvements.

Finally, we believe that we can demonstrate a sound record of having been inn6vative and responsive to customer needs, recognised through the successive award of Charter Mark.

Timescale (over which the project has developed)

The specific range of improvements which we present in this submissi6nonginate from the Development and Building Control Unit Service Plan 2000/2001 and from a subsequent Action Plan which was prepared in the course of our Charter Mark submission in 2002

We have however been engaged in the systematic improvement of the Development Control service for the best part of a decade We first introduced Performance Standards in 1993 as part of a performance management system (PM S) These set Performance Key Tasks standards for the main functions of the service and Improvement key Tasks, a series of initiatives This prepared us for the introduction of Performance Indicators by central Government. We have however been especially active since Local Government re organisation in 1996 when the new unitary authority of West Lothian Council was created and we genuinely regard service quality improvement to be fundamental to what we do and its a critical element of our Service Plan

Current projects include a consultation exercise with the Federation of Small Business and Scottish Enterprise to look at the impact of regulatory services such as planning on small business Consultants have been appointed to seek the views of some 250 local firms about the service they have received and how it could be improved.

We are also using a questionnaire based survey to gauge the views of new home owners in West Lothian about the quality of the residential enviroinment which the planning system has helped create

Context (the problem which had to be addressed)

We were in the fortunate position that there was no single overwhelming problem which was demanding to be addressed. Instead, we were principally aiming to meet and manage an increase in customers' expectations but without adding to the limited resources available or making excessive demands of existing resources. In essence, this meant trying to achieve higher efficiency and productivity by working "smarter".

We were however aware that service objectives did not focus sufficiently on outcomes for the customer or necessarily reflect their views and that there was a deficit in the validation of the service we were providing. We recognised that it was being provided largely on our terms and that we really didn't know whether it was what our customers wanted or needed. As a consequence it will be observed that a significant number of new initiatives are aimed at gathering information and generating feedback. In the medium to longer term this will enable us to be more responsive but also to direct resources to priority areas and to ensure that every service we provide continues to be relevant and necessary.

We also concluded that there was scope for improving overall communication with customers and for improving some aspects of the Service's internal working practices and procedures.

Action taken

We have implemented a substantial number of initiatives, only some of which are detailed below:

• We have set precise and measurable standards, defined priorities and selected performance targets. We have publicised information on performance and have benchmarked against others;
• We have published a series of Service Standards describing our core services, the level of service our customers can expect and a clear explanation of response times and procedures;
• We have introduced speaking rights at Committee for applicants and objectors;
• We have restructured Committee Reports to be more concise and informative;
• We have assigned planning officers specific geographic areas, thereby simplifying communication;
• We have co-ordinated Development Control and Building Control activities to maximise staff resources;
• We have introduced new IT measures including document image processing;
• We have restructured and expanded our enforcement service;
• We have published a Residential Development Guide which has been the subject of consultation;
• We have published a House Extensions Design Guide, an initiative borne out of a complaint;
• We have issued new guidance notes to accompany decision notices and enforcement notices;
• We publish "Keeping in Touch", a regular newsletter for service users;
• We have enabled customers to access information "on Iine;
• Applications are available for inspection at locations which are more convenient for customers;
• We work with many other agencies to provide a focused and 'joined up service
• We have agreed new working protocols with our service delivery partners;
• We interact with our community councils by attending meetings, providing training and closer working;
• We employ customer surveys, enquiry cards, comment sheets, questionnaires and focus groups;
• We actively promote customer complaints and suggestions;
• We have undertaken staff training in line with the Council's Investors in People programme; We have weekly staff meetings and periodically have more intensive "brainstorming" sessions.

Results achieved

The first major recognition for the work we have done was the COSLA Quality Award for Customer Care and the Scottish Office/Royal Town Planning Institute Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning in 1997.

Our endeavours have also secured us Charter Mark in 1999 and we were successful in retaining it in 2002. Charter Mark is however about much more than just winning a trophy. It is about quality improvement and requires organisations to design services around the needs of customers and in order to achieve the award we have demonstrated that we put our users first and deliver a first class service.

We also regard the fact that we have sustained our performance indicators at a competitively high level despite a year on year increase in the number of planning applications as a positive result. Our current position in relation to other local authorities in Scotland is, according to the Accounts Commission's "league table", a respectable 5th but we are confident that we can still improve on this.

We have also witnessed a diminishing number of formal complaints about the service to both ourselves and the Ombudsman. The feedback which we pro-actively encourage through various mediums is generally very constructive and we are consistently given a high satisfaction rating.

Our quest for improving the quality of built development on the ground is starting to pay dividends and is being vigorously pursued through a combination of improved advice to developers (our Residential Development Guide has received plaudits from the building industry and central government), discussion and negotiation with applicants, through a better co-ordinated monitoring and enforcement regime, and ultimately by seeking the views of the end users.

Conclusion - Why does this piece of work merit an Award?

The Development Control team is committed to the provision of a high quality customer orientated approach to service delivery by processing development proposals efficiently and fairly and being open and accountable while at the same time having due regard to statutory requirements.

The many initiatives which have been implemented to improve the service thus far are thoughtful and practical and have involved the input of the service users. We have sought to find out what the customer expects and wants from the services we offer. We have listened and we have delivered.

They represent a substantial and sustained body of work over time and have been developed and implemented in addition to the core functions of the Unit during a period of increasing workload. It is therefore a credit to the dedication and professionalism of the individual team members that they have been sufficiently motivated to contribute to these initiatives.

Despite the success we have already achieved it is extremely important to avoid becoming complacent. Receiving this accolade would stimulate and sustain the desire that there is within the Development Control Unit to continue evolving and improving the service. It would of course also be a timely recognition of a job well done and a boost to staff morale.

Date

29 August 2003

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