Stepping down - special blog

I am stepping down from the role of CEO of Brighton & Hove City Council. It has not been an easy decision. I don’t think my work is finished; but I do think it’s for the best. We have a new Labour Administration in the council. The Council wants to appoint a new CEO. I leave a strong, competent, highly motivated Executive Leadership Team and I hope that they can continue to deliver on the council’s ambitious and tough agenda.

I am pleased that the Administration recognises my huge contribution to the council and city over the past two and a half years. I am certainly proud of our Corporate Plan and Budget delivery and a number of key achievements besides.

Firstly, I leave an organisation with a culture underpinned by sound values and focussed on high performance in the interests of all citizens and the city. It is a far happier, more open, empowered organisation than the one I joined in November 2012. Our recent silver award of Investors in People is testimony to that. I hope the council keeps going with the culture change and performance with consequence agenda that we have embarked upon. It is essential underpinning for a Modernising, co-operative council facing huge financial challenges.

Secondly, I leave an organisation which wants the same thing as its partners, private, public and voluntary. This is a shared commitment to a vibrant economy benefitting everyone (housing and jobs being key ambitions); a good life (irrespective of age); a well- run city (safe, clean and moving) and a modern council – all combining to keep Brighton & Hove as a fantastic city to live, work and visit. And there is evidence of progress. On top of our Greater Brighton City Deal in 2014, we won the Local Government Chronicle Growth Award for 2015; being among the top performing Key City regions with a developing digital economy, a vibrant and renowned cultural offer, and falling numbers of unemployed. We have a number of exciting developments in the pipeline, among them the i360, King Alfred and Waterfront developments. Of course there remain challenges: the reducing budget; rising needs; and insufficient housing supply are just some of them. However, over the next few years, the council will be associated with keeping the city changing and developing.

Thirdly, I am proud that we are prioritising fairness for our most vulnerable citizens. Equality is the theme of our energetic and creative director of Public Health’s Annual report this year. Under the leadership of our executive director of Children’s Services we are properly attending to the experience of children at risk, children in care, children in education and those with a disability. The forthcoming Ofsted report will provide evidence of a journey well underway … not finished. Our health and wellbeing partnership between the council and health is tackling the challenges of an ageing population and high numbers of citizens with significant mental health needs or managing the ravages of drugs and alcohol. I am pleased that we have developed a profound understanding of the seamlessness required between health and social care and between prevention, primary, secondary and tertiary services. My role has been one of championing system leadership between the council and the health service and I do hope that this agenda continues to be prioritised and to flourish.

Fourthly, I personally led negotiations to resolve a long-standing equal pay issue for the council. Painful though those negotiations were, the resolution of this significant issue has enabled the council to undertake a forward looking agenda of redesign and renewal of our refuse recycling and parks services. These services in neighbourhoods are so visible and valued by citizens.  

Finally, I have sought to ensure that the council pursues equality for all including those quieter voices. As equalities champion I have modelled our values and pursued an approach which supports all protected groups to be heard and the development of the ‘One Voice’ group stands as testimony to that.  

I came into the role of chief executive clear that I would only take up the post if I were the first choice of all three leaders on the council. I have greatly relished the opportunity to work for those leaders and indeed for all 54 councillors. I am a longstanding and committed public servant who completes 40 years of public service this summer.

I will miss all the people I have worked with in the council, the city and beyond and I trust that they will continue to do a great job for this fantastic city. I want to pay special tribute to my fellow senior managers in the City Management Board, and to my own Executive Leadership team, whose support and challenge I have always valued.  

Let me end, sure in the certain knowledge that I leave behind an organisation in better shape than the one I joined. I have worked unstintingly during my time as Chief Executive of BHCC to be an #openCEO, setting a learning culture and modelling accountable managerial leadership.  

I have appreciated the fellowship of so many who have signed up to our learning and improvement journey. I hope that many of those friendships will be sustained into whatever comes next.

Penny

Working with our partners in the city

Hello everybody

Safeguarding children

For me, this week has been all about partnership and working together. After my regular Monday morning “week ahead” meeting with the Leader of the Council to compare and plan diaries, I had my regular accountability meeting with Graham Bartlett, the Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. He is accountable to me as the chief executive, which is important to ensure that any concerns regarding safeguarding can be raised. I am pleased to say that not only did Graham not have concerns to raise, he also went to some lengths to praise the work of Pinaki and his team. He recognised the leadership that Pinaki demonstrated during the recent Ofsted review period, whose resulting report we will see before the end of the month.

Getting out of the office

Another example of working together came on Wednesday when the Executive Leadership Team and I met for an awayday to plan for the future and ensure that we are sustaining momentum with delivering on our plans, whilst at the same time forging new relationships with the new council. I also noticed that the poppies on the way were glorious, and the seafront at our lunch time break was beautiful. On the way I spotted our seafront lifeguard service, which is so valued by residents and visitors and works tirelessly together to keep us all and our beaches safe.

Poppies on Hove seafront

Paula Murray and Rachel Musson on the beach during our lunch break

Our seafront lifeguards

A landmark day for the i360

Thursday was a landmark day. The barge bringing in the 13 “cans” which will make up the i360 and the jacking tower (which will become the holder to assemble the tower) arrived by barge. It was a privilege to be amongst a number of invited guests who have had involvement with the i360 and to enjoy the glorious sunshine. It was also fascinating to hear the Chairman of the i360 company, David Marks, who is also one half of Marks Barfield, its architects, describe to us how they are building the vertical cable car. The 200 tonne crane known as T-Rex is now busily unloading the cargo. But as well as machinery the i360 project is hugely reliant on collaboration and co-operation and this was something David spoke of in his introduction. Eleanor Harris, Chief Executive of the i360, supported by her small, hard working team outlined some of the benefits that will come from the project; 200 jobs on site and 450 jobs through the supply chain is not to be sniffed at. The impact on the economy of the city will be palpable. The signs are good and the tourist trade is enthusiastically working on schemes to incorporate this new business. Finally, we were treated to a showing of the marketing film from the i360, something that is entirely put together by local volunteers. Why not have a look at the promo video for yourself - it’s fab.

Some of the 'cans' arriving at the i360

Julia Barfield and David Marks, architects of the i360

Finding out more about the i360

Our first new Policy & Resources Committee

This week has seen the first Policy & Resources Committee of the new municipal year. Although not a long agenda, two vital items were discussed. Firstly the draft out-turn report for the budget which I am pleased to say shows a break even position thanks to an enormous amount of hard work from officers across the council. There were challenges in the report, not the least of which are the pressures building in Adult Social Care through volume and cost of placements. The other significant item was the report to give outline agreement to the establishment of a Fairness Commission which will be discussed at the new Neighbourhoods, Communities and Equalities committee in a couple of weeks time and which it is hoped will start its work through the summer. The commission has support from all quarters and is hoped will be another example of partnership and learning, producing something valuable to help with planning fairness improvements for citizens whilst at the same time addressing significant financial challenge.

Our first Policy & Resources Committee at the Brighthelm Centre 

Our partnerships in action

And so partnership and accountability have remained themes right to the end of the week. This morning Paula Murray, Assistant Chief Executive, and I hosted a debriefing and learning session with a wide range of staff who had worked on the election to try and distil learning points for future improvement.

Election debriefing session led by Paula Murray, Assistant Chief Executive

We then went on to the Brighthelm Centre where I hosted a Members partnership induction session so they could understand our partnership arrangements and the value of them. I was deeply grateful to all our busy colleagues from health, police, business, CVS, probation and Brighton Dome and Festival who not only gave up time to contribute to the event but also were happy to spontaneously address the gathering with insights into their work in partnership and also prepared to stay for many enthusiastic and informative informal conversations. The session was an authentic representation of partnership in action.

Partnership induction session for Members

Mark  Streeter, CEO of the Police & Crime Commissioners Office, talking about our Safe in the City Partnership

Let’s hope the sun shines this weekend.

Best wishes
Penny

Managing our performance and celebrating our volunteers

Hello everybody

Our Performance Management Framework

I know you might think I am rather sad, but I was really excited this week to read my papers for the Executive Leadership Team for Wednesday and to see our Performance Management Framework set out diagrammatically, as the context for our performance report. This week has seen me in meetings and discussions on most of the eight aspects of our framework.

Our Performance Management Framework diagram

Business planning and risk management

On Monday, after diary planning with the leader, Councillor Warren Morgan, I met with the City Management Board finance leads from our public service partners in the city (universities, fire, police, health) and we continued on our quest to develop more ways of working together, producing better value for public money and improving services. This virtuous and challenging ambition is one that is already bearing fruit whether you look at the multi-agency safeguarding hub for children (MASH) developed jointly with the police, or our joint commissioning with health, or innumerable other examples. The risk management aspect of the framework was considered by the Leader's Group on Monday afternoon and they were properly seeking assurance that risk management is a living activity and not just a bureaucratic process. Indeed, that is the case; it is living and it’s action orientated.

That evening the leaving do for one of our long standing and well respected colleagues, Martin Randall, who has headed up planning for many years in the city was a valuing and celebratory affair and we wish Martin well.

Health & safety performance

Tuesday morning saw the health & safety aspect of our Performance Management Framework in action when I chaired the quarterly Corporate Health & Safety Board. Again we were reviewing performance over the year and noting that while the number of health & safety incidents has remained quite stable and the causes consistent (slips, trips and falls being the biggest cause) the number of days lost in sickness has dramatically increased. We agreed a number of actions to both investigate and seek to change this.

Performance and modernisation

My meeting with Rima Desai to consider performance and modernisation was an uplifting and reassuring session. The work that Rima has been leading on was considered in full and detail by the Executive Leadership Team and the Corporate Modernisation Board on Wednesday. We will be reporting to Policy & Resources on performance on 9 July.

Meeting with Rima Desai, Head of Performance Improvement and Programmes

A performance indicator for parenting was achieved by me this week when out of the blue I received a bunch of flowers through the post from my daughter who has recently started in full time work. How delightful and thoughtful.

Thoughtful flowers from my daughter

You may think that performance management is a crusty subject and you will now know that I don’t.

Celebrating our volunteers

On Wednesday evening at Brighton Museum it was a privilege to meet the many volunteers who carry out all sorts of functions for the city, and to celebrate their contribution. Last year, over 500 volunteers contributed 20,000 hours work with a value of £151,000. They volunteer in the Royal Pavilion and museums, our library service, healthwalks, City Parks, the Volks Railway and as City Greeters. More than 150 of them came to the celebration at Brighton Museum and I had the opportunity to meet a few of them.

Staff and volunteers at Brighton Museum

Claire Morgan, Parks Project Officer, who both volunteers, and works with Volunteers at The Level

I also met Peter Craske, Park Ranger with his stand showing conservation, planting and downland volunteer opportunities. I also heard a new word, “lookerers”. Lookerers are volunteer shepherds who walk around our conservation grazing flock.

Peter Craske, Park Ranger with his stand showing conservation, planting and  down land volunteer opportunities 

Councillor Gill Mitchell, Deputy Leader of the Council, joined me and Nicholas Owen in saying a few words of thanks to more than 150 volunteers gathered in the museum. We stood in front of a Wesley Emmett machine; he was the creative mind behind Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and his magical machines are being shown at our museums across the city.

With Councillor Gill Mitchell and Nicholas Owen next to one of Wesley Emmett's machine

Nicholas Owen is a great friend to the museum and the city, and is himself a volunteer for the Volks Railway. It was a delight to meet Nicholas and to hear from Stuart Strong, who manages the Volks Railway, what an important contribution volunteers make.

Nicholas Owen and Stuart Strong

During my visit I also met Jools Stone who is blogger in residence at the Royal Pavilion and museums. I have no doubt that he will be penning a few words on the event and we gained some positive and welcome publicity.

Jools Stone, blogger in residence at the Royal Pavilion

More volunteers will be helping out and providing sports and activities during our two-week TAKEPART festival at the end of June. Have a look at our website to find out more.

Active citizenship is already important in the city and will play a key role in the future as resources become ever more constrained, while needs and expectations increase. We know that volunteering is good for people as well as providing a wonderful public services. Don’t forget what Dr Tom Scanlon tells us about health and happiness coming from CLANG (being connected, learning, being active, noticing and giving) - volunteering ticks just about all of those boxes.

Delivering in our new administration

And so to delivery of our corporate plan and budget under the new administration. At Thursday’s six monthly Senior Managers Forum the top 200 or so managers in the authority had the opportunity to hear Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of the Council, address them and answer questions on the new administration and its plans for Brighton & Hove.

At the Senior Managers Forum

Councillor Warren Morgan began by thanking everybody for the work that they do and acknowledging the challenges of the financial situation. His key message was that this authority will seek to learn from the good practice of co-operative councils and to draw on the good thinking of staff and managers in addressing the challenges of doing better with less. He gave particular emphasis to the failures of “trickle down” and the importance of tackling poverty, reminding us that one in six children in the city live in poverty, and one in three in his own ward. So tackling inequality and promoting fairness will be the watch words of this administration, and Warren went on to give examples of how this will be approached, particularly with the advent of the new Neighbourhood, Communities & Equalities Committee and the advent of the Fairness Commission.

Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of the Council speaking at the Senior Managers Forum

Despite the challenging agenda we all face I was struck, as ever, by the positive engagement from managers and their preparedness to work together to continue to deliver on our purpose to provide civic leadership to the wellbeing and aspiration of our city and to gauge our progress by ensuring; a good life, a well run city, a modern council and a vibrant economy that everyone can benefit from.

Sunny weekend ahead

So the week ends with brighter skies than at its beginning and with a great deal of work to do but a spirit of endeavour and learning. Have a replenishing weekend.

Sunny Friday sky

Best wishes
Penny