Council Plan 2022-25
Foreword
Welcome to your Council Plan which highlights our priorities until 2025. We are proud of our places, communities and people and are committed to work hard to achieve our ambition for North Lincolnshire to be the best place for our residents.
Throughout the pandemic we saw the absolute best of North Lincolnshire, with individuals, partners, communities, businesses and voluntary groups joining forces with the council to protect, reassure and support the most vulnerable.
As we look to the future, we will continue to lead by example and promote positive behaviours. Our priorities ensure that people remain at the heart of everything we do and working with our partners, we aim to maximise our impact by enabling and encouraging our residents, communities and businesses to achieve their full potential.
Cllr Rob Waltham MBE
Leader, North Lincolnshire Council
About North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a fantastic place to live and work. Home to just under 170,000 people, our population is set to grow by a further 4,000 over the next 20 years.
37,000 children and young people live in North Lincolnshire, who benefit from highly rated nurseries and schools as well as outstanding support.
The area has 76,000 homes situated across 86 settlements, from the busy urban centre of Scunthorpe to tranquil rural hamlets. There is a diverse range of housing with prices well below the national average.
Residents and visitors can enjoy extensive footpaths, cycleways, open spaces and 66 public gardens and parks. There are a wide range of sport and leisure facilities as well as cultural venues promoting local history and creativity.
Benefitting from fast and easily accessed transport networks, 5,800 businesses have set up in North Lincolnshire. Unemployment is low and 54% of local jobs are highly skilled. The area is also benefitting from Towns Fund investment that has already delivered improved access to gigabit broadband, a new urban park and solar panels for schools.
Life expectancy is improving, and our older population is growing faster than the national average. Over the next 20 years, we expect a 76 per cent rise in the number of residents aged 85 and over. Our older residents that need support can expect high quality residential and home care provision.
About your council
We are a public body elected to serve the whole of North Lincolnshire. Currently the council consists of:
- 43 elected members, representing 19 electoral wards across North Lincolnshire
- Conservatives 27 seats
- Labour 16 seats.
Elections are next due to be held in May 2027.
The role of North Lincolnshire Council is to work with you and our partners to:
- Lead the place of North Lincolnshire
- Promote prosperity and wellbeing
- Prevent harm
- Protect the most vulnerable.
From social care to education, highways to waste collection and planning to trading standards, the work of the council touches the lives of everybody, every day.
To achieve better outcomes for the people and place of North Lincolnshire we:
- Directly provide hundreds of essential local services
- Jointly provide services with our partners
- Buy support from organisations that have the right skills to provide on our behalf.
Strong Partnerships, Better Outcomes
As a leader of place, the council works alongside our partners to ensure we achieve our ambition.
- We work with the local NHS and social care services to promote good health and wellbeing for our residents and reduce health inequalities across North Lincolnshire.
- We collaborate with safeguarding agencies to make sure vulnerable adults and children are protected and feel safe.
- We join forces with parents, teachers and schools to raise educational standards and champion inclusion.
- We work with Humberside Police and probation partners to reduce crime and help people in North Lincolnshire stay safe.
- We work with businesses and housing providers to promote economic and housing growth in our area.
- We partner with local employers and training providers to ensure people have the skills they need to pursue their desired career paths.
- We work alongside the Environment Agency and water companies to manage flood risks and increase resilience to flooding.
Our Values and Culture
We maximise our impact by staying true to our values:
- Equality of opportunity so everyone can have a good quality of life
- Striving for excellence and high standards
- Using our resources wisely and with integrity
- Promoting self-responsibility and people having choice and control over their own lives.
Our organisational goals are to be:
- Progressive and enabling in our approach
- Financially and environmentally sustainable.
Priorities and outcomes
Our priorities will enable the council and our partners to achieve these outcomes for the people and place of North Lincolnshire.
Keeping people safe and well – to achieve a longer and better quality of life for our residents
Our intention
- Safeguard and support everyone to live safely and independently within their families and communities
- Ensure the care sector is of high quality and care leavers receive the on-going support they need
- Reduce health inequalities and promote wellbeing.
Enabling resilient and flourishing communities – to develop greater resilience and community spirit and enable people to identify and meet their ambitions.
Our intention
- Maintain a safe, clean and green local environment
- Support our volunteers and create stronger communities with access to a range of leisure, culture and other facilities
- Make it easier and safer to travel sustainably.
Enabling economic growth and renewal – to ensure there are highly skilled jobs and opportunities for a highly skilled workforce and the local economy supports efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Our intention
- Encourage personal ambition through access to lifelong education, guidance and training
- Work with communities to create opportunities to upskill and gain experience through volunteering
- Regenerate town centres and expand the local economy to secure more highly skilled jobs and encourage the business sector to transition to a net-zero carbon position
- Work with home builders to develop high quality and environmentally sustainable homes.
Providing value for money for local taxpayers – to ensure high quality services are provided for residents and the council is well-led.
Our intention
- Get it right for our customers, first time
- Meet our environmental responsibilities
- Maintain our position as a well-managed and well-governed council and remain financially sustainable.
Strategies
The Council Plan provides a strong frame that guides activity across the council. This is supported and achieved through several key strategies.
Keeping people safe and well
- Safeguarding Plans for Adults & Children
- Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Community First Strategy
Enabling resilient and Flourishing communities
- Local Transport Plan
- Crime and Disorder Strategy
- A Green Future
Enabling economic growth and renewal
- Local Plan
- Economic Growth Plan
- Skills and Employability Plan
Providing value for money for local taxpayers
- Medium Term Financial Plan
- Organisational Development Plan
- Asset Management Plan.
How the council is funded
The budget to run the council in 2023/24 is £191.5m. Your Council Tax supports our efforts to improve the lives of people in North Lincolnshire. Council Tax provides approximately half of the total cost of the services we provide.
Business rates, government grants and fees for specific activities are also used to fund the work of the council.
What we achieve with your Council Tax
Council Tax figures are based on a Band A property in 2023/24, which equates to an annual Council Tax charge of £1,094 (this excludes the contribution to support local police and fire services). This activity relates to the years 2022/23.
£40
£642
- Handled over 72,000 calls via the Care Call personal alarm service, with 98% answered within 60 seconds
- Prevented 800 potential cases of homelessness
- Supported 1,727 people to recover after a hospital stay through rehabilitation and reablement support
- Helped 124 refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan to settle in North Lincolnshire.
£113
- Made over 7.5 million waste and recycling collections, with 99.9% completed on time
- Managed 66 parks and gardens and planted over 5,000 trees with the help of volunteers
- Carried out 245 food hygiene inspections and 95 food standards inspections, with the vast majority of establishments graded good or better
- Supported over 200 Neighbourhood Watch groups helping to keep communities safe.
£82
- Looked after 1,467 miles of roads and pavements, filling 1,592 potholes
- Carried almost 18,000 passengers on the ‘Just Go’ on-demand bus service
- Gritted roads 33 times over the winter, travelling over 15,000 miles and using 2,000 tonnes of salt
- Provided free transport so over 2,800 children could get to school safely.
£55
- Helped 400 people to stop smoking
- Supported 360 people on their recovery from a stroke
- Organised around 690 health walks, attracting over 9,300 participants
- Enabled 300 people to help maintain a healthy weight.
£33
- Supported school improvement, with 87% of children attending good or outstanding schools
- Delivered over 87,000 free books to under-fives through the Imagination Library scheme
- Helped 589 adults improve their numeracy skills through the Multiply programme
- Held 242 adult education courses, attended by 1,819 people.
£33
- Helped attract nearly three million visitors to North Lincolnshire
- Attracted 830,000 visits to our leisure facilities, which include five swimming pools, seven gyms, a golf course and bowls centre
- Welcomed over 400,000 visits to cultural facilities, including our museum, arts centre, country park and theatres
- Organised free activities for 1,501 children over the school holidays.
£20
- Awarded £538,000 in community grants to support local projects
- Held 343 council meetings, with 121 members of the public taking part
- Responded to nearly 1,000 freedom of information requests
- Registered over 4,000 births, marriages and deaths.
£14
- Supported over 300 businesses to increase local prosperity
- Worked to reduce unemployment, with the September Jobs Expo attended by 700 people and 40 local businesses
- Made successful funding bids to boost growth and improve infrastructure, receiving nearly £20m from the Levelling Up Fund for a new Barton link road, as well as £5.5m from the Shared Prosperity Fund and £800,000 from the Rural England Prosperity Fund
- Issued more than one million free two-hour parking tickets to support local high streets.
£9
- Facilitated the completion of 450 homes
- Granted over 1,300 planning application approvals
- Eliminated hazards from 42 private sector homes
- Delivered home energy efficiency improvements to 73 households on low incomes.
£53
- Extended the Scunthorpe Ridgeway to make it easier to get around by bike
- Opened an Armed Forces Hub to provide a welcoming environment for armed forces personnel and veterans to meet others and access advice and guidance
- Installed over 1,350 solar panels in local schools, cutting their energy costs and reducing carbon emissions
- Created a new public gardens in the heart of Scunthorpe town centre.
Keeping on Track
We consult with residents and make use of the latest data and insight to ensure we make good decisions and identify emerging priorities and new opportunities. We also review and report on our progress. Some recent achievements include:
- Support for children and families was rated outstanding in all areas by Ofsted. Over 9 out of 10 schools in North Lincolnshire are also rated good or outstanding.
- Five parks in North Lincolnshire received the Green Flag Award, recognising them amongst the country’s best parks.
- 92 per cent of people who used adult social care services said the support made them feel safe and secure. 100 per cent of adult care provided by the council is rated good or outstanding.
- Less than one per cent of all waste collected now goes to landfill.
- The COVID-19 vaccination programme in North Lincolnshire was shortlisted for a national excellence award.
- 98 per cent of street lights requiring repair were fixed in seven days.
Work in Progress
Over the next three years, the council has plans to invest £125m in North Lincolnshire. Future developments include:
- A new police station in the heart of Scunthorpe town centre.
- New refuse collection lorries that can collect waste more quickly and cleanly.
- A new community hub on the Isle of Axholme, bringing together new facilities such as a library and community kitchens alongside the existing leisure centre.
- Completion of significant stone masonry repairs at St John’s Church, Scunthorpe, as part of developing ‘Discover@20-21’.
- A new facility to support families and young people with complex disabilities to access opportunities and receive bespoke short breaks.
A Listening Council
The Council encourages and welcomes feedback from residents on where improvements could be made. Some recent examples include:
You said
- I am interested in switching to an electric car but have nowhere to charge it where I live.
- I would like to learn new skills to boost my job prospects.
- I would like to help my child to prepare for starting school.
- Potholes are a problem in my area.
- I am considering starting a career in care and want to find out more.
We did
- Secured funding for 35 new charging points to be installed on streets across North Lincolnshire.
- Facilitated free flexible courses for adults to improve their numeracy skills.
- Held ‘Let’s Get Ready for School’ events to support parents with the transition to primary school.
- Trialled a new pothole repairing machine that fills potholes four times faster than previous machinery.
- Delivered five day ‘Introduction to Care’ courses, including the chance to shadow experienced workers.
Playing Your Part
We welcome the contribution you make and encourage more people to get involved by:
- Offering feedback to the council about the issues that matter most to you.
- Completing the council’s community survey and joining the Residents’ Panel.
- Getting involved in your community – check out the North Lincolnshire Volunteer Hub for opportunities to volunteer in your area.
- Protecting and taking pride in your environment – make a green pledge.
- Taking care of yourselves and others – visit the Live Well North Lincolnshire site for details of local groups, activities and support to help stay well and connected.
- Registering to vote in elections.