Blackburn with Darwen The Next Five Years

Andrew Lightfoot – Deputy Chief Executive Blackburn with Darwen Council

A growing population…

Pakistani Indian White

• population set to grow by 3% by 2021 • biggest growth in the 65+ age group (+17%)

A diverse population . . .

We’re facing some big challenges But we’re aiming high

Creating more jobs and supporting business

Our economies The private sector:

• 20% employed in manufacturing; 20% distribution and hotels / restaurants; 15% IT and financial services; • Self employment increased over last 3 month period • Lancashire LEP • Pennine Lancashire EDC • 2 nd highest borough with ‘Gazelle’ growth companies in the North West

The public sector:

• Large public sector (32%) with NHS hospital, Unitary Council and FE institutions

The third sector:

… Over to you … tell your story… employment / volunteering / skills?

Creating more jobs and supporting business Our challenges

• Employment rate at 61% - below regional and national average • Unemployment levels increasing • (Net) fewer businesses • More redundancies • Pay levels relative decline - Lower earnings (£417pw) than national average (£508pw) • Below average skills levels: – Degree level qualification 22% compared to 33% nationally – 18% of residents have no qualifications compared to 12% nationally

Creating more jobs and supporting business

Our achievements

• £70m investment in Blackburn’s retail core - Mall and new indoor market • Record levels of footfall during the 2011-12 festive period National Indoor Market of the Year 2012. • More than £1.2m of investment in improved public realm in the heart of the town centre • Highest number of small high growth businesses

Creating more jobs and supporting business

The next five years…… Cathedral Quarter Phase 1,

60 bed hotel; 80,000sq ft office building; Clergy Court (residential New public realm). Onsite commences 2013 , completion mid 2015.

£30 million investment

.

Freckleton Street -

Strategic employment site earmarked for investment . New link road opens up land for mixed use development. Masterplan developed. Awaiting planning .

Pennine Reach

Major investment in public transport infrastructure. New bus station - On site 2013 Complete 2016

£6 million investment

European Programme 2014-2020

With a BwD growth strategy underpinned by a business led, major european funding programme in concert with Pennine and Lancashire partnerships

Improving housing quality & building more houses

Our economies The private sector:

• 64% houses owner occupied • 14% houses private rented, doubled since 2001

The public sector:

• 18% houses are social housing • 25 known registered social landlords

The third sector:

• Nightsafe – supported housing for 16-24 year olds (emergency, medium & long term stays) • THOMAS – supported housing and rehabilitation programme for substance misusers

Improving housing quality & building more houses

Our challenges

• Average house prices in Blackburn with Darwen are 42% lower than the North West average, although the trend is consistent with national figures • In the year to July 2013 average house prices fell by 4.0% • In 2012 mortgage repossessions were 50% higher than national rates • Estimated 27,000 properties (over 50%) are non decent and 12,300 with a category 1 hazard • Amongst worst authority areas for fuel poverty – 24% of all households and more than 30% of households in some neighbourhoods

Improving housing quality & building more houses

Our achievements

• £100m of HMR and Council funds during 2001 – 2012. Delivered a range of projects which included: – Over 2,000 homes refurbished and improved – 1,100 unfit & obsolete homes cleared – 700 properties benefited from safety initiatives/environmental improvements – Over 1,000 new including affordable homes delivered which include homes for rent or shared ownership • Regeneration programme attracted around £200m of additional investment from Public/Private sector. Which has contributed to a wide number of initiatives

Improving housing quality & building more houses

The next five years……

• Only 10% of the housing stock has 4 or more bedrooms compared to a national average of 34% • Only 13% of properties are in Council Tax Band D or above, compared to 21% across the North West • Higher value aspirational and ‘executive’ housing developments will be prioritised • Planning for 600 new homes each year

Improving health and wellbeing

• • •

Our economies The public sector:

In 2011/12 we spent £350million on Health and Social Care in the Borough – £15.6m on Health prevention and promotion – £70m on primary care – £141m on secondary care – £10m on urgent and emergency care – £111m on community health and social care 4.4% 20% 40% 3.1% 32% Of 60,523 working people aged 16-74, 15% or 8,936 work in Health and Social Care Services are commissioned by Council and CCG along with NHS England Major providers Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Council

Private and third sector providers play a vital role

Improving health and wellbeing

Our challenges

• Increasing numbers of older and very old residents • Life expectancy 3 years shorter than nationally and the gap is widening • Half of all adults have one or more long term conditions • Significant increase in alcohol related admissions – trebled over last ten years • Death rate for chronic liver disease has risen and faster than the region or national rate • Smoking rates are high with strong social inequalities • Projected increase in dementia

Improving health and wellbeing

Our achievements

• Year on year increase in life expectancy and decrease in premature deaths • Refresh - introduced first comprehensive free leisure facilities programme for residents to promote physical activity • Continuing strong partnership between local government and health - first with Care Trust Plus and now with the CCG- with nationally significant track-record around integrated commissioning and joint management arrangements • Pioneer for Health and Wellbeing Board - nationally respected • Barbara Castle Way Health Centre - secured £21 million investment in new multi-service health facility in town centre creating 250 new jobs and improving access to services.

Improving health and wellbeing

The next five years…… Health and Wellbeing Strategy Vision - to increase life expectancy in Blackburn with Darwen, and reduce the gap between Blackburn with Darwen and the national average.

Improving outcomes for young people

Our economies The private sector:

• 44 private/independent nurseries and pre-schools • 1 primary academy and 1 primary free school (from Sept 13) • 2% primary aged children in academies • 2 secondary academies and 1 free school • 22% secondary aged children in academies; 2.5% in free schools

The public sector:

• 14 children’s centres, 4 Council nursery schools • 14,000+ primary aged children; 9000 secondary & 6,000 16+ learners • 54 primary schools and 7 secondary schools maintained by LA • 2 colleges and 4 6 th form colleges

The third sector:

• 15 voluntary/community/faith nurseries and pre-schools

Improving outcomes for young people

Our challenges

• Increasing school autonomy, flexibility and accountability for children with SEND • Increasing delegation of funding to schools and Council Budget reductions means a changing role for local authorities • Increasing range of service providers • Continued impact of poverty on the children entering schools 3 in 10 children (more than 4 in 10 in some wards) live in poverty • Performance at higher levels of achievement not as strong as at threshold levels

Improving outcomes for young people

Our achievements

• Educational attainment continues to improve and we continue to narrow the gap to national averages – a consistent trend over the past decade. Gap to the national average has narrowed • Primary from 7% to 2% • Secondary from 12% to 1% • Over 80% of children in schools deemed ‘good or better’ by Ofsted • Nearly 90% of young people staying in full time education at 16+ (1% above national average) • 58% of our young people have a level 3 qualification (8% higher than similar authorities and 3% higher than national average)

Improving outcomes for young people

The next five years……

Our ambitions are to have: • Our children and young people attending schools judged good or better by Ofsted (ideally most to be outstanding!) • Primary and Secondary school performance above national average • Two thirds of local young people entering Higher Education (60% currently) – to maintain the borough’s competitive advantage • More of our children attending the top universities (Russell Group) (6% currently)

Safeguarding the most vulnerable people

Our economies The private sector:

• 24 older people residential and nursing care homes run by companies/organisations

The public sector:

• 356 children in local authority care; 150 subject to child protection plans and 678 identified as children in need • 4 older people residential and nursing care homes run by the Council

The third sector:

• Over 130 active foster carer households

Safeguarding the most vulnerable people

Our challenges

• Over 370 investigations for adult safeguarding in 2012/13 • Teenagers are more likely to be frequent consumers of alcohol • Estimated 2,940 residents have a learning disability and of those 930 are 0-25years old (likely to increase 15% in next 10 years) • Approximately 350 children, young people and young adults aged 0-25 will have been diagnosed with complex needs or disability (2013)

Safeguarding the most vulnerable people

Our achievements

• OfSTED - Good children’s services; Good for all aspects of fostering service • Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) established April 2012 more robust approach to identifying vulnerable adults/children • Good and improving recognition of children’s Voice in relation to service design and delivery

Safeguarding the most vulnerable people

The next five years……

• Integrating health services and social care teams at a local area level, to drive improved outcomes and resource efficiencies • Joint assessment and care planning for children and young people with complex needs, to be rolled out April 2014 • Delivering our Early Help strategy through neighbourhood level early intervention services • Working with our partners in the police to prevent offending and re-offending

Making your money go further

Our economies The private sector:

• £51,346,021.03 (or 35%) spent with businesses and services in BwD in 2012/13

The public sector:

• £147m Total spend in 2012/13

The third sector:

• £4,835,875 (or 3%) spent with the third sector in 2011/12

Making your money go further

Our challenges

• Local government finance review – Spending Review 2013 projected further challenges in 2015-16 • Demand management around social care • Partner cuts and the aggregate effects on the borough and residents • Inter-dependency between local economy and local public sector (both employment and spend)

Making your money go further

Our achievements

• Many years of keeping Council tax low • Have achieved our cuts to date • Protected key services that residents have told us they wanted to keep • Innovative partnering arrangements – previous Care Trust Plus; Pennine Lancashire Building Control service; shared neighbourhood teams

Making your money go further

The next five years……

• Integrated delivery (building on integration track record) across sectors • Continuing to review our assets and make best use of them • New and innovative partnerships – business network; explore further Pennine Lancashire working • More tough decisions on Council role / service coverage and quality

Voluntary and Community Sector

• A tremendous asset to the borough – under-utilised, recognised and ‘exploited’. • Critical to the maintenance (short-term) and improvement (long-term) of residents’ quality of life.

• Central to new models of commissioning and delivery – ‘keep calm and carry on no longer an option’ • Progressive in leading the way with consortia models.

• Regionally and nationally significant in its own right – opportunities to collaborate with private and public agencies for the advancement of BwD

Voluntary and Community Sector

In the spirit of honesty, however, the external view is… • Governance has been introspective and fragmented – at both organisation board and sector level. • Reputation and advocacy has suffered as a result.

• Fighting the wrong battles – ‘representation’ and sector balance is no longer on the agenda – focus on impact, delivery and areas of niche sector advantage. • The business model appears to be ‘revving in neutral’ – where are the new income streams, private sector (CSR) partnerships • Is there genuinely a preparedness to innovate and take risks (e.g. new contractual arrangements / PBR?)

Voluntary and Community Sector

So, in conclusion… • Your organisations are vital to the future of the borough.

• You are pushing at an open door around new, innovative partnership, commissioning and delivery arrangements. But it requires… • Clear, coherent, confidence sector leadership and a focus on your ‘core offer’ .

• An end to fragmented and confused governance.

• A willingness to quickly and genuinely move beyond existing constraints, behaviours and ‘norms’.