Agenda item

Mayor Ros Jones informed Council that she was very pleased to present Doncaster’s first State of the Borough Assessment which looked to provide a single, overall assessment of how the Borough was changing and what the quality of life was for its residents, using the following indicators:-

·         Demographic information about Doncaster’s population;

·         Key quality of life indicators; and

·         Case studies on the real life experiences of residents and communities.

It was outlined that all these points would look to put into context the important work undertaken by the Council, and with its partners in Team Doncaster.

The Mayor reported that she felt it was fitting that the Council received and reviewed the document, alongside the Doncaster Growing Together Strategy, as it formed an evidence base for the ambitious reforms that the Council would be driving. It was noted that the findings were already being used to focus on the issues that mattered most to the Borough and its residents.

The State of the Borough Assessment had of course identified areas of success along with challenges that needed collectively addressing with the following points highlighted to Council:-

Doncaster Learning

Whilst the majority of Doncaster’s 5 year olds were experiencing a good level of education and a foundation for a fulfilling life, further progress was needed when it came to GCSE attainment in order to close the gap with comparators and persistent absence in Secondary Schools was still relatively high which was an ongoing concern.

Doncaster Working

Over the past year, Doncaster’s employment rate had hit an 11 year high and Doncaster had reached the UK Top 10 for growth in private sector jobs. However, despite these positives, wage rates still needed to increase further as they remained significantly lower than the national average.

Doncaster Living

Whilst life expectancy was increasing, it still remained lower than many of its comparators. Additionally, whilst it was pleasing to see that progress had been made in increasing the number of houses available, it was still a priority to reduce the number of homeless people within the Borough.

Doncaster Caring

The rate of permanent admissions to hospital had reduced alongside an increase in the number of people the Council had helped to remain in their own homes and live independently.  Additionally, Council noted that since its peak in 2012, the number of children referred to Social Services had reduced.

The Mayor communicated to Council the importance of collective working by Team Doncaster in order to improve the quality of life for people in Doncaster and that by working together and growing together, success would be achieved.

Council noted that the document would be a ‘go-to’ document for all to use, including the Public, Team Doncaster and both Members and Officers of the Council. It would be publically available for all those people who wished to engage and would be built on each year, in order that the depth of information continued to develop and grow.  The development of the document gave the opportunity to consider the whole picture and obtain an overall sense of the ‘state of Doncaster’. Therefore, the Mayor recommended the report to Council for approval in order to use its content and the insight it provided to improve the quality of life in Doncaster.

Following consideration of the report, the Chair of Council afforded Members in the Chamber the opportunity to comment on the report.

Members commended the report and felt that it was a good plan which was well presented and welcomed in advance of the positivity it was hoped it would bring to the Borough.

RESOLVED that

(1)       State of the Borough assessment be noted; and

(2)       the State of the Borough Assessment be used to inform priorities to improve quality of life in Doncaster in line with its constitutional role to inform the policy and budget setting process.