Nottingham service plan targets care, housing and waste

Seven priority service areas and nine council-wide programmes sit at the centre of Nottingham City Council’s new Continuous Service Improvement Plan, the document now guiding how the authority says it will improve day-to-day services for residents.

The plan comes after commissioners left the council earlier this year and after the Government appointed two Ministerial Envoys to provide continuing support and expertise. Local Government Minister Alison McGovern said the council is now on a much stronger footing, but the new plan makes clear that oversight and performance monitoring remain part of the next phase.

Seven services are being put under sharper focus

The council says the plan will concentrate on priority service improvement areas including adult social care, children’s social care, housing, customer services and waste. These are the services most likely to affect residents directly, whether through care support, repairs and accommodation issues, contact with the council, or the reliability of neighbourhood services.

The plan builds on the 2024 Improvement Plan, which focused on stabilising finances, strengthening governance and rebuilding confidence in the authority. The new version shifts more attention to whether services are efficient, consistent and shaped by evidence, resident experience and partnership working.

That matters because council improvement plans can otherwise sit too far from the public’s daily experience. The test for Nottingham residents will be whether the plan changes response times, service quality, accountability and value for money.

Financial control remains part of the service test

Nottingham City Council says long-term financial sustainability and best value are still central to the plan. The authority has also pointed to a recently announced £7.6m investment programme covering areas such as free bulky waste collection, street cleaning, free holiday swimming for under-16s, and support for children, young people, families, local businesses and cultural organisations.

Council leader Councillor Neghat Khan said the ambition is for Nottingham to become “one of the most improved councils in the country”, with services residents can trust. She said the plan focuses on better services, stronger communities and a council that is open and accountable.

For wider local context, similar questions about service access and family support have emerged in other cities, including coverage of a Coventry SEND plan for faster school support and a Coventry adult care rating.

Envoys replace commissioners in the next stage

The departure of commissioners does not mean Nottingham’s improvement work has ended. The Government’s two Ministerial Envoys are intended to provide ongoing expertise while the council embeds the new framework across services and internal functions.

Chief Executive Sajeeda Rose said the plan sets out how continuous improvement will become a core discipline across the council. She said the authority has made progress in strengthening the organisation, while acknowledging there is more work to do.

The Continuous Service Improvement Plan is described as a live framework, with governance and performance monitoring arrangements to track progress and accountability. It also aligns with national Best Value requirements, meaning the council will be expected to show that improvement is measurable as well as planned.

Source: Nottingham City Council