Wirral Working Together: A Council Plan for 2023 to 2027
Wirral Council began its improvement journey in 2019 with a new Chief Executive and Council Plan, alongside an ambition to transform the borough’s economic position through bold plans for investment and regeneration.
Like all councils, this was majorly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, delaying the implementation of these plans and leading to further pressures for the organisation, including exacerbating the council’s financial challenges through increased demand, loss of income and delays in delivering required savings.
After years of focussing on protecting our residents from increasing financial pressures by trying to keep all our services going, the council has now reached a point where we need to focus on delivering the most important services within budget, so that we can serve our residents and protect our most vulnerable. The need for financial support from the government to balance our books in 2021 and 2022, further highlighted the urgent need to stabilise our financial position and bring forward a programme of improvement, to enable the delivery of the ambitions we have for Wirral.
We have already started to make pivotal steps to become a council that is in a better position to best serve our residents by developing a programme to bring about transformational change and setting a budget that removes our budget deficit, establishing a strong foundation for achieving financial stability.
For many thousands of our residents, what is most important to them is what they see when they open their front door. They want to see clean streets, parks and beaches which are well maintained and attractive. They want to live in a place which is free of anti-social behaviour and crime, and to be able to take an active role in making their community a better place to live. Our job is to help make this happen.
This Council Plan sets out how we will continue to navigate the challenges we are facing, but to also seize the opportunities for the future for Wirral.
The Council Plan translates our vision 'Wirral Working Together' to promote fairness and opportunity for people and communities into deliverable organisational actions, providing clarity on what will be delivered and when. In simple terms, it highlights the practical steps that we as an organisation will take to turn our ambitions into reality.
Wirral now stands at a pivotal moment, presented with difficult decisions, but also an opportunity to define an exciting and ambitious future. It is imperative that political groups, irrespective of party, work together under the new political arrangements that are in place to make tough decisions and drive forward improvements for our residents. Through the collective will and effort of our political leaders, management team and staff we are committed to delivering the vision that we have set for our borough in this Council Plan.