Stockport, like all Councils, has priorities that it works hard to achieve.

This is the first of a short series of posts summarising how the council believes it’s doing in meeting those.  It’s a summarised version of a public report, which itself is a summary of hundreds of pages of reports, backed up by data, looking at every aspect of the 600+ services we deliver.

This summary – and so any errors or omissions contained – is my own.  It comes from the 4th Quarter 2010/11 Corporate Performance Report which comes to the Council’s Executive Committee on Wednesday.  The report itself is publicly available – you can read it from page 256 of the Executive agenda here.

A thriving Stockport

This part of the Council plan is about jobs and businesses across the borough.

• Over the last quarter there were more job vacancies and fewer people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance.  However, the number of people out of work and claiming benefits in our poorer areas increased, which is a cause for concern.
• Over 100 “Future Jobs Fund” placements began in the last quarter, bringing the total to over 500.  A variety of other schemes – mostly focussing on those poorer areas – are bringing more people into work, education and training.  They include a focus on the Lancashire Hill area.  Work clubs have been established in Brinnington and the Town Centre.  Learner Lounges are opening shortly at Stonemill Terrace (Lancashire Hill), First House (Brinnington) and Offerton Library.   The Next Step service arranges training for workless residents in poorer areas to help them access work.  It’s being delivered by Stockport College and has so far helped 131 people.
• We’re cutting our NEETs (16-18 year olds not in Education, Employment or Training) – down to 5.8% from 7.5% the previous year.  Again, the news is less good in our poorer areas with a small rise from 22.6% to 23.4%.
• Outcomes for care leavers are a major cause for concern, both in Stockport and across the country – currently over half our care leavers are NEETs and there’s a strong multi-agency approach to improving this.
• Progress in creating a vibrant town centre continues with more planning permissions in progress for retail and business premises.
• Occupancy levels for the town centre remain around 80% whilst for the District Centres, business occupancy is 89% – the lowest average level recorded.  Work continues to improve this, but national forecasts and local knowledge both suggest the next year will be another tough one.
• The number of people taking part in cultural events in Stockport increased from 13,000 to 90,000, with 36,600 coming to the Stockport Market 750th anniversary celebrations.  Market footfall increased by a third.
• At age 11 (Key Stage 2), children across the Borough did better in English and Maths, with children from the poorer areas and children in care improving even faster.  This is a good sign: having seen a slight dip in the achievements of 16-18 year olds from poorer areas, it’s good news that this younger group are improving.
• Occupancy rates of office, retail and industrial space are lower than expected.
• Demand for Start Up services has been high, with 108 businesses created through the ISUS programme.
• A small business loan scheme has recently been launched, where new or young businesses can access up to £3,000.  Seven loans have been approved so far.
• Stockport’s largest ever “Meet the Buyer” event, attended by 230 businesses, was held in March.

Overall, it seems to me that there’s a lot going on – especially in the more deprived areas – with good progress being made on creating jobs and ensuring we have a well educated and well trained workforce.  We’re still struggling in some areas as the country comes out of recession, though, and retail remains a particularly tough area.

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