Strategies, Policies, and Plans

Our published strategies, policies, and plans

 Our strategies, plans and policies [26kb] shape the way we deliver and improve services.

Vision for the district

•  Our West Berkshire Vision 2036 [16Mb] identifies challenges and opportunities across all policy areas, and establishes shared aspirations for the future. It is supported by a  referenced evidence base [3Mb].

Corporate-wide strategies, policies, and plans

• Our Council Strategy 2019-2023 sets out our priorities, which are aligned to the West Berkshire Vision, and a realistic set of objectives that we will deliver for the people of West Berkshire, whilst living within our means.
• Our Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) is a rolling three-year strategy which is built to ensure that the financial resources, both revenue and capital, are available to deliver the Council Strategy.
• Our MTFS, Capital Strategy and Programme, and Investment and Borrowing Strategy are agreed annually at the Full Council Meeting in March.
• Our policies and procedures concerning financial crime ( fraud and corruption [462kb],  money laundering [384kb], and  bribery [243kb]) set out our commitment to protecting financial resources, creating and promoting an 'anti-fraud' culture, including prevention, detection, reporting and recovery.
• Our Procurement Strategy sets out ensure that all opportunities are identified to add value and make our budget stretch as far as possible so that procurement to meet the needs of an evolving council.
• Our  Recovery Strategy [893kb] sets out the priority areas we will focus on to help the community recover as quickly as possible from the effects of Covid-19. It is structured around the three core elements of health, education and the local economy.
• Our  Risk Management Strategy [7Mb] outlines the approach we take to managing risks and opportunities through using a structured, focused and proportional methodology.
• Our Consultation Policy sets out our approach and commitment to consultation.

Service-level strategies, policies, and plans

Categorised by the council strategy priorities and core business activities

Ensure our vulnerable children and adults achieve better outcomes

• Our  Adult Autism Strategy [217kb] plans how to support people with autism in West Berkshire.
• Our Adult Social Care Charging Policy sets out how we will ask people for a contribution towards the cost of the adult social care support they receive, and how that contribution will be calculated.
• Our Adult Social Care Deferred Payments Policy sets how we will the requirement of the Care Act 2014 (sections 34 and 35) to offer Deferred Payments Agreements to allow a person to defer the sale of their home where it is needed to fund care fees.
• Our Carers Strategy sets out how we support carers and young carers, to ensure that services are available and of a good quality.
• Our  Discretionary Housing Payment Policy [266kb] supports the homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. The policy explains the scheme and the factors that will be considered when deciding whether to make a payment to residents who need extra help to pay their rent.
• Our  Market Position Statement [11Mb] summarises supply and demand for adult social care services in our district, and signals business opportunities within the care market in our area.
• Our  Preventing Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2020-2025 [2Mb] sets our our plan for continuing work to address homelessness and rough sleeping.
• Our Residential and Nursing Care Placements for Older People Policy set out our policy for any new residential and nursing home placements, principally for people aged 65 and over.
• Our Safeguarding Adults Policy shows how we will meet the requirement of Section 2 of the Care Act to ensure the provision of preventative services (ie services which help prevent or delay the development of care and support needs, or reduce care and support needs).
• Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy sets out our vision and key priorities for supporting our children and young people with SEND.
• The  Berkshire Suicide Prevention Strategy [3Mb] encompasses the core elements of strong multi-agency working, public health leadership and robust suicide prevention plans, to set out our action locally to reduce suicide and self-harm.

An index of all our Adult Social Care policies, procedures and information can be found online.

An index of all our Children Social Care policies, procedures and information can be found online.

Support everyone to reach their full potential

• Our Apprenticeship Strategy sets out our ambition as both as an employer and as a key stakeholder in the future of our communities, including the promotion of apprenticeships to other local businesses both within West Berkshire and as part of a pan Berkshire initiative.
• Our Community Learning and Skills Strategy sets out our commitment to providing a wide range of learning opportunities in and for our local communities, that reflect and respond to the diverse range of community needs, offering enrichment, progression and development in support of individuals, their families, their neighbourhoods and the wider community and its economy.
• Our Domestic Abuse Strategy details the targets and aims we've implemented to address domestic abuse and encourages effective action to support those experiencing, or affected by, domestic abuse.

• Our Our Draft Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Strategy sets out our proposed plans to ensure a variety of support and safe accommodation options are available in West Berkshire to meet the needs of all domestic abuse victims, including children. This Strategy will be delivered alongside the West Berkshire Domestic Abuse Strategy 2020-23.

• Our Equality Policy sets out our vision and commitment to equality of opportunity and respect for diversity.

• Our School Improvement Strategy aims to ensure that all our schools are at least 'good' and all children make maximum progress, achieving their potential.
• Our  Supported Employment Strategy [12Mb] aims to ensure that those who sometimes struggle to participate in the job market receive any extra assistance they might require to access available and appropriate employment opportunities.
• Our  Workforce Strategy 2019-2023 [344kb] ties together various policies and activities that affect the workforce.

Support businesses to start develop and thrive in West Berkshire

• Our  Economic Development Strategy 2020- 2023 [11Mb] reflects a refreshed commitment to supporting the economy of West Berkshire. Whilst the area has many strengths we recognise that there is still more to do and our strategy seeks to focus on these issues and, in particular, those challenges where we feel we can make a real contribution. 
• Our Statement of Gambling Principles identifies what we will generally consider when looking at applications for a gambling licence.
• Our Licensing Policy sets out how we will determine applications made under the Licensing Act 2003.
• The goal of our Social Value Policy is to generate greater positive economic, environmental and social outcomes for West Berkshire from the public contracts the Council  commissions and tenders. 

Develop local infrastructure, including housing to support and grow the local economy

• Our Contaminated Land Strategy updates the relevant action plans and procedures taking into account the Council's current priorities and recent changes to the contaminated land statutory guidance.
• Our  Cultural and Heritage Strategy 2020-2030 [14Mb] sets out the Cultural Heritage Strategy Delivery Group's strategic themes and objectives for the next ten years. Culture and heritage are integral to keeping the district as a place where people want to live, work and visit. The Delivery Plan and actions will be developed with key stakeholder organisations who have specialist knowledge, experience and networks, by autumn 2021.
• Our Greenham Business Park Local Development Order provides a streamlined planning process.
• Our Highway Asset Management Plan  provides guidance on the delivery of value for money highway maintenance services.
• Our Highway Winter Service Plan provides details of the policies, procedures and practices, which ensure our responsibilities for providing the Winter Service are met.
• Our  Housing Allocations Policy explains the framework that we use to decide how we allocate our social and affordable rent homes in West Berkshire, and what our priorities are in doing so.  
• Our Housing Grants and Loans Policy explains the housing grants and loans that are available to West Berkshire residents.
• Our Housing Strategy is our vision for housing services across West Berkshire for the next sixteen years.
• Our Local Flood Risk Management Strategy addresses various aspects of local flood risk management, from improving awareness and communication to implementing measures to reduce unacceptable flood risk. 
• Our Local Plan, which sets out our local planning policies, is made up of a number of different documents, including for example, the Core Strategy Development Plan Document, the Housing Sites Allocations Development Plan Document and the West Berkshire District Local Plan.
• Our Minerals and Waste Local Plan sets out our policies to manage mineral and waste development in West Berkshire, as well as allocating sites for mineral extraction.
• Our Network Management Plan shows how we manage the way traffic moves around the districts highway network and sets out how we intend to fulfil our network management duty. 
• Our  Playing Pitch Strategy [1Mb] is a strategic assessment that provides an up-to-date analysis of supply and demand for playing pitches (grass and artificial) in a local authority area.
• Our Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides guidance on the approach that should be taken to SuDS in new developments in West Berkshire so as to manage and mitigate surface water flood risk.
• Our Tenancy Strategy guides Registered Providers (RP's) in developing tenancy policies for their own stock, as we are a non-stockholding authority.

Other Environmental Health, Licensing and Trading Standards policies can be found on the Public Protection Partnership webpage.

Maintain a green district

• Our Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) sets out the plans of the council and bus operators to improve bus operation in the district, and increase bus patronage.
• Our Enhanced Partnership Plan and scheme for local bus services implements the improvements detailed in the BSIP via the scheme(s). 
• Our  Environment Strategy for West Berkshire [3Mb] outlines the steps we intend to take with our partners to reach our target of carbon neutrality by 2030.
• Our  Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) [15Mb] sets our ambition to create a network of high-quality interconnected cycle routes and walking zones to encourage greater uptake of sustainable travel modes.
• Our  Local Transport Plan [2Mb] (LTP) helps us to work out the transport needs of the district, and sets out a framework as to how we'll meet them up to the year 2026. It is supported by a number of strategies designed to help deliver the priorities within the plan, including, for example, the Active Travel Strategy and the Road Safety Strategy.
• Our Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) sets out our aims to improve the access network of 'definitive' public rights of way, cycle tracks, routes permitted for use by landowners, informal routes used by the public, and land open for public access, for the enjoyment of all its users. 
• Our Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Strategy seeks to map out a programme for supporting ULEV uptake in the district.
• Our Waste Strategy is our long-term vision to maximise recycling and reduce rubbish.

Ensure sustainable services through innovation and partnerships

• Our  Communications and Engagement Strategy [15Mb] sets out our objectives and key principles for engagement to ensure we meet the needs of those we serve, and the outcomes which will help us determine if this approach has been successful.
• Our  Berkshire West Health and Wellbeing Strategy [10Mb] covers Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham, and identifies five key areas in which we will make a difference to people's lives by targeting work and resources where they are needed, and where we know we can have an impact to enable all of our residents to live happier and healthier lives.
• Our  Digital Strategy 2020-2023 [2Mb] sets out how we intend to embrace new technologies, to enhance working practices and use digital techniques to ensure we can operate as efficiently as possible.
• Our  Property Investment Strategy (March 2021) [476kb] sets out our plan to purchase commercial investment properties to provide a balanced investment portfolio and therefore a long-term, sustainable revenue stream.

Other strategies, policies and plans

• Our Complaints Policy and Procedures provide detailed guidance notes and explains our regulatory obligations.
• Our Pay Policy Statement fulfills the requirements to publish a pay policy statement under s38 of the Localism Act 2011.
• Our  Smoke Free Workplace Policy [46kb] seeks to guarantee the right of all employees and visitors to breathe air free of tobacco smoke or vapour from e-cigarettes and to comply with smoke-free legislation.
• Our Street Naming and Numbering Policy sets out the official street naming and numbering process. This maintains a comprehensive and high standard for naming streets and numbering or naming properties across the district.
• Our  Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure (July 2021) [735kb] sets out how concerns  regarding fraud, misconduct or wrongdoing by employees, workers, Elected Members or volunteers of the Council, or by those providing services on behalf of the Council, is reported and dealt with.