Chorley Borough Council makes good use of data to prioritise and achieve improved outcomes for local people. This has resulted in lower crime levels, improved environmental quality and a better quality of life for local people.
The Council uses information effectively in its decision making. The performance management framework ensures that performance information is reported in a timely manner to ensure that the Council can respond to issues and direct resources accordingly.
Where appropriate, information is shared with partners to support the decision making process. In these circumstances, appropriate measures are put in place to ensure that data is of high quality. For example, the Council has continued to use its Multi-Agency Tasking and Coordination (MATAC) process in community safety to prioritise and target areas of concern. As part of neighbourhood working, 'mini-MATACs' have been developed to concentrate efforts in areas of the borough.
This approach has been highly successful. Using information from the Police, Fire Service, Council and other partners has helped contribute to a further fall in crime of over 2 per cent in 2008/09. Additionally, 91 per cent of residents have reported feeling safe during the day, and 57 per cent at night.
The data the Council holds is regularly used to drive decision making. For example, it used Mosaic customer profiling information as well as crime and anti-social behaviour statistics to select areas to be targeted in Weeks of Action. The Council received an award for making innovative use of the local land property gazetteer (LLPG) for its work to link the LLPG Mosaic data.
Each Week of Action, which is a multi-agency intervention, has been highly successful in improving outcomes for the local area. Examples of recent interventions include:
- automatic Number Plate Recognition days - where drivers without insurance, driving licenses or road tax are caught and spot checks carried out by VOSA for red diesel and vehicle safety
- Lancashire Fire Service providing fire safety checks and alarms
- the police providing crime prevention advice, increased patrols, anti burglary packs and SmartWater security marking
- the PCT providing health checks and advice on healthy eating, smoking cessation and alcohol awareness
- the Council targeting graffiti, fly tipping, litter and providing food health and safety advice
Mosaic data has also been integrated into the Council's CRM system to help us better understand our customers and the services they are accessing.
This work has been recognized in the award of Beacon status for 'Better Outcomes for People and Places'.
The use of customer insight information when taking decisions is now embedded across the Council. When preparing yearly Business Improvement Plans, directorates identify 'big issues' that they face. They link their key actions to a clear aims, such as customer insight or an equality and diversity issue. When preparing the refresh of the Corporate Strategy each year, a 'big issues' paper is prepared to set out the main issues facing the borough in the coming year. For example, Chorley’s population is ageing at the fastest rate in Lancashire. The Council has responded proactively to this trend by ensuring that it is dealing with possible consequences now. A key project in the current Corporate Strategy is the Active Generation project, which encourages greater levels of physical activity among the over 50s.