The Executive Head of Policy and Communications Unit is Gill Bull who can be contacted on 020 8770 4552 or by email at gill.bull@sutton.gov.uk

The Policy and Communications Unit plays a key role in shaping and supporting the development of the strategic direction of the London Borough of Sutton.  Over the past year we have made progress on a number of important initiatives including the launch of our new economic development strategy, the development of the Sutton Partnership, the introduction of new scrutiny arrangements, the establishment of the new local committees and the further development of our corporate performance management framework.

In terms of our economic renewal and regeneration work we want to see real progress in the delivery of the Economic Strategy with high profile projects such as the town centre renewal work beginning to take shape. A priority will be the further development of our sub-regional and regional relationships so we can extend and deepen our influence and improving further the links with the local strategic partnership and local area agreement.  Over the coming year we will also see the fruition of the early stages of our section 106 and public realm improvements through our work with local committees.   

For the Policy and Partnerships team we must ensure that we continue to deliver and embed the many changes that were introduced last year. We need to develop further our community engagement and consultation priorities to ensure the high standards we set for ourselves are delivered but also that we are able to act as an exemplar to our partners.  We must continue to develop high standards for scrutiny and drive forward the further development of our local committees. We are committed to leading the achievement of Level 4 of the local government equality standard and further developing our programme and project management arrangements.   

There are three key areas of activity for the business unit:

Corporate and strategic planning  

• Development of the Sutton Plan, Local Strategic Partnership and local area agreement
• Developing the new framework for community engagement and consultation
• Economic renewal and regeneration
• Strategic communications
• Embedding and mainstreaming equality and diversity priorities  

Delivery of strategic and corporate services 

• Supporting  the corporate and political leadership of the Council through the Leadership Office, the Chief Executive’s Office and the Opposition Office
• Management and development of relationships with the voluntary sector
• Economic renewal action plan, town centre renewal and delivery of section 106 and public realm regimes through local committees
• Successful delivery of the local area agreement
• Improving the quality, consistency and coherence of consultation activity
• Delivery of external and internal communications services
• Manage the Corporate Customer Care Team

• using performance management consistently and effectively to drive continuous improvement
• Management and delivery of the corporate performance management framework
• Contributing to service reviews and identifying areas for improvement
• Supporting scrutiny to further enhance performance
• Championing programme and project-based working.

The four teams which comprise the unit are:

1.  Corporate Policy and Partnerships

Head of Corporate Policy and Partnerships:  John Sharples (john.sharples@sutton.gov.uk)

The team's purpose is to take forward and help set the council's strategic priorities. The two broad elements of its work are policy direction - this involves working closely with councillors and senior officers to set teh local agenda, determine priorities and interpret the national policy context; and relationship building which involves improving how the council works, for example by strengthening partnership working and embedding performance management arrangements.

The team has eight objectives in 2008/09.

• To ensure the council achieves a top rating in its 2008 corporate assessment and joint area review of children's services
• To make the Sutton Partnership a more dynamic vehicle for delivering the borough's shared priorities through implementation of the new Local Area Agreement
• To build the capacity of the third sector in Sutton, with a particular focus on commissioning (see Consultation on the draft commissioning framework)
• To achieve Level 4 of the Equality Standard by March 2009
• To implement the council's community engagement strategy
• To further develop and embed the council's scrutiny function
• To introduce a new performance management system and maintain Tracker
• To implement new programme and project management culture across the organisation.

Find out more about these areas of work, please visit the CPP Team web pages.

2.  Chief Executive's and Leadership Offices

Head of Communications:  Robin Campbell (robin.campbell@sutton.gov.uk)

This team is responsible for internal and external communications. Key areas of focus for 2008/09 are:

• Making internal and external communications more efficient and effective
• Deliver a Corporate Communication Strategy
• Improving communication methods to make sure they are accessible and reflective of Sutton's community

4.  Economic Renewal and Regeneration Team

Head of Economic Renewal and Regeneration:  Corinne Stewart (corinne.stewart@sutton.gov.uk)

This team leads the council's work to promote enterprise, foster good relations with teh business community and create an environment that is conducive to growth. Key areas of focus for 2008/09:

• Improve the town and district centres
• Put the economic strategy into action with the help of new economic partnership groups
• Deliver a town centre strategy, and
• Raise the status of Sutton as a place to do business (see further information in our business pages)

If you cannot find the information you are looking for, please contact the council on:
General Enquiries Line: 020 8770 5000