There are also five new Monitoring and Policy Development Panels that scrutinise their work and take an overview of policy decisions and service performance. The Council requires two overall priorities to be addressed by each of the five Cabinet Teams. Addressing the needs of people who are currently excluded from economic, social, cultural and political participation is at the top of our policy agenda. We want to combat poverty, unemployment, isolation and discrimination.
Social inclusion promotes the values of interdependence and community.
Social justice is to do with fairness. This covers many topics that are already the focus of work across the Council and between a number of partner organisations. Next Year, the Audit Commission is due to issue a set of performance indicators which cut across the work of different parts of the Council and attempt to add together a number of factors to measure the extent to which the quality of people's lives is improved. So, for our next Best Value Performance Plan, we intend to select a small number of indicators to gauge how successful our Cabinet Teams are in promoting social inclusion and social justice and helping to improve the quality of life for local people. We will consult widely with residents and with our partner organisations before deciding what are the most appropriate measures.