Delivery Plan 2025 to 2027
Delivery Plan 2025 to 2027Introduction
Cumberland Council agreed our first council plan in November 2022, in advance of the creation of the new council in April 2023. This enabled us to focus on delivery of the ambitions set out in the Council Plan 2023 to 2027 from day one of our new council coming into being. We quickly put in place the first Delivery Plan and Performance Management Framework which set out the key activities we would carry out to deliver against the Council Plan ambitions, and how we would measure whether we were achieving them or not. These were agreed by the executive in January 2024.
We have successfully delivered against the priorities in our delivery plan over the last 18 months, and this new Delivery Plan sets out a refreshed set of programmes and success measures for the next 2 years.
This Delivery Plan is focused on delivering against our Council Plan priorities, highlighting the key things that will help us achieve and track progress against those priorities. The Delivery Plan is intentionally short and focussed. It is not intended to describe everything we do as a council. We deliver a vast range of services - from highways maintenance to childrens services, entertainment licences to adult social care, waste collection to public health. The daily delivery of all of the council’s essential services is of course also vital and we will always strive to ensure that those services are continuously improving and serving the needs of our communities.
Our ambitions
Our ambitionsOur vision
Cumberland Council takes a fresh approach to the delivery of inclusive services that are shaped by our residents and communities.
By enabling positive outcomes for health and wellbeing, prosperity and the environment we will fulfil the potential of our people and our area.
Our aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents.
It is at the heart of everything that we do.
Our central aim of improving health and wellbeing has 4 areas of key focus:
- local economies that work for local people
- environment resilience and climate emergency
- delivering excellent public services
- addressing inequalities
Our achievements
Our achievementsDuring the first two years at Cumberland Council we have begun the work, with our residents and our partner organisations, to improve services across Cumberland and deliver the ambitions set out in our first Council Plan. Over the last two years we have achieved a significant amount as a new council, providing and improving services to our residents, and improvements to our area. Our achievements include:
Distributed Neighbourhood Investment Funding of £700,000 to community groups in Cumberland through our Neighbourhood Panels to support grass roots initiatives that matter to our communities.
Achieved a good Ofsted rating for our children's social care services reflecting the council's strong commitment to improving the lives of children, young people, and families.
95% of council maintained schools are rated good or outstanding.
Partnered with the DWP to pay over £40 million in housing benefits to 6,500 residents, alongside awarding £280,000 through 600+ Discretionary Housing Payments to support vulnerable households and prevent homelessness.
In 2024 to 2025, we delivered £22 million of support through our Local Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme providing relief to 18,000 residents in low-income households, including 7,000 pensioners.
Introduced 6 new bus routes using the 1st phase of Bus Services Improvement Funding.
8,743 pothole defect reports completed in 2024 to 2025 across our road network of 2,254 miles.
1.2 million items have been accessed through our digital library offer, and approximately 750,000 books have been borrowed from our busy public libraries since April 2023.
Responded to over 380,000 customer queries, including over 50,000 face-to-face interactions with residents.
719 grants for housing adaptations were provided in 2024 to 2025 supporting people to stay in their own homes.
94% of Disabled Facilities Grant customers were very satisfied with the service received in 2024 to 2025.
Launched the first of our new Family Hubs in Whitehaven, This is a partnership approach with health providers and voluntary and community sector partners, making it easier for families to access support and advice in one single place. The Hub has engaged with over 3000 children and young people.
Major regeneration programmes have made significant progress, including at Carlisle, Cleator Moor, Maryport, Millom, Workington and Whitehaven – footfall in Maryport has increased by 35% after £12 million investment in regeneration projects in the town.
Delivered a programme of 6 deep cleans and across our towns as part of our commitment to creating cleaner, more inviting spaces for residents, visitors, and businesses alike.
Over 146,000 people have attended 8 major events led by the council including the Carlisle Fireshow, the Workington Hall Light and Sound show and Taste Festivals. Evaluations for 4 of those events estimate local economic benefit of over £4 million.
Our Adult Social Care and Housing teams have been working to make sure that more people are supported to stay at home or return home after stays in hospital. This has included:
Increasing intermediate care beds from 12 to 28 and admissions by over 50% compared to 2023 to 2024.
Increasing reablement capacity by 51% in 2024 to 2025 compared to 2023 to 2024.
Provided 53 additional hospital discharge grants through the Local Authority Discharge Fund.
Transformation
TransformationIn 2024 to 2025 we also delivered Year 1 of our ambitious Transformation Programme to implement the council’s operating model and lead to improved financial stability and high performing services. We are now eighteen months into delivery of the programme and this will continue to be a big part of what we do as a council over the next two years and beyond as well. Some of this activity will be reflected in some of the work identified below in this Delivery Plan; however, the full Transformation Programme is closely managed and monitored through our Transformation Boards and Senior Leadership. The Programme is focused around 3 key themes:
People and culture, including the following projects: delivery of our future Cumberland programme, service redesign, focus on removing duplication and review of vacancies.
Technology and innovation, including the following projects: enterprise architecture, pre-front door (self-serve), remove duplication, enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management, digitisation and the use of AI.
Implementing the operating model, including the following projects: delivery of operating model, waste service review, review of Cumberland Care, robust project gatekeeping, governance, policy, training and contract review.
Our achievements over the past 2 years and our progress on transforming services provide a good foundation for this, our second Delivery Plan, which sets out our ambitions for the next 2 years.
About the Delivery Plan
Progress against the Delivery Plan will be monitored through a blend of key activities and performance indicators that we will report on quarterly and annually. Some actions may relate to more than one Council Plan priority but are listed against the most relevant one. Performance indicators fall into two types:
Key performance indicators - These represents priority service indicators tied to our Council Plan themes. They tend to be measures with direct data available to measure progress throughout the year. These are metrics the council has more direct responsibility over and reflect the organisation’s capability and capacity to deliver services to Cumberland’s residents.
Outcome measures - These are annual indicators centred on the Council Plan themes. They are primarily outcome focused measures that are longer term in nature and slower moving, reporting annually (often in arrears). These tend to be measures over which the council does not have direct control, but comprise a collective responsibility encompassing one or more key partners. As such they have been selected to demonstrate the impact of the Council’s contribution to work in delivering the ambitions articulated in the Council Plan. They do not have specific targets set against them.
Activities, milestones and measures
Activities, milestones and measuresThe tables below set out the key activities we are going to deliver over the next 2 years, and the measures we will use to assess whether we're achieving our Council Plan ambitions.
Theme 1: improving health and wellbeing
Every aspect of life - education, childcare, housing, employment, lifestyle, the quality of the local environment, and the type of community we live in - can affect our health and wellbeing at any point through our lives. We see this through stark health inequalities in Cumberland where our different communities can have very different outcomes.
We have placed improving health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. We recognise how fundamental health and wellbeing are to everyone’s lives and life chances.
Our areas of focus for the next 2 years will be on:
- prevention - breaking down silos
- supporting individuals and families with mental health issues
- improving food access and food security
- supporting young people and families, including the use of family hubs
- demonstrating effective leadership in the health system
| Activity | Milestone | Lead Director | Portfolio Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continue to develop the Council's Prevention Service to improve wellbeing outcomes and reduce service demand. | Ongoing | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | All |
| Explore the expansion of the development and integration of social prescribing services beyond the west coast. | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Continued implementation of the Active Cumbria 5 year plan to address inactivity and to improve participation levels for children and young people and adults. | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
Implement Phase 2 of the Council's Prevention Approach - implement opportunities to enable the council to better support residents who may be facing challenges linked to:
| By 31 December 2025 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | All |
| Continue to deliver the Live Longer Better in Cumbria Programme (Active Cumbria) | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Contribute to the development of the 'Our Health' Workington and Workington Place Partnership with a focus on public health expertise supporting a population health approach. | Ongoing | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Continue to deliver the Travel Actively programme in Cumberland | By 31 October 2026 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Deliver actions in the Cumbria Multi-Agency Suicide Prevention Plan | By 30 September 2026 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Work with partners (including education) to co-design a new integrated support programme for emotional wellbeing and neurodiversity for children and families. | By 30 April 2027 | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Launch an Emotional Wellbeing and Neurodiversity programme (children and families) pilot. | By 30 November 2025 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Public Health Customer and Communities |
| Deliver a 'nothing for us without us' approach with a focus on collaboration, lived experience, wishes and views, and co-production of services with children and families or partners. | By 31 March 2026 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Continue to implement the Cumberland Food Strategic Framework through Food Cumbria. | Ongoing | Public Health Customer and Community Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Provide strengthened strategic leadership for the local system supporting children and families. | By 31 March 2026 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Transform the 0 to 19 Healthy Child Programme in partnership with the new service provider and Family Help and Prevention Team. | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Deliver 0 to 19 Healthy Child Programme services out of all Family Hubs. | By 31 March 2026 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Maximise people's independence and get more people home by working more closely with the NHS through our integrated Intermediate Care Service. | By 31 March 2028 | Adult Social Care and Housing | Adult Social Care |
| Deliver the Cumberland Homes Adaptations and Assistance Policy through a new service model, Cumberland Home Improvement Agency, as part of our offer for better, more joined-up health, care and wellbeing services. | By 31 March 2028 | Adult Social Care and Housing | Adult Social Care |
| Deliver the Adult Social Care Transformation and Pathway Redesign project to improve the customer journey for those needing care and support. | By 31 March 2028 | Adult Social Care and Housing | Adult Social Care |
| Implement the Cumberland Active Wellbeing Strategy and leisure review, including the procurement of a new leisure contract with embedded health and wellbeing outputs. | By 1 April 2026 | Place and Economy | Vibrant and Healthy Places |
| We will utilise tools including our new Public Space Protection Order to help reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour on our communities. | Ongoing | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
Key performance indicators
| Key performance indicator | Target |
|---|---|
| Reduce the rate of cared for children per 10,000 | 92 |
| Reduce the rate of children subject of a Child Protection Plan per 10,000 | 50 |
| Reduce the rate of referrals to children's social care per 10,000 | 55 |
| Reduce the % of referrals to children's social care that are repeat referrals within 12 months of a previous referral | 21% |
| Increase the take-up of free early education entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds | 95% |
| Increase the percentage of Health and Wellbeing Team cases closed with reported positive outcomes | 80% |
| Increase the percentage of children who received a two to two-and-a-half-year review | 95% |
| Increase number of families actively using Family Hubs | By 200 |
| Increase the percentage of people who are discharged from hospital to their normal place of residence | 92% |
| Reduction in permanent admissions to residential or nursing care | 36 |
| Reduce the percentage of Care Act assessments that lead to no further action | 15% |
| Reduce the percentage of contacts leading to referral (adult social care) | 15% |
| Increase the number of discretionary housing grants issued | 540 |
| Increase the number of Disabled Facilities Grant issued annually | 760 |
| Reduce the average overall Disabled Facilities Grant wait time from referral to completion | 210 days |
| Increase the percentage of reablement service users with improved outcomes | 82% |
Outcome measures for improving health and wellbeing theme
- reduce life expectancy gap between men living in deprived and wealthier areas of Cumberland
- reduce life expectancy gap between women living in deprived and wealthier areas of Cumberland
- a reduction in the suicide rate per 100,000 population
- fewer drug related deaths per 100,000 population
- a reduction in the percentage of children who are overweight at year 6
- an increase in the percentage of adults in Cumberland who are active (active = active for 150+ minutes a week)
- an increase in the percentage of children in Cumberland who are active (active = active for 60 minutes or more each day)
Theme 2: addressing inequalities
Theme 2: addressing inequalitiesAddressing systemic inequalities and making Cumberland a fairer place.
Inequality is a significant challenge for Cumberland and continues to hold people back from reaching their true potential. Whilst on the face of it many of Cumberland’s statistics can look quite ‘average’ compared to national figures, we know that this masks some stark differences across our communities. And these have real day to day impacts on peoples’ lives and livelihoods.
We will work with residents and partners to challenge entrenched issues in areas such as health, education, life expectancy and deprivation. We will also take a proactive approach to delivering the public sector equality duty.
Our areas of focus for the next 2 years will be on:
- working in partnership and joining up services
- improving public transport - providing access to employment, education and services
- supporting individuals and families with income maximisation and equality of outcomes
- community cohesion across Cumberland
- Achieving quality education outcomes
| Activity | Milestone | Lead Director | Portfolio Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deliver the council's agreed Equality Objectives 2024 to 2028. | By 31 March 2028 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Adult Social Care |
| Deliver on the priorities of the Cumberland Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy. | By 31 March 2028 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Lifelong Learning and Development |
| Implement free school meal auto enrolment with first registrations to be completed. | By 31 October 2025 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Deliver innovative and aspirational services for children - providing the right home at the right time and delivering on the council's sufficiency strategy | By 31 March 2026 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Raise the quality of careers provision in schools, special schools and colleges against the Gatsby Benchmarks through training for the education workforce, targeted support and quality assurance. | By 31 August 2026 | Place and Economy (Enterprising Cumbria) | Leader |
| Drive more high-quality experiences with employers for students and teachers - with a focus on current 'cold spots'. | By 31 August 2026 | Place and Economy (Enterprising Cumbria) | Leader |
| Connect careers provision in schools and colleges to the needs of local economies - as articulated through Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). | By 30 August 2026 | Place and Economy (Enterprising Cumbria) | Leader |
| Support the Refugee, Evacuee and Migration Board in its efforts to secure safe and healthy accommodation. | Ongoing | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Develop a proposal to seek Place of Sanctuary status. | By 31 March 2026 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Develop an organisation-wide approach to community cohesion. | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Develop the new Cumberland Supported Housing Strategy. | By 31 December 2025 | Adult Social Care and Housing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Procure 30 new bus routes, and run a Rural Mobility pilot scheme in Wigton, St. Bees and Egremont. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
Key performance indicators
| Key performance indicator | Target |
|---|---|
| Increase the percentage of cared for children in in-house foster homes (including kinship). | 50% |
| Reduce the average time between placement order and match with adoptive family (days). | 145 days |
| Percentage of cared for children living in internal provision. | 60% |
| Reduce the number of days to process new Housing Benefit and Council Tax claims. | 20 days |
| Reduce the number of days to process Housing Benefit and Council tax change of circumstances claims. | 8 days |
| Increase the number of proactive or reactive interventions to improve private sector housing conditions (including advice only, inspection, licensing, empty homes). | 90% |
| Increase the percentage of people from becoming homeless within 56 days. | 55% |
| Increase the percentage of people who presented as homeless, and a long-term tenancy was secured. | 50% |
| Increase the percentage of Cumberland children with an EHCP in a mainstream setting. | 55% |
| Reduce the percentage of young people aged 18 to 24 with an EHCP that are NEET. | 8% |
| Increase the percentage of care experienced young people aged 19, 20 and 21 in suitable accommodation. | 92% |
| Increase the percentage of care experienced young people aged 19, 20 and 21 in education, employment and training. | 60% |
| Increase school attendance levels (all phases) for Cumberland Council maintained schools. | 94% |
| Increase the proportion of schools rated 'good' or better by Ofsted (all phases) for Cumberland Council maintained schools. | 92% |
| Increase the proportion of disadvantaged pupils with Good Level of Development at Reception. | 47% |
Outcome measures for addressing inequalities theme
- a reduction in the percentage of children living in relative low-income families
- key stage 2 - reduce the gap between the proportion of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils achieving expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined
- key stage 4: attainment 8* - reduce the points gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils
- a reduction in the percentage of children eligible for free school meals
- fewer households in fuel poverty
- a reduction in anti-social behaviour rates
Theme 3: local economies that work for local people
Theme 3: local economies that work for local peopleSupporting the transition to a strong, inclusive and green economy by focusing on our businesses, our people and our assets.
We want to enable the move to an economy that builds wealth locally and offers opportunities for everyone and people have the skills to take them. Overall Cumberland’s unemployment rate is below the national average, but there are significant variations across our area in both unemployment rates and weekly earnings, with serious ‘cold spots’ of worklessness and deprivation. Cumberland’s workforce challenge is significant – our declining working age population presents a major labour supply challenge and we have a limited pool of higher level skills spread across a large geographical area. The rural nature of our area creates accessibility challenges in terms of having the right infrastructure to link communities with employment opportunities. But we have some significant opportunities, not least our outstanding natural environment and landscape providing key current and future resources for the UK in recreation, green energy and food production, and the potential for future major investment in clean energy.
As a major employer in Cumberland we want to make the most of our influence - we want to achieve greater social value in public sector procurements, exploring more ways of retaining wealth within our community. We will seek to utilise our assets as a catalyst for economic activity, generating opportunities for residents, businesses, social enterprises and the community and voluntary sector alike.
Our areas of focus for the next 2 years will be on:
- enabling people to develop and build the right skills for the future
- developing the small business community
- progressive procurement outcomes from anchor institutions
- increasing affordable housing across Cumberland
- our town centres are vibrant, and we have a positive approach to culture and leisure
| Activity | Milestone | Lead Director | Portfolio Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Develop the supply chain by procuring and developing a Capital Works Framework for Cumberland that supports the Cumberland economy and is aligned with the future programmes within the council. | By 30 April 2026 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Implement a new procurement policy designed to drive transformation and build wealth in the local communities. | By 31 May 2027 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Grow the social enterprise sector in Cumberland by supporting and encouraging start-ups through Cumbria Social Enterprise Partnership | By 30 April 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
Progress St. Cuthbert's Garden Village Local Plan and special purpose delivery vehicle, including:
| By 30 September 2025 | Corporate and Transformation Services Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Progress early phases of housing delivery within St. Cuthbert's Garden Village. | By 31 March 2027 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
Develop the Cumberland Local Plan (adapting to new national plan making regulations in late 2025), including:
| By 30 November 2025 By 31 July 2026 | Corporate and Transformation Services Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Deliver a programme of Place Standard and Place Based initiatives which respond to the ambitions of our residents and drive our Neighbourhood Invest Plans. | 5 targeted Place Standard exercises per year | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing and Place and Economy | Public Health and Communities |
| Proactively engage in the national Devolution Priority Programme to inform decision-making on the proposal to establish a Mayoral Strategic Authority in Cumbria and subject to agreement, deliver the programme to create a Cumbria Mayoral Strategic Authority. | Ongoing (subject to legislation) | Assistant Chief Executive | Leader |
| Develop and begin delivery of an Inclusive Growth Strategy for Cumberland. | 31 December 2025 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Agree and embed the council's approach to Community Wealth Building. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Delivery of the Cumberland Sports Village to deliver a new community stadium and wider facilities for the community of Workington. | By 31 July 2027 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Deliver Place programmes in Wigton, Longtown and Egremont focused on ensuring places and communities look and feel attractive and engaging to residents, business and visitors. | Ongoing | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Complete Future High Street Programmes in Carlisle and Maryport. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Progress advanced delivery on Town Deal, Borderlands and Levelling Up programmes in Carlisle, Cleator Moor, Millom and Workington. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Develop appropriate delivery models, Special Purpose Vehicles and other partnerships designed to facilitate large pipeline projects such as Moorside and the Port of Workington. | Ongoing | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Development and delivery of the Connect to Work programme and the Get Britain Working strategy for Cumberland. | Ongoing | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Delivery of support and enforcement activity to coordinate town and city centre renewal programmes. | Ongoing | Place and Economy | Leader |
Deliver masterplans to stimulate investment and regeneration across two key service centres:
| By 31 December 2025 By 1 April 2026 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Develop and inward investment programme focused on a pipeline of strategic projects across Cumberland; and, deliver the agreed programme. | By 30 November 2025 Ongoing | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Deliver Wave 6 and Wave 7 Skills Bootcamp Programme. | By 30 September 2027 | Place and Economy (Enterprising Cumbria) | Leader |
Under the UKSPF programme operating within Cumberland, we will support economic growth by providing:
| By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy (Enterprising Cumbria) | Leader |
Key performance indicators
| Key performance indicator | Target |
|---|---|
| Increase the percentage of council spend with local small and medium-sized enterprises. | 40% |
| Increase the percentage of tenders advertised with at least 10% social value award criteria. | 50% |
| Increase the percentage of major planning applications completed in 13 weeks. | 80% |
| Increase the percentage of minor planning applications completed in 8 weeks. | 90% |
| Increase the percentage householder planning applications decided within 8 weeks following validation by authority. | 90% |
| Increase the percentage of applications determined by Building Control within statutory period of 5 weeks or 2 calendar months (with the consent of the applicant). | 100% |
| Increase the percentage of full land searches completed within 10 working days. | 65% |
| Increase the percentage of all highways defects completed within agreed response times. | 80% |
| Increase the percentage of pothole repairs completed within agreed response times. | 80% |
Outcome measures for local economies that work for local people theme
- increasing numbers of new businesses
- productivity gap to UK is reduced
- an increase in working age population
- fewer people who are long-term unemployed
- improved skills levels with more people gaining NVQ3 and NVQ4
- a reduction in the percentage of residents earning less than the living wage
- an increase in the proportion of all schools rated good or outstanding
- number of new homes completed
- number of affordable homes delivered
Theme 4: climate emergency and environment resilience
Theme 4: climate emergency and environment resilienceEnhancing environmental resilience by reducing emissions, supporting biodiversity, and transitioning to a green economy.
We are already seeing the impact of climate change locally, responding to and recovering from the devastating effects on our communities from severe weather and unprecedented flooding in recent years. The repercussions of inaction will be significant for our local economy, the health and wellbeing of our communities and for our services. Biodiversity loss is another key area of global concern and we need to work to protect our extensive natural capital and landscape. We know how important our open spaces and green infrastructure are for exercise and wellbeing and we will continue to make sure our neighbourhoods and open spaces are clean, tidy and safe, take enforcement action where necessary, and work to improve and protect those spaces.
As a council we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint as quickly as possible, but we know that we have limited direct control over carbon emissions in our area. This is where we need to work with others to identify opportunities, and to help businesses and residents manage resources better, including waste. We recognise that the impacts of climate change will impact our communities in different ways and want to help the most vulnerable with issues such as fuel poverty and the impacts of extreme weather.
Our areas of focus for the next 2 years will be on:
- increasing recycling rates
- taking enforcement action when it's needed
- creating an infrastructure for electric vehicles
- protecting and preserving green spaces
- utilising land to grow food locally
| Activity | Milestone | Lead Director | Portfolio Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Develop solutions to nutrient neutrality issues to unlock the 1393 dwellings stalled (as of 12 June 2025). | By 31 October 2026 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Procure an Electric Vehicle charge point operator and commence installation of charge points. | By 31 January 2026 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Deliver deep cleans to Wigton, Aspatria, Silloth, Longtown, Maryport and in Carlisle to improve targeted delivery of public space cleanliness and renewal. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Identify opportunities for utilising land to grow food locally through implementation of disposals policy. | By 31 March 2026 | Innovation and Commercial | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Use more low carbon materials on the highway to reduce the carbon footprint of the highways service. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Work with partners to support delivery of 6 hectares of new trees, woodlands and forest to support biodiversity | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Through partnership and facilitation of private investment, support the development of new programmes of investment, including at Moorside and Port of Workington | By 31 March 2027 | Place and Economy | Leader |
| Deliver the element of the Waste Collection Review which relates to the switch from 4 weekly paper and card collection to fortnightly in the Allerdale area. | By 31 October 2025 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Deliver the longer term element of the Waste Disposal Review that relates to identifying future commissioning options for waste disposal. | By 31 December 2027 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places |
| Development and delivery of the first Natural Environment Management and Recovery Plan for the council's own assets. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Explore a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to support a variety of different ecosystem service models. In the near term the SPV would seek to prioritise Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality opportunities. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Create a project pipeline of sites for the delivery of the Community Forest Plan. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Support the delivery of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy through the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership and the working groups. | By 31 March 2026 | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning |
| Develop an Integrated Water Management approach for the Carlisle area | Place and Economy | Environment and Planning | |
| Develop and deliver measures to mitigate the council's impact on climate change. | By 31 March 2027 | Place and Economy | Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places and Financial Planning and Assets |
| Put in place a Private Sector Housing inspection and enforcement plan to ensure private rented homes have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or above (exemptions will apply) which aims to improve the energy efficiency and quality of rental home, in line with the UK's targets for decarbonisation. | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
Key performance indicators
| Key performance indicator | Target |
|---|---|
| Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1 and 2) | by 18% |
| Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3) | by 2% |
| Increase the number of publicly available EV charging devices. | Target to be finalised following appointment of contractor |
| Maximise the percentage of bins collected as scheduled. | 99.8% |
| Reduce residual household waste. | by 1% |
| Increase the percentage of waste sent for reuse, recycling, composting. | 56% |
Outcome measures for climate emergency and environment resilience theme
- reduction in district wide emissions per person
- reduction in carbon emissions from transport
- reduction in fly tipping incidents (percentage change on same month a year ago)
Theme 5: delivering excellent public services
Theme 5: delivering excellent public servicesEfficient, inclusive and sustainable public services.
We want Cumberland to be a high performing council. We want our residents to benefit from excellent, efficient, and enterprising public services. In the first 2 years of the council we have focused on integrating four councils into one, ensuring that our services continue to be delivered effectively for all of our communities and partners, and on beginning our transformation of services. This has given us strong foundations for the next phase of work to help us move towards our goal of achieving long-term financial sustainability, and delivering high-performing services. We are implementing our operating model, shifting to prevention and early intervention and utilising new technologies and approaches to help us.
Our areas of focus for the next 2 years will be on:
- keeping residents and staff informed and engaged
- the harmonisation of services across Cumberland
- continuing to develop the Cumberland culture within the council
- people can access services easily
- our staff have the right skills and we help build the workforce of the future using apprentices
| Activity | Milestone | Lead Director | Portfolio Holder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deliver years 2 and 3 of the agreed Transformation Programme to implement the council's operating model and lead to improved financial stability and high performing services. | By 31 March 2027 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Develop and begin delivery of a People Strategy for the council. | By 31 March 2026 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Leader |
| Deliver the Libraries for the Future project: Delivering accessible, welcoming library and council services that support residents' wellbeing and economic growth. | 31 March 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Implement a 'place based approach' Community Hub model, which facilitates community engagement, alongside access to information and integrated accessible services. | 30 June 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Deliver apprenticeship, internship, T-level, graduate and work experience programmes across the council. | By 30 April 2027 | Corporate and Transformation Service | Lifelong Learning and Development |
| Develop and deliver the council's new ICT Strategy, as part of the Transformation Programme, to support a council-wide approach to technology enabled approach. | By 31 March 2027 | Innovation and Commercial | Digital Connectivity and Security |
| Develop the council's Medium-Term Financial Strategy to ensure a medium term sustainable financial position. | By 31 March 2026 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Undertake assessment against CIPFA Financial Management Code to ensure good financial governance. | By 31 December 2025 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Continue successful delivery of the programme to disaggregate identified legacy countywide services. | By 31 March 2027 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Financial Planning and Assets |
| Build a strong and stable children's workforce | By 30 April 2026 | Children and Family Wellbeing | Children's Services, Family Wellbeing and Housing |
| Carry out our first Residents Survey to understand perceptions and opinions of Cumberland residents. | By 31 December 2025 | Corporate and Transformation Services | Leader |
| Deliver the council's Community Power ambitions, incorporating approaches to co-production | By 31 March 2027 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Deliver network activity across all 8 community panels throughout the year and develop more robust evaluation and reporting mechanisms. | By 31 March 2026 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
| Through effective community development and member activity, achieve the full allocation and dispersal of the Neighbourhood Investment Fund across all 8 community panels. | By 30 April 2026 | Public Health, Customer and Community Wellbeing | Public Health and Communities |
Key performance indicators
| Key performance indicator | Target |
|---|---|
| Maximise Council Tax collected as percentage of billed. | 96.34% |
| Maximise National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) collected as percentage of billed. | 97.36% |
| Increase the proportion of complaints responded to within timeframe. | Target to be finalised for quarter 1 reporting |
| Reduce the number of days lost to sickness absence. | By 2 days |
| Increase the percentage of FoI and EIR responded to within 20 working days. | 90% |
| Increase the percentage of public health service requests (pests, noise, smells, food, housing conditions) responded to within target response times. | 90% |
Outcome measures for delivering excellent public services theme
- increase satisfaction with the way the council runs things (Residents Survey)
- Increase satisfaction with the way the Council keeps residents informed about the services and benefits it provides (Residents Survey)
Delivery, performance management and review
Delivery, performance management and reviewDelivery of this plan will be monitored on a quarterly basis through corporate performance reporting to the council’s executive.
Progress of the programmes and against the measures set out in this Delivery Plan will inform a review of both the council’s ambitions as set out in the Council Plan, and this Delivery Plan in the next two years.