We have agreed our Corporate Plan, which sets out our strategic priorities for the next five years, and have also agreed our Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Corporate Plan, the Strength of Gateshead is the People of Gateshead, identifies priority areas to guide our work to help deliver good outcomes for the people of Gateshead and to give everyone in the borough the opportunity to thrive. We are pledging to:

·       Put people and families at the heart of everything they do

·       Tackle inequalities so people have a fair chance

·       Support communities to support themselves

·       Invest in the economy to provide sustainable opportunities for employment, innovation and growth

·       Work together and fight for a better future for Gateshead.

Read more about our pledges

The pledges will be supported by priorities identified to help deliver the strategic objectives including good customer service, inclusivity, culture, good governance, continuous improvement.

Our approach to one of the other six priority areas  – sound financial planning- was also agreed at the Council meeting, with the approval of our Medium Term Financial Strategy. The strategy outlines our five year plan for ensuring financial sustainability and that services are resourced in the best way to deliver the corporate priorities.

Councillor Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council, said: “The last few years have been a particularly challenging time for everyone and this has had a significant impact on our organisation. However we are constantly striving to do everything we can to give the people of Gateshead the opportunity to thrive. By working together, especially in times of adversity, we know that we can still achieve a huge amount to benefit our local communities.

“However we are also working towards a sustainable budget position to ensure we can continue to help those most in need in the future, and this means we can’t always deliver services we used to or that people might like us to.

I believe that, despite the difficult decisions we will undoubtedly have to make in the future, our Corporate Plan and our agreed budget approach will focus our services in the right areas and in a way that is sustainable which is crucial going forward.”

Although identifying our approach, both in terms of priorities and financing, for the next five years both the Corporate Plan and MTFS will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that the needs of local people are at the heart of service delivery.