Corporate Plan 2004-2008 - About Us & North Lanarkshire

North Lanarkshire is at the centre of Scotland's transport system. The economy is changing as new businesses are setting up in business parks and business centres.

Like all organisations, we are affected by international, national and local influences. The world economy, international trade, economic agreements and Scottish, United Kingdom and European laws all affect our efforts to meet local needs.

Our last corporate plan set priorities and targets to meet these needs. As a result, we improved services and started a wide range of projects and programmes (many of which will realise their full potential in this plan).

The results of the Residents' Survey 2002, the 2001 Census and the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 have influenced this plan. Our policies and priorities also reflect those of the Scottish Parliament and the new community plan for 2004-2007.

The priorities and targets in this plan have been set with our anticipated finances in mind. We will continue to carefully manage our finances so we can keep an amount aside for emergencies while investing in 'frontline services' (services delivered directly to the public) and keeping Council Tax increases to a minimum.

All our plans are based on our aim to modernise and continuously improve our services. We will make sure equal opportunities, and 'sustainability' (giving everyone, now and in the future, a better quality of life) are at the heart of our services. We will use various methods to measure how well our services are performing, and we will report our performance in an honest and balanced way.