Issue - meetings

To provide an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2017 (report of the Executive Director Strategy and Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Strategy and Governance, which provided an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2017.

The Quarter 2 2017/18 Performance Report, attached at Appendix A to the report, provided councillors and residents with information about how the Council was delivering its services, and how it was progressing against its Corporate Priorities.

Quarter 2 saw performance improve in comparison to Quarter 1, with performance rated as ‘moderate’.  The following areas of concern were noted:

·         Staff Turnover – Staff turnover for the quarter was 10.97%.  Although well above the threshold, the figure was largely made up of leavers resulting from service reviews 

·         Cases prevented from homelessness per 1,000 households  - Although not a targeted measure, monitoring would continue, as homelessness prevention was a key area for the Council and overall cases prevented from homelessness had seen a downwards trend over the last 4 quarters.

·         Housing Voids – Overall, most of the housing void times had improved since the last quarter.  However, there were some performance indicators such as key to key for general needs and contractor times for general needs which exceeded targets.  These areas were being addressed.

·         Business Rate in Year Collection Rate -  The collection rate was currently 0.93% behind target.  Changes as a result of the recent business rates revaluation, and notification by the Valuation Office Agency of two large, backdated changes to business assessment in the rating list were largely the reason for this performance.  Monitoring would be undertaken and it was anticipated that the end of year target would be achieved. 

DECISION:

That the report be noted.

(Other options considered:

·         Do nothing;

Reasons for decision:

·         No recommendations are made.  The report is presented for consideration in order that members are aware of how the Council is delivering its services and how it is progressing against its Corporate Priorities.)

To provide an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2017 to 30

September 2017 (report of the Executive Director Strategy and Governance

enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Strategy and Governance which provided an update on Council performance for the period 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2017.  Areas where performance had improved were brought to members’ attention, as were areas of concern where performance was below the expected level or was considered to be worsening.

The Business Intelligence Officer informed members that performance had improved since Quarter 1, 11 indicators being green (55%), 3 indicators (15%) being amber, and 6 indicators (30%) being red.

Areas of success highlighted within the report included:

·         Complaints upheld – A decrease of around 25% of stage 1 complaints received when compared to quarter 2 last year, and out of 32 complaints received, only 5 were upheld.

·         Calls abandoned – A reduction by half from 10.15% to 5.31% since the last quarter.

·         Wait time in seconds – Average wait time in seconds across revenues, benefits and customer contact had reduced significantly since the last 2 quarters.

·         Planning applications – The performance of the planning team continued to be reported above target with 95.16% of applications determined within time.

·         Revenues and benefits – The performance improvements seen in 2016/17 had continued with quarter 2 following a similar performance trend to quarter 1, showing an error rate of 0.16%.  The rate remained within target and on track to receive 100% subsidy for 2017/18.

Areas of concern highlighted within the report included the following:

·         Staff Turnover – Staff turnover for the quarter was 10.97%.  Although well above the threshold, the figure was largely made up of leavers resulting from service reviews 

·         Cases prevented from homelessness per 1,000 households  - Although not a targeted measure, monitoring would continue, as homelessness prevention was a key area for the Council and overall cases prevented from homelessness had seen a downwards trend over the last 4 quarters.

·         Housing Voids – Overall, most of the housing void times had improved since the last quarter.  However, there were some performance indicators such as key to key for general needs and contractor times for general needs which exceeded targets.  These areas were being addressed.

·         Business Rate in Year Collection Rate -  The collection rate was currently 0.93% behind target.  Changes as a result of the recent business rates revaluation, and notification by the Valuation Office Agency of two large, backdated changes to business assessment in the rating list were largely the reason for this performance.  Monitoring would be undertaken and it was anticipated that the end of year target would be achieved. 

The Panel considered the following points:

·         Commercial Property Occupancy – Although indicators showed occupancy at 100%, members asked for clarification that the properties were all being gainfully used, and not purely for storage.

·         Could a new indicator be added to start monitoring rent collection for Welland Homes?  Officers advised that they would find out whether this could be done, and would advise members of the outcome.

·         Planning performance and time – did the Authority monitor why time extensions were granted?  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29