Issue - meetings

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023.

The Portfolio Holder – Corporate, Governance and Communications presented the report. It was noted that there would be some changes in presentational changes to the report to provide clearer information generally, and clearer indication of direction of travel of KPIs.  This would take effect from Quarter 1 2024/25.

DECISION:

That the contents of the report be noted.

(Other options considered:

·       Not to monitor performance – this was not recommended.

Reasons for decision:

·       To ensure Council performance was properly scrutinised.)

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1^st October 2023 to 31^st December 2023 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023.

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager introduced the report and highlighted the following areas where performance challenges had been identified:

• Homelessness at prevention stage:
  • A decrease in performance in this area was attributed to a surge in cases during quarter 3 which had impacted the capacity to open cases at prevention stage; in total 120 cases had been recorded, of which 37 were at prevention;
  • Work was taking place with partners, such the Citizens Advice Bureau, to increase engagement around prevention; and
  • A detailed communication plan around homelessness prevention was being put together which would be shared with the Committee when available.
• Customer Contact:
  • Performance remained stable and was either on or slightly below target in most cases;
  • A Customer Contact Board, akin to a working group, had been established to scrutinise data and performance in detail. Membership of the board included: the Business Intelligence and Change Manager, the Head of Customer Contact, the Assistant Director – Corporate, the Head of PSPS, the Head of ICT, the Communications Manager, and the three responsible Portfolio Holders at each Council. The following key areas of focus had been identified:
    • A review of the council website which aimed to improve the customer digital experience and reduce the volume of calls;
    • A communication piece was required to improve the signposting of specific queries to partners as appropriate, such as Lincolnshire County Council for street lighting, in order to reduce unnecessary calls to SHDC;
    • The implementation of online forms would be accelerated for high traffic areas; and
    • A Housing Repairs self-serve tool was currently in a test phase and was planned to be launched during April 2024.
• Governance:
  • Whilst both ‘Freedom of Information requests responded to within statutory deadlines’ and ‘responses to Corporate Complaints within corporately set timescales’ were below target for the quarter, a Section 113 arrangement from December 2023 had led to improvements, with 100 per cent response rates.
• Planning and Strategic Infrastructure:
  • The clearance of older cases had led to an increase in the percentage of all Planning Decisions that were subject to extensions of time (EOT). A strategy to implement a stricter approach to application delays was indicated within the report.
• Financial Indicators:
  • An underperformance of Car Parking income received against budget for quarter 3 had prompted plans to install new parking machines by the end of March 2024. In addition, a new car parking fee structure from 8 April 2024 would include a ‘Commuter and Shopper pass’ with an aim to boost revenue generation.
• Industrial Units:
  • Two Industrial Units had become vacant during quarter 3. Both had been advertised and one had received interest, however, at the current time, the market for office space was not deemed to be strong. All other units across the district were let.

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager stated that positive performance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70