Issue - meetings

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024 (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 January 2024 to 31 March 2024.

In the absence of the Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications, the Leader presented the report.

It was noted that:

·       29.69% of the Council’s performance metrics presented a positive position against targets;

·       17.19% were below or slightly below target;

·       50% were data only metrics, and therefore used primarily to monitor trends

The Q4 Performance Report revealed areas of both improvement and decline since Q3.  Key highlights included:

·       Homelessness Prevention

·       Customer service

·       South Holland Centre

·       Assets

·       End of year collection rates for Council Tax and Business Rates

The following points were raised:

·       There were continued concerns around Fly Tipping however, it was encouraging to note the increase in performance in this area in Q4.  The number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued for littering continued to remain consistent.

·       Members queried whether the information relating to gym membership in Q4 was correct – officers felt that the figures were too low and this would be clarified.

·       It was likely that the move by Spalding Gentleman’s Society to Ayscoughfee Hall could only increase attendance there in the future.

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 that Council performance was properly scrutinised.)

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1^st January 2024 to 31^st March 2024 (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 January 2024 to 31 March 2024.

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager introduced the report and stated that a slight improvement was recorded compared to the previous quarter with a drop in the number of red indicators. Performance improvements and challenges had been identified in the following areas:

Homelessness Prevention

• It was noted that the key points had been covered earlier in the meeting.

Customer Service

• The metrics in the previous quarters had been significantly below target, however Q4 had noted improvements. Performance was below target for call answering times however this had improved; and

·       The call abandonment metric was on target despite an increase with the length of time customer phone calls were taking;

Housing Benefits speed of answering new claims:

·       Anomalies had been noticed with the Housing Benefit data for processing new claims and this had been queried with PSPS. Clarification was awaited and figures would be confirmed once received;

Occupancy rates for council’s other investment properties :

• This remained below target due to the continued vacancies at Butter Market and Short Street offices.

Car Parking Income:

·       Whilst this had failed to meet the cumulative target set, the target had since been reviewed with the 2024/25 budget, and along with the new tariff structure that had been introduced, it was anticipated that forecast outturn would be in line with the target;

Ayscoughfee Hall visits:

·       Visits to Ayscoughfee Hall had shown a considerable increase which had largely been attributed to the popular Night Light event, and increased opening hours; and

Gym membership:

·       This metric had experienced growth, although this was not accurately shown in the report and the data would be amended to reflect the true figure.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members queried the reason for the increased length of call times to the Contact Centre:
  • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that:
    • Customer Contact staff were focused on giving a good quality of service; however, the trend was that the number of phone calls had increased, along with the length of the individual calls, this was mainly attributed to the cost-of-living crisis with customer issues becoming more complex;
    • Many of the enquiries logged did not provide a digital option, there was a need to shift a percentage of the calls to offer more digital options, allowing Customer Contact to prioritise the longer calls; and
    • A post within PSPS was currently being explored,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9