Agenda and minutes

Performance Monitoring Panel - Wednesday, 16th October, 2024 6.30 pm

Venue: Meeting Room 1, Council Offices, Priory Road, Spalding

Contact: Democratic Services  01775 764693

Items
No. Item

30.

Declaration of Interests.

Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting and leave the room without participating in any discussion or making a statement on the item, except where a councillor is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.

Minutes:

There were none.

 

31.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 242 KB

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on 23 July 2024 (enclosed).

Minutes:

 

AGREED:

 

That the minutes of the 23 July 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 

32.

Actions pdf icon PDF 222 KB

An update on actions that arose at the 23 July 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting and the tracking of outstanding actions (enclosed).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the actions which arose at the 23 July 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel, and the tracking of outstanding actions.

 

  • Members referred to action 21(a) 24.25 regarding their previous suggestion to visit the CCTV suite. Arrangements for the visit were currently being explored and members were encouraged to submit any further expressions of interest as soon as possible.

 

  • Regarding action 26(b) 24.25, members were encouraged to complete the survey recently circulated by ICT.

 

  • Regarding action 54. 22/23, members expressed further disappointment that responses had not been received from NHS contacts in respect of the Primary Health Care item from its meeting held on 23 January 2024.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development responded that he would escalate the issue.

 

AGREED:

 

That the responses to the actions be noted.

33.

Questions asked under Standing Order 6

Minutes:

There were none.

 

34.

Tracking of Recommendations

To consider responses of the Cabinet to reports of the Panel.

Minutes:

There were none.

 

35.

Items referred from the Policy Development Panel.

Minutes:

There were none.

 

36.

Key Decision Plan pdf icon PDF 183 KB

To note the current Key Decision Plan

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Plan dated 7 October 2024.

 

  • Regarding the ‘Rental of various SHDC sites for Battery Box use’ decision, members queried if the ‘6 sites within the SHDC boundary’ were those which had already received planning permission or whether these were additional sites.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development would seek advice from the Strategic and Operational Property Manager and report back to the panel.

 

  • Members referred to the ‘Land in Holbeach’ decision and queried whether this was on track to be made by 31 October 2024.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development responded that the decision would be made by the end of the year.

 

  • Members referred to the ‘Waste services delivery model’ decision and queried whether it would be subject to scrutiny prior to being agreed at Cabinet. Members wished to be kept informed on this matter.
    • Democratic Services would investigate and report back to the committee.

 

AGREED:

 

That the Key Decision Plan be noted.

 

37.

Q1 Performance Report 2024/2025 pdf icon PDF 268 KB

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.

 

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager introduced the item and highlighted the following points:

  • Q1 SHDC Performance Report 2024/25 was at Appendix A;
  • Q1 SHDC Trend and Insights Report 2024/25 was at Appendix B;
  • Regarding areas on or above target (green), performance improvements had been experienced in several areas including in respect of the Council’s investment properties and safety checks on housing stock;
  • Areas of underperformance (red) in the following areas were accompanied by commentary outlining progress and improvement plans in place:
    • Homelessness Prevention;
    • Corporate Complaints;
    • Subject Access Requests; and
    • Speed of processing new housing benefit claims.

 

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

 

  • Members were encouraged by the improved performance areas noted within the report.

 

  • Members requested that performance figures be stated as numerical values rather than solely in percentage terms. Where changes in performance was stated, such ‘as an increase of five’, the baseline figure also needed to be stated.
    • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager acknowledged this as a previous request. Information in the requested format was stated in the report where it had been made available with more work to do.

 

  • Members requested an explanation of the 108% performance in respect of homelessness cases successfully resolved before a customer became homeless.
    • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager referred to the commentary against this item which stated an overflow from the previous quarter. The calculation included all cases closed during period of the report (some of which had been opened in the previous quarter) against cases opened solely during the period of the report.

 

  • Members noted the increase in car parking income and queried whether this had resulted from increased charges or increased footfall to the town. It was important to assess whether the increased charges had deterred visitors or not. In addition, members queried whether the forecasted income had changed since the implementation of the increased parking fees.
    • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager would investigate these issues and a response would be circulated to members after the meeting. Visitor numbers would be included in future reports.

 

  • Members referred to the ‘Kingdom Contract: Number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued for fly tipping’ data and queried the notable increase in data for the Q4 2023/24 period compared to other quarters. Did this reflect an upsurge in cases or in enforcement activity? Following this, members requested a comprehensive report come forward to the next committee meeting in respect of the Kingdom contract specifically regarding performance across the whole district at Parish level and which explained the data variances.

 

38.

SHDC Peer Review Action Plan Update pdf icon PDF 348 KB

To provide members of the panel with an update on current progress against the actions that were agreed for the SHDC Peer Review (presentation enclosed).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the update on current progress against the actions that were agreed for the SHDC Peer Review.

 

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager introduced the action plan which incorporated the recommendations from the final report of the SHDC Peer Review follow-up and which had been circulated to Cabinet and the Corporate Management Team. The following points were highlighted:

  • The SHDC Peer Review follow-up report was very positive with improvement work specifically noted in respect of the Housing Revenue Account;
  • The following two key areas of focus had been identified to support the initial recommendations:
    • An urgent development of fully costed options for the waste services transformation options which considered all implications and enabled decisions to be made.
      • Regarding progress: focus work was already underway with a review of the findings and analysis expected to take place by 31 October 2024;
    • The establishment of a detailed three-year savings and transformation programme linked to the NTFS with Corporate ownership and accountability and with agreed delivery timescales.
      • Regarding progress: this action had been put in place with continual development undertaken by the Section 151 Officer reported to the Leader, Portfolio Holder for Finance and at monthly Senior Leadership Team meetings.
  • All actions listed on the plan would be tracked and monitored with colleagues and updates would be brought forward to Cabinet and the Performance Monitoring Panel as part of the ongoing monitoring process.

 

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

 

  • Members were encouraged by the positive report but noted the challenges that were raised.

 

  • Members referred to SHDC’s recruitment site and noted a significant volume of ‘fixed term contracts’. What was the reason for this?
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development responded that the reasons were many and variable including where specific posts were externally funded for a fixed term and where recruitment was needed to cover a secondment position; and
    • The Chairman added that recruitment and retention was being investigated by the Joint Scrutiny Task Group and that there was a desire to understand whether any underlying issues accounted for staff turnover across the partnership.

 

  • Members queried the recommendation to ‘adopt a Public Engagement Charter’ which stated this was awaiting adoption. Was this action completed or not?
    • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that it was his belief the action was now complete however this would be checked and confirmed.

 

AGREED:

 

That the update be noted.

 

39.

South Holland Centre Task Group Update pdf icon PDF 250 KB

To provide members with an update on the South Holland Centre (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture enclosed).

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which provided members with an update on the South Holland Centre.

 

The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture introduced the item which provided an update on Q1 and Q2 2024/2025 activities of the South Holland Centre and included the following:

  • Background to the report. The last South Holland Centre Task Group update had been received by members at a meeting of the Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel held on 18 April 2024;
  • Summary of the financial position;
  • Programme performance;
  • Assets and Health and Safety update;
  • Development of the offer and strategic planning; and
  • A marketing update at Appendix A.

 

 

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

 

  • Members noted that the income for Q2 was over half of the projected budget and queried whether an excess for the year was anticipated.
    • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture responded that the figure included sales for events scheduled to take place within both the current and the following financial year. The figures would be distinguished at the end of the current financial year.

 

  • Members referred to the previous question/response and restated their request that the receipt of information normally expected within a Business Plan would be helpful in order to understand and monitor performance of the South Holland Centre, specifically a prediction of the financial year-end position and its comparison with historical financial figures. As financial performance was currently monitored in arrears, this did not enable the identification of trends or timely mitigations to be implemented, if needed. In addition, some of the financial information stated within the report, such as the 2024/25 budget for ‘employees indirect expenses of minus £9,800’ did not appear to be meaningfully presented.
    • The Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture responded:
      • That the service operated within the council’s financial procedure rules and the figures were presented and managed accordingly;
      • That income received for events taking place in the following financial year would be shown separately in the year-end accounts and taken forward to the next financial year as part of the budget setting process;
      • That a breakdown and explanation of the employees indirect expenses would be obtained and circulated after the meeting; and
      • That the Section 151 Officer had requested that future reports to members clarified the direct costs of the South Holland Centre against indirect costs/recharges and thereby presenting a clearer picture of controllable costs.
    • In response, whilst Members acknowledged that the South Holland Centre operated within the ‘constraints’ of the local authority accounting process, they reiterated their request that the presented figures needed to inform members of the day-to-day running costs of the South Holland Centre and include a prediction of the current year performance;
    • Whilst the report was encouraging in part, concerns were expressed regarding performance trends in some areas. Members sought assurance that monitoring processes were in place which identified performance issues/trends early, thereby enabling the timely implementation of mitigations where necessary.  More  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

40.

Economic Development and Inward Investment Update pdf icon PDF 212 KB

To consider the Economic Development and Inward Investment update for South Holland (report of the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development enclosed).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development which considered the Economic Development and Inward Investment update for South Holland.

 

The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development introduced the report which sought to provide members with a high-level update on relevant activities, including:

  • S&ELCP Growth and Prosperity plan;
  • Business engagement and intelligence;
  • Business support activities;
  • Inward Investment;
  • Key Economic Projects and Initiatives;
  • Skills;
  • Strategic Engagement; and
  • Future Focus.

 

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

 

  • Members referred to point 8.1 of the report in respect of strategic engagement and queried SHDC’s engagement with Cadent following concerns raised from experiences at a local level, and whether the engagement with National Grid Energy Distribution (NGED) conflicted with the Motion ‘Preservation of Fenland landscape and Recognition of South Holland as a Critical Food Producing Area’ recently supported at Council.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development responded that:
      • Cadent were leading on a hydrogen pipeline network to service commercial activity, with a first phase focussing on a number of UK city regions. SHDC’s engagement with the organisation sought to raise the profile of South Lincolnshire as a key agri-food and logistics cluster and to link the activities of Cadent with the ambitions of the South Lincolnshire area; and
      • Engagement activities sought to influence the investment plans of NGED in respect of widening local power distribution within the district and the wider partnership area and therefore support growth. Such engagement did not conflict with the Motion agreed at Council as this related to the activity of the National Grid in respect of the transmission network and association pylons.

 

  • Members queried if there were any indications regarding inward investment for Spalding town centre, and whether engagement work with Boston College covered the Spalding site.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development confirmed both points.

 

  • Members referred to the Sutton Bridge Power Station and requested whether updates were known regarding its potential recommissioning.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development confirmed that there were no further updates but that the situation would be closely monitored.

 

  • Members referred to the ‘Spalding Gateway and Clay Lake’ key economic projects and initiatives at point 6.1, and queried whether activity with land owners represented new or ongoing engagement.
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development confirmed that the detail within the report related to a continuation of the same strategy from the same land owner, following the planning permission that was awarded for the site in 2023.

 

  • Members noted the 65% occupancy for ‘Hub’ building and queried whether this was on target. Were the businesses locally based?
    • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development responded that current occupancy exceeded L.C.C. targeted expectations. A dedicated engagement manager was in place to support and encourage businesses across the area to engage with the FEZ project;
    • A mix of local and national businesses utilised the Hub building as a base for local projects. This approach was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

41.

Visitor Economy Briefing Note pdf icon PDF 153 KB

To consider the Visitor Economy Briefing Note and its impact on the commencement of the Visitor Economy Task Group (Briefing Note of the Assistant Director – Economic Growth enclosed).

 

 

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the briefing note of the Assistant Director – Economic Growth and its impact on the commencement of the Visitor Economy Task Group.

 

The Chairman introduced the item by asking members to consider whether the approach suggested within the briefing note negated the requirement for the commencement of the South Holland Visitor Economy Task Group, which members agreed to set up at the 22 May 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting.

 

The Assistant Director – Economic Growth introduced the briefing note which outlined the benefits to South Holland of having a Destination Management Plan (DMP), and the following main points were highlighted:

  • That work had recently been undertaken to produce an overarching visitor economy strategy (DMP) for Greater Lincolnshire and the S&ELCP;
  • This work had culminated in the production of a Greater Lincolnshire Destination Management Plan and a ‘place-based’ S&ELCP Destination Management Plan which would be presented to the Policy Development Panel at an upcoming meeting;
  • The DMPs aimed to bring stakeholder organisations together (such as councils, businesses and communities) to ensure that the visitor economy was attractive and resilient for the future;
  • Funding secured by the destination management organisation ‘Destination Lincolnshire’ ensured that focus work could take place at South Holland with a clear action plan for the district. South Holland would be supported in the same way as other areas in Lincolnshire including research into the visitor economy, engagement with businesses and development and promotion of the area; and
  • The benefits of the DMP for the district linked with other developments including the new Cultural Strategy and the Heritage Strategy for Spalding.

 

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

 

  • Members stated that the Task Group was initiated to look into the visitor economy in the whole of South Holland. Each ward had specific history and a timeline of detailed action for the South Holland district was called for. Members wished to avoid the duplication of work but also needed to be convinced that the DMP would enable focus at a ‘place-based’ level.
    • The Assistant Director – Economic Growth confirmed that a piece of work had been undertaken for the whole of South Holland area. Visitor research had identified the strengths and challenges which were absolutely specific to South Holland;
    • The plan would incorporate an overarching vision but with a place-based action plan for each area with tangible outputs; and
    • Visitors would also be attracted to the area through the art and culture work funded through Arts Council England.

 

  • Members agreed that commencement of the Visitor Economy Task Group, agreed at the 22 May 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting, be paused, pending the outcome of the report being presented to Policy Development Panel members. The task group could commence in the future if members deemed this to be necessary.

 

 

AGREED:

 

a)    That the contents of the briefing note be noted; and

 

b)    That the commencement of the Performance Monitoring Panel Visitor Economy Task Group be paused, and that the task group be reinstated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

Performance Monitoring Panel Work Programme pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To set out the Work Programme of the Performance Monitoring Panel (report of the Assistant Director – Governance enclosed).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Governance which set out the Work Programme of the Performance Monitoring Panel.

 

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and highlighted the following main points:

  • Appendix A detailed the forthcoming meeting dates and expected items; and
  • Appendix B outlined Task Group information
    • As a result of discussions at the previous agenda item, the Visitor Economy Task Group would be moved to the pending items.

 

The Chairman and Vice Chairman stated that they would liaise with the Democratic Services Officer after the meeting to identify any pending historic task groups which were no longer relevant and therefore could be removed from Appendix B.  

 

 

AGREED:

 

That the Performance Monitoring Panel Work Programme be noted.

43.

Any other items which the Chairman decides are urgent

 

 

NOTE:            No other business is permitted unless by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the minutes, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were none.