Agenda and minutes

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on Tuesday 19 March 2024 (enclosed).

Members considered the minutes of the 19 March 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting and asked for updates on the following issues raised during consideration of the Q3 Performance Report 2023/24: 

• Regarding the ‘Customer Contact’ update, members sought clarification of the response given for ‘street lighting reporting’ as although the majority of street lights fell under the remit of Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) some were the responsibility of South Holland District Council (SHDC). 

o   The Strategic Operational and Property Manager stated that issues with street lighting which fell under SHDC’s remit, could be reported directly to the Assets Team; and

o   Other members shared positive experiences of using ‘Fix My Street’ to resolve such matters, as the specific ‘owner’ of the responsibility, either LCC or SHDC, did not need to be known by the person making the report.

• Regarding ‘Homelessness at Prevention Stage’, members asked when the communications plan would be shared with the committee.

• Regarding the ‘number of long-term empty properties brought back into use through council support and intervention’, members asked whether an officer had been recruited to deal with this issue.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager confirmed this was the case and that the officer commenced employment in April 2024.

AGREED:

That the minutes of the 19 March 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

An update on actions which arose at the 19 March 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting and the tracking of outstanding actions (enclosed).

Consideration was given to the actions which arose at the 19 March 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting, and the tracking of outstanding actions.

• Members referred to action 64. 23/24 in respect of the Primary Health Care Provision item and expressed strong disappointment that responses to member queries were still outstanding.
  • The Democratic Services Officer informed members that the Assistant Director for Strategic Growth and Development would follow up responses with the Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board representatives.

• Members referred to action 47 22/23 and requested that responses to actions be provided in plain English with the avoidance of technical language and acronyms.

• Members referred to action 70(a) 23/24, in respect of the Q3 Performance Report 2023/24 and enquired if a response had been received regarding fly tipping incidents reported by customers where the outcome had not been relayed to the caller. 

·       The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that:

o   The issue was a project for the Neighbourhood Services Team, rather than Customer Contact. On receipt of a fly tip report, Customer Services transferred the details to the Waste Services Team to be dealt with but there was not currently a system in place notify the outcome to Customer Contact;

o   The Neighbourhood Services Team was undergoing a transformation process which included a review of projects and systems. The issue raised by members regarding feedback to reporters of fly tips had been relayed to be considered as part of the review;

o   Although a timeline for any such changes was currently unknown, it was stated that 93 per cent of all fly tips were collected within three working days with those taking longer partly due to the submission of inaccurate location information;

o   In mitigation, there was encouragement for reporters to use ‘What3Words’ to accurately locate a fly tip; and the current ‘report it’ system was being reviewed to be less ‘text-based’ in order to assist with identification of any fly tip location; and

o   In response to a further member request regarding meaningful data, the total number of fly tips would be included in future reporting.

• Members referred to the performance of ‘Homelessness at Prevention’ and queried achievements made since the Prevention Officer had been appointed.
  • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that:
    • Performance had improved from when cases were first logged and closed in the ‘homelessness at prevention stage’. This figure reflected that the team was performing well; and
    • There had been some debate as to whether the metric which related to presentation at ‘homeless stage’ should be targeted as resources became limited when a person was already homeless. Nonetheless, the council endeavoured to achieve impact in the prevention stage and early intervention work was  producing results. Performance was being benchmarked against other councils and the national target of 40 per cent which SHDC regularly achieved/exceeded. SHDC had set itself an ambitious target of 70 per cent which may be reviewed.

• Members expressed concern regarding the ‘Cost-of-Living’ crisis and its impact upon homelessness. Instability in the private  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

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.

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At its meeting held on 9 April 2024, the Policy Development Panel agreed that the new Unreasonable Behaviour Policy be referred to the Performance Monitoring Panel as a potential item of interest for future review (relevant ‘Draft’ Minute from 9 April 2024 Policy Development Panel meeting enclosed).

The Democratic Services Officer informed the Panel, that following the meeting of the Policy Development Panel on the 9 April 2024, it was agreed that the Unreasonable Behaviour Policy be referred to the Performance Monitoring Panel as a potential item of interest for review on the Work Programme.

·       Members considered how the policy could be measured and suggested that a periodic report come forward outlining the level of problems experienced by the council.

·       The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that:

o   The data presented to the Policy Development Panel detailed the different types of unreasonable behaviour experienced by Customer Contact;  the number of incidents reported was significant however this was to be differentiated from the number of people deemed ‘vexatious’ which was low;

o   Data relating to ‘vexatious’ customers was reported to the Panel as part of the quarterly Performance Reports; 

An annual breakdown of figures could come forward to the Panel;

·       Members welcomed the suggestion that the annual breakdown of figures be presented to the Panel although it was stated that any emerging trends needed to be highlighted.

·       Members suggested that the provision of greater transparency for customers and signposting to correct information needed to be managed properly in order to prevent irritations and unreasonable behaviours escalating unnecessarily. Members highlighted issues encountered with incorrect information on auto-response emails and incorrect website links.

·       Members requested that their comments be circulated to the relevant officers to highlight where improvements could be made. 

o  The Business Intelligence and Change Manager would present member feedback at the next Customer Contact Summit which included attendance by Portfolio Holders across the partnership. Any actions which arose at the Customer Contact Summit would be reported back to the Panel.

AGREED:

a)    That an annual breakdown of Unreasonable Behaviour data be reported to the Panel; and

b)    That the comments of the Panel be noted and circulated as agreed.

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Plan dated 13 May 2024.

• The Democratic Services Officer informed members of the following:
  • That since the publication of the agenda on 14 May 2024, two Key Decisions had been published and one Key Decision had been added; and
  • That the decision to allocate grant funding from the UKSPF for South Holland District Council covered multiple potential decisions over the period up until March 2025.

AGREED:

That the Key Decision Plan be noted.

To provide the Panel with an update on Leisure provision (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture enclosed).

The Area Manager and Contract Manager of Parkwood Leisure Ltd will also be in attendance to deliver a presentation to the Panel regarding performance over the last 12 months and to answer member questions.

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which provided the Panel with an update on Q3 & Q4 performance for 2023/2024.

• The Leisure Services Officer introduced the report and presented the following summary of performance outcomes for the period:
  • Usage of the Castle Sports Complex, the Castle Swimming Pool, and the Peele Leisure Centre steadily increased in Q3. The Castle Swimming Pool site reported an increase in general swim, swimming lessons and school usage. The Castle Sports Complex site reported higher usage in class attendance, although gym usage reported a decrease. The Peele Leisure Centre reported an overall increase in all areas compared to Q3 2022;
  • In terms of sales, the Castle sites reported mixed results in Q3. Gym membership sales were below target for October but exceeded targets for November and December;
  • The Castle Pool sales varied month on month;
  • The Peele Leisure Centre consistently exceeded all sales targets;
  • In Q4, the leisure facilities produced strong results with increased sales and usage overall. Whilst the Castle Sports Complex experienced a decline in gym visits, the Peele Leisure Centre experienced increased sales and usage for gym and class visits; and
  • Membership sales exceeded targets in January, February and March 2024 at the Castle sites.

The Area Manager and Contract Manager of Parkwood Leisure attended to deliver a presentation to the Panel (appended to the minutes) which included an update on the following areas over the last 12 months:

• Introduction and review of 2023/2024;
• Memberships – Health and Fitness;
• Memberships – Swimming;
• Memberships – Swimming Lessons;
• Usage;
• Marketing and Promotion;
• User feedback;
• Challenges;

• New site – opportunities and challenges.

Members considered the Parkwood Leisure presentation and raised the following questions:

• It was suggested that posters/flyers be circulated to local community groups and libraries in Long Sutton and the surrounding villages, as not all potential customers engaged with social media.
  • The Area Manager - Parkwood Leisure responded that they did not exclusively advertise on social media platforms and recently flyers had been inserted into all council tax envelopes that were distributed to every resident across South Holland District.

• Members queried the catchment area of users of both sites.
  • The Area Manager - Parkwood Leisure responded that the membership system could provide a postcode breakdown, which would be provided to the Panel.

• Members requested that the marketing campaign for the Peele site be broadened to incorporate a wider catchment area to increase the current usage levels. Did Parkwood have targets to increase usage?
  • The Area Manager - Parkwood Leisure responded that:

§  This was dependent on what the usage was for, he explained the sports hall remained booked throughout the week, but was quieter at the weekends;

§  The gym had a steady flow of customers throughout their opening times but would continue to maximise usage;

§  It was particularly difficult to increase memberships at the Peele site, in reality the school site numbers decreased during Covid and had not returned to previous levels. Increased membership numbers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

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.

To provide the Panel with an overview of the Council’s EV charging provision within the South Holland area(report of the Joint Deputy Chief Executive – Programme Delivery and Assistant Director - General Fund Assets enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Joint Deputy Chief Executive – Programme Delivery and Assistant Director – General Funds Assets.

The Strategic and Operational Property Manager provided the following overview of SHDC’s Electric Vehicle Charging provision:

• SHDC had commandeered the car park EV Charging units in May 2023, alongside inheriting quite a few issues, which included difficulties with the contractor and the EV chargers; and
• Since taking on the EV charging units, the authority had made significant progress with MER, thus enabling a better working relationship. Many of the existing issues were down to misuse, for example, customers were not downloading the apps, and software problems within the machines. The authority would look to widen the range of EV units to span throughout the district, creating additional EV charging points, and replacing existing EV chargers which were coming to the end of their life span.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

·       Members noted that although the report was detailed, it did not take into account how the council had a contract which was not robust;

·       Members suggested that the council did not enter into contracts where it would be responsible for the maintenance of the EV chargers; service and maintenance needed to be provided by the contractor.

o   The Strategic and Operational Property Manager responded that:

§  Assurance was given that renegotiation had ensured that those issues would not reoccur and that a new contract with BP provided a more robust contract, with BP taking full responsibility for the machines; and

§  When a customer was charging their vehicle in a pay and display car park, they would still be required to pay the car park fee for the duration of their stay.

• Members asked how the sites were chosen for EV charging points and were they in the correct locations? Was the wattage at the correct speed to charge vehicles efficiently?

o   The Strategic and Operational Property Manager responded that;

§  The locations for the EV chargers were designed to benefit residents as well as shoppers;

§  Locations were dictated by the national grid and where the distribution network could accommodate the power supply;

§  The Strategic and Operational Property Manager was currently undertaking a project with the National Grid to decipher where EV chargers could be located, thus finding more suitable areas which more of the population could use;

§  Although the current EV chargers were 7kw this could extend to 22 kw depending on what was available on the grid;

§  As technology improved and the EV charger’s software advanced, the chargers would be more efficient and robust; and

§  The cost per kw would be negotiated to lower the price to be competitive with other areas.

AGREED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

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

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:

• SHDC’s scheduled of meetings 2024/25 had be confirmed. Agenda items had been populated into Appendix A, and Task Group into Appendix B; and
• Following consultation with the relevant Assistant Director, it was agreed that the South Holland Building Consultancy be removed from the Performance Monitoring Panel Work Programme.

AGREED:

That the Work Programme be noted by the Panel.

Members are encouraged to use this opportunity to provide input and ideas in respect of potential future topics to be explored by the Performance Monitoring Panel, as part of its role as ‘critical friend’ to South Holland District Council (member-led discussion to be introduced by the Chairman).

The Chairman invited members to use this opportunity to provide input and ideas in respect of future topics to be explored by the Performance Monitoring Panel.

• The Chairman commenced the discussion by suggesting the potential topics of ‘tourism’ and ‘untidy sites’, stating that: 

o   The tourism offer in the South Holland District would benefit from a cohesive approach to promotion;

o   It was noted that signposting to encourage potentially hundreds of visitors/tourists to explore further destination sites in the district was not evident. Visitors drawn to specific locations/events such as Springfields Outlet and the Matthew Flinders event in Donington should be made aware of other attractions in the district such as Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens, the Wash, Crowland Abbey and numerous churches and settlements; 

o   Whilst it was acknowledged that the district came under the umbrella of Lincolnshire Tourism, SHDC needed to focus on promoting its own offer; and

o   It was questioned whether the council was doing enough to promote the future of longstanding untidy sites.

The Chairman opened up the discussion to members:

·       Members discussed the Wash and noted that although the area had an array of wildlife, South Holland did not have the tourism facilities enjoyed by areas further along the Lincolnshire coast at Frampton and the Norfolk coast at Cley. Currently SHDC was not promoting the coastline or wildlife within the district. The King Charles Walk, a coastal walk, was recently opened and promoted on the adjoining Norfolk stretch. For South Holland District to compete, a range of facilities was required to attract visitors to the site/route such as car parking, toilets, and visitors centre with coffee shop. It was stated that SHDC’s participation in opening up the King Charles Walk would unlock future funding opportunities which would also encourage visitors to enjoy the wildlife, seals and the lighthouse as part of the experience. It was therefore suggested that tourism promotion be explored to benefit the district;

·       Members therefore suggested that a Task Group be set up to explore the subject of promoting tourism to/in the district. This was agreed, with particular emphasis being given to the various attractions, settlements and the Wash as discussed;

·       Volunteers were requested to form the membership of the Tourism Task Group and the following membership was confirmed: Councillor M Booth, Councillor L Eldridge, Councillor D Wilkinson and Councillor S Hutchinson. An invitation would be circulated for an additional member to join the task group.

·       Members suggested, as part of the task group investigations, that it be established whether a Tourism Officer post existed within South Holland District Council.

·       In addition: 

o   Members expressed concern regarding reported lack of assistance and support given to applicants from the appointed partner in respect of UKSPF applications. A report was requested to detail performance of the UKSPF and appointed partner; and

o   Members suggested that the Panel did not lose sight of the promotion of markets as an item for future consideration.

AGREED:

a)    That a Tourism Task Group be set up with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

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