Agenda item

SHDC Q1 Performance Report

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).

Minutes:

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 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Communications presented the report and the following issues were raised:

 

·       There was a heavy reliance on PSPS – what training did their staff receive and how was this monitored and controlled?

  • The Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications advised that all staff undertook a structured training programme, there was a ‘buddy’ system in place, and team leaders would periodically review and monitor calls.  Calls were recorded so, should any issues be raised by the public, they could be referred to and learning taken from them.  SHDC did not monitor specifically but performance could be seen through KPIs and monitoring reports.

 

·       Was the target for the KPI ‘Percentage of corporate complaints responded to within corporately set timescales’ too ambitious?

  • The Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications advised that the targets had been reduced slightly.  Additionally, there had been some staffing changes and a service review was also due which would result in a change to how work was undertaken within the team.   He had seen the results for Quarter 2, and the performance around complaints and FOIs had improved.

 

·       Performance against the KPI ‘Percentage of subject requests responded to within statutory timescales had also underperformed – what was the reason for this?

  • The Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications advised that this target had also been reduced slightly, and that the workload was dealt with by the same team that dealt with corporate complaints. He advised that the Governance and Audit Committee was considering a report the following week that contained further information on this area.  This would be shared and would provide further information on the type of requests whilst also showing the improving performance trajectory.

 

·       The Performance Monitoring Panel also considered the report prior to the Cabinet – how could findings from both committees come together to benefit the Authority?

  • The Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications stated that if any contentious issues were raised by the Performance Monitoring Panel he was alerted, and if any issues related to areas within his Portfolio, he would pursue these.
  • The Leader also requested that future reports reflect better alignment between the two committees, reflecting back feedback from the Performance Monitoring Panel in order that more focus could be given by Cabinet to the issues raised.

 

·       For two Environment KPIs – ‘Percentage of household waste collected for recycling and composting’ and ‘Percentage of recycling collected that is unable to be recycled (contamination)’, data was not available, and it was stated that data was recorded by LCC by Waste Transfer Station rather than by the Council, and that this had been raised at the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership.  Pressure should be applied to outside bodies to provide the required information more quickly.

  • The Portfolio Holder – Corporate and Communications replied that because the performance framework had changed, data was sometimes not available. The Communications Teams often undertook campaigns on social media and in the local paper advising which waste items to place in specific bags.
  • The Assistant Director – Corporate explained that the reason these metrics were included was because OffLog (the new watchdog formed by the previous government) would be monitoring them in the future.  Some indicators, such as these were currently missing data however, officers were working hard with the Lincolnshire Waste Partnership to ensure that the information was received in a timely manner moving forward, to feed into the performance framework. 

 

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).

Supporting documents: