Agenda item

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1st April 2025 to 30th June 2025 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided members with an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025.

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

• Refuse and recycling performance remained under target, though improvements were noted;
• A Corporate Complaints Clinic was supporting services, with teams using AI tools;
• Homelessness prevention cases were improving despite challenges; and
• 83% of metrics were in a positive position.

Members considered the report and made the following comments.

·         Members queried whether the 10% target for Planning appeals was realistic and asked for the cost of appeals in real terms.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that the target was set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and costs would be investigated.

·         Members asked why recycling and composting rates were low and whether improvements were expected.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that improvements were anticipated with the new service model and data from Lincolnshire County Council would be circulated once available.

·         Members queried the contamination rate and suggested public education to aid improvements.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that the current processes did not support improvements, but the upcoming changes to the model would help.

·         Members noted missing commentary and requested clarification on abbreviations.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to elaborate on abbreviations in future reports.

·         Members queried how the housing recovery rate could exceed 100%.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager explained that some cases remained open into the next quarter and were included the figures for that period.

·         Members requested more specific data on fly-tipping.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to provide this.

·         Members queried low performance on Corporate Complaints and Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs).

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager explained that DSARs were complex and time-consuming. The data reflected that two out of six had missed deadlines.

·         Members queried the average number of days to fix damp and mould issues.

o   The Housing Property and Repairs Manager responded that the team had performed within the target of 56 days set under the current policy. The impending implementation of and adherence to Awaab’s Law would see the timeframe targets reduce to 5 days for surveys and 10-/15-day commencement time for repairs.

·         Members requested volume data alongside percentages.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to include this where available.

·         Members queried when a trend became an indicator.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that this was reviewed annually and that services were encouraged to set targets where appropriate.

·         Members queried the drop in swim numbers.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that this had been caused by a pump failure and would seek confirmation as to whether a repair had been completed.

·         Members queried the drop in Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs).

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager would investigate and report back to members.

·         Members asked for clarification on callback volumes.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to provide ‘requested vs completed’ figures.

·         Members queried the drop in call volumes and webchat usage for Q1 2025/26.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to investigate and report back.

·         Members queried increased average speed of answer.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that this was likely due to call complexity and would seek further data.

·         Members queried missing ticket data for the South Holland Centre.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager confirmed that the data would be provided after the meeting.

·         Members queried the drop in ASB cases relating to housing (HRA).

o   The Housing Transformation Programme Manager (HRA) confirmed this was due to cumulative reporting starting from the new financial year.

Agreed:

That the contents of the report be noted.