Agenda item

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1 October 2025 to 31 December 2025 (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 October 2025 to 31 December 2025.

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

The report reflected similar stable levels of performance as were seen in Quarter 2:

•       87% of the Council’s performance metrics presented a positive position against targets

•       10% were slightly below target

•       3% were under target

Members’ attention was drawn to two key areas where performance had been under pressure in the quarter — complaints handling and leisure participation.  Leisure referred to the number of swims indicator - this wasn’t a target, but being a trend measure it was possible to observe a significant dip in the last few quarters which linked to the ongoing pump issue discussed at agenda item 3.

Complaints Performance (referencing the improvement work – content source Project Update Report)

As Members were aware, some under?performance in timeliness and visibility of complaint handling continued to be experienced. This was a key issue which was a regular discussion at SLT (Senior Leadership Team) level and the team was working closely with the service to address this with the service. The wider corporate review had highlighted several structural issues contributing to this — including unclear accountable officer routes, inconsistent processes between services, limited corporate visibility of cases, and fragmented policy storage and data insight.

To address this, a programme of improvements was already in train. A merge had been undertaken of the legacy complaints systems into a single partnership wide triage record, giving much clearer oversight and contingency, especially for those with shared teams and managers. Work with PSPS had been taken forward to improve the website journey for customers submitting complaints. The Terms of Reference for the new ‘Complaints Clinic’ — which would focus on learning through feedback — had been completed and invites were being circulated. Housing Services had also strengthened their approach, ensuring managers provided direct responses to avoid unnecessary delays.

Further actions include developing a read?only dashboard for Assistant Directors, clearer routing to accountable officers, and micro?training for case handlers on issuing responses and tone. These steps were designed to improve both the speed and quality of complaint handling as Q4 approached.

In summary, Q3 showed continued strong performance in most areas with two key areas of pressure — complaints and leisure — but with strong, targeted remedial work already underway and strong communication between officers, SLT and members.

Members considered the report, and the following issues were raised:

·       Members queried whether the risk factors associated with the corporate complaints system were appropriate.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager advised that performance issues related to response times were being addressed and confirmed that no concerns had been raised by the Local Government Ombudsman, noting that all complaints continued to receive a response.

·       Members asked for an overview of the types of complaints being received.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manger reported that the majority concerned frontline services such as planning, housing and environmental services, and confirmed that data could be provided. It was noted that AI?generated complaints were becoming more frequent and could be more complex, although all responses continued to be drafted and approved by officers.

·       Members sought clarification on the meaning of the percentage of successful first?time waste collections.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager explained that the indicator reflected all collections completed without a report of a missed bin. Although the percentage of missed collections appeared low, the high volume of total collections meant that this could still represent a significant number. Officers agreed to provide figures to illustrate this.

·       Members asked whether trends in missed collections were monitored in cases where repeat issues were reported in the same area.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager indicated that such matters were treated as service requests rather than formal complaints but confirmed that environmental services and customer contact staff worked closely to identify recurring issues, particularly where road closures or operational challenges were involved.

·       Members queried why the housing benefit overpayment recovery rate had been above 100% across several quarters.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that he believed that temporary additional staffing had been used to clear a backlog, resulting in higher recovery figures in particular periods. Further detail and a timeline of activity would be provided.

·       Members sought clarification on why no data had been provided for the percentage of contaminated recycling in two quarters.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager advised that data supplied through Waste Data Flow was not the most reliable and significantly delayed. Discussions were taking place with Lincolnshire County Council to resolve the issue and ensure future data provision.

·       Members raised concerns about fluctuations in the percentage of corporate complaints responded to within timescales.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager reported that the dip in performance in the previous year had been caused by a lack of staff capacity, with only one part?time officer handling complaints. Following the introduction of partnership?wide arrangements, the team had increased to four officers, and performance had since improved.

·       Members asked whether there had been any consequences arising from the earlier decline in complaint?handling performance.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager confirmed that no issues had been raised by the Local Government Ombudsman and that there had been no increase in upheld complaints during that period.

·       Members commented on fluctuations in stall occupancy and homelessness indicators, noting concerns about longer?term trends.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager acknowledged the points raised and agreed to monitor the indicators closely.

·       Members questioned the purpose of continuing the indicator on total waste collected where no data had been provided.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager noted that the lack of data related to ongoing issues with Waste Data Flow and agreed that, if the provider could not supply information, the indicator might need to be reviewed.

·       Members sought clarification on the downward trend in digital service take?up.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager advised that seasonal variation was likely, and that further information would be sought regarding specific services used.

·       Members queried the dip in the number of discretionary housing payment applications.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager agreed to investigate the reasons for the reduction and report back.

·       Members raised concerns about the framing of questions within the workforce survey, noting that different wording could produce different responses.  Having recently received Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training, it was stated that information from this could be fed into the design of the survey.

o   The Business Intelligence and Change Manager confirmed that the workforce survey was being redeveloped and that the comments would be fed into the review.

·       Members asked about the significant increase in website visitor numbers.

o   The Business Intelligence Manager noted that the spike was likely linked to green waste service sign?ups but agreed to obtain a detailed breakdown of website traffic sources.

AGREED:

That the contents of the report be noted.