Agenda item

A report of the Head of Strategic Support providing performance information for the fourth quarter of 2017 – 2018, in respect of the Corporate Plan objectives and key performance indicators.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support providing performance information for the fourth quarter of 2017 - 2018, in respect of the Corporate Plan objectives and key performance indicators was submitted (item 6 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Corporate Improvement and Policy Officer attended to assist the Panel with the consideration of the item and noted that the additional information regarding sickness as requested by the Panel at its meeting on 16th April 2018 had been included in this report.  Additional information regarding complaints also requested by the Panel at its meeting on 16th April 2018 would be included within the 2018-19 Quarter 1 report to be considered by the Panel at its next meeting.

At the invitation of the Panel the relevant Cabinet Lead Members and Officers attended to assist the Panel with the consideration of the item.

Theme 1 (Creating a strong and lasting economy) – red Indicators considered

In respect of SLE1-FP (1) (Ensure industrial units are fit for purpose) and Indicator BP2 (percentage occupancy rate of industrial units) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Property Manager stated that:

• the reason for not meeting the target was not a result of outstanding work required to ensure units were fit for purpose but reflected how businesses were expanding sufficiently to move out of the units.
• the type of units were originally starter units which provided a two year occupancy to businesses, but this had limited the expansion of businesses so a three year occupancy contract was implemented to enable businesses to expand further and to remain in the Business Centres longer.

In respect of SLE2- HOU (bring empty homes into use) and BP3 (number of empty homes brought back into use) a statement provided by the Cabinet Lead Member for Housing and the Head of Strategic and Private Sector Housing was read out by the Corporate Improvement and Policy Officer.  There were no questions.

In respect of SLE3-COS (take appropriate action to ensure the Borough is kept clear of litter) the Corporate Improvement and Policy Officer noted that there was a slight miscalculation in the report whereby the annual target was indicated as red in error and should be indicated as green.

In response to issues raised by the Panel, the Programme Manager stated that quarter 4 showed a contamination level of 3.3% but in previous quarters the contamination level had been 0%.  It was difficult to determine why quarter 4 was showing this increase in contamination and the situation would be monitored.

Theme 2 (Every Resident Matters) - red Indicators considered

In respect of ERM2-NS (provide funding and support to develop capacity in our voluntary and community sector) and BP15 (number of organisations signed up to the Dementia Action Alliance) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Communities, Safety and Wellbeing and the Head of Neighbourhood Services stated that:

·         the target of 15 organisations signing up to the Dementia Action Alliance was considered ambitious for 2017-18 and would be the same target for 2018-19.  The target relied on members of the voluntary sector to provide the capacity and the Council were considering ways to help and support this sector going forward.

·         the Council  wished to focus on increasing the number of dementia friends in 2018-19. 

·         progress was being made to establish a Community Hub at Thorpe Acre but delays had been caused by illness and complex land sub-lease negotiations.  The Council were consulting with the residents group with respect to its constitution.  It was important to ensure this large project was completed successfully.

In respect of ERM5-CIS (2) (undertake regular satisfaction surveys with members of the public to ensure improvement in those services that use Govmetric and Contact Centre) and BP14 (percentage of customers satisfied with the web service they receive for those services use GovMetric), in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Lead Member for Equalities, Member and Strategic Services and the Head of Customer Experiencestated that:

·           the customer satisfaction target of 52% reflected the way customers interacted with the Council online.  If a customer approached the Council face-to-face or by telephone it was possible to ask further questions but in respect of online transactions there was only one opportunity to get it right. 

·           there were online tools such as the Planning Portal which the Council had no control over.  It was noted that the Planning Portal was a national portal and although the Council did provide feedback, whilst ensuring the use of different browsers and devices did not affect its performance, it had limited influence over improving its functionality.

ERM5-COS (undertake quarterly resident satisfaction surveys to ensure continually high standards for Environmental Services) and BP5 (less than 1.5% of cleansing inspections falling below a Grade B) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Programme Manager stated that:

• the majority of main road verges were the responsibility of Highways England or the County Council.  The verges of the A6 around Loughborough that were the responsibility of the Borough Council were being cleared of rubbish twice yearly, though heavy traffic made this task challenging. 
• the Council’s website included interactive maps which identified the agency responsible for specific roads and land.  There was also an online form that could be completed to report specific areas, which the Council would forward to Serco for action.  It was noted that a difference in standards of cleanliness of roads owned by different agencies had been mentioned by members of the public.

Theme 3 (delivering excellent services) - red Indicators considered

In respect of DES-PROG (deliver the Customer Service Programme in line with the project milestones) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Customer Services and the Strategic Director of Corporate Services stated that the ‘digital post room’ model was operational and that some Services were already using hybrid mail.  The OCE project was the subject of a detailed report later in the agenda.

In respect of DES3-CIS(1) (upgrade and implement Avaya System for improved telephony and opportunity to offer webchat and call recording) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Equalities, Member and Strategic Services and  the Head of Customer Experience stated that piloting the use of webchat was due to start in Quarter 3 of 2018/19.

DES-CIS(2) (Pilot new telephony technology to investigate the potential for home working amongst Contact Centre teams) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Equalities, Member and Strategic Services and  the Head of Customer Experience stated that the pilot was now live, would proceed for a few months and be assessed.

Red Business Plan Indicators considered

Indicators BP2, BP3, BP5, BP14 and BP15 were considered alongside the relevant performance indicators.

In respect of Indicator BP8 (number of stall/unit lets across Loughborough market), in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Cabinet Lead Member for Loughborough and the Head of Leisure and Culture stated that the dip in the number of stalls let across Loughborough market in the last quarter reflected some of the exceptionally bad weather during January to March 2018. Rain and high winds   resulted in casual traders staying away from the market and regular traders recompensed if the market was cancelled due to bad weather. It was hoped this would encourage casual market traders to convert to become regular traders.

In respect of Indicator NI 191 (Residual household waste per household) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Programme Manager stated that:

• the Council were promoting several measures to encourage more recycling by providing smaller residual household waste bins to new development housing and offering residents a waste audit to provide guidance regarding recyclable items. 
• by providing smaller bins, it was unlikely to increase the length of the collection round as bins were often put out for collection irrespective of the volume of contents.
• providing a food waste collection service had been considered in conjunction with other local authorities but it was likely to alter the length between collection times of other waste collection services.
• the percentage of residual household waste collected per household had reduced slightly compared to the previous year.

Red Key Corporate Indicators Considered

In respect of Indicator KI4 (percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting) in response to issues raised by the Panel, the Programme Manager stated that the Council were moving closer to achieving the national target of 50% but changes in packaging types was making the target challenging to achieve.

In respect of Indicator KI12 (reduction in all crime) in addition to the information provided within the report and in response to issues raised by the Panel the Cabinet Lead Member for Communities, Safety and Wellbeing and the Head of Neighbourhood Services stated that:

• although the Police were directly responsible for this target, by working with a multi–agency partnership, different powers and tools were available to disrupt criminal activity.
• the council worked with the wider community where violent crime had taken place and also worked with the university to support crime prevention initiatives.
• although this indicator showed an overall increase in all crime, the Borough Council had seen the lowest increase over Leicester and Leicestershire.  Taking into account the size of the borough and the number of prolific offenders, this was a significant achievement.

The Improvement and Business Development Manager brought the Panel’s attention to complaints and sickness absence information within the report. There were no questions.

RESOLVED

1.         that the performance results, associated commentary and the explanations provided be noted;

2.         that the Head of Customer Experience be asked to consider the prominence of the GovMetric ‘smiley face’ symbols included in the Council’s webpages.

Reasons

1.         To record the information contained in the 2017-18 Quarter 3 Performance Monitoring Information report.

2.         Members considered that the Govmetric progress of 46% (target 52%) for Quarter 4 could be enhanced by ensuring the GovMetric ‘smiley face’ symbols were more prominently displayed on the Council’s webpages.