Agenda item

The Panel received details on the performance and financial information for services relating to Corporate and Communities for Quarter 2 (July to Sept 2020). In addition, details of emerging pressures and challenges for services, as identified by the Directorates for the 2021/22 Budget, were set out for Members consideration. The Strategic Director advised that in a few limited cases the figures included in the report had been for Quarter 1 rather than Quarter 2, due to pressures on staff and timing issues.

Performance Indicators

Sickness rates and trends

The Assistant Director of HR, OD and Engagement (Assistant Director) had been invited to provide an update on sickness figures and trends within the Council, and how these had had altered during the pandemic.  The Assistant Director gave a brief presentation (attached to these minutes) of the key figures relating to attendance management at work for Quarter 2 which showed that the total sickness level predicted at year end, based on quarter 2 figures, would be an average of 6.44 days per employee. This compared favourably to last year’s figure of 8.1 days.

The impact of COVID-19 would have had some impact on the movement of these figures, but the improvement had been very much part of an improving trend over the past few years. Three years ago, a target of 7 days per year was set and was now an achievable goal. The measures that had been put in place to achieve this were been based around a fundamental change to the approach for attendance management. Human Resources Managers had an increasingly proactive and preventative role and had made effective use of early intervention measures.

The Panel was informed that at the start of the pandemic the Council had received advice that up to 21% of the workforce could be affected by COVID-19 at any one time. The Assistant Director was pleased to report that this had not been the case due to the fact that the large majority of staff were able to work from home and for those who did need to work in Council premises, the buildings had been made COVID secure.

The Assistant Director reported that there had been regular communication with staff during the pandemic via briefings and updates from the Chief Executive, the Director of Public Health and himself. A dedicated Human Resources Guidance Team had dealt with day to day queries from employees and managers. Weekly update sessions had also taken place with the trade unions.

The most vulnerable staff had been identified at an early stage and following a detailed risk assessment had been given the extra support they needed. Mental health and well-being had been a key focus with a dedicated area on ‘Our Space’ with training and one to one counselling being provided where required.

Members raised a number of issues which the Assistant Director responded to:

·           In terms of remote working, staff had been supported with the provision of equipment to enable them to be able to work at home more effectively. In total, over 1,000 pieces of equipment had been provided.

·           The development of the information technology allowing staff to be able to see colleagues for meetings or on a one to one has been extensively used and had been a huge bonus.

·           It was highlighted that the shorter days and dark evenings did not help with being isolated at home. The Assistant Director advised that they were aware that some employees were starting to find the isolation increasingly difficult now and signs of stress were becoming more evident.  A Well-being Strategy was currently being developed which would help to support staff through the next few months.

·           In response to a question about how new employees were inducted into the organisation, the Panel was informed that all recruitment had been online since March and that a virtual induction programme had been developed, with some face to face time where appropriate.  It was noted that a Strategic Director and three Assistant Directors had been inducted successfully online. They had been involved early on in a range of online meetings to aid their understanding of the Council’s infrastructure and had met their Teams of staff virtually, to gain an awareness of roles and activities. The Strategic Director added that it had proved crucial that they were all self-starters and were keen to make a difference. He also highlighted that the benefit of having friendly colleagues across the Council had very much helped all new employees to settle in more easily. The Panel was advised that this was an evolving process with induction procedures being enhanced as experience was gained.

·           Feedback from new starters about their experience was carried out by a variety of means. In the recent staff survey, employees were specifically asked what was working well for them, whether their expectations were met etc. New apprentices starting during lockdown had received dedicated one to one support through the Vocational and Accreditation Team. 

·           It was questioned whether the figures included in the sickness rate and staff turnover graphs were cumulative totals and the Assistant Director advised that they appeared to be cumulative totals for this stage in the year, but that an explanatory note would be included in the next report to provide more detail.

The Cabinet Member with responsibility (CMR) for Transformation and Commissioning thanked the Assistant Director and his Team for all their hard work and for the support they have given to staff during the pandemic. The Chairman added the Panel’s appreciation.

Registration and Coroner’s Services

·           The Chairman thanked the Officers for the enhanced descriptions included with these indicators.

·           Registration of deaths within 5 days was showing as red and deteriorating. The Assistant Director for Communities explained that there were sufficient appointments available for death registration and whilst acknowledging the additional pressures currently on GP surgeries, there was a reliance on them sending through the death certificates promptly. There had however, been some improvement this month.

·           Coroners Inquests – it was noted that there was a backlog of cases waiting for an Inquest date. The Assistant Director advised that some inquests were now being carried out online, but the Panel would be provided with details of the backlog, including the numbers and length of delay.

·           Marriage and Civil Partnership ceremonies – there was a much-reduced income for this area as ceremonies were currently not allowed during lockdown.

·           The CMR for Communities praised the commitment of the Registration staff who were now back on track with birth registrations, having recently completed 800 registrations in one week.

Communications and Consumer Relations

·           The Panel was informed that the complaints indicators related to quarter 1 as opposed to quarter 2. A Member asked whether lessons were being learnt as to why there were delays in the completion of complaints. The Strategic Director advised that the increasing complexity of complaints was a key factor. In addition, the pace of investigations was being affected with Officers across the Council having COVID related issues taking priority over their time.  A full report was due to be presented to the Panel in January.

·           Communications with residents and staff was at an all time high. The Communications team had carried out an outstanding job, using innovative means of getting the messages across. The Chairman thanked the Team and also the Cabinet Members for the significant role that they performed in this area.

ICT

·           It was highlighted that there was great progress in ensuring that there was an increasingly resilient Local Area Network infrastructure in place, which had been enhanced further by a stronger firewall which had been installed in recent weeks.

·           The Chairman offered his congratulations to the ICT teams for their efforts this year in very ably supporting the fundamental shift in working patterns.

Corporate Information Management Unit (CIMU)

·           The Panel welcomed the new performance indicator setting out the timeliness of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Environmental Information requests (EIR) and Subject Access Requests (SAR’s). They queried the deadlines that the performance was measured against. The Strategic Director advised this was 20 days for FOI/EIR requests and 30 days for SAR’s. It was requested that this information be included in future reports to aid understanding.

·           The Strategic Director advised that the Team were currently working on categorising the FOI’s, details of which would be included in the next report.

·           A Member queried whether the data collected to respond to a request was made available to other interested parties. Following the previous Panel meeting when this issue had been raised, the Strategic Director advised that he had asked that a review take place to ensure that data was readily available, to reduce duplication of efforts.

Libraries & Museums

·           The Assistant Director advised that in line with national guidelines, libraries continued to be open during this second lockdown for a click and collect service and to allow access to pre-booked computer slots.

·           The Chairman queried whether corporate sponsorship was permissible to support some of the library services? The Assistant Director explained that there was a statutory duty to provide libraries free to the public at the point of delivery. She stressed, however, that they were always keen at looking to generate income through grants and such like to be able to provide extra services and courses.

·           The CMR for Communities praised the innovative work being carried out by the libraries team to support local residents’ well-being. Connect bubbles was a new idea to link people together who were isolating, via creative and engaging activities.

·           Members were informed that the Worcester Museum Service had won a Cultural Bid of £96,000 to enable digital work to be progressed in three of the County’s museums.

Countryside Standards

·           Members were pleased that the country parks were being very well used by residents during this time. They were, however, dismayed to learn that this had resulted in excess littering and fly tipping. They suggested that a targeted media message might be timely as a reminder to residents that whilst enjoying the facilities and open spaces, they also had the responsibility to treat them with respect.

·           The Assistant Director praised the Countryside Team for their additional efforts to ensure that the standards were maintained.

Financial Issues

The Panel was informed that the overall forecast for CoACH was an underspend of £559,000 and for the Chief Executive’s Unit, £113,000. The Strategic Director commented that the very positive quarter 2 figures were the result of ongoing sustained efforts to continually try to over-achieve against budget. The Head of Finance added that value for money was the key focus for all areas, to ensure that client needs were being met, but on the basis of essential spend only.

A major underspend was highlighted relating to property services where the variance was -55.5.%.  This related to reduced contract expenditure and a reduction in planned works for administration buildings.

The Panel was reminded that the forecasted position excluded the impact of COVID-19, which was anticipated to be funded via various external funding sources, the most significant of which was the Central Government COVID -19 grant. The Strategic Director commented that this area was particularly complex, and he commended his finance colleagues for their work in this area.

In terms of emerging pressures, the Panel had received details of key areas currently being reviewed by Directorates, including the likely impacts from COVID-19 and Brexit. In addition to these, the Panel was reminded that the usual annual issues such as rent, or salary increases would need to be factored in.