Agenda item

Referring to the Agenda Papers, the Chairman invited questions on the Performance information provided.  The following main points were raised:

·         Traffic across social-media channels showed an improving direction of travel, with consistent and regular engagement.  With new leadership in Communications, the Cabinet Member was very pleased with the results and keen to measure its impact, although it was noted that some key messages from Public Health England had to be shared as received, out of line with Council branding

·         Council Communication with hard to reach groups during the COVID-19 response had been helped by the great partnership with District Councils, especially in Redditch and Worcester City

·         The Council’s communication strategy was agreed each year, with Cabinet agreeing up to 6 key messages to be shared with residents across all communication platforms, including social media

·         The Cabinet Member stressed the importance of communication urging Members to not only be local advocates but to also share the Council’s corporate message.  He commended the success of the Here2Help scheme as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular the Assistant Director for Communities for leading on it 

·         When asked if the 2016/17 Balanced Scorecard for Corporate Services on the Council’s website was the current version, the Director reported that discussions were taking place to revise the Corporate Plan, likely to incorporate a Recovery Plan

·         In relation to the deteriorating performance of registrations of deaths within 5 days, the Panel heard that the volume of deaths was not increasing, rather that there were 2 main reasons which were out of the Council’s control, i) a national reporting system had been introduced in April which was problematic and ii) registrations were reliant on a GP signed death certificate and these were often not forthcoming in time.  The Assistant Director hoped that improvements could be reported by Quarter 2, however, Worcestershire performance was not far off the 5 day target.  In addition, the Panel heard that in order to respect individual wishes, all burials had taken place in a timely manner

·      The dramatic increase in library e-issues (electronic books, magazines and audio books) was in part due to relaxed rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the collection had been expanded and widely promoted.  The new Digital Library Hub provided residents the opportunity to join instantly if they were not already a library member.  The Panel requested that all Members be provided with material to promote the Digital Library to their residents

·      Library usage had also increased, with Staff facilitating a number of online groups, appealing to a wider audience with great success.  This creativity was commended, although it was hoped that footfall in libraries across the County would increase again.  The Panel noted that libraries had been open for some time and although access had been limited, residents were grateful for the opportunity to have computer and internet access  

In relation to Budget Monitoring, the Head of Finance reported that the year-end position was very positive, with a 9% underspend in the Commercial and Commissioning Directorate and a 54.5% underspend in the Chief Executive Unit, with both areas having improved from the previous year.  The position was mainly attributed to excellent financial management, the use of COVID-19 grants when applicable, the effective use of contracts and a reduction in supplies and services.

In relation to Communities, there had been an overall underspend of 10.5% which was an improvement from the pervious year.  COVID-19 grants were utilised, for example when library staff were redeployed to support the Council’s Here2Help service.

The Head of Finance reported that budget monitoring of the new financial year was in progress and Quarter 1 information would be reported to the Panel in September.  The Chairman added that an overview of Commercial Services was planned for the November 2021 Panel meeting.