Agenda item

Performance Monitoring

The Assistant Directors for Transformation and Commercial and for Communities provided a summary of the performance information for Quarter 3 (October to December 2021) which was included in Appendix 1 of the Agenda report.

During the discussion which took place, the following main points were raised:

·      Referring to previous concerns about the poor performance of registration of deaths within 5 days, which had prompted a letter from the Panel (to Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group), the Assistant Director for Communities was very pleased to report that performance was now back on track; December’s percentage of deaths registered was 80.1%, which also compared well nationally.

·      The balanced scorecard was in the process of being reviewed to ensure it remained relevant.

·      Sickness rates were shown to be deteriorating, however the Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Corporate Services and Communication reassured the Panel that having raised this with the Assistant Director for Organisational Development, Human Resources and Engagement, he could report that performance was in fact improving and that the data, which related to 2020 would be updated to show the correct position.

·      The CMR also advised that staff turnover was considerably healthy compared to similar public sector organisations and was an area of focus corporately.

·      Responding to Panel members’ questions, the Assistant Director for Transformation and Commercial confirmed that as part of the Council’s sickness policy, staff were not paid for the first three days of sickness, although they could take up to two days annual leave; this was not typical of local authorities although there were a number which took the same approach.

·      A Panel member stated that she felt this was a bad policy, however another Panel member who was also an employer, felt that the approach mirrored statutory sick pay and was a satisfactory approach.

·      The CMR advised that long term sickness rate was currently an area of key concern which had been impacted by Long Covid-19; the performance data may need to be presented differently to clarify this, which the Panel Chairman agreed would be helpful.

·      In terms of any impact on sickness figures from staff returning to working in office on some days, as opposed to home working, trends had remained relatively static over the past three months although during Covid lockdowns there had been a reduction in sickness from people mixing less.

·      The Assistant Director for Communities acknowledged Panel members’ concerns about the fact that visits to libraries were half that of pre-pandemic levels. Regarding what was being done to encourage footfall to libraries and museums, she referred to press coverage and promotion of facilities. Social connection groups, which had paused during the pandemic, were being re-introduced in person. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the older population were using libraries less since Covid, however work was needed to explore patterns of usage, as well as looking at how to promote the various hubs and services available.  Footfall at museums was often low in January, however general figures were pretty good and there was ongoing events publicity, therefore this sector was less of a concern.

·      A Panel member congratulated Officers on the diversification of libraries so far.

·      When asked about the envisaged approach moving forward for facilitating groups provided through libraries, which had needed to move online during the pandemic, the Panel was advised that a mix of online/in person provision was likely to cater for people’s wants but also recognising libraries’ role in connecting communities – for example there were children who had never had the opportunity to go to a library because of the pandemic.

·      In terms of encouraging teenagers to use libraries, the imminent launch of career information and guidance for young people should hopefully help however it must be recognised that libraries were not for everyone; it would be important to focus on complimentary activities, for example being able to pick up a lateral flow test as well as borrow a book.

·      A Panel member made the point that there must be a degree of acceptance of changing behaviours in changing times.

·      The CMR for Corporate Services and Communication suggested that the next Viewpoint Survey should also provide more insight into library use, and pointed out that December figures for the hospitality sector had been affected by lockdowns. The CMR for Communities agreed and also pointed out that many people had moved to online groups during the pandemic, with some reluctant to return to in person approaches, and it remained unclear how to restore book borrowing to previous levels. 

·      The Assistant Director for Communities did not believe that data on libraries showed any trends from before the pandemic which were relevant to the discussion, but would check.

·      The Chairman agreed that work to understand the different patterns of library visits would help further the discussion, since it was important to look into the reduced number of visits to libraries, and the Panel would like to consider the findings later in year, with July suggested. In acknowledging the request, the Assistant Director cautioned that whilst some data could be collected through automated systems, other information would be more resource intensive.

In-Year Budget Monitoring

The Head of Finance drew the Panel’s attention to the financial information for Quarter 3, summarised in Appendix 2 of the Agenda report.  A change to this reporting cycle was that the area of Communities and Partnerships was now being reported to the Panel (rather than to the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel).

During the discussion which took place, the following main points were raised:

·      A Panel member asked for budget information for the new library planned for Redditch and the Head of Finance advised that this was not yet available, and was subject to negotiations.

·      The Panel Chairman reminded members that plans for Redditch library were due to be discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board on 23 March, which everyone was welcome to attend.

·      The Chairman asked why the area of Communities and Partnerships now reported to this Panel and the Assistant Director for Communities explained that much of the activity involved related to Here2Help which was part of communities.