Agenda item

(Indicative timing: 11.00am – 11.40am)

The Chairman reported that the Panel was only interested in looking at performance which was below 100% and requested that future reports only report performance which was of public interest.  In addition, that actual numbers be provided alongside percentages to further understand the demands of each service.

Communities Performance and Budget Monitoring

A Member queried the deterioration in Countryside Standards Achieved to be informed that it would depend on usage, but Officers were not overly concerned.  Health and safety checks undertaken were anticipated to show an improvement in time for the next reporting period.  Further information would be provided outside of the meeting.

In response to a query on Marriage/Civil Partnership notice appointments, the Panel learned that Officers were trained to notice unusual activity and any potential illegal activity.  There was a low prevalence in Worcestershire, however, assurance was provided that checks and balances were in place.

The Assistant Director explained that the variance reported at year end, circa £0.7m underspend, was broadly as a result of utilising covid grants to offset loss of income within various elements within the remit of Communities.  A relatively small number of grants had been carried forward into 2022/23.  All grants were allocated for specific purposes and had to be used appropriately.

Corporate Performance and Budget Monitoring

Attention was drawn to the 71.5% response rate to a Staff survey, indicating an engaged workforce. 

A Member highlighted that traffic across social media channels was performing well above target each quarter and queried whether the target should be more challenging.  In response, the Strategic Director agreed to look at the target set and stated that he was keen to be pro-active.

Concern was raised that Council performance was not being routinely reported on the Council’s website.  The most recently published Balanced Scorecard was March 2020 and although regular reporting, such as the reports to Overview and Scrutiny Panels, were available, was there a lack of transparency.  The Strategic Director explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had paused the requirement to produce the Balanced Scorecard on the website, however, as the Council’s Corporate Plan had recently been agreed, it was anticipated that the new Scorecard would focus on the 5 areas of performance.  The Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Corporate Services and Communication explained that he was keen to establish what data was available and how best to communicate it in a meaningful way to residents, potentially in real time.  The Panel was supportive of this approach and the CMR encouraged all Councillors to share information through their own networks

In response to a query about performance in Local Area Network (LAN) availability, which had been reported as slightly below target for the last two quarters, the Strategic Director reported that performance above 99% was still very good and he was satisfied that there was no cause for concern.

Staff sickness rates at the end of 2021/22 had averaged 7.95 days per person (full time equivalent) compared to 6 days in the previous year.  The Panel heard that support was available for all employees and all policies had recently been updated, yet a number of factors worked against the Council, including employees potentially waiting longer for routine NHS procedures or surgery due to the nationally reported backlog in appointments.  Further information on sickness rates would be provided separately.

The Strategic Director reported the year end financial position for the Directorate with an underspend of around £0.8m, including one off savings as a result of reduced usage of properties, underspend on business support but overspend in legal services due to additional pressures.  When asked whether additional resource was required in legal services, the Panel was advised that this was under review to determine whether there was recurrent activity.