Agenda item

The Panel received details on performance and financial information for services relating to Corporate and Communities, specifically:

·         Performance Information (PI) for Quarter 1 (April to June 2019)

·         Financial Information on Revenue and Capital Budget monitoring for Quarter 1 2019/20.

The Director of Commercial and Commissioning provided an overview of the performance and financial data, indicating that it was generally a very positive performance with an improving set of services being operated within budget. He reminded the Panel that this data provided feedback to the Strategic Plan. He added that the data was not however a replication of the Balanced Scorecard, but instead, was in a much more detailed format, and used to identify specific areas which required improvements in performance.

The Director guided the Panel through some of the PI areas, which required improvement. The Panel also focused attention on other areas of interest. A summary of deliberations is shown below:

·         Death registration and still birth registration appointments within 2 working days were currently rated as ‘red’ and deteriorating. The Director explained that customers were nearly always offered an appointment within the required timeframe, but that they did not always accept the appointment, as the timing did not necessarily meet with their preferences. Also, occasionally the delayed receipt of medical documentation could slow the process. Members were very concerned that this PI had deteriorated over the last two quarters and asked what was being done to address the issue. The Panel was advised that there was no specific underlying cause, and that staff were continuing to offer as many alternative appointments as possible to ensure an appointment within the timeframe could be achieved. It was acknowledged that certain times of the day were likely to be less popular than others for relatives and it was suggested that the staffing pattern may need to be more reflective of the service demands.  The Director suggested that he would arrange for a ‘deep dive’ to be carried out to look at the reasons for the deterioration. This was agreed with a report back to the Panel at its next meeting in November.

·         Stage 2 Children’s Social Care complaints in 65 days. The Director explained that there had been some improvement in this area, but an issue which impacted this indicator was that recruitment of the Independent Reviewing Officers with sufficient expertise to deal with these cases was a challenge.

·         Stage 2 Corporate complaints in 25 days. This area was rated as ‘red’ and deteriorating.  Members commented that the latest data provided in the graph was from March 2018. The Director advised that the performance trend for the complaints data was currently very static, but that he would look at providing more recent data.

·         The Panel was interested in finding out more detailed information about the Council’s Complaints procedures in general, including the range of statutory targets and how well they were being met. The Director advised that there was a wealth of detailed data available on complaints, and compliments, which Members could explore. The Panel requested that a detailed report be produced covering the Statutory Complaints Procedure, with an update on compliments and complaints received for all Directorates, for the December Panel meeting

·         Traffic across social media channels was an improving PI which, Members were keen to assist with in the wider dissemination of Council information through tweets and such like. Following a request, the Director confirmed he would arrange for the Communications Team to carry out some training on social media for any interested members.

·         A member raised the issue of how the Council monitored social media for inappropriate activity. The Director agreed to report back to the Panel on the Council’s Policy.

·         The Staff turnover rates were discussed, and the Panel was advised that the peak in March 2019 was due to the voluntary redundancy programme.

·         The Panel noted that there had been a 30% reduction in agency spend in the past year, due to a number of factors, including the recruitment of permanent social care staff (currently at a level of 85%). In response to a Member’s query, the Director assured the Panel that Agency spend continued to be a key focus and was subject to constant monitoring and a ‘deep dive’ to ensure best value. He stressed that some agency spend was crucial and that there would always be a need for some short-term agency spend on front line staff. Recently, the term of a few roles had been stretched pending the outcome of the Organisational Review. The Director highlighted that where it was essential to use agency staff, the Council obtained very competitive rates through a competitive process

·         Libraries issues, E books, E audio books and E magazines – The Director advised the Panel that the E issues had risen by over 40% compared to the previous year. He praised this service which was simple to use and was broadening the appeal of libraries to new users.

The Head of Finance reported that the financial position for this Panel for Quarter 1 was showing a positive and improving position.  There were a few areas of minor underspend, including savings achieved on the Place Partnership Limited contract and Quarter 2 was on track at the present time

The Panel was advised that ‘content and communications’ was some one-off work relating to professional advice in respect of children’s services complaints.

In terms of the Communities budget, there were no significant forecasted variances to report. The libraries savings were on track to be delivered.

The Head of Finance and her team were praised for the consistent performance and well-managed budget.