Agenda item

The Assistant Director for Corporate Resources and Transformation undertook a presentation to the Panel in relation to the year-end outturn for the Council’s Corporate Scorecard.

Various methods were utilised to assess how well the Council was performing including delivery of the Corporate Plan, outcomes from the service review programme, feedback from the LGA Peer Challenge, the Place/Star Surveys and performance scorecards.

The Council’s Corporate Plan was currently being reviewed and updated and Committee were advised as to its main purpose and its influence on the Council’s allocation and prioritisation of resources. Members acknowledged the three different performance scorecards (Place, Corporate and Service) and their roles in providing key organisational and operational performance data to management as part of the Council’s Performance Framework.

Over the period of the current Corporate Plan (2016 – 2019) over 83% of corporate scorecard measures have indicated an improved position since 2015/16.  The outturn for April 2018 to March 2019 revealed that 88% of measures were achieving or had exceeded their target or were within a 10% variance of the target.  71% of measures had also indicated an improved position compared to the same period in the previous year or were within 5% of previous years’ performance levels.

To illustrate some areas of performance (via performance indicators) that were failing to meet their targets, Members considered five performance indicators as follows:-

·         percentage of household waste recycled and composted;

·         number of resident generated service requests received for fly tipping;

·         number of user attendances at ADC leisure facilities;

·         number of long term empty homes and derelict properties being brought back into use;

·         percentage of rent collected from total rent due.

Committee Members discussed the performance indicators and some of the mitigating factors as to why the areas were failing to achieve their performance targets as set:

Percentage of household waste recycled and composted

The reintroduction of garden waste charges in 2018 and a sustained period of dry weather and slow growing grass had initially impacted on performance.  However, subscribers were now increasing year by year and glass recycling rates had also increased. 

Number of resident generated service requests received for fly tipping and litter

The number of service requests to tackle fly tipping and litter had increased but this was showing as both a national and local trend.  Hotspot areas were being targeted along with the use of overt surveillance cameras as required and it was acknowledged that residents were now much more inclined to report an issue once spotted.  It was suggested that the performance indicator for this service might need to be updated to enable officers to reflect a more accurate picture.

Number of user attendances at ADC leisure facilities

User attendance numbers had fallen following the transfer of Selston Leisure Centre to the local High School, the unavoidable closure of the Lammas ice rink for maintenance works and the perceived uncertainties surrounding the longevity of the Festival Hall.

Number of long term empty homes and derelict properties being brought back into use

The number of long term empty and derelict private sector homes brought back into use had reduced by 16% but the performance had still significantly exceeded the target for the year.  The lower outturn figure reflected the work undertaken by the Private Sector Enforcement Team over the previous 5 years to reduce the overall number.

Percentage of rent collected from total rent due

Current rent arrears were £20,000 higher than at week 52 from the previous year, with performance affected by the wider roll out of Universal Credit.  However, the Council was still performing in the upper quartile when compared nationally.

RESOLVED that

a)    the 2018/19 year-end outturn for the Corporate Performance Scorecard, as presented to Committee, be received and noted;

b)    the Assistant Director for Corporate Resources and Transformation be requested to review the current performance indicator (PI) for measuring incidences of fly-tipping to ensure that the target reflects more accurately the national trend thus enabling the capture and analysis of more appropriate data over the longer term.

(During consideration of this item, Councillors Andy Meakin and Sarah Madigan entered the meeting at 7.17pm).