Agenda item

The Assistant Director, Corporate Services and Transformation presented the

Quarter 2 Corporate Scorecard for April to September 2020 to enable Members to review the levels of performance achieved and further consider the impact of the pandemic on the Council’s performance.

The Council has worked extremely hard since the pandemic began and were the only local authority in Nottinghamshire that has continued to deliver their Tier 1 and Tier 2 critical services without interruption.  The Council had also delivered a variety of humanitarian services across the District and had continued to facilitate many of their waste collection campaigns.

As at the end of September 2020, 71% of Corporate Scorecard measures were achieving or exceeding target or were within 10% variance of their targets. 61% of measures were also indicating an improved position compared to the same period in the previous year or were within 5% of the previous year’s performance levels.

The key highlights regarding performance were as follows:

Health and Happiness

·       work had commenced on the new leisure centre build in Kirkby

·       many voluntary organisations had benefitted from community funding especially through the Council’s ‘Feel Good Food’ project

Homes and Housing

·       service delivery to Council owned stock had been maintained throughout

·       prevention of 35% more households becoming homeless

·       99.6% of properties had received their annual gas and safety checks

·       the acquisition of 32 additional properties to add to the Council’s housing stock

 Economic Growth and Place

·       Covid Information Officers had continued to support high street businesses

·       an award of £6.2 million from the Future High Streets Fund

Cleaner and Greener

·       increases in incidences of fly tipping (most probably due to closure of local recycling centres) but showing signs of reducing in late 2020/early 2021

·       the success of the ‘Bag It’ campaign

·       a reduction of 9% in reported incidences of dog fouling and littering

Safer and Stronger

·       responses delivered to 2,500 reported incidences of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and nuisance (more prevalent during lockdowns)

·       increases in incidences of domestic violence and the recruitment of a Domestic Violence Support Officer

Innovate and Improve

·       the use of digital and online facilities had increased, in no small part due to the introduction of the Council’s new website and an easier journey for customers

·       the effective administration of the online Business Grants Scheme applications

·       the proposed enhancement of e-billing to reach more local businesses (currently around 50% of businesses are billed electronically)

·       Council’s staff sickness absence levels shown a reduction since the same period last year.

The pandemic had unfortunately had a negative impact on some of the Council’s critical functions and these were outlined as follows:

Business Rates Collection

At the end of Quarter 2, business rates collection stood at 46.1% which was considerably lower than the target of 53.8%.  It was acknowledged that it would be a long term commitment for the Council to improve and recover this current position.

Rent Arrears

There had been a significant increase in rent arrears due to many households experiencing financial difficulties and the timelines for seeking possession being extended from 3 months to 6 months.

Void Property Turnaround

Void property turnaround had slowed down from the target of 21 days due to difficulties accessing building/refurbishment materials during the lockdowns.  This position had now started to improve.

Following the presentation, the Scrutiny Research Officer took the opportunity to remind Members of a previous review regarding the implementation and impact of Universal Credit and suggested that it would be timely to receive an update from the Council’s Service Manager, Housing Management & Tenancy Services as to the current Council position regarding rent arrears and collection.

Scrutiny Panel A were also considering a new topic at its meeting on 18 March regarding tenancy support and the methods of support provided by the Council to tenants to sustain their tenancies, to avoid eviction and being made homeless.

Members then debated the following:

·       the methodology of data collection and presentation in the Corporate Scorecard

·       the current position with regards to recycling within the District and the inevitable lag of receiving current data with regards to bottle/clothing banks etc.

·       the importance of prioritising support for residents experiencing domestic violence and the key priorities of the new Domestic Violence & Vulnerability Officer

·       how the pandemic has affected the Council’s markets with acknowledgement that the Idlewells Indoor Market and Hucknall Outdoor Market has been defying the odds and performing well throughout the pandemic

·       recent investment in additional CCTV cameras for the District

·       recent changes in legislation and the resultant cessation of investment in commercial properties

·       options for the Council to bridge future funding gaps including programmed service reviews, digital delivery, a procurement review and changes to use of Council assets.

RESOLVED

that the level of performance achieved against the Quarter 2 Corporate Scorecard for 2020/21, as presented, be received and noted.