Agenda item

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to consider the report of the Head of Business Development and Improvement which provides a progress update on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-20, as measured by a combination of progress against priority projects/high level actions and performance against KPIs.

The Committee received the report of the Head of Business Development and Improvement which asked the Committee to consider the contents and make any comments on the Council’s performance.

The quarterly performance report provided a progress update on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-20 as measured by a combination of progress against priority projects/high level actions and performance against KPIs. The report also included a year-end summary of progress on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-2020 as measured by year-end performance against KPIs in 2018/19 compared with year end data for KPIs in 2017/18. The report had been considered by the Executive at its meeting on 13 June 2019.

The Committee noted that performance had improved or exceeded targets in relation to the number of SMEs supported, the percentage of repairs to Council-owned properties completed within agreed timescales, the number of missed bins per 1,000 collections, the number of visits to combined leisure centres, the average days taken to process new benefit claims, the processing of planning applications, wait times at the Customer Contact Centre, housing delivery and provision of homes in the District.

However, performance in relation to the average time taken to re-let vacant Council homes, staff sickness days, Council housing rent and arrears collection and planned savings targets had not gone so well.

Members queried what action would be taken in relation to those performance figures that were not at target, and how long Officers thought it would be before they reached target.

In relation to housing voids, Officers explained that there had been a number of issues that had impacted on the Council’s performance, such as staff turnover. Additional investment had been approved to support the service, and it was acknowledged by Members that some properties required a great deal of remedial work that could take months. Some KPIs were being amended in order to give a truer picture of performance, but Members were advised that housing void turnaround times may get worse before they got better. Officers also explained the impact of Universal Credit on housing rent arrears, which had caused a lag in rent collection for the Council.

The Committee also queried the potential work of the Council with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), who had approached the authority with a view to releasing employment opportunities in Sherburn and Selby to people from areas of high deprivation in the Leeds and Wakefield 5 towns area. DWP had access to central funding to support Access to Employment, offering the potential to deliver a supported transport solution feeding into the employment areas. Members were concerned that there were residents living in areas of deprivation within the District that should have the opportunity to access these jobs before they were offered to people from Leeds and Wakefield, and that there was the potential for a net loss of houses if they were offered to those who came to work in the District from elsewhere. Officers confirmed that they would supply more information to Members on the matter after the meeting; it was also acknowledged that lack of public transport between employment sites and residential areas was a real barrier to accessing work for a number of residents.

Lastly, it was queried by Members if the KPIs as set out in the performance report were audited; Officers confirmed that small samples of the KPIs were audited each year by Veritau. It was suggested that in general, more summarisation in the performance report would be helpful.

RESOLVED:

To note the Council’s performance for Quarter 4 2018-19 (January to March) and Year End 2018-19.