Agenda item

Report E/19/4 presents the corporate performance for Quarter 4 2018/19 (January to March) and Year End 2018/19.

The Leader of the Council presented the quarterly performance report which 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 key performance indicators (KPIs). 

The Executive made the following comments about the reports:

• The Executive acknowledged the positive performance in relation to the processing of planning application and housing delivery. Additionally it was noted there was positive performance in relation to the number of missed bin collections and the number of visits to combined leisure centres.

• It was acknowledged that the performance in relation to the average time taken to re-let vacant Council homes was still a concern. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that during quarter four, 83 properties had been let in an average of 53.2 days. It was noted that some of these properties had required major works before they could be re-let. The Executive was informed that the current figure to re-let homes stood at 41.4 days.

• Discussion took place on whether council tenants could refuse to allow improvement work to be done to their property. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that a tenant could refuse the council access to the property unless it was an emergency which then meant they would have to apply to the high court for access. It was queried whether the Council could amend the contract with the tenant to ensure they were allowed access for improvement works to be undertaken. It was agreed this would be looked into and a response provided.

• The Executive noted that the performance indicator relating to council housing rent and arrears collected was lower than the target however they acknowledged that the team had done well to maintain the performance in light of the introduction of Universal Credit.

• A query was raised regarding the performance indicator relating to the renting of industrial units particularly in Sherburn. The Director of Corporate Services and Commissioning explained that a funding bid had been submitted to allow improvement works to industrial units however this was subject to a further report being submitted to Executive and this was currently being worked upon. It was noted that currently the Council was unable to re-let units once they became vacant as work relating to energy needed to be carried out before the units could be re-let.

• A query was raised regarding the confidence levels of achieving the savings target for 2019/20 considering the Council was short of the target for 2018/19. The Chief Finance Officer explained that a savings plan was in place for 2019/20 and savings had been identified with a medium or high risk. It was noted that the Council was aiming to push on with projects to assist savings such as the digital strategy and the housing management system.

• It was noted that the performance indicator listed under the processing of planning applications should state 13 weeks rather than 3. A query was raised whether the 13 week figure including planning applications where extension of time had been agreed. It was agreed this would be looked into and a response provided.

RESOLVED:

i)             To note and approve the report.

REASON FOR DECISION:

The reporting of performance data enables the Council to demonstrate progress on delivering the Corporate Plan Priorities to make Selby District a great place.