Agenda item - 2021 to 2022 Performance Report (Quarter 4)

Agenda item

2021 to 2022 Performance Report (Quarter 4)

Report number: PAS/WS/22/011

 

Minutes:

The Committee received Report number PAS/WS/22/011, which set out the impact of Covid-19, the Quarter 4 performance and the 2021 to 2022 revenue and capital positions.  

 

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK, a number of events had occurred which had had a significant impact on West Suffolk Council’s financial position.  Some of these had been restrictions imposed by Government that had affected West Suffolk Council’s investments and services; and others had been announcements of Government financial support. 

 

The Council has played its part in responding to Covid-19 in supporting businesses and the most vulnerable as well as running essential services.  The returns to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities have detailed the financial impacts of Covid-19, and generally the forecast impacts have remained consistent on a month-by-month basis.  The latest submission covering the period from April 2021 to March 2022 shows a total impact of £3.8m (costs of £1.2m and lost income of £2.6m).  However, it should be noted that these are required to be gross figures and therefore an element of the additional costs such as internal staff redeployment and costs savings have also been factored into the figures.

 

Covid-19 and our response to it has consequently impacted on a number of our local performance indicators, most noticeably around housing and homelessness, income indicators and our aged debt amount.  Within these figures, the income generated by the council in the current financial year through sales, fees and charges has reduced by £2.6m, mitigated to a certain extent by the sales, fees and charges compensation from central government.  (Further details of the financial impacts of Covid-19 can be found in Appendix B).

 

The level of debt over 90 days has been a focus for management during the year.  Quarter 4 data shows that this now stands at a total of £1,104,724.  This is an increase of £126,480 on the Quarter 3 figures.  Commercial Property debt made up £701,446 (63.5%) of this position and £491,169 of this debt relates to just 3 tenants.  We are continuing to work very closely with all our tenants to clear outstanding rent arrears.  Exempt Appendix F shows the split of the Aged Debt by service area and a split of the commercial property debt.

 

The impact of Covid-19 is likely to be felt for years to come as the council continues to make provision in 2022 to 2023 for the impact on recovery to pre-covid income and expenditure levels.  

 

Attached to the Quarter 4 performance and year-end-financial outturn position for 2021 to 2022 were a number of appendices as follows:  

 

-      Appendix A: Key Performance Indicator Dashboards

-      Appendix B: Income and expenditure report

-      Appendix C: Capital Programme

-      Appendix D: Earmarked reserves

-      Appendix E: Strategic Risk Register

-      EXEMPT Appendix F – Aged debt over 90 days

 

The Chief Executive introduced the new dynamic interactive performance dashboard, and set out the new approach to performance management, which was about:

 

-      Achieving clarity around governance arrangements, with indicators being set and owned by Portfolio Holders.

 

-      Driving performance and the medium-term financial strategy. 

 

-      Reporting indicators more frequently to Portfolio Holders and the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee. 

 

-      Having the ability to invite Portfolio Holders to meetings of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee.

 

-      Refreshing the indicator settings to focus more on areas which were important.

 

-      Moving away from targets and replacing with trends. 

 

-      Removing the old red/amber/green (RAG) rating because the direction of travel was being ignored.

 

-      Including more benchmarking, with some contextual indicators.

 

Members welcomed the change to using trends, and the new dashboard system.  Members then considered the report in detail and asked questions of officers, to which responses were provided.  In particular discussions were held on inviting Portfolio Holders to meetings of Performance and Audit, vacant shops, the solar farm and the amount of energy produced, inflation rates, continuing low interest rates available, aged debt and the strategic risk register and suggested including how the direction of travel has changed.

 

At the conclusion of the discussions, the Committee noted the:

 

-      Impact of Covid-19 on the Council’s current financial year 2021 to 2022.

 

-      2021 to 2022 Revenue and Capital positions, as detailed in the report and appendices. 

 

Note: The Chair of the Committee suggested members bring their laptops to future meetings to access the interactive performance dashboard, when performance monitoring was being considered.

Supporting documents:

 

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