Agenda item

Report number: PAS/WS/23/002

The Committee received Report number PAS/WS/23/002, which set out income recovery, Quarter 3 performance and the forecast 2022 to 2023 revenue and capital positions.

The performance management framework sought to give councillors, officers, partners, stakeholders and residents greater understanding of progress towards the achievements of the council’s strategic priorities set out in the West Suffolk Council Strategic Framework 2020 to 2024.  In addition, it also provided an insight into the delivery of the broad range of day-to-day services to the residents and businesses of West Suffolk.  Effective use of performance management information supported transformation and enabled choice to be made about the use of resources.

Financial performance information and key performance indicators (KPIs) sat alongside other elements of the council’s performance framework which could be viewed on the performance webpage.

The purpose of the evolution and development of the performance management framework was to ensure that performance information supplied to the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet and Leadership Team clearly showed:

·         Progress towards strategic goals

·         Insight on initiatives which would ensure future progress

·         Areas that require decisions and actions to keep on track to their goals

·         Items with a significant level of risk associated with them

·         Flexibility in approach allowing the escalation of performance successes and challenges

·         The relationship between performance indicators and financial delivery.

Attached to the Quarter 3 performance and forecast year-end financial position for 2022 to 2023 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 (A revised risk register was circulated at the meeting and available on the council’s website)

-      Exempt Appendix F: Aged debt over 90 days

Appendices G to J provided information on four queries raised at the Committee’s meeting on 17 November 2022, which officers committed to providing further details:

-      Appendix G: Performance monitoring mechanisms for grass cutting

-      Appendix H: Oversight of registered providers of housing

-      Appendix I: The role of the council with regard to Houses in Multiple Occupation and issues such as hot-bedding

-      Appendix J: Performance monitoring of housing options and homelessness.

The Chief Executive advised that in response to a request from the Committee at its last meeting to review the colours used in the dashboard to increase the contrast, a mocked-up slide was presented at slide 9 for the Committee’s feedback.  Also, further information on a number of topics at its last meeting were attached as additional appendices.  He then drew the Committee’s attention to a number of KPI’s as follows:

-      Fuel and gas use:

·           Reduced fuel usage by grounds maintenance in December 2022 and increased gas usage, both of which were due to the cold weather.

-      Car parking:

·           Car parking events were 1.3 per cent higher in December 2022 compared to December 2021, but was still 16 per cent down on December 2019.  Officers were keeping this indicator under review.

-      Universal Credit claimants:

·           Officers were seeing a steady rise through 2022 to 2023.  Claims were not at the same levels as in January 2021 which was due to Covid lockdown.

-      Housing and homelessness:

·           Appendix H provided details on housing and homelessness KPIs, and performance management of Registered Providers.

-      Houses in Multiple Occupation:

·           Appendix I provided details on HMOs.

-      Governance:

·           The annual canvass had been completed at a rate of 98.47 per cent, compared to 98.44 per cent last year.

-      Toggam:

·           Toggam solar farm had generated 9 per cent more energy than was originally forecast.

-      Recycling:

·           The council had seen a reduction in the percentage of household waste being recycled and composted.  Of the 3,043 tonnes reduction in recycling and composting:

§  Approximately 600 tonnes was due to a reduction in dry recycling; and

§  The remainder was due to a reduction in garden waste composting.

The latest reduction was likely due to a combination of a slight reduction in garden waste subscribers, and the spell of extremely hot weather during the summer which slowed organic growth and ensured the waste was drier than normal.

-      Grass cutting:

·           Appendix G provided details on grass cutting KPIs.

The Committee considered the report in detail and agreed that the colours in the mocked-up slide 9 were much clearer to read.  Members asked a number of questions to which responses were provided.  In particular discussions were held on bin collections; fly-tipping incidents compared to 2020 to 2021 and vacant shops.  

Detailed discussions also took place on voter ID which was required for the first time at elections being held on 4 May 2023.  Members were advised the Council had received funding from the new Burdens Fund to help with promoting voter ID.  Information had recently been sent to all Councillors to promote voter ID with their parish councils.  An update was due to be included in Members News on the Council’s engagement plan; and a leaflet on voter ID was also going to be included with council tax billing.  The voter ID would be promoted through the council’s telephone number; social media pages; working with local partners and other local authorities and advertising material was available from the Electoral Commission.  In response, members suggested that voter ID could be promoted through the council’s bin service and by Registered Providers using their repair/care services.  It was also brought to officers attention that there was an anomaly with the Oyster card as a form of identification which officers were not aware of and agreed to look into further.

In response to a question raised on dentistry, members advised that the Western Area Alliance was starting to focus on some of the key health issues, which included dentistry and would ask for an update on dentistry. 

The Committee did not raise any specific issues in relation to the financial section of the report. 

At the conclusion of the discussions the Committee noted the forecast 2022 to 2023 revenue and capital positions and the Quarter 3 performance update.