Agenda item

The Corporate Performance Report provides an overview of the Council’s performance for each of the strategic goals (Clean, Safe and Proud).

Councillor Clarence Barrett, Cabinet member for Financial Management, introduced the report

The Corporate Performance Report before Cabinet provided an overview of the Council’s performance for each of the strategic goals (Clean, Safe and Proud).  The report identified where the Council was performing well (Green) and not so well (Amber and Red). 

Where performance was more than the ‘target tolerance’ off the quarter target and the RAG rating was ‘Red’, ‘Corrective Action’ was included in the report.  This highlighted what action the Council would take to address poor performance.

Also included in the report are Direction of Travel (DoT) columns, which compared:

Short-term performance – with the previous quarter (Quarter 1 2015/16)

Long-term performance – with the same time the previous year (Quarter 2 2014/15)

79 Corporate Performance Indicators had been measured this quarter.  Of these, 77 had been given a RAG status.  In summary:

55    (71%) had a RAG status of Green.

22    (29%) had a RAG status of Red or Amber.

The current levels of performance needed to be interpreted in the context of increasing demand on services across the Council.  Also attached to the report (as Appendix 2) was a Demand Pressure Dashboard that illustrated the growing demands on Council services and the context that the performance levels set out in the report had been achieved within.

The feasibility of being able to achieve the targets associated with certain indicators (performance against which was RAG rated as “Red” for Quarter 2) was currently being reviewed in the context of the increasing levels of demand. 

The outcomes of this review would be considered as part of the Council’s budget strategy as well as the corporate and service planning processes for next financial year, as additional budget and / or other resources would need to be allocated to these areas in order to improve their performance.  The Council’s draft budget already recognised the demographic pressures illustrated at Appendix 2 however both the budget and / or the targets would be revised as necessary in light of the review of the level of additional resources required to achieve the targets as they were currently set.

Members were informed that in discussion with the Overview and Scrutiny Board and some of the Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committees, consideration had recently been given to the current performance reporting arrangements and how they might be improved going forward.

Under the current arrangements, the quarterly and annual corporate performance reports were considered by the Cabinet first, then the Overview and Scrutiny Board and finally the various Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committees.  Depending on the meetings schedule in any given quarter, the whole cycle of reporting takes between four and seven months to complete. 

Going forward, from the new financial year onwards, it was proposed that the quarterly and annual Corporate Performance Reports would be considered first by the individual overview and scrutiny sub-committees, then the Overview and Scrutiny Board and finally the Cabinet.  This would allow the Overview and Scrutiny Board to maintain oversight of the value the individual committees were adding in monitoring and influencing performance and would also allow the Cabinet reports to reflect any actions or comments the overview and scrutiny committees might make to improve performance in highlighted areas.

Reasons for the decision:

To provide Cabinet Members with an update on the Council’s performance for each of the strategic goals (Clean, Safe and Proud).

Other options considered:

None appropriate.

Cabinet:

1.            Reviewed the levels of performance set out in Appendix 1 to the report and the corrective action that was being taken, and noted the content of the Demand Pressures Dashboard attached as Appendix 2 to the report.

2.            Noted and approved the proposed changes to the performance reporting arrangements from 2016/17.