Agenda item

To submit a report by the Head of Profession, HR and Transformation.

The report of the Head of Profession (Human Resources) and Corporate Transformation incorporating the Annual Performance Report for 2017/18 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Corporate Transformation reported that the Annual Performance Report which the Council is required to publish by the statutory end of October deadline each year analyses performance over the previous financial year against the improvements and priorities outlined by the Council in its Well-being objectives and the Council Plan. The Portfolio Member said that the Council experienced a number of successes in the 2017/18 financial year as exemplified by the following –

•           Ysgol Cybi, Holyhead and Ysgol Rhyd y Llan, Llanfaethlu welcomed pupils at the start of the academic year. Both these modern 21st Century schools represent flagship projects for the Council.

•           The Council’s recycling rates now stand at 72% with only 0.5% of general waste going into landfill. Based on last year’s data this would put Anglesey as the best performing local Authority in Wales.

•           The Council has committed to gaining plastic free status for the Island and is now working towards this objective.

•           75 empty homes have been brought back into use through direct action by the Council.

•           The Hafan Cefni extra care facility in Llangefni has been developed and is due to open this autumn.

Whilst the performance against local key indicators as reflected by the Corporate Scorecard tells a mixed story overall, with analysis of the comparable PIs showing that 45% have improved, 13% have been maintained and 22% have declined on the previous year, it should be noted that 58% of the indicators performed above their targets for the year, 15% were within tolerances of the target and the remaining 17% were below target. In terms of performance against national indicators known as Performance Accountability Measures (PAM) which compare each local authority against the same indicators, 50% of the Council’s indicators improved and 36% declined when compared to the performance in 2016/17. However, it must be noted that these are the current published PAM indicators – 2 of the currently unpublished Waste Management PAM indicators will perform well, and there are a further 6 indicators to be included for Social Services. All PAM indicators will be published by November, 2018.

The Portfolio Member said that looking forward to 2018/19, the Council is aware of the financial challenges facing Children’s and Education Services and plans to look at ways of strengthening its preventative and well-being services for children, young people and vulnerable people in society. Developments will be made to further improve leisure facilities through incorporating a 3G pitch and investing in fitness equipment. There are several significant Economic Development and Energy Island related projects in the offing the development of which will continue in 2018/19. Whilst plans for the year ahead are ambitious, it is believed that with the support of staff, residents and partners the Council’s objectives can be achieved thereby creating an Anglesey that is modern, healthy, thriving, and prosperous for both current and future generations.

The Chief Executive said that performance is important as is having a robust performance management system. This system within the Council which encompasses the Transformation Programme Boards, Services Reviews and the Corporate Scorecard has evolved significantly over the past few years and is a key component of the continuing drive to improve services.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation) highlighted that the performance of Children’s Services indicators have and continue to improve with this improvement being evidenced most notably in the second half of 2017/18.

The Executive noted the information and noted also that the Authority’s performance is holding up well given the pressures on it and bearing in mind it is one of the smallest authorities in Wales.

It was resolved to agree and recommend –

•           That the final version of the 2017/18 Performance Report be published by the statutory date at the end of October and that Officers complete the report in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to be published as part of the Full Council’s papers for its 22 October meeting.

•           That Section 3.2 of the Council’s Constitution be amended to include approving decisions for the Council’s Well-being Statement and Objectives in accordance with the 2015 Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act as a function that the Full Council must fulfil.

•           That the Head of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the necessary changes to the matters that have been assigned as functions that must be approved by the Full Council in the Constitution together with any changes which must be made as a result to reflect this.