Agenda item

Scorecard Monitoring Report - Quarter 4, 2020/21

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

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Profession (Human Resources) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Scorecard for Quarter 4 2020/21 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

 

Councillor Dafydd Rhys Thomas, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business introduced the report which portrays the end of year position in what has been an unprecedented year for the Council as regards managing the Covid 19 pandemic and continuing to meet its obligations in terms of duties. During Quarter 4 Wales continued to be in a national lockdown and the Isle of Anglesey saw its highest number of positive Covid 19 cases as well as an outbreak on Holy Island which was swiftly and successfully managed. Despite the impact which the Covid 19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have had and continue to have on the Council’s services, 87% of the Corporate Health PIs continue to perform well against targets. The performance with regard to staff absence management has exceeded target and is one of the few areas where the impact of Covid-9 has led to improvements. Although all indicators under the digital services subheading have seen performances that have surpassed previous annual results during the pandemic the number of online payments made for the newly introduced charge for green waste collection was disappointing and in turn led to significant pressure on the Council’s telephone system during periods in March, 2021 from which experience lessons have been learnt. Cyswllt Môn, the Council’s customer facing reception area will re-open to the public on an appointment only basis from the 28 June, 2021. The Council’s financial position is robust having ended the year in a position of underspend largely due to the financial support provided by Welsh Government to cover  pandemic related costs and lost income.

 

The Portfolio Member for Corporate Business ended his presentation to the report by paying tribute to all the Council’s staff who as well as helping the Council respond to the pandemic have maintained levels of performance in the Council’s day to day business while having had to adapt quickly to a changed working environment in what has been an exceptionally challenging year. He proposed that the Executive’s appreciation be formally recorded.

The Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation agreed that 2020/21 had been a difficult year but that staff had risen to the challenges which it brought; the Council will use its experiences from dealing with the pandemic and the challenges it has faced during the year to move forward into the new normality.

 

The Scrutiny Manager reported on the main points of discussion from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s 7 June, 2021 meeting which had scrutinised the 2020/21 Quarter 4 scorecard report. The Scrutiny Committee acknowledged that the Council had performed well in the circumstances which was attributable to the efforts of staff and the guidance and leadership of Senior Management; the Committee noted that where performance had been below target, this was largely due to the impact of Covid 19 and that mitigating measures were in place to ensure improvement. Communicating with the Council was discussed, specifically the capacity of the telephone system as well as facilitating public access to the recycling centres with it being confirmed that visits without prior booking would be trialled at the Penhesgyn Household Waste Recycling Centre. The Council’s financial performance was noted and while the year-end underspend on the revenue budget was welcomed, the Committee was mindful that the Council’s budget may come under pressure in future if service demand increases as a result of the pandemic and if funding settlements fall below expectation.   

 

The Executive’s members expressed their thanks and gratitude to staff both within their specific portfolio areas and on a Council wide basis recognising that the Council would not have been able to deal with the pandemic and maintain the performance of the Council’s services without their hard work and commitment.

 

It was resolved –

 

·        To accept the Scorecard monitoring report for Q4 2020/21, to note the areas which the Senior Leadership Team are managing to secure improvements into the future and to accept the mitigation measures as outlined in the report.

·        To record the Executive’s thanks and appreciation of the efforts and hard work of all the Council’s workforce over the course of 2020/21 in maintaining performance while responding to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Supporting documents: