Agenda item

To present the report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation.

Councillor Dafydd Rhys Thomas, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business presented the report by the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Scorecard which showed the position of the Council against its operational objectives as outlined and agreed earlier in the year at the end of Quarter 2 of the 2021/22 financial year.

The majority (70%) of the Corporate Health Performance indicators monitored are performing well against targets (Green or Yellow RAG) with the Council’s digital strategy continuing to prove successful during the pandemic and Customer Service indicators maintaining performance apart from indicator 04b in connection with the percentage of written responses within 15 days to complaints within Social Services which at 58% is below the 80% target. The complicated nature of these complaints frequently require multi-agency input and achieving alignment of information within 15 days is a regular challenge. The performance is an improvement on that of Quarter 1 and 18 of the 19 complaints received in the quarter were discussed with the complainant within 5 working days. Although performance with regard to attendance at work at 4.09 days lost to absence per FTE is Amber at the end of Quarter 2, a more challenging target has been set for the year and considered in the context of the previous two years’ Quarter 2 target of 4.25 days lost to absence per FTE, the performance would have been ragged Green had the target not been changed. The majority of the Performance Management indicators (84%) are performing above target or within 5% tolerance of their targets and for the first time two of the three Wellbeing Objectives had no indicators underperforming as amber or red against targets. The overall performance of the indicators for Wellbeing Objective 3 (Working in partnership with communities to ensure they are able to cope effectively with change and development whilst protecting the natural environment) has been mixed with 57% of those with targets underperforming. Four indicators in relation to aspects of waste management and planning are ragged Red or Amber with further details about mitigation in those areas provided in the report. The financial management section of the scorecard currently forecasts an underspend of £0.858m for the year ending 31 March, 2022. Financial performance is monitored via regular quarterly reports to the Executive.

The Portfolio Members and Officers responded to questions and points raised on the scorecard report as follows –

·                  With regard to concerns about the decline in performance for the percentage of waste reused, recycled or composted, specifically the reduction in the green waste tonnage collected compared to the same period in 2020/21 and a suggestion that the introduction of a green waste collection charge may have been counterproductive, the Committee was assured that the decline can be attributed to a number of reasons as outlined within the report. These are issues that are being overseen by the steering group with WRAP Cymru and the WLGA established in Quarter 1 which will look at all aspects and working practices in relation to waste recycling, and having now met for the first time since being established is in the process of analysing the available data and developing options on how best to meet the 70% target for 2025. The green waste charge has generated £500k income for the Council which was the last in the region to implement a chargeable green waste service .The charge formed part of the new waste collection contract with Biffa; not introducing the charge would have meant an extra 0.5% increase on Council Tax which would have affected everyone whereas the green waste collection charge applies only to those that choose to use it.

·                  With regard to continuing concerns about the responsiveness of the Council’s telephone system and implications for customer satisfaction with communicating with the Council, the Committee was assured that new arrangements are to be out in place in Quarter 3 after which the Committee will be updated on satisfaction levels. Members were urged to provide details of any complaints received in relation to calls going unanswered and were reminded that this request has also been made in Group Leaders’ meetings. Whilst it was acknowledged that there is always room for improvement the Council does receive a large volume of calls which are in the region of 8,000 to 9,000 on a monthly basis.

·                  With regard to concerns about increasing demand pressure in Children’s Services going into the winter and being mindful of the ongoing risk posed by the pandemic, the Committee was assured that Scrutiny and the Executive are updated every six months on performance and progress in both Adults’ and Children’s Services. Rising demand following the easing of Covid related restrictions is a trend being seen across local authorities in Wales and referrals do involve cases of increasing complexity which can take time to address.  However, following a programme of improvements over recent years, Children and Families’ Services as confirmed by CIW reports are now in a more robust position to be able to respond to the challenges they face which also means that the children whom the Authority cares for receive a better service.

Having considered the Quarter 2 2021/22 scorecard report and the updates provided by Officers at the meeting, it was resolved to accept the report, to note the areas which the Senior Leadership Team is managing to secure improvements into the future and to recommend the mitigation measures as outlined to the Executive.