Agenda item

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

The Annual Performance Report for 2020/21 was presented for the Committee’s consideration and comment. The report looks back on the Council’s performance for 2021/22 and outlines how the Council has realised the expectations of the Annual Delivery Document and the Transitional Plan.

Councillor Robin Williams Portfolio Member for Finance, Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report drawing attention to some of the key highlights in terms of the progress made against the Transitional Plan and the Annual Delivery Document and the Key Performance Indicators results for 2021/22.

In considering the Annual Performance Report the Committee discussed the following matters –

·                Lessons to be considered for the new Council Plan from the completion of projects/objectives in the Transitional Plan and Annual Delivery Document. The Committee was assured that good practice is identified though regular service reviews and cascaded down to staff through the managers’ forum and more recently via the business managers.

·                The challenges of maintaining the Council’s good performance through what are expected to be difficult times ahead. The Committee was advised that the Council is facing significant financial challenges with a potential budget gap of £18m in the coming period. The Council will set a balanced budget as it is required to do but that will be challenging given the uncertainty around the national economic situation and the funding allocation the Welsh Government and consequently Welsh councils might receive, and is likely to mean finding significant savings. The Council is currently consulting on its new Council Plan – Our Future – and the strategic objectives of the Plan over its initial period must recognise the climate in which the Council is operating and the limitations which that poses. Those objectives can be adapted and broadened if and when the economic situation improves.

·                The need to ensure as wide as possible a response to the consultation on the new Council Plan so that the range of people and organisations’ views can inform the Council’s priorities for the next five years. The Committee was assured that the consultation which was launched on 20 September, 2022 and runs until 14 November, 2022 has been publicised through a range of means including social media channels, local radio, presentations and the distribution of paper copies to libraries, leisure centres and Oriel Môn.

·                The extent to which the Annual Performance Report reflects the Council’s actions as regards environmental sustainability, protection and improvement. A suggestion was made that  the environment and green issues  be given greater prominence in the new Council Plan and further, that the environment  be included as one of the guiding principles for scrutiny in section 3 of the scrutiny template as a permanent reminder for Members when they are scrutinising issues. The Committee was advised that the new Council Plan has to balance the environment and green issues with social issues and with job creation and opportunities. Once the Plan is adopted, a scorecard can be developed to capture the Council’s performance management measures in terms of net zero and environmental sustainability. The Council’s report templates and paperwork are being reviewed across the board to ensure that environmental protection matters, net zero and carbon reduction are being considered and can be evidenced in the decisions the Council makes. The aim is to embed green issues within the culture and day to day business of the Council. The Council has also developed a Biodiversity Plan upon which it is required to report annually and which could be presented to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee if it so wishes.

As part of the Committee’s recommendations to the Executive with regard to the Annual Performance Plan, the Chair suggested that ensuring a balance in the new Council Plan as regards biodiversity and net zero aspects be included. While agreeing with the sentiment, the majority of the Committee’s members deemed it premature at this time to be making a recommendation on the content of the new Council Plan as the Plan is still out to consultation until mid-November.

It was resolved –

·                To recommend to the Executive that it agrees the content of the 2021/22 Annual Performance Report as a fair and complete reflection of the Authority’s work over the period and that the Executive recommends its adoption to the Council at its meeting on 27 October, 2022.

·                That the Council’s Biodiversity Plan be added to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s Forward Work Programme.