Agenda item

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

The report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Scorecard for Quarter 4 2022/23 was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The scorecard report portrayed the Council’s end of year position against matters relating to customer service, people and financial management and performance management.

The report was presented by Councillor Carwyn Jones, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business and Customer Experience who provided a summary of the contents confirming that 91% of indicators were performing to, or within 5% of target. The report highlighted a number of positive performance stories in relation to homelessness prevention, Adults’ Services, timeliness of planning decision-making, improvements in road condition, street cleanliness, the number of empty homes brought back into use and the recovery of visitor numbers to leisure centres to pre- pandemic levels. The contribution made by the Council’s staff to this positive performance over the year is recognised and commended. Where performance remains off target, those areas, specifically the percentage of FOI requests dealt with within timescale, average number of days taken to deliver Disabled Facilities Grant and percentage of planning appeals dismissed are being investigated and monitored by the Leadership Team to secure improvements into the future. Equally important going forward into the new Council year is monitoring trends and the direction of travel of performance against indicators be they rated Green or Yellow especially in view of the ongoing challenges around funding and expenditure, staff recruitment and capacity. Keeping an eye on trends will help maintain the current level of good performance and contribute to continuous improvement over time. In closing remarks Councillor Carwyn Jones said that he hoped the report provides assurance that performance is important to the Council, that it is being managed robustly and is being given due attention both politically and operationally.

Due to connection issues being experienced by the Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee at this juncture, the Head of Democracy stepped in to report from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s meeting on 20 June where the Quarter 4 2022/23 Corporate Scorecard was considered and debated in detail. Several issues were raised and discussed including the arrangements for raising awareness of the positive performance, customer service in relation to telephone call monitoring and quality of responses, the delivery of Disabled Facilities grants and adaptations, management of children on the Child Protection Register (CPR) – specifically performance against Indicator 23 and how this can be reported to give a more meaningful account of performance with it being agreed that the indicator be examined by the Social Services Scrutiny Panel. The projected underspend on the 2022/23 budget was considered in terms of how it might help the Council in address expected additional service pressures in 2023/24. Questions about how actions to tackle underperforming areas/indicators are monitored to ensure they are meeting performance aims and objectives were also raised. Having considered these matters and the response to them, the Committee had resolved to recommend the Q4 Scorecard report and mitigation measures therein, to the Executive.

The Executive’s members welcomed the report as testifying to the hard work and collective efforts of staff across the Council in maintaining and improving performance in the face of continuing challenges in a sometimes-difficult year. Reference  was made to the few areas where targets had been missed with it being noted by Members that the RAG rating does not always tell the whole story about performance especially where there are complexities involved with Performance Indicator 23  (The average length of time for all children who were on the Child Protection Register - CPR during the year, and who were de-registered during the year) where the performance showed as red, being highlighted as a case in point.  It was clarified that children on the CPR are only de-registered when it is safe to do so and no risk of harm applies and that it would be wrong to do so prematurely to meet a target. The indicator therefore needs to be viewed with a degree of caution as without context and explanatory narrative it does not give a complete picture of all the factors involved. Similarly with regard to the number of days taken to deliver Disabled Facilities Grants where timescales have not been met due in large part to a shortage of contractors which is a sector wide issue.

The Director of Social Services said he was heartened by the understanding of the complicated nature of Indicator 23 and advised that children on the CPR for longer may also be subject to the Public Law Outline process where the Local Authority has a discussion with the family and their legal representative about keeping a child safe thereby providing additional protection. The Service also has internal processes where individual cases are discussed and reviewed. The KPI therefore does not fully reflect the situation and an alternative more meaningful option for reporting will be considered for the new scorecard this year.

The Chief Executive commented that 2022/23 had proved a difficult year in many respects especially with regard to Quarter 4 where the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, fuel hardship, and winter pressures were experienced by the Council in increased demand for several services. These challenges make the overall performance for the year all the more commendable. Working together, the leadership and direction provided by managers and the commitment of frontline staff have all been key factors in achieving such a positive outcome at a time of uncertainty.

The Chair in closing remarks referred to areas where performance is making a difference in people’s lives citing the percentage of households prevented from becoming homeless, the number of empty homes brought back into use, street cleanliness, the increase in the number of visits to leisure centres which have physical and mental health benefits as few examples of how the performance data is being used to inform actions and drive improvements. The workforce behind these and other activities as well as the Council’s partners and all unpaid carers are deserving of the Executive’s thanks and appreciation for the Q4 outcomes and year long performance.

It was resolved to accept the Corporate Scorecard report for Q4 2022/23 and to note the areas which the Leadership Team are exploring and investigating to manage and secure further improvements into the future as outlined.