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 Annual Performance/Wellbeing Report for 2022/23 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Carwyn Jones, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report which analyses performance over the previous financial year against the improvements and priorities outlined by the Council. The report shows that 54% of the priorities set out in the Transitional Plan which was the detailed work plan for 2022/23 have been completed, 29% are ongoing into 2023/24, 13% are behind schedule but with mitigating measures are likely to be brought back on track and 4% have been cancelled.  The report also outlines the actions supported by the Council during the year as part of its cost-of-living response. Overall, the Council has demonstrated good progress and commitment in various domains over the past year as reflected by the report and a number of notable achievements are highlighted.  The Scorecard results for the year also demonstrated good performance with 71% of the indicators showing green against targets and an additional 20% showing within 5% of their targets. Further work will be undertaken to address those few indicators showing as Amber or Red as well as those exhibiting a year-on-year decline in performance.  The Annual Delivery Document details the work that the Council will be undertaking during 2023/24 to achieve the aspirations of the Council Plan 2023-2028. The Council’s staff must be congratulated not only for their hard work throughout the year but also for their commitment to delivering projects and work streams that are in addition to their day-to-day duties.

Councillor Douglas Fowlie outlined the points of discussion from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee when it considered the Annual Performance Report at its meeting on 19 September 2023. Those had included the arrangements for raising awareness of the Council’s achievements; the measures that were put in place that had this positive impact on performance and whether any lessons could be learnt from that process for sharing across the organisation; the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the Council’s ability to serve the people of Anglesey, and the performance areas that need to be prioritised based on risk during 2023/24. Having considered these matters and the assurances provided by Officers and Portfolio Members, the Committee had resolved to recommend the Annual Performance and Wellbeing Report for 2022/23 to the Executive as a fair and complete reflection of the Authority’s work over the period.

The Chief Executive said that there were many reasons to be proud of the Annual Performance Report for 2022/23 and that the report also demonstrates the Council’s strong commitment to acting in accordance with the principles of the Wellbeing of Future Generation Act in having regard to the present and future wellbeing of the Island’s residents when making decisions or taking a course of action. The Council’s successes as documented in the report are all the more notable for having been achieved in a year full of challenges that was not reflective of business as usual and which saw the developing cost of living crisis and uncertainty around rising interest rates impacting on people and businesses. The context in which achievements occur is often as significant and illuminative as the achievements themselves. The aim will be to continue with the good work in 2023/24 with the support of the Council’s staff, elected members, partners, and the community.

The Executive’s members were agreed that 2022/23 was far from business as usual and that that had been the case over the past few years with the pandemic, financial pressures and ongoing cost of living crisis all posing significant challenges for the Council over and above its day-to-day operational activities. In referring to one specific achievement which had involved bringing 80 empty properties back into use against a target of 50, Councillor Gary Pritchard, Portfolio Member for Children, Youth and Housing Services highlighted that this success is all the more meaningful because those properties have become homes for local people and their families.

It was resolved to agree the content of the 2022/23 Performance Report as a fair and complete reflection of the Authority’s work over that period and to recommend to the Full Council at its meeting on 26 October 2023 that it be adopted.