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 2 2023/24 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

Councillor Carwyn Jones, Portfolio Member for Corporate Business and Customer Experience presented the report and highlighted that 91% of the performance indicators are performing above or within 5% tolerance of their targets which is reassuring at the end of Quarter 2. Some of the positive stories include the National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) indicators, the number of empty homes brought back into use, the Adults’ Services indicators, Children and Families’ Services indicators, homelessness indicators, waste management and highways indicators. Although a full analysis of the corporate health performance indicators for the quarter had not been possible, the majority (67%) of the indicators with available data against targets monitored in this section are performing well and are ragged Green or Yellow. At the end of Quarter 2 the performance against target is ragged Red in respect of days lost to absence per FTE but it should be noted that long term sickness is an influencing factor and equates to 62% of the absence rates for the period.  Areas being monitored by the Leadership Team to secure improvements into the future include the average days taken to deliver a Disabled Facilities grant and the turnaround of lettable units of accommodation in Housing Services, the percentage of planning appeals dismissed and the number of FOI requests responded to within timescale due to the lack of available data for the second quarter for this activity. Whilst the forecast for the Council’s financial position has improved from that reported at the end of Quarter 1, an overspend is still being projected for the year end with some service budgets coming under pressure. Expenditure is being scrutinised in order to limit the overspend.

Councillor Douglas Fowlie, Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee reported from the Committee’s 21 November 2023 meeting where the Q2 Scorecard report had been scrutinised. He confirmed that the Committee had been pleased to note that 91% of indicators were performing well and had sought assurance that the three underperforming indicators would improve. The forecast overspend was noted and enquiries made about how budget pressures are being managed and mitigated. Members also asked questions about the actions being pursued in response to the increase in the average days lost to absence per FTE. The number of planning appeals dismissed was noted with questions being asked about the impact of the mitigation measures introduced. The two underperforming indicators in Housing services relating to average days taken to deliver a Disabled Facilities grant and the turnaround of lettable units of accommodation (Indicators 28 and 29 respectively) were discussed and further work regarding these areas was requested. Questions were also asked about local indicators to measure performance in connection with the Council’s net zero target. Following its discussions the Committee had been agreed in recommending the Quarter 2 2023/24 scorecard report and the mitigating measures therein to the Executive and had also resolved to establish a scrutiny task and finish group to examine performance against Indicator 29 in Housing Services with a request that an officer group analyse the performance against Indicator 28 with a view to improving the performance for these housing related activities.

The Chief Executive said that it was gratifying to see performance holding up well at the end of Quarter 2. He highlighted sickness absence as an important area to be monitored going into the third quarter as having wider implications for team and service performance. He welcomed the discussions of Scrutiny in seeking to delve deeper into the data behind the two missed targets in Housing Services as the evidence suggests that that could be beneficial in understanding the factors that are influencing the performance of those indicators.

Members of the Executive acknowledged the positive performance overall and the efforts that had gone into maintaining the level of performance at a difficult time. The standout areas were noted and assurances were provided regarding monitoring and addressing those areas where the performance had been off target. Executive Members highlighted the importance of providing clarity on the context to indicators that are underperforming; Councillor Gary Pritchard, Portfolio Member for Children, Youth and Housing Services referred to complex cases which can significantly impact the timescale in delivering DFGs (Indicator 28); the unavailability of contractors/workers which can affect the turnaround time of lettable properties that require remedial works before they are then re-let was also cited as a factor in the performance of Indicator 29. Councillor Pritchard thanked Scrutiny for the discussion and feedback in relation to these Housing activity indicators and was keen to contribute to the further work proposed. He praised the performance with regard to bringing empty properties back into use which had exceeded target along with the Children’s Services PIs which were all ragged Green apart from one which was ragged Yellow being within 5% of target which was particularly good in light of the increase in referrals to the service and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Likewise Councillor Nicola Roberts highlighted that two of the three planning indicators are Green and that the only underperforming indicator is in relation to the number of planning appeals dismissed which involves a very small number of cases compared to the number of planning applications dealt with in the period.

It was resolved to accept the Scorecard Monitoring report for Quarter 2 2023/24 and to note the areas which the Leadership Team is exploring and investigating to manage and secure improvements into the future as outlined within the written report.