Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) presenting an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022 as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018 – 19.

RESOLVED that Cabinet receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018/19.

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report updating members on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022 as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018 – 19.

The report included three main elements –

·         Executive Summary – detailed achievements and key exceptions with two narratives for each priority: Performance Status and Programme Progress

·         Full quarterly report – generated from Verto Performance Management System and provided an evidence based assessment of the current position

·         Summary of the projects being managed under each Programme Board – Communities and Environment and Young People and Housing.

Performance was as expected at such an early stage given the lead times to deliver improvements.  Two priorities had been assessed as ‘priority for improvement’ – Resilient Communities and Young People which required a greater involvement of external partners and were not directly under the Council’s control.  The remaining three priorities continued to be at an acceptable level – Housing, Connected Communities and Environment.  Progress had been assessed as good across all priorities and details of the projects managed by both Programme Boards had been highlighted showing their various stages.  One project had been rejected and closed because the Board did not consider it would deliver its aims which demonstrated a robustness in the assessment process.

The Strategic Planning Team Manager guided members through the priority areas contained within the report and highlighted a number of areas of good practice and elaborated upon project developments in key areas.  Councillor Thompson-Hill added that, as part of the monitoring process, regular reports were submitted to Scrutiny Committee to consider whether any areas warranted further investigation.

During consideration of the report members discussed the following –

·         in terms of the project to bring 500 empty homes back into use, 500 had been considered a deliverable but challenging target bearing in mind the fluctuation in the level of empty homes – it was noted that progress was on target

·         the Leader highlighted the importance of an ambitious Corporate Plan and he was pleased that the Council had retained its ambition and momentum on behalf of residents and the commitment to deliver despite the financial climate – having set the right priorities good progress was being made in delivering them

·         the involvement of Cabinet members in the Programme Boards established to focus on priorities and delivering projects was noted together with the key summary of projects to effect improvement which had been included as an appendix to the report – there was some debate as to the merits of further strengthening links with non-Cabinet members in addition to the regular monitoring by Scrutiny Committee and Annual Improvement Report to Council.  The Chief Executive agreed to discuss with the Lead Member whether further dissemination or sharing of information would add value to the current process

·         Councillor Mark Young highlighted the importance of ensuring ongoing maintenance of existing flood defence systems and assurances were provided that this element was considered as business as usual and there was a programme of maintenance works – the Corporate Plan aimed to enhance the current provision rather than dealing with day to day maintenance issues.  With regard to flood defence schemes and studies work was ongoing with partners in that regard.  In response to a question from Councillor Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones regarding the independent report into the flooding at Ffordd Derwen, Rhyl, Councillor Brian Jones confirmed that a letter to residents was imminent

·         in response to questions raised regarding the Llantysilio Mountain fire, the Leader advised that a report would be submitted to Communities Scrutiny Committee in February 2019 in order to consider the impact and lessons learnt following the incident and further detail would be available at that time

·         Councillor Richard Mainon elaborated upon the reasoning behind the rejection and closure of the Digital Access Points project given that the project would not deliver on making a significant difference and justify the cost – it was considered that the financial resources would be better directed to a real solution on a more permanent basis – the Strategic Planning Team Manager agreed to circulate the closure report to members for information.

RESOLVED that Cabinet receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan as at the end of quarter 2 of 2018/19.