Agenda item

To consider a report by the Corporate Improvement Manager (copy enclosed) which enables the Council to evaluate progress across key areas of performance and the Committee to carry out its performance management function. 

A copy of a report by the Corporate Improvement Manager, which enabled the Council to evaluate progress across key areas of performance, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

It was explained that it would be normal practice to present the report to Scrutiny to include comments prior to being submitted to Cabinet, however on this occasion due to timescales this had not been possible.  The Head of Business Planning and Performance explained that the report enabled the Council to evaluate progress and pick up trends across key areas of performance.  The main report presented a summary of exceptions for each performance area.  The Annex, Summary Exceptions Report, was supported by individual chapters which provide a more detailed summary of performance in each particular area. 

Members were informed that Denbighshire was a high performing Council and that the Summary Exceptions Report should be considered in the overall context of the Council activities.  The report provided information on key areas of performance for the Council, enabling the Performance Scrutiny Committee to carry out its performance management function.  It presented the position at the end of Quarter 4 2011-12, which was the end of the period for the Corporate Plan 2009-12.  A more comprehensive report to evaluate the Council’s performance in 2011-12 would be published in October, 2012.  The report would also place the Council’s performance within the context of national performance where possible.

Details of the Council’s overall performance across the key areas and the significant progress being made had been included in the report.  A key consideration had been how to present performance.  The Council had aligned the performance reporting of "indicators" and "performance measures" with the four Red, Orange Yellow and Green (ROYG) system used by Internal Audit Services for Risk Management, and this method had been applied retrospectively to the indicators and performance measures in the Corporate Plan 2009-12.  The performance reporting of improvement activity, projects and actions, currently remained with the five RAG system used by the Corporate Project Management Methodology, which was currently under review and on completion would align with the four ROYG system.  At present the reporting of improvement activity would continue with the current project management method.  In response to questions from the Chair, the Head of Business Planning and Performance provided a summary of the new ROYG system and agreed that the areas in the current report which were still shown as ‘amber’ would be amended to ‘orange’ for consistency and ease of reference.  It was confirmed that indicators were a mixture of the Authority’s own requirements and national indicators. 

Councillor H. Hilditch-Roberts explained that there was no indication of the experience and perception of service users in relation to the measurement of service delivery.  The Section Manager: Network Management referred to the public perception that footways within the County had not improved.  However, statistics proved otherwise and he felt that this could apply to a number of services and should be the subject of debate.  The Service Manager: Quality and Systems Development felt that indicators should be accompanied with explanations, and he provided examples where indicators had been red but the Service in question had been performing well.  Members agreed that the provision of a short explanation accompanying indicators would be beneficial.

The Head of Customers and Education Support explained that a range of measures were being developed to assess the level of service provided from a customer perspective.  The Head of Business Planning and Performance explained that the indicators presently utilised attempted to demonstrate that the actions taken had been effective.  In reply to questions details of the criteria for identifying indicators were outlined, and it was agreed that in future reference would be included as to whether indicators were national or local indicators.  

In reply to a question from the Chair, the Head of Business, Planning and Performance provided details of the position in respect of Outcome Agreements with the Welsh Government.

Members supported the recommendation of the predecessor committee to establish a Working Group, consisting of four Members of the Committee, to meet with the Head of Internal Audit and Corporate Improvement Team personnel for the purposes of monitoring performance against the agreed indicators and agreements.  The Committee agreed that Councillors R.J. Davies, C. Hughes, H. Hilditch-Roberts and A. Roberts be appointed to the Working Group. 

RESOLVED – that:-

(a)                           the Performance Scrutiny Committee notes the exceptions associated with achieving the outcomes in the report, and that any performance related issues be pursued with the appropriate Head of Service and/or Lead Member, and

(b)                           a Working Group be established consisting of Councillors R.J. Davies, C. Hughes, H. Hilditch-Roberts and A. Roberts to meet on a regular basis with the Head of Internal Audit and Corporate Improvement Team personnel for the purposes of monitoring performance against the agreed indicators and agreements.