Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Gwyneth Ellis, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) presenting the Council’s Performance Self-Assessment for 2021 to 2022 for confirmation prior to submission to Council for approval.

RESOLVED that Cabinet confirms that the Performance Self-Assessment Report is an accurate reflection of the Council’s Performance during 2021/22 and recommends its approval by Council.

Councillor Gwyneth Ellis presented the report and the Council’s Performance Self-Assessment 2021 to 2022 for Cabinet’s consideration ahead of its submission to Council for approval in July 2022.  She proposed an amendment to the report recommendation, that Cabinet confirm the report as an accurate reflection of the Council’s Performance during 2021/22 and recommend its approval by Council.

The Performance Self-Assessment provided a year end analysis of progress and challenges against key performance objectives (i.e. Corporate Plan Priorities) and in the seven areas of governance together with a narrative on council activity in support of Equality and Diversity.  It was the first statutorily required document written in response to the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and met the Council’s requirements under a number of pieces of legislation.

The Joint Acting Head of Business Improvement and Modernisation and the Strategic Planning and Performance Team Leader guided members through the detail of the report which consisted of three appendices.  It presented an Executive Summary (Appendix I) highlighting performance against objectives and the seven governance areas and looking ahead to future challenges and areas for improvement; the regular quarterly Performance Update Report (Appendix II) covering January – March 2022, which combined with the Executive Summary and three preceding Update Reports made up the Self-Assessment for 2021 to 2022; and a Performance Summary of the Corporate Plan 2017 – 2022 (Appendix III).  Regular reporting was also highlighted as an essential monitoring requirement of the performance management framework.  Officers highlighted a number of key messages arising from the Executive Summary with regard to Equality and Diversity; provided an overview of each of the performance objectives, and also reported against each of the governance areas.

Cabinet welcomed the comprehensive report and evaluation of the Council’s performance in delivering against its corporate priorities.  Councillor Gill German recorded her appreciation of the Executive Summary which she found particularly useful in highlighting the performance areas and informing the new Corporate Plan going forward.  Councillor Julie Matthews echoed those sentiments and had been pleased to note the references to Equality and the Interim Strategic Equality Plan.

Main areas of debate focused on the following –

·         Councillor Emrys Wynne was keen to see future progress reporting on active travel provision in the county and officers explained that the report was aligned to the Corporate Plan and referenced its contents – the new Corporate Plan was currently in development for submission to Council for ratification in October

·         Awel y Dyffryn Extra Care Housing (Denbigh) had been highly praised but work to progress the Ruthin Extra Care Housing Scheme had faced significant delays – it was expected that work would commence on site late June/early July and members would continue to be updated as the development progressed

·         in response to a question from Councillor Bobby Feeley, the Leader highlighted the importance of Climate Change as an issue which sat well within Councillor Barry Mellor’s portfolio together with transport and waste management to drive that agenda forward, and it would be a huge part of Cabinet’s work going forward including meeting the Council’s net carbon zero target

·         Councillor Joan Butterfield asked that details of the carbon footprint of new developments/infrastructure projects be sought from developers and included in future committee reports and the Leader confirmed that he would take up the issue directly with Councillor Barry Mellor and relevant officers.  Councillor Win Mullen-James added that Rhyl Town Council required a statement on the impact of the development on climate change for each planning application and she would look to take that approach forward in Denbighshire.

Councillor Ellis restated her proposed amendment to the report recommendations, seconded by Councillor Gill German, and upon being put to the vote it was –

RESOLVED that Cabinet confirms that the Performance Self-Assessment Report is an accurate reflection of the Council’s Performance during 2021/22 and recommends its approval by Council.