Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Lead Member for Finance, Corporate Plan and Performance (copy enclosed) presenting an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15.

RESOLVED that Cabinet receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15.

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill presented the report providing an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15.

The report covered three elements –

·         Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 – a number of indicators had been highlighted ‘Red’ which meant they were identified as a ‘Priority for Improvement’ or where there was an issue with the data that needed to be raised – an explanation behind the ‘Red’ status of each indicator had been included within the report and elaborated upon further at the meeting and in response to questions

·         Corporate Project Register – there were no projects with a ‘Red’ Priority for Improvement’ status, details had been provided of three projects at an ‘Orange’ Acceptable level where there were particular issues but they were as expected

·         Outcome Agreement – the Council had achieved the required number of points for full payment of the Outcome Agreement Grant for 2014 – 15, however reference was made to two main areas where targets had been missed.

Most Cabinet members had attended training on the Verto Performance Management System and therefore could access information in real time.  Training would also be rolled out to Performance Scrutiny Committee members.

Debate focused on the following –

·         it was recognised that the green indicator for ‘the percentage of principle A roads that are in overall poor condition’ could be misleading but it was in fact a positive outcome – unfortunately it would not be possible to amend the wording for the indicator as it was set nationally

·         ‘the percentage of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) that had a full licence’ had missed its outcome agreement target by 8% - it was explained that recent changes to the licensing regime had resulted in an increase in the number of HMOs which required licensing.  At the request of Councillor Joan Butterfield the Head of Planning and Public Protection agreed to report upon the recent changes and latest position to the Rhyl Member Area Group

·         the two red indicators from the Residents Survey in which residents had not responded positively to the Council was queried as it seemed at odds with feedback and meetings involving members – the Strategic Planning Team Manager advised that the data was from the 2013 survey and results from the 2015 survey  reflecting the latest views would be available later in the year

·         members reflected upon a recent training session about Corporate Parenting which had been well received and included an overview of looked after children in Denbighshire, routes into care and the support needs of looked after children and care leavers – members felt it was important to publicise and promote positive experiences and work carried out through the Communications Teams and also discussed their own responsibilities in that regard

·         it was clarified that the Council had protected their funding element of school budgets but had no control over cuts to other elements of school funding provided directly by Welsh Government – the management and mitigation of school budgets by the Schools Budget Forum was also discussed.

The Leader stated that the report provided evidence of the robust and challenging processes implemented by the Council.  He highlighted the Council’s significant achievement in maintaining a consistently high level of performance despite the difficult financial climate and congratulated all those involved.  Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill welcomed members’ comments on the report and asked that Cabinet receive and note the report.

RESOLVED that Cabinet receives the report and notes the progress in delivering the Corporate Plan 2012 – 17 as at the end of quarter 4 of 2014/15.

At this juncture (11.55 a.m.) the meeting adjourned for a refreshment break.