Agenda item

To consider a report by the Strategic Planning and Performance Officer, which provides an update on the delivery of the Corporate Plan 2012/17 as at the end of quarter 2 of 2015/16, had been circulated previously.

                                                                                                           10.10 a.m.

The Lead Member for Finance, Corporate Plan and Performance introducing the Quarter 2 2015/16 report (previously circulated) on the Council’s performance in delivering its Corporate Plan:-

·                     advised that the indicators which relied on either the residents or business surveys, were historical in nature and would be updated next quarter with the most recent data.

·                     highlighted the key areas of performance listed in the report and advised that the Council was proposing to delete performance indicator (PI) QSCC013ai – ‘the percentage of open cases on the child protection register who have an allocated social worker’ as it was no longer a statutory indicator and officers had agreed that it was not a meaningful PI for measuring intended outcomes.  They felt that the intended outcomes could be better managed and achieved in other operational ways;

·                     whilst corporate sickness absence levels were continuing to improve this area remained a priority for improvement;

·                     the decrease in the number of staff who had received a performance appraisal was at least in part attributable to the i-Trent recording software system.  The Lead Member and officers were monitoring this aspect closely;

·                     the Council’s inability to provide information for carbon emissions at present was due to an issue relating to its energy provider’s billing system.  This problem was not unique to Denbighshire, a high number of local authorities were affected and the company was working on solutions to rectify the problem.  However, the Council was due to change its energy provider from April 2016 and the new provider could provide all the required information in due course;

·                     none of the Council’s Corporate Projects were registering a ‘red’ status.

Responding to members’ questions the Lead Member and officers confirmed that:-

·                     the decision to change energy provider from April 2016 had been taken on commercial grounds;

·                     both littering and dog fouling could only be measured for performance purposes within 30 mile per hour (mph) zones.  However there were methods of tracking such activity outside 30mph areas;

·                     officers from all Council departments were now familiar and confident in using the Verto system for the purpose of recording performance and project related information;

·                     they were confident that the actual number of performance appraisals undertaken across the Council was likely to be in the high eighty percent range.  With a view to obtaining a correct assessment of the Council’s performance in this area the Chief Executive had asked all Heads of Service to check that they had inputted all the required information into the i-Trent system.  He had also asked the Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services to review the system in order to determine the cause of the reporting problem;

·                     the Tackling Poverty Working Group had commenced its study.  It was an ambitious Group and would soon have a number of PIs which could be scrutinised;

·                     scrutiny had no powers to compel the Council’s energy provider to attend a meeting to discuss its inability to provide carbon emissions information.  It could however, if it wished, invite them to attend.

The Scrutiny Co-ordinator undertook to check on whether proposed by-laws relating to banning dogs from school pitches and other playing fields had ever been adopted.  Members and officers were reminded that, if they thought any of the areas listed in the Corporate Plan merited detailed scrutiny, they should complete a ‘scrutiny proposal form’ and submit it to the Scrutiny Co-ordinator for consideration by the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group.  The Committee:-

RESOLVED - subject to the above observations, to receive the report on the Council’s performance in delivering its Corporate Plan in a bid to improve outcomes for residents.