Agenda item

Mark Gannon, Strategic Commissioning Manager, presented the submitted report which summarised RBT’s performance against contractual measures and key service delivery issues for January, 2011, across the areas of Customer Access, Human Resources and Payroll, ICT, Procurement and Revenues and Benefits.

Key points for this period included:-

Customer Access

-              All performance targets achieved with the exception of the telephony element of CA05 (Contact not Abandoned) which achieved only 87.39% against a target of 90%.  As anticipated, the Repairs Service continued to receive high call volumes during January due to the expected surge in customers calling in relation to non-emergency repairs.  Also high volumes of calls regarding changes in bin collections received following changes over the Christmas period

-              Issues remained around the Contact Centre being able to contact Wilmott Dixon.  Wilmott Dixon continued to be unable to supply a presence within the contact centre.  An e-mail solution was being piloted in an attempt to resolve the issues

-              Charging for replacement wheelie bins had commenced on 17^th January, 2011.  The Contact Centre had taken 30 payments for replacement bins with 10 customers refusing to purchase a replacement

-              A meeting held to look at the current scope of advice offered by the Welfare Rights and Money Advice Service

-              1 complaint received in January which was closed not upheld

Human Resources and Payroll

-              All performance targets achieved

-              Server Refresh now complete

-              Yourself version 12 had been delayed until 21^st March

-              Work on consultancy support to Dudley MBC was progressing

-              Aston Comprehensive School was to become an Academy from 1^st May, 2011

ICT

-              All performance targets achieved

-              RMBC and Sheffield City Council had established a joint Emergency Planning Shared Service with Sheffield’s Emergency Planning staff to be based in Bailey House

-              Notification received that the Authority had passed its annual Government Connect assessment.  However, the assessor had made it conditional on the encryption of the laptops of all Government Connect users and the prevention of those people from using unencrypted memory sticks/CDs.  RBT had started work on this and committed to have the improvements in place by the end of May, 2011.

-              HR Server upgrade completed

Procurement

-              All performance targets achieved

-              Former BVP18 achieved 90.36%.  This had been impacted by the severe weather.  The current year to date position was 94.69%, an improvement on the same point during 2009/10 when performance achieved a year to date figure of 94.31%

Revenues and Benefits

-              Council Tax Collection Rate 92.14% at the end of January, 2011, 0.9% lower than the same point in 2009/10

-              The target for 2010/11 continued to be a Council Tax Collection Rate which placed Rotherham in the upper performance quartile for Metropolitan District Councils with a minimum collection level of 97.0% regardless of quartile position

-              There had been 3,579 Council Tax Liability Orders referred to the bailiff up to the end of December, none of which were classed as a vulnerable case

-              Average number of days taken to action a Council Tax Change of Circumstance was 13.61 days.  This was better than the performance level which the service aimed to achieve i.e. 14 days

-              NNDR collection rate was 95.58% at the end of January, 2011, 0.63% behind the  same point in 2009/10

-              The NNDR collection figure had been adjusted to incorporate the affect of the NNDR Deferral Scheme.  The year end target remained a collection rate which placed Rotherham in the upper performance quartile for Metropolitan District Councils with a maximum collection level of 98.5% regardless of quartile position

-              357 Business Rates Liability Orders had been referred to the bailiff in the current financial year up to the end of January, 2011

-              The number of cases under NNDR Deferral Scheme currently stood at 184 allowing for a deferral of £394,503

-              No complaints were received

Discussion took place on the report with the following issues highlighted/raised:-

o       Wilmott Dixon would not be placing any work planners in the Contact Centre.  This  method of working had worked well in the past with 2010 Rotherham Ltd. with Morrisons having adopted the same practice.  Meetings were still taking place in an attempt to resolve this issue

o       A further meeting was to be held to look at the way forward with regard to Welfare Rights and Money Advice across the Borough

o       An excellent Meet the Buyer event held on 11^th March

o       Ongoing discussions between the Council and RBT

Resolved:- That RBT’s performance against contractual measures and key service delivery issues for January, 2011, be noted.