Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

Recommendations:-

1.           Note the overall position and direction of travel in relation to the Council Plan performance for 2019-20.

2.           Discuss measures which did not achieve their targets and the actions required to improve performance, including future performance clinics.

3.           Note the future reporting arrangements for 2020-21. 

Consideration was given to the report which detailed how the Council Plan, the core document that underpinned the Council’s overall vision, set out the headline priorities, outcomes and measures that would demonstrate its delivery.

This report was the fourth and final report in the 2019-2020 reporting cycle covering Quarter 4 (1st January, 2020 to 31st March, 2020) and year-end.  Due to the COVID-19 crisis and reallocation of resources, there had been a delay in the production of the Quarter 4 Performance Report for 2019-20. 

The report content had also been slimmed down and did not include a detailed narrative for each priority.  The Quarter 4 Report (Appendix A) consisted of performance scorecards for each priority to provide an analysis of the Council’s performance against the thirteen key delivery outcomes and sixty-nine measures, including whether the 2019/20 targets have been achieved and how performance compared to 2018-19.  

At the end of the fourth and final quarter (January to March 2020), thirty-eight measures (57%) had either met or had exceeded the target set in the Council Plan. 

This was a higher number than 2018-19 when thirty-four measures met or exceeded the targets set, but was 1% lower than the 58% of measures that hit their targets in 2018-19. 

This was also an improvement in performance over previous quarters, as only 55%, 52% and 49% of measures hit their targets in quarters one, two and three respectively.

The priority area with the highest proportion of targets met was Priority 3 (a strong community in a clean safe environment) where 75% of measures were marked as target met or exceeded.

The direction of travel was positive for thirty-seven (60%) of the indicators measured in the final quarter. This was the same number of positive measures when compared to thirty-seven last quarter, although a lower percentage when compared to 66% in Quarter 3. However, this was a significant improvement in comparison to Quarter 4 2018-19 when thirty-two (51%) had a positive direction of travel. 

Cabinet Members were invited to each give an overview of progress in their respective areas:-

Councillor Alam confirmed seven out of thirteen measures had hit the target and four others within 3% of the target set.  Targets were hit for the completion of PDR reviews, agency costs and response to complaints given the challenges facing the Council.  Performance was strong revenue collections and sickness. 

This provided from a good foundation for future years now the Plan had come to an end in its current form.

Councillor Beck was pleased to report that target for new homes being delivered in the Borough had been achieved with 51 being delivered from a target of 50.  Homes  delivered directly through Council intervention had achieved 177 from a  target of 175  which meant about a third of the new homes delivered last year were delivered as a direct result of the Council getting involved with the market delivering largely affordable housing and Council housing.

On track was the measure of decency national standards for Council stock which was 100% the same as last year.  The outcome compliancy of Selective Licensing Scheme was at 97.5% of the licence holders being compliant at the end of the year.

Councillor Watson reported on the progress made with the safe and sustainable reduction in the number of children on Child Protection Plans, Children in Need Plans and Looked After Children, which as a result of lockdown had seen a reduction in progress with families and the resultant creeping back up of the numbers.

The Service was bracing itself for referrals now schools had returned so whilst the numbers looked good they did come with a health warning that they may increase over the next few months and reflected how this pandemic had affected some aspects of the Council's work.

Councillor Roche reported on the steady progress of the reduction of numbers of smoking during pregnancy and successful completion of opiate drug treatment and hospital discharges which was going in the right direction but had not quite met its target.

Good progress was also being made with targets hit for safeguarding adults and the number of carers assessments completed.

Councillor Hoddinott confirmed that most of the measures were on target and despite the challenging conditions the Service managed to complete the number of on the spot inspections of taxis with compliance in terms of the driver and the vehicle.  Of the 110 carried out last year not all of them were compliant – 83% of drivers and 70% of vehicles were compliant and the majority of issues resolved within 24 hours.

An area that had suffered due to COVID-19 had been missed bins and whilst numbers had reduced and missed the target this was due to the Waste Service being hit by staff absence. Thanks and appreciation were recorded for those staff who kept most of those services going.

Further improvements were made in the road network and a decrease had been made in the number of roads rated as red and amber with emphasis placed on the unclassified road network.

There had also been positive outcomes for hate crimes which had improved with better handling and reporting by the Police.  It was hoped this would continue and improve further.

It was also good news for enforcement with over 2,00- fines being issued for various enforcement issues such as littering and in particular 82 for fly tipping.  12 cases had been prepared for prosecution, but this had been delayed due to the pandemic.  A small minority continued to fly tip and allow their dogs to foul, but action would continue against them.

Councillor Lelliott reported on the extended opportunities in planning for the future which showed the progress where businesses were supported to grow with employment opportunities being expanded across the Borough.

This was really important during the challenging economic times, but with the expansion of successful business centres the direction of travel was positive.

There were several reasons for those measures that did not hit the target with the percentage of working age population being missed by 0.4% below the national average.  This was not surprising given the economic imbalance.  The other measure was the number of new businesses started which was 2% lower that the 2018/19 target.  Hopefully Rotherham could look to buck the trend and move this forward.

Councillor Allen was pleased to report that the direction of travel for all three measures were going in the right direction.  In terms of culture and leisure facilities the target was not only achieved, but exceeded by over 5% on the previous year.  Visitors were coming to culture and leisure facilities to learn and develop the skills towards obtaining employment and over 17,000 more people had taken advantage of those opportunities which was 4% increase on the year before.

The customer satisfaction ratings for the Council's culture and leisure facilities remained high with a 92% highly satisfied rating for libraries, heritage sites parks, open spaces and sports and leisure facilities.

In terms of the Year Ahead report some of 77 actions also tied into this area moving forward.

Resolved:-

(1)  That the overall position and direction of travel in relation to the Council Plan performance for 2019-20 be noted.

(2)  That measures which did not achieve their targets and the actions required to improve performance, including future performance clinics be discussed.

(3)  That the future reporting arrangements for 2020-21 be noted.