Agenda item

(To receive a report from the Chief Executive, which presents an overview of performance for Q1 against the Council Business Plan)

1.    That the 2017/2018 Quarter 1 performance be noted.

2.    That the proposed changes to reporting as set out in the report be approved.

3.    That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 28 September 2017 be reported to the Leader of the Council.

Consideration was given to a report from Tony McArdle, Chief Executive, which presented an overview of performance for Quarter 1 against the Council Business Plan.

The Performance and Equalities Manager guided the Executive through the report and highlighted the following:

·         A number of changes had been made to the infographics to improve understanding and viewing when printed in greyscale.

·         Of the 14 commissioning strategies reported in Quarter 1, 10 had performed really well with four having mixed performance.

·         Those commissioning strategies with mixed performance (where some measures were achieved and some were not) were:

Ø  Carers

Ø  Protecting the public

Ø  Protecting and sustaining the environment

Ø  Wellbeing

Summaries of the measures which had not achieved target were set out in more detail in Appendix B to the report.  A number of proposed changes to reporting performance against the Council Business Plan 2017/18 were also highlighted to the Executive.

Comments made by the Executive in response to the performance information presented included the following:

Carers

·         There had been changes to eligibility criteria following the Care Act and so there was now a more targeted support service, with those carers in greatest need receiving the most support.  This had had an impact on the number of 'Carers who receive a direct payment'

·         The target for 'Carers supported to delay the care and support for the person they care for' had not been met, but it was moving in the right direction.  It was noted that this measure had been affected by changing practice and legislation.  It was too early to be making comparisons with other councils, but it was noted that the same effect was being seen across the country.

·         The council was seeing increasing numbers of carers and providing a better level of support.

Protecting the Public

·         It was suggested that the increase in 'Alcohol related anti-social behaviour incidents' could have been due to the warmer weather.  It was also noted that the way the bank holidays had fallen could have affected the number of incidents reported this quarter.  Officers commented they would like to see data for 2 or 3 more quarters before drawing any conclusions.

·         The Executive was advised that the Council worked with the district and police colleagues on a number of initiatives.  There was also close working with the Community Safety Board to reduce the use of drugs and alcohol.

·         Work was ongoing on a more coherent domestic abuse strategy in terms of joint commissioning with Children's Services and Adult Services.  However, it was noted that the Police held most of the budget around victim support.

·         Lincolnshire performance around 'satisfaction with response to crime and anti-social behaviour' had improved and it was also noted that Lincolnshire's performance was higher than the rest of the East Midlands.

·         In relation to 'Primary fires' it was noted that in domestic dwellings they were mostly due to white goods, and this could be an issue for Trading Standards to investigate in relation to unsafe/fake goods as well as fires caused by tumble dryers overheating.

·         In relation to deliberate fires, it was reported that the Arson Task Force worked closely with neighbourhood policing teams.

·         It was reported that in relation to 'People killed or seriously injured (KSI) in road traffic accidents' it was not appropriate to set a target, but officers had been looking at trends, and so far no commonality in terms of types of driver, weather, time of day etc. had been identified.  It was queried whether there had been any increase in multiple deaths, but the Executive was advised that they seemed to be single deaths e.g. motorcycles, pedestrians so it was difficult to account for the increase compared to the same period the previous year.  It was highlighted that the Road Safety Partnership attended the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee a couple of times per year and this data would be monitored.

Protecting and sustaining the environment

·         The target had been set through the Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) and this was now being refreshed. A new target would be agreed with districts.  It was acknowledged that the target previously set was unrealistic but I was outside of the council's control.

·         The Executive Councillor for Commercial and Environmental Management acknowledged that the recycling rates at Household Waste Recycling Centres was down, however, reuse of materials had been very successful. It was also noted that there had been increased levels of contamination which had also reduced the totals of material recycled.  The Executive Councillor advised that this was now being addressed.

Wellbeing

·         The Executive was advised that there was a time lag for performance reporting for 'Successful completion of alcohol treatment' and so the latest performance information available was for quarter 4 2016/17.  It was also reported that the new contract had now commenced.  Data indicated an increase in performance for quarter 1.  However, this data was yet to be validated.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board advised that he would bring back feedback from the meeting at the end of the month for the Executive to reflect on.

RESOLVED

1.    That the 2017/2018 Quarter 1 performance be noted.

2.    That the proposed changes to reporting as set out in the report be approved.

3.    That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 28 September 2017 be reported to the Leader of the Council.