Agenda item

(To consider a report from Caroline Jackson, Head of Corporate Performance, and Jasmine Sodhi, Performance and Equalities Manager, on the Performance Reporting against the Corporate Plan Performance Framework 2020/21 - Quarter 4, which is being presented to the Executive on 6 July 2021. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report from the Performance and Equalities Manager, on the Performance Reporting against the Corporate Plan Performance Framework 2020/21 - Quarter 4 (Q4), which was being presented to the Executive on 6 July 2021. The views of the Board would be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of the item.

The report recommended that the Executive:  Consider and note the Quarter 4 performance for 2020/21;  Approve the proposal to defer reporting of 2021/2022 Quarter 1 performance and to report Quarters 1 and 2 together in December as set out in the report.

The report mentioned that of the 53 activities with milestones due to be reported in Q4, 66% (35), were either on plan or ahead of plan. This was comparable with Q3 where 65% (22 out of 34) were either on plan or ahead of plan. In Q4 the impact of COVID-19 was evident. Five of the 18 activities (compared with seven out of 12 in Q3) that were behind plan had been impacted by COVID-19. There was positive performance overall and three of the four ambitions were on plan.

Members discussed the report, and during the discussion the following points were noted:

·         Healthy life expectancy for Lincolnshire residents – Healthy life expectancy varied across Lincolnshire and was linked to deprivation. Further information was requested on why the male and female figures were roughly the same in Lincolnshire when nationally the male life expectancy figures were usually much worse than the female life expectancy figures. The Chief Executive undertook to ask the Director of Public Health to provide a briefing paper on this to the Board.

·         Reduction in Killed and Seriously Injured on Lincolnshire roads – a 21% reduction was said to be due to the Covid-19 restrictions in 2020/21, most likely because people took fewer journeys and there was less traffic. Concerns were raised, however, about reports that speeding offences had increased during this period. Further information on the number of motorists prosecuted for speeding in Lincolnshire in 2020/21 compared to previous years was requested.

·         Residents' level of satisfaction with their area as a place to live and Residents' feedback on feeling safe and secure in their local area – concerns were raised that 1 in 5 residents were not satisfied with their local area and that only 71.5% felt safe in their local area. Additional information in future reports showing trends year on year and comparisons with neighbouring authorities would be useful as would comparisons between those living in urban and rural areas. It was highlighted that a Citizens Panel had recently been established with representatives of different communities. The Panel was being used to seek feedback on these areas and over time looking at emerging trends. The ambition was to compare the Council's performance over time. It was noted that it would be difficult to make direct comparisons with other local authorities due to social, economic and geographical differences.

·         Percentage of unclassified roads in good condition (minor roads) – for the road network, there were national comparators to other similar authorities for road maintenance. For unclassified roads, the Council was not performing as well as other similar authorities, as approximately 28% of unclassified roads required maintenance and were now the focus of the Asset Management team's attention. However, only 2% of principal roads, namely the A roads, and 6% of non-principal roads, namely the B and C roads, required maintenance which put the Council in the upper quartile when compared to other similar authorities. No mention was made of which quartile the Council was in for unclassified roads.

·         The Success Framework would be reviewed after its first year and post Covid to check that the right areas and performance indicators were included for moving forward, that there were no gaps, the data obtained was meaningful and there was a full response in reports on the reasons any targets had not been met. The Board requested a report be brought back after the review had taken place.

·         Any areas of under-performance in Quarter 1 which would have been reported to the Board in August should be brought to the attention of the Board before the next report due in November to keep members informed of any issues. The Chief Executive undertook to consider whether and how an interim report could be produced.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the Board support the recommendation to the Executive as outlined above and in the report;

2.      That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive in relation to this item.