Agenda item

(To receive a report from the Executive Director – Resources which presents an overview of performance against the Corporate Plan as at 30 June 2022)

That performance for 2022/23 as at 30 June 2022 be considered and noted.

Consideration was given to a report introduced by the Head of Corporate Performance which presented an overview of performance against the Corporate Plan as at 30 June 2022.  Detailed information on performance could be viewed in the Council’s website.  It was noted that of the 39 activities due to be reported in quarter 1, they were all rated either as Progress is within agreed limits or Progressing as Planned.  Page 133 of the agenda pack provided full details on all the activities.

It was highlighted that there were no activities which were red rated, and this included one which had been reported as red in quarter 4, this had now moved to green.

Of the key performance indicators (KPI’s) where an ambition had been set, 20 could be compared with an updated position for quarter 1 reporting.  Of these, 70% of KPI’s were either exceeding or achieving the ambition which had been set. 

Officers highlighted that the report included an explanation of the new national formula for recycling rates.  This was impacting three of the seven districts with the twin stream roll out.  A full explanation of all the waste measures was included at page 127 of the agenda pack.

In terms of the contextual measures, two of the measures were impacted by a delay in the release of ONS data, but an update based on local intelligence had been provided.

The Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board presented the comments of the Board following its consideration of this item at its meeting on 25 August 2022.  It was reported that there had been a thorough debate of the performance information, with the Board particularly focused on indicators around Staff Absence, Adult Safeguarding and Waste performance.

During discussion by the Executive, the following was noted:

·       It was commented that the number of days lost to sickness absence per FTE, currently at 8.8 days, was not acceptable, and it was queried how this was going to be addressed.  The Executive was advised that management of sickness was important for all managers, and the monitoring of sickness had been difficult over the past two years due to the pandemic.  However, there was no longer an expectation on people to self-isolate if they tested positive for Covid-19 and staff were expected to be in work if they were well and able, unless they worked with vulnerable people.

·       It was noted that the 8.8 days was the average across the organisation, but higher levels of sickness absence were being seen across the Adults and Children’s Services workforce.  The Executive was reassured that managers continued to manage sickness absence.

·       It was commented that days lost to sickness absence had been below target for a number of quarters, and it was agreed that this was something that needed to be addressed by managers.  Back to work interviews were an important part of managing this, as well as returning staff members workloads being managed appropriately.

·       The number of communities without good access to fast broadband was also highlighted, and it was noted that isolated properties were a challenge.  However, most villages now had access to, or would shortly have access to, fast broadband.

·       In terms of waste performance, only 4% of the county’s waste went to landfill, and the Executive was comfortable with this figure.  It was also reported that the roll out of separate paper and card collections was going well.  In terms of the Household Waste Recycling Centre figures, it was noted that these figures tended to be seasonal.

RESOLVED

That performance for 2022/23 as at 30 June 2022 be considered and noted.