Agenda item

Minutes:

Members gave consideration to the quarter four and year end Progress and Delivery Report for 2024/25. It was explained by the Change, Projects and Performance Officer that as the final report of the year, subsequent reports would change to reflect the measures and targets approved by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee in early 2025.

 

Members heard that overall performance showed 87% of measures were either exceeding or within tolerance of their targets. This was an improvement from 83% in quarter four 2023/24 and 78% in quarter three 2024/25. The number of measures in the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) had been reduced from seven to six year-on-year.

 

There were two changes reported from the previous quarter within the Performance Improvement Plan. The percentage of Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) completed within 20 working days had reported below target in quarter three, however performance had improved and was reporting above target for quarter four. This had therefore been removed from the performance improvement plan. Additionally, the percentage of Food Standards Agency inspections completed had reported below target all year, before finishing the year only 1% off target. This was within tolerance and had been removed from the performance improvement plan this quarter. A total of 334 food inspections were completed throughout 2024/25, with 114 of those conducted in quarter four. In comparison, 229 inspections were completed in total during 2023/24, which was a 46% increase this year. Performance had been expected to improve with additional resource in place and Members heard that this had carried on into the current reporting data for 2025/26 with the team already exceeding target for April and May.

 

With regards to Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), the position was clear and it was not expected that the performance of associated measures would change given the budget position. In relation to the percentage of households spending more than 42 nights in B&B accommodation, this was expected to remain in the PIP as the target was set at zero. This was in line with guidance and what needed to be aimed for, however it was not currently achievable with only limited temporary accommodation available. The project to provide an additional eight units was underway and would improve the performance data over time.

 

It was explained that the measure relating to the Local Land Charges market share had reported below target, however, this had been removed from the measure set for 2025/26 as it was considered out of the control of the team, due to others undercutting on fees. It had been agreed to retain the statistic to maintain visibility, however the team would continue to focus on maintaining high-performance in-service delivery.

 

In relation to market stalls data, the Tuesday markets continued to feature, with updated information to include the updated stall infrastructure and layout to be delivered in Summer 2025, alongside the opening of the new cinema and leisure scheme. Officers were starting to receive some positive community feedback for the Tuesday offer which was being monitored. Finally, regarding T24 savings delivered, these measures had been replaced to include the cumulative value of cashable savings identified and monitored within the council.

 

Having received a series of comments and questions when the report had been presented to the Prosperous Communities Committee on 3 June 2025, the Officer provided Members with the responses, in addition to the information contained within the report.

 

With regard to the percentage of abandoned calls received into the Customer Services team only, Members were advised that following the telephony switchover to the new Contact Centre Solution in November 2024, the project was very much in the delivery phase. An email had been sent to all members update on abandonment rates, which formed part of the ongoing communication plan for the project. The increase was due to demand across a range of services at that time of year and some displaced demand due to utterances within the system. It was clarified that an utterance was a single word, few words or sentence spoken by the customer at the start of the call, which the system picked up and directed the calls to the correct queue. It was confirmed there were no AI loops in the system, with all routes leading to a queue for an officer to answer a call. There had been significant work undertaken by the Customer Service and Change teams with the aim to reduce the demand on customer services and direct customers to the correct department in the first instance. As additional information, for the first two months in quarter one of the current year, the abandonment rate had reduced, reporting 11.03% for April and 10.72% for May, with a call wait time of just over 3 minutes on average.

 

In response to a query regarding staff absenteeism, it was explained that this was measured as the average days lost per full-time equivalent (FTE) per month, and had remained within tolerance for quarter four. It had also further reduced to 0.4 days in April 2025. The reference to effective case management highlighted the council’s proactive approach to supporting staff who were absent from work. This included tailored interventions such as wellbeing action plans, home visits, and referrals to Occupational Health where appropriate. These measures were designed to facilitate a supported return to work and help reduce future sickness absence through individual case-by-case management.

 

In relation to the average spend per head on secondary sales at the trinity Arts Centre, it was explained that the average was down compared to the previous year however the total secondary income for 2024/25 reached £57,467, which was up from £45,187 in 2023/24. This was an increase of 27%, so whilst there had been a reduced average, it was an overall increase for income.

 

To conclude, the Officer explained that the measure related to employee satisfaction was linked with a specific question which formed part of the annual staff survey, with the responses this year being different options to the previous year, and this had impacted on the data reporting. Additionally, this measure had been removed for 2025/26.

 

The Chairman thanked the Officer for her detailed presentation and Members of the Committee welcomed the feedback from queries raised by the Prosperous Communities Committee. It was explained by a Member that the Leisure, Culture, Events and Tourism Working Group had received a detailed breakdown from the Trinity Arts Centre Manager and it was requested that this be shared with the Committee. It was also requested that Members be provided with additional information relating to health and safety issues contained within the report and whether there was more detail regarding the decrease in membership at the Gainsborough leisure centre. It was explained that there had been a new gym open in the town, which had impacted on membership numbers, however there were frequent client meetings and Members would be updated regularly.

 

In response to a question regarding the overall performance of the council, it was confirmed that there had been a marked improvement in the number of measure reporting under target. The specific areas of concern were detailed within the Performance Improvement Plan. Additionally, it was reiterated that the T24 savings project had come to a conclusion, hence it being removed as a measurable dataset.

 

A Member of the Committee highlighted the positive improvement regarding the crematorium and sought to praise the team for their ongoing involvement in several charity initiatives.

 

With no further questions or comments, and having been moved, seconded, and voted upon, it was unanimously

 

            RESOLVED that

 

a)    the performance of the Council’s services through agreed performance measures had been assessed, and areas where improvements should be made had been indicated, having had regard to the remedial measures set out in the report; and

 

b)    the Progress and Delivery Performance Improvement Plan for Quarter Four (January-March) 2024/25 be approved; and

 

c)    the Progress and Delivery Year End 2024/25 Report be approved.

 

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