Agenda item

The Committee gave consideration to the Progress and Delivery Quarter Two report for 2025/26, including the Performance Improvement Plan. The Senior Transformation and Performance Officer highlighted that 81% of all KPIs were exceeding target, 6% were within tolerance, and 17% were below target. This figure equated to six measures, five of which were covered by the Performance Improvement Plan. The Officer provided further context to those measures included in the plan, and summarised actions being taken to improve performance.

It was also explained that work was underway to review the Progress and Delivery measure sets for the 2026/27 performance framework. The recommendation was to align measures with the refreshed themes of the Corporate Plan and to transition from portfolio/service-based formats to strategic theme-based structures. The review would also consider introducing new indicators where gaps existed, and reassess targets for measures which consistently exceeded expectations. Those measures not directly aligned to the Corporate Plan themes were proposed to be used to monitor operational service delivery and would form a new operational report.

Members heard that as part of the review process, approval for the proposed approach would be sought from members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, with engagement from Group Leaders to ensure broader member involvement. Following the review, the proposed measures and targets would be presented to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee for approval in February 2026.

In response to a question regarding secondary sales at the Lea Fields Crematorium, it was explained these included memorial items such as plaques. The reason for the significant drop from previous years was not known, however Officers undertook to request that information from the team. It was also enquired as to why the number of services had reduced, and it was agreed for Officers to share benchmarking data with Members.

A Member of the Committee thanked Officers for the detail provided in the report, however questioned whether there was sufficient focus on improving outcomes, particularly for those areas which were include in the Performance Improvement Plan. He highlighted the connection between the two policy committees and enquired as to why there was no information provided as to what had been raised or noted when the report was presented to the Prosperous Communities Committee. He queried whether the Chairman of that committee could also be present at the meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee in order to present the outcome of their debate, with the aim of having a consensus across the two committees as to whether sufficient work was being undertaken to improve those areas where it was required.

Members of the Committee agreed with the need for both policy committees to address those performance concerns, and for the policy committees to take responsibility for, and drive forward, continuous improvement. Officers highlighted the inclusion of the Performance Improvement Plan had been as a result of debate and recommendations from the policy committees in the past, and also reiterated the work in progress to review the Progress and Delivery measure sets for the 2026/27 performance framework.

There was significant debate regarding the role of the policy committees, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in a fourth option council compared to an executive model of governance. Reference was made to a previous communication from Government which aimed to bring all councils into the executive model, however this was no longer a certain outcome. The Monitoring Officer explained the position to date, and offered to address any questions arising in due course.

With regard to the interaction between the two policy committees, and how to ensure performance improvement was driven forward, it was requested that the review of the process and the KPIs was returned to the Committee in a timely manner in order for the focus to be maintained. Officers were in agreement and highlighted the proposed measures and targets would be presented to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee for approval in February 2026.

With the Chairman thanking all for their comments and involvement in the debate, and having been proposed, seconded, and voted upon, it was

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