Agenda item

Members gave consideration to a report which assessed the performance of the Council’s services through agreed performance measures, as at the end of Period 3.    Members were asked to review performance and recommend areas where improvements should be made, having regard to any remedial measures already included within the report.

The report summary was structured to highlight those areas that were performing above expectations, and those areas where there was a risk to either performance or delivery.

Section 2 of the Executive Summary included comparison tables showing a summary of performance across the three periods to-date, as well as the direction of travel over the three periods.  These were brought to Members’ attention.

Areas described as performing well included:

*           Benefits

*           Economic Development and Town Centre Management

*           Trinity Arts Centre

*           Street Cleansing

*           Waste

Those areas described as risks included:

*           Enforcement

*           Home Choices

*           Licensing

*           Local Land Charges

*           Markets

Further information was given on each of the above.

In response to the Chairman’s comments regarding difficulty sometimes comparing data in the absence of the target the Director of Operations advised this would be fed into the current review and introduced for 19/20.

Making reference to the summary information in relation to Council Tax and NNDR contained on Page 52 of the reports pack, in response to a Member’s question, the Director of Operations confirmed this would not resolve the matter pertaining to the Lincolnshire Showground.  Whilst he did not wish to go into detail regarding this matter, within the Committee arena, following further questions Members were advised this was a complex matter with much legal advice being sought. Questions around the Show Ground’s charity status had arisen due to the nature of some of the business and activities carried out on the site.

Members welcomed the Action Plan appended to the report which related to improving the way in which data was collected and presented to allow easier comparison going forward.  Officers were praised for their continued attempts at improving the report and its ease of comparison and looked forward to further improvements.  In response, the Executive Director of Operations advised P and D reporting had been in place since 2012 and a number of improvements had been made over the years. The reports had been drastically improved since their introduction.  The ongoing work of the P and D working group was outlined and assurance was offered that this refinement, both of the targets and the way in which data was presented, with the involvement of Members would continue.

Members indicated they would welcome more detailed information and a greater breakdown of the footfall and usage figures of the Leisure Centre in future reports.

In response to comments, the Executive Director of Operations confirmed that the data collected for progress and delivery without doubt was being used to feed and drive service improvement.   It enabled Team Managers to have early warning of potential issues within their service and put in place mitigating actions.  It also provided Team Managers with data and evidence to request additional resources from Management Team where mitigating actions had not resolved the issue identified.

RESOLVED that having critically appraised the performance of the Council’s services and key projects through agreed performance measures, and having had regard to the remedial measures suggested in the report, and the information provided in response to Member questions, no further formal action be requested at this stage.

Note:         Councillor Gillian Bardsley declared a pecuniary interest in the following item of business as she was a landlord and withdrew from the Chamber prior to the item being debated.