Agenda item

To consider the Quarter 3 Council Plan Performance Management report.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 35 to 82, which gave details of the Quarter 3 2018/19 Council Plan Performance Monitoring.

Louise Griffin (Performance and Programme Management Specialist) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

The report gave details of responses to questions posed by the Committee at its meeting in November 2018. It also provided a service narrative for the Q3 measures falling short of the specified targets (Red).

For Quarter 3 of 2018/19, 75% of the performance measures were reported as meeting the assigned targets (Green); 14% were marginally off target (Amber) and 11% were reported as Red.

The targets assigned to each indicator were SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. They took into account historic trend information to assess the direction of travel and benchmarking data which showed how the Borough compared with regional or national performance.

The indicators with a Red rating were:

·           EA1iii: Percentage of Wokingham borough state-funded special schools with a current Ofsted rating of Good or better;

·           EA3: Percentage of early years settings in Wokingham borough with an Ofsted rating of Good or better;

·           EA7: Percentage of infants who received a 6-8 week review within 8 weeks;

·           EA11: 12-month rolling voluntary turnover of qualified Social Worker within Children’s Social Care and Early Intervention Service;

·           VP1iv: Non-elective admissions;

·           VP7: Percentage of children leaving care who achieved permanence;

·           VP8: Percentage of child protection visits due in the period which were completed on time (within 10 days of the previous visit);

·           VP11: Percentage of formal homelessness decisions made within 45 working days.

Appended to the report was a summary of the performance measures currently supporting the Council Plan Key Actions for 2018/19 (Appendix A) and supplementary performance information for each performance measure (Appendix B).

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points:

VP8: Percentage of child protection visits due in the period which were completed on time (within 10 days of the previous visit).

Members noted that this indicator had been reported as “Red” for the previous six quarters and sought clarification on the reasons given for not achieving the target. It was confirmed that the 10 day target had been set locally. The statutory target for this indicator was 42 days. Members queried whether this local target was “SMART”, i.e. achievable and asked for an update on the implications of not meeting the target and the measures being put in place to achieve it.

EA2: Percentage of children who attend a Wokingham Borough state funded school (Primary, Secondary or Special) which is Ofsted rated Good or Outstanding.

What were the implications of the new tougher Ofsted inspection regime for the achievement of the target? How was the service responding to the new challenges? As this indicator was linked to the performance of individual schools, what was the Council’s contribution towards achieving the target – in that sense, was it a SMART target? In relation to the Northern House School, what progress was being made in improving the school’s performance?

EA7: Percentage of infants who received a 6-8 week review within 8 weeks.

Members noted that this indicator had also been reported as “Red” for the previous six quarters and requested further information on the measures being taken to achieve the specified target.

Council Plan Priority: Improve the customer experience when accessing Council services.

Members noted that, of the 11 underpinning performance indicators relating to this Council Plan Priority, only two appeared to relate directly to improving the customer experience:

CE9: Percentage of first contact resolution – calls and emails;

CE10: Percentage of calls answered.

Members asked for clarification on the indicators used to measure the customer experience when accessing Council services. It was confirmed that the Committee would be considering an update on the 21^st Century Council programme at its March 2019 meeting. This update should include information on measures to improve customer satisfaction as this was one of the key aims of the programme. The update should also include the steps taken to monitor and report customer satisfaction levels.

Members discussed the process for deciding on key performance indicators and associated targets, including who set the targets and who was consulted about the process. It was felt that a briefing session on key indicator and target setting would be useful. It was reported that the Committee would be receiving an update on the new Borough Plan at its March 2019 meeting. This could be linked to a briefing on the setting of priorities, key indicators and targets for the new plan.

Members asked for clarification on the process for identifying the demand for new schools across the Borough, e.g. analysis of birth rates, demographic projections, number of new houses approved and built, movements in and out of the Borough, etc.

Wokingham Town Centre Market Place – Members noted the comments in the report relating to Member scrutiny of this project via the Town Centre Board. Members asked for clarification on the operation of the Town Centre Board, e.g. membership, terms of reference, frequency of meetings, decision-making powers, public accountability, consultation and communication processes with local stakeholders.

RESOLVED That:

1)     Louise Griffin be thanked for attending the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions;

2)     the Quarter 3 2018/19 Council Plan Performance monitoring report be noted;

3)     responses be sought to the specific issues raised by Members during the meeting;

4)     a briefing on the setting of key performance indicators and targets be provided at a future meeting of the Committee.