Agenda item

To consider the Performance Report for Q4 of 2020/21 (January to March).

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 11 to 52, which gave details of Council performance during Quarter 4 of 2020/21 (January  to March 2021).

Will Roper, Customer Insight Analyst and Performance Manager, attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

The report stated that each quarter of 2020/21 had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the significant impacts of Covid-19 and the Council’s focus on response and recovery, performance at the end of Quarter 4 remained positive across the majority of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). 80% of KPIs reported achieved the target (Green) or were near target (Amber). Only six KPIs were reported Red at the end of the quarter.

In order to focus the report on key issues a summary page was included for each department setting out the top three wins over the quarter, the top three opportunities and the key challenges.

The report stated that, over the 2020/21 Municipal Year:

·           37 KPIs had improved performance;

·           8 KPIs had maintained performance;

·           11 KPIs performed worse at the end of the year;

·           5 KPIs had no direction of travel (not available);

·           3 KPIs were awaiting data (pending).

Appended to the report was a detailed breakdown of the KPIs for each department, including service narrative and direction of travel.

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points: 

CIC 16 – Stage 1 complaints per 100k population - provides data on Stage 1 complaints. Can Members see data on Stage 2 and Ombudsman complaints?

CIC 8 – number of fly tipping incidents – fly tipping has increased substantially in recent years – the target does not indicate a route to previous levels. Can the target plot a path back to fly tipping levels from three years ago? Should this be a Green RAG status?

CIC9 – Number of resident subscribers to Wokingham Borough Connect – needs a SMART target.

CIC10 – WBC social media impressions engagement and followers – needs a SMART target.

CS2 - % of child protection visits completed within 10 days – 10 day target is non-statutory – does this KPI focus on speed, impact or quality?

CS5 – % of former care leavers (up to age 21) in Education, Employment or Training - should the KPI refer to care leavers up to the age of 25? What is the basis for this KPI?

PG15 – Proportion of adults who do any walking or cycling, for any purpose, at least once per week - what is the relevance of this data? Are we reporting on people who walk for leisure rather than people who walk instead of travelling by car? This is a national indicator – can we provide data for the Borough?

PG16 – enabling sustainable travel: length of greenways and cycleways delivered - again this records leisure travel. Can we find a measure that records modal shift from car journeys to cycling?

PG22 – Carbon Footprint of Wokingham Borough. Could we see the carbon reduction target broken down annually over the next nine years to enable clarity on progress up to 2030?

PG25 – Carbon offsetting for Wokingham Borough – this refers to offsetting. This should be sequestration.

PG26 – Air Quality – the data should reflect the average of all the air monitors rather than a single monitor.

PG3 – PG4 – how are these targets set? Are they SMART Targets?

PG3 – Local Plan Update - bearing in mind the lack of progress on the Local Plan Update, should this be Green?

PG8 – Planning applications are higher. Can we see a breakdown of different types, e.g. new houses v house extensions?

RA5a – % of successful homeless preventions - what is the impact of the Government ban on evictions?

Emerging Planning Reform which is unclear as to how it will affect the Council’s ability to retain control of local development post 2024 – the Queen’s Speech gave some indication on the shape of the planning reforms.

RESOLVED That:

1)     Will Roper be thanked for attending the meeting to answer Member questions on the Performance Management report for Q4 2020/21;

2)     further responses be circulated on the specific KPI issues raised by Members;

3)     a further report be submitted on proposals to make the performance reports more effective and timely, including an explanation on the process for setting targets and Red/Amber/Green (RAG) thresholds.