Agenda item

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources.

Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources, Councillor Lewanski, introduced the performance report and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) up to the end of Quarter 3 (October to December 2022) (Annex 1).

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Governance also set out the Budget Monitoring forecasts (Annex 2 and 3) for the quarter  and progress update on the Financial Sustainability Programme (Annex 4).

Councillor Lewanski told Executive that of the 10 KPIs reported on in Q3, eight were on target and two were off target. The two red-rated indicators were:

·        KPI 3 – Staff turnover which was 18% which was higher than the target of 12%. This was due to a buoyant labour market following the low turnover of staff during the pandemic.

·        KPI 10 – Recycling – a particularly dry summer had an impact on garden waste tonnage and collection levels were 53.9% against a target of 60%.

The report introduced KPIs planned for the 2023/24 financial year which were similar to the previous year. One new KPI was proposed on the number of accepted Stage 1 complaints received by the Council.

The Q3 performance 2022/23 reports were considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 16 March 2023. Their observations were published as draft minutes in an Addendum to the Executive’s agenda pack.

Visiting Members asked questions on the following KPIs:

·        KPI 3 Staff turnover and any areas of persistent vacancies. Managing Director, Mari Roberts-Wood, noted that it was a competitive recruitment market currently. However, there was not a concentration of vacancies in one job area. The Council was also targeting potential applicants through social media, including LinkedIn, as well as exploring different types of advertising. A recent senior job advertisement had attracted over 90 applications.

·        Cost of living crisis framework and tracking reports. A briefing session for Members had taken place and the data and insight team were continuing to track external indicators. Uptake of frontline intervention services is also tracked to make sure the Council was providing services most needed by residents. Consideration will be given to how best these contextual data sources can be reported to Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·        KPI 10 Recycling percentages excluding garden waste – it was confirmed by officers that this was provided in supporting information for the KPI. Councillor Lewanski highlighted that the Council was a high performer on recycling when measured against other local authorities.

O&S Vice-Chair Councillor Walsh commented on the positive reporting on KPI 6 (Net housing completions) and KPI 7 (Net affordable housing completions). He noted the response on KPI 3 on staff turnover which had been expected to rise and welcomed the action taken to increase staff retention.

Councillor Schofield, Executive Member for Finance and Governance,  presented the Council’s Revenue and Capital Budget position for Quarter 3 to the end of December. The projected full year outturn was forecast to be £18.532m against a management budget of £20.062m resulting in an underspend for the year of £1.530m (7.6%). Significant budget variances were set out in the report and chart on p167.

The full year Capital Programme forecast at the end of Q3 was £31.99m (55.6%) below the approved Programme for the year. The variance was a result of slippage in allocated investment for housing developments primarily due to related business cases that had not yet been fully developed.

Annex 3 to the report set out in-year Capital Programme approvals of £4.46m to reflect planned investment in housing and parking assets to be completed during 2023/24. These were fully funded through S106 funding and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This recommendation will be brought for approval to Full Council at its meeting on 30 March 2023.

Executive Members and Visiting Members made no further comments.

RESOLVED – that the Executive:

(i)               Note the Key Performance Indicator performance for Q3 2022/23 as detailed in the report and Annex 1;

(ii)              Approve the Key Performance Indicators to be reported on in 2023/24 as detailed in Annex 1.1; and

(iii)            Note the Budget Monitoring forecasts for Q3 2022/23 as detailed in the report and at Annexes 2 and 3 and the progress update on the Financial Sustainability Programme at Annex 4.

Recommend to Council to:

(iv)            Approve the recommended £4.46m increase in the Capital Programme for investment in housing and parking assets, funded from Section 106 and Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy resources, that were approved during the quarter.