Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources and the Executive Member for Finance, Governance and Organisation and Deputy Leader.

RESOLVED – that the Executive:

(i)               Note the Key Performance Indicator performance for Q4 2022/23 as detailed in the report and Annex 1;

(ii)             Note the Revenue budget outturn for 2022/23 as detailed in the report and at Annex 2 and approve the recommended budget carry-forwards to 2023/24;

(iii)           Note the Capital Programme outturn for 2022/23 as detailed in the report and at Annex 3 and recommend the additional capital schemes that were approved during the year totalling £4.038 million to Council for inclusion in the Programme.

RECOMMENDS that the Council at its meeting on 20 July 2023:

(iv)           Approve additional capital schemes that were approved during the year totalling £4.038 million for inclusion in the Programme.

The Executive Member for Finance, Governance and Organisation, Councillor Lewanski, introduced the report into the Council’s quarterly performance (Quarter 4 2022/23 – January to March 2023).

Of the 11 Key Performance Indicators reported on in Q4, ten were on target or within the agreed tolerance. One indicator was off-target and outside the agreed tolerance. The red-rated indicator was KPI 3 – staff turnover. Against a target of 12%, 19% was seen in Q4. This was explained by a combination of lower than usual turnover during the pandemic and a particularly buoyant labour market that have led to a release of pent-up demand for a move in job.

Councillor Lewanski reflected on the overall performance as KPI reporting concluded for the year 2022/23. This included the recovery on Council Tax and Business Rates following the pandemic to 98.6% and 99.8% respectively. The Council was above target for overall housing completion with 1129 affordable units delivered in the borough against a target of 1100 set out in the 15-year plan.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 15 June 2023. Councillor Harrison, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, told the Executive that with a new Committee and some new Members, it had been heartening to see a wide range of questions on nine of the KPIs with the greatest focus on staff turnover. New KPIs which included contextual indicators were helpful.

There were no questions from Executive Members.

Visiting Members asked questions on the following areas:

·        KPI 11 relating to the reduction of the Council’s carbon footprint and information on offsetting – Members asked if the Council could be more ambitious on KPI 11. They also queried the graph on the RBBC reduction in carbon emissions including offsetting. Also they asked for further information about offsetting in the energy contracts. Executive Member, Councillor Lewanski, said that the Council had carried out an energy audit of all the Council’s estate and the detailed report was being reviewed. This will be looked at as part of the Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability’s portfolio, Councillor Moses. Once this work has been done, they would be in a position to comment on offsetting carbon. The Leader and the Managing Director confirmed they would look at this and ask officers to distribute detailed information on offsetting to Members.

Members also noted the Overview and Scrutiny Committee draft minute described offsetting such as tree planting and installing Electric Vehicle charging points. If offsetting was different in the report it would be good to clarify in the O&S minutes in due course.

·        Affordable housing – Members asked about the affordable housing targets (KPIs 6 and 7) and commented that the Council was underdelivering on the percentage of affordable housing. The excess housing was meeting the wider London demand for housing but did not meet the borough’s housing need. Only half of housing was affordable housing for rent. A useful indicator could be how long a resident has to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7

To consider progress in the Council’s performance for the fourth quarter 2022/23 including KPIs, and to make any observations to the Executive.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee to:

(i)            Note the Key Performance Indicators performance for Q4 2022/23 as detailed in the report and in Annex 1 and make any observations to the Executive;

(ii)          Note the Revenue budget outturn for 2022/23 and recommended budget-carry-forwards as detailed in the report and at Annex 2 and make any observations to the Executive;

(iii)         Note the Capital Programme outturn for 2022/23 as detailed in the report and at Annex 3 and make any observations to the Executive.

The Executive Member for Finance, Governance, and Organisation, Councillor Lewanski, presented the Quarter 4 Performance Report 2022/23 covering the period January to March 2023. The reports gave an overview of the Council’s performance for Quarter 4 2022/23, including Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reporting, as well as revenue and capital budget monitoring. The reports are due to be presented to Executive on 22 June.

Key Performance Indicators

Of the 11 KPIs reported on, 10 were on target or within the agreed tolerance. KPI 3 – Staff Turnover was off target and outside of its tolerance and therefore red rated. Although this performance indicator continues to remain outside of target and tolerance, there are no new causes of concern arising.

An advance question on this item had been submitted prior to the meeting. The advance question on KPI 8 Environmental Quality Surveys and its response can be viewed here:

Document Advance Questions and Answers OS 15 June 2023 | Reigate and Banstead Borough Council (moderngov.co.uk)

The Executive Member for Finance, Governance, and Organisation, Councillor Lewanski invited Members to ask questions on the Quarter 4 2022/23 Performance Report provided in the agenda pack. In response, the following clarifications were provided:

KPI 9 - Number of missed bins per 1,000 collected

There was very little public data made available by local authorities regarding reliability of their waste collection services so there is no data set to make a meaningful comparison. The Council’s target is set by the service at a level that is assumed to indicate a reliable service; for every 1,000 bins collected no more than 10 should be missed.

In-cab technology allows for data to be reported to the Council which is then analysed at service level. The in-cab technology also allows communication to cabs enabling missed bins to be reported and collected as soon as possible.

Members noted and commended the low rate of missed bin collections.

KPI 3 – Staff turnover

The Council’s staff turnover was compared to that of other local authorities, especially neighbouring authorities and at 19% was not an outlier. Private sector staff turnover is around 25%. Early assessment of Period 1 of 2023/24 also appears to be indicating a decrease in staff turnover. The employment market continues to be buoyant, and the Council conducts exit interviews. Staff turnover also provides an opportunity to attract new people, skills, and ideas.

Gaps left by employees leaving the Council may be filled by temporary resource, as well as being used to provide opportunities for current staff development; officers may be seconded from either within the team or elsewhere in the Council. The solution would depend upon the vacancy. A thorough vacancy approval process is in place as part of the Financial Sustainability Plan whereby all vacancies are scrutinised to determine whether they are needed, and at which level. Opportunities to share services with other local authorities, particularly in the east of the borough, were also identified. No significant impact on delivery of services has been experienced.

The number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6