HERTSMERE BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORT TO EXECUTIVE Item no: 7.2 Document Reference no: EX/10/30 Date of Meeting / Decision: 10 March 2010 This is not a key decision Urgency: The proposals are not exempt from call-in on the grounds of urgency QUARTER 3 PERFORMANCE MONITORING REPORT 2009/10 PORTFOLIO HOLDER: COUNCILLOR CHARLES GOLDSTEIN 1. ACTION RECOMMENDED 1.1 That the Executive notes the Quarter 3 2009/10 Performance Indicator outturns and the outcome of the Performance Management Panel meeting (Appendices A and B). 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / PROPOSALS 2.1 This report illustrates the performance of council services against statutory and local performance indicators (PIs) for the period 1 October 31 December 2009 2.2 In accordance with the Council s Performance Management Process all PIs are subject to an initial risk analysis to identify the impact and likelihood of poor performance. A PI is then graded as green, amber or red, dependent on its risk rating. Remedial actions are then attributed to each amber and red PI. The outcome of this process is reported at Appendix A, which sets out the risk rating, the PIs reaching this level of risk and any associated actions required. 2.3 The risk assessment is then presented to the Executive Performance Management Panel along with the outcomes of any remedial actions requested or proposed and the full list of performance data (Appendix B). Where appropriate, the relevant Heads of Service and or the Portfolio Holder may be invited to attend to discuss any particular performance issues in their service area. 2.4 The Panel are able to consider the information presented to them at this stage and determine whether any further action is required. A summary of the outcomes from the Panel meeting is included in this report. The Quarter 3 performance report will also be presented to the Overview and Performance Committee on 23 rd March 2010. Any matters arising from the Executive meeting will be verbally reported at the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Committee. Similarly any matters arising from one Scrutiny Committee will be reported to part of the next quarter reporting. 1
2.5 The full list of outturn data for Quarter 3 (Appendix B) is presented in tabular format, highlighting performance from Quarter 3 alongside performance from previous quarters, providing a rolling picture of performance over a given period. Performance against targets is highlighted in colour i.e. red - not meeting target and green on or above target. Movement from the previous period is also reported in the trend column, with an up arrow indicating an improvement in performance and a down arrow indicating deterioration. 3 KEY PERFORMANCE ISSUES 3.1 The Performance Management Panel (PMP) met on 28 th January 2010 and noted the overall performance with 82 out of 104 performance indicators being risk rated as green and requiring no further action, 13 PIs categorised as amber and 9 as red. Six PIs were rated at the highest risk rating of 16 for this quarter. 3.2 The Panel were pleased to note the high number of green rated indicators and in particular the significantly improved performance over the last three quarters against the processing planning applications. The following paragraphs reflect actions taken against the red rated PIs along with any comments made by the Performance Management Panel. 3.3 NI 195 - Street and Environmental Cleanliness The Portfolio Holder of Waste Operations attended the Executive Performance Panel Meeting to present a summary report with regard to NI195 Street and Environmental Cleanliness. It was noted by the Panel that staff were being trained to the new way of inspecting and that reporting methods changing. The Panel noted that there had been an overall improvement over the quarters against this PI. The Portfolio Holder asked whether the targets could be changed to reflect the National Performance figures. It was AGREED to leave the targets as they are for this year and to review and assess what would be appropriate for the next reporting year and that local benchmarking for this indicator should be looked at. The Panel NOTED that the Community Payback Scheme and the Pride in Hertsmere Scheme were working well. 3.4 FIN4 Amount of Investment Income The Panel NOTED that this indicator has varied immensely since September 2009. The Director of Finance explained the issues surrounding short term investments and the need to be cautious in light of the economic climate and incidents such as the Icelandic Banks. It was NOTED that the Director of Resources would be taking a paper to the Executive management Board, the Chief Officers Board and to the Financial Monitoring Panel. The Panel also NOTED that it may be prudent to investigate joint investment with other Authorities to obtain a better investment rate. 3.5 PLA7 Percentage of submitted planning applications returned as incomplete. It was NOTED that the planning department were still receiving a large number of incomplete planning applications. The issue had been an item of discussion at the last Agents Forum on 13 th October 2009. The Panel were presented by a report prepared by the Head of Planning and Building Control which included a validation matrix produced for householder applications. This matrix was created in an attempt to make the requirements clearer. The Panel NOTED the Validation Matrix was available on the website and had been sent to 26 agents who had submitted two or more invalid applications in the last year. It was also NOTED that this matrix would be presented at the next Agents Forum on 4 th March 2010. It was AGREED that the Director of 2
Environment should investigate whether it was possible to place an administration charge on incomplete applications. 3.6 NI179 Value for money. The Director of Resources advised the Panel that new efficiencies were secured and that the current target should be achieved. It was also NOTED that KPMG had been appointed to identify any potential further efficiencies for the Council to Cascade 3.7 HS001 - Increase in near miss reporting (Health and Safety) & HS002a Reduction in number of days lost to work related injuries. The Director of Resources clarified that the target for this Indicator was to be revised to a more realistic one. A written report was presented to the Panel by the Health and Safety co-ordinator outlining the health and safety indicators. The Panel NOTED that monitoring will continue to take place on an ongoing basis. It was AGREED that clear definitions are required for near miss reporting and that the health and safety indicators should continue to be monitored for management information. 3.8 HOU183b - Length of stay in temporary accommodation (hostel/weeks) It was noted by the Panel that the figures for Quarter 3 represented only two cases. The average was skewed by one exceptional case which had been delayed by rent arrears. 3.9 PLA26 Percentage of planning application sites visited within 21 days of the application being registered as incomplete. The Panel were informed that this was a new indicator reported for the first time this quarter and was showing improving performance over the past two quarters. Case management practices have been put into place to drive improvements in this area. 3.10 Email Monitoring The Head of Corporate Support reported to the Panel that the Performance Officer who attended the Hertfordshire Performance Network Group discussed whether any of the authorities within that group had an email monitoring policy. It was NOTED that other authorities had found this too difficult to do or administer due to the volumes of emails that were generated daily. The Panel AGREED that considerations should be placed on looking at major public interfaces such as Revenues and Benefits and Waste Services. It was also AGREED that the Head of Information Services to explore on how this may be achieved and the cost associated with it. This report should consider the whole organisation as well as certain key departments/services and will be reported back to the Executive Performance Management Panel in due course. 4. REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION 4.1 Quarterly monitoring of performance indicators forms part of the Council s Performance Management Strategy. 5. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS 5.1 None. 3
6. PLANNED TIMETABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION 6.1 Should any additional concerns regarding performance be identified at this meeting, these can be referred to the next Data Review Meeting, scheduled for 29 th April 2010. 7. DELEGATION 7.1 Performance Management is delegated to the Executive as a whole. 8. FINANCIAL AND BUDGET FRAMEWORK IMPLICATIONS 8.1 Any financial requirements arising from performance management issues will be subject to separate reports to the Executive. 9. LEGAL POWERS RELIED ON AND ANY LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 9.1 There are none arising from this report. 10. EFFICIENCY GAINS AND VALUE FOR MONEY 10.1 There are none arising from this report. 11. RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 11.1 There are none arising from this report. 12. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS 12.1 There are none arising from this report. 13. CORPORATE PLAN & POLICY FRAMEWORK IMPLICATIONS 13.1 There are none arising from this report. 14. ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN IMPLICATIONS 14.1 There are none arising from this report. 15. HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS 15.1 There are none arising from this report. 4
16. APPENDICES ATTACHED 16.1 Appendix A Quarter 3 2009/10 Risk Assessment. 16.2 Appendix B Quarter 3 2009/10 Performance Indicator Outturns. 17. BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT 17.1 None. 18. AUTHOR Hilary Shade, Head of Corporate Support Ext 5710 Email: hilary.shade@hertsmere.gov.uk CONSULTATION ON DRAFT REPORT I have sent a copy of the draft of this report to the following on 25 th February 2010: CE, Directors, Heads of Finance and Legal and Democratic Services, Audit Manager and Democratic Services Manager. I have also sent a copy of the draft to the following officers whose work may be impacted: Officer Date Performance Officer 25 th February 2010 Head of Waste and Street Scene 25 th February 2010 Head of Planning 25 th February 2010 Head of IS 25 th February 2010 Head of HR and Customer Services 25 th February 2010 5