Decision details

Purpose of the Report

To present an outturn summary of the Council’s operational performance in quarter two of 2022/23.

Decision

That the achievements and challenges identified in the Quarter 2 2022/23 operational performance report be noted.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None were considered.

Reasons for the Decision

Regular monitoring of the council’s performance was a key component of the Local Performance Management Framework. This report covered the key strategic performance measures identified by members and CMT as of strategic importance.

The outturn summary report detailed performance against a total of 77 measures across the directorates Chief Executive’s, Communities and Environment and Housing and Investment. In total 60 performance measures out of the 77 were monitored against targets, of which nineteen were below target; thirteen were within target boundaries; 25 had exceeded a higher target, and 3 measures were recorded as data not available for this quarter

The Directorate for Major Developments (DMD) did not monitor performance through strategic measures.  Instead, performance was managed by the progress of the various projects DMD owned under the priorities "Driving Inclusive Economic Growth" and “Lets Address the Challenge of Climate Change.” From quarter 3 2022/23, a progress update on these projects would be included within the quarterly performance report.

A further 17 measures were volumetric, and provided context to overall service delivery. Commentaries on each measure were detailed in the report.

When compared to the previous quarter there has been an increase of 3 quarterly measures performing at or above target within the second quarter. However, there had also been an increase of 4 quarterly measures performing below target during this latest quarter. When focusing on the performance direction of travel, there had been an increase of 11 quarterly measures showing an improving performance trend and a decrease of 5 quarterly measures showing a deteriorating performance trend. This indicated that performance overall was improving across the council based on trend, however, there remained a need for service areas to focus over the next quarter on those measures performing below target and with deteriorating performance.

It was noted that factors such as resource pressures, recruitment challenges and the cost of living crisis had impacted on performance in quarter 2 2022/23. Looking ahead the cost of living crisis could lead to a further increased demand for council services, as the more vulnerable in the city looked to the council for support, which could also further impact on performance.  This was likely to be at a time when the council could see a reduction in both income for services and collection rates due to the increased financial pressures being faced by Lincoln’s residents and businesses.  Full details were provided within Appendix A to the report.  A summary of the outturn was also provided at Appendix B to the report.

There continued to be less demand for face to face appointments at City Hall. However, there had been an increase in demand for telephone appointments with Customer Services and owing to recruitment and retention issues, the waiting times for telephone calls were higher than expected.  It was highlighted that the turnover of staff related to employees moving to other areas of the Council following successful recruitment.  The issue of increased waiting times for calls were being considered by officers.  It was noted that there were automated messages for those waiting on a call and an offer of an automated call back.  It was recognised that some of the calls were complex and involved vulnerable customers and it was queried whether staff received relevant training.

The appropriateness of the current performance targets were discussed, given the changing circumstances of the economy and council services.  It was suggested this should be explored.

The report had been considered by the Performance Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 17 November 2022.