Agenda item

Heather Grover, Principal Policy Officer:

a)    Presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee with a summary of the operational performance position for quarters one and two of the financial year 2020/21 (from April 2020 to September 2020)

b)    explained performance in the following Directorates:

·         Chief Executive’s Directorate – quarter two saw a long list of positive results, with 8 out of 20 measures above their target. Just 4 of 20 measures were below target, and whilst 5 measures negatively changed direction, most of them remained above or within target

·         Directorate for Communities and Environment – Out of 31 measures (of which two were annual measures), five reported above target, six were volumetric and therefore had no status, three were below target, six were reported as acceptable, with the remaining 11 measures reporting no data as a result of COVID-19. Eleven targeted measures positively changed direction , whilst just two changed in a negative direction.

·         Directorate for Housing and Investment – there were 19 measures in total, with 5 of those 19 measures had reported as below target for quarter two, and two had reported above target. Three of these measures were volumetric and therefore do not return a status. Three measures reported as acceptable, with the remaining 6 having no data supplied for the reporting period.

·         Directorate for Major Developments – there were no key operational performance measures but the directorate had nevertheless made a significant contribution to the council’s response to COVID-19.

c)    Highlighted the following:

·         Overall sickness absence rates had reduced since the COVID-19 pandemic and staff began working from home, health and wellbeing remained a priority with the HR team regularly providing a range of advice and guidance to support all staff with their physical and mental wellbeing

·         In quarter two there were 68 complaints and one LGO complaint, which was upheld. The cumulative average time year to date across all directorates to respond to formal complaints was 5.1days.

d)    Invited members’ comments and questions.

Comment: Officers explained that procurement figures had not been received this quarter because of reduced capacity to deliver data due to prolonged heavy involvement in contract negotiations.

Question: Members asked whether the full financial year would be backdated and visible?

Response: These would be available by quarter 4.

Question: Members asked for an update on the maintenance of trees in residential areas

Response: There were two full time tree officers whose work was reactive. The staff did aspire to carry out regular checks on trees within the city and these would be carried out on a risk basis when this became possible.

Question: Members asked whether there was a decent tree standard and if there wasn’t, would it be looked at in the future?

Response: The Tree Officers were managing trees based on health and safety due to financial limits of the authority. Officers were to check whether there was a standard and report back to the committee.

Question: Members asked why there had been no performance recorded for grounds maintenance as they were working throughout lockdown?

Response: There were no measures recorded as the team were running a skeleton service for the first few months.

Question: Members asked whether all the monies from Government for homelessness had been received?

Response: £82,000 had been received from Government towards financial pressures.

Question: Members asked whether there was any evidence on how the new system for logging repairs was going?

Response: There had been a presentation to Housing Scrutiny Committee which stated that the new logging system was going well.

Question: Members commented that rent collection was less than this time last year and asked when the unemployment effects would be known?

Response: We believe it would be next year but it was not known. The City of Lincoln Council were trying to make more sustainable tenancies by helping tenants so their properties were not lost. The Housing Team had been put in place a hardship rent fund of £100k of which £44k had been issued to help tenants. Data on city wide unemployment would be published in the Lincoln City Profile due to come to the committee early in the new year.

Question: Members asked when the new Allocations Policy would be in place as it needed to be as soon as possible?

Response: The changes and tests of the new policy were taking place in December for implementation in January 2021.

Question: Members asked whether assessments had been carried out for staff working at home?

Response: Workplace assessments could be carried out at home.

RESOLVED that the report be referred to Executive to ensure relevant portfolio holders were placing a local focus on areas showing deteriorating performance.