Agenda item

Graham Rose Senior Strategic Policy Officer:

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee with an outturn summary of the council’s performance in Quarter 3 of 2023/24

b)    explained that the full report was attached as Appendix A of the report, with the full list of performance measure outturns and supporting performance commentary provided at Appendix B of the report

c)    invited members’ comments and questions:

Question: Itrent was a useful system to keep all employees information in one place. Why had some appraisals not been uploaded to Itrent?

Response: Appraisals were updated via an online form and they were then required to be uploaded onto Itrent. HR were encouraging staff to upload them  so that records could be reported accurately. The time period of when the data was collected within the quarter also had an effect on the figure.

Comment: Referred to performance indicator PPASB 4 “satisfaction of complaints relating to how their ASB complaint was handled.” The data showed that there was 100% satisfaction, however this was based on 19 surveys being send out and 2 surveys being returned. This did not give an accurate reflection of satisfaction and 100% could not be justified. The statistic should show satisfaction rate of those surveys returned not for all customers.

Question: Referred to performance indicator RC2 “current tenant arrears as a percentage of the annual rent debt.” The total arrears were currently £933,515.17. How far back did the outstanding arrears go and would the money be recovered? What activity was being undertaken to recover these arrears?
Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

Question: Referred to performance indicator HI1 “Percentage of council properties that were not at the ‘Decent Homes’ standard (excluding refusals).”Why did this measure exclude refusals and would it make a significant difference if refusals were included?

Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

Question: Referred to performance indicator HV1 “Average re-let time calendar days for all dwellings – standard re-lets”. Was anything else being done aside from introducing inspections and producing guides to ensure properties were left in good condition at tenancy end?Were inspections included within historic tenancy agreements or just new agreements? Could enforcement action take place?

Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

Comment: Visiting properties would remind tenants of their responsibilities to look after the property and to address issues at an earlier stage.

Comment: Gardens needed to be checked during visits as well as the properties.

Comment: Annual visits would need to be written into the tenancy agreement.

Comment: Referred to performance indicator Com1 “Percentage of media enquiries responded to within four working hours or within requested response time” which had not met the target in quarter 3. This performance indictor would be looked at for next year as it may not be the best measure of performance for the area.

Question: Why was apprentice sickness level so high and what activity was taking place to reduce this? How many apprentices were there at the end of quarter 3?

Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

RESOLVED that:

1.    Relevant responses to questions raised by members be provided by officers following the meeting as requested.

2. The report be noted and forwarded to Executive for approval.

3. The format of the performance report continued to meet the committee’s requirements.