Agenda item

Purpose of the Report

To present an outturn summary of the Council’s operational performance in quarter one of 2024/25.

Decision

1.    That the contents of the Quarter One Operational Performance Report for 2024/25 as detailed at Appendix A and B of the officer’s report be noted.

2.    It be confirmed that the format of the performance report continued to meet Executive requirements.

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 Corporate Management Team (CMT) as of strategic importance.

Each targeted measure was monitored against a target boundary range.

If a performance measure outturn status was recorded as Blue (acceptable), the measure was seen as performing on track. If a performance measure outturn status was green, the measure was seen to be achieving or exceeding the aspirational target. If a performance measure outturn status was red, the measure was seen to be performing below target and should be an area of focus.

The Quarter 1 outturn report was presented in a refreshed format to help make performance reporting more user friendly. It included comparisons made against performance for the first quarter of the previous year.

The outturn report at the end of quarter 1, 2024/25 detailed performance against a total of 87 measures across the Directorates of Chief Executive’s, Communities and Environment, Housing and Investment and Major Developments, of which 13 were below target; 20 were within target boundaries; and 28 had met or exceeded a higher target. A further 24 measures were volumetric, and provided context to overall service delivery and 2 were recorded as data not being available for this quarter. Commentaries on each measure were detailed within the officer’s report.

Out of the 87 performance measures monitored during the quarter, 63 had targets allocated to them, of these targeted measures, 48 (76.2%) were within or exceeding the targets set.

A review of the quarterly performance process undertaken at the end of 2023/24 led to a wider range of performance information included within Appendix A, incorporating qualitative data in the form of case studies and service highlights. These were grouped into seven themes, namely the five Vision Priorities and the two inward looking portfolios ‘Our People and Resources’ and ‘Customer Experience and Review.’

The more detailed performance data tables were now grouped together in Appendix B, including the suite of corporate measures that were previously in Appendix A. Performance data remained grouped by directorate, and a colour coding system had been introduced to make it simpler to identify which portfolio each measure related to. Appendix B also included a quarterly Communications update.

When read together, Appendices A and B aimed to enhance the range of performance information presented via the quarterly reporting process and make it easier to assess and scrutinise the performance of each priority/portfolio.

Overall, performance across the Council had improved in the last twelve months. This excluded the Directorate of Major Developments, which was reporting quarterly performance for the first time. Further detail could be found within paragraph 4 of the officer’s report.

The report had been considered by the Performance Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 15 August 2024

(Members thanked officers for their excellent work making improvements to the overall report format).