Agenda item

(Deputy Chief Executive) To consider the attached report (FPM-0011-2013/14).

The Deputy Chief Executive presented a progress report on the Quarter 2, Key Performance Indicators 2013/14.  

The Deputy Chief Executive reminded the Cabinet Committee that, pursuant to the Local Government Act 1999, the Council was required to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement, in the way in which its functions and services were exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. As part of the duty to secure continuous improvement, a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) relevant to the Council’s services and key objectives, were adopted each year. Performance against all of the KPIs was reviewed by Management Board and the Finance and Performance Management Scrutiny Panel on a quarterly basis, and had previously been a focus of inspection in external assessments and judgements of the overall progress of the authority.

The position with regard to the achievement of target performance for KPIs at the end of the second quarter from 30 June to 30 September 2013, were that 26 indicators achieved the first quarter target, 9 indicators did not although 5 of the KPIs were within the agreed tolerance.

The Deputy Chief Executive, advised that the Finance Performance Management Scrutiny Panel on 11 November 2013 had requested further information on KPI 11 (Commercial rent arrears) and how the economic recovery was effecting the KPI.

The Cabinet Committee were concerned about KPI 40 (Housing Rents) with the effect of the Spare room subsidy and KPI 41 (Void re-lets), why there were a number of properties being continuously refused and what the cause may be. The Director of Housing informed the Cabinet committee that funding had been allocated for debt advisors in relation to the spare room subsidy and a new housing allocation system had been introduced, so the KPI figures should improve with time and they were still awaiting the introduction of universal credit. Residents effected by the spare room subsidy had been contacted and offered the chance to meet with a debt advisor and 50% of the tenants had taken this opportunity. Out of the 390 tenants with a spare bedroom, 303 of these tenants had been effected by the changes. The Director of Housing advised that a number of the tenants were paying the additional rent, some residents were paying nothing but the majority were paying something and a number had down sized their properties.

The Cabinet Committee raised concerns regarding the CAB and how they were helping out residents, with the additional funding for debt advisors and financial support from the Council, as repeated requests for information on the service had not been forth coming. The Cabinet Committee felt that the funding for the CAB received from the Council should be conditioned through a service level agreement.

Recommended:

(1)        That the six-month performance for the Key Performance Indicators adopted for 2013/14 be noted; and

(2)        That the service level agreement for the CAB be reviewed.

Reasons for Decision:

The KPIs provide an opportunity for the Council to focus attention on how specific areas for improvement would be addressed, and how opportunities would be exploited and better outcomes delivered.

A number of KPIs were used as performance measures for the Council’s key objectives for each year. It was important that relevant performance management processes were in place to review and monitor performance against the key objectives, to ensure their continued achievability and relevance, and to identify proposals for appropriate corrective action in areas of slippage or under performance.

Other Options for Considered and Rejected:

No other options were appropriate in this respect. Failure to review KPI performance in a timely manner and to consider corrective action where necessary could of had negative implications for judgements made about the Council’s progress, and might mean that opportunities for improvement were lost. The Council had previously agreed arrangements for monitoring performance against the KPIs by Management Board and the Scrutiny Panel.