Agenda item

(Director of Resources) To consider the attached report (FPM-028-2016/17).

The Director of Resources presented a report on the Quarter 3, Key performance Indicators 2016/17.

The Director of Resources reported that 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 service priorities and key objectives were adopted each year and performance against all of the KPIs was reviewed on a quarterly basis.

A range of thirty-six Key Performance Indicators (KPI) were adopted for 2016/17 in March 2016. The KPIs were important to the improvement of the Council’s services and comprised a combination of former statutory indicators and locally determined performance measures. The aim of the KPIs was to direct improvement effort towards services and the national priorities and local challenges arising from the social, economic and environmental context of the district.Progress in respect all of the KPIs was reviewed by Management Board and Overview and Scrutiny at the conclusion of each quarter, and service directors reviewed the KPI performance with the relevant portfolio holder(s) on an on-going basis throughout the year. Select Committees were each responsible for the review of quarterly performance against specific KPIs within their areas of responsibility.

The position with regard to the achievement of target performance for the KPIs at the end of the third quarter (31 December 2016) was as follows:

(a)                    26 (70%) indicators had achieved the third quarter target;

(b)                    11 (30%) indicators had not achieved the third quarter target, although 4 (11%) of KPIs performed within the agreed tolerance for the indicator; and,

(c)                    31 (84%) indicators were currently anticipated to achieve the cumulative year-end target and a further 3 (8%) were uncertain whether they would achieve the cumulative year-end target.

The adoption of challenging but achievable KPIs each year was a key element of the Council’s Performance Management Framework. The continued relevance of the existing KPI set for 2017/18 has recently been considered by Management Board and service directors had identified provisional targets for each indicator with the relevant portfolio holder(s), based on third-quarter performance (and the estimated outturn position) for the current year. The current KPIs were considered appropriate with the following changes:

·                     RES009, RES010, and RES011 – the website indicators to be deleted;

·                     COM006 - How many of the key building components required to achieve the Modern Homes Standard were renewed to be deleted; and

·                     There were no new indicators recommended for 2017/18.

Furthermore improvement plans would be developed for KPIs if and when they failed to achieve target and Management Board would also review the provisional targets for 2017/18 with any revisions to targets on the basis of the outturn position being reported to the Committee and the appropriate Select Committees in June 2017.

The Committee was requested to review Q3 performance for the 2016/17 set of KPIs and agree the proposed KPI set and targets for 2017/18.

Councillor G Mohindra commented that it had been disappointing that GOV007 (Appeals-Officers) would probably not meet it’s end of year target, although he was pleased to note that RES003 (Council Tax Collection) and RES004 (NNDR Collection) would meet their end of year targets.

Resolved:

(1)          That the Quarter 3 performance for the Key Performance Indicators adopted for 2016/17 be noted;

(2)          That the proposed Key Performance Indicators and targets for 2017/18 be agreed;

Reasons for Decision:

The KPIs provided 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. 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 Considered and Rejected:

No other options were appropriate in this respect. Failure to review and monitor performance could mean that opportunities for improvement were lost and might have negative implications for judgements made about the progress of the Council.