Community, Housing and Environment Committee

20 June 2017

Is the final decision on the recommendations in this report to be made at this meeting?

No

 

Strategic Plan Performance Update Quarter 4 2016/17

 

Final Decision-Maker

Community Housing and the Environment Committee

Lead Head of Service

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Lead Officer and Report Author

Anna Collier, Policy & Information Manager. Alex Munden, Performance and Business Information Officer

Classification

Public

Wards affected

All

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   Note the summary of performance for Quarter 4 of 2016/17 for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and corporate strategies and plans.

2.   Note where complete data is not currently available.

3.   Note the progress of Strategic Action Plan updates at Appendix II.

4.   Identify any action that needs to be taken or amendments to the Quarter 4 report.

 

 

This report relates to the following corporate priorities:

·         Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all

·         Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Key Performance Indicators monitor the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Priorities as set out in the Strategic Plan 2015-20. The Performance Plan provides progress against the Council’s key strategies which deliver the Council’s corporate priorities.

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Wider Leadership Team

9 May 2017

Heritage Culture & Leisure Committee

6 June 2017

Strategic Planning, Sustainability & Transport Committee

13 June 2017

Communities, Housing & Environment

20 June 2017

Policy & Resources Committee

28 June 2017



Strategic Plan Performance Update Quarter 4 2016/17

 

 

1.        PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

1.1     Communities Housing and Environment Committee is asked to review the progress of key strategies, plans, and performance indicators that support the delivery of the Strategic Plan 2015-2020.

 

 

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

2.1     Having a comprehensive set of actions and performance indicators ensures that the Council delivers against the priorities and actions set in the Strategic Plan.

 

2.2     In 2016/17 the Strategic Plan had 32 Key Performance Indicators that were agreed by Policy & Resources Committee in April 2016. This was in addition to the existing 14 plan and strategy updates.

 

2.3     Performance indicators are judged in two ways. Firstly on whether performance has improved, sustained or declined, compared to the same period in the previous year. This is known as direction. Where there is no previous data, no assessment of direction can be made.

 

2.4     The second way is to look at whether an indicator has achieved the target set and is known as PI status. If an indicator has achieved or exceeded the target it is rated green. If the target has been missed but is within 10% of the target it will be rated amber, and if the target has been missed by more than 10% it will be rated red.

 

2.5     Some indicators will show an asterisk (*) after the figure. These are provisional values that are awaiting confirmation. Data for some of the indicators were not available at the time of reporting. In these cases a date has been provided for when the information is expected.

 

2.6     Contextual indicators are not targeted but are given a direction. Indicators that are not due for reporting or where there is delay in data collection are not rated against targets or given a direction.

 

 

3.        Quarter 4 Performance Summary

 

3.1     There are 32 key performance indicators (KPIs) which were developed with Heads of Service and unit managers, and agreed by Policy & Resources Committee for 2016/17. 

 

3.2     Overall, 87.5% (7) of targeted KPIs reported this quarter achieved their target for quarter 4. For 78% of indicators, performance improved compared to the same quarter last year, where data is available.

 

RAG Rating

Green

Amber

Red

N/A

Total

KPIs

7

1

0

3

11*

Strategic Actions

6

0

0

 

6

Direction

Up

Across

Down

N/A

Total

KPIs

7

0

2

2

11*

 

 

4.        *Data Not Available

 

4.1     Data for quarter four is not available for the Number of Safeguarding Practitioners Trained. This is due to absence of the officer responsible for the data. Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training was delivered to staff at McDonald’s restaurants in the Town Centre as part of CSE awareness week. 

 

 

5.       Performance by Priority

 

Priority 1: Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all

 

5.1     The percentage of waste sent for reuse, recycling, and composting for quarter 4 was 47.64%. The recycling rate is the lowest of the year due to seasonal fluctuations in garden waste, and higher levels of waste following the Christmas period. In quarter 4, we delivered the food waste campaign and saw a 28% increase in food waste for March in comparison to February. There was also a significant increase in garden waste, with the peak expected in June/July. The contamination rate for the quarter was 8%, in line with our target, and further work is planned to reduce this.

 

5.2     The percentage of land and highways assessed as having unacceptable levels of litter is 2.5% against a target of 6.5%. The improvement to cleansing schedules seems to be providing the required results and the third tranche of monitoring has provided the best result for 2016/17.

 

5.3     The percentage of land and highways assessed as having unacceptable levels of detritus is 7.48% against a target of 18%. This is a significant improvement on the same quarter of last year and improvement has been seen over the course of the year, representing the hard work of the cleansing team.

 

5.4     The number of incidences of fly-tipping reported in quarter 4 was 273. This is an increase of 49 incidents between quarter 3 and quarter 4 which has been  largely due to an increase in the number of fly tips with green waste and bagged household waste.  We have recently issued a number of fines in relation to fly-tipping, and the new fixed penalty notice has resulted in more action being taken against those dumping illegal waste. Overall, the number of fly-tips is within the target of 300, and 212 less than the same period last year.

 

5.5     No data has been provided in relation to the number of safeguarding practitioners trained. The Community Partnerships team provided Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) training to staff at McDonalds Restaurants in the town centre as part of CSE awareness week. 

 

5.6     Crime in the borough has seen a 20% increase in the year to date up to March. Crime has increased across all offences with the exception of vehicle interference, which has declined by 17%. The increase in overall crime is attributed by the service area to the high standard of crime recording now used by Kent Police, and improvements to the 101 service.

 

5.7     The number of Disabled Facilities Grants completed for quarter 4 is 55 against a target of 25. Historically, there is a higher proportion of expenditure in quarter 4 in comparison to the rest of the year, which in turn causes completions to rise. Housing & Health staff co-located staff with Kent County Council’s occupational therapist team, which has helped deliver DFGs more effectively. Performance has improved in comparison to the same period in 2015/16. 

 

5.8     The number of people completing a course at the Leisure Centre following GP referral was 65 in quarter 4. All of those who completed the course lost weight. This has been the most successful quarter of the year for course completions. Of those that completed the course, 41 achieved 3% weight loss, and 27 achieved 5% weight loss, after 10 weeks.

 

5.9     The number of older isolated people helped to achieve reduced social isolation was 64 for the quarter. Café Culture continues to be popular and is now limited by the number of staff needed to run it, and the space for participants. We are currently undertaking a recruitment drive for volunteers across the museum. Three of the attendees also applied to join a new cohort of museum volunteers.

 

Priority 2: Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

 

5.10 Homelessness preventions exceeded the target with 115 preventions in quarter 4, against a target of 75. Further households were prevented from homelessness with awards of Discretionary Housing Payments, and from the work carried out by Citizens Advice Bureau and Sanctuary Scheme Assistance. An increase in homelessness prevention activity in the team has contributed to an increase in preventions. This was in spite of the designated Preventions Officer post being vacant during the period. The Preventions Officer posts were filled at the end of May.

 

5.11 A total of 45 affordable homes were delivered, meeting the target of 45 for the quarter. There have been 303 affordable completions up to 31 March 2017. The annual target has been exceeded by 153. Delivery against affordable completions has been strong due to good progress made on several key strategic sites. Of the total affordable completions this year, 124 have been delivered for shared ownership.

 

5.12 We have housed 127 people through the housing register for quarter 4

2016/17. This is a reduction in comparison to the 203 housed in the same quarter last year. This is the first time this year that the quarterly target has not been achieved. The quarterly figure is lower due to fewer properties being provided by our Registered Providers. Despite lower performance in quarter 4, the annual target has still been achieved.

 

 

 

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

6.1     The Strategic Plan Performance Update will be reported quarterly to the service committees: Communities Housing and Environment Committee, Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transport Committee, and Heritage, Culture, and Leisure Committee. The report will then go to Policy & Resources committee following these meetings, with any feedback from the Committees.

 

 

7.       PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

7.1     The Council could choose not to monitor the Strategic Plan and/or make alternative performance management arrangements, such as the frequency of reporting. This is not recommended as it could lead to action not being taken against performance during the year, and the Council failing to deliver its priorities.

 

 

8.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

The key performance

indicators and strategic

actions are part of the

Council’s overarching

Strategic Plan 2015-20 and

play an important role in the

achievement of corporate

objectives.

They also cover a wide range

of services and priority

areas, for example waste and recycling.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Risk Management

The production of robust

performance reports ensures

that the view of the Council’s

approach to the management

of risk and use of resources

is not undermined and allows

early action to be taken in

order to mitigate the risk of

not achieving targets and outcomes.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Financial

Performance indicators and

targets are closely linked to

the allocation of resources

and determining good value

for money. The financial

implications of any proposed

changes are also identified

and taken into account in the

Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan and associated

annual budget setting

process. Performance issues

are highlighted as part of the

budget monitoring reporting

process.

Section 151 Officer

Staffing

Having a clear set of targets enables staff outcomes/objectives to be set and effective action plans to be put in place.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Legal

None identified.

Legal Team

Equality Impact Needs Assessment

The Performance Indicators reported on in this quarterly update measure the ongoing performance of the strategies in place. If there has been a change to the way in which a service delivers a strategy, i.e. a policy change, an Equalities Impact Assessment is undertaken to ensure that there is no detrimental impact on individuals with a protected characteristic.

Equalities and Corporate Policy Officer

Environmental/Sustainable Development

A number of performance indicators relate to our performance in environmental services. This has a significant effect on our ability to monitor the Environment in Maidstone. This is also important as one of our key priorities is to provide a clean and safe environment.

Policy and Information Manager

Community Safety

We have Key Performance Indicators that relate to important areas of community safety. These ensure that the work being done by the Community Safety Unit is relevant, and that key areas such as safeguarding are being developed.

Policy and Information Manager

Human Rights Act

None identified.

Policy and Information Manager

Procurement

Performance Indicators and Strategic Milestones monitor the any procurement needed to achieve the outcomes of the Strategic Plan.

Policy and Information Manager

Asset Management

Performance Indicators that measure our commercial activities monitor our use of our assets. Good performance shows good management of our assets, or can highlight where assets can be utilised more efficiently.

Policy and Information Manager

 

 

9.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix I: Strategic Plan Performance Update Q4 2016/17

·         Appendix II: Strategic Plan Action Plan Update Q4 2016/17

 

 

10.    BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None