Agenda item

The Q4 Performance Report 2021-22 as presented to Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday 7 June is attached for the Committee to consider.

Contributors:

Councillor John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources

Matthew Everitt, Interim Service Director – Service Improvement

Papers:

Q4 Performance Report 2021-22

The Chairman invited the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources, Property and Assets, Councillor J Chilver, to introduce the report. In the Cabinet Member’s presentation, the following points were highlighted:

·        The report detailed the quarter four performance outturns and commentary for the Council's Key Performance Indicators. Trend data showing performance along with national and regional benchmarking in information was provided where possible.

·        There were 115 indicators in the report. Most of them represented the year-end outturn, though some data was provided in arrears. A small number of indicators were updated annually. Improvement actions were listed against each indicator if applicable.

·        The report showed that 71% of indicators were green and 22% are red. This reflected a good performance across a number of key areas. The proportion of green indicators had increased compared to the previous quarter, which was 69%. However, red indicators had also increased from 18% in quarter three.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       A Member noted that there was no historical data provided for the climate change and environment KPI. This information had not been available at the time of publishing the quarter four reports and data would be published as an agreed indicator in future.

·       Comparison was drawn between the council’s budgeted 9 days staff sickness compared to the ONS average data of 4.6 days for 2021. The Cabinet Member explained that sickness levels were higher during Covid but had returned to pre-Covid levels. In the 2021 calendar year, the average sickness levels were at 8.42 days, which was comparable with other local authorities. There was a discrepancy between public and private sector sickness levels, the latter of which was generally lower. Local authorities were multi-purpose businesses, with some jobs requiring mental health considerations (e.g. anxiety and depression in social care). As lockdown has ended and officers returned to the office, there had also been more staff members sick with colds. The Committee was assured that interventions were being put in place, for example physiotherapy at council depots, to mitigate muscular/skeletal sickness absences. It was also found that return-to-work conversations had been important to make staff feel understood and valued when returning to the workplace after sickness. Managers were also attending workshops on effective return-to-work discussions for both long- and short-term sickness. The lower levels of sickness absence in the private sector could be explained by employees going to work despite being sick as a result of not receiving sick pay.

·       A Member noted that the average number of abandoned phone calls in the call centre in the last quarter had exceeded the 10% target (at 11.3%). The Cabinet Member advised that there had been an increase in customer contact after the Council followed up on unpaid Council Tax, as well as the new Revenue & Benefits system being implemented. These had resulted in the higher number of abandoned calls in Q4. The ability for customers to request call-backs from the team and advising customers of their position in the queue had also been helpful. The Cabinet Member noted that the customer service centre was advised to advertise alternative contact methods, such as web chat or council access points, to make it easier to contact the Council. The Committee heard that first call resolution (number of calls resolved straight away) was very high around 70%. The customer first board had been set up to investigate issues such as call-backs and examined how services could be improved to provide the best and most easily accessible experience for residents. The board also put several training opportunities in place to ensure effective customer service. The amount of abandoned calls would be checked and circulated to the Committee.

ACTION: S. Murphy-Brookman

·       The Cabinet Member felt that offering flexible home working was essential to recruitment and retention and remaining a competitive employer. The Corporate Management Team (CMT) was committed to monitoring staff turnover levels and comparing them both regionally and nationally to other authorities and the private sector, and a set of workforce performance indicators was used to examine areas of concern It was noted that the turnover target for the coming year should be a range rather than a number and this would be adjusted for 2022/23.

·       During the recruitment process, a key question from applicants was regularly about the approach to flexible working. Increasing the number of days that people are required to visit the office would make it more difficult to recruit. An analysis had also been done on neighbouring authorities, which showed that other organisations took a much more flexible approach of not mandating office attendance where roles can be carried out from home. The Cabinet Member noted that sickness absence as a result of mental health difficulties had decreased since flexible working had been introduced.

·       A Member suggested that the financial consequences of the increased appeals for planning applications and enforcement should be considered within the budget, and how the Council can best support planners challenged by residents. The Cabinet Member advised that a robust local plan was the best way to mitigate these issues and noted that fewer speculative applications had been received in light of the local plan. The suggestion should be raised with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement.

·       The payment rates had been impacted by the suspension of chasing debts and would likely be impacted going forward due to the cost of living crisis. The percentage of customers paying by direct debit ranged between 76% and 84% in the legacy areas which was high in comparison to other authorities. The team was committed to encouraging payments via direct debit.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for the report.