Agenda item

The Head of Performance, Intelligence and Partnerships presented the report which provided an update on the Council’s performance across a wide range of services.  The report provided a detailed assessment of the Council’s performance in relation to Key Performance Indicators for 2023/24 for period 2 (May 2023). 

Comments on several specific indicators were made, including:

·           It was noted that waste indicators had not been included in the report and would they be reported at some time during the year?  In response officers advised that the quarterly/annual KPI set included two indicators relating to waste – diversion from landfill and flytipping.

·           The indicators for voids only covered Corby and Kettering but Keyways covered all of North Northamptonshire so it would be helpful to see the number of voids across the whole area.  The Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing advised that they only reported on those areas with former Council housing stock.  Officers could explore with larger landlords about wider Keyways reporting.

·           Number of Voids – Corby Area (STP36) – the number of void properties in Corby appeared to be high, what was being done to turnaround these properties quicker?  It was suggested that this might be an area to be considered for the future Scrutiny Work Plan.  In response, the Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing advised that a lot of work had taken place to understand the issues.  A presentation and report had been provided to the former Scrutiny Commission on the issue and he undertook to circulate this to Committee members.

·           Vacancy Statistics – was information on the number of vacancies now coming through following review?  In response, the Head of Performance, Intelligence and Partnerships advised that the data quality had improved, and they would be included in the next report to the Executive.

·           Agency spend – this was an area which should be scrutinised, including who are OPUS and are we obtaining the expected efficiencies.  In response, the Executive Director of Customer and Governance advised that OPUS was a Joint Venture of a number of organisations including NNC and was how we sourced agency staff to drive down costs.  Sometimes, with very specialist roles, we needed to use other agencies.

·           Number of children currently missing from education (BBF33) – The Executive Director of Children’s Services explained that this indicator included those children with no known placement or those awaiting a placement at a special school.  Further work on breaking down the information behind the indicator was needed.

·           Number of rough sleepers (AFL12) – how many rough sleepers were in Kettering?  In response, the Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing advised that the indicator was based on the whole of North Northamptonshire, the Rough Sleeper Team would likely be able to give a figure of the number of rough sleepers in Kettering.

·           Number of households with family commitments living in bed and breakfast accommodation (AFL18) – how much was bed and breakfast accommodation costing the Council?  In response, the Executive Director of Adults, Health Partnerships and Housing stated that officers tried to keep costs to the minimum and looked at all possible options, however it depended on individual circumstances.  There was a maximum number of times the Council would offer temporary accommodation before it was believed we had met our legal requirements.

·           The Children’s Services indicators should include indicators on how many children had received their initial medical and dental assessments within 28 days of going into care.  In response, the Executive Director of Children’s Services advised that those indicators would be reported through the Corporate Parenting Board, however a link to those indicators could be included in future reports to this Committee.

·           Climate indicators – how would we be able to monitor the actions taken to address our climate targets?  In response, the Head of Performance, Intelligence and Partnerships advised that work to measure our climate footprint happened once a year and he undertook to check whether it would be reported annually.  The Executive Director of Place and Economy also advised that we did report against the Carbon Management Plan.

RESOLVED:

To note the performance of the Council and its services.