Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 The Directors' Group receives performance reports from each service area on a four monthly cycle. The attached report provides details of performance and key issues arising in Culture and Leisure services to January 2004. Culture and Leisure services include: Heritage Services, Leisure Services, including Parks, and Library Services.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The Council Executive is asked to note the performance of Culture & Leisure services for the period and the issues arising, as detailed in the attached report.

2.2 The Council Executive is asked to consider whether any further specific actions are required.

3

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 No financial implications directly arising from this report.

4 THE REPORT

4.1 The attached report provides details of progress made and key issues arising from the following services:

4.2 The report also measures performance by the services against the thirty performance targets included within the Council's Performance Plan published in June 2003. Progress against targets, and the likelihood of achieving them, is assessed as either "Green" (on target); "Amber" (some difficulty expected in achieving target) or "Red" (target in danger of not being achieved).

4.3 Twenty six targets are assessed as "green" - likely to be achieved (87% of the total).

4.4 Four targets are assessed as "amber". The first relates to an objective to transfer 2 sports pitches to Norton Radstock Town Council. We are in negotiation with a sitting tenant which requires resolution before this objective can be achieved, hence some doubt as to its achievability. The second relates to the number of visits per head of population to public libraries, which are slightly below target based on counts in April, July and November 2003.

4.5 The remaining two amber targets concern museum visitor numbers which did not reach the budget expectations for the first quarter of 2003/04, because of the reluctance of overseas visitors to travel during the threat of an Iraqi war and of the SARS epidemic.