Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 Council Performance Report by Cabinet Portfolio for the period October 07 to January 08.

1.2 The Council generates performance reports showing performance by each Cabinet member from its performance management system.

1.3 This report shows each Cabinet member's performance divided into a narrative section and a section listing performance progress against all national Best Value Performance Indicators and key local performance indicators. These are the indicators that were published in the 2007/8 Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP). This section also highlights indicators that the Cabinet members and Directors agreed require focus as "Key" indicators by listing them at the beginning of each portfolio & also using the word "Key" in their name.

1.4 The report includes a summary, by portfolio, of key achievements, issues, finance and risk for the period October 2007-January 2008, plus an accompanying summary of the progress against performance targets, showing whether we are achieving target to date (`green', `amber' or `red') and whether we are improving or deteriorating since the previous quarter( < or ® )

2 RECOMMENDATIONS

That Cabinet:

2.1 Notes the contents of this third quarter report for 07/08 performance

2.2 Approves the corrective actions

2.3 Considers in light of the identified corrective actions whether additional actions are required to improve performance.

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 Contained within the report. In addition, financial information is provided in the accompanying Revenue and Capital Monitoring Report.

4 COMMUNITY STRATEGY OUTCOMES

• Promoting a 'sense of place' so people identify with and take pride in our communities
  
• Celebrating the contributions people from different backgrounds and with different
   experiences can make, and promoting equality of opportunity
  
• Sharing resources, working together, and finding new ways of doing things
  
• Building communities where people feel safe and secure
  
• Taking responsibility for our environment and natural resources now and over the long term
  
• Improving our local transport
  
• Improving our housing situation for local people
  
• Improving local opportunities for learning and gaining skills
  
• Improving our local economy
  
• Improving our local environment
  
• Improving our local health and social care

5 CORPORATE IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES

• Reducing fear of crime
  
• Promoting independence of older people
  
• Improving life chances for disadvantaged teenagers
  
• Improving the environment for learning
  
• Cultural Development
  
• Reducing Landfill
  
• Increase in Affordable Housing
  
• Improving the Quality of Public Transport/Roads/Pavements and easing congestion
  
• Developing a sustainable economy
  
• Improving the public realm
  
• Improving customer satisfaction

6 CPA LINES OF ENQUIRY

• Ambition for the community - i.e. what the council, together with its partners, is trying to achieve
  
• Prioritisation of ambitions
  
• Increasing capacity of the council and its partners to deliver ambition for the Community to ensure we achieve what we say we will
  
• Managing performance of community ambition to ensure we achieve what we say we will
  
• Creating and developing a better quality of life for the area through

o Sustainable Communities and Transport

o Safer and Stronger Communities

o Healthier Communities

• Improving engagement with and a range of services for Older People and Children and Young People

• 7 THE REPORT

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

7.1 We are a three star council and improving well. For the second year in a row this is the verdict of inspectors as part of government's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) annual judgement of all councils. In our 2007 "Direction of Travel" statement the Audit Commission said that:

"The Council provides value for money in its key services by delivering high performing and improving services while keeping its costs low. The rate of improvement on many performance measures compares well with other councils and is a significant increase on last year. Most notably, it continues to improve most of its already high performing services such as education and waste management. Customer satisfaction is also significantly improving compared to last year."

7.2 The overall Council performance position this quarter shows that 63% of our performance indicators are meeting or exceeding their target (green). There are action plans in place for all areas where performance did not hit target, however there are some areas where we may not hit the target this year.

7.3 Our three-year Local Area Agreement (LAA) is now nearing the end of its first year. The LAA sets out clear priorities for tackling crime and improving local environments, as well as improving health, the economy and services for children. The LAA will attract new funding into the area as well as providing ways for existing resources to be better used. It will underpin how we work with other organisations in Bath & North East Somerset to deliver services. This report includes its "stretch targets", challenging targets that have been agreed with government that will bring extra funding if we achieve them. Our performance against our LAA stretch targets this quarter shows that 75% achieved target. Directors will continue to monitor performance with the aim of achieving all stretch targets over the 3 year period of the LAA.

ACHIEVEMENTS

7.4 Latest achievements are included in the body of the report, highlights of main achievements from October 07 - January 08 include:

7.5 The Council's new vision, "A distinctive place with vibrant communities where everyone fulfils their potential" and priorities were launched to staff during three separate staff briefing sessions led by the Chief Executive.

7.6 The Voicebox Survey carried out in the autumn found residents' overall satisfaction with the Council to be 59%, significantly above the average of 51% for the Council's peers. 59% is the highest we have achieved to date and we are above average for the first time in 11 years at a time when satisfaction for most Councils is falling.

7.7 Good collaboration between Adult Social Services & Housing and the Major Projects team has led to the completion of Combe Lea Care Home and Greenacres Court Extra Care Sheltered Housing. The extra care service successfully opened as scheduled on 7th January 2008 (in partnership with Somer Community Housing Trust). 15 tenants will have moved in by the end of January and we are anticipating that the scheme will be full in accordance with our plans by the end of February.

7.8 We have seen improved performance in SATs, GCSE and A level results and a strong improvement in the achievement of our children in care. At Key Stages 2 and 3, we have achieved the highest results compared to our statistical neighbours and other local authorities in the South West on almost all indicators. Our GCSE results have shown sustained improvement over the last four years, increasing from 60% achieving 5 A*-C in 2004 to an excellent 68% in both 2006 and 2007. Culverhay continues to be in the top 5% of all schools for contextual value added as judged by OFSTED. Somervale was rated one of the top 40 most improved secondary schools in the country.

7.9 St. Keyna Primary School on track for completion within budget and on time by the end of March.

7.10 Second successful award-winning zero waste where week residents took up the challenge to see how little rubbish they could throw away by reducing, reusing, recycling and composting as much as possible instead. Participants managed to cut their waste down to an average of just of a quarter of what they would normally throw away creating a 45% October recycle rate and a record 47% in December.

7.11 Excellent "Deep Clean Keep Clean" (DCKC) results in Keynsham and Walcot. DCKC are popular action days targeting specific neighbourhoods in cleaning and removing anti-social behaviours, achieving safer and stronger communities. In Keynsham in October for example, 460 properties benefited from a bulky waste collection and 198 homes received fire safety checks or advice.

7.12 Three Charter Marks have been awarded for excellence in Customer Service - retained by Parking and Transport plus a new award to Waste.

7.13 We have received funding of 4.5million Euros payable to Bath & North East Somerset and six other partners to investigate sustainable transport and public realm solutions in a World Heritage City.

7.14 Provisional planning approval has been given for both outline and detailed applications for Bath Western Riverside (West). It has been confirmed that Government Office are not calling in the plans.

7.15 The Council has been instrumental in shaping the West of England Delivery Plan for transport, waste and housing.

7.16 Council Connect now provide a new change of address service. All change of address calls to the Council are routed to the contact centre who pass the relevant details on to Council Tax, Library Services and Electoral Registration. Whilst on the line the caller can also join the library, receive recycling information, order a green recycling box and be sent an email link providing details of their local area such as nearest services, roadworks and refuse collection days. Customer feedback so far has been very positive.

7.17 Our Big Energy Challenge (OBEC) launched to reduce the Council's (and its partners) energy use by 10%.

ISSUES AND RISKS

7.18 Highlight of key issues and risks identified this quarter:

7.19 Concessionary bus fares for the over 60s and disabled people will expand in April 2008 to include all visitors and not just residents as at present. Concessionary bus fares have caused Bath & North East Somerset significant funding shortfalls.

7.20 Higher Regional Spatial Strategy targets for housing and employment were recently proposed. The Strategy's targets are very challenging, particularly the target for employment over which the Council has less direct influence.

7.21 Single Status Implementation - continuing to deal with equal pay claims.

7.22 Developing a medium to long-term plan to address the effects and causes of climate change.

7.23 The Council's Corporate Risk Register is currently being reviewed to focus on three categories of risk (Ongoing Management Processes; Significant Risks to Corporate Health and Significant Service Risks.)

8 RISK MANAGEMENT

8.1 The report author and Cabinet have fully reviewed the risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations, in compliance with the Council's decision-making risk management guidance.

8.2 There is a risk relating to the Council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment score and overall star rating if performance targets, set in line with local and national priorities, are not achieved.

9 RATIONALE

9.1 This report is a key part of the Council's performance management framework

10 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

10.1 None

11 CONSULTATION

11.1 Consultation has been carried out with Cabinet Members, Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive; Monitoring Officer and other Strategic Directors through existing meeting schedules.

12 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

12.1 Social Inclusion; Customer Focus; Sustainability; Human Resources; Property; Young People; Equality (age, race, disability, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation); Human Rights; Corporate.

13 ADVICE SOUGHT

13.1 Directors' Group including the Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication in agreement with Executive members.