Issue - meetings

Steve Harman, Head of Corporate Governance and Business Insight introduced the report. He explained that an ambition of the current administration is to be more open and transparent. He further explained that this is an in-house system, developed internally and based around interactive dashboards. The officer gave the Panel a live demonstration of the Integrated Reporting Framework (IRF) system.

Panel Members raised the following points and asked the following

Councillor Singleton thanked the officers for the huge amount of work in developing this system. He expressed concern that the Panel had asked for the opportunity to input/scrutinize the system at the time of development. The officer stated that this is the start of the journey and this item could be brought back to the Panel at a later date.

Following a request from Councillor Warrington that the Panel have input into KPI’s, the officer agreed there would be input.

Councillor Elliott stated that he also had reservations around the Panel’s input. He stated that the technical work was good but stated that it is hard to assess how useful KPIs are without knowing how they are used. He added that he is keen to hear the KPIs for directors as it shows how departments are driven. The officer stated that he could bring this back to the Panel for their input.

Councillor Warrington asked if the system is automatically updated. The officer explained that information is dragged in on a regular basis. Councillor Warrington stated that 22 KPIs have been chosen out of 200 and asked for a list of the 22, the criteria and also how they fit with Corporate Priorities.

Councillor Duguid asked about benchmarking with other authorities. Andy Rothery, Chief Finance Officer (151 officer), explained that, he has spoken to other 151 officers about local meaningful data in order to compare like with like. Councillor Samuel added that this system had moved on from quarterly performance reports and was a big step. He explained that Cabinet Members need to be accountable for figures published. He added that it would be useful to be able to publish a set of indicators alongside a budget papers which gives the Panel opportunity for involvement. He explained that it will take time to properly embed this system and that by February the system will be set up.

Councillor Duguid asked if other UA’s of a similar size have similar systems. The officer explained that it is mixed. He explained that the Council has 800 services which are diverse and it is hard to capture everything.

The Panel RESOLVED that:

·  Information on the 22 KPI’s (criteria and how they fit with Corporate Priorities) be requested. Panel can see what Cabinet Member bring back in each of their areas in terms of KPIs.

·  This item come back to Panel as the system develops.

·  Information on who has access – ward members and PDS Panel members?