Issue - meetings

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Leader presented the report to Members.

He advised Members that a review was being undertaken on the current performance measures and the information in the report to ensure that it continued to be fit for purpose.

He informed Cabinet that 60 indicators were detailed in the report drawn from the Council’s priorities of which 65% were on track or above target, 20% were within agreed tolerances or under control and 15% were below target. He stated that the areas where performance was below target are now examined in more detail and the relevant Heads of Service prepare interventions plans to accompany the report to outline measures or explanations to raise the performance.

In relation to finance, The Leader highlighted that the General Fund forecast surplus outturn was £576K (against the budgeted figure of £299k),  the self-sufficiency reserve stood at £2.76m, and the business rates income forecast was £4.96m (£100k more than budgeted). He stated that there were a number of positive financial movements including additional taxi licencing income, reduction in business rates payable on car parks and commercial properties and additional income from trade refuse and recycling. However there were some adverse movements that included the Leisure Centres deficit, salary increases in refuse and recycling, software licence increases and increased costs in the benefits service.

He informed Members that the sickness absence rate in Q1 was 2.39 days against a target of 2.12 days and that 73% of the absence was a result of long term absences and all cases were being managed with support of the Senior HR advisors.

Councillor A V Smith highlighted that the Leisure Centres income was down, which was mainly a result of loss of membership and that the sickness absence in waste management was high due the manual nature of the work.

Councillor N J Rushton reiterated the financial performance as outlined by the Leader and that he was looking forward to seeing how the self-sufficiency reserves would be invested. He expressed concerns over the number of the days that had been lost due to sickness.

Councillor R Bayliss highlighted that the performance in relation to new affordable homes was below target due to the delay in the handover from developers and utility issues on the Linford & Verdon Crescent site. He noted the good performance in relation to repairs and rent income.

Councillor T Gillard stated that the report was very positive for the business focus team, highlighting that support to a number of market traders to help expand to retail units was continuing and that following the success of the start-up and digital workshops, the business focus team would be redelivering the events for local business. He advised Cabinet that prior to the start of the meeting he had attended the district’s Jobs and Skills Fair at Stephenson’s College which had over 35 local organisations showcasing thousands of local jobs.

In response to questions from Councillor N J Rushton, the Deputy Chief Executive advised Members that, in relation to customer satisfaction,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42