Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Leader presented the report to Members.

He advised Members that the key focus for the authority was the Customer First Programme which had seen officers working to develop the strategy that would be presented to Members over the next few months and that staff workshops had been held to look at the current service delivery to identify workstreams to enhance and improve the service to customers. He highlighted the following improvements in the performance of the customer service team over the last two quarters:

-          The Council had implemented a number of quick wins which were put in place to help reduce the call waiting time for customers.

-          There had been a 16% increase in the number of calls answered compared to the same time the previous year achieving target of 74.4% over both quarters.

-          There was also an improvement in call waiting times with the average being 1 minute 19 seconds that was from an average of 2 minutes 27 seconds at the same time the previous year.

He highlighted that the Council was still below target but it was a step in the right direction ensuring that customers were at the heart of everything that the authority did, adding that it was too long in the waiting but the journey had been started.

Councillor R Blunt provided Members with the following highlights from the Quarter:-

-          The Planning Inspector had issued his final report in respect of the Local Plan and that it would then be considered at Council on 21 November 2017. Advising Members that it was no mean feat and was pleased that a credible plan was going forward for consideration.

-          Following the ‘call for sites’ exercise in July and August, officers were  assessing the employment sites received and identifying any potential additional sites for inclusion in the final Employment Land Availability Assessment report. The project was still on track for completion in Q3.

-          The Green Shoots grant had been a great success with the purchase of 68,000 bulbs to be planted in the district. The free tree scheme had exceeded expectations again and there was currently 16,000 trees on order and they would be delivered in Q3.

Councillor T Gillard stated that he had received a number of positive comments about the improvements in Coalville especially concerning the nightlife which was particularly busy. He also acknowledged and thanked all the staff that had worked on the Remembrance Day Parade especially the Cultural Services Officer which was a great success. He highlighted that the Business Focus Team had continued to work hard as mentioned in the report.

Councillor R D Bayliss was pleased to advise Members that the average re-let times, which had been concerning in the past, was not exceeding the target and he congratulated officers on their hard work. He stated that the back log of repairs had been actioned and that officers were now working on the current work.

Councillor N J Rushton advised Members that the general forecast surplus outturn was  due to increase to £1.196m from a budget of £934K which was mainly due to the an increase in business rate collection, which had increased by £534k more. He stated that the surplus would have been more however there had been a few adverse events including an increase on the Leisure Services deficit. He was highlighted that more money had been spent on Planning Enforcement but this was in relation to Public Protection. He informed Members that the special expenses budget was still in tolerance and that the HRA budget was forecasting an outturn of £257k against a budget of £142k which was mainly due to an increase in rental income.

Councillor A V Smith advised Members that the 16,000 trees had arrived and where being delivered. She informed Members that there were two unhappy faces in her area which were the Leisure Centre Membership income and usage levels and was hoping that it was related to the holiday period and customers were not around to make use of the facilities but advised Members that she would be keeping an eye on the figures over the next quarter.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor T Gillard and

RESOLVED THAT:

The Quarter 2 Performance Report (July - Sept 2017) be received and noted.

Reason for decision: The report is provided for members to effectively monitor the organisation’s performance.