Issue - meetings

Report of the Interim Director Strategy and Policy and the Interim Corporate Director of Finance and Resources

James Rhodes, Head of Analysis and Insight, and Elaine Fox, Corporate Policy and Performance Officer, introduced the Council Plan and Corporate Performance Assurance report to the Committee describing an enhanced and refreshed look at performance. They highlighted the following information:

(a)  In response to the ongoing refresh of the Council Plan and inclusion of statutory duties within the Plan, a comprehensive set of 470 Strategic Indicators have been developed looking at what is indicative of good performance for services across the Council;

(b)  These additional Indicators will be incorporated into the new Performance Management Framework which in turn feeds into discussions on performance at a departmental and corporate level, better informing the Leadership of the Council on performance;

(c)  The intention of the new Performance Framework is to encourage honest and accurate discussion on performance, and support the cultural change that is currently underway across the Council. This will allow for accountability and  identification of issues at an early stage if targets are slipping, which in turn allows early action to be taken to correct it;

(d)  The framework is a live document and will be updated as requirements emerge or change. There are 470 strategic indicators, incorporating a number on statutory duties. There is a smaller subset, considered critical which can be escalated for review by the Corporate Leadership Team and Executive if deemed necessary. In addition to these statutory duty indicators there are 145 performance indicators that are also tracked from the Strategic Council Plan to help ensure that the 11 aims and plan outcome measures are met. All indicators are recorded on the Council’s performance management system and are updated each period including a RAG rating and contextual narrative;

(e)  A new element to the Performance Framework is the planned introduction of Performance Clinics to allow dedicated time for robust review of indicators. These clinics will also build in accountability and consistency in approach across the Authority and encourage critical thinking;

(f)  The Performance Framework is linked to the appraisal system through individual business plans and service plans. This has made it possible to identify Officers responsible for specific indicators ensuing individual teams are aware of performance against the Council Plan;

(g)  As part of the Performance Framework the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be provided with a quarterly performance monitoring report and will have the opportunity to raise queries on specific indicators. The Audit Committee are invited to let Officers have any suggestions on additional indicators, or amendments to those already in place that would help to improve assurance work;

(h)  The Companies Governance Executive Committee will receive reports on the Indicators from individual Companies, to ensure oversight of company performance;

During questions from Committee members and discussion the following points were raised:

(i)  The system used to capture and report performance indicator data is called Pentana and will link in other sources of data where it is available. The reports produced are Red, Amber, Green rated and give a narrative for each indicator.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50