Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted and the Portfolio Holders continue working with officers to achieve improvement against identified key challenges.

Reason for Decision:  To enable Cabinet to be informed of performance against key measures and to identify and assign corrective action where necessary.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  None.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member / Dispensation Granted:  None.

Cabinet received a report of the Corporate Director of Resources, which summarised Council and service performance for Quarter 1 against key measures and drew attention to areas requiring action.

The Leader of the Council informed Cabinet that this was the first performance report of the financial year.  The format of the report had changed to reflect the Corporate Plan and focused on outcomes for residents and service users.  The Corporate Scorecard had been redesigned as follows:  66 old measures had been removed, 51 retained and 5 new ones added.  Not all measures would be reported quarterly as some outcomes changed relatively slowly, such as health and educational attainment.  The data on such items would be included when available.  The Leader and the Corporate Director of Resources highlighted some key performance areas.

A non-voting non-Executive Cabinet Member congratulated the Council on some of its achievements, such as the increase in the take up of personal budgets by atleast 6%. She was pleased to learn of the review of thresholds and the resultant outcomes in relation to the protection of children.  However, the Member remained concerned about the challenges within the Youth Offending team, which showed that it was improving, and enquired about the comparative data for monitoring purposes, including any evidence in any improvements. 

In response, the Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and Families provided examples of some improvements, such as the carrying out of timely visits and an improvement in the assessment conducted.  The Portfolio Holder referred to a report on the Youth Justice Plan which had been included on the 17 September 2013 Overview and Scrutiny Committee agenda and she looked forward to the Committee’s contributions that would help further improve the service.

The same non-voting non-Executive Cabinet Member enquired about the actions being taken to address the poor performance in relation to NI195, street and environmental cleanliness, which was rated as High Red.  She was of the view that the cuts imposed in the Environment and Enterprise Directorate, which had reduced sweepers in Harrow Town Centre and road cleaners in Harrow, had been unprecedented and damaging.  Additionally, some of the key routes, such as Rayners Lane, were in a poor state of cleanliness and impacted adversely on all residents of Harrow and the situation was getting worse.  She enquired if any independent monitoring was taking place.  Additionally, it was disappointing that grass was left to grow with a view to creating meadows and enquired how complaints were monitored.

Another non-voting non-Executive Cabinet Member referred to the dissatisfaction of residents living in the vicinity of Belmont Circle about the poor state of cleanliness.  He highlighted the depth of feeling in this regard and the adverse impact on residents.  He was of the view that kerb appeal was important to residents.  The Member asked if there was a cause for concern in relation to the increase in the number of empty units in the Harrow Town Centre, whether the poor state of cleanliness was a contributing factor and questioned whether the smaller town centres were fit for purpose.  He also asked about the resultant impact on business rates.  The Member expressed concern about the IT Transformation which was behind schedule and considered this to be a legacy of the bad choices and decisions made by the previous administration, as money could have been used elsewhere such as in the improvement of the borough’s Public Realm.  Moreover, there had been a significant drop in the percentage of residents who felt that the Council kept them informed, particularly in relation to how consultations were undertaken, notifications given of various consultations and how planning applications were dealt with.  Consultation with staff and Ward Councillors was also poor.  He asked how the issue of engagement was being addressed, as failure to consult was endemic within the Council.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety reported that the cuts in the Environment and Enterprise Directorate in relation to street and environmental cleanliness would be re-examined.  Additionally, there was a need for key routes which were swept in the mornings only to be also swept during the day.  He explained that re?instatement of any cuts imposed would take time to take effect and that his administration had had done well in a short space of time.  He undertook to take up the issue of engagement.

The Corporate Director of Resources stated that that there were no statutory measures required in relation to the length of the grass.  The concern over this issue was picked up through satisfaction surveys, including any patterns in complaints from residents.  The Director of Finance and Assurance informed Cabinet that, currently, there was no shortfall in the business rates collected which was monitored on a monthly basis.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted and the Portfolio Holders continue working with officers to achieve improvement against identified key challenges.

Reason for Decision:  To enable Cabinet to be informed of performance against key measures and to identify and assign corrective action where necessary.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:  None.

Conflict of Interest relating to the matter declared by Cabinet Member / Dispensation Granted:  None.