Issue - meetings

Report of the Interim Chief Executive enclosed.

Decision taken (unanimously):

1.     That Cabinet thanks the Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel for its detailed scrutiny of the report and accepts the recommendations made at its meeting on 9 November 2020;

2.     That Cabinet welcomes the report and  looks forward to the next report when more data will be available to measure against the newly approved Corporate Strategy.

The Leader of the Council presented a report of the Interim Chief Executive providing Cabinet with a position statement for the newly approved Corporate Strategy for quarter two (July – September) 2020/21.

He also presented comments and recommendations made by the Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel at its meeting on 9 November 2020, which were as follows:

1.     The Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel thanks the Leader, Chief Executive and Shared Services Lead – Partnerships and Transformation for presenting such a detailed report and answering questions;

2.     The Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel looks forward to the directorate performance indicators being presented to future meetings;

3.     The Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel welcomes the offer of the corporate strategy project mandates being provided to panel members;

4.     The Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel asks that that a future meeting takes a ‘deep dive’ into the organisational development strategy; and

5.     The timeframes involved in the project to deliver a mental health programme for young people be reviewed.

Arising from the discussion on the report, the Chief Executive agreed to provide Councillor Ogilvie with further details regarding the calculation of the figure ‘40% of service requests will be received via self-service channels’.  

Decision taken (unanimously):

1.     That Cabinet thanks the Scrutiny Budget and Performance Panel for its detailed scrutiny of the report and accepts the recommendations made at its meeting on 9 November 2020;

2.     That Cabinet welcomes the report and  looks forward to the next report when more data will be available to measure against the newly approved Corporate Strategy.

Reasons for decision

The Council’s newly agreed performance framework (agreed 14^th October 2020) set out the process for reporting progress against the objectives of the Corporate Strategy. Robust monitoring will ensure that the council continues to deliver its priorities and achieves the best outcomes for residents.         

Alternative options considered and rejected

Not applicable.

Report of the Interim Chief Executive attached.

The Panel considered a report of the Interim Chief Executive which outlined the Council’s performance against the delivery of the Corporate Plan projects and objectives during Period 2 (July-September 2020).

Overall, performance of the projects was good, with 8 out of 14 projects marked as on-track. The remaining projects were either still being developed or scoped before commencement.

The report presented a position statement on the Corporate Strategy adopted in September 2020 and members queried how other performance indicators, such as resident satisfaction, council tax collection rates and missed bins, would be monitored. Assurances were provided that this information was still being monitored and would be incorporated into individual directorate performance reports to be presented to future Panel meetings.

Members acknowledged the wide-ranging and ambitious nature of the Council’s priorities but offered a contrast with the projects within the ‘Exemplary Council’ priority, which were felt to be narrow in focus.

In response to this and a query regarding how the link between projects and priorities could be strengthened, members were informed that all projects were scoped to ensure clarity and a more streamlined approach. It was suggested, however, that the project mandates could be supplied to members to provide further detail and the Panel welcomed this.

A period of positive change for the Council was noted and members queried other methods of transformation besides Shared Services with Chorley Council, which was highlighted in the report. In response, members were informed that every directorate would undertake a review of their service; significant work on digital inclusion was being performed, with a new website set to launch; and organisational development was underway with staff.

Members expressed their interest in work on organisational development and requested that this be looked at in more detail at a future meeting.

Clarification was sought on the ‘One Front Door’ model and it was explained that this would incorporate a range of services, such as Citizen’s Advice, to improve accessibility for residents and those presenting themselves to the council for support. Some aspects of the model were already in operation and it was anticipated that the full model would be rolled out by the end of November 2020.

The work of the South Ribble Together Hub and the Holiday Hunger Scheme was queried with members seeking further information on any financial implications for the Council.

In response, members were informed that the Holiday Hunger Scheme was introduced in summer 2019 and currently provides food for children during all school holidays. Assistance is also now offered to all self-identifying low-income families, with approximately 2000 families helped during the October 2020 half term.

A budget of approximately £90,000 had been allocated to the project for a three-year period and some government funding was included in this. However, the Leader of the Council acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic meant that a significant amount of this budget had been used. 

Members also queried the timeline for the delivery of mental health support for young people, given how COVID-19 had exacerbated mental  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26