Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
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 Agenda Item No 7

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Healthy Living and Social Care: 12th March 2018

 

Report of the Director of Social Services

 

Target Setting for 2018/19

 

Purpose of the Report

  1. To present the proposed targets for improvement for 2018/19 for existing performance indicators aligned to Well-being Outcome 4 'An Active and Healthy Vale' priorities.

Recommendations

  1. That the Committee reviews and endorses via recommendation to Cabinet, the proposed targets for 2018/19 aligned to Well-being Outcome 4 priorities.

Reasons for the Recommendations

  1. To ensure the Council reports a relevant set of performance indicators against which it can demonstrate achievement of its Well-being Outcomes and consistently sets challenging yet realistic performance improvement targets for those priorities in line with requirements under the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.

Background

  1. The Council's Performance Management Framework is the mechanism through which our key priorities and targets are monitored and realised.  
  2. Following the changes to the Council's Performance Management Framework, since May 2016, each Scrutiny Committee has received performance information linked with the Council's Well-being Outcome with which that Committee is aligned, with Corporate Health priorities considered by the Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee.
  3. This report presents the proposed targets aligned with the Well-being Outcome 4 priorities as outlined in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020. Appendix 1 outlines the proposed targets for the Healthy Living and Social Care Committee and includes all relevant performance indicators that fit within the remit of the Committee. Targets have been set for those performance indicators that are continuing into 2018/19.
  4. Mirroring last year's approach, target setting for 2018/19 is being undertaken at quarter 3 in order to align the process with service planning. This enables targets to be considered in the context of priorities and resources as outlined in 2018/19 Service Plans. Following sign off by the respective Sponsoring Director for each Well-being Outcome, targets are being reported directly to Scrutiny Committees for challenge and thereafter to Cabinet for ratification.  This approach to target setting and internal challenge is in line with the Wales Audit Office's Proposal for Improvement from its Corporate Assessment of the Vale of Glamorgan Council in August 2016.

Relevant Issues and Options

  1. The Council has a long standing commitment (as outlined in previous and the current Corporate Plan) to continuously improve the services it provides to citizens of the Vale of Glamorgan. However, the ongoing reductions in public sector funding will inevitably impact on the availability of resources, and in addition, external factors such as the wider economic environment, bring into question the realism of continual improvement in service performance. However, having taken account of these factors, the Council still seeks to establish challenging but realistic targets that are commensurate with the available level of resource.
  2. The Council's challenging approach to target setting emphasises this by ensuring that there is an assessment of performance trend data, our performance against previous targets and making best use of external benchmarking data (where this available). This is balanced against how much of a priority the indicator is to the Council and whether there is capacity to improve performance. All proposed targets must have an accompanying rationale that clearly explains the reasons for setting the targets at that level.
  3. Due to the timing of target setting this year, data is only available for quarter 3 for those measures reported on a quarterly basis. For those measures reported on an annual basis, proposed targets have been informed by the previous years' trend data (where available) and estimated data as at quarter 3. For some measures that were new for 2017/18 and are collected annually, there will be no data available until 31st March. As a result, services are establishing baseline performance for these measures, so it has not been possible to set a target. Targets will be set and reported to Members once end of year data becomes available.
  4. As part of the target setting process for 2018/19, a review has been undertaken of the existing Corporate Performance Measures (CPMs) aligned to the Corporate Plan Well-being Outcomes and Corporate Health priorities.  The Council's Framework of Corporate Performance Measures comprises local PIs, statutory PIs and Public Accountability Measures (PAMs). This has ensured that the measures in place provide the best representation of the activities/outcomes required and that data will be available on a quarterly basis for a set of key measures for each Well-being Outcome area thus enabling a balanced assessment of performance each quarter.
  5. In addition to the CPMs, Scrutiny Committees are also being presented with proposed targets for the national Public Accountability Measures (PAMs) for 2018/19 that do not form part of our performance framework and these have been aligned to their respective Well-being Outcome areas. Whilst the Council's CPMs will collect and report on our performance in relation to our key priorities, there is limited opportunity to benchmark this information with others. The additional PAMs will enable us to continue to compare our performance in a range of services with Welsh local authorities in line with the requirements of the Local Government Measure 2009.
  6. Appendix 1 outlines the proposed targets for the Healthy Living and Social Care Committee. Targets have been set for those performance indicators that are continuing into 2018/19.  A number of indicator amendments and deletions are proposed for 2018/19 following the review of existing CPMs and Members are asked to endorse these. 
  7. In total there are 54 measures proposed for collection during 2018/19, 49 of which are existing measures that are due to be carried forward in 2018/19. The Corporate Performance Framework is made up of 29 measures aligned to the delivery of the Corporate Plan's Well-being Outcome 4. In addition to this there are 22 additional measures that have been identified as statutory performance measures that are not directly linked to Corporate Plan delivery but can be aligned to the Well-being Outcome for monitoring.  As part of this statutory data set, 4 measures are Public Accountability Measures (2 of which are new PAMs relating to the National Exercise Referral Programme). The collection and reporting of these PAMS will enable us to continue to benchmark our performance with other local authorities. The other 18 additional statutory measures are Welsh Government derived measures that are aligned to the delivery of the Social Services and Well-Being Act.
  8. There are 3 performance measures that are proposed for deletion from the existing 2017/18 framework (CPM/186, CPM/195 and CPM/090) which relate to substance misuse and the exercise referral programme. A rationale for these proposed deletions has been provided in the Appendix. There are also 3 new performance measures that have been proposed for inclusion in the Corporate Performance Framework for 2018/19, all of which relate to substance misuse data. A rationale for proposing these new measures is provided in the Appendix. 
  9. Of the 29 measures that make up the Corporate Performance Framework, targets have been proposed for 24 measures. For 5 measures target setting was not applicable (CPM/182, CPM/183, CPM/184, CPM185 and CPM/191), because the Welsh Government data set has not been disaggregated at the local authority level, so data is not available.
  10. Within the Corporate Performance Framework of the 24 measures where it was possible to set a target, 13 have targets are set to improve on the previous year's performance (2016/17), 6 have targets set to stay the same (in line) with the previous year and 3  have been set below the previous year's performance. Where this is the case a rationale has been provided in the Appendix. A direction of travel was not available for 2 measures (CPM/203 and CPM/206).
  11. In relation to the additional statutory measures, targets could be set for 18 of the 22 measures. It is considered not appropriate to set targets for 4 of the statutory measures (SSM/025, SSM/021, SSM/022 and SSM/028), due to the nature of the measure. The services will continue to report this data, but for monitoring purposes only. 
  12. With regard to the 18 additional statutory performance indicators (Statutory Social Services Measures and the Public Accountability Measure (PAM)) where it is possible to set targets for 2018/19, 9 have been set to improve on the previous year's performance, 1 is set to remain the same when compared with the previous year and 2 have a target set below the previous year. A direction of travel was not available for 6 measures.
  13. It is possible to compare our proposed targets for 12 of these additional measures with national benchmarking data. For 1 PAM (PAM/017: visits to sports and leisure facilities) the target has been set above the Welsh average and in line with top quartile performance for benchmarking data for 2016/17. For 6 measures the targets have been set to perform better than the Welsh average and 3 have been set in line with the Welsh average. Only 2 targets being proposed have been set below the Welsh average performance for 2016/17. These relate to SSM/034a (care leavers in education, training or employment after 12 months of leaving care) and SSM/035 (care leavers who experience homelessness).
  14. The consideration of these proposed performance improvement targets by Members is a key feature of the internal challenge process. Following review/endorsement by the Committee, these performance targets will be reported to Cabinet on 16th April 2018 for approval.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. There are no additional budgetary implications arising from this report although failure to improve or achieve required performance in some areas may have a negative impact on external assessments of the Council and could put certain funding opportunities at risk.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

  1. None directly from this report. The Corporate Plan emphasises the Council's commitment to promoting sustainable development and our understanding of our duties under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. The many different aspects of sustainability (environment, economy, culture and social) are covered within the Corporate Plan as well as how the Council will maximise its contribution to the Well-being Goals.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

  1. The Local Government Act 1999, the Wales Programme for Improvement and the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 require that the Council secure continuous improvement across the full range of local services for which it is responsible.
  2. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 requires the Council to set and publish Well-being Objectives by April 2017 that maximise its contribution to achieving the Well-being goals for Wales.

Crime and Disorder Implications

  1. None directly from this report. Activities to improve community safety are included in the Corporate Plan and one of the Well-being Outcomes is 'An Inclusive and Safe Vale' with a supporting objective 'providing decent homes and safe communities'. The Performance Management Framework will support the delivery of actions associated with these objectives.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. None directly from this report. An Inclusive and Safe Vale' is one of the Well-being Outcomes in the Corporate Plan with a supporting objective 'reducing poverty and social exclusion'. There is also a Well-being Outcome 'An Aspirational and culturally vibrant Vale' with a supporting action 'valuing culture and diversity'. The Performance Management Framework will support the delivery of actions associated with these objectives.

Corporate/Service Objectives

  1. The Corporate Plan 2016-20 reflects the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and identifies 4 Well-being Outcomes and 8 Objectives for the Council. These promote improvements in the economic, social and cultural well-being of residents in the Vale of Glamorgan which in turn will contribute to achieving the Well-being goals for Wales.
  2. The Council's Performance Management Framework supports the delivery of all of the Council's Corporate Plan Well-being Outcomes and Objectives.

Policy Framework and Budget

  1. This is a matter for Executive decision by Cabinet.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

  1. The information contained within the report is based on returns provided by service directorates to the Performance Team. An overall Council report on target setting for improvement will be considered by Cabinet on 16th April 2018. 

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

  1. Healthy Living and Social Care

Background Papers

None

Contact Officer

Julia Archampong, Corporate Performance Manager

Officers Consulted

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services and Sponsoring Director of Well-being Outcome 4

Tom Bowring, Operational Manager Performance and Policy

Huw Isaac, Head of Performance and Development

Responsible Officer:

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services and Sponsoring Director of Well-being Outcome 4