Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
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Agenda Item No. 7

 

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee: 11th October 2018

 

Report of the Managing Director

 

Quarter 1 (2018-19) Performance Report: An Environmentally Responsible and Prosperous Vale

 

Purpose of the Report

  1. To present the performance results for quarter 1, 1st April-30th June 2018 for the Corporate Plan Well-being Outcome 2, 'An Environmentally Responsible and Prosperous Vale.'

Recommendations

  1. That Members consider performance results and progress towards achieving key outcomes in line with the Corporate Plan Well-being Outcome 2 - 'The Vale of Glamorgan has a strong and sustainable economy and the local environment is safeguarded for present and future generations.'
  2. That Members consider the performance results and remedial actions to be taken to address areas of underperformance and to tackle the key challenges identified.

Reasons for the Recommendations

  1. To ensure the Council clearly demonstrates the progress being made towards achieving its Corporate Plan Well-being Outcomes aimed at making a positive difference to the lives of Vale of Glamorgan citizens.
  2. To ensure the Council is effectively assessing its performance in line with the requirement to secure continuous improvement outlined in the Local Government Measure (Wales) 2009 and reflecting the requirement of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 that it maximises its contribution to achieving the well-being goals for Wales.

Background

  1. The Council's Performance Management Framework is the mechanism through which our key priorities and targets are monitored and realised in order to secure continuous improvement.
  2. As part of the review of its Performance Management Framework, the Council has adopted a Corporate Plan (2016-20) which reflects the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and identifies 4 Well-being Outcomes and 8 Well-being Objectives for the Council.
  3. Since May 2016, each Scrutiny Committee has received performance information linked with the Council's Well-being Outcome with which that Committee is aligned. In addition, Corporate Health priorities are considered by the Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee. Work has also continued with Officers and the Member Working Group to further develop and enhance our Performance Management Framework arrangements and performance reporting in line with our duties as outlined in the WBFG (Wales) Act and the LGM with reference to the wider local government agenda.
  4. In June 2018, consideration was given by the Member Working Group to proposed changes to the annual improvement planning and monitoring timetable and Members were supportive of the proposed simplified approach which will reduce the number of performance related reports that Scrutiny Committees considered as well as the level of duplication due to timing of reports. Group Members were also supportive of the proposed report structures aimed at providing a more accessible view of performance. Cabinet subsequently endorsed the changes to the Council's annual improvement planning and monitoring timetable on 30th July 2018 (minute C378 refers).
  5. The quarterly performance report focuses on our progress in delivering our key priorities as aligned to year 3 of the Corporate Plan 2016-20.  It is intended to present the reader with a more accessible view of performance for the Well-being Outcome and draws together information from a wide range of sources. An additional overall Corporate Plan Summary Report provides an overview of the contribution to the national Well-being Goals and overall progress against the Corporate Plan's Well-being Objectives and Corporate Health. This overview has been designed for use by all elected members, Council staff and customers and will be appended to the Cabinet and Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny quarterly performance report. The Corporate Plan Summary Report is referenced in the Background Papers to this report.
  6. The performance report is structured as follows:

Section 1: States the overall RAG status attributed to the Well-being Outcome.

  • Position Statement: Provides an overall summary of performance in relation to the Well-being Outcome and highlights the main developments, achievements and challenges for the quarter.
  • Performance Snapshot: Provides an overview for each Well-being Objective, describing the status of Corporate Plan actions and performance indicators. A RAG status is attributed to actions and measures under each Well-being Objective to reflect overall progress to date and contributes to the overall RAG status for the Well-being Outcome.
  • Performance Exceptions: For ease of scrutiny, any actions or PIs attributed a Red status are presented here including a direction of travel and commentary on the performance. 
  • Achievements: Highlights the key achievements to date in delivering the intended outcomes for the Well-being Outcome.
  • Challenges: Highlights the key challenges that are or could impact on achieving the intended outcomes for the Well-being Outcome.

Section 2: Corporate Health - Managing our Resources

  • Provides a summary of the key issues relating to the use of resources and the impact on delivering improvement during the quarter. The focus is on key aspects relating to People, Finance, Assets, ICT, Customer Focus and Risk Management (both service level and corporate risks) contributing to the Well-being Outcome.

Glossary: Provides an explanation of the performance terms used within the report.

  • The performance report uses the traffic light system, that is, a Red, Amber or Green (RAG) status and a Direction of Travel (DOT) to aid performance analysis.
  • Progress is reported for all key performance indicators and actions by allocating a RAG performance status.
  • The risk matrix defines the level of risk by translating impact/magnitude and Likelihood/Probability into an evaluated level of risk.

Appendices:

  • Appendix 1: Provides, by Well-being Objective, detailed information relating to the Service Plan actions which have contributed to Corporate Plan actions.
  • Appendix 2: Provides detailed performance indicator information linked to each Well-being Objective which show for our planned activities, how much we have done, how well we have performed and what difference this has made. It must be noted that any annual reported performance indicators that have been introduced in 2018 as part of the Council's revised Performance Management Framework will not be have data available until end of year as this year will be used to establish baseline performance. A Not Available (N/A) status will be attributed to all such measures with commentary provided confirming this status.  We will continue to develop our key measures within each Well-being Objective to ensure these most accurately reflect our Corporate Plan Well-being Outcomes.
  • Appendix 3: Provides additional performance indicators which contribute to the Well-being Outcome but do not form part of the Corporate Plan basket of key performance indicators. These are made up of statutory and other national performance indicators.

Relevant Issues and Options

  1. An overall GREEN RAG status has been attributed to Well-being Outcome 2, 'An Environmentally Responsible and Prosperous Vale', to reflect the good progress made towards achieving improved outcomes for residents and our customers during the quarter.
  2. At quarter 1, 100% of the 66 Corporate Plan actions where a RAG status could be attributed to this Well-being Outcome, were on track to be delivered giving an overall Green performance status for actions. 
  3. Of the 46 performance measures aligned to this Well-being outcome, only seven measures could be allocated a RAG status.  The remainder are annual measures to be reported at Q4. For the measures where a RAG status was applicable, 2 met or exceeded target (green status), two measures missed target by 10% (amber status) and three measures missed target by more than 10% (red status).
  4. In relation to the objective 'promoting regeneration, economic growth and employment', 100% (21) of actions are on track for delivery giving an overall green performance status. Similarly 96% (43) of actions aligned to the objective 'promoting sustainable development and protecting our environment' were attributed a green performance status reflecting the excellent progress made during quarter 1. There is a need to progress actions relating to the Council's Refit energy improvement programme (FIT/A006, amber status) and the Local Transport Plan (NS/A009, red status).
  5. A RAG status was not applicable to all 16 measures aligned to the objective 'promoting regeneration, economic growth and employment', as they are annual measures which will be reported at Q4. In relation to 'promoting sustainable development and protecting our environment', a RAG status was possible for 7 out of 30 measures aligned to the objective. Two measures were attributed a green performance status, a further two an amber status and the remaining three a red status.  The percentage of Council streetlights converted to LED (CPM/154) missed its 60% target by more than 10%. This performance has been the result of previous delays that were encountered during 2017/18 and the programme is now on track for completion by the end of the year.  Percentage of reported fly tipping incidents leading to enforcement activity continues to miss target due to the difficulties of tracing the offence back to the perpetrator and CCTV provision is currently being investigated as means to improve our performance in this measure (CPM/018).  The percentage of local authority collected municipal waste recycled has missed target due to an error in interpretation of the PI definition which resulted in an unachievable target of 65% being set for 2018/19. A new target of 37% is proposed for 2018/19 to replace the current target.
  6. A detailed report outlining the progress this quarter towards achieving Well-being Outcome 2 is provided at Appendix A.
  7. An overview of overall progress against the Corporate Plan Well-being Objectives and how this contributes to the national Well-being Goals is provided in the Corporate Plan Summary Report.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

  1. There are no additional budgetary implications arising from this report, although underperformance in some areas may have a negative impact on external assessments of the Council and could put certain funding opportunities at risk. The report includes information relating to the use of financial, asset, ICT and people resources and how these are being deployed to support the delivery of the Council's well-being outcomes.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

  1. 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 reflected within planned activities as outlined in the Corporate Plan and demonstrate how the Council will maximise its contribution to the Well-being Goals.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

  1. The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 requires 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. 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 Council's Performance Management Framework supports the delivery of actions associated with these objectives.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

  1. '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 Council's Performance Management Framework supports 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 performance information contained within the report is based on quarterly returns provided by service directorates to the Performance Team. Quarterly performance reports covering the Corporate Plan Well-being Outcomes and Objectives along with an overall Corporate Health Report will be considered by relevant Scrutiny Committees and the Cabinet. 

Relevant Scrutiny Committee

Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee

Background Papers

Corporate Plan Summary Report (Q1 2018/19)

Contact Officer

Julia Archampong, Corporate Performance Manager

Officers Consulted

Corporate Management Team

Huw Isaac, Head of Performance and Development

Tom Bowring, Operational Manager Performance and Policy

Responsible Officer:

Rob Thomas, Managing Director and Sponsoring Director for Well-being Outcome 2, 'An Environmentally Responsible and Prosperous Vale'