Interview with Ellie Kershaw, Policy and Performance Manager

The Leader of the Council explained that the Strategic Plan had three main priorities and approximately 60 Key Performance indicators (KPIs), informing Members that KPIs had been significantly reduced by the Coalition Government. He explained that the Strategic Plan offered a detailed breakdown of what the Council sought to achieve from the outcomes of the Priorities set:

1. For Maidstone to have a growing economy

Outcomes:

·  A Transport network that supports the local economy; and

·  A growing economy with rising employment, catering for a range of skill sets to meet the demands of the local economy.

2. For Maidstone to be a decent place to live

Outcomes:

·  Decent, affordable housing in the right place across a range of tenures;

·  Continues to be a clean and attractive environment for people who live and visit the Borough; and

·  Residents are not disadvantaged because of where they live or who they are, vulnerable people are assisted and the level of deprivation is reduced (previously an outcome of Corporate and Customer Excellence).

3. Corporate and Customer Excellence.

Outcome:

·  The Council will continue to have value for money services that residents are satisfied with.

Councillor Garland explained that work had been undertaken to refresh the current priorities with a newly defined focus on the outcomes and the action plan had been updated to show the progress made from April-November 2011.

Ms Kershaw, Policy and Performance Manager, explained that the outcome ‘residents are not disadvantaged because of where they live or who they are, vulnerable people are assisted and the level of deprivation is reduced’ had been moved to become an additional outcome of the priority ‘For Maidstone to be a decent place to live’.  As a result an additional outcome was required to address ‘customer excellence’ for the priority ‘Corporate and Customer Excellence.’

Members told the Officer that they found the Strategic Plan to be bold, ambitious and succinct. They questioned the progress of the Leisure and Tourism Strategy which had an original target date of April 2011 as its importance as a strategic priority had been reflected in the Budget Strategy.  Ms Kershaw informed Members that important decisions had been made in relation to the Museum and Hazlitt Theatre which had delayed the action but the relevant paperwork had been completed to move the target date to a more pertinent date in the future.

The Committee questioned the budget savings associated with Planning in relation to its importance to the Council in meeting its priority outcomes. They considered how quality could be maintained when the cost of delivering the service was being reduced.

Officers explained that Planning remained a high priority area for the Council but it was not immune from efficiency savings. Ms Kershaw clarified that KPIs were measured by specific areas that could be monitored in the same way each year. She explained that quality was measured in a different way i.e. through complaints monitoring. 

Members highlighted the KPIs relating to the Museum East Wing project and the High Street Project. It was felt that an update or comment on the Museum would be helpful.  They felt that the rising cost of the High Street Project and the work being done to find savings to offset this should have been highlighted more clearly in the Budget Strategy. They were satisfied that any concerns would be identified and considered as part of the quarterly budget monitoring report.  Members also agreed that a brief update on the Museum should be sought from responsible Officers.

The Committee raised a final concern regarding the focus of the Strategic Plan on families with multiple needs and the Council’s ability to deliver this effectively.  The Chief Executive explained that this was at a formative stage as the Locality Board had met for the fist time in November 2011. She explained that Maidstone role would be to provide Community Leadership and this was would be delivered efficiently and effectively as it would be spread across the public sector with marginal costs to the authority as a result of joined up working.

It was recommended that:

a)  The Scrutiny Officer seek a brief update on the Museum East Wing extension as highlighted by Members in the Key Performance Indicators identified in the Strategic Action Plan;

b)  That the report be noted by the Committee; and

c)  That attention is given to the grammatical consistency in the report in relation to the tenses used.