Interview with Ellie Kershaw, Policy and Programmes Manager

Ellie Kershaw, Policy and Programmes Manager, provided an overview of the Quarter 1 Key performance Indicator Report 2012/13. The Committee were informed that the report now included a section on good news and/or improvements and that the Quarter 2 report would include Strategic Plan updates.

Members observed that some of the terminology used in the report could be clearer.  It was suggested that the readability of the report could be improved if the term ‘direction of travel’ was replaced with the word ‘trend’.

The Committee considered the performance indicators (PIs) highlighted in the report ‘where performance had declined and further monitoring was required’ and in particular PI DCE 001 which related to the percentage of planning enforcement cases signed off within 21 days.  Members felt that further information was required in order to give this their full consideration. It was felt that a breakdown of the enforcement case were needed, rather than a percentage figure, showing how many cases were outstanding and for what length of time.  A member of the Committee also suggested that a recent presentation given by the Head of Development Control and Spatial Planning would be helpful to circulate to the Committee.

The Committee felt that it would be helpful to compare the Council’s performance in relation to  PI WCN001, ‘percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting,’ with that of other local authorities.

Neil Coles, Housing Manager, was invited to update the Committee on Housing’s performance.  Mr Coles made reference to PI HSGPS002, ‘number of homes occupied by vulnerable people made decent’.  He told the Committee that this indicator was outdated and no longer measurable.  Members were informed that there was a need to alter the definitions of this indicator.  The Committee agreed with the officer and suggested that the he investigate the issues with this indicator and identify the process for adopting an alternative definition.

With reference to PI HSG005, ’number of households prevented from becoming homeless through the intervention of housing advice,’ the difficulty identified was that it was hard to reach people in the early stages and therefore there was a need to refocus services to allow for an early intervention.  Mr Coles cited households struggling with mortgages as an example of this.

It was recommended that:

a)  The term ‘direction of travel’ should be replaced with ‘trend’ in the quarterly performance report;

b)  In response to PI DCE 001, the Planning Enforcement team provide the Committee with a breakdown of all outstanding enforcement cases; providing details of the number of cases and the length of time outstanding;

c)  The Waste Manager provides the Committee with further information showing Maidstone’s performance in comparison to other local authorities in relation to PI WCN001, ‘Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting;’ and

d)  The Housing Manager investigates the issues relating to the performance indicator PI HSGPS002, ‘number of homes occupied by vulnerable people made decent’ which was described as outdated and no longer measurable and identifies the process for adopting an alternative definition.  The results should be presented in a report to the appropriate Overview and Scrutiny Committee.