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Appendix 3

P&R: Part B – 2021/2022 End of Year Outturn

 

A Summary of All Committees

 

Annual Performance of KPIs

 

Strategic Priority

Green

Amber

Red

N/A

A Thriving Place (ERL)

3

1

3

3

Embracing Growth & Enabling Infrastructure (SPI)

5

1

0

1

Homes & Communities (CHE)

7

1

1

3

Safe, Clean & Green (CHE)

4

2

2

3

Total

19

5

6

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance Indicator

Q1 2020/21

Q2 2020/21

Q3 2020/21

Q4 2020/21

Annual 2020/21

Annual Target 2020/21

Annual Status

Direction of travel (Last Year)

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having acceptable levels of litter

95.14%

N/A

96.18%

97.22%

96.18%

98%

Percentage of successful Relief Duty outcomes

38.04%

56.16%

58.51%

37.74%

47.61%

60%

Percentage of successful Prevention Duty outcomes

75.76%

78.89%

71.67%

74.58%

75.06%

60%

Satisfaction with Local Area as a place to live

Annual KPI

51%

New Businesses started in borough

Annual PI

1165

Council Investment in long term assets

Annual PI

£20,685,920

 


 

Notes

 

·         Direction of travel for targeted performance indicators shows if performance has improved or declined. For data only performance indicators direction of travel shows if there has been an increase or decrease in volume.

·         As per the DEFRA guidance, the ‘The percentage of land and highways with acceptable levels of litter’ is measured three times per year, hence the Q4 2021/22 figures are ‘N/A’.

·         New businesses started in the borough data is sourced from the ‘Business births & Business deaths’ data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures detailed in the table above are from the 2020 UK Business Demography which the ONS released in November 2021. It is anticipated that data for 2021 will be released in November 2022. The figure for 2020 was 1165.

·         Council Investments in long term assets, as detailed in the Capital Programme summary:

o   Housing – Disabled Facilities Grants Funding = £807,043

o   Temporary accommodation = £237,422

o   Brunswick Street = £252,513

o   Springfield Mill – Phase 1&2 = £2,345,626

o   Private Rented Sector Housing Programme = £130,590

o   Affordable Housing Programme = £1,503,507

o   Flood Action Plan = £13,352

o   Crematorium & Cemetery Development Plan = £241,463

o   Continued Improvement to Play Areas = £74,087

o   Parks Improvements = £46,513

o   Mote Park Visitor Centre & Mote Park Lane = £1,468,785

o   Mall Bus Station Redevelopment = £1,438,766

o   Acquisition of Maidstone House = £7,539,949

o   Acquisition of Former Royal Mail Sorting Office = £3,588,336

o   Construction of Innovation Centre = £2,436,734

 


 

KPIs where the annual target was missed by more than 10% in 2020/21

 

Indicator

Q1 2020/21

Q2 2020/21

Q3 2020/21

Q4 2020/21

Annual 2020/21

Annual Target 2020/21

Annual Status

Direction of travel (Last Year)

Contamination: Tonnage per month rejected (Safe, Clean & Green)

 

366.08

309.18

349.31

325.42

1349.99

1150.00

Percentage of fly tips assessed within 2 working days (Safe, Clean & Green)

78.96%

81.27%

85.47%

87.25%

83.22%

94%

Percentage of successful Relief Duty outcomes (Homes & Communities)

38.04%

56.16%

58.51%

37.74%

47.61%

60%

Footfall in the Town Centre (A Thriving Place)

2,588,741

2,535,553

2,603,185

2,263,246

9,990,725

11,836,415

Number of users at the Leisure Centre (A Thriving Place)

59,689

123,171

19,246

72,990

275,096

645,890

Percentage of vacant retail units in the town centre

Annual KPI

15.6%

11%

 


 

Notes

 

·         Direction of travel for targeted performance indicators shows if performance has improved or declined. For data only performance indicators direction of travel shows if there has been an increase or decrease in volume.

 

End of year summary by Committee

 

Communities, Housing & Environment

 

Street Scene Operational Manager Comments:

 

During 2021/22, Street Cleansing have seen an increase in reports of fly tipping. This has been attributed to changes to the public reporting processes and the method of capturing data from the workforce removing the waste. We believe that this far more accurate that previous years therefore providing truer reflection of the state of fly tipping in the Borough. As a result, we have increased the resources and amended working methods available to respond to these reports.

 

Waste Services Manager Comments:

 

The target for indicator “Contamination: Tonnage per month rejected“ has reduced and our MRF contamination rate has shown steady improvement throughout the year; with the figure for March 2022 being recorded at 8.12% one of the best results so far. This rate is considerably better than the industry average and other Mid-Kent partners. The team intends to continue promoting the five-step approach to recycling, as this will reduce contamination and increase more sustainable methods of waste management.

 

The yearly figure for “Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting“ is initially calculated at 51.7 %. This result shows the value of maintaining the garden waste collections when there was a driver shortage in the autumn of 2021. During the year the calculated monthly outturn does vary due quite markedly due to seasonal variation in the weight of materials collected. This has the greatest impact on the garden waste tonnage which is obviously much less in the winter months in comparison to the main growing season. As a result of seasonal variations, the monthly figure varied between the highest of 60% and the lowest at 44%. A result of almost 52% is a satisfactory result putting the Authority near the top performers in Kent.

Head of Housing & Communities Comments:

 

The Housing Service received over 3,000 applications to join the Housing Register during 2021/22, a three-year high and the largest number received compared to other districts in Kent. This reflects the difficulties households are facing in terms of acquiring and retaining affordable housing. The Housing Register now has over 900 applicants who are able to bid on vacant affordable housing advertised by our housing association partners. The HomeChoice Team were also kept busy enabling the letting of 713 households during the year, representing the highest number of families provided with a new home over the last 10 years.

 

Our Housing Advice Team performed within the national top-quartile in preventing homelessness, the number of people helped has increased each year to nearly 500. Over 70% of those assisted had a positive outcome and did not need to go onto to make a full homeless application. Our national award winning OneView initiative that utilises data analytics to prevent homelessness contributed to a reduction in the number of persons needing to make a homeless application. As a result, approaches for housing advice had fallen from 1,354 in 2019/20 to 1,104 in 2021/22. Domestic abuse featured more prominently during 2021/22 (188 cases) with the introduction of the Domestic Act 2021. This was to be expected and we are working closely with support agencies and Police to be able to intervene at an early stage to assist survivors of domestic abuse.

 

The work of the Outreach Team in maintaining low instances of street homelessness continued throughout the year. There are currently no entrenched rough sleepers in Maidstone and rapid interventions has meant that those new to street homelessness were assisted quickly before the more harmful effects of rough sleeping became normalised. Emergency accommodation was provided throughout periods of extreme weather, such as when the temperature dropped to near freezing, and this afforded the team the opportunity to work with those individuals. The Outreach Service is now transitioning towards one of providing support to households to sustain tenancies and integration back into the community. This role will be further enhanced with the introduction of the facilities at Trinity in the Town Centre.

 

Housing standards remains a key priority for the Housing Service, with the Housing & Health Team continuing to maintain progress with licensed houses in multiple occupation. Work around disabled facilities grant (DFG) have continued with over 97% of the budget committed. Challenges remain within the industry in relation to a national shortage in building supplies and specialist builders that are able and willing to carry out this particular area of work. The Council will be engaging with the government funded advice agency during 2022 to help review our current processes and to identify areas where we can improve on the customer’s experience when applying for a DFG.

 

Economic Regeneration & Leisure

 

Comments from the Regeneration and Economic Development Manager:

 

The outbreak of COVID-19 had a significant effect on the Borough’s economy which is still being felt today.

 

At its height unemployment rose from 2.2% in March 2020 to 5.5% in May 2020, with March 2022 figures falling to 3.5% but still higher than pre-pandemic figures and the beginning of 2021/2022. There are wards with higher unemployment levels such as High Street ward (8.0%), Parkwood (5.4%) and Shepway South (5.3%). Youth unemployment is 5.6%. With a quarter of Maidstone residents being furloughed the predicted steep rise in unemployment levels once the scheme ended in September 2021 has not been seen yet.

 

The impact on individual business sectors has varied significantly but still remains higher in retail and hospitality. This is as customer spend patterns and behaviour changed over the pandemic to reflect the closure restrictions, with a rise in internet sales and continues as people’s confidence to return to the high street returns to the ‘new normal’. This may also be related to the early effects of the rise in living costs and peoples spending priorities. This is reflected in the town centre footfall figures which are improving but have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. These sectors are also most affected by vacant employment positions as people who traditionally worked in these sectors found new jobs and careers due to Covid closure restrictions making it harder to recruit.

 

Percentage of vacant retail units in the town centre” indicators saw an improvement for 2021/22 against last year (18.02% down to 15.6%), however, the indicator still falls short of pre-pandemic figures (12.9% in 2019). The data for this indicator is collated from a survey of the town centre carried out by One Maidstone on our behalf and fed into a national survey by our partner Springboard.

 

Comments from Leisure Manager:

 

The total figure for “Number of users at the Leisure Centre” in 2021/22 is 275,096, which is 43% of the annual target figure. In the last year prior to the full pandemic (2019/20), the Centre achieved 94% of the target for customer numbers.

 

The operator describes an ongoing, but improving, challenging period for staff recruitment and there are several vacancies, most notably in the typically busy wet-side services where lifeguard availability is limited nationally. Swim memberships are down, possibly due to a lesser service being available due to staff shortages and the operator is actively recruiting new staff and providing the necessary training courses for them on site. As these staff numbers increase so can the pool capacity to its maximum of 200. The operator has reviewed its pay structure for many operational staff and this will be implemented from April 2022 and should increase interest in applications for vacancies.

 

There has been an increase in customers booking holiday parties as consumer confidence increases post-Covid; there is currently an average of 25 parties booked per month compared to the pre-Covid average of 40 per month.

 

Strategic Planning & Infrastructure

 

Comments from the Head of Planning:

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and resourcing have had an impact on productivity, most notable in Planning Enforcement. Despite these hurdles throughout the year, performance standards remain high.

 

Similarly, strong performance has been maintained and improved with regards to both ‘major’ and ‘other’ applications.

 

There were no performance indicators this year for the Strategic Policy Team, but significant progress has been made with the Local Plan Review in that this has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

 

The Building Control Team has continued to perform well and in a cost-effective manner.