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Key to performance ratings

Performance Summary

·         50% (1) of (2) the targetable quarterly key performance indicators (KPIs) reportable to this Committee achieved their Quarter 2 (Q2) target¹.

·         Compared to last quarter (Q1 2023/24), performance for 33.3% (1) of (3) KPIs have improved, and for 66.7% (2) of (3) KPIs have declined¹.  

• Compared to last year (Q2 2022/23), performance for 33.3% (1) of (3) KPIs have improved, and for 66.7% (2) of (3) KPIs have declined¹.

Corporate Services Q2 Performance

The KPI for "Maidstone: Percentage of Council Tax collected" fell just short of its target by less than 10%, missing it by only 0.12%. This deviation can be attributed to the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has made it challenging for some residents to meet their Council Tax obligations. In response, the team has proactively initiated arrangements to assist customers in managing their payments and staying on track.

KPIs across all Policy Advisory Committees, where targets have been missed by more than 10%

Comments (where targets have been missed)

Housing Services

The indicator monitoring the “Percentage of successful relief duty outcomes” achieved an outcome of 33.33% against a target of 40%, therefore missing its quarterly target by more than 10%. The most recently released government data is from January to March 2022, at which point the national average was 38.2% and the Kent average was 33.8%. Therefore, our performance is on par with the average in the area, although the data at the point of release is already dated. Anecdotally, we know that the homelessness numbers have increased more recently, therefore, benchmarking against national league tables, which are twelve months ago, can prove difficult.

As previously reported, applicants who are in priority need and unintentionally homeless, can only be owed the relief duty of 56-days, before they become owed the main housing duty, which gives only a short window of opportunity to relieve homelessness. In the quarter, we undertook a project to clear the backlog of relief-duty decisions, with a far higher proportion of cases having a final decision made in this quarter than usual. When recording this final decision, as the 56-days have passed, only a negative outcome can be selected in respect of the H-Clic data returns sent to DLUCH. As a result, the proportion of successful reliefs will have been significantly impacted and this figure is unlikely to indicate the true picture of work which has taken place.

In addition to this, it is recognised that relieving homelessness is more difficult than preventing homelessness, in particular with restricted access to the Private Rented Sector as a result of unaffordable market rents and an increase in demand for private rented accommodation from those who are not economically disadvantaged. Additionally, Via choice-based lettings (CBL), only limited levels of accommodation are available for those in band H (homeless), or via Direct Lets, given the volume of individuals applying for this accommodation.

In order to reduce the number of individuals in interim/temporary accommodation, these final decisions need to be made in a timely manner, further impacting on this statistic.

Economic Development

The KPI monitoring the “Footfall in the Town Centre” missed its target by more than 10%, achieving just over 4.2million against its target of 6.1million. Quarter two figures are lower than footfall in quarter one this year, which could be, in part, due the rise in inflation as families and individuals make difficult spending decisions over the summer holidays and the unusually wet summer.

Peak daily footfall for this quarter was on the 14th of July with 60,166 unique visits to the Town Centre. The lowest daily footfall for this quarter was on 31^st August, with 34,747 unique visits.

Market (Leisure)

The KPI monitoring the "Market Hall Occupancy Percentage" achieved 56.04% against its target of 75%. It's important to note that July and August months have consistently experienced lower occupancy rates over the years. These months tend to be less attractive for hosting events due to the summer holiday season, resulting in reduced foot traffic. Additionally, even our reliable auctioneer takes 1-2 weeks off during August, impacting our ability to maintain higher occupancy.