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Annual Performance Summary

Notes & Key to Icons

·         A key to the icons used in this report is shown on the right-hand side.

·         Direction of travel for targeted performance indicators (PIs) shows if performance has improved or declined. For ‘Data Only’ PIs, the direction of travel shows if there has been an increase or decrease in volume.

·         Where KPIs are providing data “as at the end of the month”, the annual outturn is provided as an average figure, taken from the quarterly performance, for the 2023/24 year.

·         Data for many of the annual indictors is still being collated, and therefore not currently available at the time of publishing this report. Updates will be provided to this PAC at the next reporting cycle.  

Climate Transition, Corporate and Environmental Services PAC 2023/24 Performance

Head of Service Summary of Performance in 2023/24

Head of Environmental Services & Public Realm comments:

The environmental services team have continued to work hard to deliver high levels of service over the past year however, there have been challenges, particularly with contamination levels in recycling, which has also impacted the overall tonnage recycled or composted.  New processes brought in by the disposal authority, Kent County Council, have led to higher levels of monitoring and analysis of the quality of the borough’s recycling, leading to the high rejection rate for quarter 4.  Earlier assessment of contamination in the process has enabled the team to identify the areas where contamination is highest and then target these areas with new engagement initiatives.  These have included a ‘traffic light’ system of informational bin hangers in areas of high contamination as well as articles and tips in the Borough Insight magazine to help residents understand what can be recycled. 

The street cleansing team have continued to deliver a high standard of cleansing, however experienced lower performance in quarter 1 particularly due to issues with high-speed roads which are difficult to cleanse safely, however this was not repeated in the later 3 quarters.  They have now introduced some additional equipment including two green machines and new sweepers to improve performance.

Head of Mid Kent Revenues & Benefits comments:

Performance for the collection of Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates exceeded the targets set in a challenging year. Recovery continues to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis and additional work is being carried out to ensure that those that can pay are paying and those that struggle to pay are helped to claim the support they are entitled to.

Biodiversity & Climate Change Manager comments:

Percentage Change of Carbon Emissions from MBC Buildings/Fleet (Scope 1 and 2) data is currently being updated for the 2023/24 carbon footprint. The Council’s total CO₂ emissions for scope 1 and scope 2 decreased overall by 10.4% when comparing financial year 2021/22 to 2022/23. There have been no dramatic changes to Council’s property or fleet since the last update and it is likely the total carbon emissions for 2023/24 are similar to 2022/23 levels.

We are currently working on the annual status report for DEFRA which will give a summary of the measured air quality levels in the calendar year 2023/24. In terms of other work that has been ongoing, that is also ongoing within the annual status report that will be made a public document when it has been accepted by DEFRA, usually in August. Outside of the ASR and action plan, the Air Quality Management Area was revised to account for improvements in air quality across the borough and to focus attention and activity on the remaining areas of exceedance in Upper Stone Street. The council also adopted a new Air Quality Action Plan to run for the next five years.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not yet released regional/district level data for 2022/23 greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2005 and 2020 there has been an average decrease in overall carbon equivalent emissions of 2.4% in Maidstone Borough, with a slight spike in 2021 compared to 2020 of 4.7%, predominantly from domestic gas and transportation.

A total of 5,750 trees were planted in 2023/24 autumn/spring planting season, on third party land, in partnership with local land owners. Officers are currently investigating potential partnerships for the 2024/25 planting season.

Ten EV Charger Plug-In Points were installed at the Depot in October 2023, bringing the total to 31 plug-in charging points installed at the Depot. No public access or commercial charging points were installed by the Council in 2023/24.