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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
CABINET
13 FEBRUARY 2013
REPORT OF HEAD OF CHANGE & SCRUTINY
Report prepared by Clare Wood
1. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS MONITORING REPORT QUARTER 3
1.1 Issue for Decision
1.1.1 Cabinet is asked to consider progress made in the third quarter of 2012/13 on the council’s key performance indicators (KPIs).
1.2 Recommendation of Head of Change & Scrutiny
1.2.1 That Cabinet:
a) Note the out-turns of the KPIs (Appendix A), definitions are included for reference at Appendix B;
b) Note the areas that have been rated red and are unlikely to meet the annual target (all of which have action plans at Appendix D), the following indicators have been identified as unlikely to achieve the annual target by more than 10%:
· CTC 001
– Average wait time for calls into contact centre;
· HSG PS 002 – Number of homes occupied by vulnerable people made decent.
c) Review progress made on KPI action plans for Housing and the Contact Centre that were requested for underperforming indicators at quarter 1 at Appendix D;
d) Agree any other areas where service representation or further actions are required to understand and/ or improve performance; and
e) Agree those services with indicators rated red reporting to Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
1.3 Reasons for Recommendation
1.3.1 The Council has set 57 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Strategic Plan 2011-15.There are 28 indicators that can be reported at quarter 3 to check if the Council is on track to meet its targets. In addition there are 18 annual indicators, two bi-annual indicators and 9 biennial indicators.
1.3.2 The Council’s quarterly performance reporting cycle is aligned with financial reporting to enable it to effectively oversee financial performance against corporate priorities and assess whether value for money is being achieved in the delivery of services. The Budget Monitoring Report shows a £244,000 underspend.
1.4 Context
1.4.1 The Council uses a range of information to manage performance, including actions and performance indicators.
1.4.2 The Council’s top-level indicators are referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), are set in the Strategic Plan and linked to the Strategic Outcomes and Priorities. Both the strategic actions and KPIs were reviewed and the number of KPIs reduced last year by Cabinet. These will continue to be reviewed annually to ensure that they are aligned with the Council’s priorities.
1.4.3 In order to provide a ‘picture’ of Maidstone a borough profile (Appendix C) has been created to provide some contextual detail about the borough and help understand what is distinct about Maidstone.
1.5 Performance Summary
1.5.1 Appendix A shows out-turn data for all indicators that can be collected quarterly. Some indicators are collected annually; these indicators are therefore not included in this report.
1.5.2 Where an indicator is new and there is no quarterly 2011/12 data, no directional arrow can be given. The direction of performance for pre-existing indicators compares the current out-turn for quarter 3 with the 2011/12 quarter 3 out-turn.
1.5.3 The following tables show the status of performance indicators in relation to target and direction.
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|
Green |
Amber |
Red |
Total |
|
KPIs |
13 (46.4%) |
13 (46.4%) |
2 (7.2%) |
28 |
|
|
Improved |
Declined |
N/A[1] |
Total |
|
KPIs |
12 (44.5%) |
15 (55.5%) |
1 |
28 |
Overall, 46.4% of performance indicators have been rated green (currently on target) compared to 55% at the same point in 2011/12, positively only 7.2% of indicators are rated red. However; using percentages to compare performance does not, in this case give a true picture of the direction of performance. In fact at the quarter 3 report in 2011/12 only 11 indicators were rated green. Performance is comparable with last quarter when 29 KPIs were reported, 15 of which were green, 9 amber and 4 red (1 were n/a).
1.5.4 Of the 27 KPIs where a direction of travel (direction of performance) can be assessed, 44.5% (12) have improved. When quarter 3 results for this year were compared with those for 2011/12 it showed that in 2011/12, only 15% (2) indicators reported had improved.
1.5.5 At the quarter 3 point in 2011/12 there were 11 indicators rated green, eight rated amber and one red. For two indicators performance had improved, eleven had declined and eleven indicators could not be rated as there was no previous data or they were data only performance indicators. The lack of previous data made it difficult to make comparisons.
1.5.6 The two indicators that are rated red in this report were also rated red in the previous quarterly performance reports for 2012/13. Action plans are already in place for these indicators and Cabinet will need to consider if there are any further action plans required to address performance concerns.
1.5.7 It should be noted that at the end of 2011/12, 63% of all KPIs achieved their annual targets and 57% of out-turns had improved since the previous year. Each year all targets are reviewed and where possible targets are increased to ensure continuous improvement so that targets are challenging, targets are not amended during the year but where priorities have changed service managers are asked for provide comments.
1.5.8 At present the Quarterly Performance Report goes to Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee following consideration by Cabinet. In order to ensure poor or declining performance is addressed in a robust and consistent way it is recommended that formulation of an action plan, including an explanation of root causes, actions taken to date and attendance at Overview & Scrutiny Committee should be mandatory for those managers with indicators that have been rated red.
A growing economy
1.5.9 There are five indicators relating to this priority that can be reported quarterly. Three have been rated amber and two have been rated green.
1.5.10 Both transport indicators that can be reported quarterly for the outcome ‘A transport network that supports the local economy’ have been rated amber for the third consecutive quarter running.
1.5.11 The number of onboard Park & Ride (P&R) transactions (PKG 007) is likely to marginally miss the annual target. The service has tried to mitigate the situation with the removal of one bus and an adjustment to timetables which will save £30,000 for 2012/13 and £121,000 in 2013/14. However; this will not mitigate the shortfall in income for this year. Actions to improve the P&R service are being reported separately to the Cabinet Member but it should be noted that P&R usage has been declining for the last three years by approximately 8% each year.
1.5.12 Income from pay and display car parks (PKG 002) has also marginally missed target for the third quarter in a row. The year to date shortfall per space is £20.00. In contrast to this the income from on street pay and display parking spaces is above target and should therefore mitigate the car park shortfall.
1.5.13 The percentage of people claiming jobseekers allowance (LVE 002) has achieved the quarterly target for the first time this year. At the mid –year point Maidstone was 6th out of the Kent districts for this indicator and has since moved up to 5th. At this stage it is difficult to predict if the target will be achieved as Maidstone is a retail hub and several national firms with outlets in the town centre have recently gone into administration.
1.5.14 Maidstone is still a desirable location for business which is evidenced through enquires to the Locate in Maidstone website (LVE 001) which have already exceeded the annual target. Those that do choose Maidstone as a location for business can also be assured that their commercial planning applications (DCV 001) will be dealt with in a speedy manner with 92.31% of applications for the year to date completed within statutory timescales. It should also be noted that the number of vacant properties in Maidstone High Street has reduced from 9 properties in 2010/2011 to 5 properties in 2012/2013.
A decent place to live
1.5.15 There are eleven indicators supporting the priority for Maidstone to be a decent place to live, five of which have been rated green, five have been rated amber and one rated red.
1.5.16 The housing team continues to perform under pressure. Although the number of households prevented from becoming homeless achieved the quarterly target this is not sufficient to put the indicator back on track to achieve the annual target. Cabinet requested an action plan at quarter 1 an update on which is included at Appendix D. The continued pressure on the service can also been seen through the increase in the average time taken to process and notify applicants on the housing register (HSG 004) which has more than doubled from 1.5 days at quarter 2 to 3.6 days.
1.5.17 The removal of the centralized grants for thermal comfort continues to impact on the number of homes made decent (HSG PS 002). The annual target for this indicator will not be achieved as previously reported to Cabinet. To provide a better idea of the work the team do in this area it has been identified that a total of 110 homes since the start of the financial year have had enhancements/work undertaken which resulted in improvements to residents’ health, safety and or welfare. It should also be noted that the housing service is making good progress with the affordable homes agenda with 170 delivered to date for 2012/13, with the annual target of 200 expected to be exceeded.
1.5.18 The out-turns for both waste and recycling indicators (WCN 005 and WCN 001) have both been rated amber. The service manager has identified that food waste and recycling decreased in October and November however; some of this was expected as garden waste usually falls over the winter months. An increase in the amount of waste produced has also been identified and additional monitoring is being carried out to identify the causes. It is likely that the residual household waste (WCN 005) will marginally miss the target.
1.5.19 The Council is performing well on responding to reports of fly-tipping (DEP 007) and it does not appear that the changes at Tovil household waste recycling site have had a significant impact on fly-tipping as the number of reports received are comparable to previous months. .
Corporate & customer excellence
1.5.20 There are twelve indicators under the priority Corporate & Customer Excellence of which five have been rated green, six have been rated amber and one has been rated red.
1.5.21 At quarter 1 Cabinet requested action plans for the average wait time for calls into the contact centre (CTC 001) and the percentage of visitors to the Gateway responded to by a Customer Service Advisor within 20 minutes (CTC 002), updates on these are included at Appendix D. In both areas performance has improved compared to the previous quarters for 2012/13. It is still unlikely that the annual targets will be achieved as the Gateway is currently under resourced and there could be a delay to the implementation of the automated switchboard both of which would have significant impact on this indicator. However, recruitment is planned to increase the resources in customer services.
1.5.22 Both Council Tax and Non-Domestic collection rates are marginally behind target (R&B 005 and R&B 006). A similar position is being reported by other Kent districts and the Council has a robust timetable in place for recovery. The wider implications of not achieving the targets are highlighted in the Budget Monitoring Report. However it should be noted that amongst the Kent authorities Maidstone achieved the highest collection rate for the year to date for Council Tax.
1.5.23 Sickness absence has been rated as amber and is unlikely to meet the annual target. There are currently a number of staff that are on long term sick due to illness and surgery all of these have been referred to occupational health and the Human resources team continues to work with managers to help them manage sickness.
1.5.24 The Council’s performance in relation to finances is improving. The Revenues and Benefits team have exceeded the annual total for identifying fraud (R&B 007) and the percentage of financial transactions not carried out online or by direct debit/standing order is also likely to exceed the target.
1.6 Alternative Action and why not Recommended
1.6.21 The strategic actions and KPIs reflect local priorities and measure progress towards the Council’s Strategic Outcomes. They are the Council’s top level actions and indicators and are part of the Council’s Strategic Plan.
1.6.22 Not monitoring progress against the Strategic Plan 2011-15 could mean that the Council fails to deliver its priorities and would also mean that action could not be taken effectively to address performance during the year.
1.7 Impact on Corporate Objectives
1.7.21 The Strategic Actions and Key Performance Indicators are part of the Council’s overarching Strategic Plan 2011-15 and play an important role in the achievement of the corporate objectives as well as covering a wide range of service and priority areas; for example, waste and recycling.
1.8 Risk Management
1.8.1 The production of robust performance reports contributes to ensuring that the view of the council’s approach to the management of risk and use of resources is not undermined and allows early action to be taken in order to mitigate the risk of not achieving targets and outcomes.
1.9 Other Implications
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1. Financial
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X |
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2. Staffing
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X |
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3. Legal
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4. Equality Impact Needs Assessment
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5. Environmental/Sustainable Development
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X |
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6. Community Safety
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7. Human Rights Act
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8. Procurement
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9. Asset Management
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Financial
1.9.1 Performance
indicators and targets are closely linked to the allocation of resources and
determining good value for money.
1.9.2 The financial implications of any proposed changes are also identified and taken into account in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan and associated annual budget setting process with performance issues highlighted as part of the budget monitoring reporting process.
Staffing
1.9.3 Having a clear set of targets enables staff outcomes/objectives to be set and effective action plans to be put in place.
Environmental
1.9.4 The actions and indicators cover and are used to monitor a number of priority areas.
Relevant Documents
Strategic Plan 2011-15
Appendices
Appendix A –KPI Quarter 3 Performance Report - 2012/13
Appendix B – Indicator Definitions 2012/13
Appendix C – Borough Profile
Appendix D – Action Plans
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IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT?
Yes No
If yes, when did it first appear in the Forward Plan?
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This is a Key Decision because: ………………………………………………………………………..
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Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..
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