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KPI Quarter 3 Report                                                                                          Appendix A

For Maidstone to be a growing economy

Objective 1. A transport network that supports the local economy

PKG 007

Number of onboard Park & Ride bus transactions

121,960

94,034

98,421

114,556

115,500

420,000

307,011

Jeff Kitson

Bus transactions have fallen short of target reflecting the effects of the economic downturn and the general decline of footfall in town centres. The targets for this indicator are profiled to take into account the seasonal fluctuation in usage. The third quarter is normally the best performing due to Christmas shoppers a trend that has continued. However; looking at the historic and year to date data it is likely that the annual target will be marginally missed, and that the expected income from the service will not be achieved. Assessment of the data shows that usage declines by approximately 8% per year.

PKG 002

Income from pay and display car parks per space

£304.39

£277.14

£273

£304.15

£310.64

1,153.19

854.29

Jeff Kitson

Pay and Display car park occupancy levels are slightly down on predicted levels due to the continued effects of the economic downturn. So far for 2012/13 each quarter’s target has been marginally missed. The actual shortfall at this stage is £20.00 per space, however; short stay on-street Pay & Display parking remains good and is performing above income expectation.

Objective 2. A growing economy with rising employment, catering for a range of skill sets to meet the demands of the local economy

LVE 002

Percentage of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance

2.6%

2.5%

2.5%

2.4%

2.4%

2.4%

2.6%

John Foster

The South East average is also 2.4%. Maidstone is currently 5^th out of the Kent districts whereas at quarters one and two Maidstone was sixth out of the Kent districts. 

DCV 001

Percentage of commercial planning applications completed within statutory timescales

86.67%

83.33%

94.12%

96.15%

90.00%

90.00%

92.31%

Rob Jarman

LVE 001

Number of visits to locate in Maidstone website

1524

2135

2308

2084

1375

5500

6527

John Foster

For Maidstone to be a decent place to live

Objective 3. Decent, affordable housing in the right places across a range of tenures

HSG 001

Number of affordable homes delivered (gross)

20

100

37

33

47

200

170

John Littlemore

Despite the third quarter’s target being missed due to 50% of the target being delivered at quarter 1 the service is still expected to exceed the annual target.

HSG PS 002

Number of homes occupied by vulnerable people made decent

49

23

3

12

41

180

38

John Littlemore

Removal of centralised grants related to energy efficiency has resulted in a lower number than anticipated interventions this year. Poor thermal comfort is the main cause of homes not being decent in non social housing stock. The current definition focuses on the age of certain building elements and components rather than fitness for purpose which over-represented the effectiveness of interventions. In order to provide a fuller picture of how the service is performing it should be noted that in the year to date there have been 110 private rented sector dwellings where the council's interventions have resulted in improvements to residents' health, safety, and/or welfare to provide a baseline for a future indicator. Due to the poor performance of this indicator in previous quarter’s Cabinet requested an action plan at quarter an update on which is at Appendix D.

DCV 003

Percentage of residential planning applications processed within statutory timescales

71.74%

84.85%

75.00%

59.62%

78.00%

78.00%

71.53%

Rob Jarman

Of the 52 applications determined within the period, 31 were determined within statutory timescales. There were 6 major residential applications that were determined this quarter of which five were delayed through the completion of a Section 106 agreement and a significant number of minor residential applications that were determined had to go to planning committee. During quarter 3 the team wasn’t fully resourced and it is expected that this will be the case for the remainder of the financial year. An appointment has been made but at this stage is it expected that the annual target will not be achieved.

Objective 4. Continue to be a clean and attractive environment for people who live in and visit the borough

WCN 005

Residual household waste per household (NI 191)

116.31

110.61

108.56

119.51

110.00

440.00

338.68

Jennifer Shepherd

The kg of waste per household is higher this quarter due to a significant decrease in recycling and additional household waste due to Christmas. It is expected that the annual target will be marginally missed.

WCN 001

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting (NI 192)

44.62%

47.40%

47.60%

41.61%

46.00%

46.00%

46.13%

Jennifer Shepherd

This quarter the recycling rate is significantly lower than the previous due to a drop in garden waste and an increase in waste produced. Additional monitoring will be carried out to identify why additional refuse is being collected. Food waste and recycling has also decreased this quarter. This quarter is always lower than other quarters due to seasonal trends and the Christmas period causing additional waste production.  It is expected that the annual target could be achieved.

DEP 001

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of litter that fall below an acceptable level (NI 195a)

1.66%

1.67%

1.67%

1.70%

1.70%

1.67%

Jonathan Scott

DEP 007

Percentage of fly-tipping reports responded to within one working day

99.66%

99.69%

99.70%

99.14%

99.00%

99.00%

99.50%

Jonathan Scott

DCE 001

Percentage of planning enforcement cases signed off within 21 days

78.57%

81.82%

92.06%

95.12%

92%

92%

86.54%

Rob Jarman

The problems that the team experienced earlier this year in relation to staff resources and the need to clear a backlog of cases has been resolved. Despite this combined with improved performance compared to the same period last year and compared to the previous quarter for this year, it is still expected that the annual target for this indicator will be marginally missed.

Objective 5. Residents in Maidstone are not disadvantaged because of where they live or who they are, vulnerable people are assisted and the level of deprivation is reduced

R&B 004

Time taken to process Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit new claims and change events (NI 181)

8.00

11.17

12.38

10.16

15.00

15.00

11.28

Steve McGinnes

HSG 005

Number of households prevented from becoming homeless through the intervention of housing advice

117

110

127

204

150

600

441

Neil Coles

Although the quarterly target has been achieved and performance has improved compared to the same period last year it is expected that the annual target will not be achieved as previously reported. Following poor performance at quarter 1 Cabinet requested an action plan for this indicator, an update is included with this report at Appendix D, it should be noted that the deadline for the remaining actions are not expected to be met by the original deadline but are expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.

HSG 004

Average time taken to process and notify applicants on the housing register (days)

1.9

1.5

1.5

3.6

5.0

5.0

2.4

Neil Coles

Corporate and Customer Excellence

Objective 6. Services are customer focused and and residents are satisfied with them

R&B 009

Overall satisfaction with the benefits service

85.71%

84.87%

82%

85.98%

85%

85%

84.04%

Steve McGinnes

At this stage it is likely that the annual target could be achieved as the fourth quarter is historically the best performing. The Council Tax benefit survey carried out in quarter 2 and the surrounding news coverage has are considered to have impacted on satisfaction.

CTC 001

The average wait time for calls into the Contact Centre

51.33

79

108

41

50

50

76

Sandra Marchant

The average wait time has improved significantly compared to the previous quarter to date. At quarter 2 an action plan was put in place to improve the performance of this indicator.  An update on the action plan is included at Appendix D. It should be noted that the action that will have the greatest impact on the average wait time is the automation of the Council’s switchboard which is due to be completed by end of January 2013.

CTC 002

Percentage of Visitors to the Gateway responded to by a CSA within 20 minutes

86.81%

72.12%

69.14%

77.41%

80%

80%

72.7%

Sandra Marchant

Although December was a quiet month both October and November were busy. There was a 10% increase in the number of customers seeing an Advisor in this quarter compared to the same quarter last year. In addition this year there has been an increase of 26% in the number of casual callers seen at the Meet & Greet desk. This increase in casual callers is mainly attributable to the Gateway taking on the Arriva service from 19 November 2012. The Gateway Team have been operating with two vacant full time posts and have not yet taken on the additional resource to help with the Arriva enquiries. This has put an added pressure on the rest of the team during this busy period. At quarter 2 Cabinet requested an action plan for this indicator an update on this action plan is at Appendix D. It is expected that the annual target will be marginally missed.

C&S 002

Satisfaction with complaint handling

28.57%

45%

42.86%

43.75%

36.00%

36.00%

43.96%

Angela Woodhouse

Objective 7. Effective, cost efficient services are delivered across the borough

R&B 005

Percentage of Non-domestic Rates Collected (BV 010)

87.44%

34.32%

60.08%

86.48%

87.47%

97.00%

86.48%%

Steve McGinnes

The Revenues Team have maintained a robust billing and recovery process with bills despatched promptly and progressive action taken for all rates following the first missed payment. The reduction in collection is a symptom of the wider economic situation, with current collection rates above the average for Kent.

R&B 006

Percentage of Council Tax collected (BV 009)

87.30%

30.10%

58.40%

86.98%

87.30%

98.30%

86.98%

Steve McGinnes

The Revenues Team have maintained a robust billing and recovery process with bills despatched promptly and progressive action taken for all rates following the first missed payment. The current collection rate is amongst the highest in Kent and the service is confident that collection during February and March will enable the service to achieve its annual target.

CTC 004

Avoidable contact: the proportion of customer contact that is of low or no value to the customer (NI 14)

5.3%

6.2%

4.5%

3.6%

6.5%

6.5%

4.8%

Sandra Marchant

R&B 007

Value of fraud identified by the fraud partnership

£387,636.55

£169,899.79

£261,385.81

£351,074.94

£125,000.00

£500,000.00

£782,360.54

Steve McGinnes

HRO 001/BV 12

Working Days Lost Due to Sickness Absence (rolling year) (BV 12)

7.73

8.19

8.11

8.50

8.00

8.00

8.50

Dena Smart

The main reason for the sickness figure not meeting the target of 8 days is because there currently are a few staff off long term who have been off for stress/depression and surgery.  These staff have been referred to occupational health for reports regarding their current illness and whether they are able to return to work.  Any advice we do receive from occupational health is passed over to the line manager and HR will assist the manager to manage the case in order to achieve a return to work date.

BIM 002

Percentage of financial transactions not carried out on-line or by direct debit/standing order

11.27%

10.35%

9.77%

9.03%

13.5%

13.5%

9.72%

Paul Riley

DCV 009

Percentage of planning decisions taken under delegation

95.59%

88.31%

93.30%

92.95%

94.50%

94.50%

91.61%

Rob Jarman

A number of decisions were as a result of applications having to be reported to Planning Committee. Four of these applications were either made by the Council or on Council owned land, which contributed to the low performance this quarter. Performance for the year so far has been impacted on by the number of applications made by the Council or on Council owned land.

WCN 006

Missed bins

28.03

20.62

21.62

24.84

25

25

22.62

Jennifer Shepherd