Interviews with:

·  Clare Wood, Performance and Scrutiny Officer; and

·  Steve Goulette, Assistant Director of Environment & Regulatory Services; and

Following an overview of the report from the Scrutiny and Policy Officer the Assistant Director of Environment & Regulatory Services responded to questions on the Annual Performance Plan and the poor performance of the Park and Ride Service.  He explained that a detailed audit was to be undertaken on the service which would provide a better understanding of the business and enable a more robust approach. He informed the Committee that a report to the Cabinet Member would detail proposals to realign the buses services offered to the customer need. It would also address the necessity to create a more attractive customer experience.

The issue of the Park and Ride being a subsidised service was discussed and the Sittingbourne Road site was highlighted by Members as an area where costs could be reduced.  The officer agreed that this was an issue but explained that there is two and a half years left to run on the present agreement.

In relation to the performance indicator INT00, ‘Percentage of the borough covered by broadband,’ the Committee requested a map of the borough showing broadband coverage in both urban and rural areas.

It was felt that the description of the indicator CDP003 ‘Percentage of residents participating in neighbourhood planning as a percentage of the ward population,’ required review in order to make a distinct difference between Neighbourhood Action Planning and Neighbourhood Planning. It was clarified that this had already been addressed and two distinct terms would now be used; Neighbourhood Action Planning and Neighbourhood Spatial Planning.

It was resolved that:

a)  The report be noted; and

b)  The following information be provided to the Committee:

·  a map of the borough showing broadband coverage in both urban and rural areas.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny regarding the draft out-turns for the 2011/12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

RESOLVED: That the Performance Out-turns for 2011-15, as set out in Appendix A to the report of the Head of Change and Scrutiny, be noted.