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Quarter 1 Performance Update

APPENDIX I

Quarter 1 Performance Update

Understanding Performance

Key to performance ratings

RAG Rating
	Target not achieved
	Target missed (within 10%)
	Target met
	No target to measure performance against
	Data Only

Performance indicators are judged in two ways; firstly on whether performance has improved, been sustained or declined, compared to the same period in the previous year. For example, 2016/17 annual performance will be compared against 2015/16 annual performance. This is known as direction.

Direction
	Performance has improved
	Performance has not changed / been sustained
	Performance has declined
	No previous performance to judge against

Where there is no previous data, no assessment of direction can be made.

The second way in which performance is assessed looks at whether an indicator has achieved the target set and is known as PI status. Some indicators may show an asterisk (*) after the figure, these are provisional figures that are awaiting confirmation.�

Data Only indicators are not targeted but are given a direction. Indicators that are not due to be reported or where there is a delay in data collection are not rated against targets or given a direction.�

Strategic Actions have also been rated using the RAG Status (Red, Amber or Green). The ratings are there to provide an assessment of how well the strategy or plan is progressing.

Performance Summary

This is the annual update on Maidstone Borough Council�s Strategic Plan 2015-20. It sets out how we are performing against the Key Performance Indicators and Strategic actions that directly contribute to the achievement of our priorities: Keeping Maidstone an attractive place for all and securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough.

Outlined below is a summary of the ratings and direction that have been given for the annual results.

RAG Rating	Green	Amber	Red	N/A	Total
KPIs	4	1	3	3	11
Strategic Actions	5	1	0		6
Direction	Up	Across	Down	N/A	Total
KPIs	2	0	4	5	11

Priority 1: Keeping Maidstone an attractive place for all

Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

Over the past 5 years, Maidstone Borough Council has demonstrated its commitment to deliver cost effective and sustainable waste and recycling services, as a result our recycling rate has improved significantly. Maidstone does not experience high levels of crime.

Waste & Recycling Strategy

The Communities, Housing and Environment Committee has agreed the revised Waste Strategy 2014-19 and the action plan is now being implemented. This includes a relaunch of the Big Maidstone Food Waste Challenge, new initiatives to increase food waste recycling such as selling food waste liners at cost price and a borough-wide leaflet. The target for recycling has been revised down to 55% by 2020 to reflect the declining national trend. This is predominantly due to light weighting of packaging and increased waste arising due to the strengthening economy.

The use of enforcement powers is also being explored with managing agents and landlords to ensure that action is taken to address waste accumulations and failure to recycle. The recycling rate at the end of March 2016 fell to less than 50% due to increasing levels of contamination. The revised Waste Strategy now incorporates a target to drive down contamination and work has started to ensure residents are aware of what should not be put in their recycling bins, including "no plastic bags" stickers, warning tags for contaminated bins and additional crew training to ensure they follow the correct procedures. Initial signs are showing that contamination levels are reducing, increasing the diversion of good quality recycling.

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting
The indicator measures percentage of household waste that has been sent by the Council for reuse, recycling, composting or anaerobic digestion. This is a key measure of a local authority�s progress in moving management of household waste up the hierarchy, consistent with the Government�s national strategy for waste management. The Government expects local authorities to maximise the percentage of waste reused, recycled and composted.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
51.49%	52.5%	-1.01%			Target will be achieved

Performance Comment: Recycling rates� were higher in April in 2014 and 2015, with overall waste reduced. Mixed recycling is higher which has increased recycling rates for April, even though composting levels were down. In June there was a significant increase in recycling rate to just over 55% following work to reduce contamination and the introduction of street sweeper recycling. Although the target was marginally missed this quarter, the figure for June indicates that performance is continuing to improve and is likely to reach target this year. Update for 2015/16: Data for quarter 4 is now available. Overall performance in 2015/16 did not meet the annual target.� Whilst actual tonnage of recycling and composting collected in quarter 4 was higher than for the same quarter for past two years, as the overall tonnage of household waste has also increased, this meant that the percentage of waste sent for recycling and composting is lower than in previous years. �

Number of incidences of fly-tipping
This indicator gives a wider view of the issues in waste management beyond street cleansing. It also reflects the work undertaken to reduce the level of fly-tipping in the borough through projects and deterrents. Good performance is indicated by a lower figure.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
199	300	-101			Target will be achieved

Performance Comment: Performance is well above expected as the number of reported fly-tips in the quarter is more than a third below target. The drop in number of fly-tips compared to the target is likely to be due to seasonal shifts.

Community Safety Strategy

The 2016 Community Safety Action plan has been agreed and is being implemented through the Safer Maidstone Partnership�s sub groups. A new sub group called Community Resilience has been established and is set to tackle a number of issues including modern slavery, child sexual exploitation, and �Prevent� which is an agenda aimed at preventing radicalisation. �

A number of action days have been held in relation to the Partnership�s road safety priority and a short DVD was created to inform pedestrians of the dangers of traffic.

�Funding allocated to the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) by the Police Crime Commissioner will help enable the strategic outcomes set out in the CSP Action Plan. �

The Maidstone self-neglect forum is now self-sustaining and is being rolled out to other Districts in the county. The Community Safety Unit has also been involved in developing a Waste Management App which enables council employees to highlight areas where syringes linked to drug use are found so they can been removed quickly and then mapped to trace drug use hotspots.

Number of safeguarding practitioners trained
Safeguarding has been identified as a national priority and a compulsory part of what we do as a Council. This indicator measures the number of internal and external staff trained in areas such as child sexual exploitation and anti-extremism. Having more practitioners trained in safeguarding ensures the protection of vulnerable adults and children across Maidstone.�
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Outcome
0	50	-50			Target will not be achieved

Performance Comment: No safeguarding practitioners have been trained this quarter. The Safeguarding Policy for Vulnerable Adults and Children will be presented to the September Communities, Housing & Environment Committee and if agreed training will be carried out. The lack of training to date may have an effect on the ability to attain the annual target by the end of the year. Once the policy has been implemented, training will increase.

Air Quality Strategy
Members' workshop took place on 18 July and following the workshop a further report will be submitted to the Communities, Housing & Environment Committee on 20 September. This will be on the future adoption or otherwise of the Strategy. An indicator will be developed to be measured on a yearly basis if an Air Quality Strategy is adopted.

Environmental Quality Survey

A new Environmental Performance Officer is currently being recruited and will carry out full National Indicator (NI) 195 monitoring 3 times per year to monitor the effectiveness of the current cleansing regime and to provide information to make future improvements. This monitoring will include measuring the levels of litter and detritus on land and highways. The officer is expected to be in post by September and will complete the first survey in the Autumn. The survey for 2015/16 showed Maidstone's performance to be better than the national and southern averages. �

Percentage Change in All Recorded Crime (Information Only)
This indicator reports the percentage change in the number of all recorded crime in the borough to provide an indication of the crime trends in the borough and help assess the impact of the work the Council undertakes in relation to Community Safety. Note: Improving performance for this indictor is demonstrated by a negative figure.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
16.0%	�	�			�

Performance Comment: There has been a 16% increase in crime this quarter which includes an almost 25% increase in violent crime compared to the same quarter in 2015/16. There has also been an increase in vehicle interference, things such as broken mirrors, possibly linked to the night time economy. Violent offences committed around the night time economy periods had increased but numbers have now started to fall.� It is normal for around a quarter of violent crime to be domestic abuse and any increase in domestic abuse could be seen in a positive light as it means victims are coming forward. It also shows confidence in the police and other agencies in supporting and protecting victims of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is a key priority for the Safer Maidstone Partnership and is a key focus area for joint work, particularly around the One Stop Shop and the Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process. This enables local organisations to share information about high risk domestic abuse cases.

Encouraging Good Health and Wellbeing

Deprivation in the borough is lower than average, however 15% (4,300) of children (under 16 years old) in Maidstone live in poverty. There is a larger difference in life expectancy of men and women; 7 years lower for men and 4 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Maidstone than in the least deprived.

Health Inequalities Action Plan Update

The Maidstone Health Inequalities Action Plan is now 2 years old. This provides an opportunity to review progress against actions and move forward in closing the gap in health inequalities.

A draft progress report was submitted to the Maidstone Health and Wellbeing Board on Monday 4th July highlighting key successes in a number of areas detailed below.

� Breastfeeding contributes significantly to the long-term health of infants and mothers and increases maternal bonding. In Maidstone, the percentage of mothers who breastfeed within 48 hours of giving birth has increased slightly from 74.6% to 75.8%.

� A reduction in hospital admissions for deliberate self-harm has been noted from 215.3 per 100,000 to 205.67 per 100,000 (2014/15).

� The baseline for the number of healthy workplaces signed up to the Kent Healthy Business Awards was 20. Currently 31 workplaces have signed up, with 5 achieving awards in 2015/16.

� The length of stay in temporary accommodation has been reduced to 39.67 days, falling below the 2015 target of 42 days.

� The number of NHS Health Checks carried out within the borough exceeded the target of 1,500, with 2,908 health checks made. This is 93.86% above target. �

The report highlights the need to tackle particular areas of concern around incidences of malignant melanoma, statutory homelessness, obese adults, and violent crime. These areas of concern are for Maidstone Borough as a whole. Over the coming months, presentations will be delivered to Wider Leadership Team, Members, and officers with a view to producing a refresh of the Health Inequalities Action Plan in late 2016. �

Number of completed Disabled Facilities Grants
Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are used to provide home adaptations for disabled people generally to improve access; access into and around the home and access to, or provision of, basic amenities such as bathing and WC. They are an important part of the work we do to support people who want to remain independent or stay in their own home.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
16	25	-9			Target will be slightly missed

Performance Comment: � The first quarter of a new financial year is historically lean on grant completions owing to the higher number of cases at the end of the quarter 4 being targeted for completion by builders to ensure the level of spend against budget is attained. The same quarter last year saw 7 Disabled Facility Grants completed, less than half the number that were completed this quarter. This is the highest number of Disabled Facilities Grants that have been completed in quarter 1 since 2013. Performance is expected to improve as the year progresses.

Housing Strategy Update

The Council adopted the final version of the Maidstone Housing Strategy 2016-2020 in March 2016. Following adoption the Strategy has now moved into the delivery stage.

The new Strategy has three key priority themes for the Council to address over the next four years, centred around enabling the delivery of quality homes across the housing market, ensuring existing housing is safe, desirable and promotes good health and well-being and preventing homelessness and securing provision of appropriate accommodation for homeless households.

The Council has made progress during the last quarter against a number of actions stated within the Strategy, in order to help achieve the three key priority themes and stated outcomes. This includes successfully agreeing terms for the purchase of a property for use as temporary accommodation for homeless households, establishing a self/custom build register and continued work on facilitating the redevelopment of Brunswick Street.

Number of people successfully completing a course at the leisure centre following referral by GP
This indicates the key work that is being completed at the Leisure Centre around health. This part of the Leisure Centre�s work is not reflected in ratings of satisfaction. This indicator has no target and is for information only.
Current Performance	2016/17 Annual Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Outcome
33	�	�			�

Performance Comment: This is an initial figure to form a baseline for following periods. The indicator methodology may need to be reviewed to look at providing this figure as a percentage of those completing courses. This will give an indication of the proportion of people who are completing courses, rather than just the number.

Number of older isolated people prevented from social isolation through museum projects
This is a unique sector leading project, which is currently funded. In the longer term, it will look to continue without funding. It seeks to engage older people in learning in a community group to prevent social isolation.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
16	�	�			�

Performance Comment: These are mainly attendees at caf� culture events. Cafe Culture is a monthly event for older people to enjoy a drink and share memories over a selection of objects from the museum's collection which encourages them to explore thair own lives, memories and experiences. It is a legacy project of a grant aided scheme called Museums on Prescription aimed at tackling social isolation in older residents. We would expect this figure to improve in the next quarter as we have introduced advertising material and made contacts with care providers across the borough and will no longer be relying on referrals from the Museums on Prescription scheme to attend. This is the first measure for this kind of project at the museum. ��

Priority 1: Keeping Maidstone an attractive place for all & Priority 2: Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Enhancing the Appeal of the Town Centre

Maidstone has had a historically thriving town centre however, we need to ensure that we keep pace with the changing economic environment and continue to meet the demands of businesses and consumers. Investment in Maidstone town centre is needed if it is to continue to be a popular place for leisure, to live, shop and work.

Footfall in the High Street
This indicator provides a good balance between Town Centre vitality and satisfaction with the High Street.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
2,356,418	2,058,735	+297683			Target will be achieved

Performance Comment: Footfall in quarter 1 is somewhat lower than was observed in the same period last year. Footfall was still above target, and weekly data that is collected is showing an upward trend. This is consistent with the trend that was observed over the same period in 2015/16.

Priority 2: Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Planning for Sufficient Homes to meet our Borough�s Needs

Over the last five years, the supply of new, affordable housing within the borough has been greater than in neighbouring authorities, although still less than historic levels. 189 new affordable homes were built in the borough in 2013/14 and 163 in 2014/15.� In total 413 new homes were delivered in 2014/15, of these new homes over 75% were built on land that had previously been developed.

Housing Strategy Update

The Council adopted the final version of the Maidstone Housing Strategy 2016-2020 in March 2016. Following adoption the Strategy has now moved into the delivery stage. The new Strategy has three key priority themes for the Council to address over the next four years centred around enabling the delivery of quality homes across the housing market, ensuring existing housing is safe, desirable and promotes good health and well-being and preventing homelessness and securing provision of appropriate accommodation for homeless households. The Council has made progress during the last quarter against a number of actions stated within the Strategy, in order to help achieve the three key priority themes and stated outcomes. This includes successfully agreeing terms for the purchase of a property for use as temporary accommodation for homeless households, establishing a self/custom build register and continued work on facilitating the redevelopment of Brunswick Street.

Number of households prevented from becoming homeless through the intervention of housing advice
The provision of comprehensive advice plays an important part in delivering the Council�s strategy for preventing homelessness in Maidstone. This measure provides an indication of the effectiveness of housing advice given by the Council in preventing homelessness or the threat of homelessness. The annual target is split to give a quarterly target of 75.
Current Value	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
27	75	48			Target will not be achieved

Performance Comment: The second Housing Assistant post was vacant for the whole of this quarter. The post has now been recruited to; the successful candidate will start in post in October. A temporary member of staff will be covering the post in the meantime. The average homelessness assessment caseload during this quarter was 30 (including the senior), compared to 14 in 2014/15. Although the third Housing Advisor was recruited to in this period and received her formal training at the end of June, the number of assessments open as of 8 July would still give each advisor close to 30 cases, even with this post included. It is necessary to prioritise statutory work over preventative, due not only to the nature of those clients already being homeless, but also in an effort to minimise the spending on temporary accommodation.

Number of affordable homes delivered
Housing supply has not kept pace with demand. Many families are locked out of the housing market by unaffordable prices and unobtainable mortgages.� Affordable dwellings include social-rented housing and intermediate housing. These can be new build or acquisitions; the figure does not take into account any losses.��
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
73	45	+28			Target will be achieved

Performance Comment: The first quarter has seen a significant amount of newbuild affordable completions delivered, which has exceeded the quarterly target. There are in excess of 300 affordable units which are forecast for completion this year as many sites have progressed quicker than anticipated. It is therefore expected that we will easily exceed the target for the year.

Number of households housed through housing register
This is an important indicator, which will help to monitor the number of applicants on the housing register who have been successfully rehoused. This provides a balanced view of the work of the housing service, in addition to the homeless preventions indicator.
Current Performance	Q1 Target	Value Vs Target	Direction	Status	Expected Outcome
189	150	+39			Target will be achieved

Performance Comment: The quarterly target for the number of applicants housed has been achieved due to a significant amount of newbuild affordable completions which have been achieved during the first quarter. �This will provide baseline data to inform future targets for this indicator. Good performance should continue throughout the year due to the expected amount of affordable units that are being built throughout the year.