Policy and Resources                  26 April 2017
Committee

Is the final decision on the recommendations in this report to be made at this meeting?

Yes

 

Key Performance Indicators for Policy and Resources Committee 2017-18

 

Final Decision-Maker

Policy and Resources Committee

Lead Head of Service

Head of Policy and Communications

Lead Officer and Report Author

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Classification

Public

Wards affected

All

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   To agree the key performance indicators to be reported to this Committee in 2017-18 as set out at 3.3 in this report, covering the three action areas prioritised in the refreshed Strategic Plan.

 

 

 

This report relates to the following corporate priorities:

·         Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all

·         Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

 

Performance management is focussed on identifying whether the Council is achieving the strategic priorities and actions identified in the Council’s Strategic Plan.

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Policy and Resources Committee

26 April 2017



 


Key Performance Indicators for Policy and Resources Committee 2017-18

 

 

1.        PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

1.1     The Council has recently approved a refreshed Strategic Plan for 2017-18 which sets out the action areas that deliver the identified priorities (Appendix A). Each Service Committee was asked to consider and agree key performance indicators relevant to the services within its remit so as to measure achievement of our priorities for 2017-18.

 

1.2     This report sets out the current indicators and indicators for consideration by this committee following Councillor workshops in November and March.

 

 

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

2.1     The Committee agreed in December 2016 to focus performance reporting on the three action areas prioritised in the refreshed Strategic Plan for 2017-18:

 

·         Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

·         Regenerating the Town Centre

·         A Home for Everyone

 

2.2     For each action area in the strategic plan it has been set out what we want to achieve and what the council has committed to in order to do this.

 

2.3     At the Councillor workshops and the committee meetings to consider the refresh of the Strategic Plan it was identified that where there are strategies and plans in place to deliver the action areas we will use measures set out in those documents.

 

Areas of Focus

 

2.4       Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

  

   We will commit to:

 

·         Investing to improve street infrastructure and the efficiency of cleansing services in accordance with our medium term financial strategy

·         Delivering the Waste and Recycling Strategy

·         Delivering the Community Safety Plan 2017-18

·         Delivering the Low Emissions Strategy

 

2.5       Regenerating the Town Centre

 

We will commit to:

 

Delivering the Local Plan

Delivering the Housing and Regeneration Strategy

Delivering the Destination Management Plan

 

2.6     A Home for Everyone

 

We will commit to:

 

·         Delivering the Local Plan

·         Delivering the Housing and Regeneration Strategy

·         Delivering the Housing Strategy

·         Delivering the Temporary Accommodation Strategy

 

 

2.7                  The current performance indicators for 2016-17 are outlined below for information:

 

Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

 

Indicator

 

Target

Satisfaction with Street cleansing

 

60%

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of litter that fall below an acceptable level

 

6.5%

The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of detritus  that fall below an acceptable level

17%

Number of incidences of fly-tipping

1200

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

52.5%

Percentage change in number of victim based crimes / in all recorded crime

contextual

Number of safeguarding practitioners trained

200

 


 

 

Regenerating the Town Centre

 

Indicator

Target

Footfall in the High St.

2,058,735

per quarter

 

 

A Home for Everyone

Performance Indicator

Target

*Processing of Major planning applications in 13 weeks

80%

*Net additional homes provided (NI 154)

560

*Number of affordable homes delivered (gross)

180

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

300

**Number of households housed through housing register

600

 

*Cross over with Strategic Planning Sustainability and Transportation

**Cross over with Communities, Housing and Environment

2.8     At the Councillor workshop held in March 2017 the relevance of these indicators for 2017/18 and the need for new indicators was discussed.  The proposed updated 2017/18 indicators set out below at paragraph 3.3 reflect these discussions.

 

 

3.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

3.1     The Committee can decide not to have any performance management information.  This would however significantly limit its ability to monitor and manage progress against the strategic priorities.

 

3.2     The current performance measures could be retained if the Committee identifies that these are still appropriate.

 

3.3     Having reviewed measures from current plans and strategies and taking into account the Councillor workshop the following indicators and targets are proposed for consideration by the Committee:

 

 

Providing a Clean and Safe Environment

 

Indicator

 

Target

*The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having deposits of litter at an acceptable level – see note

 

94%

*The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having acceptable levels of detritus – see note


84%

Number of fly tips assessed within 2 working days

 

TBC

Percentage of fly tips with evidential value which result in enforcement action

 

20%

Number of reports of litter attended to

TBC - baseline

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


52.5%

 Safer Maidstone Partnership information:

  • Domestic Abuse and other Violent Crime
  • Substance Misuse
  • Anti-Social Behaviour

Contextual

 

*Note: Performance monitoring information will be accompanied by photographs illustrating what is considered to be an acceptable level of litter / detritus.

 

Regenerating the Town Centre

Indicator

Target

Percentage of vacant retail units in town centre

TBC

Footfall in the High St.

TBC

Business Rates Income from Town Centre businesses

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Home for Everyone

 

Performance Indicator

Target

*Processing of Major planning applications in 13 weeks

85%

*Processing of Minor planning applications in 8 weeks

85%

*Processing of Other planning applications in 8 weeks

85%

*Net additional homes provided (NI 154)

600

*Number of affordable homes delivered (gross)

200

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

300

**Number of households housed through housing register

600

 

*Cross over with Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation         Committee

**Cross over with Communities, Housing and Environment Committee

3.4     As there are a number of strategies in place that the Council is committed to under each action area (see section 2), the committee may want to receive regular updates on the progress of these to ensure the Council is delivering against these plans and strategies, and identify further action if required. These can be reported at six monthly intervals alongside the Key Performance Indicators.

 

3.5   The Committee when setting its performance indicators and targets for the year should consider the following criteria:

 

Specific – The indicator needs to be specific so that a clear definition and methodology can be created for it. The definition will need to be widely accepted, so that there is no margin for misinterpretation. It should also link back to a specific action or objective that we have agreed to deliver against.

Measurable – An indicator needs to be measurable so that progress toward an objective can be tracked. This also allows us to add targets to the indicator if necessary, and compare performance over time. Have a measurable indicator makes it clear and simple to understand, and you can see when the target has been met or exceeded.

Achievable – There should be a good chance that the targets, and the objectives they relate to, are achievable. They may be difficult to achieve and require changes, but they should not be impossible. It can be discouraging to try and achieve a goal that we can never obtain.

Relevant – The indicator should be something that we have control or influence over.  This ensures that, if desired performance is not being achieved, we can make operational changes to try and improve performance. The KPI will then give insight into how well we are delivering against a strategy. ‘R’ can also stand for relating the indicator back to a strategy or objective.

In some cases, data that directly relates to one of our priority action areas can be provided as ‘information only’, even if we have no direct influence on it.

Time-bound – We should be able to monitor performance over time periods, whether this is monthly, quarterly, or annually. This allows us to attribute performance to particular periods of time, and makes it easier to show trends. Performance may be reported in arrears where data is not immediately available, such as third-party data sources.

 

 

 

 

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

4.1     The Committee is asked to consider which indicators will best measure and track progress against the action areas that are relevant to its terms of reference.  Agreement is sought on the indicators and targets for 2017-18 as well as frequency of reporting a list of recommended indicators has been given for the Committee to review. The Committee may also find it beneficial to receive regular updates on the plans and strategies listed in paragraphs 2.4 to 2.6 above.

 

 

5.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

5.1     The Committee has previously considered performance measures when it reviewed the strategic plan in December 2016 and January 2017. As well as the earlier workshop with Service Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs an evening workshop was also held to which all Councillors were invited to ascertain views on indicators for each action area in March. This report reflects those meetings.

 

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

6.1     The Committee’s agreed set of indicators will be reported and added to its work programme for 2017-18.

 

 

7.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

Performance management is focussed on identifying whether the Council is achieving the strategic priorities and action identified in the Council’s Strategic Plan.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Risk Management

Managing performance effectively should act as both risk mitigation and identification

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Financial

Establishing performance indicators and monitoring actual performance against them will help to ensure that the Strategic Plan is delivered in line with available resources.

Director of Finance and Business Improvement

Staffing

The Committee should consider the resource required to collate and report the data requested. Indicators will direct the work of the council’s staff.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Legal

N/A

Legal Team

Equality Impact Needs Assessment

No implications at this time

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Environmental/Sustainable Development

The committee has action areas that are relevant to this area and this should be taken into account when agreeing the performance indicators.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Community Safety

N/A

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Human Rights Act

N/A

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Procurement

N/A

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

Asset Management

The council has a number of assets which contribute to the achievement of our priorities indicators should be measuring how these assets are used to fulfil our priorities.

Head of Policy, Communications and Governance

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix A: Strategic Plan 2015-20, 2017-18 Refresh

 

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None