Heritage, Culture & Leisure Committee

5 September 2017

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

No

 

KPI Performance Report Quarter 1 2017/18

 

Final Decision-Maker

Policy & Resources Committee

Lead Head of Service

Head of Policy, Communications & Governance

Lead Officer and Report Author

Anna Collier, Policy & Information Manager. Alex Munden, Performance and Business Information Officer

Classification

Public

Wards affected

All

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   That the summary of performance for Quarter 1 of 2017/18 for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) be noted.

2.   That the indicator for Festival, Events, and Parks income be removed.

 

 

This report relates to the following corporate priorities:

·         Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all

·         Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Key Performance Indicators monitor the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Priorities as set out in the Strategic Plan 2015-20. The Performance Plan provides progress against the Council’s key strategies which deliver the Council’s corporate priorities.

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Wider Leadership Team

8 August 2017

Heritage Culture & Leisure Committee

5 September 2017

Strategic Planning, Sustainability & Transport Committee

12 September 2017

Communities, Housing & Environment

19 September 2017

Policy & Resources Committee

20 September 2017



KPI Performance Report Quarter 1 2017/18

 

 

1.        PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

1.1     The Heritage, Culture & Leisure Committee is asked to review the progress of performance indicators that support the delivery of the Strategic Plan 2015-2020. The team is also asked to consider the comments and actions against performance to ensure these are robust.

 

 

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

2.1     Having a comprehensive set of actions and performance indicators ensures that the Council delivers against the priorities and actions set out in the Strategic Plan.

 

2.2     Following the refresh of the Strategic Plan for 2017/18 the Committees agreed 28 Key Performance Indicators in April 2017.

 

2.3     Performance indicators are judged in two ways. Firstly on whether performance has improved, sustained or declined, compared to the same period in the previous year. This is known as direction. Where there is no previous data, no assessment of direction can be made.

 

2.4     The second way is to look at whether an indicator has achieved the target set and is known as PI status. If an indicator has achieved or exceeded the annual target they are rated green. If the target has been missed but is within 10% of the target it will be rated amber, and if the target has been missed by more than 10% it will be rated red.

 

2.5     Some indicators will show an asterisk (*) after the figure. These are provisional values that are awaiting confirmation. Data for some of the indicators were not available at the time of reporting. In these cases a date has been provided for when the information is expected.

 

2.6     Contextual indicators are not targeted but are given a direction. Indicators that are not due for reporting or where there is delay in data collection are not rated against targets or given a direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.        Quarter 1 Performance Summary

 

3.1     There are 28 key performance indicators (KPIs) which were developed with Heads of Service and unit managers, and agreed by the four Service Committees for 2017/18. Five of these relate to the Heritage, Culture & Leisure Committee.   

 

3.2     Overall, 20% (1) of targeted KPIs reported this quarter achieved their target for quarter 1. For 20% of indicators, performance improved compared to the same quarter last year, where previous data is available for comparison.

 

RAG Rating

Green

Amber

Red

N/A

Total

KPIs

1

1

3

0

5

Direction

Up

No Change

Down

N/A

Total

Long Trend

1

0

3

1

5

Short Trend

1

0

3

1

5

 

Indicators suggested for removal

 

4.        It is recommended that the indicator for Festivals, Events and Parks income is removed from the set of key performance indicators for 2017/18. Following consultation with the Leader and Chair of Heritage, Culture, and Leisure Committee, it is proposed we remove the indicator for the following reasons:

 

·         This is a service level indicator, and the income it measures is already reported through budget monitoring.

·         The income from festivals and events is relatively small, and is separate from Parks income.

·         Heritage, Culture & Leisure Committee agreed a further eight KPIs and updates, which is a relatively large number already.

·         The rationale for suggesting and including this indicator was unclear.

 

 

 

5.       Performance by Priority

 

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

 

5.1     The Hazlitt Theatre sold 65% of all available tickets in quarter one, against a target of 50%. We sold a total of 12,277 tickets during the period out of a possible 18,875.

 

5.2     1,662 students benefited from the Museum’s educational services during quarter one, falling short of the target of 2,085. Capacity for class visits at the Museum has reduced due to building works, and the temporary loss of the smaller learning space. This has mainly affected May and June bookings. However, we have undertaken a large number of Arts Awards for children, such as Discover Arts Awards and Explore Arts Awards. In total, 119 Arts Awards sessions have taken place. To increase the benefit to students, we are promoting outreach sessions to schools on Mondays, and introducing a range of loan boxes that schools can borrow. We placed 14 loan between September 2016 and July 2017. We currently have 9 boxes available, with promotional fliers going to schools in September.

 

5.3     Visitor footfall at the Museum was 12,138, which is 4,626 less than the same quarter in 2016/17. This continues the decline of visits seen in 2016/17, with June being a particularly quiet month. Building works for the Ancients Gallery have restricted access to parts of the museum, with some galleries being closed. The mummy previously drove footfall to the museum, but it has been off display since March. The annual Dino Day did not receive as much interest as it has previously. This could be due visitors tiring of a previous favourite as it has appeared several times during the last year, and competition from other events in the borough on the same day.  We will be launching an awareness campaign, and will have a marketing push to increase footfall for the opening of the Ancients Gallery in October.

 

5.4     We received 1,221 contacts to our Visitor Information Centre at the museum during the first quarter. These consisted of 748 visits, 423 phone calls, and 50 emails. Information enquiries are most common for bus timetables, regional attractions opening times, recommendations for days out, and accommodation bookings. The Information Centre is now fully open, which will make the identification of information contacts easier.  

 

5.5     There were 184,679 users at the Leisure Centre during quarter one. This is nearly 11,000 below the target of 195,581. It is also a decrease of just under 12,000 compared to the same period in 2016/17.

 

 

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

6.1     The Strategic Plan Performance Update will be reported quarterly to the Service Committees; Communities, Housing and Environment Committee, Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transport Committee, and Heritage, Culture, and Leisure Committee. The report will then go to Policy & Resources Committee following these meetings, with any feedback from the other Committees.

 

 

7.       PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

7.1     The Council could choose not to monitor the Strategic Plan and/or make alternative performance management arrangements, such as the frequency of reporting. This is not recommended as it could lead to action not being taken against performance during the year, and the Council failing to deliver its priorities.

 

 

 

 

 

8.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

The key performance

indicators and strategic

actions are part of the

Council’s overarching

Strategic Plan 2015-20 and

play an important role in the

achievement of corporate

objectives.

They also cover a wide range

of services and priority

areas, for example waste and recycling.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Risk Management

The production of robust

performance reports ensures

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.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Financial

Performance indicators and

targets are closely linked to

the allocation of resources

and determining good value

for money. 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. Performance issues

are highlighted as part of the

budget monitoring reporting

process.

Section 151 Officer

Staffing

Having a clear set of targets enables staff outcomes/objectives to be set and effective action plans to be put in place.

Angela Woodhouse, Head of Policy & Communications

Legal

None identified.

Legal Team

Equality Impact Needs Assessment

The Performance Indicators reported on in this quarterly update measure the ongoing performance of the strategies in place. If there has been a change to the way in which a service delivers a strategy, i.e. a policy change, an Equalities Impact Assessment is undertaken to ensure that there is no detrimental impact on individuals with a protected characteristic.

Equalities and Corporate Policy Officer

Environmental/Sustainable Development

A number of performance indicators relate to our performance in environmental services. This has a significant effect on our ability to monitor the Environment in Maidstone. This is also important as one of our key priorities is to provide a clean and safe environment.

Policy and Information Manager

Community Safety

We have Key Performance Indicators that relate to important areas of community safety. These ensure that the work being done by the Community Safety Unit is relevant, and that key areas such as safeguarding are being developed.

Policy and Information Manager

Human Rights Act

None identified.

Policy and Information Manager

Procurement

Performance Indicators and Strategic Milestones monitor the any procurement needed to achieve the outcomes of the Strategic Plan.

Policy and Information Manager

Asset Management

Performance Indicators that measure our commercial activities monitor our use of our assets. Good performance shows good management of our assets, or can highlight where assets can be utilised more efficiently.

Policy and Information Manager

 

 

 

9.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

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

·         Appendix I: HCL KPI Performance Report Q1 2017/18

 

 

10.    BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None