Appendix 2

Key to performance ratings

Performance Summary

• 60% 9 of 15 targetable quarterly key performance indicators (KPIs) reportable to the Housing, Communities and Environment Committee achieved the Quarter 1 (Q1) target¹.
• Compared to last quarter (Q4 2019/20), performance for 45.5% 5 of 11 KPIs has improved, 9.1% 1 of 11 KPIs has been sustained, and for 45.5% 5 of 11 KPIs has declined¹.
• Compared to last year (Q1 2019/20), performance for 81.8% 9 of 11 KPIs has improved, 9.1% 1 of 11 KPIs has been sustained, and for 27.3% 3 of 11 KPIs has declined¹.

Under ‘Safe, Clean & Green’, only two KPIs missed their targets in Q1 2020/21 and these were within 10%. One KPI is an information-only KPI. Two KPIs are new for 2020/21 and hence it is not possible to compare performance against previous quarters.

Of the eight KPIs, compared to last quarter (Q4 2019/20), two saw an improvement, one declined and one saw its performance sustained. Compared to last year (Q1 2019/20), four improved, one declined and one sustained its performance. Please note, there is no data inputted for Q4 2019/20 for the KPIs about land and highways with acceptable levels of detritus and litter as these are only reported three times a year, therefore it is not possible to provide a quarterly comparison.

‘The percentage of relevant land and highways that is assessed as having acceptable levels of detritus’ KPI achieved a figure of 94.87% in Q1 2020/21 (against a target of 95.00%), compared to 97.92% in Q1 2019/20. The team responsible for this KPI have highlighted that the target was challenging to meet, and have put this down to the additional residential parking in urbanised areas during lockdown. With more residents working from home, there were more cars parked on the roads, which made access to street cleansing more difficult. Last year, a number of mechanical sweeping fleets were updated with larger and more effective sweepers.

The ‘Contamination: Tonnage per month rejected’ KPI missed its target by 26.96 tonnes in Q1 2020/21. This is a new KPI, so data for previous quarters is unavailable. The monthly target of 95.83 tonnes was missed consistently within the quarter. However, the contaminated tonnage (rejected) as a percentage of tonnage of household waste (sent for reuse, recycling or composting) was 4.90%, which is lower than the quarterly target of 8.00% as agreed to in the Waste Strategy.

Under ‘Homes & Communities’, of the eight KPIs with quarterly targets, four met their targets, three missed their targets within 10% and one missed its target by more than 10%. Two KPIs are for information-only purposes. Three KPIs are new KPIs for 2020/21, and so previous performance data is unavailable.

The ‘Number of households housed through the housing register’ KPI missed its target by 26.5 households, only achieving 86 for the quarter. This compares to 137 households in the same quarter last year and 147 households in Q4 2019/20. This quarter (Q1 2020/21) saw the lowest number of households housed through the housing register since records for this KPI began. The reason for the missed target is twofold; throughout lockdown, the completion of new affordable housing slowed down; and vacant properties were not being advertised or let by Housing Association partners due to the government restrictions.

The ‘Percentage of successful Relief Duty outcomes’ KPI achieved a figure of 51.97% this quarter against a target of 60%. This compares to 47.18% for the same quarter last year and 55.77% in Q4 2019/20. In this quarter, 66 applications had relief duty ended because the applicant had suitable accommodation for at least 6 months. The total number of applicants where relief duty had ended was 127. The team responsible for this KPI have stressed that the quarterly target is ambitious, and by comparison the latest published homelessness statistics (January 2020 to March 2020), demonstrate that the percentage of successful relief duty outcomes nationally, were 39.7%. However, Maidstone’s s allocation scheme was amended in April 2020 to assist in reducing homelessness. The new scheme focusses on the prevention of homelessness rather than tackling homelessness at crisis point, by trying to prevent the number of households being placed into temporary accommodation.

Two of the three new KPIs for 2020/21 missed their quarterly targets (of 100.00%) within 10%. The ‘Percentage of gas safety certificates in place on all residential properties’ and ‘Percentage of all electrical safety certificates on all residential properties’ KPIs achieved 97.94% and 98.02% in Q1 2020/21, respectively. 95 out of 97 residential properties which were targeted to have a gas safety certificate, and 99 out of 101 residential properties which were targeted to have an electrical safety certificate, achieved these, in Q1 2020/21.

* There will be a verbal update at the meeting to explain why these KPIs have missed their target.

Please note, an error was made in the list of finalised KPIs which were shared with the CHE committee previously. The list highlighted that there would be two new KPIs in 2020/21, however this is untrue. These were:

·         Percentage of successful housing prevention and relief cases

·         Number of households in temporary accommodation

Instead, the following KPIs were to be retained from the previous year (2019/20) into 2020/21:

·         Number of households living in temporary accommodation last night of the month (NI 156 & SDL 009-00)

·         Percentage of successful Relief Duty outcomes