A report that updates Cabinet on progress against targets set out in the current Council Plan.

Cabinet Portfolio Holder – Councillor Andy Jenns

Councillor Andy Jenns (Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation) introduced the published report which was, for the first time, presenting

a combined picture of the Council’s delivery against corporate objectives, performance indicators, human resources, and risk.  Councillor Jenns noted that the Council’s overall performance remained strong with 70% of Key Business Measures on track with performance at an expected level.  There were some notable areas of positive performance including the percentage of care leavers not in education, employment and training; the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs Block overspend which was lower than budgeted; and continuing strong customer satisfaction levels for the Customer Service Centre.  There were also some challenging areas which were set out in the report and the detail of all key business measures was also provided.

In response to comments from Councillor Jerry Roodhouse regarding staff turnover and retention challenges, Councillor Jenns noted that this was a nationwide issue across the sector at all levels of Local Government and it was important that the Council was an employer of choice.  Councillor Jenns agreed to ascertain further information regarding the timescale for the  Long-Term Workforce Strategy to share with Councillor Roodhouse.

Councillor Seccombe stressed the importance of the workforce and working together with neighbouring authorities.  She considered providing development and career opportunities were key factors in retention. Councillor Seccombe stressed the value of the workforce and expressed her thanks to staff for their hard work, as the report reflected good performance.

The Chief Executive, Monica Fogarty, was invited to comment on the People Strategy which was a dynamic strategy directly reviewed twice per year, taking stock of pressures in each service area. She also commented on the need to work regionally to influence the national position and improve terms and conditions with a view to preventing poaching and reliance on agency staff.

In response to comments from Councillor Tim Sinclair, Councillor Seccombe advised that the Council had a good understanding of where its vulnerabilities lay and it was not an outlier in terms of the national picture.  The Council continued to seek development for new staff and opportunities for career progression for existing staff.  She suggested that if this was an area of concern, it could be raised as a potential item for the work programme of the Resources and Fire & Rescue Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved:

That Cabinet notes organisational performance and progress against the Integrated Delivery Plan for the period April to June 2022.