Issue - meetings

This report summarises the performance of the organisation at the Year End position, 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

Cabinet Portfolio Holder: Councillor Andy Jenns

Councillor Andy Jenns (Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation) introduced the published report and summarised its key elements. Members’ attention was drawn to Power BI as a tool for interrogating performance. They were reminded that training is available on this. Council performance, Councillor Andy Jenns stated, has remained good in the face of the Covid Pandemic and the challenges this has presented. A series of areas where performance had been notably good was cited. These included a reduction in incidents of domestic abuse, an increase in satisfaction with the customer contact centre, a decline is staff sickness levels, higher levels of staff engagement, a reduction in crime and a reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on Warwickshire’s roads.

Some areas are not on track. These include the number of children in care, response times for Fire and Rescue services, the cost of SEND transport and the percentage of people in employment.

By way of response Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group) expressed his concern over the level of staff sickness relating to mental health and stress. An update was requested on this in the light of the Pandemic. The reference on page 19 of the document pack to a review of the performance framework was welcomed. Red risks around the DSG were acknowledged as a constant source of concern.

In response to comments regarding stress and mental health issues amongst staff Cabinet was informed by Councillor Kam Kaur (Portfolio Holder for Economy and Place) of initiatives that exist to support staff. These include the appointment of 20 mental health champions, the establishment of a support hotline and the provision of information on the council’s intranet.

Cabinet was reminded that members have ready access to performance data.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

a) Notes the progress of the delivery of the Council Plan 2020 - 2025 for the period as contained in the report; and,

b) Approves the 2021/22 Performance Framework, attached as Appendix A, for reporting at Quarter 1.