Issue - meetings

The Report is attached.

Rob Powell (Strategic Director for Resources) introduced the report and stated that performance had remained strong and robust throughout the Covid pandemic. He said that of the 16 Key Business Measures of relevance to the Committee, nine were on track and six were not; of the six that were not, three related to best use of resources. Rob Powell reminded members that one of the KBMs was a target of having no fire-related deaths or injuries, which was acknowledged as being a difficult target to reach but an appropriate one. Of the KBMs not on target, Rob Powell stated that these related chiefly to capital expenditure. These had been caused due to interest rates and supply chain issues and expenditure on other projects locally, such as HS2 and preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Rob Powell said these KBMs were unlikely to improve in the short term. It was noted another off-target KBM related to the referral of complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Rob Powell said this followed a national pattern as there had been an increased demand for this following on from the Covid pandemic, and said he was confident this target would be met by the end of the year. It was noted that 89 per cent of revenue savings were on target to be met, which Rob Powell stated still represented a strong performance in spite of it being off target.

Members were told there had been a significant improvement in terms of the shortfall on the dedicated school grant and this was now on track to be met, although Rob Powell said there was still the possibility of volatility relating to this KBM. Rob Powell said there had been very high levels of customer satisfaction with the contact centre, which was in spite of a high increase in demand and increased complexities of some of the issues being dealt with. He said he had recently gone to the customer contact centre in Bedworth and seen for himself the high level of support being provided to residents.

Rob Powell said the Member Working Group was working on the development and leadership framework, regarding the refresh of the Council Plan. This was likely to be finalised during the next quarter.

Councillor Watson noted the resource pressures on the Fire and Rescue Service, particularly regarding the fire risk assessors as this had been raised earlier in the meeting. He asked if there were any external factors or challenges that could affect the figures in the report or impact on the service that could be provided. Ben Brook said the biggest challenge currently was delivery of fire safety interventions. There was a requirement for more fully trained fire safety officers; however Ben Brook explained that it took two years for the training to be completed in full.

The Chair asked for the Committee’s thanks for the report to be passed back to the officers who had prepared it.