The Committee considered performance for the period April-June 2009-10 against the Council’s key indicators and associated projects and programmes in its Annual Operating Statement.

The report to Cabinet on 24 September 2009 was appended.

The Corporate Policy and Research Manager (CPRM) presented the report.  He commented that this was the first time the Committee had received the performance report in its new format and would welcome any observations the Committee might have on that.

He highlighted the following points:

·         That, on the basis of provisional figures to the end of September, progress against target NI 59 (initial assessments for children’s’ social care carried out within seven working days of referral) was now ahead of target.

·         In relation to health and wellbeing target NI 131 (delayed transfers of care from hospitals) he drew attention to an addendum to the report which explained that the figure reported was lower than that which should have been reported.  The correct figure suggested a deterioration in performance rather than an improvement.  However, the method of calculation used to date by hospital staff, who were responsible for reporting the figure, was incorrect and over-stated the extent of delayed transfers in the County compared with other authorities.  The method of calculating the target had now been corrected by agreement, the impact of which would be able to be judged in future reports.

·         That whilst performance was behind target in relation to NI 130 (clients receiving self-directed support) and NI136 people supported to live independently a significant amount of work had been carried out, which was expected to lead to improved performance during the year. The position in respect of NI 130 was complicated by it comprising two different measures: individualised budgets and direct payments. In respect of individualised budgets the Council’s performance was comparable with that nationally. As regards direct payments previous performance had not been so good and was now impacting negatively on the combined figures.  The Associate Director of Integrated Commissioning said there were signs that the Government might be reviewing expectations in the light of the emerging financial implications.

·         The latest figures showed a slight improvement in the number of households in temporary accommodation compared with the end of first quarter position.

In discussion the following principal points were made (page references are to pages in the agenda):

·         It was suggested that the key to the appendices to the report should be moved from the back of the appendices to the front.

·         That the Cabinet report should make it clearer that the priorities, targets and commitments in the report in many cases depended on contributions from the Council’s partners.

·         There had been an increase in the number of people killed and injured in road accidents during the first quarter.  It was noted that the Environment Scrutiny Committee was due to receive a report on this matter at its next meeting.  The Committee expected this to include information about the age groups involved, the times at which accidents occurred and the role and working hours of the relevant preventative team.

·         Concern was expressed about the decline in performance against target NI 73 (achievement in English and Maths at Key Stage 2 level 4).  The CPRM commented that the service was exploring the reasons and developing an improvement plan.

·         Concern was expressed that Cabinet had not considered the performance report, which covered the period from 1 April to 30 June until its meeting on 24 September.  Following the decision that the Committee would not see the performance reports until they had been considered by Cabinet, this delay in considering the report impacted on the Committee’s ability to make a meaningful contribution to the discussion of performance.  The CPRM commented that the Joint Management Team would in future receive monthly reports and that the quarterly reports for Cabinet would continue to be prepared so they were normally ready for Cabinet’s consideration within six weeks of the quarter’s end. The timing of their actual consideration was dependent on the schedule of Cabinet meetings.

·         It was questioned why there was not a more detailed presentation of all (rather than just a selection of) individual   Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets, over and above the summary in the covering report. It was suggested that those in respect of targets for mortality rates, smoking and childhood obesity were of particular importance.  The CPRM said that a dedicated report on performance against targets in the LAA was produced but that there would be no difficulty in including level 3 information in the ICPR, if it were agreed that this was desirable.  The Joint Management Team had sought to reduce the number of indicators reported on in the ICPR to about 60, the intention being to concentrate on those indicators that best described the Council’s performance and were considered key to its performance improvement.  It was noted that reports on performance on the three areas highlighted were being made to the Primary Care Trust Board.  Members proposed that performance against LAA targets should be provided to the Committee.

·         In relation to the LAA targets, the report stated that seven were behind target or had no action plan.  The Associate Director of Integrated Commissioning reported that an overall action plan for the personalisation of social care was in place.

·         The Associate Director of Integrated Commissioning and the CPRM commented on performance against targets NI 136 (people supported to live independently through social services) and NI 138 (satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and neighbourhood), both of which were marked as ‘red’ for the first quarter.  In relation to target NI136 information from different providers was only combined towards the end of the year, so that the earlier figures understated actual performance.  Performance against target NI 138 was based on an annual survey.

·         (p.55) The merit of having a local target for staff turnover was discussed. The CPRM commented that the rationale lay in the need in any organisation to strike an appropriate balance between the benefits of continuity in the workforce and the detrimental effects of stagnation.

·         (p49 - NI 182- business satisfaction with regulatory services)  The CPRM confirmed that a target had now been set and an action plan was in place.

·         (p51 – commitment to combat the effects of the economic downturn and prepare for recovery.)  The CPRM outlined a number of measures that had been taken.

·         (p54 –  local indicator on customer satisfaction).  Members questioned how this indicator could show a satisfaction level to May 2009 of 82%, when the satisfaction rating for the Council overall recorded in the national Place Survey was 33%.  The CPRM commented that the covering report did explain that performance against this local indicator was based on contacts made through Info in Herefordshire.  It currently related to satisfaction with planning, transportation, highways, culture leisure, environmental health and trading standards.  It was to be extended during the year to other areas of the Council.  The Place Survey and other rigorous surveys had consistently shown a big difference between the public’s satisfaction with the Council overall and their satisfaction with individual services.  He added that all surveys under the authority of the Council’s research team were carried out to the most rigorous standards.  He agreed to provide clarification on the surveys used to inform this indicator.

RESOLVED:

That    (a)     the note of the points raised by the Committee on the Integrated Corporate Performance Report should be forwarded to the Executive;

            (b)    it be requested that the format of the Integrated Corporate Performance Report should be amended as follows:

(i)  the key to the appendices to the report should be moved from the back of the report to the front.

(ii)  a full report on performance against targets in the LAA should be appended to the report.

      (c)     Cabinet be urged to give the earliest possible consideration to the Integrated Corporate Performance Reports.