To review performance for quarter 3 2019/20 and the budget outturn.

To provide assurance that progress is being made towards achievement of the agreed revenue budget and service delivery targets, and that the reasons for major variances or potential under-performance are understood and are being addressed to the cabinet’s satisfaction. 

The cabinet member finance and corporate services introduced the report and summarised key areas of performance. The report reflected performance to the end of December 2019. The highlights included:

·         A small projected overspend of £51k which it was hoped could be addressed by the end of the financial year;

·         70% of measures showing equivalent or improved performance from the same point in the previous year;

·         A review of the capital programme would be undertaken including adjusting timelines as necessary to make them more realistic;

·         An increase in the number of council staff taking up the flu vaccination through the Council’s workplace programme;

·         Key Stage 2 results from primary schools put Herefordshire in the top 20 of education authorities nationally, there had been some backsliding on performance at secondary schools but Looked After Children were now showing better improvement on performance;

·         Further support to the NMiTe university project and the Hereford Enterprise Zone;

·         Continued work on measures to address the Lugg catchment phosphate moratorium;

·         Continued progress on delivery of superfast broadband and improved fibre connections in rural areas.

The head of corporate performance explained that the council was now in the final year of the current corporate plan and that two thirds of the current delivery plan actions were on track as complete or due to be completed by the end of the year. He highlighted changes to the corporate risk register where three risks had been removed, the risk around information governance had been increased and five new risks had been escalated and added to the corporate risk register as explained in the report.  

In discussion of the report it was noted that:

·         The council would be moving to new indicators for 2020/21 with the approval of the new county plan;

·         Sickness absence figures related to average days absence in a 12 month rolling period and showed an upward trajectory compared with the same point in the previous year, the chief executive agreed to provide further information on the actions being taken to manage this;

·         The proportion of 16 and 17 year olds participating in training had reduced slightly but the council was highly engaged with apprenticeships and was actively looking to do more to promote these options;

·         Commissioning of major council contracts included requirements for the provision of apprenticeships and the council also promoted these through its relationship with Hoople, the chief executive agreed to provide further information on this area of work;

·         As corporate parents all councillors and officers had a responsibility to support and encourage children in care and care leavers to participate in education and training, the cabinet member for children and families highlighted that the council would shortly be appointing a champion for young people;

·         The legal services team were in the process of reorganisation and it was hoped that recruitment to vacant posts would commence this year however experience had shown that Herefordshire struggled to recruit in this field;

·         The number of people killed or seriously injured was monitored very carefully as the county’s roads needed to be safer for everyone to use, each accident was studied to understand the causes and what could be done to prevent further incidents;

·         Drivers were encouraged to take particular care as there were still road closures and diversions resulting from the flooding, road closure signs should be respected and drivers should not attempt to drive through flood water;

·         It was queried whether the number of people killed or seriously injured was better or worse than the same point in the previous year and the head of corporate performance agreed to review this and confirm following the meeting;

·         Recruitment of social workers and other staff to children’s social care was proving a stubborn challenge and the risks highlighted in the register were not moving in the right direction;

·         The council needed to recognise that extreme weather events were more likely in the future and it was suggested that the need for increased resilience should be reflected in the risk register.

Group leaders were invited to comment and ask questions, the following points were noted:

·         The projected underspend in the adults and communities directorate was an excellent achievement and officers were praise for achieving this;

·         There were no current plans to introduce fluoride into the water supply as this was not straightforward and could be controversial, the council was focussed on encouraging parents to ensure children had regular dental check-ups and consider having a fluoride varnish treatment which was seen to be effective;

·         Cabinet members noted that many properties across the county would have private water supplies and would not benefit from fluoride in the mains water system, it was suggested that the lack of fluoride in the water system should be advertised so that families were aware and to help them make choices about products and treatments;

·         The number of looked after children continued to be a concern and it was hoped that the extra resources provided for the legal team would help;

·         The chief executive stated that recent Ofsted reviews had not identified any child in care who should not have been there and that work was ongoing to manage these numbers, which included children settled in long term foster care and those subject to special guardianship orders;

·         It was suggested that the withdrawal of the LEP grant funding for the South Wye Transport Package, risk of clawback and need to write back costs already incurred should be reflected in the risk register, in response it was noted that the current report covered the period to the end of December 2019 and that the register would be reviewed for the next quarter to ensure it was up-to-date with the latest developments.

It was agreed that:

(a)  Cabinet reviewed performance and financial outturn for quarter 3 2019/20, as set out in appendices A - G, and did not identify any additional actions to be considered to achieve future improvement.