Issue - meetings

(i)                  That the contents of the attached report and appendices and continue to monitor and challenge the Council’s service and financial performance for this period, be noted.

(ii)                 That the movement in reserves under section 7 of the Finance Appendix A (£100k to the Planning Appeals Reserve, £150k to the Local Plan Support Fund and £150k to the Budget and Borrowing Support Fund, all of which to be transferred from the Business Rates Reserve), be approved.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Town Centres and Growth introduced the Quarter 1 Finance and Performance Report for 2025-26 on the performance of individual council services and progress with delivery against priorities and financial information.

Cabinet was advised that the revenue budget was £34,000 underspent at the end of Quarter One.

The Leader then went through the Performance Indicators, 78% of which had met their targets. Portfolio holders were invited to comment.

Priority 1: One Council delivering for Local People

Many of the indicators were on or above target.  Staff sickness was staying on the right side.

Website interactions had been seen as a positive as residents were dealing with their queries quickly without having to refer to various parts of the website.

Priority 2: A Successful and Sustainable Growing Borough

Indicators for the Planning service were on or above target  with some large planning applications now being received.

Priority 3: Healthy, Active and Safe Communities

The percentage of materials for recycling and composting was 0.01 below target.  This had been due to a wet Spring in 2024 which had made the garden waste heavy, whereas Spring 2025 had been very dry.

Targets for J2 and the Museum had been met.   There was a new monitoring system at the Museum for the number of people accessing it. 

The Community Safety indicators were all good showing that partnership working was going well

Priority 4: Town Centres for All

The number of parking tickets purchased was down and national comparison data was being sought to look at trends which were affecting car parking.  A lot of permits were being sold which were not taken into account in these performance indicators.

Town centre footfall figures were showing an increase reflecting increased visitor activity.

Resolved:    (i)       That the contents of the attached report and appendices          and continue to monitor and challenge the Council’s

service and financial performance for this period, be noted.

(ii)             That the movement in reserves under section 7 of the Finance Appendix A (£100k to the Planning Appeals Reserve, £150k to the Local Plan Support Fund and £150k to the Budget and Borrowing Support Fund, all of which to be transferred from the Business Rates Reserve), be approved.

Watch the debate here