Agenda item

The Executive Director for Resources and Support Services stated the budget for the General Fund for 2012/13 had been originally set in February 2012 and amounted to a net total of £15,383,940.  The eventual outturn for the year was a positive variance against the figure of £3,024.  Whilst there had been some adverse variances against some budget heads, these had been offset by positive variances against others.  The revenue budget position at the end of the first quarter was at a break-even position for the general fund budget.  He was pleased to report that since the agenda had been despatched a 14^th dividend from the administrators of the bank that had collapsed had been received of just over £420,000 and the indications were that the Council would receive the full amount.  A Member stated that the Council was fortunate that the Bank was a British subsidiary of an Icelandic Bank.  They asked whether retrieving such a high percentage of the money was down to the efficiency of the administrators or the pressure from the Local Government Association.  In response the Executive Director for Resources and Support Services stated that there had been an equal contribution from both organisations.  The administrators had done an excellent job of selling off the Mortgage Group. 

The Chief Executive reported that the Performance Management Report was being presented in a new format.  Some of the changes in format were as a consequence of recommendations resulting from the Member Working Group.  He acknowledged the hard work of the working group.  The new version recognised that the Council worked with partners and was focused around the well-being of the community.  The intention was to further develop the format of performance reports ensuring suitability and clear communication of progress with outcomes for the Council and partner agencies.  One area that still needed to be completed was the identification of some Police targets.  He was hopeful that the Police Commissioner could attend a future Cabinet meeting and that a Police Plan could be developed for the Borough area.

A Member, in reference to outcome 1.2.3, “Reduction in incidents of violence with injury,” stated that the title was misleading as the number referred to the total incidents rather than the total reduction.  He was pleased that the Police had given some performance statistics for the report and was hopeful that this would continue in the long-term. 

In reference to outcome 1.3.5, “the level of air quality,” a Member stated that Kidsgrove was of a particular concern.  There was a discussion about the level of detail regarding air pollution contained within the report.  Consideration was given to having extra information within an accompanying guidance note.   

Members agreed that with some of the outcomes there would be a benefit in Members knowing which other organisations were responsible for achieving the outcome.  The Chief Executive agreed that a guidance note containing this information would be useful, but if this information was contained within the report it could become overly crowded. 

In reference to indicator 1.5.1, “Town Centre Vacancy Rate,” Members were in agreement that businesses needed to be encouraged into the Town.  It was important for Planning Officers to be aware of the difficulties facing business and the changing face of Town Centres across the country.  The Town Centre Vacancy Rate was recommended as an outcome for the Economic Development and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee to monitor and evaluate.     

A Member in reference to outcome 2.1.4, “The Level of NEETS,” asked if the data would be available in quarter 2.  The Chief Executive assured Members that this should be the case, subject to the data being provided by the relevant partner agency.  Members also requested that an alternative to the acronym NEETS be used in future reports. 

In reference to outcome 2.2.6, “Number of hours worked by volunteers in council co-ordinated activities (museum),” Members requested that voluntary activity contributing to operational services across the Borough be recorded. 

A Member referring to outcome 2.3.5 questioned the definition of a “minor adaptation” and in reference to outcome 2.4.6, the definition of a “Business Birth.”  The Chief Executive agreed that the language for business birth needed to be changed and the definition of a minor adaptation could be included in the proposed guidance note. 

In reference to outcome 3.1.1, a Member asked how many parks in the Borough did not have Green Flag Status.  The Chief Executive in response stated that this was information which could be contained for the proposed guidance note. 

With reference to outcome 3.2.2, “Number of people visiting museums” and outcome 3.2.3, “Number of people attending local theatres” a Member suggested that the plural,‘s’ should be removed.  There was a further discussion about who the museum and theatre were trying to attract.

Members were keen to ensure that the cardiac rehabilitation programme was working well at Jubilee 2.  In response the Scrutiny Officer stated that this was an area within the remit of the Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, which had been considered by them in the past and would be again addressed in the future. 

The Scrutiny Officer, in reference to outcome, 4.2.4, “Items raised by Members on the Scrutiny Work Programme,” reported that the new work programmes would mean that this data could now be recorded and would be available for the next report. 

On outcome, 4.3.3, ‘Average number of days per employee lost to sickness,’ the Chief Executive stated that long-term sickness numbers had caused the drop in performance.  He was however pleased to report that two Officers from Democratic Services had now returned from long-term sick leave. 

On outcome 4.4, ‘Percentage of requests resolved at first point of contact,’ it was pointed out that the target should read, “Good is High.”

RESOLVED:

A) That the Committee recommends that the Police Commissioner be informed of the use of Police data in the Council’s Performance Management Reports and request whether there has been any target setting for indicators by the Police Commissioner or an intention to do so in the future. 

B) That the Committee recommends that Economic Development and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee monitor and evaluate the Town Centre Vacancy Rate. 

C) That an alternative to the acronym ‘NEET’ and ‘Business Birth’ be used in future reports. 

D) That voluntary activity contributing to operational services across the Borough be recorded.

E) That a guidance note be proposed containing information such as the other partner organisations involved in achieving progress of outcomes, general background information and definitions of key phrases contained within the Performance Management Report.

F) That the minor corrections to the report as detailed in the minutes be implemented.