-
Agenda and minutes
Venue: Birch Suite, 5th Floor, Aquila House, Breeds Place, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Michael Courts on 01424 451764 email: mcourts@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Declarations of Interest
Minutes:
The following Councillors declared an interest in the minutes:
Councillor
Minute No.
Interest
Rankin
4 – Performance and Financial Monitoring Quarter 1 2016/17
Personal – he owns and manages property in the town
Forward
4 – Performance and Financial Monitoring Quarter 1 2016/17
Prejudicial – she has leased a property to the social lettings agency
Davies
4 – Performance and Financial Monitoring Quarter 1 2016/17
Personal – he is member of the National Union of Teachers
Additional documents:
Minutes:
RESOLVED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 14 June 2016 and the Annual Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 26 July 2016 be approved as a correct
Performance and Financial Monitoring Quarter 1 2016/17 PDF 161 KB
Additional documents:
- Appendix C - Quarter 1 Exceptions Report , item 3. PDF 75 KB
- For Information - Full Background Information on Quarter 1 Performance , item 3. PDF 278 KB
Minutes:
The Director of Corporate Services and Governance presented a report which advised members of performance against the 2016/17 targets and performance indicators in the corporate plan for quarter 1. She noted that the format of the performance monitoring item had been reviewed over recent months, the feedback of the committee on potential areas to improve reporting.
It was noted that the quarter 1 target to increase the percentage of council tax collected in year had not been met, however, it was anticipated that performance could be recovered later and the year-end target of a 96.3% collection rate remained achievable. The Director of Corporate Services and Governance added that the committee would need to consider the impact of the introduction of Universal Credit to Hastings, scheduled to take place in December 2016, later in the year.
The Director of Corporate Services and Governance advised that staff in the People, Customer and Business Support team continued to work closely with service managers within the council to reduce the proportion of working days / shifts lost due to sickness absence. Members were mindful that, as the size of the council’s workforce had reduce over time, any period of long-term sickness absence had a more significant effect on capacity within the organisation.
The committee acknowledged additional tasks undertaken by the Electoral Services team during quarter 1, successfully co-ordinating the Local Government Elections, Police and Crime Commissioner Elections and a Referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. It was noted that facilitating the elections involved staff from across the organisation.
The Director of Operational Services gave an update on performance in quarter 1. He advised the committee that the quarter 1 target to reduce the rate of missed waste and recycling collections had not been met. Particular emphasis would be given to reducing the number of repeatedly missed collections. However, the quarter 1 target for recycling and street cleansing had been achieved. The committee expressed some concern at the growth of weeds around the town, and requested that the contractor consider re-treating certain areas. It was suggested that the committee receive a separate briefing on waste and street cleansing.
The newly appointed Planning Services Manager had undertaken a review of the council’s Planning Service. The review had recommended the recruitment of additional Planning Officers to join the team, and this was now being progressed. The new officers would create additional capacity within the team and support further improvements in performance.
The committee was advised that the selective licensing scheme had exceeded its quarter 1 target, receiving 3,000 new applications against a target of 2,000. The fees for the scheme had been charged at a reduced rate for landlords who signed up in the first six months of the scheme. The fee structure for the scheme would now be reviewed and enforcement action taken against landlords who had failed to sign up to the scheme. It was anticipated that the additional income generated from the scheme would offset the cost of administering enforcement action. ... view the full minutes text for item 3.
Update on the Council's Organisational Transformation Programme
(Spoken Report)
Minutes:
The Transformation Manager presented an update on the council’s organisational transformation programme. He set out a number of key achievements over the past year, including the refurbishment of Aquila House, the beta launch of My Hastings and a new look and feel for the council’s website and the adoption of the Customer First Strategy. He noted that through these activities a number of staff had gained additional skills, which may provide income generation opportunities in the future. Indeed, a key aspect of the transformation programme had been to support improvements to working practices across the organisation, and this would continue over the months to come.
The Transformation Manager noted that an ambitious programme of activities remained over the months to come, including a programme of service reviews, the implementation of the Customer First Strategy and a move towards the continuous improvement phase of the programme. The recommendations of the overview and scrutiny review of digital inclusion, which had been undertaken as part of the 2015/16 work programme, would also be implemented as part of the refinement of the website and the promotion of online services.
Overview and Scrutiny members would continue to play a key role in encouraging the take up of My Hastings and providing constructive feedback on transformation activities through their performance monitoring role.
The committee welcomed the updated and thanked the Transformation Manager and his team for their efforts.
Update on the 2016/17 Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme PDF 206 KB
Minutes:
The Continuous Improvement and Democratic Services Manager presented an update on the key activities members had identified for quarter 1 as part of the Overview and Scrutiny work programme.
-
My council
Contact
Got a question about democratic services?
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.