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Issue - meetings
Performance Monitoring Quarter 4 (2020/21) Update
Meeting: 24/06/2021 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 77)
77 Performance Monitoring Quarter 4 (2020/21) Update PDF 168 KB
Minutes:
The Managing Director thanked officers who developed the new performance monitoring system. Since publication on the Hastings Borough Council website, positive public feedback had been received in praise of detailed and systematic reporting.
The Continuous Improvement and Democratic Services Manager gave a brief overview of the functionality of the performance management report, which is available online at: www.hastings.gov.uk/my-council/performance/
Councillors thanked the council officers for their hard work. They shared their appreciation for meeting most of the targets despite difficult circumstances caused by the pandemic.
Councillors wanted to know the reasons behind the staffing problems in the planning department and why there was significant spending on external consultancy. The Managing Director explained that the problem is not unique for HBC. Other councils in the area and nationwide are struggling to fill up planning posts in recent years. A significant number of jobs is available in the private sector that HBC cannot compete with financially. Moreover, the work in the council can be more challenging than in the private sector. The jobs have been advertised but has proved difficult to find qualified and experienced specialists to fill those positions. In the meantime, HBC must use additional external resources to manage the workload and meet the targets.
Meeting agreed that there is enormous pressure on the planning department that may lead to further loss of officers. They discussed the shortage of planning enforcement officers and possible solutions to keep the officers in post. The Managing Director confirmed that some members of staff recently left the council for various, not only financial reasons and solutions like apprenticeships and staff training are considered to support the department. Unfortunately, there is also an urgent need for specialists to deal with ongoing big projects and developers and external consultants are needed on occasions to meet demand. The council uses all tools to understand and mitigate further staff losses, including exit interviews, salary matching and performance monitoring.
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