Agenda and minutes

None.

Agreed as an accurate record.

To confirm the items of business marked Part I will be considered in public and that the items marked Part II will be considered in private.  

It was agreed that all items of business were considered in public.

TO FOLLOW

Members were informed that the Committee’s next review would be looking at the preparation for the Census in 2011. The population data obtained from the Census determined how much funding a local authority received from central government.

The Head of Policy attended the meeting and informed Members that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had appointed a Census Liaison Officer for the Borough. The last Census in 2001 saw significant numbers of people fail to complete the Census questionnaires and the review could look at making a contribution to improving the number of completed forms for the Borough.

A review could look at publicising at a local level the importance of residents completing Census questionnaires and the benefits this would bring to residents of the Borough. In addition accurate Census data was vital for the Council’s partners such as the Primary Care Trust.

Members asked that consideration be given to publicising the review to enable residents of the Borough to be aware of the importance of the Census and the impact on the Council in terms of resources and the provision of services.   

Resolved –

1.      That a draft scoping report be prepared on the preparations for the Census and how the Council can encourage residents of the Borough to respond to the Census to enable more accurate population data and greater funding from central government.  

2.      That the draft scoping report be agreed by the Chairman of the Committee in consultation with Democratic Services before it is circulated to Members of the Committee.    

Members were informed the quarterly performance information reports provided a review of the actions taken to meet the Council Plan targets, the Local Area Agreement targets and National and Key performance indicators that each group used to manage and monitor performance.

Reference was made to the changes central Government had made in relation to the abolition of the Comprehensive Area Assessment and the Local Area Agreements which would impact on the performance information reporting for the Council. Officers had been asked to look at the performance framework for the Council to take on board these changes.

Deputy Chief Executive’s Office (DCEO)

The Head of Policy attended the meeting and provided Members with an overview of the performance within the Deputy Chief Executive’s Office. The main issues reported were:

• The DCEO was responsible for the monitoring of 12 National Performance Indicators, with 6 of these being part of the biennial Place Survey which had been placed on hold by the new government due to the comprehensive spending review
• Of the 12 local indicators which were linked to the Council’s objective of ‘serving our community and customers’ the target for involving people/residents/organisation in Overview & Scrutiny Committee reviews during 2009/10 was showing slippage. The target of 500 had been overambitious as the nature of the reviews which had been carried out by the Council’s Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committees had not generated wide public interest
• Of the 9 local indicators which were linked to the Council’s objective of ‘achieving value for money’, 1 of these was showing slippage. This related to the Council-wide number of working days lost to sickness absence which was 8.45, with the target being 7.5 days. Members were informed that for DCEO this figure was lower
• In relation to local Performance Indicators, 1 of these had shown slippage. This related to the Council objective of ‘strengthening planning and performance’ and the preparation of draft council and committee meeting minutes within 4 working days of a meeting. New working arrangements within Democratic Services had contributed to this but the service had taken steps to ensure this target was achieved

Finance & Resources (F & R)

The Support Services Manager for Finance & Resources attended the meeting and provided Members with an overview of the performance within the Finance & Resources Office. The main issues reported were:

• National Indicator 14 – Avoidable Contact – this indicator was aimed at reducing avoidable contact between customers and the Council. Despite this being removed from the national indicator set, for 2009/10, the Council had an overall result of 22%, which was an improvement of 8% on the previous year
• Council Tax collection was slightly above its target with National Non Domestic Rates collected slightly below the target. Members would be provided with an explanation of the impact of the slight slippage on National Non Domestic Rate
• Member Enquiries and Customer Complaints – This had shown good progress, however customer complaints in Q4 had dipped and the target of 95% had not been achieved. Action had been taken to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The report was noted.

The report was noted.