Agenda item

A report incorporating a summary (Appendix 1), together with a full list (Appendix 2) of the Council’s Performance Indicators as at November 2006, was submitted, and the following issues were highlighted and AGREED

Indicator BV78a (Average no. of days taken for processing new Benefit Claims)

Head of Financial Services to attend the March meeting of the Board to explain the reasons for the variance in the monthly figures

Indicator BV127a (Number of violent crimes per 1,000 population)

Members requested that an update be included in next months report from the Community Safety Officer on recent criminal activities referred to at the last PACT meeting  within the Beoley area of the District

Indicator BV170c (Number of pupils visiting Museums & Galleries in organised School Groups

That the Executive Cabinet be informed that it is the opinion of this Board that, if the Museum were to remain open, in an endeavour to increase its usage, efforts be made to encourage more schools to visit

Indicator BV199b (Proportion of land and highways assessed as having unacceptable levels of visible graffiti)

Having identified a Health and Safety issue delaying the use of the graffiti-removing machine, Members asked for an update on this matter to be included in next months PI report

Indicator BV219a,b,c (Conservation Area details)

Head of Planning Services to be advised that figures for these indicators were requested (are currently blank), as were details of the Conservation Officer currently employed by the Council

Local Indicators -  Top 45 (Number of Small Business Start-ups)

A number of questions/queries were raised regarding the information set out in the report in this regard    and the Assistant Chief Executive confirmed that he would ask the appropriate officers to re-evaluate this item

Local Indicators – Top 45 (Dolphin Centre Usage)

Following a query on the apparent high usage of this facility, Members were assured that an explanation as to how this figure was arrived at would be included in next month’s report

Local Indicators – Top 45 (Number of missed household waste collections)

It was noted by the Board that an update on this matter would be reported to the next meeting, including details of any corrective action taken

Notwithstanding the above issues, it was

RECOMMENDED

(1)       that the Board notes the corrective action being taken;

(2)       that the Board notes that 49% of indicators were improving or stable as at 30 November 2006 (72% if those indicators which cannot be reported on were omitted), which was a small decrease on last month’s figures;

(3)       that the Board notes that 45% of indicators were achieving their targets at October 2006 (66% if those indicators which cannot be reported on were omitted), which was the same as last month;

(4)       that the Board note that the projected outturn position in relation to other authorities (by comparing projected outturn to the quartile positions) is an improvement over last year;

(5)       the Board notes and celebrates the successes as outlined in Sections 4.4 to 4.6 of the Report, sharing examples of good practice between Portfolio Holders and Heads of Service as appropriate; and

(6)       the Board notes the potential areas of concern as set out in Section 4.7 of the Report, and that Portfolio Holders work with Heads of Service to identify any significant issues and develop corrective action plans as necessary, insofar as is practical.