The Commission noted the latest
trends, priorities and pressures in terms of departmental
performance as reported in the QSRs for the third quarter of
2017/18 (October to December 2017) relating to the Resources
Directorate.
As
a result of Members’ comments and questions, the following
points were made:
- Councillor Finnie had
requested information regarding the Volunteer Handbook which had
been developed.
- It was clarified that
the work supporting L064 ‘Debt outstanding as percentage of
gross debt’ was an ongoing process to recover monies and
could be recovered in large amounts such as CIL invoices from
developers. It was noted that the team was working hard to recover
outstanding funds.
- It was explained that
the complaints figures in L257 related to the whole Council and
therefore were not directly related to the figures in L261 and L262
which related to staff sickness absence and voluntary staff
turnover.
- In relation L261,
Level of sickness, although the Quarter 3 figure (1.71) was above
the target of 1.62 days this was a low target. It was acknowledged
that staff in Resources had been supporting the delivery of other
transformation projects during the proceeding six months and
working to tight timescales. It was reported that this figure was
good compared to other local authorities. Work was ongoing to
support Resources staff and improve morale.
- Due to the
contractual nature of the issue raised in relation to 7.2.30
‘Providing project management which supports the delivery and
development of Coral Reef’ about additional fees it was not
possible to provide a full answer in the public meeting. It was
acknowledged that the RAG rating should be Red rather than Amber
status and that an update would be circulated outside of the
meeting when it was available.
- Concerns were raised
about the absence of detailed sickness and vacancy reporting in
Quarterly Service Reports. It was noted that these were due to be
reported as part of the Corporate Performance Overview Report but
that this had a later publication date so was not available for
consideration at this meeting. This was considered by members of
the Commission to be an important measure of staff wellbeing and
data would therefore always be out of date as the publication
sequencing did not work with the meetings schedule. It was agreed
that this needed to be discussed outside of the
meeting.
- Regarding 7.2.37,
Agree a clear way forward for the Cooper’s Hill site, it was
clarified that this was a complex site and officers were working
through tricky covenant issues but the Green status reflected that
discussions were underway with projections for future use looking
more positive.
- It was explained that
changing financial rules did not affect income in the Property
Investment Strategy (1.3.07) in the next financial year as it
impacted on accounting processes but not yield. The Borough
Treasurer would provide a more detailed response to the
query.
- There had been a
challenging situation with the delivery of the Crematorium New
Chapel due to issues with contractor workmanship and performance
but they had not been significant enough to trigger compensation
discussions but initial issues had now been resolved.
- The information
provided in the Quarterly Service Report about 5.2 ‘The right
levels and types of housing are both approved and delivered’
related only to Council purchases for homelessness.
- It was noted that the
Downshire Homes Board were intending to
provide an annual report and mid year update to
Council.