Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Committee supports the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of priorities as detailed within the Council Plan 2023-28 for delivery within 2023/24;

(b)       That the Committee supports overall performance against Council Plan 2023/24 performance indicators/measures; and

(c)       That the Committee is assured by explanations given for those areas of underperformance.

The Chief Executive presented the monitoring report to review mid-year progress against Council Plan priorities identified for 2023/24.  This was an exception-based report focussing on areas of performance not currently achieving their target.

Under the remit of this Committee, there was one activity showing limited progress relating to the review of industrial estate strategy.  Analysis of progress against performance indicators showed four areas of under-performance against target under the Poverty and Well Managed Council priorities.

On the percentage of answered telephone calls in the Contact Centre, the Chief Officer (Governance) provided background to the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges within that service, as previously reported.  As one of the workstreams under transformational change, additional temporary support would be put in place to improve resilience and stability within the service by exploring options for artificial intelligence (AI).

The Chair said that a reduction in the number of measures and increase in ‘red’ measures since 2022/23 indicated a decrease in performance at this stage.

Whilst acknowledging the steps being taken to address the pressures within the Contact Centre, Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson suggested that more significant actions involving further cost pressures would be needed to improve performance.

In response, the Chief Officer explained that the findings of data analysis to understand the impact of AI on performance would be shared with Members when available.

The explanation was welcomed by Councillor Bernie Attridge who asked about the benefits of outsourcing calls.  The Chief Officer agreed to liaise with the service manager to request costings of this compared with the enhanced Contact Centre service with AI technology.

During discussion on outsourcing calls, comments were made on call handlers being equipped with the necessary training and local knowledge as well as meeting Welsh language requirements.

The recommendations were moved and seconded by Councillors Bernie Attridge and Jason Shallcross.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee supports the levels of progress and confidence in the achievement of priorities as detailed within the Council Plan 2023-28 for delivery within 2023/24;

(b)       That the Committee supports overall performance against Council Plan 2023/24 performance indicators/measures; and

(c)       That the Committee is assured by explanations given for those areas of underperformance.