Issue - meetings

(a)       That the comments/observations of the Committee are fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets; and

(b)       That the Chairman liaise with the Facilitator to send a personal letter to the Housing workforce to express the Committee’s appreciation for their hard work over the years.

The Director of Community Services introduced a report for the Committee to note and consider the 2012/13 Quarter 3 (October to December 2012) service performance reports, note the position of the Strategic Assessment of Risks and Challenges (SARC) and progress made against the Improvement Targets contained within the performance reports.  He reported on the improvement of many key performance indicators including some which had exceeded their targets but recognised that some major challenges remained.  He thanked the Committee, senior Members, Head of Housing and teams for their positive contributions which had led to the improvements.

The Director gave a short presentation on performance, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report.

The Cabinet Member referred to a report from some years ago which had been highly critical of the Housing service, including spend on bed and breakfast accommodation.  She said that the comments made by Councillor Attridge, the Executive Member at that time, had led to a commitment given to improve the situation.  She said that this had been a challenging journey and that the appointment of the Head of Housing had resulted in significant improvements to the service.  In thanking the Head of Housing, management team and workforce for their achievements in performance, she said that this backed up the commitment given to housing tenants who had voted in the ballot.

The Director commended Simon Abbot for his work on the report and gave assurance that the increase in sickness absence figures was being addressed and progressed through the Council’s procedures.

Councillor G. Hardcastle asked if the Chairman would send a personal letter to the Housing workforce to express the Committee’s appreciation for their hard work over the years.  The Chairman agreed to liaise with the Facilitator on this.

Councillor A.M. Halford asked what steps had been taken to reduce sickness absence levels and whether there was any link between this and the inconsistency in carrying out appraisals.  The Director assured Members that sickness absence had been identified as a key area for improvement within Housing services with declining figures on four out of the five service areas.  The differing issues behind short and long-term absences had been recognised and addressed by separating these types of absences.  When intervention was required on absence levels, this was recognised and taken forward and a more flexible approach taken to help employees return to work from long-term absences by offering them more appropriate duties.

The Head of Housing said that the report highlighted an increase in sickness absence levels in the Asset Management Team but that accidents at work were more likely to occur in this area.  Appraisals included discussion with the employee on their performance, which was impacted by attendance.  She agreed that regular appraisals would help to manage attendance and also spoke of the importance of one-to-one meetings with the workforce.  Issues in fully complying with the new Sickness Absence Policy had been addressed and appraisal timeframes were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61