Issue - meetings

As detailed in the recommendations and that a Seminar be held to explain the new arrangements to all Councillors.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management introduced the Improvement Plan Monitoring mid year progress report and the performance assessment within the monitoring report.  The following improved ways of reporting were highlighted:

·        Levels of progress and confidence in meeting the Council’s Improvement Priorities and their impacts

·        Intended achievement milestones for strategies and action plans for this year and the longer term

·        Measures which evidenced achievement detailing baseline data for 2012/13, in-year targets, longer term aspirational targets (mostly for 2016/17) and current progress

·        Baseline risk assessments for the strategic risks identified in the Improvement Plan and the arrangements to control them

The introduction of the new style Improvement Plan had presented the opportunity to review and streamline current reporting arrangements.  Reporting arrangements included:

1    Monitoring of the Improvement Plan, starting with this report which would be followed by quarterly updates

2    Twice annually (mid and end of year) performance highlight reports would be presented from the Head of Service.  These would be similar to those previously produced for quarterly reporting with a focus on priorities which were not already covered in the Improvement Plan and would be based on performance exceptions, both good and poor.  This was to ensure that the ‘business as usual’ was still being monitored and reported against.

The Chief Executive added that the report provided the status of current progress being made towards delivery of the impacts for each of the in-year sub priorities set out in the Improvement Plan.  Many of these were previously available in various business planning and strategy documents across the Council but were now integrated fully within the Improvement Plan Summary Monitoring report as an associated document.  An addendum to the report was provided.

He emphasised the significance of the use of the RAG progress status and said the Council was very challenging when each of the priorities were considered.  He gave examples of how the current financial situation would affect the status of some priorities and how a number of projects were moving forward, such as Single Status, which resulted in a number of green statuses emerging.

The Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Waste and Recycling suggested that a Seminar be provided for Members to explain the Improvement Plan and the reporting process which was agreed.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the 2013/14 Improvement Plan mid year progress report be endorsed;

(b)       That the performance assessment within the monitoring report be endorsed;

(c)        That the following be endorsed:

·        Levels of progress and confidence in meeting the Council’s Improvement Priorities and their impacts

·        Intended achievement milestones for strategies and action plans for this year and the longer term

·        Measures which evidence achievement detailing baseline data for 2012/13, in-year targets, longer term aspirational targets (mostly for 2016/17) and current progress

·        Baseline risk assessments for the strategic risks identified in the Improvement Plan and the arrangements to control them; and

(d)       That a Member Seminar be arranged to explain the Improvement Plan and the reporting process.