Agenda item

That the 2014/15 Annual Performance Report as recommended by Cabinet be approved for publication.

The Chief Executive introduced the Annual Performance Report for 2014/15.  He provided background information and advised that the purpose of the report was to account for the organisation’s previous year’s performance against its Improvement Priorities. He explained that the Report provided a balanced view which reinforced success and highlighted areas for improvement. He invited the Policy and Performance Manager to give a presentation on the Annual Performance Report.  The main points of the presentation were:

·         Improvement Plan 2014/15

·         format and content

·         performance overview 2014/15

·         highlights

·         areas for improvement

·         performance overview

·         overview

·         next steps

The Chairman invited Members to raise questions.

Councillor Mike Peers referred to the Improvement Plan Measures data which was appended to the report and the performance against target for employees receiving an annual appraisal.  He referred to the outcome as ‘very poor’ and said if more appraisals had been undertaken than indicated in the statistics then they should be recorded on the system and the data amended before publication of the Annual Report.  He emphasised the importance of employee annual appraisals in relation to the Council’s performance.  Councillor Peers also suggested that an explanatory note be included on the increase use of contractual workers and raised concerns on the downturn in performance against sickness absence.

Councillor Peers made further suggestions for improvement concerning formatting of the report and commented on the lack of cross-referencing to further detail within it.  He also suggested that a simplified summary be used in Section 2 which provided a list of what was to be done, what had been done, and an explanation of the achievements. 

Councillor Matt Wright referred to page 40 of the draft Report and the information provided on the Northern Gateway site.  He commented on reference to delays concerning work to strengthen the River Dee flood embankment and ongoing discussions with the WG to agree the spine road and infrastructure phases. The Chief Executive suggested that this paragraph could be better worded to reflect the progress made.  Councillor Wright raised further concern regarding monitoring of performance and referred to investment enquiries.  He said that the Report did not address the types of investment enquiries made.  The Chief Executive responded that the data was held by the Welsh Government but he would see what further breakdown could be provided to Councillor Wright.  Councillor Wright welcomed the investment and progress made in Town Centres and cited the regeneration of Mold and Flint as examples. 

The Chief Executive and Policy and Performance Manager responded to the concerns raised by Councillor Peers and Councillor Wright and provided further clarification around development of the Northern Gateway site and Enterprise zones.

Councillor Richard Jones expressed thanks to thePolicy and Performance Manager and the  Performance Team Leader  for a detailed and informative report.  Referring to page 67 of the Report, he commented that the reference to business sector growth in Deeside under the priority heading Economy and Enterprise, was not specific to Deeside.  The Chief Executive agreed that although two of the three activities were related to Deeside, the whole of Flintshire was considered under this heading.

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin referred to performance under the Living Well priority and expressed his appreciation for the support provided to vulnerable people during the unprecedented austere financial restraints placed on the Authority. 

Councillor Paul Shotton commented on the continued improvement in performance and cited progress and outcomes in Housing as an example.  He referred to the success of Flintshire Business Week and the substantial number of new investment enquiries received and new jobs created within the Deeside Enterprise Zone.

The Chief Executive andPolicy and Performance Manager responded to the further comments and concerns raised by Members.   The Policy and Performance Manager commented  that  improved accessibility could be undertaken on the final published report by increasing links within the Report and by providing more detailed information on comparative performance to detail the Council’s position.  The Chief Executive commented that the appraisal data captured on i-Trent was incomplete, but the important arrangements around daily supervision and mentoring etc. were.

Councillor Hilary Isherwood expressed concern around the increase in the number of days taken to deliver a Disabled Facilities Grant for children and young people.  The Chief Executive explained that the increase had been due to one of two highly complex cases and he could provide further information to Councillor Isherwood outside the meeting.  Councillor Carol Ellis advised that a full explanation of the reasons for the increase had been provided at meetings of scrutiny and Cabinet.  Officers advised that further explanation was provided on page 37 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management thanked the Policy and Performance Manager and her team for preparing the Report.  He said the Report had been endorsed by Cabinet at the meeting held on 13 October 2015 and moved approval of the Report which was duly seconded.

RESOLVED:

That the 2014/15 Annual Performance Report as recommended by Cabinet be approved for publication.