Agenda item

(a)       That having considered that Council Plan 2017/18 mid-year monitoring report, the Committee would like to impress upon the Cabinet the need for a higher percentage of employees receiving appraisals (notwithstanding the Appraisals update report which the Committee is to receive in due course);

(b)       That recognising the wide terms of reference of the Committee, it should receive the full Council Plan performance monitoring reports at the six and twelve month intervals; and

(c)       That the Procurement team be asked to look at the work done on local spending in Preston by the Centre for Local Economic Strategy.

The Chief Executive presented the mid-year progress report on the Council Plan for 2017-23 which had been reviewed and refreshed to reflect the Council’s key priorities for the five year term of the new administration.

The Corporate Business & Communications Executive Officer gave an overview of the three performance indicators with a red risk status.

The Chief Executive advised that the figure for the completion of appraisals was provisional and was expected to improve once manual adjustments had been made to the iTrent system.  A full update would be provided in the annual report scheduled for December or January.

Councillor Woolley said that the completion of appraisals was a long-standing area of concern and that managers/supervisors should be held accountable for any failure to give their employees an opportunity for a meaningful two-way dialogue.  The Chief Executive gave assurance of the commitment to work towards the 100% target noting there were some exceptions such as individuals at risk of redundancy or on maternity leave.  He said that appraisals were based on a good model and that managers were encouraged to coach employees throughout the year, thereby reducing the significance of an annual appraisal.

Following comments from the Chairman, the Chief Executive advised that exceptions for appraisals would be shown in the annual report as both percentages and figures.

On the percentage of goods procured through the National Procurement Service, the Chief Officer (Governance) explained that a range of frameworks were assessed to establish value for money and that this was only achieved through the NPS in a low number of contracts.

The percentage of employees completing stress-related programmes was lower than anticipated but was expected to improve during the year.  The programme had only recently been introduced and whilst sickness absence rates were improving, stress related absences remained an area of focus.

Councillor Jones said that as part of the Committee’s role in overseeing the Council Plan in its entirety, it should receive exceptions reported to all Overview & Scrutiny committees at the mid-year and end of year stages.  He also commented on missing wording in the report and reference to the former Improvement Plan.

Councillor Johnson proposed that officers look at the approach taken by the Centre for Local Economic Strategy in Preston which had been successful in supporting small businesses to help improve the local economy.

The Chief Officer (Governance) said that identifying local provision was a key part of contract arrangements and that a range of support was available to help local businesses maximise tendering opportunities.

Councillor Jones said that attempts to boost local businesses were hampered by the introduction of car parking charges, the registration charge for the Council’s supplier network and high costs for business waste collection by private companies.

With regard to the supplier network system, the Chief Officer pointed out the advantages in streamlining processes and the range of exceptions available to ensure small businesses were not affected.

The points raised by Members were summarised by the Democratic Services Manager and agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That having considered that Council Plan 2017/18 mid-year monitoring report, the Committee would like to impress upon the Cabinet the need for a higher percentage of employees receiving appraisals (notwithstanding the Appraisals update report which the Committee is to receive in due course);

(b)       That recognising the wide terms of reference of the Committee, it should receive the full Council Plan performance monitoring reports at the six and twelve month intervals; and

(c)       That the Procurement team be asked to look at the work done on local spending in Preston by the Centre for Local Economic Strategy.