Agenda item

That the reports be received. 

The Member Engagement Manager introduced a report to request that the Committee consider the 2011/12 Quarter 4/Year End service performance reports, note the draft year end position of the Strategic Assessment of Risks and Challenges (SARC) contained within the performance reports and note progress made against the Improvement Targets contained within the performance reports. 

            Finance

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

            The Chairman referred to page 113 and said that the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2011-2015 had been adopted by the Council in June 2011 and not in June 2012 as indicated.  He also queried why indicator CFH/006 on the percentage of undisputed invoices paid on time (30 days) was reported as ‘red’.  The Corporate Finance Manager said that the downturn in performance was disappointing and had been due to a number of issues which he detailed and these were currently being dealt with. 

            Human Resources and Organisational Development

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

            The Chairman asked whether appraisals were linked to Single Status and in response, the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development said that on performance and competency there may be a link with Single Status in the way increments were awarded.  Councillor H. Isherwood said that it was important that appraisals were undertaken and the Chairman felt that a way to ensure this was to include the requirement to carry them out in the manager’s appraisal. 

            ICT and Customer Services

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

            Councillor M. Bateman queried why Members were no longer able to have mail sent to their Flintshire email address forwarded onto their private email addresses.  The Head of ICT and Customer Services said that auto-forwarding of mail was not permitted under the IT security policy.  This was because officers were confident that the Flintshire addresses were secure but could not guarantee security for private email boxes.  He reminded Members that their own email address could be published alongside their Flintshire email address on the website and in the A-Z booklet. 

            Following a query from Councillor Bateman on procurement auctions, the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that significant savings had been achieved to date and that the extended use of e-auctions was being considered.  He also spoke of work which was being undertaken on a Local Economic Impact Study. 

            Councillor H. Isherwood commented on difficulties she was having with navigating through the Flintshire website and the Head of ICT and Customer Services said that he would take the comments on board.  He also provided details of the new Streetscene contact centre and the new arrangements which were in place. 

            Legal and Democratic Services

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

            Following a question from Councillor M. Bateman, the Member Engagement Manager explained that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) covered any form of covert surveillance by public bodies and was not just, as the media sometimes suggested, solely anti-terrorism legislation.

            The Member Engagement Manager indicated that quarterly performance reports had been submitted to a meeting of Social and Health Care Overview & Scrutiny earlier in the week.  They had commented that they felt that the format was repetitive particularly on Disabled Facilities Grants which appeared three times in the report. 

RESOLVED:

That the reports be received.