Agenda item

That the report be noted. 

The Chairman introduced a report to request that the Committee consider the 2012/13 Quarter 4/Year End service performance reports, note the draft year end position of the Strategic Assessment of Risks and Challenges (SARC) and note the performance made against the Improvement Targets contained within the performance report. 

Finance

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

            Councillor Paul Shotton referred to the section on Welfare Reform and welcomed the work which had been undertaken by the authority.  

In referring to the SARC document, Councillor Alex Aldridge raised concern about the relationship with the Local Health Board & Public & Primary Health.  He commended the work of the Chief Executive on the issue which included offering assistance from the authority to the Health Board to identify possible areas of land for the siting of a health centre in Flint.   

Human Resources and Organisational Development

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

Councillor Patrick Heesom queried the amount which had been set aside for Single Status.  The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development responded that approximately £25m was available as a reserve for Single Status and the settlement of Equal Pay claims.  She explained that work was still ongoing on both issues with senior officers and Trade Unions.  As stated in the update, the Part 3 (terms and conditions) had been provisionally agreed with the Trade Unions but final work on the design of the pay and grading structure was currently being undertaken.

On the performance indicator for appraisals, the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development advised that the figure for Corporate Services should read 58% and not 38% as reported.  There were a number of issues relating to capturing the data for completed appraisals but the work which had been undertaken to date was encouraging and the issues were being addressed. 

ICT and Customer Services

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

On the performance indicator for Helpdesk Calls fixed on time, the Head of ICT and Customer Services advised that the current year outturn should read 93% and not 91.53% as reported.  He added that a report on procurement would be submitted to the meeting of this Committee scheduled for 11 July 2013.  The information provided on visitor enquiries at the Holywell Connects office would be followed up by a questionnaire which would be sent to the users of the centre to ask about their visit.  He concluded that the performance information from the General Register Officer would be submitted to the Committee on an annual basis as part of the performance report for ICT and Customer Services. 

Legal and Democratic Services

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

            In referring to the performance indicator on Breach of the Data Protection Act by the Council, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services was pleased to report that the RAG status had changed from red to amber following an audit by the Information Commissioners Officer (ICO) in March.  One of the recommendations in the report from the ICO was that a senior officer had to be nominated for data protection issues and the Corporate Management Team had agreed that it should be the Head of Legal and Democratic Services. 

            The Head of Legal and Democratic Services explained that the number of Freedom of Information Act requests which had been received had reduced slightly when compared to the same quarter in 2011/12 but the numbers determined within the 20 day response time had increased.  He added that the number of Environmental Impact requests had reduced but the number determined within the 20 day response time was 100% compared to 96% for the same period in 2011/12.  He explained that he would review the inclusion of some of the performance indicators for future reports. 

            In response to a query from Councillor Patrick Heesom about Environmental Impact requests, the figure reported was for the number of requests which had been received and not for the number of people making the request. 

            On the issue of the preparation of the Annual Governance Statement, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that the issue had been considered at a recent meeting of the Audit Committee and the consensus was that Members should be included in the process.  A request had also been received for the Constitution Committee to review the Standards and Ethical Framework particularly on the issue of officer/Member relations.  Councillor Heesom requested that the Code of Corporate Governance be reviewed as it had not been reviewed since 2003.   

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.