Agenda item
Dorset Council's Performance Framework
To consider a report by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Development and Change.
Minutes:
Members
considered a report from the Chief Executive which included the draft
performance framework for the Council.
The
Head of Business Insight and Corporate Communications apologised for the
lateness of the report due to additional work pressures in relation to the
pandemic.
Cllr
Gray was disappointed that value for money (vfm) was
not implicit anywhere in the document and queried if there would be a balanced
scorecard. He would have expected a red, green and amber type scorecard. He also noted that climate change was not
listed and he would expect to see this as a key KPI. The Head of Business Insight responded that the
approach of using a balanced scorecard would be used and it would be for the
Audit and Governance Committee to oversee the approach rather than monitor
performance. The Overview Committees
would be reviewing performance, which was different from the approach of the
predecessor County Council. One of the
four elements of the balanced scorecard was around finance which she felt could
be strengthened and she emphasised that the financial quadrant was about vfm as well as budget performance. The Head of Business Insight added that
continuous tracking was part of the framework and there would be an action
tracker in place with the person who was responsible for the action. In respect of climate change officers were
currently looking at the detailed KPIs and would be working with colleagues to
determine the appropriate ones.
The
Executive Director for Corporate Development reassured Cllr Gray that his
comments on vfm had been heard and that a report on
how the Council saw vfm, the budget process and
benchmarking would be presented to members at their August meeting.
The
Chairman highlighted the importance of tracking the actions and of keeping an
eye on poor performing areas.
The
Cabinet Member for Corporate Development and Change advised that officers had
constructed a robust performance plan.
With regards to climate change, the Plan had yet to be agreed by Cabinet
which when agreed would lead to the construction of the relevant KPIs. He added
that he was always happy to attend and speak to members about performance
management and highlighted the importance of keeping things relevant.
In
response to a question about what the performance measure would be and that
there was a lack of mention of geographical deprivation, the Head of Business
Insight advised she felt it was helpful get a draft out to shape performance
but accepted more details needed to be worked up. How deprivation was
represented needed some more thought and she undertook to discuss this with the
relevant Portfolio Holder.
Decision
1.That
the draft performance framework in Appendix 1, be amended with further detail
as discussed and be brought back to members for agreement.
2.
That the performance framework be reviewed to incorporate risk reporting in due
course.
Reasons
for Decisions
To
ensure the council’s progress is measured and monitored and that appropriate
links between risk and performance management are in place.
Supporting documents:
- audit-and-governance-performance-framework-2020-07-07 (002), item 78. PDF 64 KB
- dorset-council-performance-management-framework-2020-06, item 78. PDF 494 KB