Agenda item

To consider a report by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Development and Change.

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.