To receive and consider a report by County Councillor Beverley Baynham, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Regulatory Services.
Please click on the link below to access the performance report:
Link to Performance Report - Quarter 2
Minutes:
Documents Considered:
· Report by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance and Regulatory Services – Performance Report – Quarter 2.
Issues Discussed:
· The Council was in business continuity mode for much of the reporting period which has affected the ability to report performance against the Corporate Improvement Plan. There were 68 objectives in the plan and 37 of those reported in the quarter. Of those 27 were on target and 9 not on target. Of the 133 measures, 71 were reported in the quarter, with 47 on target and 12 not on track, 6 were annual targets, and 6 had no target. Although it was not possible to report against half of the measures and objectives services have continued to deliver against key milestones and Vision 2025 outcomes.
· Property, Planning and Public Protection:
· Three KPIs for the service (i) Percentage of Planning appeals dismissed - 100% for quarter (ii) Percentage of Planning Applications considered within time - 90% which is on target (iii) Abermule Business Park – on target to construct commercial units by the end of March 2022.
In relation to planning appeals there appear to have been no appeals in the quarter. Can you explain the process and is this an area causing concern. How do appeals affect the service.
In relation to intensive poultry units, how is this affecting planning approvals. |
There were three appeals determined in quarter 2. One related to a poultry unit which was dismissed. The second related to a qualification for a rural enterprise dwelling which was dismissed. The third related to development in a flood zone which was dismissed.
In relation to poultry units, if this is regarding phosphates, every development has to show either no impact or a beneficial impact on phosphates. It is causing more scrutiny and raising more issues for the ecologist to consider. Additional ecological capacity is also being secured from the Highways Engineering Team.
ACTION – look at this in Working Group looking at phosphates in rivers. |
Are there applicants for the business park units at Abermule and when will the units be ready. |
The units will be completed by the end of March next year and there is interest being expressed with discussions being undertaken with potential tenants. |
With applications that take longer than the specified time, are applicants being made aware why there are delays in the planning process. |
Applicants are made aware of delays and an agreement is made with them specifying how long is required to determine the application. The delay is usually to request additional information from the applicant e.g. ecological survey. If this agreement is undertaken by letter then application is deemed to be within time. |
· Housing and Community Development:
In relation to the Public Accountability Measures (PAMs) for Homelessness and housing for the second quarter in a row this is poor performance. The report shows limited options to rehouse families due to a constriction on the private sector housing and high demand for one bedroom accommodation. This is not solely due to the pandemic and we should have been aware of this in our housing needs assessment and plans. It is accepted that it takes to build houses, but what is the plan in this service to close this gap and ensure accommodation is provided. |
This is not a new issue but it has been exacerbated by the pandemic. A response would be sought from the Housing Service – ACTION. |
One of the measures related to voids which is improving. How can you reconcile in relation to HOWPS that in some measures we are doing better and in others we are worse.
Are we building in measures when HOWPS comes back in house to tackle these issues.
In terms of house building, how many units do we have on site at the moment and in a year's time will be on the way to achieving the target the Council has set itself. |
Operational arrangements in relation to voids has improved although there are still challenges. Heating checks has been a challenge due to challenges in the market place to get checks undertaken. The commercial challenge is that the joint venture is finding it difficult to work within the financial envelope it has to deliver voids.
Yes looking forward to having the service in house and not having contractual challenges.
The numbers are set out in document but the forecast is that the Council will not achieve the original target for a number of reasons such as challenges with some of the sites locations which has delayed progress. The Council is also expecting significant additional Welsh Government support for the programme.
Can bring back further information to Committee. |
When bringing back the information requested to the Committee could the Director also link that to the other performance measure about bringing new properties on stream by bringing empty properties back into use. The commentary in the report says that this is now a scheme that the Council operates and this may be something the Council may wish to consider given the challenges already identified about a lack of available homes. |
There are 79 properties currently being built. |
Are there any estimates of the increased costs for building houses as the cost of materials and labour has increased.
Is there a financial issue with HOWPS at present which is preventing it from carrying out works. |
Is it being reported by the Council. Construction inflation is being monitored by the Finance and Procurement teams. An estimate can be provided to the Committee – ACTION.
A confidential paper was presented to the Cabinet last week so it would not be appropriate to discuss this in public. |
In relation to homelessness there is a significant increase. A lot of effort and resource has been put into this but that is not succeeding. What is being done to measure the reasons for the increase in homelessness, why are we having this increase at this time and what is the Council doing to assist known rough sleepers. |
The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Engagement and Regulatory Services agreed to ask the relevant Portfolio Holder to provide the information to the Committee - ACTION |
Disabled facilities grants – for the second quarter the PAM has been missed with people waiting over the target threshold that has been set. The commentary does not set out a plan to address this. There are strong reasons why the target is not being met but no plan to ensure that the Council meets the target in the next quarter. |
A detailed response will be sought from the Housing Service – ACTION. |
· Highways, Transport and Recycling:
· The Service has achieved 64.75% for recycling and the outturn for 2020-21 was 66.1% which is above the Wales average. There were 109 incidents of fly tipping in quarter 2 which were cleared in five working days. The Countryside, Access and Recreation team is on target to meet its annual target to maintain and improve 125km of public rights of way. £1.1m has been secured for flood alleviation schemes across the county and £2.9m for active travel and decarbonisation from Welsh Government. The medium term financial strategy was highlighted as a risk although the overspend has been reduced.
In terms of the PAMs for residual waste produced by households it has been RAG rated as an area of concern. What is being done to reduce the non recyclable waste produced by households. |
This is being continually reviewed and there are a number of campaigns to encourage residents to reduce the amount of residual waste. The amount of residual waste has increased significantly due to home working. The Service is looking at a number of measures such as engagement campaigns and looking at what other materials can be taken out of residual waste such as tetra packs. This additional residual waste is putting additional pressure of about £150k per year on the service. |
Whilst recycling figures are good the figures show that waste levels are increasing. We are aware that Covid has been a challenge but the effects are not reflected in the report. What are we going to do to overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic in 2022 such as highways and budget, active travel in rural communities.
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There has been an immense pressure on the service which included a financial cost such as the use of shuttle vehicles for staff for waste collection. There has been an increased cost for materials and fuel which means the Council cannot deliver as many capital projects as it would want with an increased pressure of £600k on the service. In relation to active travel it appears that funding will be forthcoming for schemes from Welsh Government. |
The amount of recyclate in residual waste is a concern. Film and plastic wrapping is an issue, which the Council does not collect but Tesco does. Has this made any difference to the amount collected. There is a need to educate people more to improve recycling. Can we have another campaign, or a leaflet dropped into recycling boxes so that people can see what can and cannot be recycled. Has this been tried or can it be tried again. |
The Head of Service agreed to discuss the issue of plastic wrapping with the recycling team. The Council has also signed an energy from waste contract which will give the Council an additional 20% towards its recycling. Education and campaigns are something the Council can look at. The Service can work with WRAP to see if revenue support for a fresh campaign can be secured.
The Head of Service agreed to provide a written response to the Committee - ACTION |
· Economy and Digital Services:
· The Service is slightly behind on Digital Powys but aiming to be on target by the end of the year. It is hoped to sign the final Mid Wales Growth Deal by Christmas.
What are the challenges for the Service and what is coming after Covid and Brexit which is raising concerns. |
The main challenge is that the council has been successful in economic funding and much yet to deliver in terms of digital transformation. One of the most difficult areas is recruiting the right staff with the right skills to deliver the projects which have been funded as well as the Growth Deal. There is therefore a need to grow the team and deliver the projects provided by the funding opportunities. |
The number of total visitor days to Powys, has been lower due to the pandemic. The STEAM report was due in late summer. Has it been overlooked or did it deliver what was expected which was a 60% to 65% reduction in income due to Covid or was there a surge late in the season. |
The Head of Service advised that she did not have the STEAM figures but agreed to advise the Committee of the latest position – ACTION |
· Transformation and Communication:
· Promoting the Welsh Language – the Service has not been able to recruit a Welsh Language Officer and are discussing shared services with partners.
· Strategic Planning and Performance Training – there has not been the uptake in quarter 2 that was seen in previous quarters. Possibly a more targeted campaign will be required.
In relation to the Welsh Language Officer this is disappointing for the organisation, having been out to recruit. Has there been any feedback or analysis as to what are the challenges in attracting candidates. |
The post was initially advertised as a Welsh Language and equalities post. The equalities element has now been removed and covered elsewhere in the service and the post readvertised. The Service is now reaching out to other organisations and considering other options. |
Is it the salary and the package offered which needs to be reviewed. The timing of adverts may also need consideration. |
This can be considered and the post advertised did go through the job evaluation process. There are options which can be considered such as market supplements. |
· Finance:
· The Finance Service supports many of the objectives across the Corporate Improvement Plan. Specifically in relation to the Service, integrated business planning – that work is developing but has seen improved business plans this year. The Service has started to progress on benchmarking data.
· In terms of economy there has been an increase in the spend with Powys based suppliers to 41% or £41.6m. There are a number of schemes still being administered by the Service e.g. self isolation payments. Additional support has been provided for money advice with an estimated £1m income gain for Powys residents. Winter fuel payments – a new scheme announced by Welsh Government is about to start in December. The website is live and people will have to apply for this rather than an automated payment scheme and there could be potentially 9000 applicants.
· Workforce and Organisational Development:
· The Service is still operating in business continuity so did not report on performance, but is continuing to progress measures. There are no real concerns in terms of performance measures. One set of measures are annual such as the staff survey which will take place in January. The only concern is the issue across the UK regarding the ability to recruit in particular specialist staff. Work is being undertaken in Quarter 3 to address this challenge.
The cumulative overall sickness which is 7.84 days per full time equivalent which seems high. Services have been highlighted with the highest sickness. How is the Council dealing with this, what impact is it having on the workforce and what affect will it have on services. |
The target was 9 days. The Council's figure prior to the pandemic was below the target, so that the Council was within the top performance quartile in Wales. The figure quoted would still place the Council in the upper quartile which is good performance by comparison to other authorities. This is not therefore an area of concern. |
Some services where you will see a higher sickness are those areas where people work face to face with clients and some of these officers could not work face to face with vulnerable individuals. |
Earlier in the year a number of staff were shielding early and could not work face to face with clients. However, there are currently only very small numbers shielding and there are plans in place to support these individuals. |
· Comments:
· There is a pattern developing with difficulties getting Welsh speakers into posts. Possibly this could be a piece of work which needs to be undertaken to attract Welsh speakers into posts in Powys to develop a strategy – ACTION.
· There is a need for better Post 16 education in Powys to retain young people in Powys.
· Once completed can the website information in relation to winter fuel payments be shared with members.
Outcomes:
· Actions arising from the discussion:
· Working Group to planning issues raised by phosphates in rivers at the Working Group.
· PAMS for Homelessness and Housing – response sought from the Housing Service.
· Estimates of increased costs of building houses – estimate of additional costs to be provided to the Committee.
· Reasons for increases in homelessness – Portfolio Holder for Governance, Engagement and Regulatory Services to ask relevant Portfolio Holder to provide information to the Committee.
· Disabled facilities grant – response to be sought from the Housing Service.
· Recycling campaign – Head of Highways, Transport and Recycling to provide written response to the Committee.
· STEAM report – Head of Economy and Digital Services to provide update to Committee on latest position.
· Need for a strategy to be developed to attract Welsh Speakers into posts in Powys.
· Head of Finance to provide details of the winter fuel payments website to Members.