Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils' logo

Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda item

Performance monitoring 2018/2019 - quarter 4

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning.

Minutes:

The Head of Business Planning and Performance introduced the report. During discussion the following points were raised:

 

  • Members asked for an update on Springman House and officers advised that the project was still in the negotiation stage for the heads of terms and that obtaining an agreement was a lengthy process, as there were a number of organisations involved. It was agreed that more detail would be provided following the meeting.

 

  • Members asked if Clear Sustainable Futures (CSF) was involved in the Seaford Health Hub scheme. Officers advised that CSF may be involved in any of the Council’s schemes where this proves the most cost effective approach.

 

  • Members felt that the commentary on the launch of the lottery needed more detail and were advised by officers that the launch was dependent on statutory clearances being obtained and therefore the timescale was difficult to estimate at this stage.

 

  • As part of the Joint Transformation Programme, the Committee discussed Members’ ID passes, and whilst some Members were unhappy that they included the logos of both Lewes and Eastbourne Councils, it was recognised that the passes were the same as used by staff.  It was suggested that the issue could be considered again when replacements were needed.

 

  • The Committee discussed the performance indicator for the average number of staff days lost to sickness and noted that sickness levels in the waste service were higher than in other areas. Members felt that, when the Eastbourne waste service was brought in-house there would be an opportunity to look at the issues and officers agreed that, although the overall figure compared favourably to other authorities, a separate commentary could be provided on sickness within that service area.

 

  • The Committee noted the collection rates for council tax and business rates (also noting that the figures were cumulative through the year). Officers agreed to provide further information regarding any known impact that  Universal Credit has had on the ability for the Council to collect council tax.

 

  • Members discussed the performance indicator for the length of time taken to process housing and council tax benefit claims and were advised by officers that staff had worked hard over the previous six to nine months to improve performance. Officers explained that an intervention called a Solution Sprint had been used to bring about improvement and it was noted that over the last two months performance been within target. Officers agreed to consider how the views of customers and staff could be surveyed following this intervention.

 

  • Members asked for further detail on the performance indicator for the length of time the Council took to re-let its properties. Officers explained that the housing team worked closely with repairs staff and that the level of repairs required when properties became vacant was not always evident until the work started. The Committee inquired whether there was a quality-recording mechanism for the Mears contract. It was suggested that the performance of the Mears contract be added to the Committee’s work programme and the relevant stakeholders invited to a future meeting.

 

  • The Committee discussed the increase in homelessness numbers. Officers advised that it was a national issue and there were not any exceptional factors within Lewes that contributed to the increase.

 

  • With regard to neighbourhood plans, the Committee sought clarification on the status of the plan for Telscombe and Peacehaven Town Councils. Officers agreed to provide further details.

 

  • The Committee was advised that the Head of Planning was unable to attend the meeting to respond to concerns over the performance indicators for the processing of minor/other planning applications and the percentage of appeals allowed. However, a written response had been provided to Members (shown at appendix A to the minutes).

 

  • Members asked for an update on the Hollycroft Field site in East Chiltington. Officers agreed to provide a further update following the meeting. Members felt that the broader issue of the devolution of open spaces was a possible topic for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme.

 

  • The Committee considered the performance indicators for the Customer Contact Centre and expressed concerns. Members were advised that there difficulties recruiting locally in Lewes and the team was currently 1.5 full time equivalents short. Members asked if a customer experience survey could be included following each call. Officers advised that there was not currently a facility costings/feasibility could be undertaken regarding this. Officers confirmed that the purpose of the Customer Contact Team was to provide first-time resolutions to contacts wherever possible and it was agreed that future reports would provide more detail on the most common enquiries. Officers agreed to the Committee’s request for a (key-staff) contact directory for Members.

 

  • Officers confirmed that the Lewes and Eastbourne Community Safety Partnership had formally merged, following the agreement of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Sussex in January 2019. The PCC had previously indicated her desire for the merger. Officers confirmed that an operational Joint Action Group would be retained in the Lewes area.

 

Members went on to discuss the performance and project measures for 2019/20 and highlighted the following points:

 

·       The Committee recommended removal of the target for incidents of fly-tipping and suggested that there should be a measure for response times and the quality of the response. Officers said the target was to reflect the work undertaken to reduce the number of incidents and the wording would reflect this.

 

·       There were concerns regarding the targets for customer contact and social media response rate targets. Officers explained that targets were in line with the Council’s policies regarding channel shift.  This enabled those residents who wished to access the Council’s services electronically to do so and allowing more capacity for responding to residents who most needed support by phone. In response to a question about text contacts, officers confirmed that there was a facility for outgoing texts to notify residents of actions within services (such as reminders for council tax) but currently no incoming text option. However, it was noted that the ‘Report It’ app could be used to report issues. Officers agreed to provide data on level of usage of the ‘Report it’ app.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.     To note the Council’s progress and performance for Quarter 4 of 2018/19 and the proposed performance indicators for 2019/20, and that the following be included as updates to the committee at future meetings or as part of the 2019/20 performance reports:

 

·         the length of time the Council takes to re-let its properties

·         the devolution of open spaces

·         A separate commentary on sickness within the waste service after the Eastbourne service has been brought in-house be provided.

·         That further data be provided on the Report It app.

·         Further detail to be provided on Springman House

·         Further information to be provided regarding the impact of Universal Credit on the collection of council tax.

·         Consideration of a post-Solution Sprint intervention customer survey.

·         Further detail to be provided on the Peacehaven/Telscombe Town Councils neighbourhood plan.

·         An update to be provided on the Hollycroft Field site in East Chiltington.

·         A (key-staff) contact directory for Members to be provided.

 

(Note: Councillor Bikson left the meeting after consideration of this item)

Supporting documents: