Decision details

Cabinet received a report setting out the quarterly updates of the Council Plan 2022-26 and its Delivery Plan 2022-24; the Organisational Strategy 2020-24 and the key performance indicators.

The Mayor introduced the report and thanked the officers for the work that had gone into it.  He highlighted some of the achievements over the last quarter, including:

•                    Levels of litter, detritus and fly-posting had improved.

•                    Housing benefit application processing had improved.

•                    The Customer Service Centre statistics were better than the previous quarter, although it was still an extremely busy time.

•                    The ‘Tales of the River’ project was progressing.

•                    A Supplementary Planning document had been produced to inform developers how they could contribute to enhancing biodiversity.

The Mayor invited Councillor Watkin to provide further details.

Councillor Watkin stated that the results shown in the report and appendices underpinned the work set out in the Mayor’s manifesto.  He said it was important to recognise the staff for all the work they had done.  He advised that the council had just received an award which recognised the staff went above and beyond the requirements of a committed team.

Councillor Watkin commented that the Mayor had mentioned some of the key successes.  However, he did want to mention that there was one red indicator in the Delivery Plan.  This was related to the completion of a new crematorium, which the council was working in partnership with other local councils.  He noted that the issue with the Environment Agency had been resolved and the development could continue.

The Chief Executive confirmed that the works on the new crematorium had been slightly behind, but it was now rapidly moving towards completion.

Councillor Stotesbury wanted to highlight the creation of the cost of living forum which had been responsive to need.  It showed how the council could bring together local groups.

RESOLVED –

1.      that Cabinet notes the progress updates within this report relating to:

•       the Council Plan 2022-26 and Delivery Plan 2022 -24 (Appendix A)

•       the Organisational Development Strategy 2020-24 (Appendix B)

•       the key performance indicator results for Quarter 3 of 2022/23 (Appendix C).

2.      That Cabinet notes the key performance indicators and measures will continue to be reviewed as part of the council-wide service planning process and the ongoing work on the Business Intelligence Strategy, and that these will be discussed with Portfolio Holders over the next period for their views.

3.      that Cabinet notes the report will be presented to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 March 2023.