Agenda item

This report presents the latest update on the Council’s Performance Indicators as at the end of June (quarter 1).  The Scrutiny Committee is asked to review the performance measures.

The Scrutiny Committee received a report of the Partnerships and Performance Section Head setting out the Council’s performance indicators and measures up to the end of quarter 1 2013/14.

The Partnerships and Performance Section Head highlighted some of the changes to the indicators since the previous report.  She reminded Members that following the changes to the Council’s structure on 1 July there would be further amendments in quarter 2. 

CS16 – Number of private sector units secured for use under HomeLet

Councillor Bell noted that new schemes had been developed.  He asked whether there was a register of certified landlords or if any landlord could participate.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services informed the Scrutiny Committee that information about HomeLet was available on the Council’s website (http://www.watford.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/housing/watford-homelet---private-renting/).  There were several packages available to landlords.  Further information would be circulated to the Scrutiny Committee.

CS17 – Number of households in bed and breakfast and nightly lets

Following a question from Councillor Bell, the Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services explained that the nightly lets were all based in Watford.  There were occasions when bed and breakfast accommodation was located outside Watford, but this was only in an emergency.  She advised that the service would be asked to provide further details which would be circulated to Members.

Councillor Aron noted that the actual total matched the target for the quarter.  She asked what action was being taken to find these people permanent accommodation.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services advised that this was not a static figure.  There was a limited amount of time people could stay in bed and breakfast accommodation.  The Council tried to move people into temporary accommodation as soon as possible, for example hostels.  Dependent on a person’s eligibility and vacant properties, people were then assisted to secure permanent accommodation.  There was a huge demand for housing but there was a disproportionate lack of supply of properties.  HomeLet and the Rent Deposit Guarantee scheme had been developed to help people find a property within the private rented sector.

Street cleaning and recycling

Councillor Meerabux referred to the various performance indicators related to street and environmental cleanliness.  He said that they appeared to have a positive message, however he felt that the information did not provide the whole picture.  He was aware that some streets were in a very poor state.  He asked whether officers could ‘drill’ down through the information and identify the problem streets and send warning letters to residents and businesses in the locality.  When he identified a problem he contacted Veolia and the matter was resolved.  In terraced streets there was a problem with fly tipping and litter.  He felt that if the matter were dealt with by the Council it would lead to better waste disposal management. 

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services said that the main issue was to be able to identify hot spots.  Veolia, in its role as contractor, responded to issues as they were identified.  Environmental Health was responsible for any enforcement action.  Veolia and Environmental Health worked together on these matters.  The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services added that the resources were not available to enable officers to walk around the Borough looking for any problems.  It was important that the public and Councillors reported any problems with litter and fly tipping to enable Veolia and the Council to take action by cleaning the area and taking enforcement action when possible.

Councillor Meerabux referred to contaminated recycling.  He asked whether investigation was undertaken to try to identify where the contamination had taken place.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services informed the Scrutiny Committee that Veolia was introducing a system whereby operators would be issued with hand held devices and would be able to report back to the office if they identified any problems, for example fly tipping or graffiti.  She advised that the recycling arrangements were changing from November.  The new scheme would be more accessible as the co-mingling of recyclables was being introduced. 

The Chair commented that he was aware that in the past there had been problems in his road and within his ward.  The Council had identified the hot spots and enforcement action had been taken. He asked whether this type of information had been transferred to Veolia.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services responded that the Council staff had been transferred to Veolia and were still in the same building as the Council’s Enforcement Officers.  The two teams had a good relationship.

Councillor Martins referred to rubbish left in front gardens and asked what powers the Council had in these circumstances. 

Councillor Lovejoy commented that she understood that the Council was only able to take action if there was a threat of rats, otherwise the Council could not take action on private property.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services advised that she would contact the service and ensure the information on the Council’s statutory powers in relation to private gardens was circulated to the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Dhindsa stated that he was aware of a case where a property had a large amount of metal waste in the front garden.  The Council wrote to the owner and the metal had been removed.  He added that he had contacted Veolia on three occasions about different problems and for two of these he had been referred to the Council, however, the problems had still not been resolved satisfactorily.  The third problem had been about graffiti and Veolia had had the area cleaned within three to four hours.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services asked Councillor Dhindsa to contact her with details of the two matters which had not been resolved to enable her to investigate further.  She added that if Councillors were unsuccessful when they contacted Veolia then they should contact the Client Team to report the matter.

RB2 – Average time to process change of circumstances

Councillor Aron commented that delays in processing the change of circumstance applications led to overpayments.  She had noted that new claims applications had improved.  She asked what action could be taken to speed up the processes.  She acknowledged that there were occasions when the delays were as a result of claimants not submitting their information promptly.

The Head of Corporate Strategy and Client Services reported that this was an area of concern for the Council and had been discussed at Leadership Team.  Improvements were being made.  The Shared Director of Finance was undertaking a review of the service. 

The Chair said that all Councillors were concerned about the Revenues and Benefits service.  He had been present at Audit Committee the previous evening and the external auditors had made reference to the over expenditure of the service in their report.  He believed that Overview and Scrutiny Committee should take the lead on scrutinising the service.  The Shared Services Joint Committee was the governing body for the service.  Audit Committee and Budget Panel reviewed the financial aspects.  He suggested that relevant officers and the Portfolio Holder should attend the Scrutiny Committee on a more frequent basis.

The Committee and Scrutiny Officer reminded the Scrutiny Committee that following the Head of Revenues and Benefits’ attendance at the June meeting, Members had asked that the Head of Revenues and Benefits should return in six months time.  An update by the Head of Revenues and Benefits had been added to the programme for the meeting in January 2014.

The Chair stated that Councillors had very real concerns about the performance of the service.  They wanted to see improvements.  It was agreed that this subject should be added to the agenda for the next meeting.  The Shared Director of Finance, Head of Revenues and Benefits and Portfolio Holder should be invited to attend and to provide timescales for improvements and the plans that were in place to aid the improvement of the performance measures.  The Chair asked Members to email any suggested questions for the officers and Portfolio Holder to the Committee and Scrutiny Officer.  This would enable them to ensure they had the appropriate information for the Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee and Scrutiny Officer reminded the Scrutiny Committee that the Shared Services Joint Committee’s decisions were reported to all Councillors.  If they were not satisfied with any of the decisions they could request them to be called in.

Councillor Martins suggested that officers should be asked how they identified people who were affected by the long delays and how the Council could help these people.  The Chair agreed that the social impact on claimants due to the delays was an excellent area to be covered.

RESOLVED –

1.      that the performance of the council’s performance measures for 2013/14 at the end of quarter 1 be noted.

2.      that the majority of the performance measures for Environmental Services to be reported to Outsourced Services Scrutiny Panel.

3.      that the new service areas will be reporting the performance measures from quarter 2, following the implementation of the new Council structure from 1 July 2013.

4.      that the information requested during the discussion be circulated to the Scrutiny Committee.

5.      that the Shared Director of Finance, Head of Revenues and Benefits and Portfolio Holder responsible for Shared Services be invited to Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November to report on the timescales and plans in place to improve the performance measures in respect of change of circumstances applications.

6.      that Councillors forward any questions about Revenues and Benefits to the Committee and Scrutiny Officer for circulation to officers in preparation for the November meeting.