Agenda item

To consider and comment upon the progress and further development of the Corporate Performance Management Framework and the Q2 monitoring reports.

Council approved a corporate Performance Management Framework (PMF) on 12 April 2022, to address the recommendations of the Governance Value for Money Review by Grant Thornton and as a key element of the Council’s Improvement Plan. Since April, the corporate PMF had been further refined and built into business processes. Reporting on Q1 was presented to Budget and Scrutiny Management Board on 13 October 2022. The report on Q2 sought to build on the intelligence gathered for Q1 and offered the opportunity to assess in year progress.

There were four key components to the Corporate PMF. Combined, these provided the oversight and intelligence the council needed to determine progress in delivering the Corporate Plan and how the organisation was performing in key areas. The amount of actions on track had increased although several actions that were listed as “red” had also increased. Further improvements were expected in Q3.

Organisational health

During Q2, an average of 5.29 working days per employee were lost due to sickness. This was against a target of 3.86. The largest cause of sickness was absence due to stress, depression and mental health, followed by infection and muscular-skeletal problems. COVID was deemed the main source of the “Infection” absence. A detailed review was scheduled to take place to analyse causes and trends in sickness absence.

The total percentage of leavers and starters was lower than the previous financial year. The number of apprentices had also dropped from 69 to 48.

Financial Performance

Several KPIs that did not meet their performance target were highlighted to the Board. A backlog of work was currently being experienced in relation to the number of days taken to process Housing Benefit Changes in Circumstances. Good progress had been made and performance would most likely improve within the next quarter.

Sandwell Children’s Trust (SCT) had seen improvement in comparison to Q1. The Trust was able to bring the number of children unallocated for longer than 5 days figure down to zero in September 2022. This was a red rated KPI at Q1. The total number of children in care, as of September 2022, had also decreased. The general trend across statistical neighbours for the last 12 months has been an increase in the rate of children in care, whereas in Sandwell the rate has fallen.

However, difficulties had remained with recruiting social workers.  Three project teams were in place providing interim capacity whilst the Trust continued to recruit to the workforce. Three cohorts of AYSE  (assessed and supported year in employment) social workers had joined the Trust.

The high cost of placements, as well as recruitment and retention issues, meant that SCT were forecasting an overspend, against the MTFP, of £570k as at the end of Quarter 2.

Significant improvement had been reported regarding the governance, contract management and overall performance of the SERCO contract. 100% compliance with all governance meetings had been met and on-going conversations were taking place to discuss potential penalties on performance, if necessary. Missed bin monitoring was underway following disruptions in the summer, however, food waste collections had been positive and continued to improve. Street cleansing, data, reporting and systems, annual plans and contractual compliance were all areas for focus moving forward.

A brief update was provided regarding Sandwell Leisure Trust. Services would formally cease after 2 May 2023 and interim contract management measures were in place. Retrospective reports would be provided to the Board at a later date.

Customer Experience

It was noted that all contact centres experienced reduced performance during Q2. The main reasons identified for the reduced performance were staff vacancies and recruitment difficulties; this was estimated to continue to impact performance moving into Q3. Additional workload due to ICT issues, Energy Rebate requests and additional support to customers due to the on-going cost of living crisis also affected performance.

Timescales for responding to Subject Access Requests (SARS) and Freedom of Information (FOIs) requests were below target, however, a slight improvement had been made when compared to Q1. Several system limitations had been identified which impacted data validity. A manual data analysis had commenced to resolve the issue.

In response to questions from members, the following clarification was given:-

·      Further information would be provided on the impact of COVID related illnesses on the workforce.

·      Directorates had received data from the resident engagement survey and a further breakdown and analysis was taking place.

·      HR was currently investigating and identifying the key causes of stress, poor mental health and depression on staff.

·      Staff were provided with information on good mental health practice via the wellbeing hub.

·      Occupational Health initiatives such as the encouragement to exercise and take frequent breaks were highlighted.

·      It was confirmed that a re-run of the staff survey would take place in Summer 2023.

·      Further information would be provided in relation to the capital funding required for the replacement of street lights.

·      A customer journey plan was currently underway to address the issues of increased demand on the Council’s contact centres.

Officers were thanked for their attendance and had no specific recommendations for the Cabinet to consider on the performance management framework at this point.