Agenda item

Report of Asisstant Director Customer Focus

Purpose of report

To share the proposed approach for measuring, monitoring, and reporting on the council’s performance towards its priorities and objectives for 2024/25 and to capture any recommended changes for Executive consideration.

Recommendations

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves:

1.1      To consider the proposed approach for managing the council’s performance for 2024/25, specifically the 44 performance indicators and their respective targets.

1.2     To agree any recommended changes to the proposed performance framework for Executive consideration, at their meeting on 8 April 2024.

Resolved

(1)    That having given due consideration, the approach to managing the council’s performance for 2024/25 be noted.

(2)    That having given due consideration, no changes be recommended to Executive for consideration.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services introduced the update on the Performance Outcomes Framework 2024/25. The Committee was advised that the framework set out the basis of how the Council measured its performance against both the strategic priorities set out in its Business Plan and the corporate objectives that were recently agreed in the Annual Delivery Service Plan.

The Assistant Director - Customer Focus provided the Committee with an update on some of the targets that had not been available when the report was published as part of the agenda. These included:

·       - the yearly target of 1,142 for Net Additional Housing Completions to meet Cherwell’s needs

·       - the percentage of Climate Action plan delivering to target had previously been a monitored measure but had now been changed to a target of 66%

·       - and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for the year which had been updated to 3,900 tonnes.

The Corporate Director - Communities provided the Committee with an update on the proposed Economic and Regeneration indicators. It was explained that as part of the Enterprising economy priority, the success of the implementation of projects that were funded from the UK Prosperity fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund (plan reference EEV1) would be measured by the number of businesses and local residents that the projects engaged.

In response to a question regarding the potential monitoring of the number of new businesses set up in the District, the Corporate Director – Communities advised the Committee that this was difficult to achieve due to the lag in time of obtaining the data from the Office of National Statistics. Other methods of reporting this metric were being investigated.

In response to a question seeking clarification on the milestones for Business Plan priority EV3 – to develop a plan for reimagining Bicester and ensure existing and new communities benefit from short and long term measures of the garden Town principles - in Quarter 3 and a possible conflict of finalising a design that was still under consultation, the Corporate Director – Communities advised that the draft masterplan was for Bicester as a whole whereas the Market Square Final scheme design was for that particular area only. The two milestones related to the two separate projects.

In response to a question of whether the target of a 1% reduction in the fleet fuel consumption was ambitious enough, the Corporate Director – Communities explained that there whilst route optimisation helped to reduce fuel consumption, the increase in the size of the District meant that routes were getting longer and this limited the impact of efficiencies from optimisation. The Committee was also advised that the switch from combustion vehicles to electric ones was still some time away.  The Assistant Director – Environmental Services provided more information on some of the other actions that had been taken to reduce fuel consumption such as monitoring driver behaviour and introducing systems for pre-heating vehicles in the winter months rather than leaving the engines running. The Committee was advised that the technology and price was not at a point where the Council could switch larger vehicles from diesel to electric.

In response to a question regarding the terminology used in the Business Plan and whether the 2030 climate target under ‘supporting environmental sustainability’ should be net zero rather than carbon neutral the Corporate Director – Communities agreed to check the wording with the Climate Action Manager.

In response to a question regarding the metrics for measuring the move to the Council’s new offices in Castle Quay (plan reference SES3) and in particular the timescale for disposing of Bodicote House, the Assistant Director – Customer Focus advised that Committee had commented on the plan, including the measures and milestones, earlier in the year and it had now been approved by Executive. It was agreed that further discussion would take place outside of the meeting to clarify the wording of this particular measure.

In response to a question regarding whether the value of 66% was ambitious enough as the percentage of the Climate Action plan delivering to target, the Corporate Director – Communities advised the Committee that it was a realistic figure considering the resource challenges the Council faced but it was hoped that the target would be exceeded. It was explained that the progress on the delivery of the Climate Action Plan would be reported to the Committee through the quarterly performance review reports.

Resolved

(1)    That having given due consideration, the approach to managing the council’s performance for 2024/25 be noted.

(2)    That having given due consideration, no changes be recommended to Executive for consideration.