Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Director of Corporate Affairs & Business Transformation providing Members with an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2017-18 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.

The Committee had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Director of Corporate Affairs & Business Transformation providing it with an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2017-18 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         Street scene figures for 2017/18 were comfortably on target to reduce the net cost of waste collection per household by 20% by 2019/20 which was a real achievement especially considering residual waste had been reduced by 18% and the recycling rate increased by 5% at the same time. The Committee requested that their thanks and gratitude to the service be fed back to the officers concerned.

·         The number of businesses assisted was on target at 195 as at the end of December 2017 against an annual target of 250. It was explained that the Economic Development team were actively promoting this service through such contacts as the Mid Devon Business Forum and the Federation of Small Businesses.

·         The comment was made that the figures reported did not seem to record commercial waste, only household waste. It was explained that household waste figures were monitored nationally, however information on trade waste was collected and this could be included next time. It was further explained that within its benchmarking group Mid Devon District Council was recycling more household waste than some of its comparators for the previous quarter.

·         35% being the national figure for affordable housing on housing developments, however, Mid Devon was only achieving 21% on some recent applications. It was explained that this situation was replicated nationally. A situation currently existed whereby once a planning application had been granted developers were within their rights to argue that it was not viable for them to complete a development unless they could reduce the percentage of affordable homes.

·         The effect of welfare reform on rent collection had been expected therefore collection targets would not be quite so challenging next year, however it was explained that figures usually improved towards the end of the financial year.

The Committee wished for their thanks and congratulations to be passed on to the Private Sector Housing Team for bringing 111 empty homes back into use against a target of 25.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.