Agenda item

To receive and discuss the quarter 4 Performance Dashboard information for the Service Delivery & Continuous Improvement area.

The group were presented with, and NOTED, two slides * showing performance information in the Service Delivery & Continuous Improvement area.

The dashboards aimed to give an ‘at a glance’ understanding of how services were performing in terms of performance measures, finance and risk. Any measures that were also part of the Corporate Plan were listed in yellow text.

The indicators were presented with current performance, the annual target and a RAG (red/amber/green) rating to indicate whether or not the Council was on track to meet its target. Overall performance was presented in a pie chart which combined the RAG ratings for both the performance and the finance measures.

The following red and amber ratings were highlighted:

·         Household waste collected was showing as amber, with the service reporting 300.3 kilogrammes of residual waste collected per household, just 300 grams over target. The performance represented a decrease from the amount of waste collected in 2024, which was almost 308 kilogrammes per household.

·         Household recycling rate was showing as amber which was just behind target.

·         It was noted that Mid Devon District Council was one of the highest performing authorities when it came to recycling.

·         Missed bin collections were showing as amber, narrowly missing a very stretching target of nought.

·         The public survey engagement rate was showing as red. This survey was now being run against a small number of new processes on the Customer Relationship Management system and only since August 2024. Performance continued to increase with each quarter towards target.

·         ‘Households on chargeable garden waste’ was showing as amber. It was usual to see a seasonal trend in this performance indicator. So whilst performance was behind target, the number of subscribers may trend upwards in the summer months.

·         Agency spend was showing as red. Additional agency staff had been required to ensure the smooth operation of the waste service, but these costs were more than offset by savings in salaries. Spend was lower than in previous years.

·         The two finance indicators that related capital projects were both showing as red. The under spend reflected the slippage in 12 of 19 projects, particularly in Leisure and Waste. Within Leisure, there were delays in infrastructure projects due to sequencing of projects and the need to tender works. Within Waste, the delay was due to the long awaited clarification of the change in Environment Agency permit regulations.

·         Showing as green was the financial out turn position which was under budget. This relateed to a number of factors, but notably additional income from Active Mid Devon, increased memberships and also increased recycling collected. There had also been cost savings through staffing and lower maintenance costs.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         The reduction in staff turnover figures which may, in part, be due to the benefits of working for this authority which had good terms and conditions.

·         Increased benefits of recycling including the positive effect upon income.

·         Slippage of capital projects in the area of Leisure. It was explained that this was due to having to time projects so that they did not lead to a loss of income, for example, changing room improvements needed to be timed so that they did not coincide with the school holidays. It was further explained that every authority had capital slippage. Timetables were always estimated in advance and there could often be issues with contractors and tendering processes.

·         The survey engagement target being very optimistic. Targets should be challenging but also achievable.

Note: * Slide previously circulated.