Agenda item

The Committee scrutinised a report which presented a review of the Council performance for the second quarter of 2022/23 (July – September 2022). The Committee was invited to examine areas of under-performance and where appropriate recommend appropriate remedial action. The Committee was also asked to note areas of good performance.

The Council’s Corporate Performance Report (CPR) monitored the delivery of business plan actions, risks and measures against the current Corporate Priorities. The CPR provided a breakdown by each corporate priority area and included further details on any exceptions. The Council continued to monitor and to plan for, the impact of both internal influences (such as staffing capacity due to Covid-19 related absences) and external factors (such as increased demand due to increased costs of living) on all its services. 

During the study period, the report revealed that 95% of actions were on track, or had been, successfully completed and 5% were behind schedule. 72% (that was 104 actions out of a reported 145) of reported risks were deemed to be either ‘low’ or ‘very low’. 69% (that was 35 out of 51 reported actions) of targeted measures were on course to achieve their end of year target. 92% (that was 47 out of 51 actions) of targeted measures were on track to achieve their end of year target. These figures were as expected for the first quarter of a ‘reporting year’.

The report highlighted 13 measures that were not on target to be completed within the specified timescales. Of these 13 red measures, nine were largely due to an increased demand for services of which six were in Children’s Social Care services, one was in Customer Services, one was in the Economy Directorate and one was in the Public Health service.

A Member referred to action M918(C) (Percentage of calls answered) and expressed concern at the relatively large numbers of unanswered calls that were being reported. Members noted that this action had been reported to previous meetings and requested details on how many call-backs were happening daily. The Assistant Chief Executive undertook to provide members of the Committee with this information.

Further to actions M408a (C), M409a (C) and M410a (C), relating to the building of new homes in the authority the Committee sought clarification on the numbers of houses that were built in the Borough, how many of these were affordable, how targets for the numbers of new build properties in the Borough were set and whether detailed discussions were being held with builders/developers. The Committee requested that a report on this matter be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.

Further to action M727(C), Members expressed their concerns at the average caseloads of social workers in the Children’s Social Care Service, seeking clarification on the percentage of repeat referrals and the impact of additional funding, that has been made available for the recruitment of new staff.

A Member referred to action M498 (C) ‘Street Lighting – Percentage of issues resolved within target time’, noting that the street lighting contract for the Oldham Borough (and which also covered Rochdale Metropolitan Borough) had been outsourced to EON, who, since November 2021, had reported that they were meeting their contractual targets. The Member queried this and requested that a report be submitted, to a future meeting of the Committee, detailing operational and strategic matters relating to the Joint PFI Contract. The Member also referred to action M333a (C) – Percentage of Council spend in Oldham and requested what proportion of the expenditure was being allocated to EON for the operation of the Community Lighting Contract.

A member of the Committee referred to action M734 (C) and requested that information be circulated, clarifying what is being done to address the impact on the allocation of school places, on a Ward-by-Ward basis.

A Member referred to action 656 (C) – percentage of Health Visitors mandated reviews completed within timescale and was advised that this issue was red rated because there had been problems associated with the recruitment of staff.

Members of the Committee expressed concern at the current reported levels of staff sickness across the authority, including long term absences. The divisions in the authority with the highest sickness levels were Adult Social Care; Public Health, Libraries and Heritage and Arts; and Environmental Management. In this regard the Committee requested that a report be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee analysing the absence trends in the authority and outlining any remedial action that was being taken to address these issues and which includes a breakdowns of staff turnover and the identification of any recurring factors that are contributing to the departure of staff from the Council’s employ.

Resolved:

1.    That the Committee notes the progress in implementing current business plans.

2.    That the Committee notes the comments on progress, in particular the narrative that relates to any red measures.

3.    That the Executive Director for Place and Economic Growth/Joint Authority PFI Project Manager be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee, detailing operational and strategic matters relating to the Joint PFI Contract.

4.    That the Head of Strategic Housing and Property Partnerships be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee regarding the number of new affordable homes that have been completed in the Borough of Oldham, further to actions M408a (C), M409a (C) and M410a (C), detailed in the Council Performance Report.

5.    The Assistant Chief Executive be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee detailing employee related issues including any underlying reasons for the relatively high number of staff resignations and turnover.