Issue - meetings

That the progress achieved during Q1 of 2024/25 be noted and the contents of the report CAB3469 be endorsed.

Councillor Cutler introduced the report and referred Cabinet to the draft minutes from Scrutiny Committee held 4 September 2024 where the report had been discussed and the majority of questions raised had been responded to at that meeting.  He referenced queries raised in relation to fly-tipping data and treatment of invasive plant species.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Horrill and Lee addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Horrill

She raised queries in relation to the delays in the Passivhaus scheme at Micheldever and whether lessons could be learned for future schemes.  She also expressed concern about the increase in council house void turnaround.  In relation to the Council Plan, she asked whether the residents’ survey results were available.  She queried the target for the delivery of the temporary accommodation strategy and the reasons for the current HRA capital spend rate.

Councillor Lee

He welcomed the new more concise format of the report.  He queried whether specific assessments against the council’s declaration of both a climate and nature crisis could be included.  He also welcomed further consideration of the data on fly-tipping and the treatment of invasive plant species.

Councillor Cutler responded to the questions raised including advising that further consideration of the appropriate monitoring of action against the nature and climate emergency declarations was likely to be included as part of the discussion on the new Council Plan.  The Strategic Director also responded to queries raised, including confirming that a report on the temporary accommodation strategy was scheduled for Cabinet Committee: Housing on 5 November 2024.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

That the progress achieved during Q1 of 2024/25 be noted and the contents of the report be endorsed.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Scrutiny Committee:

Raises with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3469, which is being presented to Cabinet on the 11 September 2024 and considers whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

Councillor Neil Cutler - Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance introduced the report, ref CAB3469 which set out proposals for the Q1 2024/25 Performance Monitoring, (available here).  The introduction included the following points.

1.             He advised that following the recent corporate peer challenge, it was concluded that the City Council remained a high-performing authority. Financial management was noted as strong, mitigating immediate risks to the council.

2.             The new direction for quarterly performance reporting was acknowledged as an opportunity to refocus performance management. This process would drive delivery and track progress on the council’s corporate priorities.

3.             Councillor Cutler highlighted that the new report presented information in a more streamlined format. Last year's quarterly reports averaged 115 pages, while this report was significantly reduced to around 40.

4.             Key council priorities were set out in the report, along with a summary of progress achieved in the quarter and actions planned for the next quarter. These were broken down by Tier 1 projects and major programmes, with progress tracked using a red, amber, and green (RAG) status system.

Simon Howson, Senior Policy and Programme Manager advised the committee that the new report format aimed to provide essential data while significantly reducing its length, focusing on the Council Plan's five key priorities. He confirmed that financial performance data for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was included.

The committee was asked to raise with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report (CAB3469), which was being presented to Cabinet on the 11th of September 2024, and to consider whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised.

1.             Further information was requested about the council's policy for managing invasive species.

2.             A question was raised about the carbon neutrality action plan, specifically asking for details on the “cargo bike last-mile delivery scheme”.

3.             Further information was requested about the rerouting of the waste and recycling rounds, and if ward members would be informed of the changes.

4.             A question was asked about the amber RAG status for TCE1 and TCE2, particularly whether the status was due to outdated data or performance issues.

5.             Regarding page 27, a question was raised about projects due for completion in July and August 2024, asking if they were finished as scheduled and if any delays would be reported.

6.             A question was asked regarding the targets for TCE1, TCE2, TCE7, and TCE8 as it was felt that these targets had changed without explanation in the report.

7.             A question was asked about whether the 80% target for clearing fly-tips was ambitious enough, given the perceived scale of the problem. Further information was requested regarding whether specific areas with frequent fly-tipping were receiving targeted attention from the council. A request was made for future reports to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6