Agenda item

This report summarises the performance of the Council’s Key Measures of Success for Quarter 2 2016/17 as set out in the Council Plan 2016/17.

Discussion:

Members considered a report which summarised the performance of the Council’s Key Measures of Success for Quarter 2 2016/17 as set out in the Council Plan 2016/17.

The following issues were discussed:

·                     Number of households living in temporary accommodation –

In response to a question about the percentage of immigrants included in the figures and how this compared to the previous year, the Head of Housing Strategy replied that the information could be provided although it was likely the numbers were very small. Eligibility for assistance was defined by legislation and, for example, a British citizen who had been living abroad for a time may not qualify whereas EU citizens living in the UK and people deemed as habitually resident would qualify.

Although supporting the use of social housing on a temporary basis to provide temporary accommodation, a Member expressed concern about the possibility of destabilising existing communities in areas of greater concentrations of social housing. The Head of Housing Strategy acknowledged the concern and gave an assurance that the use of social housing for temporary accommodation was spread across the Council’s social housing stock and not concentrated in one area.

·                     No. of households with dependent children in B&B who have resided there for 6+ weeks at the end of the quarter– in response to a question it was clarified that families were usually placed in B&B accommodation for a short time and typically it was not the same families re-applying.

·                     Encouraging the delivery of homes through investigation of new financial models – a Member queried the timescales for this work and it was reported that a report on this would be submitted to the Committee at its 31 January 2017 meeting as part of the report detailing progress in implementing the recommendations from the Housing Task Group.

·                     Gillingham Park – a Member expressed disappointment that the park had not been awarded green flag status and hoped the standard would be met soon.

·                     Adult Social Care Strategy - noting that the Strategy had only been in place a short time, a Member commented that it was too soon to conclude that it was a success. The Assistant Director – Transformation undertook to feed this back to the Interim Director – Children and Adult Services.

·                     Citizen Panel - referring to the figures for dissatisfaction with Council services, a Member asked what the dissatisfaction related to and what was being done to improve matters. The Assistant Director – Transformation replied that the figure came from the Citizens Panel. The reasons behind the dissatisfaction were not pursued but if levels were significantly higher then this would happen. Another Member referred to the fact that only 50% of people agreed that the Council provided value for money services and commented it would be useful to see more detail about which services were not felt to offer value for money.

·                     Complaints – referring to a complaint relating to a safeguarding adults matter which had been upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman, a Member suggested that the Health and Adult Social Care O&S Committee look at this in more detail.

·                     Digital Innovation – a Member queried the use of digital technology in relation to foster carers, commenting this was the sort of service better delivered face to face. The Assistant Director – Transformation advised that the digital changes resulted from work with foster carers who had expressed a strong preference to see the entire process mapped out on line from the outset and to be able to control their personal information online.

·                     Digital skills in the community - it was clarified that this related to adult education classes, IT skills clinics in libraries etc.

·                     Community Clear Up Days – a Member made the point that many organisations were involved in these events, which the report did not reflect.

·                     Evening Classes – a Member asked if there was any scope for using the facilities funded for Level 4 apprenticeships in engineering and digital technologies for evening classes.

·                     Childhood Obesity – referring to the Healthy Weight Network aimed at preventing childhood obesity, a Member referred to parts of Medway where there were no footpaths, which made it impossible for children to walk safely to school.

·                     Staying Connected Programme – a Member commented that other organisations other than the Kent fire and rescue service were involved in work to reduce social isolation.

·                     Key Measures of Success – it was argued that the figures were of little value unless there was a clear understanding of what the targets were for and their achievability. The example of highways maintenance targets being reduced to meet levels of customer satisfaction was given. Also, an analysis of trends was not possible due to the targets continually changing. The Assistant Director – Transformation commented that Members would be able to scrutinise target setting and see information about trends when they considered the review of the Council Plan in January.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)        agreed to note the quarter 2 2016/17 performance against the Key Measures of Success used to monitor progress against the Council Plan 2016/17, and;

b)        referred the complaint relating to a safeguarding adults matter upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman to the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.