Agenda item

Medway’s Council Plan 2016/21 sets out the Council’s three priorities. This report and appendices summarises how the Council performed during Q4 2019/20 on the delivery of the two priorities relevant for this Committee: ‘Medway: a place to be proud of’ and ‘Maximising regeneration and economic growth’.

Rather than the planned Q4 review of the Corporate Risk Register, this report instead sets out how the Council’s response to Covid-19 has been controlled using the principles and tools of the Risk Management Strategy.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out performance for Quarter 4 against the Council’s two priorities insofar as they fell within the remit of this Committee.

In addition, rather than the planned Quarter 4 review of the Corporate Risk Register, the report set out how the Council’s response to Covid-19 had been controlled using the principles and tools of the Risk Management Strategy.

The Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive drew attention to the following performance measures which had shown a downward trend in Quarter 4:

GH6 CP – Satisfaction with parks and green spaces -He advised that this was the first time in 5 years that this performance indicator had fallen below target. He stated that he was very proud of the greenspace provision in Medway and its 7 Green Flags and expressed appreciation to all the Greenspace volunteers and Friends Groups for the work that they undertake. He was confident that this performance indicator would recover in the next quarter.

NI154 – Net additional homes provided - He advised that this performance indicator was set one year in arrears and advised that the recent Housing Delivery Test Action Plan update reported to Cabinet indicated that performance over the past year had been very strong. This would be reflected in future performance monitoring reports although there would be some element of impact arising from the Coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive informed the Committee that the Council and Homes England had now signed the Grant Determination Agreement (GDA), for Medway’s Housing Infrastructure Fund Bid setting out plans for the multi-million pound infrastructure programme to significantly improve road and rail connections in and around the peninsula, in addition to creating accessible open space. This demonstrated a commitment to Medway’s residents to ensure that the necessary transport and environmental infrastructure was in place before finalising plans for thousands of potential new homes on the Hoo Peninsula. 

The following was discussed:

Citizens’ Panel – In response to a question as to thenumber of individuals involved in the Citizens’ Panel and whether there were plans to refresh and recruit to the Panel, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive advised that the Citizens’ Panel originally comprised 1500 individuals and responses were weighted using a formula to ensure it was representative. He confirmed that there were plans to refresh the Citizens’ Panel and move increasingly towards online responses. It was pointed out that the Citizens’ Panel was only one method used to measure satisfaction.

GH6 New – Satisfaction with parks and green spaces – In response to a question as to the location of a Scheduled Ancient Monument on JacksonsRecreation Ground which had resulted in proposals to revisit the route of an access path for University students, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive agreed to provide further information to the Member direct.

The Committee noted plans to promote Ranscombe Farm as an eighth site to receive a Green Flag in Medway but that judging in 2020 had been postponed due to COVID 19 restrictions. Concerns were expressed that the environment surrounding the entrance to the site and in particular the public right of way entrance off Albatross Avenue in Strood required attention as this was prone to the accumulation of litter. The Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive agreed to follow this up. 

Housing Infrastructure Fund – In response to a question, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive advised that following the signing of the GDA, setting out plans for the multi-million pound infrastructure programme on the Peninsula, it was now proposed that community engagement would increase and update reports would be scheduled for meetings of this Committee.

MAE 3 Achievement rate (pass rate) (establishing and supporting Medway Skills Board and all age skills development programme) – In response to a question, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive advised that the Supported Employment Project and the Scaffolding Training Pilot had both been temporarily delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic but that this funding was ringfenced and the training would commence when it was safe to do so.

NI 195a NEW – Improved street and environmental cleanliness: Litter – The Committee discussed concerns that the information contained in the report on street and environmental cleanliness did not reflect residents’ perceptions. It was noted that the performance measures were derived from a visual inspection of 50 metres and whilst it was noted that this had been the subject of discussion at a previous meeting, there was still concern as to how a visual inspection of this length of street could provide a true reflection of litter in an area.

Whilst it was considered that Medway Norse had provided exceptional service during the coronavirus pandemic in maintaining services such as refuse collection, it was now more important than ever to address street and environmental cleanliness and contract monitoring.

Concern was also expressed as to the way in which statistics and descriptive text were being produced in the report and it was suggested that this be reviewed, to make it more meaningful for the Committee to help it perform its scrutiny role.

In response, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive advised that this Committee reviewed the Waste Contract annually and therefore this would be the appropriate route to address the issue of contract monitoring when officers and the contractor were in attendance to answer questions.

Concerning the content of the performance monitoring report, he offered to set up a meeting between the Member concerned and the Head of Business Intelligence so that they could discuss the layout of the report and the way in which statistics were derived.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)            noted the Quarter 4 2019/20 performance against the measures used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities.

b)            noted that the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive will arrange to provide information to the Member direct as to the location of a Scheduled Ancient Monument on JacksonsRecreation Ground which had resulted in proposals to revisit the route of an access path for University students.

c)            noted that the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive will ask officers to investigate the issue of litter accumulation on the public footpath entrance to Ranscombe Farm.

d)            noted that the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive will set up a meeting between the Member concerned and the Head of Business Intelligence to discuss the format and content and statistical element of the Performance Monitoring report.

e)            noted that update reports will be included on the agenda of this Committee informing the Committee of the progress of future development on the Peninsula.    

In accordance with Council rule 12.6, Councillors Browne, Hubbard and Mahil requested that their votes in favour be recorded.