Agenda item

Medway’s Council Plan 2016/21 sets out the Council’s three priorities. This report and appendices summarise how we performed in Quarter 1 (Q1) of 2020/21 on the delivery of the two priorities relevant for this Committee: Place and Growth.

During Q1 of 2020/21, as the Council has moved from the Response to Recovery phase of the Emergency Planning procedures, the Strategic Risk Management Group (SRMG) has resumed monitoring of strategic risks. Therefore, this report also presents the Q1 2020/21 review of the Council’s Strategic Risk Register.

Discussion:

The Committee received a report setting out performance for Quarter 1 against the Council's two priorities Place and Growth insofar as they fell within the remit of this Committee.

In addition, it was reported that during Quarter 1, as the Council had moved from the response to recovery phase of the emergency planning procedures, the Strategic Risk Management Group (SRMG) had resumed monitoring of strategic risks. Therefore, the report included the Quarter 1 2020/21 review of the Council's Strategic Risk Register.

The Committee discussed the following:

• LRCC4a – Number of jobs created and safeguarded – The Committee acknowledged that due to the Covid pandemic it was only to be expected that this performance measure would be below target in Quarter 1. The Committee asked whether this was likely to show an improvement by the end of the year and what action was being taken to encourage and attract businesses to relocate or set up in Medway.

In response, the Committee was informed that several groups had been formed under the umbrella of the Kent Resilience Forum, specifically to address the future for businesses post the Covid pandemic and officers were actively involved in these groups.

The Assistant Director – Regeneration advised that as Vice Chairman of the Kent Resilience Forum Covid -19 Recovery Group, she worked closely with Kent County Council and a wide range of external partners on this issue. She confirmed that Medway’s Economy and Infrastructure Cell had undertaken an Impact Assessment and produced an Action Plan which was due to be adopted shortly. As the pandemic was continuing, at the current time it was difficult to predict the likely impact on businesses post-Covid but it was anticipated that there would be a further increase in unemployment rates when the Government’s furlough scheme ceased at the end of October.

Medway was currently identifying its strengths and how it could build upon these to attract businesses and she confirmed that Innovation Park Medway was continuing to attract interest.

• NI117 (16-17) – The percentage of 16 – 17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) – Although this performance indicator fell within the remit of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in response to a question, the Director of Place and Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that the work of the Officer Skills Board and the Member Skills Board enabled a corporate response.

• Corporate Risk: SR32 – Data and Information – The Committee discussed the benefits of sharing information between different sections of the Council so as to alleviate the need for an individual to send information on several occasions to different services. The Head of Business Intelligence confirmed that this issue was listed for review as part of the Council’s Transformation Programme and she advised that the Council had already signed up to the ‘Tell Us Once’ Service through its Registration Service.

• Skills shortages – In response to a question, the Assistant Director – Regeneration advised that Medway had a strong Economic Partnership ‘Medway for Business’ which was overseeing the delivery of the action plan on economic recovery after Covid. Both the Portfolio Holder for Inward Investment, Strategic Regeneration and Partnerships and the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Economic Growth and Regulation served on this body along with representatives from a wide range of partners and the business sector.

Decision:

The Committee noted the Quarter 1 2020/21 performance against the measures used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities and the amended strategic risk register as set out in Appendix 3 of the report.