Agenda item

Medway’s Council Plan 2021/22 sets out the Council’s three priorities. This report and appendices summarise how we performed in Q4 2021/22 on the delivery of the two priorities relevant for this Committee: Place and Growth.

Discussion:

Members considered a report on performance in Quarter 4 2021/22 on the delivery of the two priorities in the Council Plan relevant for this Committee: Place and Growth.

The following issues were discussed:

• Measure W6CP, Satisfaction with refuse collection – Citizen Panel result – concern was expressed that this was at amber, particularly as the recycling rate was now under 50%. The Deputy Chief Executive commented that performance stood at 84.8% against a target of 85%. Although recycling rates were not as high as he would like, the Council was committed to increasing them.

• Climate change and the Local Plan – in response to whether the lack of a new local plan would affect progress on climate change, the Deputy Chief Executive assured Members that this would not be the case.
• Measure NI 154, net additional homes provided – how confident the Council was that this target could be met was questioned, and the Deputy Chief Executive commented that the target last year had been 1,000 but this year was around 1,500/1,600, which would be a significant challenge. 
• Cultural Strategy – the importance of this having tangible benefits was emphasised. The Deputy Chief Executive agreed with this point and noted the strategy had been developed in consultation with the public, with high levels of engagement and support.
• Measure NI 195a, Improved street and environmental cleanliness: Litter – given the litter problems caused by some fast food outlets, some surprise was expressed that during Quarter 4, 97% of streets surveyed had been free from litter at the time of the inspections. Members were advised that any concerns about litter hotspots would be responded to. The Council carried out regular surveys to arrive at the 97% figure. A briefing note on the surveys, including how regular they were and where they took place was agreed.

A point was made that the level of service received differed according to where a person lived and priority areas should be tackled first.

• St John Church improvements – details of this were requested.
• Citizens Panel – whether this represented a cross section of Medway’s population and whether sample sizes could be increased were queried. It was agreed that a briefing note on the Citizens Panel would be produced.
• Parks and open spaces – a point was made that the reasons for the drop in user satisfaction should be examined and Member requests for repairs or interventions should be included in the statistics. The Deputy Chief Executive commented that satisfaction rates were over 80%, but he would reflect on this and acknowledged the important links to public health. While not complacent, there were eight green flag accredited sites in Medway.
• Street parties – a suggestion was made that the Council should encourage residents to hold street parties in a specific week of the year.
• City Status – a point was made that the Council should talk to residents before making another bid as there were mixed feelings about achieving city status. The Deputy Chief Executive commented that any decision on a new bid would be a Member decision.
• GVA per job – in response to a question officers agreed to look at whether inflation could be included in the figures.
• Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) - in response to a question about confidence in delivering the programme, officers responded work was taking place on detailed designs and work was underway to deliver the programme.
• Litter picking event – the Environmental Health team were congratulated on a recent successful litter picking event.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to:

a)    Note the Q4 2021/22 performance against the measures used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities.

b)    Note that details of the St John’s Church improvements would be shared.

c)    Request briefing notes on litter surveys, including how regular they were and where they took place and also on the Citizen’s Panel.

d)    Note that officers would examine whether inflation could be included in the GVA per job figures.

e)    request that Members’ requests for repairs to greenspaces infrastructure be added to the action plan and consideration given how this could be incorporated into the satisfaction figures.