Agenda item

Medway’s Council Plan 2022/23 sets out the Council’s three priorities. This report and appendices summarise how we performed in Q2 2022/23 on the delivery of the programmes and measures which fall under the remit of this committee which are:

·       Priority: Growth (Appendix 1)

Given the overarching responsibilities of this Committee to provide guidance and leadership on the development and coordination of the scrutiny function for all overview and scrutiny committees, this report also contains: 

·       a performance summary of all services (Appendix 2)

This report also presents the Q2 2022/23 review of strategic risks (Appendix 3).

Discussion:

The Committee considered a report which summarised performance during Quarter 2 of 2022/23. The report also presented a review of strategic risks.

The following issues were discussed:

·       SR29, Income reduction due to Covid – It was suggested that this risk be expanded to cover income reduction due to the cost-of-living crisis. In response the Chief Finance Officer said that this would be monitored; at present leisure services income was holding up well.

·       HC4, the number of private sector properties improved as a result of Council intervention – Assurance was sought that the Council was doing all it could to avoid a situation like the tragedy that had recently occurred in Rochdale. There was a concern that incidents of damp and mould might get worse as people kept windows closed to reduce energy costs. The Head of Strategic Housing said that the Council had a number of resources in place to address this. With regard to the Council’s social housing stock, resident liaison officers fostered positive relationships with residents and stock condition surveyors contacted all tenants over the year, specifically asking if there were any issues with damp and mould. This proactive approach included taking preventative measures such as gutter repairs. With regard to private housing stock, enforcement action was taken where appropriate. The Head of Strategic Housing said that there might need to be a refocus within the housing teams to give these issues higher priority. Asked about the potential to use smart technology to detect mould and damp, he said that discussions had been held with a company on such a device for the Council’s housing stock. He would speak to the Council’s larger social landlords to establish if they had any similar plans.   

·       Asked specifically about fire hazards following recent incidents, the Head of Strategic Housing said that the fire stopping measures that were in place had contained the fires on those occasions. He agreed that there was a need to raise awareness about fire hazards, particularly material stored in communal areas, and undertook to initiate a fire awareness campaign. When such incidents occurred, officers would sticker the items requesting that they be removed within a certain timeframe. If they remained, they would be removed and stored, and destroyed if not claimed.

·       Housing policies on hazards – Further information was sought on types and gradings of hazards, particularly within private housing stock. The Head of Strategic Housing said that these were detailed with the Enforcement and Licensing policy and the Damp and Mould policy, and he would share both of these with Members. He agreed that more work could be done with supported housing providers so that they could advise vulnerable tenants on various hazards.

·       W6CP, Satisfaction with refuse collection – Citizens’ Panel result – It was questioned how this had received a ‘green’ score when recycling rates had dropped below 50%. It was suggested that the refuse collection service was failing, and a more accurate representation was required in reports. There was concern that the ‘green’ scores might not always be right. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer said that the way in which performance was being managed was being reviewed to improve the narrative, with training provided to officers who contributed to performance reports.

·       Future Government funding – The Head of Strategic Housing confirmed that future funding for the rough sleeping initiative would be provided up to 2025 but domestic abuse funding beyond the current year had not yet been confirmed. 

Decision:

1.    The Committee considered the Q2 2022/23 performance against the measures used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities and noted the amended Strategic Risk Summary as set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

2.    The Committee noted the classification of risks as live or managed as set out in sections 2.7 and 2.8 of the report.