Agenda item

Medway’s Council Plan 2023/24 sets out the Council’s three priorities and the measures used to monitor performance. This report and appendices summarise how we performed in Q4 2023/24 on the delivery of these priorities and the actions we are taking to improve performance.

This report also presents the Q4 2023/24 review of strategic risks which fall under the remit of this committee (Appendix 2).

Discussion:

The Head of Council Planning and Programmes introduced the report which summarised the performance of the Council Plan programmes and values that fall under the remit of the committee for Q4 2023/24.

The report also presented the Q4 2023/24 review of strategic risks at Appendix 2. There were no changes to strategic risk scores in the quarter.

The following issues were discussed:

Tree planting - a Member expressed disappointment that performance measures in relation to climate change did not include a target for planting trees. Tree planting was important to supporting the climate and he felt this should be considered by Cabinet.

Hoo Sports Centre – a Member welcomed the investment in replacing outdated gas boiler and solar panels at Hoo Sports centre, he commented that further investment in the centre would be helpful.

CO2 emissions- it was commented that the data for CO2 reduction dated back to 2021-2022 and more recent data was requested. The Head of Council Planning and Programmes undertook to request the information from the relevant service and provide it to the Committee in writing.

Child Friendly Medway – in response to a request to provide additional information about the work of Child Friendly Medway and its benefits to residents, the Community and Engagement Officer, explained the service currently led a wide range of projects and events the majority of which were funded through external grants.

The Community and Engagement Officer added the service prioritised listening to children and young people’s voices. They provided free activities such as reading projects to support the Council’s literacy strategy, ran a wide range of free events for young people including the Mini Youth Games and soft play to promote early years development.

One example of the positive work undertaken by the service was free events at the Strood Sport Centre which were undertaken following instances of anti-social behaviour at the centre. This had reduced reports of anti-social behaviour in the area.

Voice of Young People – it was asked how the team ascertained the views of young people, the Community Engagement Officer informed the Committee that at each Child Friendly Medway event the team provided an opportunity for young people to anonymously provide their views to the Council on a range of issues. This was popular with thousands of views being received in 2022-23 from a wide demographic of young people. In addition, the team sometimes focused on particular topics such as violence against women and young people and had supported events for the Leader of the Council and the Council Chief Executive to hear directly from young people. Responses had revealed common themes, and they were passed on to the relevant teams for review and action.

Members welcomed the work of Child Friendly Medway. It was suggested the Council may wish to consider opportunities to work with partners such as Medway Norse to promote access to local events through sharing resources.

Decision:

1.     The Committee considered the Q4 2023/24 performance against the measures used to monitor progress against the Council’s priorities (Appendix 1).

2.     The Committee noted the Q4 2023/24 Strategic Risk Summary (Appendix 2).

3.     The Committee requested Cabinet consider setting targets for tree planting be added to performance monitoring in relation to climate change.