Issue - meetings

To consider the attached report of the Head of Leadership Support.

The Performance Report – Quarter 3, 2019-20 had 3 red performance indicators, which were as followed:

·        EKHL1 (Average time taken to re-let council dwellings)

·        EKHC3 (Former tenant arrears as % of annual debt)

·        HOU010a (Number of households living in Temporary Accommodation including B&B)

Civica

In respect of KPI06-D (Average call waiting time in seconds), Members were advised that the format of the performance indicator could be changed and that the Head of Leadership Support was reviewing it for the 2020-21 performance report. In terms of the performance of the indicator, Members were reminded that the contract with Civica was to provide the same service as before for cheaper not an improved service. There would therefore be a cost attached to Civica providing an improved service.

EKHL1 (Average time taken to re-let council dwellings)

There was concern expressed that the performance of this indicator was deteriorating and the Strategic Director (Corporate Resources) acknowledged that there was a significant voids issue to resolve.

EKHD1 – 4

In response to a question from the committee as to why there was no RAG status and no targets for indicators EKHD 1 – 4, Members were advised that this was due to the incomplete roll out of Universal Credit in the district which made it difficult to set targets.

Members questioned the accuracy of the calculation behind some of the East Kent Housing performance indicators and it was suggested that these indicators should be looked at in more depth the next time the Performance Report came to the committee.

GOV004 (The number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received)

Members requested that a breakdown of the areas that the FOI requests related to be provided in future.

Operations and Commercial

Members welcomed the performance levels achieved by the planning service.

In respect of electric vehicle (EV) charging points, Members were advised that the Council was working with Kent County Council to co-ordinate this although there were power supply issues with some sites that made it difficult to implement. Councillor C A Vinson suggested that in addition to EV charging points in car parks on-street charging should also be explored. It was acknowledged that while there were grants available to help with the roll out of EV charging points they didn’t cover the whole cost of the works.

Councillor D G Beaney expressed concerns over the condition of Kearsney Park and was advised that works had started later than intended on the site and the recent weather had not helped. Members were reassured that the post-project audit would explore these issues.

RESOLVED:       That the Strategic Director (Operations and Commercial) provide an update to a future meeting on electric vehicle charging points.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Leadership Support.

Responsibility: Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance

It was agreed that the Council’s Performance Report and Actions for the Third Quarter 2019/20 be noted.