Agenda item

Members received the Finance and Performance Improvement Report: 2017/18 for Quarter 1, which provided information of performance against the Corporate Plan themes. It was identified that as the Council was midway through its transition to the 2017/18 Corporate Plan Themes, for Quarter 1, the report would continue to report on the Priorities identified for 2016/17.

Members noted that overall, the performance across the Council was good, with 91% exceeding or close to their targets and Doncaster had performed well in many ways. However, a number of areas continued to prove problematic, including schools persistent absenteeism, drug treatment success rates, repeat referrals to children’s services and staff sickness rates.

Directors or their representatives, from each Directorate were in attendance at the meeting in order to respond to any questions from Members or provide greater information when needed.

During the meeting, it was questioned whether a piece of work could be commissioned to allow annual monitoring of the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant given the cross-cutting nature of the work. It was felt that this issue had progressed well and Members would like to ensure that this standard was maintained.  It was suggested that a one-page assessment could be included within the quarterly performance report provided on an annual basis. It was felt that this would enable the Committee to have an oversight of performance and find out more about what had been delivered over the previous year.

Finance and Corporate Services

It was reported that sickness continued to be a problem but Officers were optimistic that this was improving with the direction of travel upwards, and the target set at 8.75 days per employee, with an overall figure currently sitting at 9.3 days per employee.

In terms of financial projections, it was reported that at the end of Quarter 1, the projected overspend for 2017/18 was £2.8m which included £1.3 of the Children’s Trust overspend. It was reported that this could therefore mean that the final overspend for 2017/18 was much higher than initially anticipated, and would mean using Reserves to fund this. This was largely down to the Children’s Trust, over which the Council had no direct control.

Adults, Communities and Public Health

Patrick Birch, Programme Manager, Commissioning and Contracts, reported that the service was performing well, with statistics moving in the right direction. There had been a number of changes in terms of senior management, with new people moving into roles, and could always prove challenging in the interim, but the service was doing well, and it was important to work to improve further and not become complacent.

A query was raised by Members in terms of a number of indicators that whilst showing as green at the current time, were showing a downwards direction of travel. It was recognised that this was an issue of concern as further slippage could occur, and this was a possibility in a number of areas. It was requested that more information was provided on these issues in order to understand where the problems may lie. The Programme Manager reported that he would look to provide a written response to Members with further information.

Victor Joseph, Public Health Consultant, informed the Committee that Performance within Public Health was good, with Doncaster performing better than other Peer areas.

With regard to Substance Misuse, Members noted that progress was being made in this area with non-opiate treatment performing better than opiate treatment. However, progress had been made since the previous quarter. Members were informed that the problems arose when the patient refused to accept further help and was difficult to manage and control the situation leaving the patient at risk of relapse.

Learning and Opportunities

Leanne Hornsby, Assistant Director, Commissioning and Business Development was in attendance at the meeting to respond to Members questions in relation to the performance of the Directorate, and reported that there continued to be a number of areas of concern.

Persistent absenteeism was one area that continued to cause concern, particularly in secondary schools. This level had risen over 18% for secondary schools, and four of Doncaster’s academies had reported persistent absence rates of over 25%. Members were informed that a review was going to be undertaken, and one of the themes within the Doncaster Growing Together Plan was inclusion, and a key priority would be to target attendance in schools. A series of challenge meetings had been established to address the problem and strategies and targets introduced in order to move in the right direction.

In relation to this issue, the Committee requested that the Chair wrote to the Portfolio Holder in order to raise awareness of their concerns, as it was a huge issue with far reaching implications.

Regeneration and Environment

Peter Dale, Director of Regeneration and Environment reported that the performance figures for the Directorate were pleasing, with strong economic growth seen and good levels of inward investment. It was reported that housing, jobs and business were all particularly doing well. Members were informed that an Economic Strategy was being developed in order to take account of any issues that needed addressing, and it was important that the Council was resilient to any potential shocks such as the 2008 recession in the future.

Concern was raised as to a number of targets, and whether these were accurate in their reading or whether adjustments needed to be made, particularly in relation to the waste and recycling target, where Doncaster was in fact over achieving. Officers responded to this, stating that the targets would be reviewed once the new contract came into effect, but additionally that this would be the case with other performance indicators too as and when it was thought appropriate.

Queries were also raised in terms of local expenditure, fuel poverty and numbers of people killed or seriously injured on Doncaster’s roads. Whilst all these indicators were doing well, Members felt that perhaps more narrative was needed in order to explain background behind the targets.

            RESOLVED that

1)    Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee note the areas of performance and financial information;

2)    The virements approved by the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive and Cabinet as detailed in Appendix B be noted;

3)    The fees and charges information as detailed in paragraph 39 of the report be noted.