Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Performance and Partnerships (PP/24/05), seeking endorsement of the proposed Corporate Performance Framework, attached.

RESOLVED

(a) that the Corporate Performance Framework be endorsed;

(b) that the provisional headline indicators, as set out in appendices one and two be approved, noting they will be developed and added to; and

(c) that the Director of Performance and Partnerships will provide a quarterly performance report under the new Corporate Performance Framework to the Cabinet on 13 November 2024.

(Councillors Leaver and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Performance and Partnerships (PP/24/05), which sought endorsement of the proposed Corporate Performance Framework, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

On 13 December 2023 (Min 433 refers) Cabinet agreed the development of a new Corporate Performance Framework which had been informed by the outcomes of the Members’ Day held on 28 November 2023. The Report described the development and introduction of that Framework.

The new Framework would help the Council to know whether it was providing value for money to residents and businesses, but also the ability to benchmark performance against other similar areas, comparator local authorities and the Office for Local Government’s (Oflog) metrics, availability of information to enable the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of services to be assessed, the capability to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement, to support and complement the management of risks and support for joint working with partners and taking shared responsibility for outcomes.

A dashboard of Key Performance Indicators would be complemented by a narrative that drew on insight and intelligence held across the Council and, where appropriate, by partners, to identify both good performance and areas for improvement.

The Framework had been structured in line with the Council’s Operating Principles approved by Cabinet on 13 March 2024 of Governance and Assurance, Financial Sustainability, People first, Partnerships, Digital self-service and Evidence-informed.

The Corporate Performance Framework would monitor achievement against the “Best Place” Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025 and Corporate Plan 2024/25 across three levels of Strategic Performance, Directorate and Service Performance and Change and Improvement Plans.

At the strategic level, headline indicators and insight would provide performance information that would be drawn from Strategic Plan priorities. Where priorities were being delivered in partnership, there was a shared responsibility to measure and assess performance in ways that supported collective delivery and achievement of outcomes.

At Directorate / Service level, each Directorate had a set of performance indicators to measure and assess the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of services and each of the three Scrutiny Committees would have a role in scrutinising service performance.

In relation to the Council’s five key Change Programmes, the Key Performance Indicators and insights drawn from the programmes would feature in the Corporate Performance Framework reporting.

The Report highlighted the existing arrangements for performance information and reporting and examples thereof, including Committee reporting.

In line with the Council’s ambition to modernise practice, the Framework afforded opportunities to rationalise performance management arrangements and deliver greater economy, effectiveness and efficiency. The new Performance and Partnerships Directorate would have responsibility for organisational performance, quality assurance and improvement including supporting statutory inspections as well as implementing and overseeing the Corporate Performance Framework.

As part of developing the Corporate Performance Framework the Council had conducted a Data and Intelligence Review, and the review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 572