Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Hamida Ali

Officer: Interim Assistant Chief Executive, Elaine Jackson

Key decision: no

RESOLVED: To

1.    Review the corporate FPR report (appendix A) as at 31 August 2021 with regard to overall performance against the Croydon Renewal Plan.  Noting areas of good performance and those of concern.

2.    Note the progress made, and areas of concern, against programmes and projects in relation to milestones, deliverables and issues.

3.    Note the progress made against savings and growth targets as identified in the Croydon Renewal Plan.  More detail on this area can be found in Table 2a of the Financial Monitoring Report also being presented at this Cabinet meeting.

4.    That Cabinet identify areas of performance within the FPR report (appendix A of the report) where they require deeper analysis and benchmarking (where applicable) to be presented in the next FPR report at the 15 November Cabinet for discussion and action.

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) noted that Cabinet had seen iterations of the report at previous meetings which responded to the Administration’s commitment to be open and transparent to both Members and residents. It was noted that the report was beginning to show some progress on key targets across the council; however the Leader stated that the report was a snapshot in time only.

The Leader highlighted that two thirds of performance measures were on track, but noted that the report highlighted areas where more progress was required.

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) welcomed the report and the move to making performance management public and opening the council up to greater scrutiny. In particular he welcomed the data on frontline services which a number of queries from residents were in relation to.

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance suggested that in previous years performance, which should have been measured and had not been done as would have been expected, and so welcomed the KPIs within the report which would support the improvement work that was being undertaken within the council.

The Chief Executive (Katherine Kerswell) advised Members that it was unlikely that the report would be entirely finalised as it was piece of work which was constantly built upon. As data and information was analysed, greater understanding was developed. Members were further advised that it was the ambition for data sheets to be available on the website to enable the public to access them and analyse them.

Members were advised by the Chief Executive that the council had invited those who had undertaken the non-statutory rapid review for the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government in 2020 had been invited to return to Croydon to assess the work which had been undertaken in the previous year. One of the areas that had been raised during the previous review had been the lack of a performance report and the introduction of such a report was welcomed.

In response to questions, the Chief Executive advised that the council could learn from the Local Government Association but advised caution in terms of the organisation not getting beyond itself as it remained on the road to recovery. It was highlighted that the report was only as good as the information provided and it was important that officers understood the value of the report and it was used to support delivery improvements.

The Leader of the Opposition (Councillor Jason Perry) welcomed the performance report and questioned whether the Leader would commit to maintaining such a report; whether the data was positive or negative. In response the Leader confirmed that the performance report would continue to be provided and would be enhanced. It was noted that it was an important tool for the council to understand the performance of services.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Jason Cummings) noted that the data was not only important for Members but the public also. The recycling data was raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member as it was noted that the council was not meeting recycling rates and that there had been significant drops in recent months. In light of this, he queried what the cause of the drop was and whether it was resulting in the council paying more for landfill.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon stated that for 2020/21 the garden waste collection was not included in the data. Members were informed that if the rates for Q1 and Q2 were combined it showed an increase in recycling rates; however it was noted that due to covid-19 general waste collection had increased by 20%, which was a trend seen elsewhere. Additionally composting waste tonnage had increased by 12 – 15%, which alongside the general waste increase, had resulted in a reduction in the recycling rate. Members were informed that an update from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs was due to be published later in the year which would show the national picture.

Concerns were raised by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Scott Roche) that staff were concerned about job security as it was reported there were rumours of further cuts to staffing within the council; as such he queried what the council would say to those members of staff. The Leader stated that the approach to the budget for 2022/23 was to protect as many services as possible. One of the areas of focus was reviewing the contracts the council let to ensure they were achieving best value for money. The Leader, however, stated that she was not in a position to confirm there would be no cuts but assured Members that the council would work with staff and trade unions.

The Chief Executive requested that Members informed her of any staff who were expressing concerns so she could speak with them directly. It was noted that staff had been upset recently in relation to coverage on savings proposals as they had not been spoken to. This was due to there not being any firm proposals in place; however Members were advised that senior staff had spoken to the affected staff directly. The Chief Executive further highlighted that she had undertaken a webinar with staff the previous week and had highlighted the need for further savings to be made.

Concerns were raised in relation to responsive repairs by the Shadow Cabinet Member for Families, Health & Social Care (Councillor Yvette Hopley). She noted that she had raised concerns at the Council meeting during the previous week but felt that there had not been a realisation as to the situation. Given her concerns, she queried whether the figures contained within the report were accurate and whether boiler repairs would be included within the report going forward.

The Leader informed Members that the council was aware that there was a need to fully baseline performance in terms of repairs; as such the indicators within the report would be updated following work to fully review the Axis contract.

The Shadow Cabinet Member confirmed that she had reported her concerns to the Executive Directors and the Cabinet Member in advance of the Council meeting.

In response to the concerns raised the Cabinet Member for Homes (Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice) confirmed that the issues raised at the Council meeting had been followed up and that a response would be provided to the Shadow Cabinet Member by the end of the week. In terms of the data, the Cabinet Member noted that the performance levels were those in relation to the London average however more robust measures would be put in place. The Cabinet Member provided assurances that any issues would be reported in the performance report as there was no intention to hold back data as the intention was to understand where there were issues and to improve the service. The Cabinet Member further welcomed contributions for additional measures and informed Members that the council was in conversation with tenants and leaseholders in terms of what benchmarking they thought should take place.

Members were informed by the Cabinet Member for Homes that in relation to measure HOU41 c, d and e, that she and the Leader were due to meet with the Managing Director of Axis to discuss the responsive repairs contract.

Councillor Robert Ward requested clarification in terms of the Value for Money report on Fairfield Halls, and why the report had been paused. In response, the Chief Executive advised the external auditors (Grant Thornton) had requested to complete some further work which was being undertaken. Once that work had been completed, the external auditors would advise the council of the outcome. Members were advised that the report had been provided to only herself and the Section 151 Officer (Richard Ennis) in confidentiality only.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning (Councillor Maria Gatland) noted that a red indicator had 29% of Child Protection children subject to a plan for second or subsequent time against a target of 18% and queried what was causing that performance and the work which was being done to tackle it.

In response, the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning (Councillor Alisa Flemming) confirmed that the performance figure was high, however stated that all red indicators were reviewed regularly both at the Children’s Improvement Board and in one to one meetings. It was stated that the increased in Child Protection cases was directly linked to covid-19. As children and young people were returning to school, more families were being referred. The Interim Executive Director of Children, Families & Education (Debbie Jones) advised Members that the cases were reviewed very regularly and that the situation in Croydon was similar to the experiences of statistical neighbours as there had been an increase in children on Child Protection Plans generally.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Andy Stranack) welcomed the commitment of providing performance reports, but raised concerns in relation to the council not adopting a new Community Safety Strategy. Additionally he suggested that indicators should be provided which monitored the council’s relationships and partnerships with the voluntary and community sector.

Clarification was provided by the Leader of the Council that a Community Safety Strategy was in place as the previous Strategy had been extended to enable the council to engage with stakeholders to develop a new Strategy which reflected the priorities of the council. The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed) further informed Members that the draft Strategy had been discussed at a scrutiny meeting and was due to go to the next Safer Croydon Partnership meeting.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To

1.     Review the corporate FPR report (appendix A) as at 31 August 2021 with regard to overall performance against the Croydon Renewal Plan.  Noting areas of good performance and those of concern.

2.     Note the progress made, and areas of concern, against programmes and projects in relation to milestones, deliverables and issues.

3.     Note the progress made against savings and growth targets as identified in the Croydon Renewal Plan.  More detail on this area can be found in Table 2a of the Financial Monitoring Report also being presented at this Cabinet meeting.

4.     That Cabinet identify areas of performance within the FPR report (appendix A of the report) where they require deeper analysis and benchmarking (where applicable) to be presented in the next FPR report at the 15 November Cabinet for discussion and action.