Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee is asked to review and comment on the existing criteria set out in Section 2 above, along with the proposals for wider member involvement in developing the 2017/18 PPRAs.

Officer contact officer for accessing background papers and discussing the report: Steve Skelton, Head of Policy, Performance

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) reminding the Committee that at its meeting on 18 July 2016 it was agreed that future performance reports should include annual trend information and explain ‘tolerance levels’ within targets. The Committee also suggested that a meeting should take place at the beginning of each Municipal Year between Scrutiny Chairs and Executive Councillors to discuss the Portfolio Performance and Resources Agreements (PPRAs), including proposed measures and targets for the year ahead.

The Committee received a presentation in relation to the proposed Performance and Resources Framework for 2017/18 and were invited to review and comment on the existing criteria set out in Section 2 of the report, along with the proposals for wider member involvement in developing the 2017/18 PPRAs.

The following comments were made:

·         It was suggested that the “actual impact” should always be able to be quantified and there was a need to be able to measure outcomes.

·         It was recognised that it could take several years for the impact / outcome to materialise but this needed to be made clear together with when the benefit would be demonstrated.

·         The Committee discussed ‘tolerance levels’ within the RAG ratings and there was a need to be able to justify these with evidence.

·         The Committee welcomed the intention to consult Scrutiny Committees when setting the performance targets.

·         Scrutiny Committees needed to understand the influence/ effect of government policies and the actions of the Council’s partners on the performance data.

·         Data behind the performance targets may be needed to understand the trend (i.e. figures for previous years).

RESOLVED – That The Deputy Chief Executive be requested to consider the comments made above and arrange an extraordinary meeting of this Committee at the end of March (potentially 27 March) to discuss the format of the reports in the next municipal year further.