Issue - meetings

To consider a joint report of the Corporate Director, Corporate and Support Services, the Service Director for Strategy and Commissioning and the Service Director for Citizen Focus.

The Third Quarter Update Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs) for the Citizen Focus & Engagement and Resources, Commissioning & Governance Portfolios are presented for consideration by the Committee.

These provide a summary of progress in delivering the Portfolio priority outcomes since the mid-year reports. In the case of the budget and capital updates, these cover the period since the Q2+ report considered by CRMG Scrutiny in January and Cabinet on 1st February.

The Third Quarter Update Reports focus on the Portfolio performance measures which are reported where new data or forecasts are available since the Mid-Year Reports.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:-

·       Consider the Third Quarter Update Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports;

·       Review the progress against key measures, targets and budgets for 2021/22;

·       Highlight key areas of and responsibility for taking forward corrective action to address any performance or resource issues;

·       Highlight any significant issues or changes to be fed back to the Cabinet alongside the Corporate Performance and Resource Report; and

·       Identify how areas of strong performance and good practice can be shared in other services.

Officer contact:

Resources, Commissioning & Governance 

Peter Owston, Strategy and Performance Manager

peter.owston@stockport.gov.uk  (474 3274)

Citizen Focus & Engagement

Alan Lawson, Strategy and Performance Manager

alan.lawson@stockport.gov.uk  (474 5397)

Financial Resources & Monitoring (both Portfolios)

Stephen Pate, CSS Manager (Specialist) Finance

stephen.pate@stockport.gov.uk   (218 1086)

The Corporate Director, Corporate and Support Services (Deputy Chief Executive) submitted a joint report of the Corporate Director, the Service Director for Strategy and Commissioning and Service Director for Citizen Focus (copies of which had been circulated) providing the third quarter update Portfolio Performance and Resource Reports for the Citizen Focus & Engagement and Resources, Commissioning & Governance Portfolios are presented for consideration by the Committee. These provide a summary of progress in delivering the Portfolio priority outcomes since the mid-year reports.

The Cabinet Member for Resources, Commissioning and Governance (Councillor Tom McGee) attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·         It was queried how and why the reporting would be changed in relation to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

·         In response it was stated that the number of cases closed during the quarter and the percentage of those that were closed on time would be reported going forwards, this was to eliminate an anomaly in reporting as currently FOI requests were reported on the basis of when they were received which afforded the service 20 days to respond and close.

·         Raised concerns in relation to the red status of the number of active digital champions.

·         In response, Members were informed that the Digital Champion programme had been affected by the pandemic as volunteer capacity had reduced and the programme required an element of face-to-face support which had not always been possible. It was agreed that a detailed report on digital champions and digital inclusion would be shared with Members at a future meeting.

·         In relation to the downward trend in the number of digital contacts and bin collection day visits, it was queried whether there was more that the council could do to improve the service. In response it was stated that the council could be more proactive within its communications and agreed to provide a future report on how the service is provided to residents.

·         It was queried why the figures in relation to the number of visits to Stockport museums hadn’t increased following a large number of school visits and half term. In response it was stated that the position had changed since the publication of the report as the figures did not include visits recorded during the half term week.

·         In relation to the collection of Business Rates, Members requested clarification in respect of whether the outstanding rate collection related to a larger business or several smaller businesses. In response, it was stated that the council had a varied and wide range business base and that the debt related a number of businesses spread amongst the business rate baseline.

·         Clarification was requested in relation to the council’s position in relation to gully cleaners. In response, Members were advised that the council had commissioned a contractor, in addition to in-house capacity, to meet demand as currently resource in relation to staff who were qualified to operate the machines was insufficient. It was reported that the service was exploring options to resolve this issue which included training and recruitment.

·         It was reported that there was an issue with the online forms as there was only a limited number of options and where a resident selected none, they were unable to continue. It was also reported that the forms required a Stockport address which was impractical for people visiting or passing through the borough to raise any issues they observed.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Corporate Director, Corporate and Support Services (Deputy Chief Executive) be recommended to a conduct a review of the online forms system.