Agenda item

A report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of December 2022.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Committee.

53.1     The Committee considered the End of December 2022 (Quarter 3) Quarterly Performance and Resources Report from the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services summarising the positions of finance, performance, risk, and workforce (copy appended to the signed minutes).

53.2     Summary of responses to members’ comments and questions: -

·           The lifespan of pothole repairs can depend on ground conditions and whether or not they are urgent fixes – Action: Director of Place Services to provide more detail

·           The additional £4.5m in the Highways & Transport budget is for extra pressures in relation to drainage and pot holes, not Operation Watershed which has its own budget

·           Congestion on the A27 is the responsibility of National Highways but the Council recognise the issues in relation to emissions and the economy

·           Currently there is a statutory instrument in force allowing the Council to keep the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit off its balance sheet, however, if this provision is not extended, the Council will need to bring the deficit back onto the balance sheet which will have a significant impact on Council finances

·           Unused non-ring fenced Covid grant money can be carried forward

·           The Council is investing in children’s homes and doesn’t expect any to close

·           Pooled funds are long-term investments and are always likely to incur short-term losses

·           The relationship between slippage and underspend in the Capital Programme requires clarification – Action: Director of Finance and Support Services to provide clarification

·           The Capital Programme is funded scheme by scheme taking in to account grants for various individual schemes

·           The Council looks at the most cost-effective way to fund each capital project to allow flexibility - this may change over time

·           There are a lot of capital programme schemes in the Learning & Skills portfolio showing as red that aren’t mentioned in the summary - Action: Director of Finance and Support Services to rectify this in future reports

·           The boundary between maintenance as part of revenue and investment in new capital facilities as part of capital projects involving special educational needs was unclear - Action: Director of Finance and Support Services to provide clarification

·           Accelerated capital projects are schemes that have been brought forward - Action: Director of Finance and Support Services to clarify the difference between accelerated schemes and overspend in future reports

·           There was a query as to why the Capital Programme budget had been accelerated - Action: Director of Finance and Support Services report back to the Committee

·           Some revenue schemes can be funded by capital receipts

·           Explanation of a one-off base budget was sought - Action: Director of Finance and Support Services to provide explanation

·           All tenders for contracts worth over £500k must have at least 10% social value

·           A request was made for details of the properties for which a one-off backdated rates rebate of £600k was received - Action: Assistant Director (Property and Assets) to provide details

·           There was a query as to whether in-year staffing vacancies in the Leader’s portfolio has had any impact on service delivery/performance – Action: Leader to investigate

·           The decision - Worthing Public Realm Improvements (WPRI) Endorsement design and procurement Railway Approach Scheme – was now due to be taken in April 2023

·           Under Key Performance Indicator (KPI) 24 the two Brownfield Land Release Fund bids announced referred to the Tannery, Chichester and the Barton’s Primary School site, Bognor Regis

·           There was a query as to whether mobile 4G connectivity was a possible alternative for broadband in rural areas – Action: Director of Place Services to investigate

·           Project Gigabit is a government procurement process - the Council is trying to ensure West Sussex gets good coverage for areas that are hard to reach in terms of connectivity

·           Planning permission for digital masts is being refused in the area covered by the South Downs National Park – Action: Director of Place Services to investigate

·           A new Pulse Survey has been delayed as there was a Health & Wellbeing staff survey recently and an annual staff survey was being considered to replace the multiple pulse surveys each year, this would allow more time for analysis and actions to be implemented before the following survey

·           There was a request for analysis of the days lost to sickness in Adults’ and Children’s Service – Action: Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development to provide

·           Some staff had been off sick due to long Covid or other illnesses developing as a result of Covid

·           There was a query as to whether a monetary figure could be put on days lost due to sickness as in some other authorities – Action: Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development to investigate

·           It would be difficult to determine a salary as a benchmark figure for a KPI on Agency Matrix spend

·           The number of apprentices would be boosted by those starting at the end of March 2023. It is recognised that the majority of current apprentices are employed by the Council already. In future, to encourage a younger workforce, and an apprenticeship first requirement would be used.

·           The status of the KPI for rolling 12-month turnover percentage for permanent positions at HAY Grade (or equivalent) and above was queried - Action: Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development to investigate

·           The number of mental health first aiders was increasing to help staff suffering from long-term anxiety, stress, depression and mental health

53.3     Resolved – that the Committee: -

•      Welcomes the report

•      Recognises issues around the deteriorating condition of the county’s roads (these concerns would be passed to the Chairman of the Community, Highways and Environment Committee) and questioned how the extra budget provision would be spent

·         Raises concerns over the continuing issues around the A27 and requests that the Leader lobbies the National Highways Agency about the needs of the community

·         Requests that future performance and resources reports include more information on the Capital Programme

·         Welcomes the extra workforce information provided in the report

·         Requests that more thought and work is done on the financial implications of staff sickness absence with reference to the information provided by other similar councils