Agenda item

A report by the Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the finance, performance, capital and workforce position as at the end of March 2019 and Outturn for 2018/19.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the March 2019 and Outturn 2018/19 TPM report and make any relevant recommendations for action to the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources or a relevant Select Committee.

7.1  The Committee considered the Total Performance Monitor (TPM) as at end of March 2019 and Outturn 2018/19 report from the Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

7.2  The Director of Finance and Support Services introduced the finance element of the TPM report, highlighting that the overspend has been mitigated by non-portfolio and contingency funds to come to a balanced budget position. This was aided by additional funding in the last settlement announcement regarding business rates plus funds from the improved Better Care Fund. Significant budget pressure is anticipated in the coming year due to the investment required in children’s services.

7.3  The Committee made comments in relation to the finance element of the TPM including those that follow. It:

·                  Noted in relation to the section 151 officer’s report that budget margins have become tighter and reiterated the need to make this known to the government. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources confirmed this is regularly raised with central government, Ministers, the County Council Network and the LGA.

·                  Recognised that the Better care Fund is only available for the current year and if no further funding is received there will be a large financial challenge to be mitigated.

·                  Queried where the £3m saving has come from in the IPEH programme. The Director of Finance and Support Services will provide the information.

·                  Queried where an additional £5m funding pledged to Children’s Services by the Chief Executive has come from. The Director of Finance and Support Services will provide this extra information to the Committee.

·                  Commented that the lessons learned in this outturn TPM report should inform the 2020/21 budget process.

·                  Noted the Highways overspend due to issues with awarding the new maintenance contract and requested the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure be asked to clarify what is causing the repeated pressures on the highways budget.

·                  Commented in relation to highway white lining pressures that in the 2018/19 budget an extra 1% was pledged for white lining and signs, and queried how this money had been spent. The Director of Finance and Support Services will provide the detail of this spend.

·                  Noted the overspend in Facilities Management for reactive maintenance and cleaning and queried why the causes were not foreseen. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Relations will seek clarification for the Committee.

7.4  The Head of Intelligence and Performance introduced the performance element of the TPM report, and highlighted that three quarters of the 68 performance indicators had been met or nearly met including child healthy weight, key stage 2 attainment, cycle paths and delayed transfers of care. Failed indicators were highlighted and further narrative provided on each in the report.

7.5  The Committee made comments in relation to the performance element of the TPM including those that follow. It:

·                  Members expressed concern that the KPIs for the Best Start of Life priority do not reflect the reality within the service and the concerns shown in the recent Ofsted report, nor highlight ‘danger’ areas for Members, and requested that in future issues these should be clearly highlighted within the TPM report for wider Member awareness outside of the individual Select committees. The Head of Intelligence and Performance commented that the KPIs support the current West Sussex Plan and therefore may not be relevant to the issues picked up in the Ofsted report, however it is possible to access more detailed information on each of the measures via the performance dashboard online. The Director of Finance and Support Services commented that a more detailed look at this could be undertaken by the Children and Young People’s Select Committee (CYPSSC).

·                  Recommended that Select Committees should take greater responsibility for performance issues relevant to their portfolio. 

·                  Expressed concern that measure 35 ‘calls to critical fires’ was near but most likely short of target due to a lack of retained firefighters. The Chairman of the Environment, Communities and Fire Select Committee commented that there is a lack of retained firefighters within the county and a task and finish group has been established to look at the impact of this plus the emergency response standard to reflect current arrangements.

7.6  The Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change introduced the workforce element of the TPM report, highlighting an additional KPI for total headcount which has been added to the report. The current turnover rate of staff is 14.3% so this will be an area of focus. The rate of sickness within the council is higher than the average which is possibly due to the way the system records sickness and is unable to exclude weekend days where needed. The cost of spend on agency staff is significantly reduced, saving £1m against the target of £0.5m, and this is being very closely managed. It is intended to bring a more in-depth assessment of workforce analysis for the full year 2018/19, including appraisal return figures, to the next meeting of this Committee

7.7  The Committee made comments in relation to the workforce element of the TPM including those that follow. It:

·                  Queried whether it was possible to change the system of recording attendance and sickness to better reflect the true picture of absence. The Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change explained that this wouldn’t be possible without large cost or administering this outside of the Council. The system counts weekends as sick days, which is a necessary facility as some staff work weekends, however it then skews the wider figures.

·                  Requested that the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change look into whether productivity could be measured across the organisation to demonstrate staff performance and effectiveness. The Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change will consider this suggestion and provide information to the Committee in due course.

7.8  The Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources introduced the transformation element of the TPM report, highlighting that a newsletter is being reviewed that will update Members on specifics of the transformation projects.

7.9  The Committee made comments in relation to the transformation element of the TPM including those that follow. It:

·                  Noted the £6.5m contribution added to the transformation fund in 2019/20 and queried which budget this was allocated from. The Director of Finance and Support Services explained that it was summarised within the Corporate Resources budget reserve in the 2019/20 budget.

7.10  Resolved:

1)          That the Committee requests extra information be provided on the £3m IPEH savings;

2)          That the Committee asks the Leader to continue to lobby the government on the funding situation;

3)          That the Committee expresses concern regarding the KPIs used and how they reflect what is actually happening within services, and requests that officers highlight any ‘danger’ issues at the right time and in an appropriate place;

4)          That the service Select Committees take greater responsibility for performance issues relevant to their portfolio responsibilities;

5)          That the Committee refer a review of the Best Start in Life KPIs to the Children and Young People’s Services Select Committee (CYPSSC) to ensure they are relevant; and

6)          That the Committee requests officers consider how staff productivity across the Council could be measured.