Issue - meetings

To receive the exceptions report on financial and performance information for the year to November 2009.

The Committee received the performance update report summarising performance to November 2009 and the Council’s financial status and including Local Area Agreement (LAA) and Sustainable Community Strategy Outcomes.  Wayne Longshaw (Assistant Chief Executive – Policy, Performance, Partnership & Communication (PPP&C)), Frances Palopoli (Head of Finance Central Services), and Mark Gurrey (Interim Assistant Director of Performance, Children & Young People’s Services), attended to answer the Committee’s questions.

The Committee noted that there was a central performance team that worked with a designated officer in each business unit to deal with any indicators highlighted red.  The Assistant Chief Executive – PPP&C highlighted that some targets were not being met due to a number of issues but stated that he was confident that the Council would meet most targets by the end of the municipal year.  The LAA indicators were 60% on target but there were some challenges in meeting economic indicators due to the current climate.  Committee Members asked why the economic indicators targets had not been relaxed due to the recession and were informed that the Council could reduce local targets but was bound by a contract relating to the Government targets although some had been frozen.  Targets would be revised in the near future.

The Committee asked for a more consistent narrative to be presented alongside the performance data in future reports.

The Committee noted that the data provided a sense of trend and direction for from month to month but the end of year assessment would provide a clearer assessment. 

The Committee requested that NI 59 (Percentage of initial assessments for children’s social care carried out within 7 working days of referral) be added to 8^th March 2010 OSC Child Protection Agenda for consideration.  In response to questions the Committee was informed that there were many factors affecting NI 59 and NI 60 (Percentage of core assessments that were carried out within 35 working days of their commencement) including numbers and quality of staff, detail of referrals from external agencies, the effectiveness of administrative and computer systems and that much of the safeguarding action plan is geared towards improving safeguarding work, part of which is to improve performance against these KPIs.

The Committee agreed that the Chair of the Children’s Trust be requested to identify how budgets were used to support child protection as most of the cost of children in care was met by the Council but budgets sat with other partners, and, what preventative methods could be put in place that might make a difference in keeping children out of care and saving budgets.

The Committee asked for more information on NI 40 (Number of Drug Users recorded as being in effective treatment) to be circulated after the meeting.

RESOLVED

i.          That the report and the progress being made be noted.

ii.         That the Council budget position be noted.