Agenda item

Notice of Motion: Performance Management - Reporting Arrangements

At the meeting of the Council held on 17 October 2016 (minute 67 (5) refers), the attached Notice of Motion, ‘Performance Management Reporting Arrangements’ proposed by Councillor Phil Gilchrist and seconded by Councillor Stuart Kelly was referred by the Mayor to the People, Environment and Business Overview and Scrutiny Committees for consideration.

 

In accordance with Standing Order 7 (6), Councillor Gilchrist has been invited to attend the meeting in order for him to be given an opportunity to explain the Motion.

 

Minutes:

The Chair of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee reported that at the meeting of the Council held on 17 October 2016 (minute 67(5) refers), the following Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Phil Gilchrist and seconded by Councillor Stuart Kelly was referred by the Mayor to this Committee for consideration –

 

“PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – REPORTING ARRANGMENTS

 

Council notes:

 

1.  the training session on the arrangements for Performance Management held on 7September 2016, attended by a wide range of Members across all parties, at which Members were informed regarding the range of indicators chosen for future reports based on the progress with the Wirral Plan;

 

2.  the concern expressed at that meeting that these reports and proposed indicators do not cover the range of established indicators that Council Members have always followed and expected to see, such as progress with staff appraisals, the level of staff sickness and absence and other issues;

 

3.  that many Members at the training session made the case for a wider range of indicators to show how Council services are performing;

 

4.  that the former Families and Wellbeing Policy & Performance Committee received performance monitoring data on a range of indicators that are and remain sensitive and significant in the light of OFSTED’s recent findings.

 

Council, therefore, requests that:

 

(i)  as the data is still being collected and analysed by officers, a set of such wider indicators should be presented to Members on a regular basis;

 

(ii)  accompanying quarterly performance data, there should also be information as to the target expected in that quarter, in addition to the year end and Plan end (2020) target;

 

(iii)  the choice of indicators needs to be relevant to the 2020 pledge and undertakes to review those indicators chosen to measure pledge success prior to reporting for Quarter 2 performance;

 

(iv)  officers report to each Overview and Scrutiny committee the ‘added value’ expected for those indicators that have been included within the 2020 Vision Plan and, in respect of indicators flagged as under or over preforming, additional information and actions proposed in respect of those indicators.

 

In order to secure a transparent and open review, Members should be invited to submit details of the key areas that they wish to see reported upon by the end of October.

 

The Spokespersons of each of the newly created Overview and Scrutiny Committees should be requested to examine these suggestions and ensure a sufficient, timely and readily accessible mechanism for such data in future reports.

 

Councillor Phil Gilchrist introduced the Motion and set out his views on the various elements of the Motion, suggesting a ‘back-to-basics’ approach and general methodology in relation to data gathering and reporting both past and present. He explained the difficulties that could be faced by the re-definition of data-sets and problems that this can cause with regard to performance measurement over time. He further requested that the need for Members’ access to data, to ensure essential monitoring of corporate performance. Councillor Gilchrist then also commented on other Local Authorities data that could be easily accessed via their websites e.g. Barnet and Stockport.

 

The Chair thanked Councillor Gilchrist for his contribution to the meeting, and expressed her own concern that not all data-sets that had been available in the past were easily accessible now. She informed that the meeting agenda contained a variety of performance focused reports, but was in agreement with the sentiments expressed by Councillor Gilchrist. 

 

A Member stated that it was his opinion that there remained more work to do, and that the context of data monitoring and comparison over a period of time was most helpful in the role of Scrutiny Member.

 

The Chair informed that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be looking at the data for Quarter 2 later on in the meeting agenda, on both how the data had been presented and performance.

 

On a motion by the Chair, duly seconded it was –

 

Resolved - That

 

1)   the Notice of Motion be supported;

 

2)   the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee notes that this Notice of Motion is to be considered by the 2 other Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSC), and that a meeting has already taken place between the OSC Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Spokespersons as requested; and

 

3)   a further meeting of the OSC Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Spokespersons is to be scheduled in the New Year to consider feedback from the OSC Committees on the presentation and content of performance data.  

 

Supporting documents: