Issue - meetings

That (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)     the 2013/14 estimated outturns be noted and the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 be agreed.

The Leader of the Council submitted a report setting out the performance indicators the Council was required to publish in its Annual Report.  He advised the Executive of estimated performance for 2013/14 and the proposed targets for the next three years.  

The Executive also noted the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees held on 11 February 2014, which were supportive of the proposed targets.

The Executive approved the recommendation as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the comments of the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees be received; and

(B)      the 2013/14 estimated outturns be noted and the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 be agreed.

The Leader submitted a report on performance indicators that the Council was required to monitor and publish annually in the Annual Report.  The report advised Members of estimated performance for 2013/14 and the targets for the next three years.

Members were advised that the future targets were reflected in the Consolidated Budget Report and the final performance outturns would be reported to Members in May 2014.  Members were also advised that there were seven indicators where benchmarking data was available.  When Officers were looking at the latest data available from the LGA, five indicators were estimated to be performing better than the district average, one in line with the district average and the other below average.

Councillor N Symonds commented on the lower satisfaction rating amongst the customers who used Grange Paddocks leisure centre.  Officers advised that, in terms of customer satisfaction, drawing comparisons between the leisure centres was difficult due to the different types of service on offer at each location.  It was also noted that, although lower than before, the current figure still fell within the ‘Good’ banding.  A detailed explanation of the scores would be provided outside the meeting.

Councillor M Pope commented on the delivery figures for affordable housing and asked whether this included reuse of redundant garage sites.  The Leader stated that these were areas for discussion with housing association colleagues.  The Manager of Housing Services referred to significant housing developments on larger sites in Buntingford plus the applications at Bishop’s Stortford North, all of which should contribute to an increase in affordable housing units in the coming years.

In response to comments from Councillors K Warnell and J Wing regarding the percentage of planning applications decisions delegated to Officers compared to those made by Committee, the Head of Planning and Building Control stated that it was the major and significant planning applications that were reported to Members due to the public interest in such applications. 

Members were advised that having more planning applications decided by Members was a less efficient process than decisions delegated to Officers.  The Head of Planning and Building Control stated that changing the delegation arrangements could result in a significant increase in the number of applications determined by the Development Management Committee.

The joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees resolved that the Executive be informed that the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 should be approved.  The Chairman thanked the Heads of Service for attending to answer Members’ questions.

RESOLVED – that the Executive be informed that the future targets for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 should be approved.