Agenda and minutes

Decision: That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Panel held on 29 November 2018 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To receive and consider the report of the Director (Policy and Governance).

The Chair, Councillor John Walker, welcomed Mark Lester, Director (Business, Development and Growth) and Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader and Executive Member (Economic Development and Public Service Reform) to the meeting.

The Performance Panel received a report from Mark Lester, Director (Business, Development and Growth), which outlined performance at quarter three 2018/19. Vicky Willett, Performance and Partnerships Manager, presented the report.

The services within the Directorate are;

·         Land and Property Services

·         Development and Regeneration

·         Market Walk, Markets and Town Centre

·         Employment, Skills and Business Support

The Panel noted some of the corporate projects being delivered by the Directorate which included bringing forward key sites for development, the delivery of Primrose Gardens, the Market Walk extension and the Digital Office Park, amongst other projects.

Performance against two of the corporate strategy indicators was good, with the overall employment rate for Chorley continuing to increase, and the percentage of 16-17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training continuing to decrease, meaning overall there are more people in employment across the Borough. Unemployment was at 2.8% in Chorley, the second lowest rate across Lancashire.

Performance was lower than anticipated for the number of projected jobs created through the council’s support schemes (job grants, investments and direct business support) this quarter with 64 jobs created against a target of 90. This was due to the current offer for businesses (Choose Chorley grant and the BIG grant) having restrictive criteria. As a result, the criteria for grants would be reviewed.  Following vacancies during quarter three, changes within the team meant that officers were able to proactively develop relationships with local businesses and deliver business events.

There were four new measures for Property Services. Performance against three of the local indicators was good, with all three performing above target. The percentage of land ownership replied to within 3 working days was off target due to one enquiry exceeding the deadline.

Market Walk Extension

Mark Lester advised that every unit had received interest or an offer. Members were reassured that these things take time as there were lots of different negotiations and conditions to consider and officers wanted to ensure the best deal for Chorley. Logistically, it was unlikely that all units would be signed up by the time the building work was complete, but assurances were given that M&S and REEL Cinema would be in the units for Christmas.

At present, construction progress was ahead of schedule. It was hoped that REEL would have access in June, followed by M&S in August. M&S had been on site this week and provided positive feedback, they were happy with current progress and able begin planning detailed designs.

Primrose Gardens

Mark Lester advised Members that Chorley Council Building Control had issued a practical completion certificate in time for the required Homes England, deadline. Following this, officers would be submitting a final grant claims to LCC and Homes England.

Subsequent to the handover there would be two weeks of snagging with increased resources to complete  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.OSP.15

To receive and consider the report of the Director (Policy and Governance).

Vicky Willett, Performance and Partnerships Manager, presented an update report on the progress of delivery for the service level projects outlined in the service business plans.

A review of 16 business plans produced last year had been completed. The plan identified an overall total of 133 projects and of those, 105 were ongoing (79%), 21 were complete (16%), 4 were closed (3%) and 3 had not started (2%).

It was anticipated that many of the ongoing projects would run over one year and therefore were not of major concern. Members were reassured that officers undertook regular quality assurance checks and were confident that most, if not all teams’ projects would be completed.

It was proposed that the approach for 19/20 would follow a similar format to previous years. All services had received a briefing from their Directors and teams would subsequently be identifying the key activities that they would deliver over the next 12 months. This year’s process would provide a greater focus on developing staff and team engagement, and skills analysis.

Members requested that going forward, the projects be broken down into directorates and a portfolio be brought to each relevant performance panel meeting. The Chair thanked officers for their work and Members for their attendance at the Performance Panel meetings throughout the year.

Decision – Members noted the report.