Agenda item

A report of the Director (Policy and Governance) enclosed.

Members of the Performance Panel considered a report by the Director of Policy and Governance which provided contextual information in regards to an update on Waste and Streetscene performance and the delivery of the Digital Strategy 2017/20. 

The Chair welcomed Councillor Adrian Lowe, Executive Member for Customer, Advice and Streetscene and Asim Khan, Director of Customer and Digital.

 

Waste

 

Performance against the indicator ‘number of missed collections per 100,000 collections of household waste’ had worsened for the first three months of 2017/18 when compared to the figures in 2016/17.  However, it was reported that performance was improving month to month and initial figures for July 2017 showed an improvement on performance in June.

 

The Executive Member for Customer, Advice and Streetscene reminded the Performance Panel that in April 2017, one of the biggest frontline service provisions in recent years took place affecting approximately 50,000 households in the borough.  The changes included charging for garden waste and four weekly collections of card and paper. The effect of these changes was still being felt with household waste being put into the wrong receptacle.  This is then often reported as a missed bin collection, which was also contributing factor to the figures.   Although it was acknowledged that there was still a lot to do to reduce the number of missed bin collections it was worth bearing in mind that the figure for quarter one of 2017/18 equated to only 0.2% of all collections during this period.

 

Changes to the waste collection had been a huge logistical undertaking.  Some of the transitional arrangements had led to confusion amongst residents.  To help, the calendar of bin collection was being refreshed and simplified with the collection details and the content allowed for each receptacle being detailed.   

 

The Director of Customer and Digital also informed that Performance Panel that the council was in discussion with Veolia Environmental Services over some contractual issues.  [kc1] 

 

Members of the Performance Panel discussed various matters raised in both the written and verbal representation which included –

·         Missed bins, and the timescales for emptying them once reported;

·         The number of ‘closed’ cases which had to be reopened;

·         Educating householders who’s bins remain unemptied due to the wrong type of waste being placed in the various receptacles and dealing with those householders who continue to choose to ignore advice;

·         Locations of receptacles to be emptied;

·         Returning the waste receptacles back to the correct address once emptied, and who was liable in a case where the receptacle was the cause of an accident.

 

The Performance Panel were reassured that the council was fully aware of all the issues and that it was in negotiation with Veolia Environmental Services to improve standards.

 

Both the Executive Member for Customer, Advice and Streetscene and the Director of Customer and Digital would welcome an opportunity to return to the Performance Panel in 12 months to discuss the performance figures once again.

 

Streetscene

 

The report provided information on progress made so far on the Streetscene Modernisation Strategy which was approved at Executive Cabinet in January 2017 which included the implementation of a new staffing structure focused in three specific areas -

·         Grounds maintenance,

·         Street cleansing,

·         Litter.

 

The performance figures for the past two months demonstrated that grounds maintenance and street cleansing was performing above target for August and had shown improvement on the previous month. 

 

In regards to emptying litter bins, the performance for scheduled work completed on time was below target for both July and August.  Work was planned to resolve issues regarding the recording of completed work which should see an improvement in accuracy of these figures. 

 

The number of complaints received had improved significantly in July and August when compared to the same period last year.  The number of complaints received with regards to Streetscene (including litter) was low with a total of three complaints received for August 2017.

 

Members of the Performance Panel discussed a number of issues relating to Streetscene services which included –

·         Litter bins being included as part of the council’s waste contract;

·         Improved technology, and training for staff to ensure accurate recording of jobs completed.

 

It was also reported that there had been a 25% budget reduction in the public realm agreement that the council had for delivering many of Lancashire County Council highways maintenance requirements.  Although the budget had been cut, Chorley Council had continued to maintain a high standard of work the cost for which had been absorbed by the council itself.  However, if the trend for cutting the public realm budget continued the council would need to make difficult decisions which would inevitably result in a reduction in service.

 

Digital Strategy

 

The Performance Panel was reminded that the council’s Digital Strategy had been recently refreshed and approved by Executive Cabinet in June 2017. 

 

This council wide strategy would lead to changes and improvements as to how council staff work, with many service areas being involved in delivering the project set out in the strategy.

 

There were four key elements to the strategy –

·         Increasing digital take-up

·         Increasing digital inclusion

·         Working smarter

·         Developing a positive culture which puts customers at the heart of everything we do

 

It was reported that the strategy identified a number of projects to be delivered over a three year period, and the measures used which would help to show success and progress.  As a significant proportion of the projects within the strategy were reliant on the council’s ICT infrastructure being upgraded, there would be a limit to the amount which could be delivered within the first year.

 

The report detailed the projects to be delivered against planned milestones over the three years and provided ratings as to their progress to date. 

 

A total of 16 projects were due to commence delivery within the period 3 July to 1 September 2017 against the strategy, of which -

·      38% are rated green, meaning they are progressing against planned milestones and are on track for their delivery;

·      13% are rated amber, which can be an early warning sign that there may be delays with the project;

·      49% of projects are not yet started although it must be noted that the strategy is newly approved and it has taken time for the different elements to be mobilised for delivery.

 

Councillor Morgan requested that the list of milestones, which was referred to in the report could be made available to members of the Performance Panel.

 

The Director of Customer and Digital provided clarity on the purpose of a number of the projects and expected outcomes.

·         Deliver basic online and digital skills training to digitally excluded groups – the council was in discussion with community groups to deliver these sessions.  The purpose of the project was to give residents more confidence using the internet, and as a result would encourage residents to self-serve and in the first instance visit the council’s website to report issues, pay for council related services etc.

·         Develop and deliver a campaign to encourage the take up of digital services to promote the wider benefits of being online and the support which is available – this project was to promote the training programme above.

·         Review existing applications, ensuring they are used to their fullest extent – this refers to applications that have been bought-in rather than developed in-house by council officers.  The purpose of this project was to make sure each application was being used to its full potential. 

 

Other improvements being considered included –

·         A single log-on

·         Making sure that the website is device friendly

 

In response to queries raised by the Performance Panel with regard to some council assets being missed off the My Account system, the Director of Customer and Digital agreed that although the majority of council assets were recorded a few had been missed.  Assets were continuing to be reviewed and refreshed and that the council would welcome any missing assets to be reported so that they can be included.   

 

AGREED –

1.    That the report be noted

2.    A list of planned milestones planned to gage the progress of the Digital Strategy projects be forwarded to the Performance Panel.