Agenda item

To receive and consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive (enclosed).

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

Asim Khan thanked members for the invitation to the Performance Panel and presented his report which provided contextual information with regards to the overall Directorate summary including the budget position, the key performance summary for 2020/21 and an update on key projects within the directorate.

The performance of the Customer and Digital directorate was last considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Panel in June 2019. The Customer and Digital directorate portfolio included the following council service areas:

·         Planning

·         Customer transformation

·         Streetscene

·         ICT

Members noted that due to Covid-19, the first quarter had been challenging but the council continued to transform and improve its services for residents. Under the circumstances, Quarter 1 was a good performance, which reflected the hard work and dedication of all officers who completed day to day service for the people of Chorley.

There had been significant investment into ICT in 2019 and 75% of the Digital Strategy had been delivered. This allowed the council to operate successfully during the Covid lockdown, with officers working from home and continuing to respond to demands for services.

Since the lifting of lockdown, Streetscene services have restarted by successfully delivering grass cutting, street sweeping and weed treatments as well as the installation of wildflower meadow sites. The service was exceeding targets for the first Quarter. There had also been an increase in fly tipping during lockdown, and the cases were being worked through with prosecutions intended.

Planning had outperformed their target in quarter one and following Member queries, it was advised that the success was due to a combination of factors which included the commitment of the officers, more demand to build homes, and efficiencies in staffing changes.

In response to a question by the Chair, Members were advised that the Council have committed to more green space, with more wildflower and wildlife corridors to support biodiversity and to provide more colour and greenery to the borough. These had been successful in the main, but the council was reviewing this constantly and addressing residents’ concerns. Councillor Molyneaux reported that the wildflower meadows had been popular in her ward and she had received a lot of positive feedback from residents. It was suggested that notices be put in place to inform residents that the area had not been abandoned and that the growth was for the purpose of wildlife.

Members queried if the change in service of the bins was made by the Council or the contractor. It was explained that the service contractor was committed to undertake a review and alongside a third-party route optimisation provider came up with the best routes for efficiency.

Following further queries regarding precautions in place to mitigate any further issues relating to Covid-19, Members were reassured that the Council was well placed to respond to Covid-19 and the investment in ICT enabled communication with residents, Officers and Members. It was recognised, however, that the overall response was highly dependent on the national government position.

In response to a query from the Chair regarding the decrease in Council Tax collection, Members were advised that this was due to a combination of factors. The Council suspended recovery action during the first three months of the pandemic to assist those residents struggling financially which subsequently resulted in a decrease in collections compared to 2019.

Councillor Adrian Lowe thanked all the staff for their work during the Covid Crisis. He highlighted that the budget for Customer and Digital was underspending by £32k which created a 0.5% variance against the original cash budget. He reiterated that the council would adopt a business plan accordingly to Covid-19 throughout the winter period.

The Chair thanked Asim Khan and Councillor Adrian Lowe for their attendance and thanked staff for all of their work during difficult circumstances.

Decision: That the Report be noted.