Agenda item

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources outlining the Council’s performance in quarter 3 across a set of key performance indicators.

110.1  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and confirmed that the purpose was to inform Members of the Council’s performance against key measures in Quarter 3 of 2021/22. She noted that the report set out the Council’s performance against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and where targets exist, they were included along with a narrative to explain the data.

110.2  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources explained that as a result of the cyber incident in December 2021, Quarter 3 data was unavailable for 11 of the 26 KPIs.

110.3  The Chair referred to the KPI CCM-2 concerning the number of enviro-crime FPNs issued by enforcement officers. He noted that the trend was improving but also that the number of FPNs issued had increased from Quarter 1 to Quarter 3 and asked for the Cabinet Member’s comments as to whether this was a positive trend as it might indicate increased levels of fly-tipping.

110.4  The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noted that in an ideal world, there would be no fly-tipping, however she commented that in her view it was positive to see that the FPNs were being enforced as a penalty on those people committing environmental crimes and that the figures were proportionate to the cases reported.

110.5  The Chair commented that the enviro-crime team were relatively new and noted that he was aware from conversations with a local PCSO that the FPNs were proving to be effective. He asked whether the Council was issuing any press releases to update residents on the good work. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the Leader of the Council discussed potential press releases with the Communications team on a frequent basis and that good news stories were shared wherever possible.

110.6  In response to a follow-up request for the contact details of the enviro-crime team to be shared with Members, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources explained that the advice from the Director of Communities was for Members to raise any issues through the ‘Here to Help’ facility, as all this way, all referrals would be triaged and referred to the most appropriate service or officer to deal with that particular query.

110.7  Councillor Wilson referred to the missing Quarter 3 data and asked whether it was likely that the data was permanently lost as a result of the cyber incident. The Director of Policy and Resources confirmed his understanding that the data back-ups had worked, and that the data should not be permanently lost.

110.8  In relation to the number of enviro-crime FPNs issued, Councillor Pullen asked whether the Committee could receive an update on where they were being issued and whether the team could provide information about any emerging patterns or trends. It was agreed that follow-up enquiries would be made with the Communities team, however the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noted that an annual report might be a better means of answering this query.

110.9  Councillor Zaman referred to his own experience of working with the enviro-crime team to address fly tipping issues in the Barton and Tredworth area and confirmed that the FPNs had helped the situation. He expressed the view that educating people was key in tackling the issue. A discussion ensued about the hard work of the enviro-crime team in dealing with fly-tipping reports.

110.10          Councillor Zaman referred to the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources’ earlier advice for Members to report issues on behalf of residents through ‘Here to Help’ and noted that this was also the advice he had received from enviro-crime officers.

RESOLVED - That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report.