Agenda item

To receive and respond to the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee‘s review of the quarter one performance management information. 

That the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s review of the quarter one performance management and recovery information be NOTED.   

42.1           The report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 14-80, asked Members to review and, if appropriate, take action on the observations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee following its review of the Quarter One 2022/23 Council Plan performance tracker.

42.2           The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee explained that the quarter one performance information had been mostly positive with key actions recently delivered or in progress set out at Paragraph 2.3 of Appendix 1. Notable achievements included: delivery of the solar panel canopy; approval of the Tewkesbury Borough Plan; submission of the UK Prosperity Fund Investment Plan; support to the successful Tour of Britain women’s cycling event; and the rollout of carbon literacy training. Questions raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee ranged across all actions in the Council Plan and the key questions/observations to raise with the Executive Committee included: meeting the communities needs in respect of infrastructure – this had been achieved through planning permissions, engagement with Parishes and communities and Neighbourhood Development Plans and it was reported to Members that work on moving all S106 information to a new system was nearing completion – this information could be available to Members to view what was being spent; processing of planning applications – there was improved performance from the previous year which was positive and, although targets were yet to be achieved, the performance workstream of the wider Development Management Review would look at those to see if they were realistic and how they aligned to national targets and performance framework. In terms of resources, it was positive to hear that three team leaders were now in post and interviews for the Chief Planning Officer had taken place – the downside to the team leader positions was that two had been filled internally which meant there was a requirement to backfill two senior planner posts – January 2023 was the target to have permanent staff in place; corporate website – the Corporate Services Manager had provided assurance that the current website was still functional and in terms of the Web Developer role, which was currently vacant, a market supplement had been approved and added to the base salary for a new recruitment drive; planning application tracker – this was on course to meet its implementation date; processing changes in circumstances for housing benefit – assurance had been given that recruitment to date had been successful and posts had been filled so it was anticipated there would be a positive change going forward, nevertheless, customer demand remained high and the Business Transformation team was looking at where it could offer digital solutions for some of the processes; electric vehicle charging points – an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy was being taken to the Climate Change and Flood Risk Management Group to support the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points within the Borough ensuring no duplication with the County Council’s on-street charging strategy; and non-designated heritage assets – the majority of work had been done with Parish Councils having been heavily involved and the list would shortly be published on the website signalling the successful delivery of the project.

42.3           A Member requested an update on the planning system and was advised that the Interim Development Manager had just left the authority. Unfortunately, the Council had had a number of contractors who had not been able to fulfil the roles required and this had resulted in some applications being assigned to a number of Case Officers which was far from ideal. There was a national shortage of planners, even in the private sector, and the Council’s attempts to recruit permanent staff had not been receiving a good response; it was hoped the changes recently approved to staff payscales would help.

42.4           Accordingly, it was