Agenda item

5.10pm to 5.30pm

The Service Director Corporate attended the meeting to provide members with an update on the progress made towards the delivery of the Council Plan Delivery Plan 2022/23 and consider whether there were any areas which required further focus from the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

The report that was presented showed the progress made on the 36 milestones being tracked during 2022/23.  88% of milestones were said to be progressing well and were expected to be completed during 2022/23. 9% were rated as amber (three milestones) and were currently behind schedule, and one milestone would not be completed during 2022/23 due to procurement challenges.

The 36 milestones were split into three priority areas;

·        Making Chesterfield a thriving borough (14 milestones)

·        Improving quality of life for local people (14 milestones)

·        Provide value for money services (8 milestones)

(These milestones were being tracked and 31 were progressing well and were expected to be completed during 2022/23). 

It was noted that barriers/obstacles remained in some areas as there  continued to be a lasting legacy from the Covid-19 pandemic on service delivery and Council Plan progress. Demand for many services had also increased due to the cost of living crisis. There were also national and local challenges around recruitment and retention, supply chain and inflationary costs which were impacting on some milestones.

It was concluded that despite the significant challenges and barriers, performance continued to be high across the majority of key milestones and measures.  It was also noted that a number of the key activities within the Council Plan Delivery Plan were already planned into the Scrutiny Work Programme for further consideration, for example Climate Change, ICT and the Medium Term Financial Plan.

A member commented on the value for money priority and in particular the broad remit of the asset management plan.  The Service Director Corporate explained that this was a complicated strategy which was under development and a new Interim Service Director was now in place to help push this through.

A question was asked about the Holme Hall estates improvements tender and what was going to be done differently to try to generate any submissions.  The Service Director Corporate confirmed that a variety of factors had prevented submissions previously such as the current economic climate and the unwillingness to commit to price fixed projects but lots of work on the specification of the tender was being undertaken by Housing.  It was agreed that an update to the committee would be shared detailing the changes to the new tender.

Members commented on the Customer Service Centre call answering times detailed in the report and the importance of directing the calls to the right place as well as reducing call wait times.  The Service Director Corporate advised that training was being undertaken to ensure the correct scripting and peak time call management were in place so the right outcome was delivered the first time.

A member also commented on the importance of phone call handling. Whilst the success of MyChesterfield had a positive effect on repairs etc, the current cost of living crisis may affect future contact channels as people may revert to telephone contact if unable to access online services due to costs of mobile phones and broadband. 

The Chair thanked the Service Director Corporate for their attendance and the report.

RESOLVED –

That the update be noted.