Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Scrutiny Committee Meeting

Councillor Miller was replaced by Councillor Vaux.

Councillor Durrant was replaced by Councillor Phillimore.

Apologies were received from Councillor Carr.

The Vice-Chair Councillor Tustain chaired the meeting in the absence of the Chair Councillor Miller.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items

Councillor Jacky Tustain was appointed as Vice Chair of the Scrutiny Committee for the 2023/24 municipal year.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Vice Chair.

The Head of Customer Services Improvement and Performance introduced the report which provided the status of the 2022/23 key indicators (KI) as at the end of quarter 4.

The committee welcomed the report and the work done by officers and made the following comments:

·         The Committee discussed what the threshold for a KPI to go from green to amber was. Members commented that a short narrative next to each indicator would be welcome and a glossary of terms would be beneficial.

·         The committee discussed the rates of bed and breakfast use by homeless households with dependent children. It was highlighted that the data recorded as part of the KPI was cumulative and required a contextual explanation. The pandemic had a direct impact on the rates.

·         Staff turnover and staff sickness reporting was raised as a concern. It was highlighted that homeworking meant that the reporting of sickness had lessened and as staff were now back to office-based working, the reporting of low-level, short-term sickness had increased.

·         Members requested that a narrative be added to any staff sickness KPIs in order to provide context.

·         The Committee discussed the KPI for planning appeals and the performance compared to previous years. The Committee were advised that the current KPI demonstrated a continuous improvement compared to the previous year.

·         The Committee commented on the KPI for staff appraisals. It was suggested that it should be a more rigid target. Members were advised that appraisals were taking place but the pay and benefits review may have caused a delay to them being recorded on the system.

·         The Committee discussed the reporting of anti-social behaviour and commented on how it was measured. Members were advised that the KPI referred to those recorded by the Community Safety Patrol Officers (CSPO) rather than by the police. The Vice Chair commented that it would be useful for committee to look at this data in detail. The Leader of the Council was in attendance and highlighted the CSPO’s excellent work.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Committee note the report.

·         That the Committee recommend the Human Resources Committee provide an update to the workforce report on staff sickness data and a comparison to other similar-size councils.  

The Committee discussed the Performance Panel and suggested that the Panel should be convened in order to look at the indicators and the supporting data in detail. Members agreed that the Panel was the most appropriate forum in which to discuss the KPIs in detail.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Performance Panel be convened for the 2023/24 municipal year.

·         That the Councillors Basham, McIntyre, Miller, Phillimore and Tustain be appointed to the Performance Panel.

The Committee discussed the work programme.

It was suggested that the Housing Allocation Task and Finish Group continue but the membership should be amended following the election.

RESOLVED:

·         That the Committee’s work programme be agreed.

·         That the membership of the Housing Allocation Task and Finish Group be amended to: Councillor Tustain as Chair and Councillors Compton-Burnett, Jones, McIntyre, Phillimore, Slimin.