Meeting documents

            Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 04/12/2008 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A7 Quarter 2 2008/09 Corporate Performance Report

         

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Report of Ann Campbell, Head of Policy & Improvement

Purpose of the Report

1. To present the 2008/09 quarter 2 performance management update.

Background

2. This report is based on data and commentary that have been provided by County Council services, district councils and partners and is structured around the high level outcomes / themes in the Corporate Plan 08/09.

3. The report incorporates:

a) Extracts of narrative provided by Corporate Directors on Q2 performance issues
b) Exceptions against key outcomes and measures from the Corporate Plan
c) Local Area Agreement (LAA 06/09) stretch targets,
d) LAA (08/11) indicators and the remainder of the national indicator set (NIS)
e) Financial management and value for money considerations
f) Key corporate health measures at both County and District level.

A full set of appendices accompanies and informs this report.

Summary

4. The following table summarises performance for the key components of our corporate performance management reporting

	Not reported / Not applicable	On target	Better than target >10%	Worse than target
Corporate Plan tasks	2%	83%	12%	4%
Corporate Plan PIs	43%	26%	9%	22%
LAA Stretch target 06-09	37%	31%	19%	13%
LAA 08-11 PIs & parts thereof	50%	8%	14%	28%
NIS PIs & parts thereof	44%	15%	12%	28%

5. To achieve healthier communities we are focusing on: - Reduced mortality rates for all circulatory diseases and cancers
- A reduction in childhood obesity
- A reduction in the harm caused by alcohol & drugs
- Fewer teenage pregnancies
- Improved emotional wellbeing of children and young people
- Reduced numbers of people smoking

Overview

6. NI 120 Mortality Rates: Latest data available in relation to mortality rates continues to identify a steady reduction in County Durham. The ‘all age all cause mortality rate’ (NI 120) figure for 2006 is 670.58 which has reduced by approximately 1000 deaths per year since the rate in 1993 of 919.73. Reductions are also evident in the ‘mortality rate for circulatory diseases’ (NI 121) which over the same period has reduced from 211.43 to 90.42, and in ‘mortality rates from all cancers’ (NI 122), which has reduced from 173.64 to 134.33. In relation to all indicators, County Durham has a slightly lower rate than the North East average but is higher than the national average. Regarding health inequalities within County Durham, it should be noted that, life expectancy in the worst wards is 18 years less for men and 17 years less for women compared to the best wards in the County.

7. NI 40 - Number of Drug Users in effective treatment: data gathered through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment identifies improvements in the numbers in people in effective treatment (1936 users in 2007/8, compared to 1734 in 2006/7).

8. From tasks identified in the Corporate Plan 08/09, achievements include:
o The production of the County Durham Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
o The development and publication of the Durham County Council Health Improvement Plan

Exceptions

9.
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Teenage Pregnancy - validated data from the National Statistics and Teenage Pregnancy Unit suggest a decrease of 14.3%. Rates are per 1000 population 15-17 year old. The following tables indicate the overall reduction in the number of teenage pregnancies per 1,000 population 15-17 year olds for the period 1998 to 2006 and the comparative position for England. 2006 saw a change in the number of conceptions leading to termination of pregnancy. This partly results from simplified referral processes.

10.
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A reduction in childhood obesity - (Appendix A page 3) It was planned that 50 ‘healthy eating’ project boxes would be provided in schools by the end of June 2008. To- date, 36 such project boxes have been delivered. An additional 20 key stage 1 boxes will be delivered to schools by the end of March 2009 to address this shortfall.
11.
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Children (7-14) taking up sport. This LAA Stretch target is performing at more than 10% better than target and has improved by 4 percentage points since 07/08’s performance.

12. To achieve safer communities we are focusing on: - People being safe and feeling safe
- Fewer children at risk
- Children and young people being safe from bullying, crime and anti-social behaviour
- Reduced levels of domestic abuse 13. Fear of Crime: Data gathered from Police surveys indicates reductions in people’s perception of fear of crime. For example, the percentage of people feeling safe in their local community has increased from 87.3% (Apr-Jun 2008) to 89.6% (Jul-Sep 08). Similarly, there have been reductions in those people who believe that they suffer from anti social behaviour in their local community (34.3% between Apr - Jun and 31.9% between Jul - Sep 08). A predicted increase in the amount of acquisitive crime linked to the financial problems caused by the ‘credit crunch’. For example, Government Office North East has identified increases in shoplifting as an issue.

14. Domestic abuse: The National indicator relating to repeat incidents of Domestic Violence is not due to be introduced until 2009/10 (when MARAC is more fully rolled out). Indications from Police data are that the numbers of reported repeat victims have fallen in 2008/9 i.e. 1978 repeat victims in first 6 months of 2007, compared to 1391 in first 6 months of 2008.

15. Bullying: 70 schools had achieved the accreditation with the anti-bullying Service by the end of quarter 2 - compared with 62 schools in quarter 1. The target for 2008-2009 is 74, which we are well on course to achieve. 120 primary schools have ‘Buddy Support’ schemes and 35 secondary schools have ‘Peer Support’ schemes. There appears to have been a reduction in bullying in County Durham over the past two years. The children and young people’s survey asked about bullying. 2008 results show a reduction compared to the previous year. 21.7% of primary school children and 17.2% of secondary children report being always or sometimes bullied at school compared with previous year of 37.5% and 30.3% respectively. In addition, 19.8% (primary) and 7.9% (secondary) report being always or sometimes bullied elsewhere. This compares with 29% and 17.6% respectively in 2007. Findings from our own survey are consistent with the national Tellus 3 Ofsted survey report.

16. From tasks identified in the Corporate Plan 08/09, achievements include:
o The continuing development of the Community Safety Board and thematic groups is proceeding well. The Board produced the Community Safety Agreement identifying key priorities for 2008/9, and has authorised the development of a joint strategic assessment for community safety to inform 2009/10 priorities. 17.
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NI 63 Stability of placement of children looked after: length of placement. (Appendix A, page 11) Performance has deteriorated at each of the last 2 quarters. To address this issue the Fostering Service has been restructured. The half year target of recruiting 20 new fostering households has been achieved. However, despite this increase, it should be noted that the total number of carers has increased since 01/04/08 by only 3, due to a steady stream of carers retiring or leaving fostering.
18. Youth Crime: A significant reduction in the number of First Time Entrants (FTEs) to the Youth Justice System has been achieved:
Quarter 4 2007 - 2008 = 247
Quarter 1 2008 - 2009 = 194
Quarter 2 2008 - 2009 = 173

19.
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NI 59 % initial assessments carried out within 7 working days - current performance is more than 18 percentage points worse than target. A data cleansing report will be provided to the head of safeguarding services by November 14th, detailed work will be carried out with the initial assessment team with improvement actions to be identified, and internal resources have been redirected to enable dedicated posts to address initial assessments. Core assessments within 35 working days (NI 60) are almost 4 percentage points worse than target.

20.
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NI 61 Adoptions of LAC - Although the target is 100% it is unlikely that every child will be placed within 12 months due to the range of needs of these children. LAC with 3 or more placements in the last 12months (NI 62) remains worse than reported performance at the year end and is worse than target. No remedial actions identified.

21.

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NI 67 % Child protection cases review within timescales - the drop in performance at Q2 relates to 1 case involving 2 children. It is anticipated that performance at the end of 08/09 will meet the 100% target.

22. To help people enjoy, achieve and make a positive contribution we are focusing on: - A narrowed gap in educational attainment
- More places to go and things to do for teenagers
- Improved choice and control for vulnerable adults and older people
- Older people and vulnerable adults making a positive contribution

Overview
23. Direct Payments: The number of people who are in receipt of Direct Payments has increased (145.6 per 100,000 pop) and we are on course to exceed the 2009/10 LAA target (150).

24. Social Care Assessments: The speed with which social care services are provided continues to improve, with response times for assessments and care packages (NI 132 and NI 133) exceeding Service targets. In addition, there are no waiting lists for occupational therapy assessments.

25. Educational Attainment: 65.5% of children and young people achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE, compared with 60.2% in academic year 2006-2007. 44.36% of children and young people achieved 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE including English and Maths, compared with 42.2% in academic year 2006-2007. Key Stages 1 and 2 writing (boys and girls) - good progress has been made with boys working at both key stages given boys’ starting points in reception where performance in Communications / Language and Literacy (CLL) is below average.

GCSE 5 A*-C (including English and Maths)

GCSE 5 A*-C

Exceptions

26.

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NI 75 % achieving 5 or more A* - C grades including English & Maths - Provisional performance is more than 7.5% below target. (Appendix A, page 15)
27.

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NI 101 LAC achieving A* - C GCSEs at key stage 4 including English & Maths - Provisional performance is more than 80% off the DCSF target. If achieving English & Maths were not included in the calculation, 19.2% achieved at least 5 A* - Cs.

28.

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CYPP % children enjoy taking part in activities and clubs. (Appendix A, page 16) Performance has deteriorated since last reported. This indicator is taken from the annual Children & Young People’s in-house survey. No remedial actions provided - no longer in the CYPP.

LAA Stretch Targets 06-09 (see Appendix B)

29.
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Council Tax Benefit: The numbers of older people in receipt of council tax benefit is a LAA Stretch Target. The 2008/9 target for this indicator is 37,367. Although an additional 600 people have been awarded council tax benefit since 1st April 08, performance remains well below target at 31,960. A successful application to become a pilot site with the DWP has been made. Through this pilot data will be exchanged to help target older people who may be eligible for Council Tax Benefit. This will result in some further improvement in relation to performance, although as previously reported to the Partnership Board, the target will not be achieved by 31st March 2009.

30.
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Average number of points at KS4. Performance for 08/09 (summer examinations 2008) has improved by 27.2 points and continues to more than exceed the 06-09 LAA Stretch target. 31.
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NI 141 Percentage of vulnerable people achieving independent living (also LAA Indicator). This indicator relates to people placed in short term accommodation services. Performance has dipped between quarter 1 (74.4%) and quarter 2 (68.3%) and is now slightly below the agreed target of 69%. Work is ongoing to investigate performance levels across the various providers of short term accommodation to identify inconsistencies, which will then be raised with individual providers to help improve outcomes. Any resulting good practice will be shared.
32.
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LAA HW People with a mental health problem progressing from employment support into education, training, volunteering and employment - (Appendix C, page 1) the year end target for this LAA local indicator has already been achieved so this will form part of the forthcoming review. The increased activity during Q2 is down to more people with mental health problems accessing education and training.
I
33. NIs for educational attainment - a number of these NIs are currently not on target. However, all results are provisional and further analysis will take place when performance is finalised.

34.
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NI 114 % pupils permanently excluded from school - it is concerning that permanent exclusions have increased by 16% although days lost to fixed term exclusions have decreased by 21%. A major review of secondary provision for disengaged learners is underway through which exclusions will be addressed. 35.
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NI 131 Delayed Transfers of Care (i.e. delayed discharges). NB The County Council is charged for delayed discharges from acute hospital settings, where the delay is attributable to social care services. There has been a dip in performance between quarter 1 and quarter 2 from 4.16 to 4.57 average discharges per 100,000 population per week. The underlying reason for this is related to increases in delayed discharges from community hospital settings (non chargeable). The number of acute hospital delayed discharges has reduced in this period. Action - This is a new and joint indicator with the NHS. Work is currently taking place to fully understand the reasons for the increase in community hospital delayed discharges. Once identified, these will be considered by the Service and where appropriate raised with NHS colleagues.

36.
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NI 135 Carers receiving a needs assessment or review - performance is significantly better than target. This is the result of work to promote carers’ assessments to staff and the importance of recording instances where carers’ needs have been taken into account during an assessment.

37. From tasks identified in the Corporate Plan 08/09, those not currently on target include:
o The development of the personalisation of care services continues as a priority. A senior management post has been appointed to lead the change programme, and a project board is established.
o The development of performance arrangements with Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust in relation to Adult Mental Health Services.
38. To achieve economic wellbeing we are focusing on: - A reduction in the level of worklessness
- Increased entrepreneurial activity
- More people with the skills to meet current and future business needs
- More young people having learning opportunities leading to jobs

Overview

39. Economic Development: At this stage none of the economy indicators are giving too much cause for concern, however due to the time lag in receiving data the performance of several of the indicators is expected to deteriorate over the remaining part of the year due to the difficulties in the current economic climate filtering through. GONE have indicated that there will be a review of the targets in the LAA in Spring 2009.

40. WorkAble solutions continue to increase opportunities for people with disabilities and mental health problems to access paid employment.

Exceptions

41.

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Reduced Levels of Worklessness - (Appendix A, page 20) Whilst our work to increase opportunities for people with disabilities and mental health problems to gain and retain paid employment is on target, performance for Basic Skills Assessments is not. At the half-year point, 34 out of an annual target of 135 have been completed. Staff on our WorkAble Solutions Team are focusing their efforts on people requiring Basic Skills Assessments and it is anticipated that the year end target should be met.
42.

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NI 152 Working age population who are claiming out of work benefits - performance reflects the current economic climate. (Appendix A, page 20) Performance currently stands at 18.8% against a target of 18.6%.

43.

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The submission of the Single Programme business case for Economic Inclusion in South West Durham has been delayed but will be submitted by December. (Appendix A, page 20)

44.

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NI 117 % 16- 18 year olds NEET - (Appendix A, page 23) The actual figure for NI117 is only reported on an annual basis in respect of the period Nov-Jan. The DCSF has changed the counting rules for monthly reporting and now all NEETS are reported in July and August, even if they plan to return in September / October. This has radically impacted the figure for this quarter, when compared to last year.

45. To achieve an improved environment we are focusing on: - Less household waste going to landfill
- Increased accessibility and a halt in the decline in public transport
- A reduction in the County Council’s impact on climate change
- Improved road and footway condition

Overview
The Environment Service is continuing to deliver excellent services to the public of County Durham. We are on track to retain our 4 out of 4 rating for the CPA 2008 Environment Block, which will be the third year our achievements have gained the 4 out of 4 score. We have recently been successful in gaining national recognition for our approach to Casualty Reduction which was “highly commended” in the National Transport Awards and for our approach to training for motorcyclists has gained the best road safety initiative of 2008 at the Highways Excellence Awards. There are however areas of concern in relation to waste and road traffic casualties.

Exceptions
46.
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NI 191/2/3 - Waste per household, recycled/composted, and landfilled. (Appendix A, page 25)The ongoing issues surrounding the digestion process for the treatment of household waste is affecting all three of the new national indicators. We are approximately 5% down against target for recycling and composting, but this is an improvement of about 5% from 2007/08 which can be attributed to the increase in the amount and range of recyclables being collected through the kerbside collection schemes. Based on advice from Premier Waste we are assuming that there will be no countable output from the aerobic digester in 2008/09. An action plan has been prepared to bridge the gap between current performance and the 40% and 41% required over the next two years to meet the government’s targets set out in the ‘Waste Strategy for England 2007’. The action plan focuses primarily on reducing waste through the promotion of home composting and increasing the amount of green waste collected for centralised composting but these initiatives will not impact on current year performance. An analysis of the available historical performance data for the new waste indicators against other county authorities shows County Durham to be average for municipal waste landfilled and for residual household waste. However, for recycling and composting the County is among the worst performing of county authorities.
47.
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NI 47 % change in the number of people KSI - (Appendix A, page 28) (Appendix A, page 28) Recent years have seen an increase in casualty rates amongst certain groups, particularly amongst young and inexperienced drivers. The result is that the combined total of fatal and serious casualties peaked in 2005 at 247 dropping to 215 in 2007, this was however against a target of 192. However, the number of fatalities is at a historic low with 8 so far this year compared with 23 last year. The number of child casualties during 2008 has also seen an increase however the number is small and analysis has shown that the causes are varied and spread geographically across the County. In order to use best intelligence to target casualty reduction we have established a Casualty Reduction Forum with Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance Service, NHS trust, Highways Agency and Darlington Borough Council.
Priorities actions to improve performance
Young Driver Training Scheme - funding was secured from the Department for Transport to offer free additional training to young drivers who have been identified as being in a high risk category. This funding has provided post test training for 500 young drivers in County Durham. The scheme ended in October 2008 but funding options are being considered to continue the programme in 2009.

Countywide child pedestrian training scheme - was first delivered in Easington District as part of LPSA 1 (the stretch target was achieved and contributed to the County’s Reward Grant) and over a 4 year period helped to achieve a significant reduction in child casualties. The Specific Road Safety Grant was used to roll the scheme out across the County and during the last academic year, 98% of all primary schools were involved and 6,000 children received this vital training. It is expected that continuing this programme will show a reduction in child casualties in the coming years

BikeWise Advanced Motorcycle Training Scheme - was set up in early 2008 to tackle the problem of new and born again bikers who have crashes on large machines due to inexperience. A full one day course is offered to riders who have recently passed a test or have come back to biking after a long break, and who have moved up to a 500cc+ machine. The scheme is subsidised by the Specific Road Safety Grant and we have the facility to train 200 riders per year.
48.
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NI 175 % access to services and facilities by public transport, walking & cycling - (Appendix A, page 26) Performance has improved by almost 15 percentage points since the year end and is almost 20 percentage points better than target. The increased accessibility level is due to additional outpatient facilities being identified.
49.
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BV178 % rights of way that are easy to use - (Appendix A, page 28) performance has deteriorated since the year end and is currently 21 percentage points lower than target. Analysis suggests that obstructions were the main reason for the deterioration. Work with landowners will aim to ensure that obstructions are kept clear. The second half of the survey is scheduled for November.

LAA 08-11 (see Appendix C)
50.
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LPI 99a Fatal and serious road traffic casualties - at quarter 1 the County’s figures were more than 15% better than target, but increased numbers have resulted in Q2 performance that is more than 6% worse than the half-year point target of 92.

NIS
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NI 157d Processing of County applications within 13 weeks (Appendix D) The County Council has a government performance standard of 60% of planning applications (excluding county council applications) being determined within 13 weeks. Many of the recent major planning applications determined by the County Council have been controversial and have to be determined by the Planning Committee. Two of the scheduled Planning Committees in April and May were lost as a consequence of the elections and some decisions have been deferred by the Committee for subsequent site visits which has resulted in further delays. In addition there is a national shortage of suitably qualified and experienced planning officers to deal with both applications and the regional and sub-regional strategic policy issues.

51. The following outcomes in the Corporate Plan for ‘A Well Managed Council’ are relevant:
· Maintaining the Council’s current 4 star CPA rating for performance
· Effective management of the transition to the new unitary authority
· Meeting the requirements of the Local government White Paper ’Strong and Prosperous Communities’
· A healthier County Council workforce with lower levels of sickness absence
52. The final CPA star rating for the County Council will incorporate the score of 3 for the latest Corporate Assessment and service block scores based on performance in 2007/08, which have yet to be confirmed. The outcome of further external assessment on Use of Resources and Direction of Travel will be provided by the Audit Commission. The CPA rating will be announced in February 2009.

53. 2007/08 year end BVPI data for all 8 councils has been recalculated where possible to provide a composite county level figure. This will provide some baseline performance information for the new council and allow for comparisons with other councils.

54. Regular programme management reports on progress with the transition to the new unitary council are provided to the JIT, to Cabinet and to special briefing sessions for all elected members. Preparation of a consolidated budget for the new unitary in underway, which incorporates the savings targets set out in the unitary proposal.

55. Many of the actions being taken during the LGR transition period are also addressing the requirements of the Local Government White paper, particularly in relation to community engagement and empowering local communities. Other key aspects of the Local Government White paper are being addressed through work with partners as part of the County level partnership framework.
56. The sickness absence figures, which have been reported in detail separately show that the rate for the 12 month period to September 2008 has fallen for the second quarter in succession down to 8.86 days off per FTE which is below the target of 9 days. However, figures adjusted to remove schools staff show a higher figure of 12.57 days off per FTE at September 2008. Further work is underway to review comparative data and to identify a target for sickness absence minus school staff.

Exceptions
57.
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A final draft of the Sustainable Community Strategy will be considered by the County Durham Partnership in November, which is behind schedule. Work has commenced on the first review and refresh of the Local Area Agreement (2008-11).

LAA Stretch Targets 06-09 (for detail see Appendix B)

58. Proportion of residents reporting their quality of life is affected by anti-social behaviour . The survey to report back on this stretch target was carried out in September / October so final performance is not yet available.

59. Number of secondary / deliberate fires Further work is required with our partner to populate back data for this stretch target. However, we are advised that performance is on target and it is anticipated that the final stretch target will be achieved.

All County Durham Councils ~ Corporate Health 08/09

60. Former Corporate Health BVPIs are being collected by all 8 authorities

BVPI	Desc.	DCC	CLS	D’side	Dhm	Eas	S’field	T’dale	WValley
11a	Women top 5%	47.63%	21.00%	22.22%	25.71%	15.91%	7.32%	50%	26.90%
11b	Black / ethnic top 5%	0.59%	5.26%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.00%	0.00%
11c	Disability top 5%	2.66%	5.26%	7.41%	5.71%	13.63%	0.02%	0.00%	0.00%
12	Days - sickness	8.86	10.70	11.54	10.50	9.12	12.24	6.35	8.46
16a	Disabled employees	2.00%	2.42%	4.93%	5.26%	3.92%	-	0.00%	3.59%
156	LA buildings disabled access	67.33%	20%	78.95%	78.95%	42.42%	100%	-	83.72%

61. BV76d - it was agreed at JIT that the following BVPI continue to be reported.

PI	Desc.	CLS	D’side	Dhm	Eas	S’field	T’dale	WValley
BV 76d	Number of housing benefit and CTB prosecutions and sanctions per year per 1000 thousand caseload	4.96	2.6	2.01	2.3	5.24	-	1.27

Overview NIS (for detail of all NIs see Appendix D)

62. At the half-point it has been possible to report on 115 NIs (or parts thereof) out of a total of 210. Appendix D contains data and commentary as provided for all reportable NIs at the half-year point. In addition, some non-reportable NIs remain in the appendix where significant comments were provided regarding availability or collection.

63. NI 179 Cash-releasing gains since the start of 08/09. The County and District Councils were required to provide data for NI179 (£thousands) into the Data Interchange Hub. The above table shows the amounts entered.

	DCC	CLS	D’side	Dhm	Eas	S’field	T’dale	WValley
NI 179 Cash releasing gains since start of 08/09	10,000 (£thousands)	315	4,932	2,557	3,010	300	188	351

64. NI 14 Avoidable Contact - Corporate officers, county and district, and the Access to Services Workstream, have worked together to develop a mechanism for data collection for this new PI for the remainder of 08/09. The County’s CRM, which handles 70% of all customer facing calls now has a mandatory field for staff to record whether a contact was avoidable or not. This came into operation on 29th September. In addition, appropriate county services (and districts) will carry out two 2 week samples from 17th to 30th November, and 19th Jan to 1st Feb. A simple electronic tool has been developed by colleagues at Durham City to assist with the collection of data during the sampling periods. The county services involved are trading standards, school meals service, Connexions and school admissions. All other county services identified in the guidance are covered by the CRM. The NI14 message is being delivered to relevant staff in the light of its potential to improve how councils interact with residents / customers, rather than as a burdensome national indicator that must be collected. It is anticipated that data will be available at quarter 3.

District Councils NIS - exceptions (Appendix D)

65.

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NI 154 Net increase in dwelling stock over one year - LAA 08-11 PI. Performance at Q2 is below target due to the slowdown in the housing market due to the tightening of back lending.

66.

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NI 155 Number of affordable homes delivered (gross) LAA 08-11 PI. Performance is currently not to target. It is likely that performance will improve throughout the year as house builders are currently willing to build affordable homes as they are selling well due to the credit crisis.

67.

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NI 156 Number of households living in temporary accommodation LAA 08-11 PI. Performance is currently more than 10% better than target.

68.

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NI 157a+b Processing of planning applications within 13/8 weeks. Performance is more than 10% better than target across the County - excluding Durham City figures.

69. Linking financial management and performance improvement Data Provision / Data Quality

70. During part 3 of the County Council’s data quality audit (07/08), it was concluded that our reported performance for BV165 - % of pedestrian crossings with facilities for disabled people - needed to be re-stated. Performance has therefore been amended on the Audit Commission’s EDC system and the Council’s Annual Report, to 97.1% as opposed to the previously reported 100%.

71. At the half-year point, we are able to report against most indicators that should be available to us, particularly from the NIS. At the time of reporting we are unable to report against 7 NIS that should be available. All Quarter 2 issues, whether information gaps, data quality or commentary will be followed up.

72. However, a health warning should be issued against any data subject to data lag as the exercise to ensure that data are reported against the correct targets is not complete. This exercise is part of our Performance Plus / data quality work for LGR (the appropriate alignment of targets where NIs are subject to data lag)

73. Similarly, work is required within the County Council, with our partners / districts to continually improve the quality of the data, commentary and targets being reported. In quarter 2 instances of inaccurate data, missing targets, back data & commentary, have been encountered, all of which are being followed up.

Performance Management of Partnerships

74. Internal Audit has recently completed an audit of the Council’s arrangements for performance management of partnerships. A report based on the audit will be going to CMT on 18 November, with recommendations on:

o the simplification and refinement of the Partnership Performance Management Framework
o clearer arrangements within services to ensure that significant current partnerships, which are expected to continue post vesting day, are appropriately assessed and the Authority’s Partnership Register is updated accordingly.
o arrangements to ensure that new significant partnerships that come into the Authority post vesting day are assessed using the Framework, and added to the Partnership Register.

Recommendations

Cabinet is recommended to:
o Note performance against High Level Outcomes in the Corporate Plan 2008/9
o Note performance of LAA, NI, other key PIs (Appendices B, C & D)
o Note the data quality and data provision issues raised in this report.

Contact: Bev Stobbart Tel: 0191 383 4001 (ext. 4001)

Appendix 1: Implications

Local Government Reorganisation
(Does the decision impact upon a future unitary council?)
Transitional report for DCC including some district data

Finance
Links between financial and performance management

Staffing
Corporate Health PIs relate to staff

Equality and Diversity
Corporate Health PIs relate to E&D

Accommodation
Not applicable

Crime and disorder
PIs relating to crime

Sustainability
PIs relating to the environment and communities

Human rights
Not applicable

Localities & Rurality
PIs relating to districts

Young people
PIs relating to children and young people

Consultation
Not applicable

Health
PIs relating to health

To view appendicies, please refer to PDF attachments or Hard Copies Located in the Record Office or Corporate Services.

Attachments

 Q2 Appendix D 1.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix D.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix C.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix B.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A 5.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A 4.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A 3.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A 2.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A 1.pdf;
 Q2 Appendix A.pdf;
 Q2 corporate performance report.pdf