Meeting documents

            Meeting: Communities Scrutiny Sub-Committee (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 1a - 02/06/2003 01:00:00 AM 30/12/1899 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A4 Performance Management

Scrutiny Sub-Committee for
Promoting Strong, Healthy and
Safe Communities

2 June 2003

Performance Management

Report of Performance Monitoring Manager, Social Services Department


Purpose of the Report

1. To give an up-date on performance information in relation to the Social Services Department

Background

2. One of the most important ways that the Department of Health monitors the performance of Social Services Departments is via the Performance Assessment Framework. Contained within the Performance Assessment Framework are 50 performance indicators.

3. Appendix A to this report lists both the 19 indicators that relate to Children’s Service and the 31 that relate to Adult Services. Appendix A also shows which are the indicators that can limit the Star Rating that the Social Services Department can achieve. Performance against all of these indicators is tracked across four years. Data for 2002/03 should be considered provisional at this point in time. All of the results are ‘traffic lit’ according to Department of Health guidance with dark green (very good) at one end of the scale and red (investigate urgently) at the other.

Current Performance

5. Of the 33 performance indicators where both data and banding are 2002 / 2003, 9 are showing a very good performance, 9 good performance, 10 acceptable performance and 5 are in the ‘ask questions’ banding. None are in the red ‘investigate urgently banding.

6. The trend in performance when the indicators are looked at as a whole is one of steady improvement. Since last year 18 of the indicators have stayed in the same banding, 10 have improved and five have got worse.

7. Data on the remaining performance indicators will be available no later than the end of July 2003. Some performance bandings will not be determined by the Department of Health until August 2003.


Planning for Improvement

8. Results obtained against all of these Performance Indicators will shortly be reported to Social Services Department Performance days. The focus will be on those indicators where improvements in performance are most urgently needed. Managers will either already have remedial action in hand or it will be required as a development. In this way it is planned to continue to bring about a sustained improvement in performance.

Recommendation

9. You are recommended to note this report.

To view spreadsheet please refer to Hard Copy Records located within Corporate and Legal Services and County Record Office. Alternatively if you have Excel please click on the link in blue entitled item 4a at the foot of the page.


Attachments

 item 4a.xls;
 item 4.doc