Agenda item

Quarter One, 2020/21 - Performance Management Report

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources - presented by the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager.

Minutes:

The Chair thanked the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager, Tom Gorman who was in attendance to speak to Members in relation to the Quarter One, 2020/21 Performance Management Report (for copy see file of minutes).

 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted his thanks to the staff within the services covered by the report for their cooperation in collecting the relevant performance information, especially given the increased pressures as a result of the pandemic.

 

He added that due to the temporary suspension of Council meetings, the report covered two quarters, quarter four 2019/20 and quarter one 2020/21.  Members noted that COVID-19 had impacted upon the economy, as set out within the previous reports, and the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager reminded the Committee of key dates in relation to the pandemic, with lockdown being implemented on 23 March 2020, gradually easing throughout quarter one with 15 June being when high streets and shopping centres were allowed to reopen.  He added that subsequent to quarter one, on 4 July the hospitality sector including pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen.  He explained that the UK had suffered the biggest slump on record, with GDP falling by 20.4 percent over the April to June period, the largest of any G7 nation, and as it was the second consecutive fall in GDP, the UK was officially in recession.  

 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted that the fall had been sudden and dramatic and some of the national and official performance indicators had a significant time-lag, and while they indicated a trend, they had become less useful.  He noted this had been recognised and therefore, where possible, local statistics had been developed to be able to provide Members with a more up-to-date picture in the absence of current national figures.

 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted the report followed the usual format and reported against ambitions within the Council Plan, as agreed by Council at its meeting held on 21 October 2020. 

 

He noted in reference to the key question “do residents have good job prospects”, linked to the ambition of “more and better jobs”, that employment rate was an area where official statistics had a three month lag, and represented a rolling 12 month figure, and therefore it was unlikely that the true impact would be seen for a couple of quarters. 

 

He explained that estimates had therefore been produced, based upon regional, monthly labour force survey data, and those changes had been applied to the County Durham employment rate and an estimate for the current rate was 70.9 percent for June 2020, below the regional and national rates.  He noted the effect of COVID-19 was somewhat masked by the support packages put in place, such as the Government’s job retention scheme, with around 64,000 having been furloughed, with an increase of 5,000 in quarter two.  Members noted that in addition to the furlough scheme, self-employed people accessing income support schemes totalled around 14,000 in quarter one, around 71 percent of those self-employed within County Durham, with this having increased by around 800 in quarter two.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted the furlough scheme ended in October and therefore the impact would not be known until the following month and thereafter. 

 

The Committee noted that estimates of unemployment were that it could rise to 27,000 by March 2021, from around 14,000 in December 2019.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted that in relation to redundancies, the British Chamber of Commerce found nationally that 13 percent of respondents to a survey had been made redundancies since the start of the pandemic, with a further 33 percent intending to make redundancies over the coming months.  It was noted the national redundancy rate had risen to 8.2 per 1,000 employees compared to 4.1 in the previous year.  It was added that the claimant count rate had also risen, from 5.1 percent in March 2020 to 8.2 percent in June 2020, in line with regional and national trends in this regard, though it had remained static since that dramatic increase.  He noted a 74 percent increase in universal credit claims by those aged 18-24 year on year, the report noting young people and women having been disproportionally affected.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted that in response, working with the DWP, Jobs Fuse had been launched to help those unemployed as a result of COVID-19. 

 

In relation to the key question, “is County Durham a good place to do business”, much of the activity had been covered by the Managing Director (Interim) in her report.  He noted that the latest survey of businesses by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had shown seven percent of industries had temporarily closed, and 15 percent had reported a 50 percent reduction in turnover.

 

 

 

 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted an increase in home improvements, many shops offering home delivery services, and diversification with specific mention within the report of JSB Enterprises diversifying into the production of PPE equipment and 170 new jobs being created at Seaham linked to the national track and trace programme.

 

Members were made aware of the work and measures in relation to the reopening of town centres, the delivery of leaflets to town centre businesses in respect of guidance on opening safely and webinars were held to help support the retail sector in terms of embracing online selling and finding new ways to market their products.

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted a recent news article that referred to Durham City as the fourth worst in the country in terms of vacant units, after York, Newcastle and Worcester, and from local surveys it had been noted that there was a larger impact in this respect where there were a greater number of national chains.

 

In respect of business support, it was noted grants totalling around £100 million had bee distributed to around 9,000 businesses and a total equivalent to £49 million had been distributed in terms of business rate reductions.  The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted there was a scheme for small businesses, not liable for business rates, and this represented an amount of around £5 million, benefiting around 300 businesses.

 

He noted that the previous report had detailed the information in relation to tourism and noted that in terms of housing, COVID-19 restrictions had meant some construction sites had to close temporarily, and therefore the number of homes completed had reduced.  Members noted a reduction in presentations to the Housing Solutions service, however, that was expected to rise once the Government’s eviction ban was lifted.  Members were reminded of the discretionary housing payments and noted housing was an issue included within the work programme of the Committee.

 

In respect of travel, it was noted the Park and Ride service had been closed as a result of lockdown, reopening on 29 June, with a 50 percent reduction in use and there had been a reduction of patrons on bus services to around 10 percent of normal use, with services being affected as a result of reduced driver availability due to COVID-19.

 

The Chairman thanked the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager and asked as regards the infographic on page 116 of the report, noting a forecast of unemployment rising from 14,000 to 21,000 and asked if there were any figures relating to employability programmes available.  The Chair also noted that schemes such as the Durham Ambitions Start-ups Scheme (DABS) would be vital moving forward, and detail of newly registered businesses during the pandemic may prove useful.

 

Councillor R Crute, Chair of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, noted the in-roads made in terms of highways repairs and backlogs and asked if there was any data in terms of footpath repairs.  He noted that this linked to the Council Vision in terms of connected communities and also in terms of information from health colleagues that obesity was a factor in relation to increasing the severity of COVID-19 and therefore he felt the Council should be doing as much as it could to help keep communities as open and as accessible as possible through maintaining footpaths and encouraging residents to walk.  He continued that he was concerned that the current condition of footpaths may be deterring residents from undertaking exercise by walking.  He asked if there was any detail in relation to footpath maintenance that could be shared with Members.

 

Councillor R Manchester noted the reduced amount of people accessing the help of the Housing Solutions team, however, given that the Government ban on evictions would come to an end, he asked whether there was enough capacity in terms of housing supply.

 

The Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted that in terms of unemployment, it was an issue not wholly within the remit of the Council to address and some of the schemes that were mentioned were in partnership and while he did not have figures to hand in relation to schemes and DABS, they could be circulated to Members.  He added that it would also be an issue to consider whether what was being done was enough and that would be part of the resilience plan being developed in partnership with other agencies, which may be an area that the Committee may wish to look at further.

 

In terms of footpath statistics, the Corporate Scrutiny and Strategy Manager noted he would look into the issue and get the information for Members, adding that there was a backlog of repairs amounting to £179 million, and agreed it may be a case that priorities had changed in terms of people needing to use footpaths more.

 

In respect of the question relating to housing capacity, the service had undertaken work to estimate what the impact of the eviction ban coming to an end, whether this would result in a large number of people coming forward to access services and it may be appropriate to go back to the service for an update.

 

The Chair noted that roads and footpaths performance information would be available at the meeting of the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 16 November 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer, Stephen Gwillym noted that there would be a further meeting of the Committee in December, with a focus on housing, which would included information relating to Housing Solutions, and therefore the query raised by Councillor R Manchester, whilst a response will be provided following this meeting more detail can be provided at the meeting on the 7 December.  He added that by December there may be better understanding of what the impact of lifting the eviction ban will be.

 

Resolved:

 

That the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee notes the overall position and direction of travel in relation to quarter one performance, the impact of COVID-19 on performance, and the actions being taken to address areas of underperformance including the significant economic and well-being challenges because of the pandemic.

 

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