Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive Officer which detailed performance during the first quarter of 2023/24 (April to June 2023) (for copy of report see file of minutes).

Introducing the report, Tom Gorman, Corporate Policy and Performance Manager, highlighted that the new easy-read format allows greater clarity, includes a new indicator set and reintroduces data dashboards, to provide more focus on trends and the direction of travel.

In presenting the report, the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager drew members’ attention to the following key headlines.

·      The visitor economy in County Durham has contributed more than £1billion to the overall local economy, for the first time.

·      Library active borrowers and digital borrowers performed above target.

·      Average occupancy levels and yield for theatres were below target and initiatives are being trialled to boost sales.

·      Initiatives have been engaged to raise staff awareness in respect of reducing carbon emissions within the Council’s operations.

·      Issues experienced at the energy from waste facility which were reported at the previous meeting had been resolved and the rates of waste diverted from landfill are above target.

·      34% of properties covered by the selective licensing scheme are now licenced or have had legal proceedings instigated against them.

·      The contamination campaign continues and the number of contamination notices issued had increased. The latest contamination rate, which relates to the period before activity was escalated, showed a slight decrease in the quarterly rate.

·      Journeys on the Park and Ride service remain lower than pre-COVID levels due to a number of factors including changes in working behaviours. Changes are being implemented to improve the service at Belmont and a scheme is being progressed to extend Sniperley, in anticipation of increased demand from the future development.

·      Leisure centre memberships were below target and there had been a higher than expected number of cancelled memberships.  The leisure transformation programme continued to deliver new facilities, however this had resulted in a temporary dip in visits.

·      The discount for early payment of fly-tipping fines was removed in July. Following the peak during the pandemic, incidents of fly-tipping had reduced and remain at a historic low.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager for the report and asked the Committee for their views on the new reporting format.  Members complimented the accessibility of the new format, adding that the visuals enable the reader to pin-point areas of interest and identify trends.

The Chair then invited comments and questions on the report. 

Councillor Stubbs referred to the visitor economy and he asked if increased visitor numbers had resulted in increased traffic in the city centre.  He also pointed out that bus patronage remains lower than pre-Covid levels which led him to question whether the £2 bus fare cap was having the desired effect to encourage bus patronage. The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager clarified that the visitor economy figures were county-wide figures, not merely Durham city and that the spend may be generated by visitors staying in the county for a longer period, rather than being generated from an increase in the number of visitors.  He added that it was too early to assess the full impact of the bus fare cap.

Councillor Adam was pleased to see that the issues experienced at the energy from waste facility had been resolved and the amount of waste diverted to landfill had reduced.  He expressed concern that the contamination campaign had not made a significant impact and he said he would like to see other initiatives being introduced, for example the possibility of imposing heavier fines.  He asked whether there was data available from other local authorities as to what action they were taking and he requested clarification regarding the recalculating of the 12 month rolling figure which was mentioned in paragraph 42 of the report.  The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager responded that he was unable to comment on the current position with regard to the possibility of imposing fines. In relation to measures used by other local authorities and the resulting impacts, he would contact the relevant service for information on initiatives, for the information to be shared with members.

In response to a question from Councillor Robson as to what action is being taken in respect of those properties which remain unlicensed under the selective licensing scheme, the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager confirmed that legal action is taken against those landlords who fail to comply.  Diane Close, Overview and Scrutiny Officer, informed members of the arrangements for an informal information session on selective licensing to be held on the 30 October, which will provide more detailed information. 

Councillor Sutton-Lloyd expressed concern that the number of landlords not registered remains high and he queried whether the scheme was reducing incidents of anti-social behaviour.  The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager

confirmed that levels of anti-social behaviour were lower in selective licensing areas of the county.

Councillor Sutton-Lloyd highlighted that up-to-date figures are essential and he asked when the most up-to-date data relating to carbon emissions would be available.  The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager clarified that figures for  carbon emissions from Durham County are provided by the government and those figures are expected in quarter three, whilst the Council’s carbon emission figures in relation to Durham County Council’s operations are expected in quarter two. 

Concluding the discussion, Councillor Sutton-Lloyd referred to members’ comments regarding contamination of recyclates and he expressed the view that there is still work to do with regard to educating the public as the variety of packaging and different labelling has led to more confusion for consumers as to whether packing is recyclable.

Resolved:

The Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Noted the overall strong position and direction of travel in relation to quarter one performance, and the actions being taken to address areas of challenge.

b)    Noted and commented on the changes and improvements to the new format performance report which will be used exclusively from quarter two 2023/24.