Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Chief Executive which provided details of progress towards delivery of the key priorities within the County Plan 2023-27, in line with the Council’s corporate performance framework. The report which was presented by Tom Gorman, Corporate Policy and Performance Manager, covered performance in and to the end of quarter three (October to December) 2023/24 (for copy of report see file of minutes).

Highlighting areas of performance, the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager referred to the ‘Our Economy’ theme and commented that the Lumiere 2023 festival had attracted an additional 36,000 visitors than the previous Lumiere festival which was held in 2021. Leisure Centre memberships increased during the quarter and the number of active library borrowers and digital borrowers performed better than the target.

Occupancy rates at cinema screenings and theatre performances were also better than target during quarter three however average yield at cinemas remained below target.

Moving on to the ‘Our Environment’ theme, the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager referred to the Council’s plans in response to the government’s ambitions set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. It was reported that the Council continues to divert a smaller proportion of waste to landfill and the contamination rate of household recycling had decreased during the quarter, which represented a fall for the fifth consecutive quarter. The number of notices issued for contaminated recycling bins during the quarter had increased. 

Concluding the report, the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager updated the Committee that the percentage of private sector properties fully licensed under the Selective Licensing Scheme stood at 43%.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager for the report and invited questions from the Committee.

Councillor Stubbs pointed out that although cinemas and theatres were achieving occupancy targets, performance in respect of yield remained below target and he questioned the accuracy of the targets. The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager responded that he had requested the service to provide further details on how attendances and yield are defined, for a clearer picture to be provided in the quarter four update report.

In response to a comment from Councillor Sutton-Lloyd who asked for an update on the progress of the Selective Licensing scheme, Diane Close, Overview and Scrutiny Officer noted that the Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be invited to a meeting of the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 22 April, at which a report will be presented which will provide a detailed update on the Selective Licensing Scheme.

Resolved:

The Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the overall position and direction of travel in relation to quarter three performance and the actions being taken to address areas of challenge.