Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Chief Executive which presented Members with information about the Council performance with Members, Senior Managers, Employees and the Public.

The Strategy Team Leader was in attendance to present the report that tracked progress towards achieving the strategic ambitions and objectives set out in the 2023-27 council plan. It contained the most recent performance data available on 31 March. Contextual information related to activity and events taking place in the fourth quarter of the 2023/24 financial year (January to March). The report also provided insights into what was going well, and the issues being addressed (for copy of report, see file of Minutes).

The Strategy Team Leader reported that the draft CQC report had been received and an internal benchmarking exercise would be undertaken at the end of the month with other local authorities who had been through the inspection process over the last few months. The final report and results were expected next month.

Councillor Higgins commented that he felt that smoking had reduced but he was concerned at the number of people vaping, in particular school children.

Councillor Robson asked if they were exploring initiatives to allow people to remain in their own homes for longer.

The Strategy Team Leader responded that of the rehabilitation services, usually put in place following Hospital Service Assessment Plans, reablement delivery is currently being reviewed and had been delivered in County Durham through one organisation. The review found that the provider had a number of staffing and capacity issues through the pandemic that reduced the number of people that were able to use the service. The recent review of the service had identified a number of issues in the way it was delivered, and remodelling of the delivery of the service looked to increase the coverage of the service. In addition to this, for people with more severe needs, they had recently reviewed the delivery of intermediate care plus beds and the number of care homes that offered this service was reduced but the number of beds available had increased, and they had seen an increase in the number of people using this service.

Resolved: That the overall position and direction of travel in relation to quarter four performance (January to March), and the actions being taken to address areas of challenge be noted.