Agenda item

To receive a report providing updates on the annual refresh of the Corporate Plan for 2023-2028 and presenting the actions and key performance indicators for 2026/27 to Council for approval.

The Cabinet has

(a)  endorsed the refreshed Corporate Plan to Council (Appendix A); and

(b)  endorsed the Key Performance Indicator changes (Appendix D).

Recommended to Council

(a)  the approval of the refreshed Corporate Plan (Appendix A); and

(b)  the approval of the Key Performance Indicator Changes (Appendix D).

A report by the Insights Coordinator was submitted (a copy of which is appended to the Minute Book) providing updates on the annual refresh of the Corporate Plan for 2023-2028 and presenting the actions and key performance indicators for 2026/27 for Council approval. The Executive Leader, Councillor Conboy introduced the report, highlighting the importance of having a good Corporate Plan for staff to work to through the Election period to the start of a new administration, to ensure business as usual was maintained. Particular reference was made to the reduction of the Planning backlog by 92%, which was as a result of due diligence from staff, and attention was drawn to the number of Key Performance Indicators that had their targets stretched.

The Cabinet noted the responses made to the comments of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel (Performance & Growth). Regarding Key Performance Indicator (KPI) 1 and the change of circumstances regarding contracts, the Executive Leader reported that the Active Lifestyle Team bid on contracts every year, and  one of the longstanding contracts had decided to go in a different direction for 2026/27, meaning there would be a reduction in the number of attendances compared to the previous 3 financial years.

Regarding KPI’S 12,13 and 14 not being raised for the coming year, she advised that the Performance Team would take this away and explore possible changes, however the Council was 5-10% above the national average on performance. The Planning Improvements Programme was underway, and a significant amount of change was already taking place in that service, but the ongoing commitment to continuous improvement was taken seriously.

Regarding KPI 16, reference was made to the strong performance of the Economic Development Team, which was hard to replicate, however until a budget was set it was difficult to confirm attendances at some of the business engagements in the coming year. There was a balance to be had in the number of engagements and the quality of the engagements. Regarding why the implementation of the Hybrid Working Policy would affect short term staff sickness, the change was informed via a report from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development which found hybrid working increased sickness, however there was a commitment to taking action to mitigate this, though it was noted that staff absence at the Council remained below the national average.

Regarding the North Huntingdon Growth Cluster, the Performance Team would reword KPI 18 to include reference to working with communities, which had been unintentionally not specifically referenced. In terms of whether KPI’s would be created for the Empty Homes Strategy and the Food Waste Collection Service, this would be taken back to the Teams to look at what may be appropriate alongside work already being done. This would come back to the Overview & Scrutiny Panel’s pipeline of work. Furthermore, at the request of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel, officers would explore whether rough sleepers could be part of the Homelessness KPI. Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

that

(a)  the refreshed Corporate Plan (Appendix A), be endorsed; and

(b)  the Key Performance Indicator changes (Appendix D), be endorsed.

Recommended to Council

(a)  the approval of the refreshed Corporate Plan (Appendix A); and

(b)  the approval of the Key Performance Indicator Changes (Appendix D).