The Scrutiny Committee has a role in monitoring the Council’s performance.  Quarterly reports are provided on a set of selected corporate and service performance indicators. This item provides an opportunity for the Committee to identify any areas for further review, and to note and comment on Council performance at the end of quarter 1 of 2019/20.

Councillors Arshad, Djafari-Marbini and Bely-Summers left during this item.

Councillor Fry had, prior to the meeting, posed a number of detailed questions about the performance monitoring report and provided them to the Scrutiny Officer. The questions were tabled for the benefit of the Committee and the Scrutiny Officer was able to read out responses received from officers.  Those questions and responses are attached as an appendix to these minutes.

The Committee agreed to recommend to the Cabinet that:

1. There should be clarification  about which, if any, of these indicators included data from Oxford Direct Services or Oxford City Housing Limited and the way in which these were used, particularly in reference to whether under measure BI001 – Percentage of Council spend with local businesses - Oxford Direct Services is recorded as a recipient of Council spend, a contributor to Council spend or both?;
2. That the wording of indicator ED002 – Implementation of measures to reduce the City Council’s carbon footprint by 5% each year - should be reviewed as it could, at the moment be misinterpreted as meaning that it is Council policy to become carbon neutral in 20 years rather than making a reduction against a notional projected level of emissions.
3. That LP220 – the number of people from the Council’s target groups using its leisure facilities -  be supplemented with two further measures: i) revenue vs previous periods, and ii) progress against maintenance targets.

4.    CoS031 – Effective delivery of the capital programme. It is recommended that the measure be changed to either i) disbursements, or ii) contractual commitments as a percentage of budgetary targets. It is currently unclear what the percentage measure actually refers to: milestones, total spend or projects?

5.    WR001 – Number of people moved into work by the Welfare Reform Programme. It is recommended that in light of the challenges facing this team, the criterion is no longer realistic and that a revised target be agreed.

6.    CS054 – Time taken to determine DHP applications.  It is recommended that in light of the growth of Universal Credit and the increasing influence factors external to the Council have on the delivery of this criterion that Cabinet considers whether this measure remains fit for purpose.

The Chair asked for thanks to be passed to officers for their swift responses to the questions raised in advance. It was agreed that this represented an effective model for the future working of the committee.