The Chief Executive presented the Cabinet with an annual report of the Performance Management Framework, as introduced within the Council’s Corporate Plan, for 2023-24.

Appendix 1 to the report provided Members with a statistical overview of the Council’s outturn position for all of its 71 performance indicators.

Some of the highlights, for 2023-24, included:-

·         36 of the 71 performance indicators had been reported in the previous Corporate Plan period therefore the Council had five years’ worth of data and 14 of those indicators had recorded their best year in 2023-24;

·         Environmental Enforcement in terms of food establishments and penalty charge notices;

·         Commercial Development in terms of the town centre valuation and the Council’s investment portfolio yield;

·         Development Management in terms of the turnaround time of minor planning applications;

·         Housing Management in terms of voids and the safety work carried out; and

·         Community Engagement in terms of the number of people who had engaged with the Council through Gravesham’s Big Conversation and the turnaround time of housing benefits.

The annual report would now act as a point of reference for the coming years in the life of the Corporate Plan as the Council strived to continue to improve performance.

The Leader commended the good level of performance overall and highlighted that there were a few headline numbers which were of concerns however the background information would provide more context to those numbers for example PI 35 and PI 38; the Leader sought clarification on these indicators.

The Director (Housing) advised that in terms of PI 35 - % of council homes with valid electrical safety certification, this related to non-access to the properties therefore the Council had introduced a new process whereby it will obtain a warrant from the Court to access those properties. In terms of PI 38 - % of council homes meeting the Decent Homes Standard, the figure had now improved since publication of the annual report. The figure was based on how the calculation is set up within the software system. The calculation/set up, had been adjusted to ensure that it was reflecting accurately. Therefore, it was likely that an improvement would now be seen over the coming months. The Director (Housing) advised that the Council was providing a good quality of standard as it invested heavily into its housing stock.

It was also noted that, PI 6 - % of household waste recycled, was 40% and it was asked why this figure was so low. The Director (Environment) advised that 11 out of 13 districts in Kent had seen a drop in their recycling, however, in quarter 1 there had been an improvement as the figure was now at 42.4%. The Council had seen a rise in food waste over the last year and contamination and residual waste had fallen. Going forwards, incorporating glass and adjustments to the service, the Council should see an upturn on that figure.

The Cabinet thanked the Performance Management Team for their work to date on collating the statistics.

The Cabinet acknowledged that there was room for improvement on some of the indicators but also noted that there may be background/context as to why the indicators were at a certain level therefore it was key for the Portfolio Holder and respective Cabinet Committees to explore these further.

The Cabinet noted the report.