Minutes:
The Chairman invited Mia Shelton, Improvement Strategy Adviser, to introduce the report.
Mia ran through the key points from the quarter 1 performance report to MHCLG and assured members that they were well on track to meet all the KPIs by the end of March 2022. The traffic light system being used only marked a KPI as ‘green’ when it had been completed, hence the high number of ‘amber’ indicators.
Members questions and comments:
· Members felt it was vital that the LGA got the message out to councillors across the country about the variety and success of its support packages, as evidenced by the performance reporting. It was important that members didn’t interpret the amber rating as meaning concerning or potentially off-track, as it did in most council RAG rating systems. Mia said that some of the key headlines would be shared through information bulletins to senior figures in councils and reassured members that they would be very clear on the RAG rating.
· The importance of maintaining focus on improvement work not directly linked to the KPIs was emphasised and also that work didn’t stop once a target had been met. Mia confirmed that this was the case.
· Was there any flexibility in the agreement with MHCLG to alter targets during the year if urgent priorities emerged mid-year – e.g. extreme weather events, pandemic etc.? The Chairman said that MHCLG had their national priorities and that these may not necessarily be the same as the sector’s. Flexibility might therefore be limited but it was important to keep an ongoing dialogue open with them.
· More detail was sought on the change of control support being offered to councils. Dennis Skinner said that it was mainly peer to peer mentoring from within the same political party, coordinated through the LGA political group offices. Places were made available on the LGA’s leadership courses such as the Leadership Academy. Support was also provided to opposition groups who had relinquished council leadership post-election. Members strongly supported this latter element and felt it was important for the effective democratic functioning of these councils.
· Members asked what the reporting arrangements were with MHCLG. Dennis said that a performance monitoring group had been set up for LGA officers and MHCLG civil servants. The first of these had taken place. At a political level, there was an oversight board attended by the Minister and Cllrs Jamieson, Forbes and Fleming.
Decision:
Improvement & Innovation Board noted the report.