Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Duncan McGregor.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business to be considered.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a)  any business on the agenda;

b)  any urgent additional items to be considered;

c)  any matters arising out of those items;

and if appropriate, withdraw from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the Finance & Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 25^th February 2025.

Moved by Councillor Justin Gilbody and seconded by Councillor Janet Tait

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Finance and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25th Feb be approved as a true and correct record.

Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List of Key Decisions for any further information). NB: If Members wish to discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the meeting only.

Committee considered the List of Key Decisions and Items to be Considered in Private.

RESOLVED that the List of Key Decisions and Items to be considered in the Private document be noted.

The Committee considered a report presented by the Programme and Projects Officer, which provided an update on performance for Quarter 4 of 2024/25 under the Council’s Corporate Ambitions. The Officer explained that the majority of Council targets were either on track or had been achieved, with only 6% reported as not on track. Out of 54 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the vast majority had been achieved or showed a positive outturn, while only 9% had a negative outturn.

The Programme and Projects Officer referred to Appendix 1, “Our Customers”, and highlighted performance under indicator CSP07, which measured external satisfaction with Customer Services via real-time feedback. This indicator was relatively new, having been introduced in Quarter 2. Performance across the quarters showed a decline: 82% in Q2, 75% in Q3, and 69% in Q4 against a target of 85%. The Q4 data was based on 805 surveys issued, with 79 responses received. Of these, 70% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the service received. It was noted that some feedback related to services outside of Customer Services and that 13 responses required further follow-up. The Customer Services Manager provided additional context, noting that the new methodology for collecting satisfaction data was introduced in Q2, meaning there was not yet a full year of comparable data. Additionally, the surveys were conducted via email and Live Chat, with telephone feedback not currently included, which may have impacted overall figures.

In relation to Financial Services, the Programme and Projects Officer explained that Q4 data for the KPI concerning the percentage of sundry debtor arrears collected was not yet available due to year-end processes. The relevant teams had been working collaboratively to pursue recovery, and several instalment agreements were in place, which would delay reaching full collection targets.

A Member raised a query regarding the Human Resources KPI on days lost to sickness per full-time equivalent (HR01). The Programme and Projects Officer referred to the attached explanation in the report which explained that Quarter 4 had recorded the highest sickness absence figures since 2022/23, primarily due to 19 cases of long-term absence. Of these, 14 were attributed to physical health issues and 5 to stress or depression, with 2 of the latter being work-related. Ten employees had since returned to work, while seven remained absent and two had resigned.

The Programme and Projects Officer also informed the Committee that Q4 data for Revenues and Benefits KPI 12 was not yet available, as it depended on figures still to be published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Committee was then referred to Appendix 2, “Our Environment”. It was noted that target ENV.03 had been withdrawn.

In response to a Member’s question about progress on the food waste collection service, the Director of Strategic Services confirmed that orders had been placed for new collection vehicles, which were expected to arrive in November. North East Derbyshire District Council would be vacating the Riverside Depot to accommodate the new fleet. The Council had already  ...  view the full minutes text for item FCO46-23/24

Committee considered their work programme 2024/25 presented by the Scrutiny Officer.

Moved by Councillor Janet Tait  and seconded by Councillor Rowan Clarke

RESOLVED that the work programme 2024/25 be noted.