Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Roger Lawrence, Sandra Samuels OBE and Paul Sweet.

No declarations of interests were made.

[For approval]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 June 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting]

With reference to Minute No 7. (Outcome Based Accountability and Outcome Based Budgeting Update), Ian Fegan, Head of Corporate Communications undertook to update the Chair on the arrangements for the workshop with Dr Tony Munton.

[To review and comment on the quarterly performance monitoring report]

Lesley Roberts, Strategic Director, City Housing presented the report on the performance of Wolverhampton Homes (WH) and the Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) in managing and maintaining Council owned properties during quarter one of the 2017-2018 financial year.

In response to the request made at the last meeting, the Strategic Director reported on the actions put in place to monitor and improve performance of Dovecotes TMO Board in relation to rent arrears.  Performance had improved during the quarter and Council employees would continue to work with the TMO on its performance.  The Strategic Director also informed the Panel that the Council had made sure that TMOs are clear about their responsibilities, in terms of fire safety, for the properties they manage on behalf of the Council.  The Housing Service had also held sessions with the TMOs to review their policies and plans. 

In response to Councillor Val Gibson regarding performance on abandoned calls, the Strategic Director explained that the service had tried to encourage tenants to use digital options as the means of contact.  The staffing for direct call handling was adjusted in line with this approach.  More employees had now been moved back into this area and the Service was seeking to strike a balance between providing a telephone service and directing tenants to digital options. The Director reported that she was 100% committed to providing some form of telephone service. Councillor Peter Bilson added that the performance had been discussed at the Monitoring Group.  The Council wanted to encourage digital transactions but it was a judgement call on the balance between providing a telephone service and digital options. The Monitoring Group would be keeping this are under review.

The Strategic Director also briefed the Panel on the Council’s preparedness and Wolverhampton Homes response to the introduction of Universal Credit, a new single monthly payment for people of working age, and people who are on low income or out of work.

Resolved:

1.     That the performance of the housing management agents for quarter one 2017-2018 be noted.

2.     That an update report on TMO’s plans for the introduction of Universal Credit be submitted to the next meeting.

[To receive an update] [Report to follow]

Ian Fegan, Corporate Communications Manager gave a verbal update on progress since the last meeting in implementing the Council’s approach to outcome based accountability and outcome based budgeting.  A detailed report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Performance Management Panel on 4 December 2017. 

Resolved:

          That the report be noted.

[To pass the following resolution:

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information on the grounds shown below]

Resolved:

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within the paragraphs 3 and 7 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

[To receive and comment on the quarter one performance]

The Chair noted the reasons why the report had been included on the closed session of the agenda.  He asked that for future the information be presented in such a way as to allow item to be considered in open session.

Anna Zollino-Biscotti, Information Governance Manager presented the report on the performance of Information Governance for quarter one (April to June 2017). The report showed that targets had been maintained for the response to Freedom of Information/ Environmental Information (FOI) and Subject Access Requests (SARs) received.  The Information Governance Manager also reported that going forward there would need to be a greater focus on training, particularly in raising awareness and ensuring that new employees complete the mandatory Protecting Information e-learning training module.

Resolved:

That the Information Governance performance figures for 2017/2018 for Freedom of Information/Environmental Information requests and Subject Access requests be noted.