Agenda item

The Chair confirmed that Members had recently attended a workshop to provide feedback on the draft Performance Framework and the Council’s Business Plans (see agenda item 7).  The Head of Insight, Performance and Intelligence updated Members on the actions taken following the discussion at the workshop confirming that;

• The ‘key commitments’ set out in the draft framework had been clarified.
• Suggestions from Members regarding the setting of targets would be incorporated into a supplementary document.
• The explanatory comments that accompanied the indicators had been amended in some instances to make them clearer.
• Some indicators had been added or removed following feedback from Members and this would be reflected in the report to Cabinet on 2^nd April 19. 
• The suggestion that Bristol Eating Better Awards should specifically be measured in deprived areas had been incorporated.
• In some instances it wasn’t possible to include the requests from Members, for example measuring the number of journeys taken by sustainable methods of transport, as it would be too difficult to gather the relevant information.

Members went on to consider and comment on the information provided. The key points made were as follows;

• The suggested approach about separating the high level indicators for OSMB (as well as Cabinet and Senior Leadership Board) was welcomed since it ensured that OSMB Members could focus on the overarching picture, leaving detail to the individual Commissions.
• The Council had set a target around reducing the number of service users in residential care, which may appear to be driven by cost rather than the best outcomes for residents. In response, officers confirmed that the Better Lives Programme was driving significant improvements which enabled more people to stay in their homes, which was often their preferred option. 
• It was agreed that officers would ensure that all information was presented as factually as possible, for example where a percentage ‘above target’ was given in dashboards, it should be accompanied by an explicit statement of percentage ‘below target’ rather than this being implicit.
• Clarification was sought regarding why the target for bus passenger journeys for the current year 18/19, was set lower than the actual number in 17/18.  It was agreed that officers would come back with a note of explanation.
• Following a request from Members, it was agreed that the reports on performance would be made readily available to the public, ideally by placing them in a prominent location on the City Council’s website.
• There were concerns about the increase in the average number of days lost to sickness absence within the City Council, thought to be due in part to stress.  This was an area that Scrutiny could review in the future.
• The Communities Scrutiny Commission would be looking at the number of people in temporary or emergency accommodation at their meeting on 15^th April 19, particularly around cost effectiveness. 

Officers were thanked for their work around the performance framework, including the quality of the document and the efforts made to engage with Scrutiny.  It was suggested that the workshop exercise could be repeated in 19/20 in order to feed into next year’s business plans.

RESOLVED; that the outcomes following the Performance Framework Member Workshop be noted.