Agenda item

The Committee considered the report presented by the Transformation & Service Improvement Officer which sought to present to Members the Quarter 2 Community Plan Performance Report (July-September 2022).  Members were asked to review the Community Plan Performance Report attached as Appendix 1 together with supplementary documents (Appendices 2-4) which highlighted customer feedback and also to consider the Council’s performance against its objectives.

In response to questions submitted, the Transformation & Service Improvement Officer advised that:

The Newark & Sherwood Community Lottery, whilst experiencing a slight decline, was still performing well.  It continued to be promoted on social media and nationally by the promoter;

Repairs undertaken at first visit had declined by 10% but work was ongoing to improve the efficiency of tradesmen; reactive repairs had improved from the previous year but were still above target.  It was reported that the way in which priorities were listed had been amended;

The length of time taken to answer a call had risen by 17 seconds in comparison to the previous year.  This was noted as being partly due to the increase in the number of calls being received which was a direct result of queries relating to energy rebate grants, household support fund and the first council tax recovery run of the financial year. 

In noting the contents of the Performance Report, Members welcomed the inclusion of Southwell Leisure Centre into the facilities run by Active4Today.  They also thanked residents for organising their own litter picks, thereby contributing to the cleanliness of their communities.  Members also welcomed the improvement of visitors to the National Civil War Centre and the Palace Theatre. 

In noting the previous comment about the Community Lottery, a Member queried whether it was possible to widen the way in which a ticket could be purchased as, at present, this could only be done by committing to a monthly direct debit.  In response, it was advised that this method of purchasing a ticket had been adopted following advice from Gambling Aware but enquiries as to possible changes would be made. 

In relation to fly tipping, a Member queried whether a trial had been run at the Newark Household Waste Recycling Site that permitted the use by small vans and what the outcome of that trial had been.  The Officer advised he would refer the request to the Waste – Environment Team for a written response.

In noting the 6.8% of Town Centre retail premises vacant across the district being better than the 9% target, a Member requested that, if possible, comparable data with other similar town centres be included in future reports.

The Member also queried what measures could be put in place to better communicate with tenants the process that has to be followed in relation to reactive repairs and that the Council’s response time was improving.  The Director – Housing, Health & Wellbeing, who was in attendance at the meeting, advised that repairs would be an area of focus during the next financial year and that the Tenant Annual Report would have a ‘spotlight’ on all services. 

In relation to the improvement of health and wellbeing of local residents, specifically those residents that smoked, a Member queried what measures were being carried out to promote a reduction in the current numbers.  The Director advised that Cabinet were to receive the updated Health & Wellbeing Strategy for consideration in December and that the Council had signed-up to a non-smoking proposal, together with the work undertaken with businesses who had a prevalence of employees who were smokers.

AGREED      (unanimously) that the Community Plan Performance report and supplementary documents be noted.