Agenda item

To receive and note a report that shows progress made against targets for Key Performance Indicators.

Vincent Godfrey (Strategic Commissioner), Rebecca Spore (Head of Infrastructure), Dave Shipton (Head of Finance) and Ben Watts (General Counsel) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Godfrey introduced the Strategic and Corporate Services Performance Dashboard which highlighted the progress that had been made against targets set for Key Performance Indicators. Miss Carey (Cabinet Member for Customers, Communications and Performance) said that the report reflected the first quarter and each area that it covered. She stated that a full report would be brought to County Council.

2.    Mr Watts informed Members of the Committee that a Freedom of Information (FOI) report would be brought to the Policy and Resources Cabinet Committee meeting in November which would provide full detail of the activity that was being undertaken by officers in order to mitigate against the number of FOI requests that were being received.

a)    In response to a question, Mr Watts said that officers were exploring best practice around recording information to ensure that Members were receiving regular updates in relation to FOI. He confirmed that the number of FOI requests had increased due to the implementation of GDPR.

b)    In response to a question, Mr Watts referred to the cost of FOI requests each year for Kent County Council and said that a particular exercise could be undertaken to determine this, although it would be difficult to obtain results that were completely accurate. Miss Carey (Cabinet Member for Customers, Communications and Performance) informed Members of the Committee that the FOI report which would be brought to the Policy and Resources Cabinet Committee in November would shed light upon the type of FOI requests that Kent County Council received.

c)    In response to a question, Mr Watts said that preparations were in place to ensure the Kent County Council were able to manage the increase in expectations for FOI requests as an organisation.

d)    In response to a question, Ms Spore referred to the eight tenants mentioned within the report that were in excess of 6-days and said that management plans and payment plans had been put in place for all of them to determine how rent collection could be approached and to reduce outstanding rent levels. She said that Kent County Council had explored different ways in which rent collection could be approached and, in some instances, have had to proceed down the legal route and act in order to recover outstanding debts. She discussed the overall levels of rent in August that were outstanding at 60 days and said that this had significantly dropped, and although the amount of rent that was outstanding over 60 days had only dropped slightly, it was presented as a greater proportion of the whole. She said that Kent County Council were working with Gen2 to ensure that processes were robust.

e)    In response to a question, Ms Spore said that there were some specific community groups that were in arrears due to rent.

f)     In response to a question, Mr Shipton and Miss Carey explained a particular indicator within the report and explained the 30-day process.

3.    RESOLVED that the report be noted.