May 2007 to April 2012

NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL
Scrutiny Committee
Agenda Item 3
30 August 2010
Subject: Statutory Performance Indicators 2009/10
Purpose:
To describe the Council’s Statutory Performance Indicator (SPI) position for the year ended 31 March 2010.
Recommendation:
The Committee is asked to scrutinise the report, recommend any action considered appropriate and otherwise:
a) note that the Council's external auditors are satisfied with the completeness and accuracy of the information;
b) note the summary position regarding the SPIs for 2009/10; and,
c) agree the arrangements for the public reporting of the SPIs.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Accounts Commission is responsible for issuing an annual Direction to councils which sets out the range of performance information they are required to publish. This means that:

    • the Council is required to publicly report on a set of Statutory Performance Indicators (SPIs) for the year ended 31 March 2010 by 30 September 2010; and,
    • the Council's external auditors need to be satisfied that everything published is accurate and complete.
      1.2 After completion of the audit exercise and publication of the information, Audit Scotland collates and publishes national statistics on its website, www. audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance, based on the returns from all 32 councils. This exercise is completed by mid-December each year and enables comparisons of performance to be made between councils.


      1.3 SPIs were introduced in 1992. The Scottish Government has recognised that they are in need of review and, as part of the public sector reform agenda, has worked with Audit Scotland, CoSLA, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Local Government Improvement Service to develop and oversee the implementation of a new, outcome-focused performance framework for local authorities and their partners that is more relevant and fit for purpose. The signing of the Concordat and consequent Single Outcome Agreements are central to that new performance framework.

      1.4 In this context, the Accounts Commission's 2008 Direction brought a significant change in approach. It was designed to recognise that change is taking place in the local government environment, but that it is too early to see where this will lead and that council performance reporting is not sufficiently developed to allow a complete shift from the current arrangements. The Direction therefore retains a small number of specified indicators emphasising the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that councils publish some comparable performance information, but sets out an expectation that Councils will, through self-determination, publish a wider range of performance information in accordance with the principles and guidance underlying Best Value.

      1.5 The Accounts Commission's change in approach suggests the relative importance of SPIs is diminishing. The Committee will already be aware that, as part of the Council's performance management framework, SPIs are incorporated where appropriate into the service performance reports submitted for scrutiny. They are therefore subject to detailed scrutiny at that level, but it is considered appropriate that a rounded view of the SPIs is also presented. This report seeks to provide a summary picture.



      2. Current Position

      2.1 25 specified SPIs were required for 2009/10, compared with 57 in the previous year. Many consisted of several sub-elements, or "measures", so that the 25 SPIs involved a substantially greater number of measures. Appendix A shows the Council’s performance against 51 key measures for 2009/10 and, where available, the comparable performance for 2008/09. It also shows the Council’s comparative performance ranking amongst the 32 Scottish councils in 2008/09. Measures thought worthy of Scrutiny Committee’s particular attention are as follows:

      2.2 SPI 1a - Teachers sickness absence – Days lost per employee (Full Time Equivalent) per annum

      Performance against this SPI is highlighted for potentially being in the bottom quartile of Scottish councils in 2009/10. In 2008/09 North Ayrshire Council was ranked 25th of the 32 Scottish councils on this indicator. Absence levels increased from 9.1 days per FTE per annum in 2008/09 to 9.5 days per FTE per annum in 2009/10.

      Commentary from Education & Skills/Human Resources

      Causal factors of absence have been analysed. The only significant change of more than 2% is for neurological factors, from 1% to 6% of all causes of absence. This condition includes headaches, chronic fatigue, migraine and others. The Council has in place a Maximising Attendance Policy which includes the provision of an Occupational Health Service for all employees which provides assessment, guidance and appropriate support on the full range of medical conditions experienced by employees. All Education establishments are also working towards absence reduction targets. For teachers in 2010/11 this target is 6.8 days lost per employee per annum.


      2.3 SPI 9a - Home care - Level of Service - Number of people aged 65+ receiving homecare

      Performance against this SPI is highlighted due to the significant decline in performance between 2008/09 and 2009/10. In 2008/09 the Council provided Home Care to 1,492 service users aged 65 and over. In 2009/10 this had decreased by almost 13% to 1,303 service users.

      Commentary from Social Services & Health

      During 2009/10 Care at Home Services were required to find methods of working which reduced overtime and budget overspend. This has been achieved through applying consistently the agreed eligibility criteria, developing a re-enablement service and increasing the number of reviews to service users. The overall impact of these activities is a lower number of people receiving a service.

      2.4 SPI 9b - Home care - Level of Service – Hours of homecare provided as a rate per 1,000 population aged 65+

      Performance against this SPI is highlighted due to the significant decline in performance between 2008/09 and 2009/10. In 2008/09 the Council provided 477.1 hours of home care for every 1,000 of the population aged 65 or over. In 2009/10 this decreased by 16% to 400.4 hours per 1,000.

      Commentary from Social Services & Health

      The reduction in home care service users, as described in SPI 9a, has seen an equivalent reduction in the hours and rate per 1,000 population.

      2.5 SPI 10a - Swimming Pools usage - the number of attendances per 1,000 population


        Performance against this SPI is highlighted for potentially being in the bottom quartile of Scottish Councils in 2009/10. In 2008/09 the Council’s performance was ranked 26th of the 32 councils on this indicator. In 2008/09 the Council’s performance was 2782 Swimming Pool Attendances per 1,000 population. In 2009/10 this decreased by over 6% to 2592 attendances per 1,000 population.

      Commentary from Education & Skills

      The reduction in the number of pool attendances per 1000 population between 2008/09 and 2009/10 is mostly due to the increasing need for maintenance work at the Magnum Centre’s ageing swimming pool facilities. Another contributing factor was that access to the Magnum has been hampered by the construction work for the replacement of the Bailey bridge, which should no longer be a problem this year. The inclement weather has also affected pool attendances to a greater extent this year, during the winter months.

      Summary of measures showing improving/declining performance.

      Table 1: 2009/10 versus 2008/09 performance

      Direction of travel
      No. of Measures
      % of Measures
      Improved
      31
      61
      Declined
      18
      35
      No change
      1
      2
      No comparison
      1
      2
      TOTAL
      51
      100




      Comparison of Improvement to Decline Ratios over time.

      Table 2: Improvement to decline ratios.
      Number of measures showing performance improvement divided by the number of measures showing performance decline
      2004-2005
      1.3
      2005-2006
      1.1
      2006-2007
      3.1
      2007-2008
      2.3
      2008- 2009
      1.9
      2009-2010
      1.7
      2.6 The overall picture for 2009/10 remains positive, with more of the comparable measures improving than declining.

      2.7 SPIs have to be in the public domain by 30 September 2010. A public notice will be placed in local newspapers advising that a publication containing a summary of the SPIs will be available for inspection at all public offices and libraries. A similar message will be conveyed on posters displayed at these locations. The notice and posters will further advise that the complete set of SPI returns provided to Audit Scotland will be posted on the Council's website. Of course, this report to the Scrutiny Committee has also been published on the Council's website.


      3. Proposals

      3.1 The Committee is asked to scrutinise the report, recommend any action considered appropriate and otherwise:

      a) note that the Council's external auditors are satisfied with the completeness and accuracy of the information;
      b) note the summary position regarding the SPIs for 2009/10; and,
      c) agree the arrangements for the public reporting of the SPIs.


      4. Implications

      4.1 Financial Implications

      The costs of publicising the SPIs have been budgeted for in the Chief Executive's Service revenue budget.

      4.2 Human Resource Implications

      There are no Human Resource implications arising from the report.


      4.3 Legal Implications

      There are no Legal implications arising from the report.

      4.4 Equality Implications

      There are no Equality implications arising from the report.

      4.5 Environmental Implications

      There are no Environmental implications arising from the report.

      4.6 Implications for Key Priorities

      A number of the SPIs reported are included as indicators of progress towards outcomes within the North Ayrshire Council Single Outcome Agreement.



      5. Consultations
      5.1 The Corporate Management Team (CMT) has discussed the SPI performance in detail and has instructed corrective action, where appropriate. The CMT has also approved the proposed reporting arrangements and noted the national developments regarding the SPIs.



      6. Conclusion

      6.1 The report confirms the Council's compliance with its statutory duties and enables scrutiny of its overall SPI performance for 2009/10.

      ELMA MURRAY
      Chief Executive


      Reference :
      For further information please contact Jim Paton, Policy & Performance Officer , on 01294 324140

      Background Papers : None

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