To review the council’s performance against the strategic goals and provide critical friend challenge to service delivery.

Members are asked to refer to the report included in the Tower Hamlets Council - Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 9th March, 2022, 5.30 p.m.

The Committee considered a report on the strategic performance and delivery reporting – Q3 2021/22 that is going to Cabinet on 9^th March 2022 and supplies an update on the delivery and implementation of the Council’s Strategic Plan throughout 2021/22.  The mains points arising from the questioning on the presentation have been abridged as follows:

The Committee:

v  Wanted to know the current position with regard to those who are awaiting these assessments with regard to Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP) assessments completed within the statutory timescales of 20 weeks.  In response they noted that it is very dependent on the child and their needs as to whether there is a significant delay in completing the assessment.

v  Noted that LBTH have already put in the extra support to meet a child’s needs and their EHCP assessment will then confirm and make sustainable funding for that added ability. Although in other instances where specialist input is needed, then potentially there is an impact in the short term.

v  Noted that when there is a need for specialist input then it should be recognised that the extra weeks that it takes to complete those assessments has seen an improvement in performance although LBTH have struggled with levels of staffing absence which was related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in particular around December 2021.  Although about staffing levels in the frontline child protection teams in the Borough LBTH have tried to ensure there are never any gaps.

v  Was advised that whilst it is true to say that the London local market is very problematic at the moment which has had an impact on performance LBTH is now in a much better position now.

v  Noted with regard to the percentage of completed homes that are classed as affordable depends very much on the performance of the marketplace and clearly that has suffered a series of challenges as a result of Covid and the interplay of a number of competing factors (e.g.,  private sector schemes).

v  Noted with regard to the percentage of customers who are satisfied with the online customer experience that councillors have noticed some improvement in the quality of that over the last three years which is to be welcomed.

v  Expressed concerns about the ability of some of the Boroughs constituents who are older; disabled or do not have English as a first language to be able to use the LBTH online systems as they find it confusing and difficult.

v  Agreed that if when contacting the LBTH that process goes wrong or if the customer has not been able to access the online system then their experience will not necessarily be captured as part of that exercise.  However, when accessing a particular service has worked it should not be taken as a complete measure of success in terms of overall service delivery.

v  Noted that LBTH have more resources into the contact centre during the Covid period because it has also served as the hotline for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8

The Committee received and commented on the strategic delivery and performance report for quarter 3 2020/21. The main points raised in the discussion on the report may be summarised as follows:

The Committee:

v  Noted that 15 performance indicators have been met or are exceeding their target and 8 are between the target and the minimum expectation, while 13 are falling short. Whilst the remaining 20 indicators are data only measures, do not have an outturn this quarter or they are based on the annual residents’ survey which is due to take place in quarter 4.

v  Noted that due to Covid some indicators for which data collection have been suspended or are not possible at present.

v  Expressed concern that the number of adults supported into employment by the WorkPath service have fallen short of the minimum expectation as the labour market in the Borough continues to be particularly affected by the Covid and the lockdown measures to contain it. Also, like Inner London generally Tower Hamlets has experienced sharper decreases in those in paid employment when compared to Outer London.

v  Noted that a greater proportion of Londoners across all age groups are now claiming unemployment related benefits compared with the rest of the Country.

v  Expressed concern that younger people, especially those who have recently left education, have been especially hard hit by the economic impact of the pandemic. With youth unemployment increasing significantly.

v  Stated that supporting and encouraging employers to provide opportunities for young people to access work experience, employment and training opportunities during this difficult period is vital. Previous recessions have highlighted the damaging long-term consequences of a period of unemployment when young to future earnings and employment outcomes, as well as on mental and physical health.

v  Indicated their concern that in Quarter 2 the target for 22 per cent of household waste recycling was missed with only 19.8 per cent being achieved.  However, officers (i) are redesigning the Service to improve recycling rates; (ii) are continuing to communicate the importance of recycling to residents and landlords to try and drive behavioural change; and (iii) can provide the Quarter 3 figures to the Committee once they become available.

v  Noted that street cleansing service has been affected adversely by Covid as (i) a significant number of regular staff have been absent due to illness and/or self-isolation; and (ii) there has been a behavioural change in the Borough with people being at home has impacted on the cleanliness of local parks and seen the introduction of new technology to help identify hotspots and target resources to those areas quickly.

v  Indicated that it was important to work with residents and businesses of Tower Hamlets to encourage and enable ways of dealing with waste

v  Supported the Councils intention to collaborate with and provide leadership to businesses, housing associations and others that have a responsibility for managing waste.

v  Recognised the challenges faced by the Service with (i) the number of businesses and people working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7