The Committee received a report that had been considered by the Mayor in Cabinet on the 25^th September it outlines the process for monitoring the timely and effective delivery of the Strategic Plan to improve outcomes for residents. The main points of the discuss are summarised below:

The Committee:

·         Noted that the report presents a status assessment using the traffic light colour designations; Red, Amber or Green. This provides a visual and immediate way of identifying areas of challenge that push LBTH to achieve improvement. e.g. Amber means is above minimum expectation but it has not achieved the stretch target;

·         Noted that what was the ceiling target achieved in the previous year becomes this year’s floor target so as to promote continuous improvement;

·         Commented that it been helpful to have an understanding of how targets have been developed;

·         Noted that Cabinet Member annually agree the stretch targets with officers and partner agencies;

·         Noted that the Council’s improvement journey has been a steep one, and whilst there is no doubt that LBTH will need to continue improving, there is also recognition that sustainability is important;

·         Noted that improvements and new ways or working take time to bed in, and LBTH target setting principles take these challenges into consideration;

·         Noted that LBTH will only set targets for performance indicators and not for contextual indicators. Contextual indicators are those less directly in the council’s control but which are important for prioritising council investments and actions;

·         Noted that targets will be aligned to an external target, such as a statutory, national or Mayoral manifesto target, or target in strategies and policies where they have been agreed by Cabinet or a Tower Hamlets Partnership group;

·         Noted that LBTH aim to improve on benchmark performance position within the appropriate benchmark family group or maintain a high level of performance where LBTH are among top performing councils e.g. Aiming to achieve the top quartile nationally as a minimum which is a considerable length of travel;

·         Was advised that regarding measuring the proportion of homeless households who have been made permanent offers of accommodation of two bedrooms or more.  This was dependent on the supply of housing let’s as properties are being sold by landlords.  With the expectation being that the proportion of households will be offered voids although the number of voids in decline;

·         Agreed that the level of homeless households moved into permanent accommodation should be added to the Work Programme;

·         Indicated that it wished to gain a clear understanding as what dictates the targets that LBTH e.g. staff sickness and why is that indicator off target and what is going to be done to address that.  In response it was noted that staff sickness is an objective that the Head of Paid Service needs to deliver on;

·         Noted that performance indicators should be a set that directly relates to LBTH and scrutiny will have the opportunity to comment upon the indicators;

·         Commented that it wanted to receive a more detailed explanatory note to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2

The attached Cabinet report provides an update on the delivery and implementation of the council’s Strategic Plan 2018/19 up to the end of quarter 2 (September 2018).

The Committee received a report that provided an update on the delivery and implementation of the council’s Strategic Plan 2018/19 up to the end of quarter 2 (September 2018).

The Committee noted that:

·         Council’s Performance and Accountability Framework sets out the process for monitoring the timely and effective delivery of the Strategic Plan to improve outcomes for residents. In line with the framework, the Mayor in Cabinet receives regular update reports to ensure oversight of delivery, performance and improvement at Cabinet level;

·         This report promotes openness, transparency and accountability by enabling Tower Hamlets residents to track progress of activities that impact on their lives and the communities they live in;

·         As part of the budget setting report at the beginning of 2018, the Council adopted a set of eleven new corporate outcomes grouped under three priorities. This was the first step on moving the council to becoming a much more outcome-based organisation which focuses on making a difference to people’s lives;

·         In July 2018 the Cabinet had adopted a new Strategic Plan based on the new corporate outcomes. With each outcome being supported by a number of activities and the impact of activity is being measured through strategic performance indicators aligned to each outcome;

·         The Council’s Strategic Plan is focused on meeting the needs of the diverse communities living in Tower Hamlets and ensuring that everyone can play their part in a vibrant and cohesive community. The strategic outcomes and supporting activities are designed to reduce inequalities and the foster community cohesion;

As a result of discussion on the report the Committee queried the Council’s work and plans on following areas:

·                     School Planning:

What can the Council do to alleviate school funding difficulties? The Committee noted that the Council has limited influence over school budgets. Schools are facing budget deficits and year on year cuts, exacerbated by demographic changes resulting in take up in some areas lagging behind full capacity. The Committee noted that the Council does not have resources to shore up these deficits but is working with schools to mitigate the impact.

How is the Council easing school planning uncertainty? The Committee noted the problems with predictability in the west of the Borough and had consulted with key stakeholders.

·                     Childcare Support:

The Committee noted that Government funding provides 30 hours of childcare for under 5s for working parents, compared to 15 hours of childcare for non-working parents. This is not assisting parents get into work and alleviating child poverty. The Committee noted that the Council is looking at providing a package of funding (approximately £1m) but Government has delayed its plans on packages on this.

·                     SEND funding:

The Committee noted that the overspend in SEND spending needs to be addressed by 2020 and queried the process and timeframes of consultations around services likely to be affected, such as the Support for Learning Service (SLS). The Committee also noted that there were difficult choices around SEND across the country, which included reduced services around transportation and diagnosis. There will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3