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Title |
Annual Key Performance Indicator report 2024/25 |
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Purpose of the report |
To consider and agree |
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Report Author |
Sandy Muirhead Group Head Commissioning and Transformation |
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Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards
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Exempt |
No |
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Exemption Reason |
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Corporate Priority |
Community Addressing Housing Need Resilience Environment Services |
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Recommendations
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Committee is asked to: Consider and agree the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) annual report for 2024/25. |
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Reason for Recommendation |
Monitoring performance via KPIs ensures service delivery is meeting expectations, and these help us to monitor how well we are doing in delivering our corporate priorities. |
1. Summary of the report
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What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
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• Across the Council services have key performance indicators which enable them to benchmark year on year or quarter by quarter depending on the KPI overall performance of the service. |
• To ensure transparency in activities and performance • To demonstrate delivery of services |
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This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
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• Need to ensure KPIs are reported across the organisation to demonstrate services performance and opportunities for improvement. • Key KPIs are reported quarterly to Surrey Chief Executives allowing benchmarking locally. • To enable better presentation and monitoring of KPIs a dashboard has been in development for 2025/26 onwards. |
• To continue to monitor KPIs in appropriate timelines. • Introduce the revised reporting system after Quarter 1 2025/26 • From Quarter1 2025/26 a new digital performance dashboard will be available on the Council’s website. The CFO Insights tool from external auditors Grant Thornton will also be used to provide service benchmarking beyond Surrey. This was agreed at Corporate Policy and Resources Committee on 24 March 2025 |
1.1 This report seeks to inform this Committee of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) reported within the Council to monitor service delivery for the fiscal year 2024/25.
1.2 KPIs are critical indicators of progress towards intended outcomes and help provide a focus for delivering strategic and operational improvements in the Council. The 2024/25 figures for the majority of KPIs clearly demonstrates good delivery in services though other factors including externalities may impact on some KPIs.
1.3 The Key Performance Indicators currently recorded are listed in the attached Appendices.
1.4 As reported to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee in March 2024 from Quarter 1 in the fiscal year 2025/26 a new reporting system will be implemented. There will be clear reports on the website which provide context for the KPIs and allow quarter on quarter tracking of performance.
2. Key issues
2.1 Key Performance Indicators across services have been monitored in the Council on a quarterly or annual basis (Appendix 1) resulting in a final annual summary. The resulting KPIs are colour coded where appropriate to provide guidance on whether they have been achieved or not.
2.2 Appendix 1 also addresses investment and asset KPIs used to monitor the relevant portfolios which are reported via Commercial Assets Sub Committee and Business Infrastructure and Growth Committee.
2.3 The exception to “internal” Council monitoring is for a suite (Appendix 2) of indicators reported quarterly across Surrey to the Surrey Chief Executives meeting and covers the annual results. This appendix provides comparative figures across Surrey for several key KPIs. We have used the Government’s Data Explorer tool, for benchmarking against statistically nearest neighbours for 23/24 KPIs which includes the Surrey Councils Runnymede, Epsom and Ewell and Reigate and Banstead. However, this tool has not yet been updated by Government to provide 2024/25 data to allow further benchmarking.
2.4 In future reports from Quarter 1 2025/26 will include benchmarking results based on CFO Insights which the Council is in the process of implementing and is the tool used by the external auditor Grant Thornton. This will help provide more information on the context for KPIs on the website as well as the quarterly figures. It will allow us to benchmark against our statistically similar councils. This new approach was agreed by CPRC in March 2024 (Appendix 3 full report and new templates/examples attached). This also includes a revised set of KPIs to ensure they are timely and smart. These agreed KPIs will enable service to monitor their performance but also their performance against others in specific areas. This will enable services to monitor and if appropriate look to improve their performance.
2.5 Within the annual Surrey Chief Executive KPIs the long-term sickness KPI is high compared to other Surrey authorities. However, for sickness a very few long-term absences in 2024/25 skew the figures and although attempts have made to harmonise the method of reporting these figures across Surrey there are still some reporting inconsistencies between authorities. The short-term sickness figures are good in comparison to others.
2.6 The turnover of staff has increased which may be a combination of reasons including opportunities elsewhere and initial indications of the future of Local Government.
2.7 The Planning team have performed exceptionally well for a long while against Government targets. The Government continues to invest in planning services and increases in fees helps ensure the right level of resource can continue to be secured to help maintain turnround times.
The Housing Benefit team is performing well in relation to other Surrey authorities. The Council has the second highest number of residents across Surrey in temporary accommodation. This is for several reasons including developments not being implemented, lack of affordable accommodation due to the proximity to London, viability squeezing schemes and thus limiting what can be justified at the planning stage in terms of social housing, and Registered Social Landlords (RSL’s) not wanting to develop or take on s106 affordable housing secured as part of a planning permission. Lownumbers of void properties in social housing is an additional reason for high numbers in temporary accommodation.
2.8 Although businesses are impacted by cost pressures related to the cost-of-living crisis the business rate outturn was better than expected, whereas the council tax figure was below target, but we are aware of the difficulties some residents have in paying. As a result, we put in place payment plans to assist them e.g. paying over 12 months instead of 10. We are also aware that in 2025-26 business rates payers face additional cost pressures following the increase in National Insurance Employers contributions and for retail, leisure and hospitality ratepayers the significant reduction in business rates relief from 1st April 2025.
2.9 It should be noted that there are many factors that contribute to an individual KPI. For example, waste is one where there are limitations in the collection of dry mixed recycling. Fly tipping “pick up” times can be reduced if for example, fly tipped asbestos has to be dealt with by a specialist contractor. In these circumstances it cannot be removed as quickly as for other fly tips thereby “reducing” the service’s delivery standards.
3. Options analysis and proposal
3.1 Option 1 (recommended) To consider and agree the KPIs in the Appendices and to make comments with respect to any areas of focus for improvements.
3.2 Option 2 not to agree current KPIs and seek change. Not recommended as most KPIs are in line with other local authorities so allowing benchmarking going forward.
4. Financial management comments
4.1 There are none for this report.
5. Risk management comments
5.1 Extenuating circumstances can mean key performance indicators are not achieved, and this will vary with the service concerned. For example, the cost-of-living increases may impact Council Tax collection rates. The team try to mitigate risks by putting in place payment plans but due to cost of living increases it has recently been reported that thenumber of households not paying their council tax has risen to 4.4 million, the highest amount in 14 years. The Local Government Association has said people often end up in arrears over council tax “due to complex circumstances or people already facing hardship.”
5.2 There is a risk that if Government changes to planning rules are implemented (for example removing time extensions that can currently be agreed with a developer to allow time for negotiations) statistics on performance may well drop. This situation will apply nationally. The team is actively looking at this to try and ensure their high performance is not reduced due to a functional change.
5.3 For any KPIs there is always a risk of legislative or societal changes which will impact on the KPIs. Services will look to mitigate these if feasible depending on the KPI concerned.
5.4 If poor performance is identified the causes will be identified and mitigating measures put in place to address the situation
6. Procurement comments
6.1 The report covers KPIs for services and there are no procurement requirements.
7. Legal comments
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7.1 There are no legal implications arising directly from this report. his report provides the data to enable this Committee to scrutinise the Council’s performance in 2024/25
8. Other considerations
8.1 There are none
9. Equality and Diversity
9.1 Any service should take account of any equality and diversity issues that impact on delivery of services and therefore on KPIs.
10. Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
10.1 All services need to build climate change actions within their service activities to meet the Council’s corporate plan and climate change strategy actions and targets. It is anticipated that further KPIs will be put in place for climate change as the programme of work grows and learning from other organisations can be used in identifying further relevant KPIs beyond measurement of annual greenhouse gas emissions by the Council.
11. Timetable for implementation
11.1 KPIs will be reported annually to Corporate Policy and Resources at year end with quarterly updates provided throughout the year where appropriate.
12. Contact
12.1 Sandy Muirhead Group Head Commissioning and Transformation.
Please submit any material questions to the Committee Chair and Officer Contact by two days in advance of the meeting.
Background papers: (These are unpublished papers upon which you have relied in preparing this report). If none state, There are none.
Appendices:
Appendix A, Performance Indicator Spreadsheet
Appendix B Surrey CX benchmarking performance